Part 2- The Fight For Life
Quote: Never fight with strangers you don't know
"ZZZZZZZZ." Snoring could be heard all throughout the Son household. It was pretty late in the morning. Most normal people were already up and out of bed. Chi Chi was one of them. She had been cleaning and cooking for most of the morning. She did it mostly without a second thought. It was part of her routine. Of course, she didn't mind it. Because she had her husband at home, Chi Chi was more than content to clean. She was very happy that Goku hadn't been running around and fighting all sorts of unknown enemies for a while now. She finally had a chance to have him for herself.
Son Goku, also known as Kakarotto to Vegeta, is truly the strongest fighter in the universe. He had defeated many of the major enemies that had arisen in the world and the universe. He was the ultimate martial arts expert… and he was sleeping in his polka-dot underwear at almost eleven o'clock. Yes, he was asleep and when Son Goku is asleep, nothing can wake the sleeping giant except…
"GOKU, BREAKFAST!" yelled Chi Chi. A moment later Goku appeared right in front of her, wide awake and ready to eat. The super warrior sat down at the table and waited (impatiently) for the food to be served. Chi Chi finally placed the food on the table and she sat down and said a quick prayer. That was when the massacre began. While Chi Chi slowly ate her food, Goku could hardly keep enough food on his plate. With his right hand, he was noisily shoveling food into his mouth. With his left hand, he was going back and forth between the many dishes, frantically trying to keep enough food on his plate. He seemed to be losing the battle.
Ring! Ring! The telephone shook off of the hook. Calmly Chi Chi walked over to answer it, while Goku attempted to swallow a whole orange. That wasn't a good idea.
"Hello," Chi Chi said politely. She listened for a moment. "Oh, hi Bulma." Chi Chi walked over to Goku, who seemed to be acting a little strange. She continued to listen to Bulma as she rubbed Goku gently on the back. "Yes, I know about the party later on I wish I could…" Chi Chi eyes started to open wide with excitement. Goku's eyes were starting to close in pain. He relentlessly and violently kept hitting himself in the chest. Chi Chi ignored him. The news was too good. "You mean that I can go? That's great!!!" Chi Chi whacked Goku in the back of the head. In doing so, a large orange shot across the room and went through a far window.
"Oops," said Goku. He thought Chi Chi would be furious, but she was on the phone. Goku thought about it briefly. He noticed that there was still a little bit of food left in one of the dishes. Without so much as another thought to have a thought, Goku rectified that problem.
"Guess what, Goku?" asked Chi Chi as she hung up the phone. Goku had his mouth full of food. He started to talk, but thought better of it for two reasons: One, he didn't want to upset Chi Chi by being rude and Two, he didn't want to lose any food. Instead, Goku gestured that he had no idea what was going on (which was usually the case).
"Bulma has just invited us to a dinner party. It's the big party being thrown by Madam Tush at the huge Madam's Mansion. We'll be able to…" Of course, the rest of what Chi Chi said is really not important because Goku heard nothing after "dinner". He started to envision piles of food everywhere. Meats and fruits, rice and bread. All of them were just marching into his mouth. All of them chanting Goku! Goku! Gok…
"Goku! Are you even listening to me?" demanded Chi Chi. Goku snapped out of his daydream. "You're impossible. Listen to me. We are going to a di… a party tonight with Bulma and Vegeta." Now Goku's mind was stuck on this concept of Vegeta and party going together.
"Are you sure that it is Vegeta that is going to the party with Bulma?" asked Goku innocently.
"Of course! Who else would go?"
"But Vegeta hates parties. Why would he go to one…?"
"He is going because Bulma said so, and you are going because I said so."
"But Chi Chi, when will I train today?"
"No training. You are going to a party. I can't have you smelling like you've been in a sweatshop. Plus, it's a couple's party. No singles allowed and even if they were, I wouldn't be going alone. It's been a long time since you and I have been on a date. I hardly ever see you at home anymore with you fighting the Cell's and the Buu's of the universe."
