Note: Umb...less sap then last chapter, I think...there really ISN'T any note on this chapter except that it's another short one.
Baby Trunks stared at the form of his sleeping father. Somehow he just KNEW it was his father, even though there was something different about him. Suddenly a large smile came over his face and he began squeeling and shaking his tiny hands around. Latching onto the side of the playpen, he pulled himself up and started bouncing happily. Vegeta was still asleep, completely exhausted and having no awareness that the youngest version of his son had been awake for nearly an hour. He was only lucky the child wasn't screaming for food. The truth was, he wasn't hungry yet. Just happy to be in the presence of his father, whom he rarely saw.
In the next room over, both the children Trunks were sleeping. It had taken the nine year old several hours to fall asleep after dwelling for so long on the words his father had said. He wanted desperately to know how to please him and he knew his father had revealed how to him. He just couldn't understand and that was frustrating the life right out of him. Finally he had given up on trying to understand and fallen asleep.
Teenaged Trunks was sitting at the kitchen table. He knew the baby was awake from the gurgling and giggling in the other room. Something was very different. He had a headache and felt very strange when he woke (much earlier than he normally would have). It was as if he'd had brain surgery over night and for the first time he was remembering something he didn't recall ever remembering before... Of course! His memories were changing!
Trunks' eyes widened as he thought back. All of a sudden he had a vague memory of being four years old and taken away by someone that looked just like his Dad! And then he remembered being nine and following his father onto a time-capsule and running into his four year old self and an older self, which he WAS now.
"This is WAY too strange...," Trunks muttered. Then his eyes widened as memories of what his father had said to him--the nine year old him--just the night before sunk in. He could even remember everything he'd been feeling at the time!
He also remembered something about how he'd had nightmares until he was eleven and his father had said for the first time that he loved him, but now it seemed more like that had been a dream he'd had, rather than a memory of reality. It was still so that his father hadn't told him he loved him until 11, but now he remembered having feelings of curiousity toward his father up until the point he finally said it.
Shaking his head he tried to sort all of this out, but it just wasn't making any sense. It was if he had two sets of memories now. Some that were as if they were dreams and some that he knew had happened. But the boundaries between what he'd really experienced and what he hadn't were blurry now. Yesterday he didn't feel this way. That's all he knew for sure. Yesterday he had had a talk with Vegeta--the one that was father to him at the age of nine.
And finally it all hit him! He finally understood what was happening! His memories were changing because his father, of the past, was treating him differently from the way his father of the future had and for that reason HE was changing. The phenominon was incredible! But at the same time, the throbbing in his head was intense and quite painful.
Vegeta staggered into the kitchen, interupting his thoughts. He held the baby in one arm as he opened the refridgerator with the other and pulled out a half empty bottle. The tiniest Trunks was quite excitable this morning and making all sorts of noises as he explored his voice. Glancing shortly at the teenager, he sat down an attempted feeding the baby.
"Rather earlier for you to be awake, isn't it?" he grunted, his eyes narrowing a bit as little Trunks turned his head away fromt he bottle and instead reached for the salt shaker. Vegeta moved it further away, and tried to refocus him on his food.
"I couldn't sleep."
Both were silent for a little while.
"Maybe...," Trunks started and then stopped, unsure if he really should say what he was thinking.
"What?" Vegeta didn't look up from the task at hand.
"I don't know, nevermind," Trunks muttered.
"Don't say something if you don't intend on finishing."
"Sorry."
"Let me state it more clearly. Finish your thought," Vegeta looked up just long enough for the teenager to know he MEANT it.
Trunks sighed. "Well, my memories are changing and uh...what you said to me...the OTHER me...last night...I understand it, but I didn't then. I mean...last night. I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me."
"YOU didn't? Or HE didn't?"
"Well...everyone here, except you, IS me."
"For purposes of clarity, call the others HE."
"Fine, then HE didn't understand."
"Then YOU remember what I told him last night?" Vegeta was a little surprised.
