The fourth chapter is rewritten, and I'm almost done rewriting the next one as well. After that, I can finally continue the story, because this is just a repost of the old chapters with minor changes. I advice you to read them again, though, because I changed quite a lot in the last two chapters. And especially this chapter! Leave a review ;)

And yes, EC-Chan, I deleted the rest of the chapters to PREVENT confusion. Hehe, I guess I confused you ^^ But if you wait patiently, the rest of them will follow soon enough.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragoball Z/GT or any characters related. But the new original character, Kira, in this story is mine.

Chapter 4: Accepting the unwanted truth

The virus itself had a green color. You couldn't smell it, but you could see it. And it was ever so deadly. And precious to its creator. The shadow in the lab stared at the tube. It wasn't right, not yet. It had to be able to reach everyone, to kill everyone, if necessary. And they had to suffer, until the last moment. To be afraid.

"Hah." the voice softly laughed. "Wait until this... Trunks-kun."

If you listened carefully, you could hear a woman's voice. Altered, but clearly still female. The shadow worked in the dark, secretly. No one suspected she used hospital equipment to produce a deadly weapon. The female picked up the tube and stared at it.

"Now I only have to get rid of the color." she hissed and put the tube away.

Closing the locker, she stared at the name on it. What if they found out about the virus, and they found the tube in her locker? She ripped her name badge of it and threw it away. She quickly looked at the laboratory, and at the time. They would arrive, soon. Leaving everything as she found it, the shadow made her way out of the lab. A quick look at her face revealed her bright eyes. But the eyes missed something.

They lacked of emotion. Dead eyes. Evil eyes.

When Mirai Pan woke up, the sun greeted her, brightening the room she fell asleep in. This was her home. She had lived for years in Capsule Corp, but realized how much they had changed things after Bulma and the others died.

She must have slept the entire night, also, because it appeared to be noon. She let out a big yawn and walked past the familiar rooms. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she saw her uncle approaching from the other side. She immediately smiled, relieved to see a familiar face.

And one that didn't looked hurt, shocked, disgusted or angry. Just Goten.

"Good afternoon!" his cheerful voice greeted her.

"Hi Goten!" she said. "I slept that long, did I?" she asked, not quite sure what else to say.

She was a bit confused, because this Goten seemed so different. And still, it was the same guy. The one that probably rescued her and Kira by sending her back. The one she never got to say goodbye to. She never got to apologize either.

But this Goten didn't know. This Goten was different.

"I was actually on my way up to see you." Goten nodded, cheerfully. "I guess you needed the rest?"

Mirai grinned. "I was a bit exhausted, yes. Thank you, for taking care of me."

"Don't thank me. I just carried you inside and put you in that bed."

"I know, and I also heard you and Trunks last night."

The young man started to blush. "We weren't .. I mean, we were curious. You're *our* grown up Pan, and we.."

"You can't fool me," Mirai smirked, "You were watching me."

He shrugged. "We just never expected you!"

"I never expected any of this, either." She sighed.

The two of them continued their small talk, both of them avoiding the painful subjects such as Kira and Vegeta. Goten was curious about his future self, and Mirai realized Goten was about the only person she could tell about. The others didn't live long enough. All she had was memories.

But talking to Goten was good. In this time, he was Goten who didn't take everything serious, and who seemed to be cheerful all the time.

"I have no idea how much I can change, even in the future. I'll still be Goten, right?"

His logic was adorable, and Mirai chuckled.

"I see you made our guest smile?" another voice added to the conversation.

Mirai Pan turned around and smiled at her father.

"Hi dad" she greeted, and he smiled back at her.

"I was thinking," he said, exchanging a look with Goten, "Maybe it would be a good idea to get you something to eat. And while you regain some strength, you can.."

Gohan hesitated for a moment, but Mirai continued his sentence, as she could guess what he wanted.

"I can explain. Or at least, try to."

Goten rolled his eyes.

"Is that really necessary?"

Mirai frowned at the comment.

"What? If you don't want to hear it.." she replied with a hand on her hip.

Goten shook his head and grinned.

"No, not like *that*! I mean.. maybe you don't want to talk about it, yet."

"Oh, like that." Mirai said softly.

"No, I think it would be better if I told you guys."

Her father nodded.

Upon entering the kitchen, Mirai Pan suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. Only a few had gathered in the kitchen, but the quiet breakfast she was hoping for, was not going to happen. She didn't see Vegeta or Bulma, or Bura, for that matter. When her father and uncle entered the kitchen, she suddenly saw her daughter and past self.

