Ch7 - Pushing Them Forward
"Impossible!" the loud burly voice of a young Vegeta screamed out among the rocky landscape.
Goku looked up from the group of people on the rocky surface, and joined his saiyan battle buddy in search of the android that undoubtedly escaped. He whined, "Ah, now where'd he go?! Aw man!"
Vegeta's voice complained loudly again, "The android! He vanished! Blast it!"
"Bulma!" Gohan's voice cut the bickering in the air as the young Son distended to the Earth's surface with Krillin right behind him calling, "Are you alright?!"
"We're okay guys! Thanks to these mystery men!" Bulma assured back, making Gohna and Krillin give their own words of gratitude as Goku sighed slightly in his continued search in the sky. He too was worried for a second there as he'd only considered that maybe King Vegeta wouldn't have saved them like he'd just expected him to. If he really was Vegeta, Goku had to be more careful about that type of thing!
The Vegeta beside him drew him out of his thoughts as he screamed out in defiance, "You'll never get away from me, android!"
This drew the attention of Future Trunks, however. The teen couldn't understand why the two saiyans didn't make a move to do anything about the explosion that could have oh so easily killed his present self and mother. His mother had always praised Goku for being a hero, but he didn't even try to save her. Well, that is, at least Goku had looked a little concerned at the group to know that everything turned out fine, but still.
The other one… Vegeta. His father… He didn't give the group even a glance. It made Trunks' blood boil at his father's obvious dismissal. How could he be so cruel and heartless to not even glance to see if Bulma was okay?! Trunks' mother said his father was sealed, but Trunks never imagined to this degree! How could he?!
Trunks took to the sky in a rush, floating in front of his past version of a father, and accused, "Hey! Why didn't you try to save them, Vegeta?!"
Vegeta gave the boy an annoyed look and rolled his eyes, "Who?"
The teen further accused, "Who?! Bulma and your son!"
The saiyan scoffed, "Oh, them. I have more important things to worry about than that foolish woman and her blasted child. Now out of my way!"
With that, the man blasted off into the sky with a swirl of ki trailing behind. Vegeta was annoyed at this future boy's meddling. The kid might be the future version of his toddler son, but that didn't mean it was any of the kid's business what he did or did not do for the woman. As soon as the woman showed up to the battlefield, it wasn't his problem. The woman made the decision on her own to be there, after all. And the others could, would, and did the saving for him. Besides, he had a job to do and he was going to do it right.
"Hey! Wait up!" Kakarot called as he followed the slightly older saiyan through the air.
"Leave me alone, Kakarot! Look elsewhere, we'll cover more ground!" the man growled back.
"Right!" the younger replied and split off to continue their search for the hidden android in the rock formations.
Back on the landscape's surface, Bulma asked the group of Earth's fighters before her, "So, that funny looking old guy with the mustache was one of the androids?" Baby Trunks fussed in her grasp as she attempted to rock him on her hip and face her friends.
"Yeah. Sure was, Bulma," Krillin answered.
"Would ya settle the child already?" the old saiyan behind her complained in a deep growl.
Bulma dismissed, "Yeah, yeah," as she switched holding positions with her son to make funny faces. The baby was still fussy, but her distractions seemed to work well enough as she multitasked, "Well, I think that android was Dr. Gero." Before Trunks could whimper louder, she raised her voice in the cutesy way she knew her mother always used which settled her son pretty well, "Yes he was. He was Dr. Gero."
It wasn't working, or at least until the older saiyan yelped right into her ear, "Brat!" and got the baby boy's attention. Bulma watched as the two saiyans stared at one another in silence. Somehow, that'd worked to stop her baby from crying. When Trunks leaned into her breast, the older saiyan leaned back away from her with a sigh of, "Finally. My ears were ringing."
The bluenette took advantage of the new quiet to continue, "I've seen his picture before in one of my dad's science magazines. Of course, it looks like he changed a lot since then."
The young mother looked back down to her baby on her chest. She still couldn't believe the older saiyan was able to quiet him down. Not even her parents could do that. Hell, not even she could do that on occasion! Maybe he just needed a bit of a saiyan touch? Who knew?!
