Being Vegito
By Lady AngelFiren
Part Eleven: The Importance of Details
Trunks flew out of the lab through the door, moving infinitely faster than his mother could ever hope to see with human eyes. He was completely unsure of where he was going, but he did feel the tempting tug of Goten's too soothing ki nearby, and it urged him to head for his friend. However, before he could scarcely start off in his lifelong amigos' direction, Trunks remembered the fury that smoldered in Goten's eyes when he'd called him a monster earlier.
He cringed all over with disappointed realization and looked around himself for an idea of where he might go. Absently Trunks drifted away from Capsule Corps., finally settling to his feet along the sidewalk and simply walking forward without any attention at all to where he was headed. He just needed time away, time to think. He felt harassed, rushed. It wasn't fair, but that didn't make it a dream. That didn't make it a joke or some kind of trick, in fact the realization that he was some freak animal.thing.only made Trunks more certain that he had to be strong like any proper saiyajin would when faced with something insane.
He lifted his palms into his line of sight so he could study them a bit. They weren't so bad.. well.. they were scary looking -to him anyway- but its not like he had to hurt someone if he went near them. He could be gentle. he could just. not hurt anyone. That would be the most important part. making sure everyone wasn't going to avoid him for fear of crossing him. 'That would just plain suck,' the lavender-haired boy concluded with a sardonic snort.
Trunks clicked his teeth together and inhaled deeply. A wonderful collection of intriguing scents rushed his senses with information, giving the street he was traveling along depth and a sense of safety. Trunks felt strong, safe, and powerful. er. didn't he?
A shiver ran up the boy's back and he sighed loudly, almost moaning rather than sighing. He didn't know where to go now. He was just walking. and the streets were thinning out, getting more rural. He was in the outskirts of the city by this time. Trunks had started pretty far off from CC to begin with, as he'd only been walking a short while. The scent of grass and trees seemed to beckon the young boy towards the pleasant darkness that lurked beneath full, thick branches and leafy forest foliage.
He passed through a few backyards, leaving only the barest footprints in the dewy grass. He could see the borderline of trees, now bathed in afternoon shadows and swimming with humidity thanks to the summer sun overhead. Trunks could smell flowers somewhere, though he couldn't see them from where he was. He stepped smoothly into the tall grass, ducking his head under some low limbs and emerging into a veritable cave of vines and branches. Thorned trees twisted and gnarled beneath the weight of the vines, which were rich with wild grapes and swathed in broad, fanned leaves. A large egg-shaped rock sat amongst the vines. Only enough of it's surface to fit one small furry boy was in plain view. The rest had been swallowed by the leaves. Trunks crawled onto the mighty stone and dragged a claw over it's chinked surface with a lazy glance at his actions.
'Mom is gonna try and find me. I know she will. She'll probably send Vegito after me.. Damnit! He's so stupid, what a big weenie! My dad is a hundred times cooler, and until he's back I know I won't be able to stand that guy. And he's after Goten! Goten..'
Trunks' young face crinkled into an angry scowl as he pictured Goten's face and remembered the tone of his voice when he declared that Trunks was a monster. Trunks didn't feel like a monster inside.. he just.. Trunks had expected that Goten would warm up to what was happening to him. He was scared to reveal his secret, of course, but there was always that underlying belief that Goten would be with him no matter what. Even now, a large part of Trunks counted on Goten as his support and companionship.
Trunks felt warmth stir in his tummy as he pictured his friend sitting with him and giving him a nice warm hug. Trunks missed Goten's hugs, he missed his Chibi's honey scent and his optimistic view on life. Without Goten right beside him, Trunks was out of balance. Goten was the one who kept him in line, kept him sane. But Goten was Vegito's friend. he called him FATHER! Despicable! Trunks crushed his jaws tightly together at the thought of Goten following along beside that idiot of a saiyajin, Vegito.
But, one thought of Goten's happy face and all of Trunks' anger melted away into a fuzzy, giddy feeling. If it made Goten happy, then, it made Trunks happy too. Maybe there was more to this whole liking Vegito thing than he'd thought? Could Goten be right in learning from him and befriending him?
'Not a chance in HFIL.'
'Unless. I'm missing something about him that Goten can see. I know Chibi sees more than me. he knows when people are sad. he knows when they're scared or when they don't like him. Maybe Chibi sees more than I do, and I should try listening to him for once? Ah! But that's so. so. dumb! I'm not giving in! I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I'll figure it out. And when I do, Vegito's going down. And if he thinks he can take my Chibi with him. grrr.. he's nuts.'
