Nightmares

Chapter 8

Two Weeks Later

Bulma had returned to her invention, Gohan was back up and walking, and Trunks was training harder then ever. Thanks to the speedy healing properties of the Senzu bean, Gohan made a swift recovery. However strong the power of the magical bean was, sadly it could not restore Gohan's severed limb. Bulma had talked to him and even volunteered making a prosthetic for him, however Gohan sternly refused; saying something about it just slowing him down. Bulma had let it go, taking the time to work harder on her time machine.

Ever since the last incident with the androids and his small talk with his mother, Trunks began a long and hard road of training. Not only with Gohan, but when he would return home he would do nothing but practice and try to grow stronger. Bulma had caught him many times through the early hours of the morning doing some almost humanly impossible training exercises. She at first began to worry and had asked Gohan about the strange new development. He had told her that for the past two weeks he had been training with him with much more extreme exersices per his request but not to worry since Trunks was just determined about achieving his goal.

It at first concerned her to believe that her young son was pushing himself so hard to fight against the very beings that destroyed everything that mattered to her. She would be lying if she said that she didn't fear for his well-being, but just one look into his eyes while he was training, she saw such passion, such fervor in his each move and technique, she knew that she couldn't deny him what he was set to do.

It amazed her how determined he looked when he was training, she felt a sharp jab in her chest when she realized what a resemblance watching Trunks practice compared to his father, who was also completely absorbed and indomitable with his training as well. He was always so determined to reach his goal, something about reaching "The Legendary." It broke her heart to realize that his life's dream, the very thing he tried to achieve every single day of his life, was crushed the day the androids came and robbed him of the rite of ever reaching his goal.

That was truly why she didn't - couldn't keep Trunks from doing what he wanted to do. She couldn't deny her son the opportunity to reaching his goal. It wasn't in her heart to keep his goal from him knowing his father didn't have a chance to achieve one of his own. But Bulma tried to looked on the bright side of things. Now that Trunks was spending so much time with his training, that left her with even more time to work on her time machine; now that she didn't have him to constantly interrupt her.

Trunks had spent every spare second he could training. Ever since he found out that he had enough power to take on the androids, he worked himself harder, trying to one day be able to achieve that power. The day he transformed, he felt such power and it made him feel unstoppable. If he could only reach that level again, if he could attain that amount of power and master it, he knew he could destroy them. That little bit of information was enough to push Trunks further, that small spec of hope that seemed unreachable was almost in his grasp.

He never told his mother about the transformation he reached while facing against the androids. He didn't understand why, but he didn't think it was the best idea. Gohan had reached that level and so did Gohan's his father. When Trunks asked if his own father reached such extraordinary powers, he was crushed to hear that he hadn't. It confused him how such a powerful man like his father could not attain the power in all his lifetime of hard work, and that he could in just a few short years and a massive anger outburst. Gohan however told him that it was easier for them to attain it because they were of mixed human blood and their strength depended more heavily on their emotions.

Whatever that meant.

However, Gohan refrained from mentioning anything more about his father. He told him that it was not his place to tell him and if he wanted information about who he was and where he came from he would need to consult his mother. Yeah right, he had about as much chance getting his mother to talk about his father like a snowball's chance of surviving in hell.

So with a sigh, he had dropped the thought for the time being, letting the hope-filled thoughts of a better tomorrow could be built enter his mind. He stood up after he finished his one finger push ups and wiped the sweat from his brow. His choppy lavender bangs matted to his forehead from perspiration and he took the time to take a rest.

It had been a long night of exercising, or, judging on how much light entered the chambers, a good portion of the morning too. He knew his mother was going to be pissed when she found out that he spent another whole night training again. Lately she had made him swear to get some rest in between his workouts and he kept that promise to an extent. Sometimes if he would lose track of time like he had this night, he would take the time to sleep through the day, that was until Gohan arrived and he would resume his training with him and the routine would continue.

Trunks took a deep breath once again and trotted over to the nearby chair in the corner of the training room. He collapsed in it with a plunk and scanned the room he had started training in for the past week now. It was odd. Right after he told his mother about his new resolution, she had asked him to meet her in the Capsule 3 space craft out back. He was at first surprised to hear such a request, seeing as he had only ever known what the inside was like when he accidentally walked in on his mother's breakdown three years ago.

He was even more shocked when she had told him that she wanted him to use it to train. After showing him a few of the commands, he was impressed to realize that there was a gravity simulator programmed inside; a perfect feature for training. He was happy to accept such a kind offer; he knew instinctually that this room meant an awful lot to his mother- even though she would never tell him why- and too have him use it when she let no one touch it truly touched his heart. He was pleased to know that his mother supported him on his decision to train and fight rather then forbid it and keeping him away from it like most mothers would.