Krillin called to those still searching for the android in the skies, "Hey! Bulma says the android is really Dr. Gero!"
It wasn't long before everyone returned to the Earth and Vegeta walked up to Bulma with a dangerously demanding look, "Dr. Gero?! How could you possibly know a thing like that?!"
"I know what I saw, Vegeta! It was a picture of that old guy in one of my dad's science magazines! And underneath it in big bold letters it said 'Dr. Gero'!" the woman raised her voice towards the man of her life's problems. Oh that man always knew how to get under her skin.
The baby whimpered at his mother's raised voice and the older saiyan grumbled, "Grah, I just shut the kid up! Here!" before he snatched the baby from her arms. She turned to the older man in concern before realizing that her son's cries actually stopped instead of increased as she'd have expected. The baby looked fascinated by the older saiyan as he waved his baby fists around as if drawing an outline of the funny man's silhouette. All Bulma could do was gape, "He… Doesn't like strangers…" as she watched the saiyan settle her child in a way she hadn't been able to.
Getting over the shock of the circumstances, Bulma turned back around to the more pressing saiyan in front of her, "Well, it was an easy mistake, Vegeta. With all the modifications Dr. Gero made to himself, it's hard to tell that he was ever human. It's really amazing what he has done. Too bad I read he's such a jerk!"
Vegeta pointed to the future kid and exclaimed, "You told us a pack of lies! Curse you, boy! You said Dr. Gero was destroyed by the androids he created! You didn't tell us he'd turned himself into one!"
"Hey, let's be reasonable!" Goku butted between the two saiyans in order to stop a fight from breaking out. Knowing Vegeta, it would only be a matter of when and not if. "I'm sure there's an explanation to all this, right?"
The future teen nodded, "The timeline must've shifted more than I thought when I traveled here from the future… Aw, man! I was afraid this might happen. But… But it was a calculated risk that I had to take."
Piccolo added to the conversation, "Dr. Gero mentioned two more androids on the way. They could be the ones you told us about the last time you were here. But this time, I think it would be a good idea for you to tell us what they look like. We don't want to make the same mistake twice."
So the future was described: "The androids that I know were created by Dr. Gero to be sure, but unlike the clumsy androids you met today, these two were sleek and graceful. Android 18 is designed to look like a beautiful young girl. Android 17 is a young boy who wears a red scarf and has long dark hair. But they both have the same cruel lifeless eyes. Yes, it's their eyes that will haunt me the most."
"Man, these things sound pretty mean," Krillin stated and Yamcha agreed, "Yeah, really. Wicked."
"Well, that's one way of putting it. These androids are ruthless. They seek only to hurt and destroy," the boy continued.
"Do they absorb energy like the first two?" Piccolo clarified.
"No. These two don't need to. Their energy… It lasts forever," he answered.
Bulma's eyes widened at the prospect of infinite energy and Vegeta burst, "What?! That's preposterous! They have to run out of energy some time!"
Just the idea of infinite energy, let alone infinite energy able to utilize ki, opened up so many possibilities in her scientific mind. And to think, the technology wasn't from some alien space trip but founded on her very Earth. Was Dr. Gero really that advanced?! The scientist inside of her desired… no, needed… to get her hands on that technology! After this whole thing was done and over with, of course! She has a world to save and a baby to take care of!
Meanwhile with the baby, the older Vegeta held the child easily in one of his arms. Trunks whimpered at his father's outburst, making the older version grunt at the fuss. He poked the baby on the forehead, to which the baby found hilariously distracting and attempted to grab it. It was an interaction Vegeta never imagined having with his son. Something he'd missed out on as it took him far too long to warm up to the idea of being an actual parent and not his saiyan version of it. Hell, he wasn't even really a father to his daughter, and she was born ten years after Trunks.
