I know in the last chapter I did not split it… I did that for the reason of this chapter.
I will answer a few questions here, but not all.
That is for later. This chapter is not split either.
But I promise you that you will not be disappointed.
Visitors
"But it is my birthday!" 'Geta protested and glared at his father.
"You have to catch up on your school. You are still behind," Trunks said simply and his eyes wandered on the paper that was in front of him, almost unaware of how mad his son looked.
"If I catch up, can we have my birthday party at the Hut-o-Fun?" he said with even more desperation.
"I don't know," Trunks said and fiddled with the end of his braid. He really wished he cut his hair already. He hated it but refrained from lopping it off. Maybe the next time that they spared.
"Please dad," 'Geta said took the tradition begging pose for a child. The hands palms pressed firmly together and with his eyes as wide as he could get them.
"Well, maybe a party at home with a few friends…" 'Geta almost jumped for joy. "…If…" He held his breath. "You catch up and catch up quick."
"Oh. I will dad. I will! I promise." 'Geta said and was nearly jumping for joy as he bounded out of the room.
"You have a week!" Trunks yelled after him and began to shake his head.
Vegeta frowned.
"What?" Trunks said eyeing him. "I missed his last birthday."
That was not why he was frowning. He had not meant to but he was seeing the differences and comparing his sons to each other again. Just as the night before he found himself comparing the difference between the Bulma's and the Soyna's and even Junior. He didn't know why those thoughts were flooding back to him.
He was supposed to be happy here.
He had everything that he could possibly want.
He had his wife back.
That nagging thought that he couldn't grasp was present in the back of his mind again. It had been pressing there for the last couple of days and it was really starting to irritate him. Soyna was to busy with this nursing things to spar with right now. He actually thought she was mad that she lost so badly the last time they fought together and 'Geta wasn't allowed to spar until he caught up in school and Trunks… just wasn't the right one.
He sighed and walked from the room.
What caused his bubble to burst? Why did he feel so gloomy again?
That feeling came again. It was like someone was staring at him. He rubbed the back of his neck but the feeling was persistent. He started to walk to the only place where he didn't get that feeling as much. That was by Bulma.
………………
Trunks just about followed his dad but decided against it. He obviously had to work it out on his own. Dad was never one to ask the help of other anyway. Plus, he had other things to worry about.
He had a long day of playing with his littlest girl and planning the surprise birthday party that he was putting together for 'Geta. He owed the boy a good party. He missed his tenth. That was a big milestone and he nearly missed a whole year of his life. He had hoped that it wouldn't take that long to finish the mission that he had to do, but he didn't have a choice. He had to get rid of him. He was going to be eleven now. Eleven! He was nearly a teenager! A teenager! He could hardly believe that. He knew that his boy would grow up to be a handsome and strong man and as hopefully as nice as the other from the other time.
He hoped he had not jinxed that.
…………………..
"How about that Daddy? I am sure that he would like it. It is his favorite TV show," Bra said and held up the figurine. The character was sure odd looking but then… he sure encountered some weird looking characters in his lifetime.
"You sure?" He said and examined it further. He just shook his head. The character looked like a pink marshmallow. Who would be scared of that?
"Uh-huh!" she said and shook her head. "Oh! OH! And this one! This guy is so cute," she said and held up a figurine of some guy that looked liked he was fused with a cat. He really had to watch some of these cartoon's the kids were watching.
"I think you like that one more than your brother would," he said.
"Well, can we get him anyway?" she said and batted her eyes at him and he knew that it was better not to fight it. It was just too hard.
He picked it out of his daughter's hand and she put on the widest grin. When did he become such a sucker?
"What else can we get him? Does he know yet?" Bra said as she bounded around the toy isle. "Oh! I want that for my birthday." And "What about this?" Is what was mainly said.
Who ever thought that he could feel so free and happy watching his little girl happily walking down a toy aisle at the store? He smiled to himself and announced that they had to go to other places before the end of the day.
He did not remember doing stuff like this with Soyna. When she was young, he had started to train her. Cities were there. He could have taken her shopping like this, but he had not known what being raised with the strong will to fight could do to her. She never played with toys or dolls. She never even asked for that kind of stuff. She would just want to learn how to get better with her training and skill.
It was a hard thing to change once he knew but he was glad that she was acting more normal now. She was working on her new career! He was so pleased to hear that she didn't want to just fight and even more thrilled when she wanted to remove her tail. It was a shock. He had never thought of removing it. It was just part of her. None of his other children had a tail. He wondered why? Oh well. It didn't matter anymore. He had a normal family now. As normal as his family could ever be.
