29- One in the Same

"How are you feeling?" MT asked LP.

Bulma had taken them to a guest room and had given them their privacy. Even though it had been just a few hours since they had traveled to this other timeline, it felt like days. Maybe it was because so much had been said between everyone.

LP had told the group her story, and then MT had told the story of how he defeated the Androids and Cell of his timeline to Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan. Afterward, he had been told the story of the nasty Buu, the fusions between Trunks and Goten and Goku and Vegeta. He had also heard a bit of the Grand Tour when Trunks, Pan, and Goku had been sent out into space to find Black Star Dragon Balls.

"I'm tired," LP said quietly. "And I feel nauseous. I'm terrified that I'm going to let everyone down."

"Angel," MT ran his hands through her hair gently. It was still damp from the shower they had taken to relax. "You are so much stronger than you realize. And you're not alone. I'm not going to leave you," he promised.

LP smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "I know," she said. "Pan said Kesai would be here tomorrow to speak with me. Hopefully, she'll be able to help me out some. Shall we go back downstairs with everyone?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm kinda hungry," she admitted.

MT nodded, and he held her hand as they walked down towards the kitchen and dining room. Pizza was laid out across the table. There had to have been at least fifty boxes of them, but knowing the size of Goku and Vegeta's stomach, MT wasn't surprised.

LP grinned and grabbed a box for herself. MT was about to follow her when he spotted Trunks waving him over. It was strange for him to see his counterpart look the same age as him, especially since the last time he had seen him, he had been just a baby.

"C'mon, Panna!" MT could hear Trunks saying as he neared. "You saw how cool he looked with it! I would look just as cool!"

"Cool or not, you're not getting a sword, Trunks, and neither is our son," Pan said determinedly.

Trunks gave MT a look that said, 'can you believe this?' He let out a heavy sigh. "Where is your sword?"

"In the guest room," MT said.

"I bet a sword like that comes in handy, though," Trunks said with a knowing nod.

"Yeah. It comes in real handy, especially when it comes to cutting off an Android's head," he said as Seventeen walked by.

Seventeen's eyes widened before he quickly picked up his pace. Trunks was wheezing.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves," Pan said.

"We're not," MT said at the same time as Trunks.

"Listen," MT began, "after everything he and Eighteen put me through in my timeline, I deserve a little revenge."

"Mom told me a bit about it," Trunks said, his voice growing soft. "It must have been really rough. I'm glad you were able to bring peace back to your timeline. And thanks, you know, for saving our timeline all those years ago by warning us."

"And for saving my Papa," Pan added with a smile.

"I'm glad I could help," MT smiled softly. "And I'm glad your timeline has stayed safe - well, for the most part. Axel can eat shit."

Trunks gasped and placed his hands on either side of Pan's stomach. "Not in front of the baby!"

MT's eyes widened in horror.

"He's messing with you!" Pan said as she swatted Trunks' arms away. "You say much worse!" She pointed a finger at Trunks, who was smirking. "You even sing him the Vegeta lullaby. This poor kid."

"It's a classic!" Trunks defended.

"The Vegeta lullaby?" MT raised an eyebrow. Was there a lullaby made about his father? He couldn't imagine it would be soothing.

"That's right. You've never heard it," Trunks gasped. "Wait right here!" He said before he disappeared.

Pan let out a small snort as she watched him run out of the room. She turned back to MT and smiled softly. She was beautiful, but that was no surprise for MT since she was like his Pan, just different. Her hair was longer than his Pan's, and there was the fact that she was pregnant.

Admittedly, seeing Pan pregnant had caused MT's heart to race. He imagined what LP would look like with a little bump, and it caused him to grow warm.

"Thank you," Pan said.

"Huh?" MT blinked at her in confusion. "For what?" He asked, honestly clueless.

"For taking care of LP," she said. "I'm so glad that you were the one I sent her to."

"I'm the one that should be thanking you," he said. "You sent her to me."

"What the hell do you want?"

MT turned to see Trunks dragging Vegeta towards them. He stopped and motioned towards MT.

"He's never heard your lullaby. You need to sing it to him," Trunks said.

"What the hell are you talking about? I never sang any damn lullaby," Vegeta denied.

"You sit on a throne of lies," Trunks retorted. "You used to sing it to me every night when Mom made you tuck me into bed!"

"Trunks sings it to the baby all the time," Pan added. "You two should duet it," she snickered.

"Wait!" Bulla squeezed herself between Trunks and MT. "Are you singing your lullaby?" She asked Vegeta. "I've never heard it, and that's not fair!"

"Vegeta has a lullaby?" LP asked as she walked up to MT and handed him a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Apparently," he nodded.

"Awe, I've never heard it, either," Bulma said, now joining the group as well.

"C'mon, Dad!" Trunks said.