"But Chi Chi…"
"No party, no dinner." That was it. Goku was defeated and he knew it. Nothing he could say could do anything to change it. The truth was the as far as cooking was concerned, Goku didn't know a spoon from Spam. Even the ready-made stuff was a mystery to him. He could eat it, but he couldn't cook it. Goku bowed his head and sighed. "I'll take that as a yes." Said Chi Chi. "I'll have your things ready a little later. Go get washed up." Goku solemnly obeyed. As he walked away, he thought through the entire situation.
I'm going to a dinner party. That means food. There will be a lot of people. That means a lot of food. Goku searched for a downside, but couldn't look past the food. Guess there isn't one. Goku went to get ready for the party. He couldn't wait.
**********
"How long is this going to take, Trunks. I don't want to wait forever to cripple you." Hunter asked. He and the two half Saiyans had been flying for a while now. They had long left the supermarket scene and were on their way to the gravity room that was in the Vegeta-Briefs household.
"We will be there in a few minutes." Said Trunks through his teeth. He was attempting to hold in his anger until he could reach the gravity room. Then he could go all out and rid himself of this monster. Trunks looked over to Goten, who was playing with a flock of birds. Goten was flying circles around them and breaking up their formations, all the while giggling like the innocent kid that he was. Trunks couldn't help but to smile. Goten never ceased to amaze him with his carefree attitude.
"Trunks, look at me." Goten called out to his friend. Trunks watched as Goten balanced himself on four birds and let them fly him forward.
"That's pretty good, Goten." Trunks stopped to get a better look at the sight. Hunter continued on until he realized that Trunks had halted. He decided not to call back to get their attention. Instead, he fired a ki ball that fried the bird under Goten's left hand. The half Saiyan fell off the birds and downward a few feet before gaining control. He and Trunks watched in horror as the bird spiraled to the ground. It didn't make it all of the way, though, because Hunter fired another blast that vaporized it completely. Goten was speechless. His eyes were welling up and about ready to burst forth with tears. Trunks floated over to him and took him by the arm. He started forward and pulled Goten with him. He wordlessly continued on toward the house. As Trunks came within range of Hunter, he eyed him. It was apparent that he no longer trusted him enough to let Hunter leave his sight.
"Are you ready to go?" Hunter asked as if nothing had happened. Trunks pointed to a huge house down on the ground. It was about a mile away. "Is that where we are going?" Trunks said nothing. He was being overtaken with rage. Trunks couldn't fathom Hunter's blatant disregard for life. Hunter laughed a little at the situation before blasting off for the house.
"Goten," whispered Trunks. He never took his eyes off of Hunter. Goten couldn't do anything but cry. "Goten, when we get inside. I want you to stay out of the gravity room. I want him for myself. You got it?" Goten nodded his head and wiped the tears away from his eyes. Then they both blasted off toward the house. Hunter was already there.
"Shall we enter?" Trunks opened the door and motioned for him and Goten to enter. They did and Trunks closed the door behind them. He led everyone down a series of hallways that seemed to only lead to more hallways. Even Goten was lost. In a few minutes, they found there was to a large, metal door.
"That's it." Trunks pointed to the door. Hunter walked by him and opened the door. Then he entered the gravity room. Trunks pulled Goten aside. "Goten, go tell my father what's going on. I don't know what's going to happen, but this is getting a little too weird."
"What do you mean, Trunks?" asked a slightly confused Goten.
"This Hunter guy appeared out of nowhere and wants to kill me. It doesn't make any sense. I don't even know him. Before he was talking about my "goofy friends". At first I didn't know what he was talking about, but now I think he might have meant your father and mine. How does he know about them?" Goten shrugged his shoulders. "Go get my father. Maybe he will understand."
