37
Repairs
Vegeta was just standing there, his foot still in the remains of the silver ball that was sparking and leaking something that looked like blue blood. Vegeta pulled his foot back and shook it slightly with a slight look of disgust on his face.
Goten looked over to Soyna who was comforting a very scared looking Cyrus. His son. Scared. He stood in front of Vegeta and glared at him. "Why did you do that?" He didn't care that the silver ball was gone. That didn't bother him in the least, but this was to close to an attack on his son. He had brushed off the other one. He had not witnessed it and he knew that Vegeta had been taking the death of Bulma rather hard so could let it go… but this! He let his face show his anger at him.
Vegeta didn't even look at him. He looked over to the boy. "He can't touch this."
"Good riddance!" Benot sniffed as he looked at the Silver ball. "It was a piece of junk anyway!" He said and took a kick at the remaining shell. Some of the goo that was inside splattered onto Vegeta's leg and he really winced with disgust this time. He even took a step back and brushed some of the goo onto the grass.
He shook his head at Benot's remark and looked back at Vegeta. "You attacked my son." He growled and was surprised at the venom in his voice. His son. His youngest. His grandson. Vegeta attacked one of his own!
He was beginning to understand his wife's previous fury.
"I was just trying to protect the boy," Vegeta said and shook his head as if he were trying to clear out cobwebs.
"Protect!" He wanted to lunge at him but he felt a hand on his shoulder. Trunks. He wanted to push him away as well. It was his father that was causing all these problems! He shrugged it off. Trunks removed the hand but did not move from his spot. "You hurt him! What the hell were you trying to protect him from?"
Cyrus was still weeping into Soyna who looked as if she was going to cry as well. He was saying something that he couldn't hear. He did not like seeing his boy crying!
"I can't… I can't remember." Vegeta said as he looked at the goo on his foot and frowned again.
He was very aware of the heavy eyes on him right now. Very very aware.
"Calm down," Benot said as he walked forward. "I am sure that he had a good reason." He blinked at Benot. Benot, the voice of reason? This sure was a change.
"Dad!"
He looked over to Cyrus who was struggling to get out of Soyna's arms. There were still tears on his cheeks and a look that he didn't much to care for on his son's face. He wasn't supposed to grow up just yet. He wasn't supposed to have that look. He was their chance on having a kid that could stay a kid for a little while. It was their chance to be good parents.
He wanted his son's to stay young and not have to endure what he had in his past. He wanted them to be children. He knew that Soyna wanted the same. He knew that they had not been able to accomplish it as well as they wanted. He wasn't supposed to grow up so quickly!
"I had to stop him," Vegeta said as he looked down at the ground where the silver ball still oozed blue liquid. "I don't want to see that dragon."
Dragon?
"What are you talking about?" He said. "What are you hiding?"
Vegeta didn't look up at him.
Why wouldn't he look up at him?
"Dad. Dad!" Goten found Cyrus attached to his leg.
"Hell, I wouldn't want to see that dragon either. It gave me the shivers," Benot said and actually shook a bit. "It wasn't like before. I mean, Shelong was always scary, but not like, that scary."
"Dad. It is really okay. It is." Cyrus said as he clutched to his leg. "I don't want to be torn like that."
"Torn?"
His wife spoke the question. He couldn't read the expression on her face as she looked at them. He hated it when he couldn't read her expression. That wasn't a good thing. She was either really mad or she was really sad. Either was not a good thing. The sadness would eventually turn into the anger. It always did with her.
Cyrus released his grip on his leg and nodded. But then looked as if he was having a hard time searching for the words to explain what he meant.
Vegeta spoke. "I don't matter. It won't happen now." He said it in a stern voice and he looked to Cyrus and... was there concern in his eyes?
Cyrus nodded and smiled.
He just stared at them for a minute feeling very confused.
It was his father that spoke for them all, scratching his head and looking more confused than normal. "Um, I don't get this. Did I miss something because I am really really confused here."
That was everyone sentiment.
…………………………………………….
