Usually the difference between planets was less than subtle. On Namek the grass had been blue, the sky green, the frogs purple, and the people more than a little bit different. It was easy to remember that you were on another planet, with the trees circular, and the three suns hovering in the sky. But this planet was too much like earth. The grass was green, and landscapes were similar to his beloved planet. The only thing that was wrong about this planet was the sky was a bright shade of purple rather than a light blue. Sure the twelve or more moons hovered in the sky, visible even in the daylight. But they looked close enough to Earth's moons, that the resemblance left him a little uneasy. He took a deep breath, and tightened his arms, trying to regain his composure. He had been up here for two, almost three years, and he still wasn't entirely comfortable. It was distracting at best, and he didn't like it. Still he supposed he should count himself lucky, he did make it out easiest. Though that was hardly a consolation.

It had been one of the toughest decisions of Gohan's life to leave his mother and brother and take his father off with Piccolo, so that he could train. He knew he had not been strong enough to take on the Saiyans, and there was no way he could have possibly been a help. He would only have been captured and would be no use to anyone. Still, he had protested Goten's decision to stay behind, but Goten had been adamant, swearing he had to protect their mother, and would give the Saiyans a rough time if no one else would. Gohan frowned as his thoughts turned to his brother. He prayed daily that he was all right, and that his mother was safe as well. Still there didn't seem to be much hope. Piccolo tried to console him several times, saying his brother was strong, and would not die very easily. He was right of course. Goten was strong, and more often than not Gohan had been amazed by the strides his little brother took. The same went for Trunks. The two of them were a force to be reckoned with, but the Saiyans had numbers and sheer brute force on their side. They had been no match.

"Your Ki is wavering again, Gohan. I told you to keep it steady."

Gohan looked up to his mentor, and smiled. "I'm sorry, Piccolo, I got caught up in my thoughts."

"You got distracted," Piccolo said, folding his arms. "When you're meditating, you're supposed to be focusing. I want you to be able to control every part of your energy, your life force. If you can do that, we'll be able to move on to the next stage."

Gohan nodded and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, I'll try again."

Piccolo nodded and watched his charge. Gohan had been ready to grab control of his Ki again when a voice from behind spoke up, cheerily. "Don't be so hard on him, Piccolo. It's alright to let your mind wander every once in a while."

Gohan turned around and smiled brightly. "Father!" He stood up. "You're up. How do you feel?"

"Much better, Gohan, thanks." Goku said folding his arms. "I see your training is coming along. I think I might be able to join you soon."

Gohan grinned. "I'd like that, father."

A swift knock to the head brought Gohan's mind back to what he was supposed to be doing. He held his head and looked up at Piccolo who was glaring at him. "You're supposed to be training."

Gohan smiled sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry."

Goku waved his hand and sat down on a rock nearby. "Let him take a break, Piccolo."

"We don't have time for breaks. Or has that disease fried what little brain cells you had left?"

"I know, I know," Goku said, frowning. "But it won't help if all he does is work himself into the ground." He said, looking over at his son. Gohan shook his head.

"It's alright father, I don't mind."

Gohan sat down again, and took a deep breath. He began to seize control of his Ki again, and he continued to breath deeply. He refused to let his mind wander, and he focused only on his breathing and Ki. Normally a warrior's Ki fluctuated like a flame in the wind. Burning upwards, and wavering. Gohan forced himself to envision his Ki, burning around him like a campfire, and he brought it down, to a flicker. It whipped about and wavered a few moments more before coming to a complete calm, steady around him like a soft glow. It pulsed before it was entirely still. The world seemed to stop to Gohan, as he exerted more control over his Ki, over every inch of it, seizing it and making it still. He brought it down deep within himself, lowering it, masking it and forming it into a ball deep within his chest. He took one last deep breath before his body fell completely still. The world around him melted away, and in his mind he felt the full extent of his power. He concentrated in on it, and the orb of energy inside him began to melt and stretch into his body, pushing its way even into his fingers. Then with as suddenly as a shotgun going off, his Ki exploded around him. It rushed heavenwards, and he opened his eyes revealing their transformation to a teal color. His hair whipped upwards by the force of his Ki and the color began to change at the roots. It became light and it spread up to the tips of his hair, changing it entirely to blond.