"What about you, Trunks. You're not going to fight him, are you?" Trunks was silent. Goten understood and he ran down the hall to find Vegeta. Trunks took a deep breath and opened the door again. Hunter was stationary on the other side. Trunks closed the door behind himself.
"Well, so happy you could join me. This shouldn't take long."
"You're right. I don't think you will last." Trunks powered up and blasted off toward Hunter.
**********
Goten ran down the hall. He had been doing so for the last five minutes, but every time he seemed to end up in the same place. The Vegeta-Briefs household was huge and even Goten, who had been there so many times, never could quite get his bearings. Goten took a right at the next corner, but came to a locked door.
"Ahhhh, I'm lost!" Goten started banging on the door. "Somebody help! Trunks is…" The door opened in mid-sentence. Realizing that it was only closed really tight, Goten decided to enter. After taking a peek around, Goten walked in all the way. It was apparently a bedroom, but not one Goten had seen before. The bed was made and there didn't seem to be anyone in the room. Goten started to leave but he managed to hear a shower on. Goten looked to the other side of the room and saw the door that the sound was coming from. He opened the door and took a peek inside, but it was full of steam. Goten staggered backward a few steps as the steam threatened to engulf him into nothingness. While he was gasping for air, the shower turned off. Goten could barely make out a figure walking toward him. He never had a chance to make a sound. The two fell down, Goten on his back and the other person on top of him. For a moment, there was no sound. Goten was attempting not to yell; he had a streak of pain shooting up his back. Whoever it was on him wasn't heavy, but the half Saiyan had landed the wrong way. The steam cleared away quickly and soon it was very apparent whom Goten had run into. It was Bulma, and she was only wearing a towel.
"What…who…" Bulma slowly opened her eyes. She had hit her head when she fell. As Bulma's vision cleared, she was able to make out the short shape in front of her as Goten.
"Hi," he said with a huge cheesy smile, waving at her. What followed next was something inhuman. Bulma let out a shriek that almost burst Goten's eardrum and also shook the very foundation of the house. Bulma also whacked Goten across the face and ran back into the bathroom. Of course, Goten was confused about the whole deal. He didn't understand what had just happened. So of course he went over to the door to try to console Bulma. That was when Vegeta walked in.
"What the hell is all that noise?" He looked straight at Goten. "What the hell are you looking at?" Vegeta walked by the kid and into the bathroom. Goten had a sudden, unexplainable urge to head for the door. He did, but he then remembered what Trunks had told him.
"Um…" He was finding it hard to figure out how to start off the message. "Vegeta, Trunks is…"
"YOU PERVERT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY WIFE!" Vegeta came raging out of the bathroom with Bulma hanging on to him. She was now wearing a short white T-shirt and some blue jeans. She appeared to be trying to hold Vegeta back. Goten tried to yell, but could form any sounds. Instead he just ran. Goten bolted out the door and into the maze again. He didn't know which way was which but as long as he was away from Vegeta, it would be okay. Goten continued to run down a few halls until he was sure that Vegeta wasn't stalking him. Hopefully Bulma had calmed him down. As for what happened, Goten still didn't know what he did wrong.
She tripped and fell on me. She screamed about something and I tried to help her. Why did she scream? Goten decided not to think about it too much. He had something else on his mind. Trunks was still fighting Hunter and Vegeta might not have a clue. Trunks might be in trouble. "I hope Trunks is going to be alright. I won't be able to talk to Vegeta for a while." Goten sighed and slumped to the ground. "I wish I had my candy right now."
**********
Thud! Trunks hit the floor again. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. The gravity was up to one hundred and Hunter was zipping around like they were on the moon. This mystery foe was definitely no slouch in the fighting department. He had been kicking Trunks around the entire ten minutes they were in there. Actually, Trunks had spent the first two minutes getting dressed into his fighting clothes. He had decided to wear clothes like his father had in the fight against Buu, only black instead of blue. Trunks was looking in worse shape than he should have. He seemed to always be one step behind Hunter in every move. It was like Hunter knew what Trunks was going to do before he actually did it.
