Warning - Mild language, more Vegeta grumpiness, angsty (I hope)

Warnings - Mild language, more Vegeta grumpiness, humor possibly in bad taste, angsty (I hope), and not enough of a buffer between the two; possible OOCs for Mirai Trunks, Vegeta, Goku, even Piccolo; this chapter was written late at night under the influence of papers, presentations, and projects due the next day! Eep! Gotta go!

Also, barely proofread, so bear with, por favor!

If Tomorrow Never - Ch. 5 – No!

Please, God,

Tell me I'm still asleep.

~Pinch Me, Barenaked Ladies

Thank Kami Piccolo, at least, was paying attention to the important things. Before the Android was even half a dozen steps away, Piccolo had managed to swoop down and grab him by the scruff of his neck. Intending to focus the Saiya-jin's attention back to this fight before Trunks asked the inevitable questions, like "Hey, guys, where's my mom? How's she doing?," he called out, "Trunks, I think you should have a talk with your father and Goku about your mother, but LATER!" he all but roared.

Trunks looked confusedly back at the Namek-jin before glancing first at Vegeta, then Goku. "My mother? What's going on?"

'Why did that boy look at me? He's… Trunks? But he came back in time. How would he not know about what happened?' Vegeta was beyond confused now. He was also tired, cranky, and concussion-y. Vegeta was having a not-so-good day, which meant someone in the near future would be having a terrible one. And Vegeta looked forward to giving it. 'Hm, maybe Namek. He deserves a good thrashing or two. Show-off.' Choosing to ignore everyone for the time being, Vegeta just turned his back and cleared his mind. Someone else could deal with that bastard now.

Trunks gave Vegeta a questioning look, wondering what he was doing when there was obviously a fight going on. Goku, meanwhile, just sighed toward the moody prince and turned his attention to the swaying Android.

"Um, Goku, I don't know if this is a good time to bring this up or not, but that's not one of the Android's from my world," Trunks piped up quietly after refocusing his attention.

"You know," Goku cynically (and completely OOC) said, "I'd love to say I didn't expect to hear that. The way things have been going around here, though…" He simply shook his head and went over to help Piccolo destroy the baddie.

"There are more coming after me," the Android suddenly spoke up. He knew there weren't really; he had failed to activate the others prior to leaving.

His last hope of scaring them into letting him slip away was completely dashed, however, by Piccolo's next sarcastic statement: "Oh, well then, Goku, let's end his existence now so we don't have to worry about it."

As Goku was about at the end of his own rope, he readily agreed, "Ok! Let 'er rip!"

Piccolo tossed the Android into the air, not too high, and Goku readied a special blast, just for him. As the Android came down, Goku let it fly. While he and Piccolo looked almost proud of themselves, Gohan, Yamcha, and Krillin could only look on in amazement at Goku's cruel side. Vegeta ignored everyone.

And Trunks wondered just when he had dropped into the Twilight Zone.

***

After everyone recovered from his shock, the Z senshi were ready to go home.

Just then, Piccolo remembered something. "Goku, he said 'others.' But I don't think he was bluffing."

"Where would they be?" And that's just the kind of question Fate loves. At that moment, a huge explosion was heard from another island. The senshi immediately flew into the air to see where it came from.

"Over there, that mountain," Yamcha was pointing it out to the others, and they all watched it collapse.

***

"Oi, 'ji-san, you're right! This stuff is pretty damn cool! What's it called again?"

"Dynamite, Ten-chan."

"Mountain fall down, go BOOM!!!"

"That's right, Ten-chan."

***

Although the warriors searched the area thoroughly, they found no trace of whatever had destroyed the mountain. Aside from the smell of the explosives that still lingered, there was nothing: no footprints, no ki signatures, no unusual smells. Nothing that would lead them to the culprit.

Although it was obvious that this had been some kind of research facility or lab or something. There was enough metal on the ground in recognizable shapes for them to see that. They wondered if this was where the Androids had come from, and, if so, why and by whom was this place destroyed?

Another strange thing about this explosion: no burning meat smell. That meant there had been no animals involved. But as they watched, the surrounding forest proved to be full of wildlife. Someone had protected them somehow. An animal-loving freak? They didn't know and decided to go home until another clue or another explosion presented itself.

Once they got there, they found that Vegeta was missing. When Goku decided his head hurt and retreated to his room, Trunks cornered Yamcha.

"What was Piccolo saying earlier?"

Yamcha felt obligated, in a way, to answer, but had some questions of his own first: "Trunks, who are you? Where are you from?"

Unhappy about being given the run-around, he unconsciously mimicked his father in both tone and attitude, "My name is Trunks. I'm from about 17 years in the future, and I came here in a time machine my mom built." Yamcha went pale at the mention. "My father, Goku, you, and almost everyone else died when I was a baby in the Androids' attack. Gohan was the only survivor. He taught me to fight." Trunks was losing patience, and his sentences became shorter, more clipped. "I'm here to get Goku to help me defeat the Androids of my time. I came three years ago to warn him. Now I'm back. And I WANT TO KNOW WHY PICCOLO SAID THAT ABOUT MY MOM!!!" He finished his speech with a roar. And then, because his mom told him to be nice to her friends while he was back in time, he added in a subdued voice, "Please."

