Wow, the last one, the big 2-0!! 20 is here in full force, as the final chapter. I'm writing this before I even begin typing, so I'm not sure if I'll make an epilogue or what…we'll have to see, ne?
I would like to thank my #1 supporter and pal/fello angst otaku, Rae George!!! And thank you in advance for your continued support! You know, you're the only one that has reviewed every chapter. But that's not the only reason you're my buddy. (Though it does help ^_~)
Also, Mistress Alexa, AGalaxiaGoddess, Lea, Trunks Saiyan Princess, and special thanks goes to Stef-chan! You guys are all so incredibly awesome!
And I want to make an official apology, to Nekochan. Nekochan left a perfectly valid review, which I responded to in a rude and uncalled for manner. Nekochan, I am so sorry, and if you never saw my response to your 'stupid question' then I am a very happy gal. Don't bother looking it up, I wasn't nice.
And yes, I am aware that it really isn't all that easy to get pregnant. Artistic license has been used here! Actually, a lot of the details in the last few chappies were spur of the moment. -_-;; So, um…yeah.
I'm not going to disapppear completely! I've still got AiM and I'm working out a t/p that will relate to TCtF just a little bit. And my prequel (to TCtF) songfic, which will detail the events surrounding Bulma and Trunks' death. So be on the lookout, and let me know if you want to be informed when I get a new fic out.
Well, here goes…
NOTE: flashback
*~To Change the Future~*
~*~
~Final chapter~
(~*~)
"Kaasan," Trunks called, trying to gain the attention of his mother, who was head and shoulders into the guts of the time machine. "If we succeed with this, Pan and I won't be bonded anymore, correct? It will veritably undo our relationship, right?" He questioned, his tone anything but hopeful.
"I think that depends, Trunks. You will still have to come back here to visit, except that Pan will be different, and she may already have been attached to their Trunks. There is still a chance that you two will get intimate, but it's a small one." He nodded unenthusiastically, shuffling over to stand next to his mate, against the wall. She leaned against his side, and he moved his arm out of the way to put it around her shoulders as she snuggled closer to his chest. Both closed their eyes, conversing silently.
Bra shook her head sadly at the sight, it was becoming more clear that not everyone would be completely happy with this arrangement. Of course, once they repaired both timelines the two could be together again, though not under the same circumstances. She had hoped that everyone would be made happier this way, but Trunks and Pan losing each other and their child, without the assurance that they would still end up together was anything but happy. Come to think of it, she and Goten faced the same obstacle. She pushed the melancholy thoughts from her head, focusing on her work.
At least the renovations were going smoothly. The machine would be finished within minutes, as she and Bulma had simply installed the same scanner into it.
After ensuring that Bulma could finish on her own, Bra sought out her father's ki signature. He seemed to be outside, meditating.
The warm spring air accosted her senses, the sugary flowers and unique scent of freshly mowed grass invading her nostrils in a pleasing, almost intoxicating manner. Vegeta was sitting with his back against a sprawling shady oak, his knees drawn up to his chest and encircled by muscular arms. His head was tilted back to rest on the gnarled bark, eyes closed, though she knew he wasn't asleep. Stting next to him softly, Bra leaned her head against her fathers shoulder, allowing her tired eyes to close momentarily. The tree failed to block the light of the setting sun, and closed eyes remedied that nicely.
She sighed quietly before speaking, although her speech was audible only in the mind of her father.
Are you ready to go back, Touchan? She questioned softly. He heaved a deep sigh and opened his eyes, the black depths glowing surreally with the golden tint of the sun.
Hai he responded simply, wearily, as if his mind was worn out.
Are you allright? She questioned worriedly, opening her eyes and laying a small hand on his arm.
I will be if you managed to make that damn time capsule work He replied, frustration tainting his tired tone.
It'll work She assured, standing up and pulling him to his feet. He wavered slightly once upright, but pushed away her steadying hand, mumbling something about sitting too long. They trudged around the outside of the building to the large door that opened directly into the lab.
"It's time for your crash course on time machine anatomy," Bra announced, much to Vegeta's dismay.
(~*~)
Bulma watched as Vegeta told his daughter goodbye, kissing her forehead and receiving her hug without complaint. Again the time capsule blinked out of sight, and all her mind focused on her prayers for his success. His success would mean her success, the victory could finally be hers. Her race, her war against time, now in its final stages.
