Chapter 4

I

lost

No

How could this happen

I had one shot and I...

I...

I blew it

Damn those androids to hell, they did this to me

I hate them

Hate them so much

How could I have lost? I was a blasted SUPER SAIYAN!

I've had it up to here with this planet... but I can't leave... not now, of all times... I have too much unfinished business... I'm trapped...

DAMN THEM!

Vegeta opened his eyes.

He was in the middle of a massive pile of rubble. He trembled in midair as he reviewed the most humiliating fight of his life. He had been so confident... what a complete idiot he must have looked. And both his arms... smashed. Unconscious... the power that he had worked himself almost to death to earn beaten out of him... within five minutes... nnnh... He needed to calm down before he did some real damage. He must remember to still his heart... even though it was so hard sometimes... but a still heart brought clear thoughts... yes... it wasn't the end of the world... he was just missing something, that was all. There was no way any scrap of Earthling technology could possibly be superior to his power. He just needed to think.

The... the female android wasn't that much stronger than Vegeta... it was her infinite supply of energy that clinched his defeat. Normally, he wouldn't have taken it so hard. His ego would be bruised, maybe... but he would pick himself up off the ground and train until all the energy in the world wouldn't save her. That was how it had always been.

But the disturbing thing about his loss was that he had been a Super Saiyan. According to the legend, they were the ultimate power. No exceptions.

What was he missing...? Did he just need to spend some more time in the gravity room? Not likely... even after three solid years of training, he was just about tapped out. He had found how far artificial gravity could get you.

So then... something more extreme was needed... Vegeta suddenly thought of Freeza and his three forms. No good... Freeza had been born into that power, hadn't earned it, there was nothing Vegeta could learn from him...

... Hold off...

Three forms.

There was a level beyond the Super Saiyan. The legend wasn't wrong... it was just incomplete.

Of course, there was no evidence to back this theory up... but for some reason, Vegeta suddenly didn't feel so hopeless... and he trusted his instincts. He just needed time to figure out how to ascend again.

Either way, he couldn't give up yet.

Later, in a different desert with different thoughts and new troubles, the kid found him. He wanted to train together. Vegeta refused. Just being near Trunks set his teeth on edge. He was a path not taken, one that would have stripped Vegeta of all that he stood for.

But then he learned of the Room of Spirit and Time and he had no choice but to accept. A whole year to train was exactly what he needed. And this time... he would be the first to ascend.

OoO

"HYAAAAHH!" Trunks, still staggering from Vegeta's onslaught of blows, was struck square in the face with a ball of chi. Even as he flew through the air, Vegeta skipped around behind and got ready to jump up and smash him to the ground. The instant before they collided, Trunks twisted around in midair and blocked.

They both dropped to the ground. Vegeta couldn't help but smile as he felt the rush of adrenaline that only a worthy opponent could bring.

"Good!" He grinned at Trunks. "I'm impressed by your vigilance... you didn't expect me to wait for you. That's one of the cardinal conventions of battle: do not let down your guard. I have to say, you've surprised me! I may be able to beat this softness out of you yet."

Trunks, breathing heavily, managed a smile. "Thanks... dad."

And just like that, a shadow passed behind Vegeta's eyes. "What did I say about calling me that?" he growled. Hmph... just when he was starting to have some fun... and to think... he just about to start a lesson. Pity... the boy would have to learn the hard way. That was one of the problems with Earthlings... they just didn't know when to stop talking...

"Oh, come on!" Trunks said in exasperation, blissfully unaware. "When are you gonna stop lying to yourself? I look like you..."

"So they say," Vegeta muttered, crossing his arms.

"...And I can go Super Saiyan! My father was the Saiyan Prince who decided to stay on Earth after getting raised from the dead on planet Namek. Sound familiar?"

Vegeta took a deep, even breath in. "No, your father was a stagnant wretch who lacked discipline and lost his life because of it. I, on the other hand, never even considered stooping so low as to sleep with an Earthling and I never will. You should be thankful you're still alive, brat, safe in your separate timeline. I may be many things, but I am not your father and you are not my son." He bared his teeth.

Trunks looked away. "... Can we take a break now?" The last thing he wanted to do was to keep sparring with Vegeta.

"No. Again."

Trunks had no choice but to oblige. Vegeta was the stronger of the two.

Even though he whined and was much too soft, the mongrel was a good sparring partner. With that and the conditions of the Room, Vegeta was getting stronger again. It was only a matter of time before he achieved the next level of Super Saiyan... but there was no time to relax. He still had a lot of ground to cover. He still had to go further.

OoO

After trying, futile though it was, to wash off all the blood, Trunks lay awake in bed. The training schedule that Vegeta had set for them was inhumane. Six hours' sleep, wake up to a few measly handfuls of rice, then sparring for three hours.

Trunks couldn't sleep.

He had been Earth's finest warrior back home... the last breath of a doomed planet... and now he was spending his days being pushed around under the boiling hot sun by Vegeta. Trunks was no fool... he knew the older Saiyan could kill him if he wanted to... their strength was about even but Vegeta's mature fighting style had an incredible finesse to it that left absolutely no openings and he was ruthless in a way that Trunks could never be. But that wasn't exactly it...

Trunks had spent so much of his life wondering about his father, everything from if he drank coffee or tea to what was the last thing he thought about before he fell asleep. It was an understatement to say that it had been a shock to meet Vegeta- they had been living all alone together for months and Trunks still knew nothing about him. Vegeta didn't seem to have any desire to connect with other people.

They shared DNA... but they weren't related.

Vegeta had told him time and time again that he wasn't his father, and Trunks finally believed him. Never before had he felt so out of place. He was in the wrong timeline, and the man sleeping next to him wasn't his dad. Sure, he gave Trunks tips on how to fight better but Trunks got the feeling that they weren't for his own benefit. Vegeta pushed him harder than he'd ever gone before, yet barely took the time to wait when Trunks fell behind. Trunks knew that he was just a tool for Vegeta to get more profane strength... and nothing else.

Trunks meekly did what Vegeta said because the older Saiyan would probably win in a fight. But he mostly obeyed because he was scared: scared of what Vegeta would do if he survived Cell, scared of what he was hiding in the dark from everyone.

His trip to the past hadn't been a complete waste of time. Trunks had realized just how lucky they were that his father's life had ended with the androids. For the first time ever, he wanted to go back home.