Hi. Thanks for all the nice feedbacks.

Kalebxdd is still my beta reader. He helped a lot on this chapter. Don't hesitate to take a look at his stories.

Chapter 21.

In the distance, he felt a peak of energy growing up gradually and finally exploding with an incredible power. After that, everything came back to normal all of sudden.

Vegeta kept flying over the landscape, unaffected. He still remembered the map he had studied with care some days ago, so he knew the exact way to his destination. Moreover, if needed, the glare of his son's vivid aura would guide him.

Elijah's home appeared to be a two-storey square building lying in the middle of a deserted piece of land, miles away from the town's outskirts. The asylum's outlines were standing out against the clear sky. Tiny dots of lights could be seen in some windows, but everything was peaceful and motionless. A large road was running up to the place where Gloria was supposed to be locked, but no one seemed to live nearby. Bright shining stars were enlightening the icy night, which allowed the Saiyan to scrutinize the country beneath him. His mind had known that it would be of no good to come here. As usual, his instinct proved to be cruelly right.

Vegeta resumed his flight over Elijah's home and aimed for a quiet hill some miles further. He landed there without a second thought. A few steps away from him, a black form was lying on the ground. He walked closer and looked down at what was left of freaky Gloria by now. Her body was half burnt but her face was untouched and the moon was casting an eerie gleam on the sight.

Rather oddly, his first thought was that she'd been a pretty girl and he'd never noticed that fact. Her silky black hair was framing her oval face and highlighted her perfect pale skin. A trickle of blood was running from her forehead and down her white cheek like a colored tear, while her hazel eyes were wide open and giving the sky a questioning gaze. Like many others she had doubted her death until the very end. Yet, he knew there were no longer any questions, nor feeling inside her heart, only emptiness and coldness.

He could smell the odor of her burnt flesh despite the freezing of the air. It was bothersome and he rubbed his nose to chase away the unpleasant smell that was permeating his nostrils. Then, he locked on to Trunks's silhouette, standing a few feet from him.

The boy was motionless, his hand casually thrusted in his pockets, while contemplating his work and ignoring his father.

"How did it feel?" the Saiyan asked.

The teenager raised his head and looked at Vegeta for the first time. The shadows on his face wouldn't let his father discern his features. "Good. I have to say it feels good. It always does," Trunks answered with a dull voice.

Vegeta nodded and stared back at the young dead girl at his feet. She looked so helpless, she was almost childish as she was lying lifeless in the grass. He wasn't even sure how old she was. Maybe twenty. Twenty-two at best. He thought back about what Bulma had said about young people dying unexpectedly, how terrible she felt about such things. To Vegeta a dead body had always been nothing more than a dead body with no connection to the person it had belonged to. Life was limited in time, even if everyone would rather forget that detail.

He turned his attention back to his son. "How many did you kill before?" Vegeta asked while stepping over former Gloria to join him.

Trunks shrugged and sat down casually on the ground with his legs crossed in front of him. He took a little bag of tobacco out of his pocket and focused on it. "Dunno. This one owed me, though," he mumbled.

Vegeta didn't feel any anger at that reply, the only thing he was feeling was something vivid, unpleasant and unfamiliar to him. He crouched down in front of the boy and realized that Trunks seemed to be quell, not even nervous about his father being there. Maybe he had been waiting for him to find out, he was smart enough to know his acting wouldn't go forever unnoticed by the Saiyan.

"And the others? The others you killed, did they owe you?" Vegeta resumed

Trunks had unfolded a thin rolling paper and he was now smoothing it between two fingers. He glanced at his father and focused back on his work. "I only kill jerks."

"So far," the Saiyan added with a stern voice.

"I know what I do,"

"Or so you think," Vegeta grunted with a hint of irritation," How the hell did you get the idea to start that crap in the first place?"

Trunks grabbed pinches of tobacco and spread them with delicate gestures on the paper that was resting on one of his lap. He paused and looked up at the Saiyan. "You still remember I ran away last year? That was when. We had fussy bastards extorting money and scaring my schoolmates. They'd been doing it for several months and I decided it had to come to an end, cause, I mean, aren't we supposed to be some sort of watchmen on Earth?"

The boy sighed and interrupted himself for a while as if mulling over that statement. He resumed his work by flattening the tobacco in the paper's fold. "I couldn't fight them in public and reveal my strength to everyone, so I decided to track down the guys' leader and take care of him so that the others would get the message. It sounded very exciting in my mind, it was much more than that in the end," he added.