Trunks felt hot all over now, angry inside; furious, actually. He snarled and shook his head, panting and digging his claws into the cold stone's surface. His mind pictured Goten again, this time a happier picture, one of him and Goten playing video games together. Goten got this great look in his eyes when he was challenged by the game, it was determination. Trunks loved that look in his friend's eyes. He knew he was a little young for this warm feeling in his tummy, and for the way he liked to hug Goten, but it was hard to help. He just felt better with his Chibi.
Trunks clicked his teeth together once more and began to plot his course of action. Everything was a lot better now that he'd had a chance to think.
===========
Gohan traveled to a few more places on his job hunt, and most of them seemed very pleased to meet him. He felt pretty confident about some of the places he'd been, and he was certain he'd get some calls back from places seeking to hire him. The waiting game was hard to handle, and with no place to turn, Gohan knew that all he could do was find a way to pass the time. Unfortunately, there was one thing that Son Gohan forgot to consider. He had yet to realize that by running away from home, giving his home phone number was a useless thing to do. Chichi would answer any calls he received, and if anybody wanted an interview or to offer him a position, she would likely tell them they had a wrong number. There was no way for him to reach anyone unless he went home! GAH! But, as mentioned, the young fighter was oblivious to this for the time being.
He peered around himself and smiled at the sunshine as his feet carried him away from the city. When he was far enough out of anybody's way, he rose high into the sky and headed for Capsule Corps.
What can you say, 'oblivious' is Gohan's middle name.
===========
Bulma returned to work shortly after Trunks disappeared. She wasn't bothered by his immediate retreat, in fact she didn't blame him one bit. He must be absolutely terrified, finding horrible fur and strange ears and teeth and claws.. She wished he'd come to her sooner, she could have calmed him down.
However, the blue-haired scientist didn't have even one spare moment to waste on her son (that sounded really wrong in her head when she thought it), because she had FINALLY come up with the solution to all her problems. She'd done it. Cracked the code that was Vegito's complex DNA. The way Bulma saw it, DNA was like a road map, it was just laying there waiting to be manipulated or poked at. But to be able to move freely through the complex map of information, Bulma needed to understand all of it, especially the parts pertinent to her specific situation. She needed to target what was causing his aggression. Then she needed to create something that was compatible with Vegito's body, something that would not harm or impair him, something that would still do the job even after all these specifications were met. And the recipe for such a concoction was laid out before Bulma's eyes, the creation of her own impeccable intellect.
She went to work on the serum immediately. It was a lot of work to create something from scratch, without even having any former knowledge of where to start. But Bulma was on a roll now, and actually making the drug seemed like child's play when stacked against researching her options. She was sure it would work. She only hoped that whatever small dose she started off with would not be too powerful. Such a possibility was doubtful in her mind, as Saiyajin's were highly tolerant to. well. pretty much everything. Nothing killed the bastards, at least that's the impression Vegita gave. had given her.
'Oh quit thinking about that baka like he's dead. you'll have him back, you're you!'
'Then. who are you?'
'You, of course.'
'. Something isn't right here. I'm going to ignore you in hopes you'll disappear.'
'Yes ma'am, won't make a sound.'
Bulma allowed herself an exasperated sigh as she leaned closer to her work with determination in her big blue eyes.
After doing the mad scientist dance for several long hours, Bulma held up a thin glass tube containing a pale blue substance that was thicker than water, and foggier. It looked like melted blue cheese to Bulma, which put a smile on her face. She began to run tests on her serum, placing a tiny amount of it into a fresh tube of Vegito's blood. She was intently studying the results of this test when there was a tap at the back door.
Thinking it might be Trunks, come to apologize, Bulma set down what she was working on and headed to get the door, opening it and looking down at about the place where Trunks' head would be if he had been the person knocking. However, Bulma was greeted instead with a pair of khaki's. She looked up to see Gohan blinking curiously at her.
"Oh.. Gohan. hi. Can I help you with something?"
Gohan gave a confused smile and shrugged. "I came cause I went job hunting, and I was just sort of in the area. uh. if this is, like, a bad time or something I can go."
Gohan stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking almost guilty for having disturbed Bulma. He sure was good at playing innocent. So good, that it was impossible to tell anymore if he really was innocent or of it was an act. Knowing the boy, however, Bulma was willing to bet on the former. She smiled at him, trying to clear the discomfort from the air.
"Oh no, don't do that, come on in Gohan, I just thought you might have been Trunks, he ran off earlier. he's always worrying about something or other. you know. Oh! I didn't even tell you, I've started on my first batch of serum for Vegito, I'm pretty confident! My research took a lot less time than I'd thought it would, so I already managed to make some of the stuff. You can help me out if you have a minute, I need someone to hold things for me while I'm measuring amounts."
