Sorry about the evil cliffy! Well, not really, but I just couldn't resist. ^_^ I'm glad that you liked it. But as I promised, I am going to give you an extra long chapter to make up for it…I'll try to get it out quickly! But I refuse to sacrifice quality for swiftness.
If you feel I'm getting a tad OOC with Vege-chan*shudders*, don't worry, cuz I feel it too. But we must remember that he has suffered a lot, and learned a bit too, and he's better off for it. So, he's older and wiser, we'll put it that way. I also threw in a few song lyrics that I like and that fit with the story line. I really need to cut down on these Author's Notes, they're getting long…
Last time…
Bulma spoke first.
"I guess this is where we say goodbye."
(~*~)
He simply grunted, watching her like a hawk from the other side of the balcony. Already he could feel the widening gap between them, as she tried her best not to cause any hurt.
"You need to stop blaming yourself," he advised, taking two steps in her direction.
"That's what your son keeps telling me," she replied, closing the distance 'til they were a mere hairs-breadth apart. He looked deeply in her eyes, softly reflecting the starlight, trying to tell her all was forgiven, that he never blamed her in the first place. She seemed to understand, and leaned her head on his chest. Instinctively curling arms around her waist, he buried his face in her soft teal hair, inhaling her scent deeply.
"You let Bra know before you have your final bout with Goku, alright? I'm pretty sure she already suspects you of doing something like that, but she should be prepared, ne?" He blinked in surprise, had he been that see through? But then, Bra had always been perceptive, and it was only partly from her father's side, he knew.
They stayed like that till Baba returned, sharing thoughts with each other, neither making a sound or moving. At Baba's urging Bulma started to move away, and Vegeta pulled her back for one last heart-breaking kiss. When he released her he took two large steps away, hands clenched tightly by his sides.
She brushed away tears, trying hard to smile. He looked on in shock as she took flight, her small ki rising noticeably.
He watched until they dissapeared again, and remained unmoving until he felt it. Bra now had her eyes focused on him, as he tried to keep the pained expression off his face. He sensed Bulma's ki blink out of existence, and a sharp pain stabbed through his chest, rendering him breathless. Instead of fading, it grew in intensity, till he was gasping, shaking softly with eyes shut tightly. The very ground beneath him went for a spin, and he fell to hands and knees, fingers digging deep trenches in the concrete. He tried to block her image from his mind, focus on Bra kneeling beside him, but it was all but impossible.
(~*~)
If this scene wasn't familiar, then Bra was losing her memory. Vegeta was on the ground, muttering under his breath, hands slowly digging deeper through the balcony. She felt gut-wrenching sorrow, almost excruciating pain echoing from him, and there wasn't a thing that she could do to ease his pain. Well, there was one thing she could do, but she figured he would want to at least see his first grandchild before he…left.
She could already feel the life inside of her, and she wondered idly how Saiyajin the child would be. Both parents being half-Saiyajin, the child could be anything from all human to pure Saiyajin.
She touched her Touchan's shoulder comfortingly, quickly jerking her hand away when he pulled away, groaning in pain. What on chikyuu could she do for this? Was he just upset? Or did this have to do with his bond to her mother? She supposed it was broken now, and he had told her before that it was one of the greatest pains a Saiyajin could ever face. She could hear him near chanting under his breath.
"Bulma…Ai shiteru, ai shiteru, gomen nasai, ai shiteru…" So, he hadn't told her after all. Bra would have to be deaf not have heard him say that every night, when he thought she was asleep.
She made her way quickly to her lab, worry etched deeply into her features. She grabbed a bottle of some strong sedative and a syringe. Rushing quickly to the balcony again, she found him in the same position, crouched over, sweat nearly pouring from his pain-wracked body. She filled the needle with enough tranquilizer to put him out for the night, without being hung over come morning. He failed to react to the small prick of the needle, and within moments he slumped to the cold ground, still breathing heavily.
After carrying his prone form inside to his bed and laying the sleeping man down, Bra staggered downstairs to the living room, collapsing heavily onto one of the couchs. She lay there, unmindful of the mess she was making of the couch, and the four other occupants of the room, who were staring at her uncertainly.
She felt Goten sit on the edge of the sofa, and he rested one hand on her stomach and the other stroked her hair. Her upper half was lifted gently as he scooted back against the cushions to lay her head in his lap.
She drifted off to sleep while attempting to monitor her father's ki.
