Disclaimer—*glances nervously at the gun pointing to her temple* Uh, I completely disavow ANY claims I might have to DB/Z/GT….*nudge*…Uh, and Funimation is great?…*nudges*…Funimation is incredibly stupendous super groovy duper cool? *gun is uncocked* Whew….
A/N—This turned out different than I thought it would. Just a hint of romance. Maybe I'll do a sequel…Oh, and sorry it took so long!
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As Goku came to a halt at the site of the explosion, he was greeted by a very odd sight indeed.
A yard full of guests stood, gazing blankly at a hole in the wall. Next to a gape-mouthed Bra and Goten, stood Chibi Goku and Chibi Vegeta, staring in confusion at the two glowing golden figures that floated just within the blasted area.
Mirai Trunks and Vegeta grinned fiercely at each other. Their gi's were tattered and worn, in Mirai's case, the entire top half was in shreds, exposing his chest as he gasped for breath, never taking his eyes off Vegeta who was focused intently, face alight with battle-glee.
The awesome stand-off was brought to a halt by one of the few people who could interrupt Vegeta while fighting, and live to tell the tale.
"VEGETA!!!"
Slowly, with evident disappointment, Vegeta dropped out of his battle-wary stance, and turned from his son to face a much more fearsome opponent—Bulma. "What is it, woman?"
Bulma's eyes were afire, blazing with something more than their usual mischief as she glared at her mate, infuriated beyond reason. "YOU BLASTED A HOLE IN THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE, YOU-YOU!!!"
The blue-haired genius found herself at a rare loss for words. She couldn't think of a vile enough term to describe the man who had just blown a hole in the side of her home. It would be fixed by dinner, of course, but that didn't matter—it was the principle of the thing!
Seeing her mother at a loss for words, Bra, the only other being besides Bulma who dared scold Vegeta, stepped up to the plate. "Daddy! You leave Trunks alone!"
While Bra ranted and raved, intent on saving the man she thought was her brother from the supposed wrath of her father, Chibi Goku and Chibi Vegeta backed slowly away. This lady might be nice, but boy could she be scary!
Goten, who cringed a few feet behind Bra, would have agreed with the chibi's thoughts, had he heard them. Sometimes he thought Bra was scary too.
Slowly, carefully, quietly, Chibi Goku and Chibi Vegeta snuck back to the buffet, unnoticed by any of the participants in the melee.
As the chibi's stuffed themselves with potato salad, hotdogs, chips, and other assorted goodies, the adults slugged it out by the hole in the gravity room.
"AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THEM GO AWAY BECAUSE NOW EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT THEM AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY AND IT'S NOT TRUNKS' FAULT AND…"
Mirai Trunks blinked in bemused awe as he watched the blue-haired carbon copy of his mother defend him. He thought about interrupting her tirade to reveal that he was Mirai Trunks, and not the Trunks she knew—he contemplated correcting her mistaken assumption that Chibi Vegeta and Chibi Goku were the children of her Trunks—he took several such helpful and clarifying acts into consideration—but he didn't do anything. It was just too amusing to see his father's stunned expression as the blue-haired banshee tore into him for crimes he hadn't committed.
Vegeta tried to open his mouth—tried to explain—but Bra was Bulma's student, and she'd learned her lessons much too well to let Vegeta get a word in. The poor Prince was helpless beneath the barrage of words his daughter hurled forth.
Bulma and Chi-Chi meanwhile, were convulsed with gales of laughter at the little mix up. When you weren't on the receiving end, cases of mistake identity were just TOO funny!
The Z-senshi who were attending the picnic seemed divided between those who were staring at Bra yelling at Vegeta, and those who were gawking at Chi-Chi and Bulma rolling around on the grass consumed with laughter.
Not one of the transfixed group even flinched as a large flock of bombers roared overhead on a training flight, startling birds from nearby bushes.
While the adults were too caught between amusement and confusion to have much of a reaction to the loud planes, the chibi's were another story. Chibi Vegeta paused in horror, hamburger half-stuffed into his mouth as the jets flew overhead. "Oh no!" he exclaimed, managing to clear his mouth. Glancing at his brother, a look of hardened determination came over the child's face. "Go-chan. They've found us. We need to divert their attention until daddy can evacuate the others—you up for it?"
Chibi Goku nodded sadly. He'd thought that they'd be safe in this time, but apparently there were people still after them. They'd still have to fight. "Yeah, Veggie. Let's do it!"