He regretted treating her like a training partner when she was so young, but then, that was all he knew. That was the only way he knew how to treat his only child at that time. He was glad that he was able to move past that stage in his life as well.
He would be missing all the fun that he was having with his children.
"Daddy?" Her joyful voice didn't seem so bright anymore.
He looked down at her. She didn't look upset. "What is it?"
"I didn't say anything," Bra said and went back to examining the bag of toys that he had just purchased. Most likely looking for that cat fused man figure thing that she liked. It must have been one of the other kids that were about, even though he didn't see one close and he couldn't imagine one of them sounding so much like his daughter.
He shrugged it off and kept on going. He had a lot to do today. He really wanted to surprise his son.
"Is that you?"
He looked behind him. He knew now that the voice was not coming from Bra but from a woman with long blond hair that was standing right behind him. She was staring at him with an intensity that made him really uncomfortable. So much so that he had to take a step from her. "Excuse me?"
Her green eyes watered and she let out a cry and threw herself at him.
…………………….
He had gotten shooed out of the lab. Bulma had got mad at him for hovering and breaking things. He didn't know that that rod was actually glass. How the hell was he supposed to know? She should not have left it there anyway!
He sighed heavily as he walked into the house to a sight that he didn't want to see.
Brennen blushed and yammered something about how he was going to be late for work. Soyna just smiled and wished him a good day and then went back to the papers that were spread in front of her. He didn't remember Soyna ever blushing. She must have blushed a few times.
At least she was happy. He had actually warmed up to this Brennen. Maybe he was a good choice for her after all.
"Oh, Vegeta," Soyna said. All the other children called him grandpa. She refused to and called him Vegeta. It was the same in the other time too.
He turned. "I see that you are bored," she said.
What was she getting too?
"It is a shame that you lost 'Geta as your sparing partner, now isn't it?" she said.
Damn. He thought he kept that away from everyone. 'Geta wanted to surprise everyone with his new strength.
"I won't tell dad if you tell me something," she said. "Dad would be quite upset at you for taking his son out of school. He has become quite stringent about that."
He could care less but he could see where this was going now.
"You and Dad whisper about things and so do you and Grandma and you always stop when I come in the room. I have heard my name in those whispers and I want to know why. I don't want to have another argument with dad about why he left to fight. I want you to tell me." She said tapping a pen on her teeth.
"I can't tell you." He said simply.
The pen snapped in her hands and she was unaware of the ink running down her hand and onto the papers in front of her. Her eyes flashed in anger and she looked like she wanted to lunge at him.
"Why am I being left in the dark?" Her voice was an angry hiss. "Why can't I be told?"
"It is better if you don't know," He said. He agreed with his son in not telling her. She did not need to know. The story was long and construed and could only hurt her. He started to turn to leave.
"Why?" she said. "Why is it better to be in the dark? I thought it was always better to learn and be in the light?" She was busy wiping that blue ink off her hands and scowling.
"We don't want to see you hurt," he said in a whisper. He could not look at her anymore. He could not. He remembered how she looked when she threatened his life and how cold that voice had become. He remembered when she turned into that beast that just not seem to fit into any normal transformation scale; a beast that was full of anger and hate and had nearly succeeded in killing him. He did not want to see her like that again. She was so much better off not knowing. She did not need the ache.
"Hurt? It hurt when dad left and did not tell me why! I hurt when dad will not trust me with this mysterious knowledge that does involve me! It hurts me!" She said "I am not a child."
He looked over to her for a brief second and then turned away. "No. We know that." He said and looked at the floor again. "You should still be one though."
……………………………….
The woman was sobbing into his chest and was clutching him rather tightly and calling him dad.
"Excuse me, uh, miss," Trunks said and tried to pry her off of him. Why would she think that he was her father? He didn't want to know. He just wanted her off of him and quit making a scene outside the busy mall. "I think you are mistaken."
"Dad?" That was from Bra who was looking rather confused at him. Great. He did not want to have to try to explain this to her and then he would hear it from Carmen as well.
"Miss!" he said and was a big more forceful and pulled her off his chest and firmly but his hand on her shoulders. "I think you have the wrong guy."
She shook her head. "No. It's you," She said and tears streaked down her cheeks.
"Do I have another sister?" Bra said with great confusion in her voice.
"No." he said to her quickly. "Miss. Please. You are mistaken. I can't be your father," he said. Well technically she looked like she could be. She was about Soyna's age from what he saw. She was also a very buxom woman and that in itself made him uncomfortable.
She sniffed and hung her head down for a second and wiped her eyes. He let go of her shoulders and she took a step back.