Gohan was a little overwhelmed by the friendly buzz of chatter that Bulma offered him. He glanced at her bare legs as he followed her into the laboratory, blushing guiltily when his eyes wandered a little higher than her knees. That part of a woman's body seemed. forbidden. to him. Its not like Bulma was even close to his age or anything like that, he was just curious. intrigued by her beauty, despite her age. And under all the pretty blue hair and eyes was a genius mind too, it made Bulma Briefs seem like a very desirable woman. But not to Gohan, he just had a little too much tension built up inside. He certainly would never consider something like. like. well, its not like he was considering it, so there's no point in elaborating further on it.
Bulma and Gohan made a fairly good team, though Gohan lacked a lot of knowledge in the area of biochemistry, he was smart and obedient and the pair made excellent progress over the space of a single hour. They worked in relative silence, until Gohan spoke up out of the blue.
"So, I told my mom off this morning."
Bulma dropped the pen she was jotting numbers down with and there was a short silence before she burst out laughing, growing hysterical with giggles in moments. Gohan sweatdropped and frowned, wanting to defend his accomplishment, not be mocked for it.
"Hey. stop it Bulma, I really did! I told her that I was old enough to take care of myself and that I wasn't going to come back home until I could support myself and make my own money. And. well I'm not sure I could go back even if I wanted to now, since she's so furious with me."
Gohan's frown remained securely in place on his face as he realized what an awful position he'd deliberately put himself in. How would his mom feel about this? The moral code of values that had been drilled into Gohan's head his entire life protested his actions vehemently, and it made him want to reconsider what he had done, it made him want to go back and kiss Chichi's feet in apology. The young demi-saiyajin looked up at Bulma with worry.
"Do. do you think she will forgive me Bulma? Maybe I should tell her I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt her feelings. I mean. she's my mom. I love her."
Bulma gave a snort that she must have picked up from the Prince of Saiyajins, shaking her head at Gohan. "Jeeze Gohan, you sound like she's got you on a pretty short leash. I mean she's your mom, sure, but you're a big boy now, remember? You can dress yourself and everything. I thought that was the whole point of running off and declaring yourself officially independent. Wouldn't it be proof to the contrary if you came crawling back like a dog with its tail between its legs? You gotta stick it out and do exactly what you said you would do, or better. Otherwise Chichi will win this round, and she'll have an even tighter hold over you. Remember, at some point, the decision to leave and care for yourself was rational to you. Reasonable even. it was right to you. You just have to rediscover the mindset you were in when you made that decision. Maybe you feel confused about it, but you know inside yourself what's the right thing to do, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna figure out sooner or later that living under Chichi forever isn't it. Eh. enough lecturing, Hold this for me, will you? Actually, I need some of your blood. I want to do a few tests on it with this stuff, just to see where Vegito stands compared to you. If this is too strong for you, then it might be too weak for him. I don't wanna knock him out, but I don't want the stuff not to work either."
The blue-haired scientist handed Gohan some vials to hold while she poked him with a needle and borrowed a little of his blood for tests. Gohan looked away from the needle, he didn't like them, though his fear was nowhere near so severe as his father's was. When Bulma told his she was done they continued with the testing, and Gohan's thoughts continued to race madly around in his mind.
============
Goten played by himself in the sandbox behind Capsule Corps. for most of the afternoon. His options for playmates were getting sorely limited, which depressed the boy greatly. Trunks was so. scary. and Gohan was always worrying about grown-up things now, it made him less fun, and more necessary to avoid. And. well trying to get Vegito's attention earlier this afternoon hadn't worked out very well, it seemed to Goten that Vegito didn't like him much at all. The way the powerful saiyajin spoke to him. it was all negatives, he felt bad about himself and about his family and friends after talking to Vegito. it wasn't fair. It also confused the young boy significantly, as Goten had been under the impression that he could find a replacement father in Vegito, but instead he was met with the face of an antagonist. Of a person who looked at others as being beneath him. Vegito honestly believed he was the greatest guy around, and Goten feared that he wasn't.
He sighed, shaking his head and brushing his hands together to get the sand off of them. Maybe he needed to see Trunks and give him another chance. they were best friends, after all. It was just so hard to face the strange boy now, after the way he had acted lately, all introverted and angry and confusing. Goten stood up in the sandbox, brushing sand off the rest of himself and rubbing his feet in the grass before putting his shoes back on. He closed his eyes and searched for Trunks' energy signature, feeling fearful anticipation rising in his throat and chest.