Vegeta rubbed his chin and closed his eyes as his son's explanation became much too familiar to him.

"I didn't intend to run away for a whole week. I thought it would take me a couple hours that night when you were out with Mum, and I had imagined I would be back before your return. Bulla was asleep and I guessed she wouldn't find out I was gone. But things turned out in a very different way."

Trunks paused again. This time, Vegeta had the feeling the boy had a second thought before confessing more. Yet, the Saiyan had to hear it even if he had suspicions what would follow. "You found the guy, you beat him to a pulp and then…"

Trunks raised empty eyes on him. "Yeah, and then… You know what comes next, Dad, don't you? Then, I couldn't stop until he was nothing more than a bloody mess and completely dead."

The teenager was talking with an unaffected voice. He rubbed his forehead and breathed loudly, almost like a sigh, as if he was missing air. Vegeta suspected that he wasn't as unconcerned as he sounded about that story, the Saiyan could picture all the blunt memories of that special night surging back in his son's brain.

"I won't lie," Trunks resumed, "while contemplating what I did, I was scared of it, and how much I wanted to do it. I was sure you would guess everything the instant you would meet my eyes, so I decided not to go back home. I slept in a dingy hotel, trying hard to deny how much I had liked to take this guy's life, but the next morning, the glee and the excitement were still haunting me, I craved to do it again so I made the decision to take care of the whole gang and it took me a whole week"

Vegeta lowered his head in weariness. Trunks's words were like a terrible déjà-vu to him. He could remember that feeling his son called "glee and excitement". Although it was now some distant memory, his whole being still remembered it. "After that, you did it again. That's why you're out so often at night, right?" The Saiyan stated, unable to look up back at his son as he dreaded the answer.

Yet, he received no answer. When he eyed his boy, Trunks was gazing at him with his lips curled in a strange smile tinged with both sorrows and resignation. "Dad, I swear… I never hurt anyone innocent… I… I just wander around the streets and whenever I find some nasty bastards, I…"

"You're hunting," Vegeta cut off.

Trunks pinched his lips and frowned. "I… No… The guys I get… We said we were supposed to protect the Earth. That's what I do… Sort of," he stammered.

"You're hunting," Vegeta repeated matter-of-factly. "What we did to protect the Earth, that was fighting, the force in presence were rather the same. What you are doing is hunting prey that don't stand a chance. You just like the pleasure of killing."

"You can't say that!" Trunks exclaimed, "You were the sadistic one killing harmless people, while enjoying the sight of their deaths, I only get rid of some rats."

"Whatever the excuse, the instinct is very much the same and it might consume you if you don't watch yourself," Vegeta objected knowingly.

Trunks bit his lip but didn't reply. Instead he focused back on his cigarette. He licked the paper and sticked it before packing down the tobacco.

Vegeta stood up very slowly. He felt weary. He had hoped this would never happen, he had tried to forget, he had wanted to believe this couldn't happen because Trunks had such an Earthling life and he was only half Saiyan. Goku and his son had never seemed to face such instinct, so it was nothing fateful. Why Trunks?

The air was crisp and their breaths were turning into faint mists when coming out from their mouths, but it was as if both men were unaffected by the cold temperature. Vegeta heard the click of Trunks's lighter when his son lit his cigarette.

The boy's voice echoed once more. "I wished you told me all this much earlier. I thought you would guess very quickly… But of course you didn't. You never give a damn no matter what it's all about," Trunks grumbled, "I wanted… I wanted to understand that thing in me and that's why I asked you questions about your former life. Because, I have to admit it was fun at first, but then… Then, Becky died…"

"So? What should it change? Or did you kill her too?" Vegeta grunted with a frown.

As a reply to the last question, Trunks merely glared at him while exhaling his cigarette's smoke. "I started considering death in a brand new light from the day she died, that's what it changed. I started questioning myself about killing people so carelessly, even it was all about bastards. Yet, on the other hand, it kept making me so- how did you say that, again? – 'ecstatic'. I tried to stop, I tried hard, but I could only slow down a bit. And even simply slowing down was painful. It made me nervous enough to beat that guy at my party or even to feel like crashing Marron's head in a wall. Anything would make me furious in a blink, it was as if my mind was awaiting the slightest opportunity to kill someone."