Powering up, two purple streaks shot into the air, intent on leading the bombers away from their newfound friends.
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A whoosh of displaced air jolted the Z-Senshi from their bemusement, and they watched with expressions ranging from shock, to confusion as the two little purple blurs shot towards the receding black specks.
"Oh, no!" M. Trunks moaned, dropping his face into his hands. Pushing his way through the confused crowd, he was set to follow his wayward children, when a voice cut through the sea of anxious murmurs. It was loud—it was demanding—it was scary—it was his wife.
Mirai Pan stood, flanked by Gohan and Videl, hands on her hips, with a glare that her poor husband knew all too well, "TRUNKS! What happened here?! Where are my children?!"
M. Trunks reached weakly behind his head to scratch it, attempting to conjure an explanation that wouldn't leave him singed around the edges. "Uhh…"
Luckily, or unluckily, depending on your point of view, Vegeta decided to cut in, "The brats went chasing after a couple of military jets that flew over," he grunted, gesturing towards the dwindling dots in the distance.
Mirai Pan glared at her husband, "WHAT?! What'd you let them go and do that for? This isn't like home you know," she yelled in annoyance, "You can't just let them go around blowing up things!!!"
"But Panny! I didn't!" M. Trunks protested
M. Pan took off into the sky after her wayward children, Trunks' indignant pleas left behind in a blast of hot air.
Poor, bewildered Bra never heard what Trunks shouted after M. Pan as she collapsed to her knees. Her nephews…were Pan's children? How was that possible? As Bra sank into unconsciousness, she had the particular pleasure of knowing that she wasn't alone in her bafflement, as she heard the distinctive thump of Goten falling beside her.
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"Err….Major?" the clipped, fuzzy sound of the radio echoed through the pilot's helmet.
"What is it?" the commander responded, perplexed—it wasn't like Sasha to sound so hesitant—the girl was normally something of a daredevil, flying circles around the rest, the type that would push the rules to the limits, and then break them.
"Uhh…I don't really know how to say this, sir," the bewildered pilot answered, "But there's a kid with purple hair sitting on my windshield."
There was a moment of silence, broken only by static over the line. "Uhh, Major?"
"There's a WHAT?!!"
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Chibi Goku smiled and waved at the lady behind the windshield. The once-daredevil, soon-to-be-institutionalized, Pilot Officer Sasha waved weakly back.
*Hey Veggie,* Chibi Goku called through his link.
Chibi Vegeta looked up from where he was ki blasting some firing circuits on the underside of the wing, *Huh?*
A little laugh resounded, *This lady's funny—she's turning kinda green!*
Chibi Vegeta rolled his eyes and went back to work, sending small beams of energy into the wiring.
"GOKU AND VEGETA BRIEFS! Just WHAT do you think you're DOING young men?!"
Two small purple heads turned towards the source of the shout, faces etched with confusion, and no little apprehension.
Inside the cockpit, the Pilot Officer listened to her superior rant and rave on the other end of the radio, as yet another person appeared outside of her airplane. A woman with long black hair and flashing eyes stared down at the two children; one perched on her windshield, the other hovering beneath her wing. With a small gulp, Sasha obeyed orders and turned the plane around, headed back to base.
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Outside the plane, the three Brief's paid the shift in direction no mind. "I SAID what do you two think you're doing?" M. Pan asked her children angrily.
Chibi Vegeta sniffed a bit, floating up to land on the wing next to his mother, "We were just trying to help...you and daddy said…" a small sob was audible, and the clear blue eyes filled with tears, "You said they wouldn't be after us here!"
"Yeah, but they are!" Chibi Goku chimed in, looking equally upset, "They're never going to stop chasing us, and it's not fair, and we just wanted to help protect everybody!"
"Yeah, like Grandpa!"
"And Mr. Krillin!"
"And Aunt Bra!"
"And Mr. Piccolo!"
M. Pan's head whirled as they spouted off half a dozen more names that she didn't recognize. "Whoa! Ok! Hold it a second! Are you saying you thought these planes were here to attack us?"
Chibi Goku blinked, "Uh, yeah. Why else would they be here?"
Mirai Pan bit her lip, and sighed. Sometimes it was easy to forget that her children had grown up in a world where everyone was out to get them. It wasn't delusion. It wasn't paranoia. It was fact.