He lounged back into the chair and stretched mightily, earning a crack from his overworked bones. With a yawn, Trunks found himself in serious need of rest and that the objectionable wooden chair he sat in now would do little for satisfying that necessity. So, without wasting any time, Trunks rose himself and headed to the door.

"Computer, shut down." He announced to the echoing chambers.

"Commencing shutdown sequence. Gravity returning to standard Earth setting. Have a nice rest Vegeta."

The humming of the gravity room died out and the lights quickly faded. The room was left half lit by the early light of dusk passing through the windows. Trunks ignored the computerized voice as it once again labeled him by someone else's name. It seemed that his mother forgot to reprogram the system to his name. It didn't bother him, in fact, it made him quite curious as to who the ship belonged to first. That name… he had heard his mother sometimes call him that when she was yelling at him. At first he believed that maybe it was his middle name but now he wasn't so sure. He shrugged it off and left the gravity room, slamming and locking the door behind him and trotted to the house.

When he made it to the back door he quickly typed in the code and scooted inside when it permitted him entry. The first thing he noticed was that none of the lights were on. Good. Hopefully that meant his mother was still asleep. He crept through the kitchen and was about to make it to the steps when a strong scent suddenly wafted in his face, almost making him his sneeze. The thick smell of nicotine filled the room, his evidence that his mother was awake. A familiar raspy cough was his second clue and he spotted movement from the living room. He snuck to the doorpost, effectively hiding himself behind the frame, and peered in.

He spotted his mother's head, lavender mass of scraggily unkempt hair, lounging back into her favorite comforter, phone cradled to her ear and a cigarette held between her index and middle finger. She seemed to be in a very private conversation and had yet to notice his presence. Trunks cursed to himself and tried with all his power to come up with some way to sneak past his mother without her noticing him. To get to the stairs he would need to pass through the living room. It might seem easy to some, considering his speed, but he knew his mother was not to be underestimated. She had eyes in the back of her head. She always knew when he was sneaking about, even if he was faster then her. While thinking over escape routes, he inadvertently over heard her conversation over the phone.

"I just don't know what to do anymore." He heard his mother tell the person over the phone. "He has been training so hard for the past couple weeks, and while I am proud of him, I just can't seemed to get him to take a break. He has been so involved with his training. I can't even get him to talk to me about it any more. He spends all his time in the gravity room; it's as if he's acting just like... just like…"

Trunks brows furrowed as he listed to his mother talk. Why would she be talking about him? Or more importantly, WHO was she talking to? His mother never talked to anyone, especially over the phone. She was always to herself and sometimes him. Always alone, she was always alone.

His mother was quiet for the next few moments, as if unable to finish her sentence. He could faintly hear a muffled voice over the receiving end of the phone, yet he was unable to hear what they were saying. Whatever it was however, it seemed to calm his mother down and she sighed and pulled some hair from her face.

"Yeah I know Chi-Chi, he isn't him, but sometimes its just so hard to ignore the similarities." His mother said. "You should see the way he looks during his training, I swear to god if he wasn't his son…"

From what his mother had just said she was talking to someone named Chi-Chi. He wasn't sure, but if his memory served him correctly; that was the name of Gohan's mother. But then that made him more confused, didn't Gohan tell him that his mother had stopped talking after his father died? He knew that it was a very sensitive subject to Gohan. In fact, he remembered the first time he asked Gohan about his mother. He blew up on him in a fit of rage and went way harder on him then usual in their daily sparring. Lest to say he came home with quite a few more bruises and fractured bones then usual.

Bulma sat across the lounge chair. In one hand she rested her cigarette and in the other rested phone. It had been along time since she had talked to anyone about her problems, even less to those who understood what she was going through.

Chi-Chi had become somewhat of a close acquaintance to Bulma over the years. They never were close to begin with, in the beginning Bulma only saw her as the 'woman who married her best friend', nothing more then that. But things changed after the androids came. Gohan had never mentioned his mother after the death of Son, so she was surprised to have gotten a phone call two years after the androids came from the raven-haired woman asking if what Gohan said was true and that she had a son.

Since then they had kept in contact with each other to a minuscule extent. Never had they ever seen face to face since Goku's funeral. For some reason however, Chi-Chi had requested that she kept her speaking patterns a secret from Gohan. For some reason she didn't want her son to know that she was still talking, Bulma didn't agree with the reason, but respected her wishes and remained silent.