"Come now, Trunks. You must have more left in you then that. You don't mean to tell me that you are going to give up already, do you?"
"Give up to you? Never. You'll have to kill me first." Trunks stood up and readied himself in his fighting stance.
"Again with the nasty ideas. I told you…I want you to suffer." Hunter crouched down to the floor and jumped high into the air. His move was actually slow, and Trunks had no problem dodging. Hunter came down to the floor with fist, missing Trunks by about five feet.
"My mother could have followed that. You must be getting tired."
Hunter smiled. "I don't get tired." A confused look was the last thing on Trunks' face before he caught a vicious knee in the nose. He couldn't even react to that before Hunter hit him in the stomach with elbow, then straight right. Trunks doubled over and fell to one knee. With one hand, he held his nose. With the other, he held his stomach.
"Sh…shit!" Trunks back up to his feet. He wiped his face mouth off, which was being covered in blood from his nose. "I'm…" His voice trailed off as he fought the pain.
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Did you say something?" Despite his attempts, Trunks entire face was now in too much pain to say a word. "The silent treatment again. Well, I…" A fist to the mouth stopped Hunter abruptly. Trunks continued his attack with a sweeping kick aimed at the ankles, but Hunter flipped over it. He didn't block the quick roundhouse that came from the other foot. It left Hunter momentarily dazed. That gave Trunks enough time to hit him with a point-blank ki blast that shot Hunter across the room like a bullet. He hit the other side and slumped down to a knee.
"You…talk…too…much." Trunks managed to say through all the pain. He even managed to crack a smile. Hunter got to his feet and cracked his neck.
"That was unpleasant." He had an angry look on his face. "I can't allow that to happen again."
"You don't have a choice." Trunks fired a barrage of ki blasts, one after the other. Hunter ducked the first one to the right and kept ahead all the proceeding ones. Finally he jumped off the wall, into the air, and fired one of his own. Trunks rolled out of the way and sprang back up to his feet. He blocked a kick aimed at his face as Hunter shot to the floor a few feet behind him. Both were stationary a moment. Trunks started to attack when he heard the sound of energy gathering. He moved out of the way just in time to escape a huge energy beam that managed to burn the opposite wall. Trunks charged Hunter with an elbow to the face, which was unable to be blocked. He followed up with a hook to the face, then an uppercut. Next was a barrage of punches to the gut. Each blow seemed to sap Hunter's strength a little more.
"You asshole!" Hunter rammed an elbow down into the back of Trunks, fazing the half Saiyan momentarily. Trunks retaliated with palm strike under the chin. That managed to throw Hunter off of his feet and Trunks took advantage. He grabbed Hunter's legs and started to spin him around in a circle. Quicker and quicker it went, until all that could be seen was a blur of color. Then Trunks sent him into orbit, chucking Hunter at high speed to the wall of the gravity room. To finish it off, Trunks charged a ki ball the size of head and threw it at his opponent. It connected seconds before Hunter hit the wall, exploding into a huge ball of fire.
"You picked the wrong kid to mess with." Trunks waited and watched as the cloud of smoke dispersed very slowly.
"Trunks, I have to admit, you're are pretty good." Said Hunter, still inside the cloud of smoke. "But can you guard an attack that you can't see?" Once again, the sound of an energy beam being formed could be heard. Trunks acted quickly and zeroed in on Hunter's ki signature. It was remarkably weak for someone so strong, but Trunks was able to follow it without any problems. He floated off the ground and flew into the cloud of smoke. From the inside, three loud whacks could be heard. Out the back of the cloud came Hunter, who was double over in pain. The cloud dissipated and Trunks was floating tall.
"Get up." Hunter picked himself up slowly until he was standing upright.
"I've changed my mind about you, Trunks. I think that I will kill you. That would make me much happier now." Trunks smiled, which angered Hunter. "What the fuck are you smiling about?"