Kira was playing with her younger self. Present Pan looked up and forgot she was having fun. When she noticed Mirai, her smile disappeared and she ignored the child in front of her.

"Hey chibi!" Mirai greeted her young daughter. The girl grinned and tilted her head.

"Are you still mad?" the girl asked, smirking.

Mirai shook her head and opened her arms to hug her daughter. When she picked her up she gave the kitchen another look and discovered a new person.

She gasped slightly when she stared into her mother's eyes.

Videl.

The woman looked at Mirai Pan, with raised brows. Trying hard to recognize her grown up daughter, and trying not to look too shocked. Or confused.

But it was obvious she was, and the others were too. Gohan smiled uneasily at his daughter, as if he was trying to apologize for bringing Videl here. But Mirai felt complete. Her *mother* was here. Even though she had an uncomfortable feeling, she was more than happy to see her.

Pan tapped her fingers on the table, causing Trunks to look up in annoyance. He hadn't notice Mirai yet, apparently he found the newspaper more interesting.

Mirai just smiled when she saw Trunks and couldn't stop. This was the first time in years she saw the lavender haired boy. He still looked so immature, so young, here.

A Trunks she barely recognized. The one she remembered was more than happy to die. He was torn by his loss, and slowly killed by the virus.

"Good morning Trunks." She said in a whisper. When he smiled back cheerfully, she raised her voice and greeted the others.

The silence was pitiful, that moment.

"They gathered in the kitchen" Vegeta commented and turned in the bed. He faced Bulma, who stared blankly at him.

"Don't look at me like that." he frowned.

"Hmm. You were never bothered before." Bulma replied shortly.

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Vegeta asked.

"Vegeta. This can't go on. We haven't even talked about this yet. But the two guests in our house, in our kitchen, are not normal. One of them is your second daughter, and the other one will be your future... I don't know what!"

"That brat is not my child. Not in this time. And as for that Pan, I don't care for her. You know that."

Vegeta turned around, and stared at the wall.

Bulma sighed softly and touched his shoulder. He stiffened.

"Onna.." he nearly growled.

"Bulma. Vegeta. It's BULMA." She said, her voice raising in anger. "And you may not care for Pan in that way, but what else am I to think? You're fond of the girl, we all are. But I don't know what can happen in the future. Kira is the living proof of that!"

"STOP MENTIONING THAT CHILD!" Vegeta yelled all of the sudden. He jumped out of the bed and stared at Bulma.

She just sat up straight and looked at him. "You're just as insecure as I am. You may have defeated monsters, demons and whatnot, but THIS is something you can't handle. Admit it." She glared at him.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Do not talk to me like this is my fault, Bulma. I never wanted this to happen. And we don't know what happened. I may have had no choice."

"There is always a choice! You cheated on me!" Bulma yelled.

"I did not! I would never! There is such a thing as honor!" Vegeta yelled back. "I am not having this conversation. I do not care for that child *or* that girl. I have chosen YOU, have I not!?"

Bulma blinked and swallowed her words.

Vegeta sighed. "This is unfair." he hissed.

"To both of us. Yes." she answered. "Get out."

And with those words the proud prince left the room. A fight he could not win, because he did not understand himself.

Bulma grabbed some clothes and got dressed, quickly. She never wanted to argue about this with him. Not like this, not at that moment. But she knew it was better if she left him alone for a while. And in the meantime, she could get an explanation.

Downstairs, in the kitchen.

"And that's how I ended up here. At that moment, Kira ran off because she felt a familiar ki. Vegeta's."

Mirai's last words seemed to echo through the kitchen, and all eyes turned on Vegeta. They just listened to the short version of Mirai's long life. She managed to tell them the entire story all at once. But after finishing her tragic tale, she could only sigh. A sad look covered her face.

And once again, she left the others in silence.

Trunks was the first to speak. His soft voice sounded hollow.

"We all died?"

"Because of a virus?" Gotens voice added. Even Goten, who was a pretty cheerful guy in this time, looked serious. Even Goten understood that what happened in Mirai's future, was serious.

She only nodded. "Within 4 years, all of you will leave us behind. Almost the entire world population will die. Why we survived, I don't know. The virus took even the strongest of us. Even you, dad." She said softly.

Pan remained quiet and looked at Mirai. She already heard this. Mirai tried to tell her this, when she tried to explain how she ended up with Vegeta. She had been too stubborn to realize exactly what she had been told.

Everyone would die. This *was* going to happen.

"But.. how?" she asked.

No one responded. The only person who could know the answer, stared blankly.

"No one knew. We never had time to find out. Bulma, she.."