He heard his father whistle. "Nice going, Gohan!" He said, clapping. "It's almost entirely natural now! You'll be able to make the change much faster soon."

Gohan looked over at his father and smiled, letting his hair change back and drop down. His Ki subsided and he looked up at Piccolo. "How did I do?"

Piccolo looked away, folding his arms. "There's room for improvement."

Gohan smiled, and stood up. "Okay," he said, putting his hands on his hips. "What should I do then?"

"That's enough for today, you should get some rest. I'm going to go see to my own training for a while." He took off, flying away into the sky. Gohan watched him for a few minutes and put his hands on his hips. He looked back at his father.

"You're looking much better, father."

"Thanks. I've had more than enough time to recuperate, and Bulma's antidote really worked wonders," he frowned suddenly and stared at the ground. "I just wish it had worked sooner."

"Things don't always happen when we want them to, father. We just have to do the best we can with what we have."

Goku smiled and put a hand on his hip. "What's this? I leave you with Piccolo for a while and suddenly you become all wise on me?"

Gohan laughed and put a hand behind his head. "More or less."

Goku smiled and sat down again, motioning Gohan to do the same. Gohan sat next to his father and folded his fingers. Goku looked over at him and put a hand on his eldest son's head. "How are you sleeping?"

"Fine."

"You're lying." Goku said, holding a finger up. "I can tell." He leaned back onto his palms. "Nightmares?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I just lay there and worry."

"About Goten and Chichi?"

"And Trunks and Bulma, and all our friends."

"I know. I worry too." Goku looked up at the sky. "But they're all stronger than we give them credit for. I'm sure they're doing fine."

Gohan looked over and frowned at his father. "… Do you ever think we should have told Trunks?"

"About what?"

"You know what."

Goku didn't look away from the sky. "Vegeta?"

Gohan looked away. "Yeah."

"It wasn't for us to tell. That was up to Bulma."

"But he had a right to know that his father was prince of the race who-"

"Vegeta didn't have anything to do with that."

"What do you mean?" Gohan looked over, shocked. "Of course he did! He's the one who-"

"Nope." Goku said, flopping back into the grass, putting his hands behind his head. "We would have been invaded a lot sooner if Vegeta had been the one who ordered it. No, I think he wanted to leave Earth alone." Goku narrowed his eyes. "After all, Vegeta did love her. In his own way."

"He wouldn't have left if he did."

"Vegeta's a complicated guy, I don't think we understand everything," Goku said, sighing. "But, you're right, I think Trunks did have a right to know. And Bulma probably thinks so too, now. But there's nothing we can do, for now. Bulma was hurt, and wanted to forget him. So we respected that. No one thought the Saiyans were going to take over Earth. We'll tell Trunks when we see him again, or let Bulma handle it, depending on what comes first."

"And Goten, we should tell Goten too."

"Right." Goku smiled. "Of course, Trunks would tell him anyways. Those two are practically attached at the hip."

Gohan grinned at the thought and folded his hands over his knees. "Yeah, you're right."

"For now, all we can do is get stronger, and when the time comes we'll go save everyone."

Gohan nodded. That was a strategy he could get behind. He closed his eyes, silently praying for their friends continued safety. He would never forgive himself if something were to happen to his little brother.

It had taken him almost three hours. It had taken him three hours to search the lowest level of the slave's quarters for a grate that would lead him to the sewers. Trunks crouched down next to the grate he had found in what appeared to be a laundry room. He peeked around the corner, to make sure no one would come in and spot him, and he tapped on the grate, and whistled twice. It took a few minutes before a dirty face showed itself. Trunks smiled and waved. "Hello."

"Hiya. What can I do you for?" The slave asked in a heavily accented voice.

Trunks pulled out a small package he had wrapped in his old clothes, and held it out. "Can you make a delivery for me?"

"Where to?"

"The water plant. It shouldn't be too far from here. It's in the same city."

"Ah, yeah, yeah, I know what one your talking about." The slave nodded, putting his hands on his hips. "Who's it for?"