"You're scared. You know that you can't beat me." Veins were popping up all over Hunters face.
"You…you are nothing compared to me! I have yet to show you the bulk of my power!" Hunter rose up in the air and charged a huge ki ball over his head.
"Trunks," yelled Goten. Trunks turned around and saw Goten on the floor at the door.
"Goten, look out." Trunks rushed to get Goten while Hunter threw the ki ball. It closed in at unbelievable speed. Trunks had enough time to grab Goten's hand and kick the door closed. He and Goten, though, were only inches away from the point of impact when the ball exploded. They were both tossed across the room and they skidded on the floor into the wall.
"Tr…Tru…Trunks," yelled Goten a few minutes later, talking through his coughing. He had inhaled a lot of the smoke that was kicked up. Goten crawled around looking for Trunks. The smoke cleared and Goten found him. Trunks was propped upside down against the wall.
"Goten, what are you doing here?" Trunks asked softly. He had lost a lot of energy.
"Trunks, I found your father and your mother, but they are trying to kill me. Then I got lost in your house again and I found you and I tried to tell you but Hunter tried to kill me and you saved me and…"
"Hunter! Where is he?" Trunks rolled off of the wall and looked around the room. He noticed the gravity room door was open. Trunks knew that Hunter had escaped. "Shit! He got away!" He banged on the floor with his fist. "I was so close…"
"I'm sorry Trunks." Goten was very apologetic. He had a sorrowful look on his face. Trunks looked at him and smiled.
"It's okay, Goten. Now I know for sure that I can beat him. When we see him again, I'll just finish the job." He stood up and helped Goten up. They brushed themselves off.
"What's going on Trunks?"
"I really don't know. I don't have any more answers than before. I still don't know why he was here, but there was something else that bothered me."
"What was that?"
"Just before you came in, he said that he was going to kill me. He was charging that blast for me. After it exploded, he was gone. He missed his chance. Something else is going on. I don't think that he is the only person who is going to cause a problem. This might get big, Goten. Maybe even as big as Majin Buu." Goten's eyes lit up when he heard that.
"You think so Trunks?"
"It could be. I think we should both go and tell my father what happened." Trunks walked over to the gravity room door and started to walk out but he realized that Goten wasn't following him. "C'mon, Goten."
"Trunks, your father is trying to kill me. I don't know if he wants to see me."
"Goten, this is important. We have to go." Trunks ran back into the room and grabbed Goten by the wrist. "Let's go." He yanked his friend out of the room, closed the door, and entered the maze once again.
**********
"You brought that perverted kid back here, brat?" yelled Vegeta at his son. Trunks looked back at Goten, then back to his angry father. Goten had explained everything in detail to him about the accidental encounter between Bulma and him. Trunks knew it was going to be very hard to calm his father down.
"Papa, Goten was trying to find you. He wasn't trying to…" Trunks trailed off in mid sentence, realizing there was no way to put it that wouldn't upset his father any more. "Papa, there is something weird going on. I was just attack by someone." That was enough to get Vegeta's attention.
"What are you talking about?"
"I just fought someone named Hunter in the gravity room. He was trying to kill me. I beat him up pretty good, but he got away. Now I don't know where he is or why he wants to kill me."
"He said he wanted to kill you?"
"Yes, but at first he didn't. At first he said that he only wanted to make me suffer. Then after I beat him up a little, he said he wanted to kill me. He knocked me and Goten down with an energy attack, but left without touching either one of us." Vegeta was silent in thought for a moment.
"How did you first run into him? Where were you?"
"We were in town. We were at the candy store and…"
"Candy store?" interjected Bulma. Trunks clasped his hands over his mouth, but he knew it was too late. "You know that I don't want you buying any candy like that. You'll ruin your teeth."
