Bulma became extremely excited when she saw the Capsule Corp. building come into view. If it weren't for Trunks in her arms, she would have been yelling and flailing her limbs in joy. It felt like she hadn't been home in days, and she knew Trunks was in great need of a nap. Honestly, she felt that she could go for one herself. Sleep sounded nice, because it had been hard to come by for her after Vegeta left for space.
"Look, Bulma. There's your mom!" Gohan announced. Sure enough, her mother was outside, lounging in the front yard. When she noticed them flying down to land, she began waving frantically.
"Welcome home! Hi there!" She called, a big grin on her face.
"Hi, Mom!" Bulma laughed, as Gohan landed. She jumped off of Yajirobe before Gohan even hit the ground, running toward her mother.
"Ahh, look at you all!" Mrs. Briefs cooed. "Gohan, you sure have grown into a big boy!" She walked over to Bulma and Trunks, acknowledging her grandson, who became thrilled to see his grandmother. Mrs. Briefs giggled before looking back at Gohan. "You look bigger everytime I see you. Why don't you make yourself at home, I'll get some of those cakes and cookies you like so much. Come on, don't be shy now!"
"No, wait!" Gohan said, looking at her.
"It's no trouble, Dear! Just relax." Mrs. Briefs assured.
"But I want to go see my father now." The little Saiyan explained, his voice strained.
"No way! Cake and cookies first! Then we go." Yajirobe argued.
"Ugh..No.. I'm sorry!" Gohan took off into the sky.
"Oh, wait Gohan! Come back!" Her mother called into the sky.
"He's long gone, Mom." Bulma said surely.
"Oh.. Was it something I said?" Mrs. Briefs asked.
"Bye bye, Gohan!" Bulma chirped, looking at the sky.
"Bye bye." Trunks managed to repeat through his baby blabber.
"That's right, baby boy! Gohan has been waiting to see his dad, it's about time he got to. Goku is really sick, Mom. Really sick." Bulma explained worriedly.
"Sick? What's wrong with him?" She asked, looking at her daughter.
"Some kind of virus. But they have an antidote for it, some kind of cure." Bulma replied. "He's going to be okay, I just know it."
"Oh, no.." Mrs. Briefs shook her head.
"Mom, Trunks is tired, and in need of changing. I'm going to get him all fixed up, okay?" Bulma didn't wait for her mother's response, as she headed inside the house. Once to Trunks' room, she laid him in his baby bed, and began stripping him down. "You need a bath, little guy! And not a river bath, either!"
She giggled as Trunks cooed and babbled away. Lifting her baby boy up, she gave him a smile, before walking down the hall, and into the bathroom. Holding him with one arm, she used her free hand to re-position his baby tub, and began running warm bath water. Trunks began smiling and babbling crazily, and she knew he was excited for bath time. Taking off his makeshift diaper, sat him in the baby tub.
"Oh, you're so happy, aren't you boy? My sweet baby! You just love bath time, don't you?" Bulma laughed when he splashed around happily. He stopped suddenly, when she turned the water off, his face changing dramatically. His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked just like his daddy. He looked just like Vegeta. "You look too much like Daddy! Give me a smile." Bulma stuck her tongue out at him, and he giggled.
"That's more like it!" She forced a smile, but her mind was wandering. To that damn Saiyan monkey she loved so much. Where are you? Did you stop Doctor Gero? Please be careful, Vegeta. I need you.
"Tell me, Vegeta. What's it like to know this kind of pain?" The android's voice was piercing his brain, making his blood boil. "To work so hard... To work so hard.." Vegeta felt his anger seething like a thick fog through the air, and allowed it to take him over. The transformation to super Saiyan had become nothing difficult to him now, and he felt the energy rising through his body. His senses flooded with his own power, and he felt hate flowing through his veins.
The rain pelted down on him heavily, and though the mountains were quiet with the sound of rain, he was uncomfortable. Dark clouds loomed overhead, rain falling in sheets. Vegeta could only see and hear that damn android. How she mocked him, as if he were pathetic. How she looked at him like he was a toy she felt no need to play with. How she had broken his arm so easily...
"AGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" He let it all go, all of the anger inside of him, he focused on it flowing into his energy. Making him more powerful than before. "AGGGGHHHHHHHHH! AGGHHHHHHH!" The dark clouds overhead parted in a circle around him. Feeling the sun on his face, Vegeta calmed, the warmth reminding him of Bulma.
Don't. Just... Don't! It's not the time or place to be thinking of her. Or the little brat. Focus... The Saiyan looked up at the sky, the clouds still open in a circle around him. It wasn't taking much, his power was off the charts. But obviously off the charts hadn't been enough. He had to get stronger, more disciplined. And he had to do it quick. Redemption was on his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to turn 18 into a heap of metal rubble.