'I have to tell Trunks I'm sorry. what if he's still gonna be mad at me even if I'm really, really sorry? S'not fair. me an' Trunks are bestest friends. he'll like me still. I hope.'
Goten hopped into the sky, gaining some height before looking down at Capsule Corporation far below him in hopes that nobody was going to decide to follow him. He wanted to be a big boy and do this by himself. Trunks was really far away though, and he seemed to be hiding. Goten was glad he could feel Trunks all the time, whether he was hiding or not. It made everything in life seem more like they were doing it together, rather than separately.
The young demi-saiyajin made a beeline for his friend, taking his time during the flight in hopes that he would have something good to say worked out in his head by the time he got there. However, it only took a few minutes for him to realize that he would have to wing it, real apologies were always better when they came from the heart.
Goten landed beside the thicket of trees and vines that he could sense Trunks was hiding in. He crawled inside, looking around and immediately heading to sit on the large stone that Trunks already occupied. He crawled into a comfortable position, not looking at Trunks' facial expression just yet. His eyes remained low because he felt shame at his actions earlier.
Trunks snorted at Goten, feeling his insides wrench when his best friend appeared out of seemingly nowhere and came to sit beside him. He wanted to grab Goten and hold him tightly to keep him away from everyone else, but at the same time he feared that Goten would only turn around and hurt him more.
"What do you want?" Trunks asked rather rudely, crossing his arms and licking his sharp teeth with impatience ands nervousness.
Goten twisted in his seat to give Trunks a hopeful smile. "Trunks I'm really sorry.. I want us to be friends still. I didn't mean to say that to you. it wasn't nice and I'm sorry and we should be nice to each other now."
Trunks regarded Goten skeptically. "You're a jerk."
Goten's eyes became worried, he fidgeted and crossed his legs as if he were sitting on the flying nimbus. "Well. you were acting scary."
Trunks exploded with anger, standing up in his place so he could effectively glare down at Goten. "Shut up! Its your fault and don't blame it on me! You called me a monster and we're best friends and you think I'm one anyway! That's dumb! What do you think I'm going to do to you Goten!? Bite you? Scratch you with my stupid claws!? Fuck you. get lost Goten. I don't want friends who're brainless, idiotic retards with.with.stupid hair." Trunks gave a furious glare to Goten, expecting him to leave like he'd ordered.
Goten felt the impact of Trunks' fear with his words. he didn't quite understand it as easily or clearly as one can write it down, but he did know that it'd definitely be a bad thing to leave and let Trunks' efforts to push him away be successful. Goten stood up beside Trunks with wide eyes.
"Hey Trunks that's mean. see you're losing your temper and acting mean and scary again. act like Trunks!"
The lavender-haired boy blinked in surprise and swallowed his rebuttal soundly. He gave Goten a helpless glare. "I'm just mad Goten. I can't help it. I'm just mad all the time now. I wanna punch stuff and blast stuff. and then instead of being my friend you go off and make friends with that loser Vegito. You like him better than me, don't you." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.
Goten considered this with all the power that anyone in the Son family possibly could. His arms came up and wrapped around Trunks. Goten brought himself close to trunks and hugged him tightly, putting his head over his best friend's shoulder and closing his eyes. Her raised his ki some around himself and consequentially around Trunks. Goten stayed there, holding Trunks tightly.
The young prince felt his throat tighten in a sudden urge to start bawling like a baby. He let Goten hug him, then reciprocated the action, securing Goten safely in his arms. He hid his face in Goten's nice-smelling hair and squeezed the younger boy forcefully. He was almost afraid to speak, for fear of his voice cracking. He felt warm and jittery all over, especially in his tummy, where he was certain that a whole flock of butterflies was throwing a party.
"Goten. stay with me."
"You mean all day?"
"Forever."
==============
Vegito returned to Capsule Corporation after he meditated in the snow to clear his mind. The first person he saw when he landed on the lawn behind the main building was Gohan. The teen waved at him in what seemed to be an overly friendly manner, and immediately his suspicions arose. He put his guard up, glaring at Gohan with a decidedly murderous eye.
"What do you want. I have training to do."
Gohan wished Bulma hadn't sent him to 'go get Vegito.' He really didn't think that the man would willingly subject himself to serums and strange glowing blue stuff. He swallowed and gave Vegito his best smile, which looked incredibly guilty, as you readers can probably imagine.
"Eh.could you come into the lab before you start? Bulma's been working hard. she'd made progress and I think she needs you before she can go further."