The boy lowered his head between his knees and spat some tobacco shreds on the ground. He ran his hand over his face and looked up at his father with puzzled eyes. "See what I did to Gloria? I had been dreaming of it since we picked up the phone to call the police. I cursed Bulla for being there and preventing me from having my way. I spent weeks looking for where they'd sent her and it drove me almost crazy." Distraught and confusion were shining in the teenager's eyes as he mentioned his possible insanity. "It's like it's no longer me inside or is it?" he asked in a pleading tone.

Vegeta craved to tell him, it was always him, it had been him all the time, or at least a part of him, and he would have to deal with it. Yet, the Saiyan felt slight guilt about his son's helplessness because, to say the least, he hadn't prepared the boy that much to face that part of his heritage. Like Trunks had said, Vegeta had never given a damn, it had been much more convenient to have Bulma raising the kids on her own and to believe that, being raised like an Earthling, Trunks would just become a pure Earthling. So, Vegeta decided to keep quiet because it was of no use now to have Trunks more frantic than he already was. The Saiyan rested his palm on his son's shoulder instead. "You have to stop that shit."

Trunks squinted in irritation. "Easier said than done, I already tried. Fuck, whenever I go out downtown I always end up wandering in the bad part of town, hoping to cross some evil badass. I'm not sure I can do it."

"You'll have to, though," Vegeta stated in a demanding tone.

Trunks frowned. "Are you gonna lecture me after everything you told me about your former life? You never care. As long as Mum doesn't suspect anything, why would my way of life matter so much to you, after all? "

"Because of the Jabberwocky."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "The Jabberwocky? Bulla's imaginary friend? What does it have to do with all this?"

Vegeta sighed and scratched his head. "Wanna see the Jabberwocky? Your sister drew him, take a look," he offered while taking the paper out of his pocket.

Trunks grabbed it with disbelief and unfolded it. His eyes widened at the sight. "What the fuck…" He rolled up his sleeve with a nervous gesture and looked down at his tattoo. "Why did she draw my dragon?"

"Because you are her Jabberwocky. It's not an imaginary friend in her head, it's just that dark part of you."

"What's that?" he mumbled.

"Baba told me your sister was hypersensitive and able to connect to some people's minds. When she does, her mind fuses with the other one; when it's a weaker mind, the person gets overtaken by her, but when it's a stronger mind, Bulla is the one perceiving all of her host's feelings and thoughts. What bullshit, huh? But think about it, look at the date."

Trunks did as he was told and frowned. "That's just two days after my runaway, I… I started my tattoo that day…How… How could she know?"

Vegeta sighed at this information that was just enforcing his belief and turned his gaze to the nightly quiet landscape around him. "Your mother told me the first time Bulla mentioned the Jabberwocky was when you ran away and she spent the night alone at home. Bulma thought she'd created an imaginary friend to get some comfort because she had been scared. Yet, in fact… I think she created the Jabberwocky when you killed that guy, because she was connected to you and she reacted just like you did. She couldn't believe it was you killing and liking it. To her it could only be a sort of monster and she had just studied the Jabberwocky at school. That day you became the Jabberwocky in her mind as a way to deny what her beloved brother was becoming."

Vegeta had a bitter smirk, thinking the shrink wasn't far from the truth somehow. Trunks listened to him in bewilderment, the crumpled paper still in his hand. His father looked back at him. "I'm sure that, deep down her mind, she knows it's you, that's why she wouldn't let us see her drawings of the Jabberwocky. She knew about your girlfriend too, who told her about her death anyway? Surely not your Mum, was it you?"

The boy shook his head. "Why would I?" he breathed.

Vegeta shrugged and resumed, "Yet, Bulla knew your friend had died, she knew details about her, like that nose stud she had, she knew about you behaving like an ass, she liked the girl because you did too and she mourned her as if it was her own friend. Now, thinking about it, things became worse when you started struggling. I'm sure it was what triggered her sleepwalking because containing your anger made it even stronger."

Trunks let go of the picture and the paper fell in the grass. He had forgotten about his cigarette between his fingers and it had died out. He ran a hand in his hair in dejection. "I can't believe that," he mumbled.

"She was scared and confused, she wanted to help you defeat that "Jabberwocky", she needed that part of you to go back to the depth of your mind, because it was so intrusive and wild and controlling. The first time when she sleepwalked and we found her with the knife, I'm sure, she was trying to kill him somehow by tearing up the very same arm where your tattoo is. "

"What you say sounds so crazy," Trunks grumbled. His denial wasn't very firm, though. Vegeta crouched down back to his level to catch his attention and looked him right in the eyes.