From the day they'd come into the world, they'd known it only as a harsh, hostile place, filled with enemies. They had lived in perpetual fear—their fear was not restricted to a pair of monsters as their parents' had been—they feared everyone, and everything. They were hated, for nothing that they had ever done. Could even two kind and loving parents make up for the hatred of an entire reality?
Pan reached out to ruffle Veggie's hair, and crouched down to eye level. Motioning Chibi Goku over to join them on the wing, she placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Listen guys, I know it's hard—hard to trust. But, would I ever lie to you?"
Slowly, the children shook their heads, faces solemn, "Ok. Then believe me when I say this. You ARE safe here. They have these airplanes for other reasons in this place. You don't have to be afraid anymore, ok?"
The chibi's nodded hesitantly. They wanted to believe.
Inwardly, M. Pan sighed. Perhaps that was the best she could hope for. "Ok. Now then, let's get back to the party!"
As the three wayward time travelers kicked off the wing, they jostled the jet, leaving the poor pilot with more than a case of nerves. Doubting her sanity, Pilot Officer Sasha continued back to base, as ordered. For psychiatric evaluation.
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Mirai Trunks looked up from his explanations as Pan and the two children set gracefully down in the yard. M. Pan gave him a small smile, which he returned with relief. He was just glad that he wasn't in trouble.
Off in one little corner, Bulma ranted at Vegeta, who glared cooly up at the sky, his expression reflecting only bored nonchalance. A little ways off, were Goku and Chi-Chi, dancing to some silly music only they could hear, while Videl laughed at Gohan as he rolled around in the grass groaning in mock-embarassment at his parent's antics.
Mirai Trunks stood, surrounded by Krillin, Yamcha, Piccolo, Tien, and all the rest. They hung eagerly on his words, grinning and welcoming him back to the present timeline with good-hearted cheer. With a few last smiles, M. Trunks broke away from the group, and walked across the yard, stepping carefully over Bra and Goten who still lay unconcious in the dappled shade of a nearby bush.
He grinned a little as he saw his boys take off towards the buffet the moment they landed, previous concerns forgotten in the light of the food, and drew up next to his mate, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "So, how'd it go?"
Mirai Pan smiled a bit and shrugged, snuggling closer to him. She knew he was referring to her earlier talk with her parents. "Fine. It was—strange, but fine."
Looking over at her father, who still rolled in the grass, hamming it up as the grinning Goku and Chi-Chi continued their dance, she smiled. "I think everything's going to be alright. What about you?"
Mirai Trunks caught the glance, and hid a small grin. "Me too. Father's—changed. You know, I think I'm glad that the time machine glitched—who knows how things would have turned out if we'd returned to the time we intended?"
Mirai Pan nodded in absent agreement, her eyes drawn to a strange pair peeking through the back door of the Capsule Complex. It was their counterparts, Trunks and Pan, leaning cautiously out, to gaze in confusion at the antics of their friends and family.
With a little giggle, Mirai Pan reached up to kiss her soon-to-be husband on the cheek. She still hadn't forgotten the punishment she'd mentally mapped out for him while they were still in their home timeline. Trunks had kept Goku's little accident from her, and he definitely deserved it. From what she'd seen of Bulma and Chi-Chi, she was sure she'd have no problem arranging a wedding.
Mirai Trunks shrugged uncomfortably at the wicked gleam in his mate's eye, but tried to ignore it. Nodding towards their doppelgangers, who were just now venturing into the yard, he smiled in an attempt to divert her attention from whatever fiendish plot she was hatching, "Looks like we're falling in love again."
Mirai Pan just grinned and nodded her head. Right though he might be, there was no way he was distracting her. Wedding bells clanged in her head as she broke away from M. Trunks, who stared a fearfully after her, anxious to know what she had in mind.
Passing Trunks and Pan as she sought out Bulma and Chi-Chi, Mirai Pan couldn't help a little smirk as she noticed that despite their shy, averted eyes, the two were holding hands.
Perhaps Mirai Trunks was right—for once. Perhaps they were finally getting a clue.
Smothering her small smile of satisfaction, Mirai Pan turned away from the oblivious pair. She had a grandmother to meet, and a wedding to plan.
***That's it except for the epilogue! Story developed differently that I'd thought it would, but hey! That's how it goes sometimes! Epilogue will be out by Monday! R&R please!***