"No, the super Saiyans of legend were an invincible warrior race. I am their son, and at long last, I have risen to claim my birth right. I have stepped into the ranks of greatness! All my life, I have worked for this goal! And for what? To be brushed aside as easily as a common house fly by an android?! A true super Saiyan would not have fallen.. Maybe I'm not who I think I am.. Perhaps there are still new platues for me to reach. Far greater heights to which I must ascend... Yes, I will ascend. The universe will marvel to see the ultimate Saiyan potential, once again, realized. And I will be...legendary. And then, Kakarrot, then I will see you bow before your prince." Vegeta smirked at the thought, powering up even more.
Yes, it was time to reach his full potential. And find those androids. Find them and show them all what a true super Saiyan was really capable of.
"How strange..." Mr. Briefs entered the room, motioning for Bulma to follow him.
"Mom, can you rock him or something? Dad needs me." Bulma looked at Trunks. "Mister Cranky, here, needs a nap! Yes, you do!" She kissed her son on the cheek, before handing him over to her mother. "What's up, Dad?" She asked, upon entering the lab.
"Listen to this." Mr. Briefs said quietly. He pressed the hold button on the phone. "Sir, can you repeat that information and give me as much detail as possible?"
"Yea, sure thing. Well, I was outside. Just walking along, you know. I saw this weird looking vehicle, so I decided to check it out. It's all dirty and old looking. Kinda grungy, but it's one of yours. I need to get inside and I wanna fly it! So, how am I supposed to fly this thing?" The man asked.
"One of ours?" Bulma was now sitting at the desk, her face directly over the phone speaker. "This is Bulma Briefs speaking. How do you know the vehicle is one of ours, and where is your location?"
"I'm out by the old Banjinkens Farm. West. And I know it's one of yours, 'cause it's got the Capsule Corporation logo on it. I saw it through the moss and dirt." The stranger explained, and Bulma looked at her father confused.
"Well.. Uh, can you send a picture of it to our fax?" She asked. "Once I see it, I'll be able to tell you more about it."
"Oh, okay." The man was quiet as Bulma gave him the fax information. She could hear him taking a picture. "I'm about to send it. Give me just a minute... Okay. Just sent it through."
"Great!" Bulma waited a few seconds, and her fax machine beeped. A piece of paper popped out, and Bulma reached over, grabbing the picture. "All right, I got it. Just let me ta-" When she saw the machine in the picture she stopped speaking immediately.
Though overgrown with moss and weeds, she knew exactly what it was when she saw it. It was Trunks' time machine. Same shape, same glass dome top. The glass was cracked, but it was still the same top that she remembered seeing on Trunks' time capsule. Patches of yellow could be seen under all of the moss and dirt. It was definitely her sons time capsule. She just knew it. It had to be, it looked just like it!
"Ms. Briefs? Ms. Briefs?! Hello?!" The man was babbling on and on from the other side of the phone, trying to get her attention.
"Sorry, look, that's one of our vehicles. Don't touch it, leave it be. We need it back, it's been missing for a long time. It was, uh.. Stolen." Bulma lied, but she had to get the man to leave it alone.
"But, but.. I found it! I want to keep it and fly it! That's the whole reason I called!" He argued.
"Oh, yeah? Well I'm sure you don't want to be caught with Capsule Corporation stolen property, now do you?" Bulma growled.
"Uh, well.. Uh, no!" He stammered.
"Great! Then leave it be, huh? Thanks for calling it in. I'll be out there to check it out within the next hour or so." She hung up the phone, rolling her eyes. Keep it, my ass! She thought, standing from the desk. Walking into the other room, she saw Trunks asleep in his crib. "My sleepy baby..." She whispered, watching him sleep.
Suddenly, the phone rang throughout the house, and Bulma ran over to the desk in the middle of the room. The last thing she needed was the phone ringing to wake Trunks up! He had already had a big day, and he needed a nap. If he woke up now, he'd just be ill for the rest of the day, and when he was cranky... Well, his father was Vegeta, after all. You could guess the attitude his son had when angered or bothered. Even as a baby.
"Hello? Bulma Briefs speaking." Bulma said lightly, glancing over at the crib. Trunks was still sleeping soundly.
"Ms. Briefs, you have a call from a Krillin on li-" Before the desk receptionist could continue, Bulma picked up quickly, worry flooding through her.
"Krillin! What's wrong? Is everyone all right? Talk to me! I've been so worried, where are you calling from? I've tried calling Gohan at his house, but there's no answer. It just rings and rings! By the way, is my son there? I-I mean, Trunks. You know, the one from the future?" She asked hurriedly.
"Huh, uh yea. He's sitting right behind me." Krillin replied. A rush of relief flooded through her.
"He is?! Well then, put him on the line!" Bulma said excitedly.
"He can hear you on the speaker, so go ahead and say whatever you need to say, Bulma." Krillin said surely.