(~*~)
Golden stars whizzed by, drowning in a sea of deep blue. He saw ahead one star in particular, the one matching his own timeline, according to the capsule that he traveled in. To Vegeta's mind the trip was unbeliavably short, as he had a sense of shooting out into this sea of starlight and turning around to zoom straight back into the same golden point of light from which he left.
A bright flash blinded him, and he was back on Chikyuu, in a sprawling forest. He took a drink of water from the bottle he found under the seat and drifted to the ground, the hydraulic landing gear hissing as the machine touched down. He considered with much sarcasm how this was one of his first times landing without crashing.
Landing lightly on the ground, he pressed a panel to encapsulate the time machine. He sought out his own ki, locating…himself…in his usual haunt, the Gravity Room. He sped off in that direction, carefully masking his ki. The white-domed buildings rose casually above the horizon as he drew nearer.
He never stopped to touch the ground as he swiftly moved through the house, straight towards his counterpart. Without bothering to turn off the gravity he opened the door and quickly closed it once inside. His younger self was punching the air absently, his face contorted into a thoughtful scowl. He stopped upon seeing the older man enter, his face revealing very little of his shock. (AN: Vegeta-older vegeta-younger. Same deal as B&T)
She said it! Curse it all, she had actually said it, leaving him uncomfortable as hell as to how he should respond. Curled happily into his arms, she told him exactly how she felt about him, kissing him softly. He hadn't responded, looking unsure of himself and her. The disappointment in her eyes gnawed at his soul, and she pulled away from him to sleep on her side of the bed.
He beat himself senseless mentally, cursing at once for being too weak and too strong for his, or her, own good.
A little unnerved at being yanked from his thoughtsof the previous night, vegeta got the odd feeling that the man before him was recalling the same incident. Scanning the older warrior's appearance, he noted the dark, deadened eyes and pain filled expression. Vegeta closed his eyes momentarily, murmuring about how he should have told her…something.
"So, how far in the future are you from?" The younger counterpart sneered resignedly, though a little uneasy at the elder's mumblings. He received a sigh in return.
"Fifteen years ahead. I'm here to change our…the future." Having obtained his attention, Vegeta continued. Concentrating on a bitter image, he projected the sight of a mangled air car and crushed bodies to his counterpart. Looking at the older warrior in alarm, he furiously asked when it would occur.
"Today, in about," glancing at the display on the console, "one hour. But this time, you will go on your first ever shopping trip with her, and the whole family." At the younger mans frightened look, he added, "At least follow the car. This is the bastard." He sent another image, this one detailing the offending vehicle engulfing the front end of Bulma's car.
The gravity lightened to normal Chikyuu standards, sending both men a few feet into the air. Tiny and blue-haired, Bra burst through the door, babbling excitedly about the shopping trip she was about to embark on with her mother and brother.
"Touchan, touchan! Are you gonna come with us? Huh? Huh? Please come Touchan!" She squealed, yanking heavily on her fathers hand (the younger one). He looked at her uncertainly before glancing at his counterpart, who was fixated on the girl, a small smile tugging at his lips, his eyes reflecting…tenderness? vegeta gave Bra a curt nod of acknowledgement. She skittered back out the door, barely pausing to notice her alternate father ruffling her hair as she exited. She grinned at him, assuming that he had simply moved quickly from his previous position on the other side of the chamber.
Vegeta looked at the younger father pointedly, "The only survivor." vegeta paled noticeably. Turning to leave, Vegeta turned back momentarily. That same pain flickered strongly in his eyes as he said, "Tell her. She needs to hear it. I'm sure it won't be all that bad." He smirked, poorly covering his evident regret.
Vegeta left quickly without being seen, un-encapsulating the time machine and jumping in as soon as he was out of sight of the house. Drawing deep breaths to control his shaking hands, he initialized the launch sequence.
He could feel his entire body quivering as conflicting emotions broiled through his mind. Fear, fear of failure, that his hope would be crushed into so many pieces. Hope, and excitement managing to puncture his fright.
Bright blue sky abruptly shifted dark, golden-hued stars brightening the odd miniature galaxy.
(~*~)
"Pan," Trunks whispered urgently, searching her face desperately. For what, he knew not. Her ki lessened noticeably as the small form within her disappeared. Her clothing changed somewhat, and her hair was a slightly different length. She blinked a few times, pulling out of his embrace to blush innocently.