She stopped talking as soon as she saw Bulma standing in front of her, a hand on her hip, and her face with a tired expression.

"I what?" she asked.

It was obviously Bulma was either upset, or tired. Or both. Either way, she just entered the kitchen, only heard half of the story and was curious about her role in this story.

"You died before you could investigate anything." Mirai finished, standing up whilst still holding Kira. She offered her seat to Bulma, who smiled bitterly and accepted.

Suddenly, things weren't so quiet anymore. Trunks and Goten started talking to each other, and Gohan and Videl exchanged worried looks and seemed to be talking in silence. As Bulma quietly sipped some coffee, Mirai Pan and Present Pan looked at each other.

Both girls smiled uneasily. But Present Pan was still bothered. To her, it seemed everyone forgot about the *one* thing that upset her most.

Not that Mirai Pan came back. Not that everyone suddenly focused on her future self. But the fact they ignored that she would have a child with Vegeta.

A child with Vegeta! The kid that was sitting in front of her, on her mothers lap, was *her* kid. And her father was Vegeta! How could they just forget about that, and only think about the virus!

Bulma coughed to receive everyone's attention and turned to Mirai.

"I just want to know why you're *here*. What do you want?"

Mirai pondered briefly before she answered that question. She had been thinking on the same question as well.

"After Goten died," she started, and looked at her uncle, "there was absolutely nothing that kept me in that time. Staying would only mean waiting for out death. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let Kira die, could I?"

When Kira heard her name, she looked up with curious eyes.

"HMM!?" she asked. Her voice sounded loud in the silent kitchen. Obviously bored, Kira yawned with exaggeration. Ever since her mother came in, these nice people stopped talking and stopped being nice to her. They practically ignored her, and even though she was happy to see her mommy okay, she was bored.

Everyone seemed to agree with Mirai. They nodded silently, and to Mirai's relief, all she saw was looks of pity and compassion. Not anger, or suspicion

"I want to prevent this from happening" she added. "There has to be a way."

"Mom?" Kira's voiced whined softly. She began tugging the clothes of her mother and gave a pleading look. "Can I play outside?" she whispered.

Mirai smirked. "You're bored by all this talk?"

Her daughter stuck her tongue out and Mirai put her on the ground.

"Go, then. I'm sure Bulma won't mind."

Bulma couldn't help but smile at the adorable girl in front of her and nodded.

"I take it she knows her way around the building?"

"Uhu" the girl answered, ignoring the fact Bulma asked the question to her mother. "I know every secret place here." She told proudly.

Bulma gave a wink. "You'll have to show Trunks here, sometime. He needs some new hiding places." She joked. Kira nodded, even though she had no idea what the woman was talking about. Bulma laughed with Trunks, but since Kira had no idea what the funny people were talking about, she decided to leave the grown ups.

The cute talk made Mirai incredibly happy. At least Bulma didn't take her anger out at Kira, who was completely innocent in the matter. She gulped. No, instead she had every right to be angry at Mirai. And knowing Bulma, she would also be very angry at Vegeta.

The same Vegeta who had left the building to wander around outside. He had no place to go, except the gravity room. Whenever things upset him, he would just take off, and get as far away from the blasted humans as possible. Or he would lock himself up and train inside the gravity room until he collapsed. His way of dealing with things. But thanks to the brat, the gravity room was too easy. He had kicked the door down, and locking himself up wasn't an option.

Besides, what was the use? They would bother him anyway. Eventually. When the woman would come to her senses, she would go look for him. He smirked. Best not to wander too far off. As soon as they are done talking, she'll be needing him.

He sighed. Sometimes they could tire him. They. Humans. Females. First the brat, and then the woman. They both looked at him with disgust, and they both were angry at him. And he could only wonder what had possessed him in the future. Why and how did he choose Pan? What happened? Would Bulma be dead? Would Pan be so incredibly irresistible? He snorted at the thought and stared at the ground.

Suddenly, a faint noise got his attention. He looked up slowly and recognized the girls ki. That kid. Without her noticing him, she flew right past him, with a determined look on her face.

With a frown Vegeta studied the girl, when she suddenly stopped and cupped her hands.

"Take THAT!" a child yelled as she released blast. "I'll get you yet!"

Vegeta watched the girl. He could not discover who or what she was screaming at. Suddenly she turned around and ran the other way, towards him. A small frown appeared on his face when he saw what she was chasing.

A bug.

But the intense look on the girls face shocked him even more. Her eyes narrowed on the small creature in front of her, her fists balled as she started to levitate above the ground.

When she got closer to the bug, she smirked. Vegeta's eyes widened as he saw how much she looked like him.