Benot did not want the images that he saw to be forgotten. Ligh was going to try something. He could not forget that what he had done to him and found himself trying really hard not to rub his throat and he tried really hard to push the thought of how that knife had felt when it cut him.
He made damn sure that his voice was heard. He really didn't care that the ball was destroyed. He did think it was for the best and if it prevented that dragon that looked sort of like Shelong but wasn't, that was a good thing. The dragon that he saw in his vision was a dragon that would destroy everything. He didn't know how he knew that, but he was pretty sure that it was right.
And he didn't want to loose his little brother.
And he didn't mind getting revenge on that bastard Ligh. He still woke up from nightmares and having trouble breathing because of that day. He didn't understand why they didn't kill him. He knew that a few of them wanted too… who didn't want him dead? He couldn't remember, but then, he was rather pathetic when he couldn't fight them anyone. Did they feel sorry for him? He only remembered that he had missed mom terribly after she vanished. He had blocked out everything else from that time.
Of course others wanted their voice heard as well.
The chaos that his family could cause among themselves always amazed him.
"Can't we just kill him!" He yelled at the adults talking. "You know, like we should have to begin with."
He saw that his mother was on his side, even though she was being abnormally silent and had that look. He was never too sure of her when she had that look. It usually meant that he was in trouble but he knew that this wasn't the case this time.
She didn't like the fact that he was still alive either.
"We couldn't just kill him!" Gohan said.
Such a bleeding heart.
"He was so pathetic after he lost his strength," Pan said.
He rolled his eyes.
"He could have changed," Videl said.
He thought he was going to throw up!
"We should have got rid of him," Trunks growled slightly. If he remembered correctly, he just about lost Pan because of that buffoon. Yeah. Good to have someone with a proper line of thought.
"Well, it didn't happen," Vegeta said, "And now we will have to deal with him as he deserves. He has become a mad man in jail and should now be treated as such."
He smiled. He never thought he would be happy to be part of a lynch mob. He would be happy to know that Ligh is finally gone. Maybe his nightmares would stop.
The adults all went into a flurry of conversation about what they should do and how they should go about it.
Adults planned too much.
He tuned them out and found himself looking at Crystal. She was half hiding behind Trunks. Like she usually did, she was to shy for her own good, but she seemed to be worried about the conversation the adults were having.
When the conversation turned to the mystery attacker that was coming, she would chew her lip and look like she was going to say something.
"If you had not destroyed that ball, we could find out more details!" Pan snapped at Vegeta.
"It wouldn't do us any good! Drak is coming and that is all there is to it!"
"Drak! How do you know his name?" It was almost in unison. It sounded a little creepy.
Crystal still looked like she wanted to say something.
Adults could sure make a lot of noise when they argued and get nowhere. They were all on Vegeta who was stumbling on his words. Cyrus was trying to say something to help him.
Crystal chewed her lip and flipped her hair back from her face. She moved a little bit back from her father. It looked like Trunks was glad to yell at Vegeta right now. In his mind, Trunks was a little tense right now and really needed to loosen up. He had just lost his mom though, he could understand his tension.
Crystal was looking at the Silver ball now and kicked the only silver piece that was left and muttered, "Don't need it anyway."
"And why is that Crystal?" he whispered beside her. She jumped slightly and flushed. She looked down at her shoes. He always felt that she was hiding something but he could never pin it down. She was always nervous around his mother and Vegeta and he was always around them so he never really got to know her but he knew there was something that he was pretty sure that she was hiding.
"It just causes problems," she said in a low voice. He could barely hear her over the adults who were still acting like children. The complained about him! Geez! "It shows to many options. It should only show things that are to be, not may be. You should have been more specific when you made this wish."
"What?" he said. He couldn't help but stare at her stunned slightly.
"Plus," she continued. "I can see things fine without it."
"What!" He blinked at her.
She flushed brighter. "Can't you see things in your dreams?"