He caught Bulma check over her shoulder to note Trunks' behavior. She was always very attentive, both of him and their kids. He knew that look she gave well, and it wasn't from his wife that he recognized it from. That strange look of gratitude and trust with such a fragile thing. Vegeta looked down to the child in his arm when he took his finger away from the brat's grasp. Yes, he could see the resemblance…
Before the baby could whimper from the loss of the toy, the old saiyan quietly conversed privately with him, "Quiet down, brat. Jeez, you're worse than Camron was. Always whining and needy."
Baby Trunks reached up and punched the man's cheek with a weak fist. A rush of pride filled the old saiyan. This was his son. It was so surreal to think about. He'd never held Trunks as a child, or at least never in an affectionate way. He'd held Trunks' brats, sure, but something about holding his own infant son made it feel different. Suddenly, all the time spent in the past, worrying about the changes he'd caused, didn't matter to him. He'd had this moment. And it almost felt as if that was enough for him.
"Calm down, Vegeta! We'll figure it out!" Kakarot assured to the younger version, but the older was broken from his revere.
"Oh, don't give me that crap, Kakarot!" Vegeta burst, then turned back to Bulma. "Woman! If you know of this Doctor, then you know where he is, don't you?!"
As the warrior approached her, the young Trunks noticed and cried before the man got too close. Bulma exclaimed exasperatedly, "Ugh! See what you've done?! Every time you stick your geeky little face in front of Trunks you make him cry!" Vegeta stopped his approach in a shock when Bulma turned away from him and stuck her face in front of Trunks' vision of his father. She assured the baby, "It's alright. Your daddy's not going to scare you with that ugly mug of his."
Annoyed with the woman's blatant ignorance of him, Vegeta started again and quickly lost control of his temper with Kakarot breathing down his neck, "Bulma, will you forget about the bloody child for one minute?! Tell me! Do you know where Dr. Gero's lab is?!"
"What lab?" she blinked and turned back to her friends and lover? As Trunks' cries were settled by the saiyan behind her, she recalled, "Hm, well, now that you mention it… I think I remember reading that Dr. Gero's lab was hidden in a cave somewhere just outside North City."
Depressed, Krillin sighed, "I bet it's too late to follow him there. He's probably long gone."
Vegeta grunted, "Maybe not. Nobody saw him fly away, did they?"
Kakarot brightly cheered, "Hey, you're right! If he's on foot, that means he can't've gone far!"
"If that's the case then we might just be able to find Gero's lab and destroy the place before he even gets there," Piccolo suggested.
"I would never do anything that cowardly! Only one course of action can possibly satisfy me! I will fight these androids face to face! And I'll break them with my bare hands!" Vegeta boasted, highly confident in himself. Those androids didn't scare him, not after all the training and torture he'd pushed himself through for this very moment!
"I'm with Vegeta on this one. That other android didn't pose a challenge at all! I wanna fight!" Kakarot joined. At least he had a bit of saiyan humility in him after all…
Frustratingly, the future brat called out as Vegeta's ki surged in preparation for flight, "What?! No! You must never underestimate the power of these androids! If you really want to destroy them then you have to do this Piccolo's way!"
Kakarot grunted with similar frustration, "Yeah but…"
Future Trunks got in Vegeta's way as he'd took to the sky, blocking the growingly angry saiyan prince. He insisted, "Listen! You have to understand that we can't let him activate those androids! If they get activated, only Goku would be able to…"
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Vegeta screamed as he passed the future bastard.
King Vegeta looked on at the scene before him… Defeated, the young man with purple hair hung in the sky. Such a pained expression. The look of a saiyan's pride ripped away from him. Was that truly what happened? Had Vegeta ripped away Trunks' dignity with that very reaction? The boy came to the past with the sole purpose of getting Kakarot healthy to defeat the androids. The sole purpose to defeat the androids, no matter the cost.
Vegeta was ready and wanting to throw both of those things aside on his own pride to prove himself strongest just because he was simply more stubborn and self-centered. He'd never known he'd hurt the kid's pride like that. Then again, even if he did know, at this time he wouldn't have cared that much about it. Narcissistic? Probably.
"Man, he's such a jerk!" Tien exclaimed.