(~*~)(Since B&T have departed, Future Bulma and Trunks will get their capital letters back ^_^ I'll let you know when you're reading about the dead ones. Ay yi yi! I'm confusing myself you know, but y'all are smart enough to figure it out!)
Trunks laid his head back on his arms, leaning back far enough to examine the ceiling. He had just about given up on finding the right woman, and suddenly his subconcious was making all the life-changing decisions for him, bonding him with a girl he had known only a day. He really wouldn't mind so much, if it weren't for the fact that she was from a different timeline. Now he was torn, between eternal unhappiness, and, well, eternal unhappiness.
He tried not to get his hopes up about the time machine. True, it most likely presented a way out of their 'predicament', and it would solve two dozen other problems, but they had been giving their all for that damn machine for fifteen years at least, and he naturally had his doubts. The only thing they had left to do was wait. Goku would go for a visit, take them to Supreme Kai, and see how high they could go from there. He assumed that they were to keep the plan from Goten and Bra, and Vegeta of course.
He knew that he drifted off for a while, and when he woke up, the sun was shining brightly in his eyes, and he and Pan were the only two in the room. In the house for that matter. Aside from Vegeta. A piece of yellow note paper was laying on his chest.
Goten, Bra and I are going to the hospital
to get Bra fixed up, and then we're heading
across town to pick up breakfast for everyone.
See you soon.
Love,
Kaasan
He scooted closer to Pan to avoid the sunlight, and she murmured in her sleep and turned to curl up against his arm, shivering slightly. He put his arm around her shoulders to spread his body heat a little and went back to sleep.
(~*~)
I tried so hard, and got so far,
but in the end, it doesn't even matter
(~*~)
She was laying on something. Someone. Warm and firm, so comfortable… Pan's eyes shot open. Trunks arms were wrapped firmly around her, and she was laying on him, still on the couch. Oh kami, how in the heck… She tried to get up, get off of him, onto the floor, anywhere. But, he was warm, and so comfy…
The phone rang loudly, and she pulled away, staggering over to the phone. She picked up a piece of paper on the floor on the way and read the note quickly.
"Moshi moshi?" She answered dully, rubbing a hand over her eyes.
"Briefs-san?" A deep male voice responded.
"This is a friend of the family, they aren't available at the moment."
"Can I get your name ma'am?"
"Hai, Son Pan. Can I ask who this is?
"I'm from the Satan city police department, ma'am. I'm afraid there's been an accident." Pan froze, unable to think.
"Ma'am?" She shook her head, surely they were fine. Bulma was the only one she should be worried about.
"I'm here," she stammered.
"There's only one survivor." A lump formed quickly in her throat, as her mind played sick guessing games at who the unlucky two were.
"Who, who survived?" She waited, wanting to scream at the man for taking so long in reply. Desperately cycling through the three names, she was unable to decide which one she would rather have still living.
"Son Goten. Bulma and Bra Briefs died on impact. I'm sorry ma'am." She hung up the phone and stumbled back to the couch, sitting heavily.
Trunks jumped awake when she sat on his stomach, but judging by the shock on her face, he remained quiet. Oh Trunks, she thought, keeping it to herself, you didn't deserve this. And Vegeta. He was already a wreck from Bulma leaving, this, this would tear him to shreds. He stared at her questioningly, so naïve, ignorant. She bit her lip, tears forcing theit way down her face and looked away from him, unable to look into those clear blue eyes. How could she say it?
"Hey, what's wrong Pan-chan?" He asked, concern evident. She only cried harder, and he sat up so that she was sitting in his lap, with his arms around her comfortingly.
"Trunks, did you read that note?" She pointed to the yellow piece of paper. He nodded. "Well…They, they got into an accident. A really bad one. And…and…Your Kaasan, and Bra…they, didn't make it," she turned to cry into his chest. He straightened, sucking in deep breaths through clenched teeth. His mind was a whirlwind of memories, denial, anger, pain, sadness, love, too many emotions for her to pick out, and she wrapped her arms around his broad chest, trying vainly to bring comfort.
She knew that he refused to cry, that perhaps sometime when he was alone, he would release the pent up emotion.
"We should go see Goten, I think," she managed to say, though her voice broke. He agreed mentally, and then disagreed.
"We can't just leave 'Tousan. This'll hit him pretty hard." He was ready to give up, she could tell, since life seemed intent on deealing his family harsh blows, then so be it.
"But he needs to know, that there's hope. It's a win/win situation for him. If things don't work out with the time travel stuff, he can always just go and join them, I know that's what he's been planning. Bra told me." Heavy footsteps sounded upstairs, and both paused to listen as Vegeta came down the stairs stumblingly, by the sound of it.