"Sorry, mama, but that's where we were. Across the street at the supermarket he was making a lot of trouble, so we went over there. We found him and ended up on the roof of the building. He tried to kill the police officers, but me and Goten stopped him. Then we came here so that I could fight him away from all the people. He beat me pretty bad, but I was able to turn that around and hurt him. After that he fired the energy ball and disappeared. I don't know what happened to him."
"Sounds like he might be a new fighter." Said Vegeta. He rested his chin in his hand and thought to himself.
"Oh yeah. I think this guy Hunter also knows about you and Goten's father."
"How?"
"I don't know how, but he said something about my "goofy friends" and he wasn't talking about Goten. He said they worry about people's health and lives too much."
"He was probably talking about Kakarotto." Vegeta started to walk away.
"Just where do you think you're going?" asked Bulma, hands on her hips.
"I'm going to talk to Kakarotto. This might be serious. I don't want to make the same mistake that I made with Majin Buu. I am going to end this as soon as possible."
"Have you forgotten about the party tonight?"
"This is a little more important than…"
"Don't give me that crap! You know our deal. You don't care a thing about finding this Hunter person. You just don't want to go to the party. You heard what Trunks said. He did well against him. Let him take care of it." A look of confusion set on all three of the Saiyans' faces. Bulma was condoning her child fighting. "I fulfilled my end of the bargain. You have to honor yours." She walked out of the room and down the hall.
"What did she mean by that, Papa?" asked Trunks. "What bargain?" A look came onto Vegeta's face that warned Trunks not to ask that question again.
"You were in the gravity room. When?"
"About ten minutes ago."
"That is impossible. I would have felt you and your opponent fighting. I only felt you."
"That's another thing, papa. His ki signature was weak. I could barely feel it when I was fighting him." Vegeta a slight look of worry.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, papa."
"We might be dealing with another android. That would mean that somehow Dr. Gero has managed to survive. Trunks, take your friend and go find Kakarotto. Tell him what is going on. We might have more to worry about than meets the eye right now. I will go to this ridiculous party. When I get back we'll discuss this further."
"Hai. C'mon, Goten. We have to go tell your father what happened." Trunks ran out the door. Goten followed behind, but was grabbed by the collar by Vegeta. Vegeta lifted him up until the boy was shoulder height to him.
"Listen to me, you little pervert. If I ever catch you touching my wife again, you won't live to eat another candy bar." He dropped Goten to the floor. The half Saiyan wisely ran out the room and joined Trunks.
**********
"This isn't fair! We didn't even get to eat any of it!" protested Trunks. He looked at the mound of dishes in front of him.
"I don't even live here," protested Goten. He couldn't believe the mountain of dishes that stood before him. He had seen nothing like it before.
"You will clean all of these dishes, boys. This is your punishment, Trunks, for going behind my back and trying to buy all that candy." Bulma was very stern. She was already in her party dress. Bulma had high expectations for this night. She was hoping for it to be full of romance so she decided to go with a Cinderella look.
"But…" Bulma flashed him a look and Trunks was quiet.
"But why am I being punished?" asked Goten.
"You will help as payment for me not telling your mother that you were with him. You know what she would do if she found out." Goten couldn't argue with that. In this case, Bulma was the savior. "Now I want all of this to be done by the time we get back from the dinner party." Bulma walked out of the kitchen.
"I can't believe this," said Trunks. He grabbed a dish and dipped it in the water. "They are going to a dinner party and we're stuck here to clean the dishes."
"Why can't we go to a dinner party?"
"Mom would spot us right away. We're only kids. Everyone would notice us."
"What if we wore a disguise?"
"Where are we going to find one that looks realistic? We can't go with a Halloween mask on." Trunks thought about it. He picked the plate out of the water and started to dry it with a towel.
"What if we go as Gotenks?" Goten asked innocently. Trunks dropped the plate he was holding and it shattered into a million pieces. Goten stared at the remnants of the plate, but Trunks didn't seem to care.
"Goten… that might actually work." Trunks had a devious smile on his face.