"Yes...and I've got a really bad headache now!" Trunks scrunched his face and let it drop into his hands on the table. "This is REALLY weird. It's almost like I have two sets of memories, only the stuff I thought was real yesterday seems like just a dream I remember today."
"What memories do you have today that are different?"
"Well...I THINK I don't remember having quite as many nightmares, but I remember being really confused and intrigued by you from last night on. I wasn't quite as much of a brat as I thought I'd been yesterday, and you..well you still yelled a lot, but it didn't affect me quite as much."
Vegeta frowned. This wasn't enough. "Ok, it's clear that this venture is going to be tricky. Today i want you to write down everything you think you remembered as truth yesterday and then write down everything you think is truth today. And tomorrow we will have it recorded in case anything changes."
Trunks was a little bit surprised by this suggestion. For a moment a warm feeling came over him as he toyed with the thought that him and his father of the past were involved, just the two of them, in a business quest. A mission was to be accomplished that could only be done by BOTH their involvments. And nobody else's.
"And in the meantime, I think it best I travel to the time frame I was killed in."
Trunks eyes widened as he looked curiously at Vegeta.
"I think we both should warn me about this monster and what is destined to occur. And most importantly, WHY."
Why? Trunks thought for a second, trying to get straight what he'd just been told. They needed to tell HIS father that this monster was destined to kill him because...the realization of why hit him...because he wanted him out of the way in order to kill Trunks. THAT was why Vegeta had been killed. A feeling of guilt came over him.
"Because of me...," Trunks voice was a whisper and distant.
Vegeta looked at him for a moment, decifering what it was he was thinking. "Yes, because if I knows this monster has come for the purpose of killing you, I assure you the matter will immediately be taken care of," he tried to hide a prideful smirk, but the love in his eyes couldn't be hidden from his son.
Trunks smirked, crossing his arms and sitting back in the chair. "I thought we were going to call our other selves HE, not I."
Vegeta smirked.
"Not too easy is it?" Trunks left with a smile to record the changes in his memory, just as he'd been told.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Baby Trunks stared at the form of his sleeping father. Somehow he just KNEW it was his father, even though there was something different about him. Suddenly a large smile came over his face and he began squeeling and shaking his tiny hands around. Latching onto the side of the playpen, he pulled himself up and started bouncing happily. Vegeta was still asleep, completely exhausted and having no awareness that the youngest version of his son had been awake for nearly an hour. He was only lucky the child wasn't screaming for food. The truth was, he wasn't hungry yet. Just happy to be in the presence of his father, whom he rarely saw.
In the next room over, both the children Trunks were sleeping. It had taken the nine year old several hours to fall asleep after dwelling for so long on the words his father had said. He wanted desperately to know how to please him and he knew his father had revealed how to him. He just couldn't understand and that was frustrating the life right out of him. Finally he had given up on trying to understand and fallen asleep.
Teenaged Trunks was sitting at the kitchen table. He knew the baby was awake from the gurgling and giggling in the other room. Something was very different. He had a headache and felt very strange when he woke (much earlier than he normally would have). It was as if he'd had brain surgery over night and for the first time he was remembering something he didn't recall ever remembering before... Of course! His memories were changing!
Trunks' eyes widened as he thought back. All of a sudden he had a vague memory of being four years old and taken away by someone that looked just like his Dad! And then he remembered being nine and following his father onto a time-capsule and running into his four year old self and an older self, which he WAS now.
"This is WAY too strange...," Trunks muttered. Then his eyes widened as memories of what his father had said to him--the nine year old him--just the night before sunk in. He could even remember everything he'd been feeling at the time!
He also remembered something about how he'd had nightmares until he was eleven and his father had said for the first time that he loved him, but now it seemed more like that had been a dream he'd had, rather than a memory of reality. It was still so that his father hadn't told him he loved him until 11, but now he remembered having feelings of curiousity toward his father up until the point he finally said it.