"Trunks, we need to think of something fast." She voiced, urgency tinging her plea.
"We'll tell him about Bra, and then about our plans. But we have to get through to him before he totally goes off the handle." Trunks shut his mouth quickly as his father walked through the room to the kitchen without a backward glance. His eyes looked almost dead, with only the faintest hint of life remaining in their black depths. He groggily downed a glass of water, unaware of the silent conversation between those seated on the couch.
He returned to the living room and sat down in a chair, sighing loudly. He looked about ready to vomit, his eyes only showing pain. He continued to stare straight ahead for a moment before turning to the young couple nearby.
"Enjoying yourselves?" He asked sarcastically, eyeing the two. He focused on Pan's tear stained face and Trunks sad, pained look.
"Not really," they answered in unison, neither one batting an eye.
"Tousan, there's something you need to know," Trunks began, trying hard not to falter. Vegeta simply looked at him, near-lifeless eyes staring into his own somewhat deadened gaze.
"Goten, Bra and my Ka-Kaasan went out to get breakfast while we were all still asleep. They," he paused, searching for the strength to continue, the strength to stack on the straw that broke the camel's back. Taking a deep breath, he forged on.
"They got into an accident, and Bra and my Kaasan didn't make it." She could hear the strain in his voice, caused by the lump she knew was residing in his throat. They waited nervously for his reaction, fearing the worst.
The prince's eyes narrowed slightly, the pain that was visible in them increasing greatly. His hands, resting in his lap, were shaking, and his breath came in shallow gasps. He was murmuring to himself, and it wasn't difficult for the demi-Saiyajin to pick up on his words.
"Kuso! Chikushou! Shimatta! Kuso! Chiku…" He continued ranting.
"Tousan!" Vegeta glared at Trunks, but bitter mirth overtook any malice in it.
"Damn cars…I really should just destroy them all!" He smirked then, forming a small ball of ki in one hand and looking at it closely. "Should have just destroyed them all in the first place," he muttered, looking peaceful as he inched the ball of white-hot energy closer to his chest.
Trunks was at his side in a flash, knocking the ki ball out the window and shaking Vegeta roughly. He puched Trunks away.
"Just let me go boy! What do I have here? Nothing! I have some cave on a deserted island, and a gravity room. I don't have to stay here, when I have more important places to be." He sneered at his son, but Trunks didn't miss the gathered moisture in his father's eyes.
"Tousan, we have a plan, to fix the time machine! With Bulma's help, and Goku's, in Ano-yo! They're going to get information about the timelines, and how to travel within your own timeline, and change things! Change all this! You could have them all back Tousan, just as though they'd never left! My Kaasan and I can fix our timeline too. We can have events turn out similar to what has happened here! Don't you see? We have hope, and that's all you need right now. And if it doesn't work, then you can leave, join them! You win either way. Just stay, for a little longer. We can go to the hospital, and see how Goten is doing." Vegeta stared at him, his eyes flickering through a range of emotions. Trunks prayed that hope was one of them. He nodded once in acquiescence, and stood slowly.
Pan wiped her face, giving Trunks a mental kiss on the cheek. He smiled sadly at her, walking to the front entrance to pull on his shoes. Vegeta and Pan were quick to follow, and they flew off in the direction of Satan General.
(~*~)
He woke slowly, aware only of the sharp pain in his chest, and the loud throbbing of blood in his ears. Through the thin layer of his eyelids he could see a bright light, and refused to open his eyes. Through the ringing in his ears he could make out the beeping of machinery. The only part that really hurt was his chest and head, and he felt, empty somehow. Like some deep part of him had been torn away, never to return.
He heard a soft voice. Pan? Then another person talking softly, Trunks.
Where was Bra? Realization crashed down on him, and he somehow exactly what was missing. Bra, their bond, he couldn't feel her just at the other end. He searched for her ki in vain, knowing that it was in vain, and yet he searched. Begged, prayed. Only Vegeta, Trunks, and his niece. He opened his eyes, and focused on Bra's father. He realized that his hand was gripping his own chest, knuckles white from the pressure.
"It hurts," he gasped out pitifully before passing out again.
(~*~)
Vegeta silently agreed with the boy. Yes brat, it does hurt. And it isn't going to stop hurting either. Like an old rusted knife deep in your chest, turning slowly.