"Impossible." he whispered, but the gasp quickly changed into an amused grin. That girl was just like Trunks, when he was a little boy. He remembered being annoyed whenever the brat chased meaningless bugs. Why did this amuse him so much?

"I got you now!" Kira yelled while she passed Vegeta, and didn't even notice him.

Until the Saiyan grabbed the girls outfit, and she looked up with annoyance.

"Why did you do that!?" she asked, but when she noticed it was Vegeta, her frown disappeared, and she got silent.

He wondered why, for a moment, but answered her question anyway.

"This is too easy." He told her, but the girl just stared at him. When Vegeta put Kira down carefully, he pointed at her hands.

"You can blast ki shots?" he asked.

Kira nodded.

"Hit me, then." He ordered, taking a step back and crossing his arms.

"You?" she asked curiously.

He just looked at her, not moving an inch. Vegeta was curious, that was all. He already saw how much she resembled him and Pan. Now he wanted to know if she was strong. Or if she had potential, like Pan had.

And Kira stared at the man in front of her, who looked so much like her father. But it wasn't, was it? She knew her father went away, and her mother told her he was never coming back. She had told her that while she was crying, when she asked where her daddy was. Her father never went away for too long, and always came back to teach her new tricks. But she had accepted that her daddy was gone and that she wouldn't see him again in a long time.

And then her mother took her to these people, and to this man. She was sure this was her father. But something about him was different.

"What are you waiting for?!" he suddenly spoke.

She braced herself. Daddy or not, this man asked her to play. She's show him what she could do. She'd blast that weird smile of his face!

It stunned Vegeta. Not the blast itself, because obviously the girls attack was to weak to hurt Vegeta. But the blast was extremely powerful for a 4 year old. Not even Trunks was capable of doing that when he was 4 years old. He brushed some dust of his leg, and looked at the spot Kira had hit him. His outfit was ruined, that was for sure. From his leg, he looked up to Kira, who stood there, waiting for a reaction.

It was true. No doubt about it, that this was a child of his. And with a mother like Pan, another Saiyan, it was obvious she could get a lot stronger.

"Good enough." He nodded slowly, and Kira rubbed the back of her head.

"I put all my power in that!" she said, offended.

Vegeta snorted. "Then you're not powerful enough."

She frowned at him, only to discover that she amused Vegeta with her offended look. He smirked at the girl in front of him and bent over.

"What are you going to do about that, brat?" he teased her.

Vegeta, always in for a challenge, wanted to test her strength and upset her. But he didn't realize that his attitude reminded the young girl of her father. The way he acted only pleased her, and instead of becoming angry, she cheered up and hugged his leg.

"Excuse me?!" he frowned. Kira blinked at him and smiled.

"It's okee!" she giggled, as if she tried to relax him, and hugged his legs again. He sighed and looked down.

"Don't." he simply said. Kira looked up at him and gazed into his dark eyes. For a moment, they were both silent. Then, Kira sat down on the ground and tilted her head.

"I thought you were gone, daddy?" She mumbled. "You *are* my daddy, aren't you?" she then asked in a whisper.

Something inside Vegeta told him to shut the kid up and walk away. The big pleading eyes of Kira made him think twice before he answered, telling himself *not* to hurt the girls feelings.

Vegeta turned his head to the left and saw a familiar face looking outside the kitchen window. From the far distance, Pan, *this* timeline's Pan was watching the two. He looked at the 15 year old girl and back to the kid. He remembered when Pan was a little girl, and he saw the resemblance. He had felt her strength and he had recognized himself in her. There was no point in lying, or hurting the child's feelings.

"I am." He answered. "Now listen to me and go play somewhere else. I want to be alone."

The girl nodded slowly and stood up.

"Oh.. okay." She replied softly and walked away in confusion.

Vegeta just rolled his eyes and sighed, trying to ignore the fact that Pan was probably still watching him. He didn't need that, not right now. The woman was right, and he hated it when she was. This was something he couldn't handle. Yet.

He was right. Pan *was* still watching him. No one else noticed what was going on outside. But when she glanced over at Kira, just out of curiosity, she saw Vegeta as well. She saw, all right. She saw how Kira attacked Vegeta. She saw how the two of them stared at each other and how the girl hugged him. She saw how he looked at her, at the girl and how he told the girl to leave.

Even Vegeta accepted this. Pan sighed and turned around to listen to the adults, talking things over and over. For once, she wanted to be clueless and ignore it all.

She was more than happy when she saw a big yawn coming from Goten. She grinned at him. Her uncle returned the grin and rubbed the back of his head.

Clueless like Goten.