"Maybe. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but she's a six-year old, her thoughts aren't always very rational. And what about the second time she sleepwalked? God, she crashed the windows, flew off and suppressed her ki to fly up downtown, heading right in your direction. Can you believe that? She suppressed her ki. How could Bulla do such a thing? She could because she was connected to your spirit and to your knowledge, because your fury against that kid at your party was so powerful that it triggered a reaction from her mind. Have you ever felt this connection with her? Even a little bit?"

Trunks blinked. He looked affected and seemed to think about an answer for a while. "Like… Like when you took her in the Gravity Room and turned the Gravity on, and she was panic-stricken and furious? I can't even say why I came to the Gravity Room that day, but I urged to go there. I even felt myself mad at you, I felt like beating you and I needed a good old fight with you after that, I needed to win the game as if I had been the one you had locked in the Gravity Room."

"Yeah, I noticed that, you've become a much better fighter lately, I suppose it's because that side of yourself you had the recklessness to release." Vegeta snorted.

Trunks didn't even smile at that statement. "Jeez, I never wanted Bulla to go through all that shit… I didn't know," he whispered with a sorry voice.

"I never wanted any of you both to go through all that shit," Vegeta retorted while standing up.

He felt strangely empty at that moment. Everything was clear now. No more mystery. Yet the situation seemed even worse than before and he couldn't help but to feel guilty. He walked back to Gloria's lifeless body and watched her for a while.

"And what about her?" Trunks asked all of a sudden.

The Saiyan heard his son getting to his feet and joining him. "Why the hell did that bitch try to kill me?"

Vegeta pursed his lips and looked right into the empty hazel eyes. "I think she was also connected to your sister," he replied after a second thought.

"What?" Trunks exclaimed.

"Not the same way though. Bulla had the upper hand with her. She would have Gloria let her watch forbidden movies or eat the dishes your sister didn't want to finish, that kind of childish crap. Bulla never meant to hurt her. I think the kid was under such strain because of the bond she was sharing with you, that Gloria could feel it by rebound and it drove her crazy, especially when she had to spend several days with Bulla 24 hours a day during your mother's trip, so she decided to get rid of the problem by killing you."

"You mean she wasn't herself when she did it?" Trunks gasped.

Vegeta turned to his son. "Does that make a difference to you? You told me you knew what you were doing."

The teenager took a step backwards. His eyes were wide open in horror. "Man, you're just telling me she tried to kill me because I was unwillingly hurting Bulla, so… Yes, that makes a difference to me," he stammered with a shaky voice.

Vegeta merely nodded. "Then get used to making no difference or quit that habit to give into that excitement of killing. Because if you keep going on, it will become an addiction so strong that you'll end up making no difference who and why you're killing."

Trunks buried his face in his hand and blurted a slight whimper. He fell on his knees, panting and gasping and his father wondered whether he was crying or trying to refrain his urge to scream. Surely enough, he was aching. He was aching from realizing what a monster he could become, a real Jabberwocky just like his sister pictured it. Killing wasn't so cool in the end, it wasn't so fun. Like Vegeta had suspected it, Trunks was much too Earthling to take it all. Trying to 'make a difference' was a typical Earthling's mistake and that's why the Saiyan would never tell anyone how many he had killed himself, he would never tell how he had killed them, nor how much he had enjoyed it. They would only look at him like a monster, denying all of a sudden the fact that monsters didn't truly exist.

He walked closer to his son and rested his hands on his shoulders. He couldn't see his face but he could feel him trembling and hear his muffled sobs. "You have to stop that for Bulla's sake. I'll help you if I can."

Trunks rubbed his face with his forearm and raised his shining face to his father. His eyes were wet and gleaming in the moonlight but he looked determined. "Your mother must never know," Vegeta added with a soft voice.

The boy's gaze slipped down to Gloria. He was mesmerized by the sight and looked like a praying man on a grave as he was kneeling right in front of the dead body, ignoring the icy breeze lifting his hair and the frost soaking his pants.

As Vegeta believed his son was about to break down and cry again, Trunks shook his head slowly. "You're right, Mum must never know, it would surely kill her," he whispered.

Then, he turned back to his father and the Saiyan was surprised to see a calm and determined expression on the boy's face. "It's time to let the Jabberwocky die, I'll defeat that monster in me. With your support, I know I can do it."

ooo0ooooo0ooo

Next chapter will be the epilogue of this story.