By the time Trunks had started shouting, everyone with common sense had left. Including Chi-Chi and Chibi Trunks.

"Oh, Trunks…" Yamcha searched for the words to say what he had to. "I really think you should ask Vegeta about this. Or Goku. It's not my place-" Suddenly he felt a hand near his throat, not yet touching it.

"I can change that. Want me to?" Trunks knew he was out of line, and he could see that this was hard for Yamcha, but ever since Piccolo told him to talk to his father, he'd had the worst feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew what they were going to tell him.

"Trunks, calm down! Kami, Trunks! Sit." As soon as Trunks was back in his seat, Yamcha closed his eyes and began talking. He did not want to see the deathblow. "Bulma was depressed. She had been forever. Goku and I both knew, so did Chi-Chi and your dad. She used to be a cutter. Do you know what that means?" He dared open his eyes and look at the teen.

"Yeah, I do. I think maybe she still is. I smell blood. She tells me she was cooking or there was an accident in the lab. I don't bug her about it, though." As Trunks admitted this, he seemed so far away…

"She stopped, a long time ago, before any Saiya-jin besides Goku was on Chikyuu. We thought she was better, that your grandparents had gotten her help. Your grandfather did know, I think. But a few months ago, she did something. She-"

"No! Don't you tell me she's dead! Fix it! She's never been wished back before! Use the Dragon Balls, Yamcha. I'll go look for them now." While he talked, his near-insane eyes were focused on Yamcha, but with the last line, he stood.

Yamcha felt the tears rise in his eyes and the bile in his stomach. He grabbed the hysterical teenager's wrists and slammed him into the wall before practically screaming, "No! And don't you ever mention that to any of us again! My God, if you said that to your dad or Goku… I don't know what they'd do! Bulma swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills one afternoon and wrote a note to keep your younger self away from your dad. Vegeta is the one who found her!" Yamcha didn't even try to hold back his tears anymore. They flowed in rivers down his face, and his voice and eyes became distant as he slipped into the old memories.

After a few moments, he pulled himself out and the fierceness returned to his eyes. "Don't you get it? Trunks, what she did cannot just be forgiven! She killed herself! She had a degree in pharmocology, remember? She knew what those drugs were! We've all been dead before, and not one of us can understand why someone would do that willingly." Yamcha knew when he made his point as real, not hysterical, tears began to fall from Trunks' eyes, as well. He softened his tone, "Trunks, I've never seen anyone as beaten as your father was that night. He didn't notice, but Goku and I were there, later, when they… It killed him. And to think that she didn't want him near you when it was you he was fighting for… Everyone went against her wishes and let him take you.

"Maybe you don't understand, but there is no way any of us can wish her back, at least with a clear conscience. She trashed her life, Trunks. I don't think any of us would even dream of wishing her back. And even if someone wanted to, there has to be some kind of rule against it! The dragon would consider it a wasted wish, at the very least. And what if we did and she did it again? Trunks…" The last word was a whisper. Yamcha suddenly felt exhausted. He hadn't been in the fight today, but the stress of waiting, the anticipation of Trunks finding out… They had done him in. But the stress from waiting was nothing like the stress of actually telling the demi-Saiya-jin.

"I get it, Yamcha. Please… Put me down now?" Yamcha complied. "You're right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I just want her ok."

Trunks was shaking as Yamcha put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll go see if the guest room is ready. I know they won't mind of you stayed here." The room was ready for company, but Yamcha himself had stayed enough that he knew where everything was even if it hadn't been. He sent Trunks upstairs to at least nap before he returned to the living room. He knew they'd have to deal with a lot more from the boy in the days to come. This wasn't over yet, and there was a lot they still needed to tell him. For now, though, at least one hurdle had been passed.

Yamcha sat on the edge of a chair, put his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees, and quietly cried.

***

From the rear of the house, Vegeta silently thanked Yamcha for taking care of at least this first part of things for him before he wiped the lone tear and flew off to think.

***

In the bedroom, Goku put the pillow over his head to muffle both the outside noises and the inside sobs. Unlike Trunks, though, he knew bringing her back wouldn't help anything.

***

Outside, a couple of kilometers down the road, Gohan surprised the group of runaways with a sudden question: "Um, no one went back and got Yajirobe off that cliff, did they?"

***

In the dark, on a high cliff overlooking the remnants of the island where the Androids first appeared, a lone soul screamed, "They'll be here. Just as soon as they figure out they can't live without my greatness!"

***

And that night, strange dreams once again visited the Son house. But they didn't come to see Vegeta.

@@@

A/N: The scene between "Ten-chan" and "'ji-san" (Don't for a second think those are going to be their real names!) was inspired by an old Warner Bros. Tweety cartoon. The girl down the hall does it great! It's from before Tweety changed his image, and Sylvester falls off some building or something. Tweety goes, "Poor, poor puddy tat," in this really solemn voice, "Poor, poor puddy tat. He fall down, go BOOM!!!" So funny. Totally solemn until that last word.

Damn me to hell many times over for the things I have done! *cough, cough* cliffhangers! *cough, cough*

But psuedo-seriously, guys, did I make the changes too abrupt? Sometimes I think they are, but I'm leaving it this way. Laters!