"Trunks-kun!" He flinched at the lack of intimacy in her tone. "Gomen nasai! I'll just be going…now." She stumbled out of the room, flustered to a large degree. He blinked back the still-forming tears, feeling the lack of any link between them, though it did not possess the painful emptiness displayed by Goten and Vegeta. His mind clung pitifully to the few memories they had shared, and found that the scenes were growing increasingly fuzzy and indistinct. He calculated that within a week he would have no recollection whatsoever of their time together. Victory could be such a bittersweet thing.
Tenshi simply disappeared, and his mother changed drastically. Her training outfit changed into a short skirt and a tight shirt. Her boots became high heels, and her hair grew longer, makeup appearing on her already gorgeous features. Lean, well-toned muscle gave way to feminine curves. Goten must have altered also, but more on the inside, Trunks supposed, as Goku's youngest appeared to only be wearing different clothing.
bulma's halo fazed out of existence, and a second Bulma appeared, seeminglly in the midst of working on some project.
Trunks could sense his counterpart's ki in the gravity room, training half-heartedly. He questioned Bra about the past few days, and received very different responses than he expected. Excusing himself, Trunks found his mother explaining to her counterpart what had occurred, and that Vegeta would be a changed man for the space of about a week, until his memory altered to fit the current state of things. Bulma seemed to take it all in stride, only interrupting to voice a question.
No sooner had she finished than Trunks was compelled to whisper, "He's here," in response to the sensation of his father's ki registering outside. Bulma ran out of the lab and upstairs, while her counterpart and alternate son headed outdoors.
Vegeta was climbing out of the time machine as they neared, and he strode over to them purposefully. Trunks noticed the difference in his disposition immediately, that painful, haunted look was gone, excitement flickering in the depths of his dark eyes. A few scars on his arms were fading, and his face betrayed more color than it had since they arrived, and most likely long before that.
"It worked," he stated, and he looked ready to dance a jig, though in a strictly Vegeta sort of way. Trunks was checking over the machine, pleased to see that it had come through unscathed. He looked over to see his alternate father and his mohter staring at each other. Vegeta grasped her by the shoulders and kissed her forehead lightly.
"Arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much)," He told her. She smiled and nodded, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before moving away. She allowed Trunks to assist her in climbing into the machine, waving a happy, smiling goodbye. Trunks joined her in a moment's time, and both turned to see Vegeta stalking into the house, via the balcony jutting out from their bedroom.
"So Trunks," bulma began conversationally. "Think you can work that same magic on our timeline?"
(~*~)
Pausing in his short flight to the balcony, Vegeta lowered himself back to the ground, resolving to enter through the house and see what, if anything, was different. The house was more modern, and he had a vague feeling that they had re-modeled it a few years back. Bra was rooting through the pantry for a bag of chips, and he stared at her attire. So… feminine. She had always been on the tom-boyish side, unless she was at work. She turned to face him, her quick smile turning to puzzlement at the odd expression on his face.
"Touchan, are you okay? You're in for lunch early. Kio is looking for you." she informed him, even as a cry of "Tousan!" resonated through the house.
"You don't have to scream about it!" Bra reprimanded the livid fifteen year old that entered the kitchen, tail twitching in annoyance. The girl's angry blue eyes confronted her father from beneath her scowl, black hair cut short to avoid its odd upward swoop. Her outfit reflected Bra's previous training outfit exactly.
"Well I wasn't calling you was I Bra? No, your name is not 'Tousan' as I recall. Unless you changed it without informing me?" Bra glared at her before stalking out of the room. Kio smirked triumphantly, facing Vegeta again.
"Tousan, Kaasan wants you. But be quick, you've already taken a long break!" She informed before leaving her shocked father to stand in silence. She had called him, Tousan? How much had this place changed? making a mental note ot look into the events surrounding her birth, Vegeta headed up the stairs, hands shaking once again. A note was stuck on the closed door, informing him that Bulma knew what had happened to him in the past fifteen years, thanks to her counterpart.
He could feel her inside, taking a shower. He relished the feel of their bond, complete once again. His will converted to movement, and his trembling hand closed over the door knob, twisting and pushing the door open. He listened as the shower cut off, and she opened the stall door. Steam poured from the open bathroom, though the angle prevented him from seeing anything but toilet and sink.