"A boy named Goten."

"Ahh! Goten. Yeah, I know him. He asked for some information a few days ago."

"Really?" Trunks asked, blinking. "On what?"

"A third class named Bardock."

"What for?"

"Dunno, didn't ask. I didn't make the deal anyhow," the boy said, sniffing and rubbing his nose. "Look, you got payment?"

Trunks nodded and grinned. "That I do," he reached around back and pulled out another small package wrapped in brown paper. He slid it through the bars. The slave sniffed it and looked up at Trunks suspiciously.

"What is it?"

"Bread and cheese," Trunks said, folding his arms. "From the royal kitchen itself."

The slave nearly fainted. "Aw, man…" He looked up. "You are officially my new favorite customer." He said, grinning. "For you, if this kid has something to send you, it's on the house."

Trunks nodded. "Much obliged," he said, giving a small half-hearted salute. "I hope we can do business again."

"Me too, man. Come back in two days, I'll let you know if he got it."

"Thanks. I'll be here."

With that, he was gone, and Trunks was left alone in the laundry room. He turned around and left, and shoved his hands into his pockets. He wondered what Goten could possibly be looking for and if he could possibly be any help. He sighed and made his way back to the common room. He would have to see if he could go see Videl today. It was certainly nice, to have someone on his side here. It made him feel much better to know not everyone here couldn't be trusted. He walked back into the common room and was about to head towards the healing room, when he noticed that Videl was already seated at the table laden with food. She looked over and waved him over. "Trunks!"

Trunks grinned and walked over to her. "Videl, what are you doing here?"

"Eating, obviously. Join me," she patted the bench.

Trunks walked over and sat next to her, taking some food off the table. "It's good to see you again, it's been a long day."

"Has it? You look fine."

"No training today, just… work," he smiled. He had liked the training so much more. At least then he could use his muscles, like he had been able to in the fields. He was able to feel like… well a person, rather than a slave, if he was on equal ground with someone. This was just degrading.

"Such is the life of a palace cat, I'm afraid."

Trunks smiled and leaned into the table. "I suppose."

"Palace cat?"

They both looked behind them, and saw Fasha standing there, with her hands on her hips. Both turned bright red and looked back at the table. Videl laughed a little. "Just a joke."

"Hm… He called himself a Harvest Ox and now a Palace Cat?" She asked. "I'm not dumb. What's with the animal names?"

Trunks and Videl exchanged looks. Trunks cleared his throat. "They're just nicknames we use to refer to each other. Working in the fields I was a Harvest Ox, and now being a castle slave, I'm a Palace Cat. The sewer workers are Sewer Rats, water plant workers are Boiler Brats, outdoors slaves are Garden Foxes, and so on and so forth." Trunks waved a hand.

Fasha raised an eyebrow. She nodded at Videl. "So what are you?"

"I'm a Battle Hound."

"Huh," Fasha folded her arms. "Well that's… special."

Trunks smiled a little bit. "They just sort of stuck. "

Fasha shrugged her shoulders and yawned. "Well you cats and dogs need to go to sleep, because I'm not staying up to watch you," she said, turning around. "So go on, shoo."

Videl laughed a little and grabbed a roll of bread. "Yes ma'am," she said, standing up. "If you meet me tomorrow, I'll see you then, Trunks."

Trunks nodded and stood up. "Okay, see you then."

He watched her walk away and then headed towards his own room. He stretched a few times and flopped over onto his cot. He smiled into the pillow and found he was unusually tired, he wondered if he would be able to get an even eight hours of sleep tonight. It would certainly make for a nice change. He curled up, pulling the blanket over himself, and allowed himself to drift. He thought of Goten and he frowned, wondering just who this Bardock was and why Goten wanted information on him. He hoped he was okay, and keeping out of trouble as much as was possible for someone like Goten, but the odds were stacked against him. Goten was a slacker by nature, a good-tempered joker who's spirits were near impossible to crush. Trunks imagined this made him a less than favorable slave. He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling as his eyelids drooped closed. He smiled and let them close all the way, finally drifting off in a fitful sleep. There was no such thing as peaceful dreams when one was a slave on Planet Vegeta.