………………………………………
Trunks wanted to strike his father right there for his vague words. He knew the name, but didn't know how he did? After this week of hell that he had put him through, he was going to give him this sort of garbage! Did he enjoy torturing him? The rage and the pain that he was feeling all this week was coming forth now and he wanted to hit his father. He deserved it for leaving to deal with all this on his own! And then attacking Cyrus, not once, but twice! He was just a boy. The boy didn't need to know that he was intimately connected to the dragon. The boy didn't need to know that he carried the one thing that had helped them out a few times and cursed them, all in the same.
He grabbed his father's arm and was even surprised at the fury in his own voice. "What are you hiding from us?" He wanted to shake him but knew that it wouldn't do any good. Why was his father so stubborn? He wanted to scream at him and yell at him even though he wasn't sure what he was going to say.
His father looked at him directly in the eyes. Had he ever done that before? It startled him slightly as he felt his father's firm hand cover the one that he gripped on to him. "Son," he sounded unsure of what he was going to say next. His father? Unsure? That never happened! "I know that I have not been the best of fathers. I am sorry for that." His voice was a low whisper. "I never meant to hurt anyone." He spoke the last part louder. "I don't know how I know the name… I seem to know a bunch of things that I shouldn't and…" he rubbed his head as if he were having trouble thinking or trying to remember. "…I don't want to…" he lost his words and shook his head. It was Cyrus that spoke up.
"Things will be better." Cyrus said. "Okay. Don't get mad at him. It is okay. Really. My chest doesn't hurt that much."
"But your asthma…" Goten said.
"It's fine. It's gone now." Cyrus said as if it was a fact now.
"How can it be gone?" Goten said and shook his head. "That doesn't just disappear!"
Cyrus looked different for a second. His eyes flashed darker for a moment and his face went grim. How could such a small boy look so much older and wiser? He seemed to be having the same memory problems that Vegeta was having.
Did he miss something here?
He sure felt like he did and it was something big too.
He hated, absolutely hated, being left in the dark!
What weren't they telling him?
"WHAT!"
He jumped slightly at Benot who was yelling at Crystal. He looked as if he was angry at her.
What was happening his with innocent little girl now? He was still a little shocked over the fact that she turned gold and was able to knock by Flint rather easily without much training. He had been (at one point) worried about his shy little girl, but in the last while, he didn't mind it. Maybe it was for selfish reasons. He didn't want her running around chasing boys, like his sister had and he really didn't want to worry about boys hovering around his little girl.
He already had Gem saying that she had a boyfriend and she was going to get married when she got into high school. She had dropped that bombshell on them after she met the new boy, Tommy, at school. Gem was stubborn. At least Tommy did not feel that way yet.
"Quit saying that!" She said to Benot. "Geez. I didn't think you were that dense."
"Dense! Listen here, you wallflower," Benot said to her and pointed at her. "I was 5 when I made that wish!"
"That explains why it didn't work properly, turnip head." She said and slapped his hand away.
Benot's face actually went red.
Flint and Flare were trying hard not to laugh at the two. Cyrus looked on with a sad look on his face and Vegeta just shook his head. He was pretty sure that he had the same stunned look as the rest of the adults.
"Dreams can't tell the future!" Benot snapped.
"Mine do!"
Dreams? Future? What the hell were they talking about?
It was Soyna that came forward and clamped a hand down on Benot's shoulder. She hadn't said too much during this whole things. As a matter of fact, she was almost removed from it. She was throwing herself in the fray of things now.
"Mom," he said as if he were a bit shocked to see her there. He smiled up at her and he looked nervous as he did so. She had that unreadable look on her face.
"Benot," she said. "I think we should start to prepare."
"But…"
"There is an enemy coming and we do not need to make them among ourselves," she said. "Was there any indication of time? How long do we have to prepare?" Straight to the core of the point. Soyna was always like that. Sometimes, he wished he could be more of a father to her, but knew that is not what she wished.
Benot said. "I don't know."
Crystal said. "About 6 months."
"How would you know that?" Benot snapped at Cyrstal. He wanted to slap at the boy for yelling at his little girl. She was sensitive and shouldn't be treated so roughly. He was surprised at what happened next.