Vegeta let out a loud growl, "Dammit, I used to kill people!" He reminded them.

"Sorry, Honey, but it's hard to take you seriously while wearing that cardigan sweater," Bulma commented.

The sweater, which was black and buttoned up fit Vegeta snugly as he huffed and crossed his arms. MT found it hard to believe that this was the same Vegeta he had known all those years ago. He really had changed.

"I hate you all!" Vegeta declared with a growl.

"You can't watch my kid if you hate me," Pan said.

"I hate you all but Pan and the baby!" Vegeta corrected.

"We love you too, Dad," Trunks grinned. "We love you too."

"I'm so sorry," Kesai frowned deeply. "For everything that happened to you."

"It's not your fault," LP told her gently. "Axel acted all on his own. He killed you too in my timeline."

Pan sipped on her hot chocolate as she sat at the table with Kesai and LP on the deck behind Brief Manor. Everyone but them was busy either training or keeping themselves busy some other way. Nerves were growing. Axel would be there tomorrow - on her birthday.

"I knew something was wrong with him, though," Kesai said. "I've known it since he was a little boy. He was always so twisted. The Axel in this timeline is gone," she sighed. "At least we don't have to worry about him, but from what I've gathered, the one coming is very dangerous."

LP nodded her head in agreement. "Do you know anything that can take someone's magic away from them? If there's a way for us to take it from him, then he'll be harmless."

Kesai furrowed her brows, "I'm not sure. When our clan first inherited this power, there were ways for us to call upon the stars. To do so would require four enchanters, though, one representing each element. Pan here is earth, and I do not have an element that has called upon me," she frowned. "Neither has Chi-Chi, Gohan, or Goten. Little Tsu is too young."

"So then what can we do?" Pan asked with a frown. "Can we get the Dragon Balls and wish his power away that way?"

"It won't work," LP mumbled. "The Dragon Balls only grant wishes within their power. Axel became stronger than them once he got his magic."

"I'm going to suggest that you meditate," Kesai said softly as she looked at LP. "I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but you were with him for years. Call upon your memories of him, and I'm sure you'll find a weakness somewhere."

Pan let out a heavy sigh as she looked at LP. The girl looked like she was fighting a battle already.

Trunks' body ached as he fell on the grass beside LP. He had been training for most of the day with the others. LP gave him a look.

"You look tired," she said.

"So do you," he said back. She had dark circles under her eyes. She had been sitting in the same spot for the last three hours. MT had been sitting with her, but he had gotten up to shower. "I guess meditating isn't going well?"

LP made a face, and she sighed as she bowed her head. "No," she muttered sourly.

There were a lot of things Trunks wanted to tell LP, but he didn't. She had been told sorry by Goku and Chi-Chi, Pan, and Kesai. LP hadn't blamed them, though, and she already knew what she was trying to do. Trunks knew nothing about enchanter magic, so he knew anything he could say about it would be unhelpful.

He laid back on the grass and let out a sigh as the cool grass touched him. From this spot in the backyard, you could see the stars well.

"Your magic comes from stars, right?" He asked LP.

"That's what I've been told," she said.

"You know, Saiyans used to believe that everyone came from the stars," Trunks said. "At least, that's what my Dad told me."

LP looked up at the sky. "You've seen stars up close, haven't you? You, Pan, and Papa, when you guys were on that Grand Tour thing."

"Yeah," Trunks nodded. He found himself smiling as he stared at the sparkling sky. "It was in the sea of stars that everything began for Panna and me," he said. "That's where we started to bond. Panna was still young, so nothing serious happened between us. Once we returned home, I left for a few years to give us space."

"And once you got back, you and Pan started bonding again," LP said knowingly.

"Yeah," Trunks smiled softly. "It's more than just a bond between us, though. To me, she's the only one."

He had seen the way that LP and MT looked at each other, and he was sure that for them, it was the same.

LP glanced up at the stars. "Do you believe it? That everyone came from the stars?"

"I'm not sure what I believe in," Trunks admitted softly. "Sometimes I would like to speak to the first Saiyans. So I could see what they were like. To see how different they were than us, and if there was anything they could teach us."

"That's it," LP's eyes widened.

"What is?" Trunks asked, honestly confused.

"This whole time, I've been trying to look into my memories with Axel," LP said. "I shouldn't be looking at them - I should be going back further! I need to meditate and see if I can contact the first enchanters," she said as she hopped up. "Thank you, Trunks!"

"You're welcome," Trunks called after LP, but she was already gone. He let out a sigh and continued to look up at the stars. They were still sparkling brightly.

Trunks didn't know what the next day would hold. Axel was supposed to be showing up, and even though he and the others had been training all day, he was fearful of what could happen. Not to him, but Pan and his unborn son. Whatever happened, though, he knew that he would fight until his last breath if he had in him to protect them.