"Well, I must admit. Now that Vegeta's become a super saiyan, he may actually be stronger than Goku," Piccolo boldly stated.
This got the elderly saiyan's full attention as he raised an eyebrow. Was that actually what they thought? He had always harbored respect for the Namek, but he'd never believed that respect would ever be returned. Pride swelled in the man for a moment from the recognition. It was so strange to hear this from the outside. From the past versions of those he once knew.
Piccolo continued, "If the two of them work together, they might be able to defeat these androids, activated or not."
Trunks answered, "Maybe, but if he tries to fight them alone, I know he doesn't have a chance. Because in my world, those androids have already killed Vegeta! Well, I won't let it happen again! I won't let my father die!"
Swiftly, the boy took to the sky in chase of Vegeta. The other assured the boy who was too hasty to listen, "Either way he's flying towards the lab. Whether he waits or not doesn't much matter."
"Father? Did he say father? What did he mean by that?" Bulma questioned slowly, trying to process the news given to her.
"There's something you should know, Bulma. That boy is Trunks. And he is Vegeta's son. He's the boy the baby behind you eventually grows up to be," Piccolo fully revealed.
"What?!" the woman exclaimed and turned around rapidly to take the baby boy out of the grown saiyan's grasp. She lifts the boy and inspects him as if looking for a sign to prove him right or wrong. "Gosh. Who'd've guessed?"
"You know, now that you've mentioned it, they do sort of look alike. But how totally weird! I mean, we all met Trunks two years before he was born!" Krillin grasped at the idea.
"Wait! Goku, that's what you meant?! Man, and here I thought you were being a supportive friend! Not cool, man!" Yamcha complained. "Had I known you meant for Bulma to have a healthy baby with Vegeta I would've socked you right there and then."
"That's why he didn't say, Yamcha. 'Cause if you knew then you wouldn't've let it happen and we need Trunks," Gohan defended.
Piccolo turned to the older saiyan who seemed to tap his wrist. They were running on a schedule, it seemed. The namekian knew he was the one to hurry the group along as he stated, "I think it's time we started looking for Dr. Gero's laboratory you guys. We don't have long to get to the other androids before he does."
Goku agreed, "Piccolo's right. King Vegeta, you'll come too, right?"
"Again with the name, Kakarot," the older saiyan sighed and seemed to consider the option. Did he risk being involved? The saiyan seemed to be very avoidant of disturbing the timeline so far. Piccolo wondered if the way things were going where indeed just how they were supposed to go, with perhaps a hiccup or two. The older Vegeta concluded, "I don't see why you'd need me there. You've obviously improved while I time jumped with Trunks. And besides, the woman needs a ride."
"Oh! That's nice of you! Thanks!" Bulma cheered at the offer.
Piccolo knew that was just a cover to keep himself busy. Yes, things were going as planned, then. It honestly assured the green alien to know that things were okay still. Perhaps he wouldn't have to merge with Kami after all! He'd been avoiding that possibility for as long as he could, but the threat of more androids was stressing him out for the past three years. What would happen if they weren't nearly strong enough for what was to come despite all of their efforts?
Well, Vegeta's confidence in their going to the lab gave him slight ease. Perhaps Vegeta could sense that they were all strong enough to take care of this threat? He resisted to believe that logical part of him that brewed the idea of Vegeta just wanting them to suffer at the hands of the androids before he came in to save the day. That would be a Vegeta type of move…
"Are you sure, Bulma? I can take you, if you want," Yamcha offered.
"Well, you should probably go with the rest to make sure they're alright. Tell me how it goes, okay?" Bulma concludes with which Yamcha respects. The bandit was sweating with the idea of going to the deadly androids; one of which had already gotten the best of him once.
"Alright guys, we're really going to have to move fast!" Piccolo announced and all of the Z Fighters prepared their ki for flight. They called out "Right!" and then blasted away. Their ki trailing behind like comets.
Bulma watched as her friends disappeared over the landscape before looking back at her son, "Well, Trunks! At least we get to know you'll grow into a handsome young man! And think, all this time I was worried that you'd look like your dad!"