His breath quickened when she appeared from the steam, wrapped in a not-quite-so-large towel. He swallowed, attempting to return some semblance of moisture to his suddenly dry mouth. She proceeded forward to stand in front of the Saiyajin, laying one hand on his chest.
"Welcome home Vege-chan," she whispered, laying her lips on his own. He responded immediately, arms around her waist pulled her body flush with his as her arms wound around his neck. Moving from her lips, he kissed a trail down her jaw, continuing downward until he found a small bite mark imprinted upon her neck. He nuzzled the area affectionately, causing her to shiver with delight. He worked his mouth back up to her ear, whispering urgently.
"Bulma, I should have told you long ago…I have regretted every day that went by without you knowing that, that…" he drew back to look her in the eye. "Ai shiteru Bulma-chan." He leaned his forehead against hers, becoming lost in her oceanic eyes.
"Baka," she chided gently, a dazzling smile removing whatever breath was left in his lungs as she tok his face in her hands. "You've told me that numerous times in the past fifteen or so years. I love you too, Vegeta no Ouji."
"When?" he breathed.
"When what?"
"When was the first time I, I said…" She nodded.
"I'd say about fifteen years ago. We all went to the mall, and somehow you sensed the danger when we were driving and stopped us from getting into a really messy accident. You never did tell me how you knew. That night you told me. I still think that was when Kio was conceived." She smiled seductively, and he growled ferally.
"I can tell you how I knew," he uttered, kissing her deeply. He walked backwards without breaking contact, drawing her down on the bed with him. He was suddenly happy that he had remembered to lock the door. She pulled away to put her lips near his ear, ignoring his shocked expression as she spoke.
"Now I won't ever leave you."
*~The End~*
*sobs* I can't believe it's over!!! I'm glad I have another fic on the way, that'll help to ease the pain. ^_^
Thank you all so much! I love you guys! I can't believe I'll actually get 100 reviews out of this, that's so freaking amazing!!
Rae George: Thank you so much for all of your support and often times very amusing reviews. Fabio's all yours honey, eat your heart out. Literally eat your heart out. I wouldn' touch Fabio with a 39 ½' pole. Yuck.
Misstress Alexa: All of your reviews were wonderful and helpful! Thank you for taking the time to put me on your favorites list, it's so cool! I think you're the one that mentioned my fics all being dath related. Which is true. -_-; Earlier this year (the first two weeks of this year) a friend of the family lost his wife, and then my Great Grandma passed away. To be blunt, this New Year sucked royally. So, yeah, death has been on my mind lately. TCtF was even post-poned in its debut. It didn't feel right authoring a fic featuring a guy losing his mate at the time. BTW, tahnks for the idea about Kai being Shin (sort of). It was extremely helpful. ^_^
AGalaxiaGoddess: Thank you for putting my fic on your site, tell me when it's working again and I'll email you the other chapters! Your reviews wre so helpful, and you actually inspired me to write the bit with (M.) Bulma freaking out about Ju-hachi. Thank you for everything, don't lose touch!
Lea: My fellow Ryoko fan. ^_^ You've been a very loyal reviewer, and we've even emailed occasionally. ^_^ Thank you so much!
Stef-chan: My dear Stef-chan. ^_^ My future co-author for…something. o_O; We'll get it figured out! Thank you so much for your reviews!! I love reviews. ^____^
pannybaby123: Thank you for reviewing and enjoying my fic. It's so nice to hear that I'm loved. ^_^ Or at least that my creation is loved. You always left the most uplifting reviews.
Pretty Pink Kitty: Where'd you go? You haven't reviewed the last few chapters. *cries* Please come back!
Bishoujo439: Your reviews always made me laugh. Good stuff! ^_^
Trunks' Saiyajin Princess: Thank you so much! I love your reviews and encouragement!!
I can't list everybody, gomen! I would be here all day!
devil's lil imp
Manga girl
Jetstream
Vegeta Jr.
ali
Starwind
-Nagini-
ginni
Miss Kitty
Daniel of Lorien
lil' Chi Chi
Neko-chan
Amie-chan
Ain't no savior
Air Qaeda Sneakers... "light em up!"
Sir Drake and Sweet Sharie (My first reviewer!)
Most of you left at least one review, and I hope you found your way to the finale!!
Thank you everybody! I love you! (Aw, heck, I'm gonna cry! Well…maybe not)
*~The Illustrious Beji-chan~*