"Well, tell him we received a call today from this guy who lives out in the middle of the country. Somewhere to the west of here. He claims he found some sort of weird, old abandoned vehicle and he wants to keep it. But he doesn't know how to fly the thing so he phoned us and asked us if we knew." Bulma explained.
"Yea, go..on." Krillin sounded confused.
"He tried to explain what kind of vehicle it was, but he didn't make any sense. Well, we didn't know for sure if it was one of our products or not, but he swore to me it had 'Capsule Corporation' written right across it. So we asked him to send us a picture of it." Bulma looked at the picture that was faxed in to them. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! It was a picture of the time machine Trunks came in! And I've got some bad news for you, it was a wreck!"
"Huh? But, but.. That can't be true!" She heard Trunks' voice. "Here, look! I put it up. I put it back into its capsule when I landed!"
"He says the time machine is right here." Krillin mumbled.
"Seriously?" Bulma was confused, staring at the picture. "But then... The time capsule in the picture, it's the same, but I guess it does look like it's been sitting there for a while. It's almost completely overgrown with moss and stuff. So, exactly how many time machines did we make in the future?"
"H-How many? Well, we barely managed to make one." Trunks said, his voice confused and worried.
"What? That's strange. I'm sure this is a time machine in the picture.. I wanna make sure. Hang on, I'll just send you a copy of the photo through the fax. Trunks, I want you to take a good look at it." Bulma copied the picture quickly, then shoved the original into the fax machine.
"Here, check it out." She heard Krillin say, after a few beeps alerting a fax coming through.
"Huh... That's my capsule. There's no mistaking it, guys, that's the one I came back in. Wait a second.. What's going on, here?" Trunks' voice was worried and lined with anger. You sound like Vegeta.. Bulma thought, as she tried to shake Vegeta from her mind. Focus, Bulma. We have a bigger problem at hand.. But.. Where is he? "I'm sure that this is the same time capsule I used to come here from the future. This is so weird.. Krillin, ask her if she knows where this is." Trunks' voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hey, Bulma, listen. This capsule, where did you say it was?" Krillin asked.
"Hm, well I'm not sure exactly. But it looks like it's somewhere out in the West 10-50 area. You going?" She asked eagerly, speaking more to Trunks than anyone else.
"Yes, I've got to check this out." Trunks replied, his voice filled with determination.
"All right, then. I'm going too, I'll meet you there." Bulma said surely.
"But...do you think that's safe?" Trunks asked worriedly.
"Trunks, remember. Mother always knows best." She was smiling at her words, anxious to see her son. "I'll see you soon, boy!" Bulma didn't even think about what she had said as she hung up, and jumped up from where she sat. She began searching the house for her mother, and found her talking to her two lovebirds. "Hey, Mom? I'm going to go out for a while, can you watch Trunks for me?"
"Well, I guess so. Where you goin' sweetie?" Mrs. Briefs asked with a slight smile.
"No where really, I just got to go meet with Trunks!" Bulma chirped excitedly, and then she was already gone down the hall. Stopping inside the room she had just left, she walked over to Trunks' crib. "See you soon, boy." She whispered, leaning down to kiss her baby on the head.
Then she was out the door and throwing a capsule. It was time to figure out this time machine business. And seeing Trunks would make her feel better. She just needed to see him in the flesh, be able to reach out and make sure he was really there. That he was really okay... Let's go! Bulma jumped into the hovercraft, and was off in a flash to meet her son.
I am so sorry for the long update wait. It's been a struggle to get strong internet to watch DBZ online. But I'm workin through it !
The best thing about this time in the story, is that Vegeta and Bulma are apart a lot. So that gives me room to pull all the emotional tugs outta the hat ! I love showing Bulma's worry for Vegeta and future Trunks. She gained that emotional attachment with future Trunks as soon as she realized who he was when he saved her and baby him.
And with Vegeta, I'm going to be pulling his emotions every which way. I love writing him as bi polar as possible in his head. He wants to care, but he refuses at times. And it's really challenging to write him, but I love that challenge in showing things that he slips out. Stuff that DBZ didn't show us, the things they left us to guess about.
Future Trunks changed more than he realizes when he came to warn Goku about the androids. In his time, Bulma mentions that Vegeta never once told her he cared about her, but she knew he did. Well in this story (and in the show) they showed that he did. They allowed him to show that he cared, and I'm bringing it out of him even more.
Of course I like to show the emotional connections/attachments of Vegeta/future Trunks and Bulma/future Trunks. He is, after all, their son.
And as always, I would love to give a HUGE FREAKIN SHOUT OUT to all my awesome, amazing, lovely readers. You guys have really been sticking it out with me, as I make yall wait FOREVER for a chapter (which I apologize so deeply for that !) and yall still wait so patiently ! This story would be nothing without the readers. So, once again, thank you for every READ/REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW, even for taking the time to click on this story ! THANK YOU ALL !
~Kaila G.