"But Trunks, your mother already knows what Gotenks looks like. She'll know that it's us."
"Hmmm. Maybe, but if we wear a tuxedo, she might not know."
"Your father will." Trunks realized that was true. Vegeta would sense their power and be on to them.
"You're right, Goten… but papa won't care. He won't want to be there. He won't say anything…I don't think. Either way, it is worth the chance, unless you want to stay here and wash dishes, Goten." Goten shook his head. "Alright, we'll wait until they leave and then we'll follow."
"How will we be able to follow them?"
"Goten, we can follow my father's ki signature."
"Oh yeah." Goten smiled a goofy smile (much like his father and brother).
**********
"Vegeta!" yelled Bulma. She had been waiting the last fifteen minutes for her husband to come down the stairs. He always does this to me. I finally get him to go somewhere I want and he tries to make us late. Bulma sighs. Sometimes I wonder if he loves me or if he just puts up with me. Bulma starts to pace back and forth. If he did love me, he wouldn't torture… Bulma's thought trailed off when she saw Vegeta standing in front of her. "Oh." Bulma couldn't help but stare at Vegeta's perfect looking tux. It had her in awe.
"Are you ready?" he asked in a low voice. Bulma broke her trance.
"Um…ye…yes." Vegeta stepped toward her and effortlessly lifted her off of the floor. Bulma stared deep into his eyes. Vegeta walked toward the door and opened it. He stepped outside and closed the door.
"Where is the cab? I ordered it a…"
"I sent that primitive piece of scrap metal back." Bulma stared at him with a blank expression. Vegeta smiled back at her. "I will be the transportation tonight." He slowly floated into the air and started to fly toward the party.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked after they had settled into a glide. "Why…"
"Shhhh. You upheld your part of the bargain. I will do so with mine. I will give you a night you will not forget." Bulma snuggled closer to her husband.
"Thank you."
"Go to sleep. When you wake we will be at the mansion."
"No. I want to stay awake for this. I want to savor and remember every moment of this memorable night. The night my Vegeta became my prince." Bulma took a look at the scenery around her. The night sky was clear, so the stars were at their brightest. The mountain ranges had a sweet glint to them of stardust, and the air smelled like the fresh water from the rivers below. Bulma took all of this in and, before she knew it, had fallen asleep in Vegeta's arms.
**********
"Okay, Goten, are you ready?"
"Trunks. What are we going to do about clothes?"
"I don't know. We've never had to worry about clothes during the fusion before. We'll just have to worry about that when we get there." He stepped toward the door.
"Trunks, aren't we going to do the fusion now?"
"If we do it now, we'll have less time when we get to the party. We have to wait until we get there."
"But if we do it there, we'll get a lot of attention because the fusion is so loud."
"We don't have to do it right in front of the building, Goten. We just can't do it right here. We have to be a lot closer. Who knows how far the party is from here? What if we fuse now and it takes us forever to find them. By the time we got there we would diffuse. What will we do then?"
"We could do what we did with Mighty Mask." Trunks thought about that a second. They had been convincing as Mighty Mask. No one knew it was them until the end. Plus, since they had had the practice from that time, it would be easier now.
"You're right, but that would have to be a last resort. One of us would have to be the head and my mother would spot us. Not only that but our legs are too short. We would look funny."
"You're right. Okay, we'll fuse when we get there."
"Right. That way we can have more fun." Trunks opened the door. "We should run a little bit first. If we fly, dad will catch us right away. If mom knows something is up, we might get in trouble."
"Hai. But Trunks, what if we get all sweaty and stinky?" Trunks dug into his pocket and grabbed a capsule.
"I have a capsule house that we can use to get cleaned and dressed in."
"You think of everything, Trunks."
"Yeah. Well, let's go." Trunks closed the door to the house. "Off to the party." Trunks ran away from the house at high speed.
"Party, party, party…" Goten's voice trailed off as he ran after his friend. The three of them were on their way to a party… three?
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