Goten awoke again, this time a little more coherent, though still in pain. Vegeta felt an odd companionship with him, as he had so often felt with the boy's father, when they were fighting. Like they understood each other on some level. The brat obviously felt it too, and he kept turning to look back at Vegeta, eyes pleading for answers.
"There's no use in you even staying here , brat. They can't give you painkillers for that." Goten nodded and sat up, wincing. Trunks and Pan were struggling to not show their exasperation.
"What on chikyuu are you two talking about? What hurts?" Trunks asked finally. Both Goten and Vegeta fixed him with a glare.
"Having the bond with your mate broken is less than pleasant, but you wouldn't know that, since you haven't bonded and then lost anyone." Vegeta snapped irritably. Trunks looked at the floor, muttering softly.
"I haven't lost her yet," he risked a quick glance at Pan, who blushed.
"Nani? Pan, you didn't…" Goten questioned, alarmed. Vegeta gave the couple a shocked look, before quickly covering it with cool disinterest.
"Relax Uncle Goten, we haven't done anything, but, we're bonded somehow. We realized it last night." Trunks suddenly smirked, and Pan gave him a shocked look, before she stuck her tongue out at him, and punched him in the shoulder. He stumbled a few feet, but a grin now covered his face.
"If you two keep that up, I'll have my first grandchild soon." Vegeta remarked, smirking as their faces grew solem, eyes wide. Goten gasped quietly, sadness covering his features. All in the small hospital room turned to look at him.
"Bra," he said softly. "She was pregnant. And now…" His brow furrowed and he stared at his hands, folded in his lap. Vegeta's features darkened considerably, and he swore. Goten turned from rage to guilt in a heartbeat.
"It's all my fault," he moaned. He looked up at Trunks, something glowing in his eyes. "She's ok, right? Your kaasan, isn't…" Trunks shook his head sadly.
"It isn't your fault Goten, and you know it. We aren't blaming you." Pan comforted, patting her relatives hand softly.
"But I was driving. None of us should have been driving, we were all so darn tired. Should have just stayed home." Trunks looked at him angrily.
"Just stop it Goten. I know from experience that you can spend your life on all the what if's and should haves. It's a waste that get's you nowhere but depressed and without hope. Don't blame yourself, no one else does. Shit happens, and it can't all be prevented. We're gonna try to prevent it, but the chances are slim." Trunks continued on for a while, letting Goten in on their non-secret.
"Let's get out of here. I'm not in critical condition."
(~*~)(Kuso. Right back to big B and little b…)
"W have some new arrivals we'd like you to meet, Bulma-san."
"Hai, King Kai. How new are they?"
"Very new, just arrived in Ano-yo. Would your son mind transporting us?"
"Not at all," the young woman replied with a smile, turning towards her son, who was a few feet away training. "Trunks! Newbie duty!" He nodded and walked over to grab her hand.
Having foud a deceased native of Yardraat, Trunks had been quick to learn the Instant Transmission that Goku had been so fond of. They were on the long road in the blink of an eye.
Bra and bulma were standing next to a black haired man, all looking around frantically. The two older(or longer dead, at least) waited in a shocked silence for the allotted ten minutes. What were these two doing here? Oh kami. If Bra was gone, then surely Vegeta wouldn't be far behind. bulma was the first to speak.
"Oh kami, please don't let me be dead," she near sobbed. She noticed her alternate self and son, and began to cry. "I'm trapped here," she stammered, "I have to spend eternity alone, without him." Bulma had no doubts as to who she was referring to. Forever spent in the Ano-yo of the wrong timeline.
This could work out to their advantage, Bulma decided. It would give tham an excuse to find out about timelines and such. A noble excuse, as this womans eternal happiness was at stake.
She placed her hands on her counterparts shoulders, shaking her softly to get the hysterical womans attention. "This could be a good thing. Now we have a good reason to ask about how time works. One way or the other, we're gonna get you to him, I promise." Trunks turned to his mother.
"Kaasan, you guys are going to have to wear different clothes or something, because you two look exactly the same now. And who is this guy?" He pointed to the man standing very close to Bra. He had wild black hair, narrow lavender eyes, and he was well built, almost Trunks' height exactly. He inched closer to Bra, looking into her face.
"Kaasan?"
***
Would you believe that I just thought of putting that guy in there, like two paragraphs ago? Pretty good eh? I know the chapter wasn't as long as I promised(only 900 words short of 4,500!)…but I really haven't thought out all the details from this point on. I need some brainstorm time, and I do have another fic to work on.
Until next time! Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter, and took the time to review All in Me!
Arigatou gouzaimashita! Mata ne!
(Review!)