She snapped right back though, which startled him. "I dreamt it! Haven't you been listening to me?" It startled him to hear that his quiet little girl snap back at him. Crystal would do that to Gem from time to time, but they were sisters. They were supposed to fight. But this is the first time that he had seen her do it to anyone else. Even as she flipped her hair violently out of her face, she seemed to have changed into a whole new woman.
Woman?
Damn.
She wasn't supposed to grow up so quickly.
Why did the world have to change so quickly all the time?
"Of course I have been listening!" Benot snapped back at her. "You are talking like an idiot."
"AN IDIOT!"
"Ow." Benot cringed as Soyna's hand pressed hard on his shoulder.
"Dad?" Crystal said and looking liked his innocent little girl. She moved close to him. He put his arm around her shoulder to protect her.
He shook his head.
His little girl seemed to have so many secrets that he had to talk about.
………………………………….
The house was quiet.
Trunks couldn't sleep. The day had been more trying that he thought it was going to be and he didn't even go into the office and deal with the falling stock prices. He would have to go in tomorrow and deal with that situation. He had to prove that the company would be okay even though his mother was gone.
Even though she was not really a part of the company for as long as he been back from his earlier leave-of-absence. She was just a figure head but a powerful one.
He sighed heavily.
He missed her so much.
He leaned his head onto his arm and rested it against the table.
He was so tired. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.
His mother would know what to do to make short work of the day and somehow relieve the tension that he was feeling.
His little girl…Crystal, was no longer a little girl. She could turn gold and did have a great handle on her power. She just needs to get some control on her style and he was pretty sure that she would pick up on that quickly.
He heard a noise. He didn't move. He did not have the energy to move. He could feel that it was his father that was approaching him. He didn't want to talk to his father.
He felt all his anguish well up inside his chest. He blinked back the tears. He did not want to deal with his father right now. He really didn't.
"Son."
He grunted. He was in no mood to deal with him.
He didn't realize that he had sat in the kitchen while it was dark. He saw the fridge light go on and then close. The only light was coming from the living room, where he must have left a light on.
He saw the shadow of his father take a chair next to him and place a bottle near him and he opened one up himself.
He felt the tears again.
He wanted to be alone, even though the cold bottle of beer that his father placed near his hand, was tempting to grab. He could even smell it. He refrained from licking his lips.
"I always thought that I would go before your mother. I thought she would be to stubborn to die before me," he said in a low voice. It was strangely hushed. He never knew that his dad could be so quiet.
"I didn't know how to handle loosing her," he took a drink and sat in silence for a bit.
He was just too shocked that his father was talking like this. His father was not one that talked easily about things unless it involved training or fighting.
He was used to his father being like that.
"I really didn't," Dad said. His voice lowered further. "I am sorry, son, for leaving all that to you."
He sat up and blinked at his father.
Vegeta was not looking at him. He was looking at the wall. Was his eyes glazed over?
"There are a lot of things that I have to stay sorry to you," his voice was low and his eyes were glistening! Had he ever seen his father cry?
"It's okay dad," he found himself saying. The urge to yell and scream at him left. He wanted to hug his father. He knew that dad wouldn't like it and that would be pushing it so far. He knew that this was something that was hard for him and was glad to see that he was trying.
"I should not have been so hard on you with Pan," he said.
"What?" He was not expecting to hear this!
"I should not have forced you two to tell Gohan. I should have been understanding," Trunks was shocked that his father was saying this. His father. The guy that didn't like the fact that he was breeding with the Kakarott's grand-brat. He remembered him muttering that one-day before they got married.
"There are quite a few things that I am sorry for." He said and then sat silently.
He didn't know what to say to him.
"I miss your mother a lot," Vegeta whispered. "I was not the man that she deserved… I…" He shook his head. "I was not the father that you deserved."
This was his father talking? He was shocked.
"I know that I did something that really screwed things up. Cyrus was able to stop it from happening again and I… I won't be like that again," Vegeta said in a voice very far away. He sounded so distant. He had no idea what his father was talking about.