Shaking his head he tried to sort all of this out, but it just wasn't making any sense. It was if he had two sets of memories now. Some that were as if they were dreams and some that he knew had happened. But the boundaries between what he'd really experienced and what he hadn't were blurry now. Yesterday he didn't feel this way. That's all he knew for sure. Yesterday he had had a talk with Vegeta--the one that was father to him at the age of nine.
And finally it all hit him! He finally understood what was happening! His memories were changing because his father, of the past, was treating him differently from the way his father of the future had and for that reason HE was changing. The phenominon was incredible! But at the same time, the throbbing in his head was intense and quite painful.
Vegeta staggered into the kitchen, interupting his thoughts. He held the baby in one arm as he opened the refridgerator with the other and pulled out a half empty bottle. The tiniest Trunks was quite excitable this morning and making all sorts of noises as he explored his voice. Glancing shortly at the teenager, he sat down an attempted feeding the baby.
"Rather earlier for you to be awake, isn't it?" he grunted, his eyes narrowing a bit as little Trunks turned his head away fromt he bottle and instead reached for the salt shaker. Vegeta moved it further away, and tried to refocus him on his food.
"I couldn't sleep."
Both were silent for a little while.
"Maybe...," Trunks started and then stopped, unsure if he really should say what he was thinking.
"What?" Vegeta didn't look up from the task at hand.
"I don't know, nevermind," Trunks muttered.
"Don't say something if you don't intend on finishing."
"Sorry."
"Let me state it more clearly. Finish your thought," Vegeta looked up just long enough for the teenager to know he MEANT it.
Trunks sighed. "Well, my memories are changing and uh...what you said to me...the OTHER me...last night...I understand it, but I didn't then. I mean...last night. I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me."
"YOU didn't? Or HE didn't?"
"Well...everyone here, except you, IS me."
"For purposes of clarity, call the others HE."
"Fine, then HE didn't understand."
"Then YOU remember what I told him last night?" Vegeta was a little surprised.
"Yes...and I've got a really bad headache now!" Trunks scrunched his face and let it drop into his hands on the table. "This is REALLY weird. It's almost like I have two sets of memories, only the stuff I thought was real yesterday seems like just a dream I remember today."
"What memories do you have today that are different?"
"Well...I THINK I don't remember having quite as many nightmares, but I remember being really confused and intrigued by you from last night on. I wasn't quite as much of a brat as I thought I'd been yesterday, and you..well you still yelled a lot, but it didn't affect me quite as much."
Vegeta frowned. This wasn't enough. "Ok, it's clear that this venture is going to be tricky. Today i want you to write down everything you think you remembered as truth yesterday and then write down everything you think is truth today. And tomorrow we will have it recorded in case anything changes."
Trunks was a little bit surprised by this suggestion. For a moment a warm feeling came over him as he toyed with the thought that him and his father of the past were involved, just the two of them, in a business quest. A mission was to be accomplished that could only be done by BOTH their involvments. And nobody else's.
"And in the meantime, I think it best I travel to the time frame I was killed in."
Trunks eyes widened as he looked curiously at Vegeta.
"I think we both should warn me about this monster and what is destined to occur. And most importantly, WHY."
Why? Trunks thought for a second, trying to get straight what he'd just been told. They needed to tell HIS father that this monster was destined to kill him because...the realization of why hit him...because he wanted him out of the way in order to kill Trunks. THAT was why Vegeta had been killed. A feeling of guilt came over him.
"Because of me...," Trunks voice was a whisper and distant.
Vegeta looked at him for a moment, decifering what it was he was thinking. "Yes, because if I knows this monster has come for the purpose of killing you, I assure you the matter will immediately be taken care of," he tried to hide a prideful smirk, but the love in his eyes couldn't be hidden from his son.
Trunks smirked, crossing his arms and sitting back in the chair. "I thought we were going to call our other selves HE, not I."
Vegeta smirked.
"Not too easy is it?" Trunks left with a smile to record the changes in his memory, just as he'd been told.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~