A guy suddenly ran over. He was a talk guy with short spiky blond hair and green eyes with a strange mixture of anger and worry on his face. "Oh. Real sorry. She is not that well, sir. Sorry." He looked like he was trying to drag her off.
"Not well!" the woman recovered quickly and slapped the man with enough force that there was a hand mark on his cheek. "NOT WELL!"
"Hey!" he snapped at her and then he muttered something under his breath to her that he couldn't make out. He was worried about the little girl that was attached to his leg now.
"But…" the woman said and straightened herself up. She pushed back some of her hair and sniffed and looked back at him and then at the man who looked anxious to go.
"Come on," the man said. "This isn't the way to do it." His voice was hushed still. He supposed he wasn't supposed to hear that.
"Why not?" she hissed back in a same low voice.
They guy whispered something that he couldn't make out at all.
"Screw that!" She hissed loudly. "They are my…Hey!"
He grabbed her arm and started to pull her along. Her feet dug into the ground and were leaving trails "Let go of my arm, you brute!" She yelled and struck him. Hard. The guy ended up on the ground with a groan.
"Damn you!" The guy said and rubbed the spot in his ribs that she hit. "You are going to screw everything up!"
"Me! HA!" She said with a laugh. "You are the screw up!"
The guy's face went red as he stood. "You are such… You are such a… a… a…"
"Come on say it! WIMP!" She taunted.
"Bitch!" The guy finally snapped at her.
"Wimp!" She countered right back at him.
It was like watching an accident. You just can't turn away. You have to see what will happen next. Bra gave a little giggle as the insults continued to fly between the two of them. He knew that he should be walking away from these two crazy people but he just stood there watching them point their fingers at each other and throw insults. It was the oddest thing.
They were creating quite a scene.
"Why should we hide?" She said. "What good has that done us?" She said and looked at him and he really regretted not leaving. He did not want to be dragged into this craziness. He had his chance and he lost it! Damn it. "He could help us." She said and started to walk towards him.
"We don't know what will happen if…"
"Exactly!" she said. "Dad can help us!"
He was about to protest that comment but that guy did it.
"He is NOT your father!" he yelled.
"He is close enough! Isn't that one of your lines." she snapped back.
Close enough? "What the hell?" he whispered.
Bra giggled. "You guys are funny," she said.
They guy looked flustered. "That is a low blow." His shoulders slumped and he almost had a defeated look. He looked… he hated to admit this, but the guy looked familiar now and so did the woman. He had seen them before, somewhere, but he couldn't remember where.
"I think it was about right, Benot," she said.
"Benot!" he gasped. That was Benot! BENOT! How old was he now? When he last saw the boy, he was so young! A playful child still. He looked like an adult now and the yellow hair. He finally got to supersaiyian. How come he couldn't feel the power? You should be able to feel the power coming off of him.
"You said my name!" Benot hissed at the woman. "I'm supposed to be Tobe here! Tobe! Crystal!"
Crystal! His doppelganger's daughter! This was the shy little girl that wouldn't leave his side. This was Crystal. She was a woman in more than one way. She was tall, thin and very curvy, especially in the northern regions and her hair was blonde as well! How did she get to supersaiyian?
"Hey!" She snapped.
He just gawked at them for a bit as they continued to argue.
"What are you two doing here?" he said in a loud voice to go above their yelling. "Why are you here? Is this about Vegeta?"
"Grandpa? Is he here?" Crystal said.
Benot put his hands over his face.
"Yeah. He is at home," he said.
They both looked at him shocked.
Crystal spoke in a soft voice that he remembered from her. "Grandma, I mean, your mom, is she still alive?"
"Of course Grandma is still alive," Bra said announcing herself. "That was stupid question to ask. Grandpa's been here for about two months. He makes grandma happy."
"Time travel is a complicated thing," Benot said.
Trunks put his hand to his head. He felt a headache coming on. A really bad one.
"Time travel? Cool? Grandma talks about her time machine, but she won't let me see it," Bra said. "What time do you come from?" Bra. Not afraid of anything.
"You will both come back with me and tell me all that has happened and why you are here? Is there anyone else?" he said. He hoped that these two kids weren't on their own traveling time.
"Yeah," Benot said. "We will have to go get him. He is not very well. I will go get him. Crystal can start telling you all of what happened. I am sure that Vegeta told you nothing."
"It isn't his fault," Crystal said getting defensive again.
"I'll go. I am
assuming that you all still live in the old Capsule Corp. house," Benot said
and he nodded.
"Benot. Don't be that way," Crystal said as he started to walk away. He didn't respond. "Damn it! Quit acting like your mother!"
He watched Benot walk away and was a bit startled to find that Crystal had looped her arm in his. "Shall we go? We should get acquainted again."