The older saiyan still behind her snorted, "Yes, that would be a tragedy." She turned her attention to the man that took a few steps closer before she gave a yelp of surprise as he lifted her up bridal style without warning. Before she could shriek to him what for, he smirked, "Hold on tight."
The devilish smirk made her eyes grow wide. This saiyan was charming, and oddly gentle. Something she'd never associate a saiyan as being what with her few encounters with such beings. He was quiet, calm, and patient. Not a single one of those adjectives would describe any of the other saiyans she knew. Well, Vegeta could be quiet sometimes, but his temper usually changed that at any chance he got. Plus, this guy held Trunks! No one holds her Trunksie!
"Hey! What about me?!" a voice called from below. The two looked to spot one Yajirobe climbing up the fissure to join them on the rocky cliffside. "I could use a hand here! Come on! Hurry!"
"Tch, I forgot you were here. Well, get up, I don't have all day!" the older man called. So much for calm and patient… As soon as the large martial artist fully surfaced, the saiyan insisted, "Get on my back, and don't try anything. If you fall, that's your own dammed fault."
Following instructions, Yajirobe climbed on and whined, "You know, you sound an awful lot like Vegeta. So rude."
Bulma looked up at the saiyan's jaw line and where his hair parted from skin. He had a few creases with age, she noticed. Something that could probably be aged at around 60 years, she guessed. She'd never imagined a saiyan aging. She honestly didn't know if they could age until now. Goku's stayed the same since a kid besides from his height and defined cheekbones, and Vegeta'd been the same over the last five or so years she'd hosted him in her house.
"Now that you mention it, you really look like him too. Though that could be the saiyan part talking," she commented as the man lifted gently off the ground in a hover flight. She clung a little tighter to Trunks before realizing it was safe.
This man had such a similar hair line, but his hair style was different. His jaw was sharp and juncture in the way she remembered running her hands over in passion once before. Could they really be related, or the same person of another timeline just like her baby boy? No, this man was gentle and Vegeta could never be gentle. Not with Trunks or with her.
She voiced her conclusion, "But you can't be Vegeta. Vegeta would never be good with kids and Trunksie liked you just fine."
His excuse came moments later, "Hmph. Saiyans aren't good with kids. It's not in our nature. I simply shut the brat up because it was annoying."
"Well sure, but Trunks doesn't like just anyone. I mean, he cries even when Vegeta gets too close," she commented, looking back to her baby in her arms. Her voice changed to that cutesy tone, "Isn't that right, Trunksie? You don't like daddy's mean face, hua?"
"It's not the face, it's the ki," the man quickly corrected.
"Hua?" Bulma wondered. What did he mean by the ki? Babies couldn't sense ki, could they?
He explained, "The brat can feel ki in a way. Different from sensing. More primal. Vegeta's ki is unsettling to the boy. Think of it like a porcupine. It's sharp and dangerous. Most saiyan's kis are like this, especially during battle. It takes practice, or in Kakarot's case a knock on the head, to calm down the ki to be more rounded and soft. The brat only responds to kis that are similar enough to his own like yours."
She followed him as far as she could, trying to put together with the little knowledge she had on ki. She questioned, "And you've practiced?"
"Over the years," came his gruff response. It made her wonder how many children he had experience with. Did he learn on his own or did someone teach him? Did he have his own children that he learned with as a father? Or maybe as an uncle or emergency caretaker like Piccolo was for Gohan?
As they flew, Bulma realized they literally knew nothing about this man. She's asked Goku over the three years as the guys prepared for the androids about this 'King Vegeta' but even though the man spent eight months with the guy, he didn't have any clue. Apparently this saiyan was extremely private. He'd acted as though he had no interest in Earth and was very professional during their training together. So little that Goku had to make up that very name for him.
"Hey, what can we call you?" Bulma randomly asked on their journey.
"Hm?" the man sounded, looking at her credulously.
"I mean, Goku keeps calling you King Vegeta but you always complain when he does that. Is there something else you'd rather be called? Do you have a name?" she continued.
After a pause, he replied, "Not one for you to call. If you must call me something, then come up with something for me."