"Bulma I may not have particularly cared for Trunks' father and I may not ever fathom what convinced you to have a child with him, but Trunks has a right to know about his father." Chi-Chi's soft voice said. Even though she spoke Bulma could always feel the deep burden of sorrow in her voice that never lifted since Goku's death.

Bulma's heart suddenly pounded heavy.

"I don't know if now would be a good time for that. I don't think he's ready to hear that."

"No Bulma. You don't think YOU'RE ready to hear it." Chi-Chi corrected.

Bulma sighed and dragged her hair back, pulling her cigarette to her lips and inhaling sharply.

"Listen Bulma." The woman continued before she had the time to counter. "You may not want to believe me when I say this, but you are afraid to tell Trunks about his father."

"Afraid?!" Bulma snarled. If it was one thing about Bulma she did not like it was to be told she was scared or weak.

"Yes Bulma." Chi-Chi answered calmly, contrary to Bulma's now shrieking tone. "You are afraid to relive what happened when the androids came. I know for a fact that it wasn't the easiest of times for you, for anyone. However, Trunks has a right to know about his father, about who he was and WHAT he was. Whether you want to believe it or not Trunks has his father's blood flowing through his veins. You need to bite back your own fear and just tell him." She said quietly. "He needs to know."

Bulma growled and jumped up from her seat angrily, causing Trunks to jump and recoil farther behind the door post.

"He'll know when he's good and ready!" She yelled over the phone. "How dare you tell me what is good for my own son! How can you say that I am afraid to tell him such things?"

"He has to know sooner or later. The sooner the better and you know it. What little knowledge he does know about what he is was from my Gohan. Right now he is confused and hurt and he needs you."

"I am giving him all the support I can dammit!" Bulma shouted in rage. "I've been trying help him as much as I can. He needs all the support he can get!"

"What he needs is guidance." Chi-Chi said softly. "Clarification. How else is he going to be able understand anything about himself? There are so many things he needs to know that are holding him back –"

"I will tell Trunks when he's ready! He's too young to have to worry about such a burden! This isn't a light subject Chi-Chi! He wouldn't be able to sustain such information, I can't have him knowing what happened to everyone when they came!"

"You're in denial from what happened Bulma."

"Bullshit!" Bulma screamed. Her anger had reached beyond limit. Her face turned red and her eyes sparkled with fury. "You're the one in denial Chi-Chi!"

It got quiet on the other end of the phone.

"You haven't spoken a word since Son died and when you eventually came around to it you didn't even want your own son to know about it! So tell me, who's really in denial?"

There was silence followed by a solemn click of the line disconnecting. Bulma clutched the phone tightly in her hand as she heard this. After growling she pulled it down from her ear and stared down at the receiver.

"Damn it." She grumbled. "I'm sorry Chi-Chi."

She felt like a fool now. She didn't mean to get so upset. To make things worse, she had inadvertently hit on a subject she knew was very unstable to Chi-Chi. She hadn't meant to go that far. Cursing one more time at her own idiocy, Bulma flung the cordless phone carelessly back on the couch and headed for the kitchen for a much needed cup of coffee.

Trunks' heart raced as he watched his mother head in his direction. His mind buzzed with escape routes as well as plausible excuses in case he was caught. To his relief his mother walked right passed him not noticing him against the opposite wall at all and continued to drag her feet to the kitchen.

'She must rely be out of it.' He thought to himself. Never had he gone unnoticed by his mother like that. It made him worried. His mind was still focusing on her "conversation" she had on the phone. His mother wanted to tell him something? About what? It was all very unclear to him. Why was it so hard to just tell him about something? Surely he could handle whatever she could tell him, he just survived through a battle with the androids, the most vicious creatures on earth! For sure he could manage a few vowels and syllables.

His mother looked different however. When she was on the phone, her face went pale and she immediately began to scream at the other person. He knew whenever his mother revealed even the smallest form of weakness she hid it behind anger and yelling. She was scared, whatever she wanted to tell him scared her. That made Trunks feel unnerving. There wasn't much that scared his mother, she had come face to face with death and despair and never once flinched, but a few words could?

He didn't like it. It didn't feel right. If whatever his mother wanted to tell him was so terrifying, he didn't know if he really wanted to hear it. Was something that bad? What could be worse then the androids? Trunks couldn't fathom, and right at that moment, he didn't think he wanted to. Now that his mother was in the kitchen and the living room was cleared, the only thing he was concerning over was getting upstairs and taking a long rest.