"The only time that I ever paid attention to you was when you were training," Vegeta said. "I gave Bra more attention than I ever gave you." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I did not know how to be a father to you."
He couldn't believe that his father was saying such a thing to him.
"You did the best you could," Trunks said.
Vegeta just shook his head.
"I didn't think you really needed me," Vegeta chuckled slightly. "I knew that you were going to grow up to be a good man. Of course, I didn't realize the difference there would be between the time line either."
Trunks blinked. He knew his father compared him to the OTHER Trunks all the time. He knew that, but learned to blow it off when he was young and after meeting himself for that time, he knew how different, and yet the same, they were.
"That was a mistake." Vegeta said.
"You were there for me dad," Trunks said. "I grew up to be okay. Didn't I?" he said. "I may not be the same as the other version of me, but I thought that I turned out okay."
"You did. Thanks to your mother," he said.
He blinked a bit and found himself opening the bottle and staring at his father. Was he dreaming all this? It seemed so surreal.
He had come downstairs because he couldn't sleep and had felt restless and anxious after the day's events. He was angry but he couldn't remember at what. He was worried about his little girl. She was changing into a woman and he wasn't ready for that.
He was feeling old.
Lost.
Now, he could see that his father was feeling the same way.
"Yeah," Vegeta said continuing his thoughts "You turned out fine. Both you and Bra turned out fine despite all the crazy stuff that was thrown into your lives. You are doing a good job with your kids. You have taken on so many so responsibilities since you have become a man now," he smiled. "You train, you play with your kids and you run a company."
"It is stuff that I have to do," he said.
"You ran away from that once," Vegeta said. "I understood why you did it even though I was angry with you. I did have to deal with your mother and you know how she can hold a grudge. I should not have been so hard on you when you arrived back from that trip. I should have stood beside you a little more. I was more worried about Soyna than how you were handling being introduced to your own child."
Trunks took another drink. It tasted so good.
"But you handled it well… well, as well as you could with Soyna behaving like… well, like me around you and dealing with those two little mons.… kids being… and then… all that happened…" Vegeta's voice trailed off.
Trunks smiled. "That is all behind us now."
Vegeta was silent now.
"We can only home that our kids do better than us," Trunks said. "It seems that we have enemies to fight yet."
Dad nodded.
The light flicked on in the kitchen and he squinted his eyes as he turned to see who turned on the light. He was not expecting to see a wide-eyed Crystal looking at them with a worried look on her face.
"What are you doing up, Princess?" Trunks asked.
She chewed her lip and flipped her hair out of her face. "I had a dream again."
Yes. He had to deal with her dreams now, didn't they?
"What was it about?" Vegeta asked.
She shrugged and walked forward and crawled into his lap. She seldom did that anymore. "Fights. You know we could loose the fight." She said. "We have to stay together."
"Are we going anywhere?" Trunks asked and smiled at her.
She shook her head. "My dreams are changing. They are confusing me." She said. "You aren't leaving anymore are you, grandpa?" She looked to Vegeta. "You are staying now, right?"
Vegeta nodded. "I don't plan on leaving. I am staying."
She smiled brightly at that. "Good!"
"Someone has to teach you how to fight, properly," Vegeta said and finished off the bottle. He looked relieved to be interrupted. He was curious as to what else his father would have apologized for but he would have to wait for later.
She frowned. "I still have to keep training." There was a whine in her voice.
"Certainly," Vegeta said and stood. He patted her head and walked out of the kitchen and shut off the light that was in the living room.
Crystal shook her head. "Well, I am not getting my belly pierced."
He would have fallen out of the chair if she was not in his lap. He didn't want to know where that came from. She was way to young to be talking like that…. "What does that have to do with anything?" he said.
She just smiled at him and looked like his innocent little girl again, but that was brief, because there was a sparkle in her eye that scared him a bit.
…………………
Sorry, it took so long. Life, you know. I think there will be two more and then I will be completed this version of the INE universe.
Thanks for your patience and being patient for the next chapters.
(At least this version of it… I haven't had any new dreams yet so I haven't gone off on a new tangent.
Yet….)
Soyna