She wondered aloud, "But not King Vegeta? It's got a ring to it, don't ya think?"
His grasp on her tensed and for a moment she was scared she'd said the wrong thing. Could he really be that against the name? Bulma couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to be called King. Hell, she'd love to be called a princess or queen. She always ate it up when the title was passed in a magazine on her being heiress of Capsule Corp. What was so bad about being treated like royalty? She thought saiyans liked that sort of thing. Then again, the only saiyan she really knew like that was Vegeta because he was a prince…
He drawled, "I'm not exactly royalty. And you're damaging Prince Vegeta's ego."
Perhaps he was just loyal to his Prince? So she redirected, "How exactly are you related to Vegeta, by the way? Maybe we can come up with something that way."
The older saiyan sighed wearily, "It's complicated. If you must then just call me a monkey's uncle or something."
Yajirobe snickered, "A monkey's uncle. Because of the tail, right?"
Bulma ignored the comment, trying to stay serious on her mission for name searching, "Huh. I still like King Vegeta better. Plus if it'll get on my Vegeta's nerves, then I can't resist it, can I?"
The man looked down to her and as their eyes met, his cheeks flushed. That woman was so persistent sometimes… Most of the time… And he sighed in defeat. But it wasn't just her persistence that made him give in. It was what she had said. Her Vegeta. Did she really think that possessively of him back then? The teasing he expected, but the affection? Was this different from his own time, or had he just never noticed because of his one-track mind? It was probably the latter, but he wasn't so sure.
"Hey, what's the big deal? Do you have a death wish or somethin'? I wouldn't get on Vegeta's nerves, if I were you," the loud mouth complained.
"Oh relax. Vegeta wouldn't dare hurt little old me. Isn't that right, Trunks?" the woman assured, lifting her baby and waving him in around in the air as he giggled in delight.
"Jeeze woman. If I'd've known you'd throw the child around like that I'd've sent you off with the weaklings instead. Obviously it takes more than just one person to handle you," King Vegeta grumbled. This was going to be a loooong flight to Capsule Corp.
"Hua? What do you mean by that? He's fine, see?" she pointedly stated as her grip firmed around her baby's armpits to keep him secure.
The older saiyan sighed to himself, "Not even Lettiche was this foolish…"
He realized his mistake as soon as he made it when Bulma perked, "Lettiche? Who's that? Is that a girl you know? It sounds like a saiyan name."
Quickly, he defended, "No one. Forget I said anything. She's none of your concern."
"So it is a girl! Is that your wife?! Oh, I bet she's gorgeous!" the woman exclaimed excitedly.
Immediately his eyes went wide at her presumptions and he spat, "What?! No! She's a child, blasted woman! And my mate's of no concern to you, either!"
She obviously caught him off guard, and she could tell he was quickly closing off to her, so she quickly burst, "Well you gotta give me something!"
He growled, "Don't make me drop you, Bulma!"
Despite his tone, she knew it was an empty threat. He was too gentle with her for that to be an actual option. She danced with fire all the time with Vegeta. What made this saiyan any different?
"Yeah, right! Like you'd drop me and a defenseless baby!" she confidently stated.
"I wouldn't test him, Bulma. He sounds serious. Don't piss him off any more!" Yajirobe warned.
"Tubby's right," the older saiyan agreed.
The journey continued in silence. Vegeta sensed the battle that was occurring behind them and found Future Trunks' ki instantly. The kid had just powered up to super saiyan, no doubt destroying the lab doors as he had done before. Vegeta knew he had to hurry up his pace or risk the timeline changing from him not correcting what wasn't supposed to happen there. He regretted not sending Yamcha and Gohan to take Bulma and Yajirobe, as the two were supposed to be away from the fight. Not that those two would make a different, but Kakarot would…
"The fight's about to start, damnit," he announced to his two passengers. His flight speed increased as his ki spread over them. He was already ahead of schedule as he was sure Gohan in the original timeline took far longer, but still it wasn't fast enough for his own taste. Things could go sour quickly in this time. Or go too right…