"What, she doesn't have enough of my blood yet? If she thinks she's sticking me with one more needle she's nuts! You'll have to-
Gohan stuck a tranquilizer dart in Vegito's arm with shamefaced expression at his deceptiveness. He watched the saiyajin's eyes flutter shut as he fell forwards into Gohan's arms. Gohan picked him up over one shoulder and carried him into the lab, sighing as he laid the saiyajin fusion down on the lab table.
"Gee Bulma.are you sure this was all necessary? It seems really cruel."
Bulma came around the other side of the table with her tools and such in hand, laying them out on a smaller table so she could work.
"Nonsense Gohan, it was necessary, you ever tried to force either Vegita or Goku to do something they didn't want to do? Its impossible, they're both stubborn, and together they're even worse. This is the only way."
Gohan swallowed, looking down at Vegito. He watched as Bulma inserted an IV drip into his arm.
"Is that what you put the serum in?" He asked, looking at the liquid sloshing around in the drip bag.
"Yes, I diluted it quite a bit, it was much stronger than I'd expected, so I mixed it with the saline solution in the IV bag, and I'm figuring that this will work best. If I introduce it to him slowly, then its less likely to confuse him or make him act weird, so this bag is really diluted, but the next one wont be as much.
Gohan offered a questioning expression. "You aren't going to make me stick him with another dart, are you? I don't know if I can do it twice."
"We'll see how things turn out Gohan. for now I'd like if you stuck around in case he freaks out when he wakes up. He could kill me with his pinky."
"Yeah. I know. Man I can't wait till we have dad and Vegita back."
Gohan took a chair and sat on it, stretching his legs out and running his eyes over Vegito's gently rising and falling chest.
End Part Eleven
To Be Continued.
Hmm, moving things right along, did this chapter suck or what? I don't know. I guess it wasn't too bad, although it wasn't as fun to write as the last one. I guess this particular chapter was mostly just pushing the plot, it wasn't as interesting, but that is only my opinion. Are you reader people in fan fiction land still out there? Tell me what you think!
Lady AngelFiren
Trunks flew out of the lab through the door, moving infinitely faster than his mother could ever hope to see with human eyes. He was completely unsure of where he was going, but he did feel the tempting tug of Goten's too soothing ki nearby, and it urged him to head for his friend. However, before he could scarcely start off in his lifelong amigos' direction, Trunks remembered the fury that smoldered in Goten's eyes when he'd called him a monster earlier.
He cringed all over with disappointed realization and looked around himself for an idea of where he might go. Absently Trunks drifted away from Capsule Corps., finally settling to his feet along the sidewalk and simply walking forward without any attention at all to where he was headed. He just needed time away, time to think. He felt harassed, rushed. It wasn't fair, but that didn't make it a dream. That didn't make it a joke or some kind of trick, in fact the realization that he was some freak animal.thing.only made Trunks more certain that he had to be strong like any proper saiyajin would when faced with something insane.
He lifted his palms into his line of sight so he could study them a bit. They weren't so bad.. well.. they were scary looking -to him anyway- but its not like he had to hurt someone if he went near them. He could be gentle. he could just. not hurt anyone. That would be the most important part. making sure everyone wasn't going to avoid him for fear of crossing him. 'That would just plain suck,' the lavender-haired boy concluded with a sardonic snort.
Trunks clicked his teeth together and inhaled deeply. A wonderful collection of intriguing scents rushed his senses with information, giving the street he was traveling along depth and a sense of safety. Trunks felt strong, safe, and powerful. er. didn't he?
A shiver ran up the boy's back and he sighed loudly, almost moaning rather than sighing. He didn't know where to go now. He was just walking. and the streets were thinning out, getting more rural. He was in the outskirts of the city by this time. Trunks had started pretty far off from CC to begin with, as he'd only been walking a short while. The scent of grass and trees seemed to beckon the young boy towards the pleasant darkness that lurked beneath full, thick branches and leafy forest foliage.
He passed through a few backyards, leaving only the barest footprints in the dewy grass. He could see the borderline of trees, now bathed in afternoon shadows and swimming with humidity thanks to the summer sun overhead. Trunks could smell flowers somewhere, though he couldn't see them from where he was. He stepped smoothly into the tall grass, ducking his head under some low limbs and emerging into a veritable cave of vines and branches. Thorned trees twisted and gnarled beneath the weight of the vines, which were rich with wild grapes and swathed in broad, fanned leaves. A large egg-shaped rock sat amongst the vines. Only enough of it's surface to fit one small furry boy was in plain view. The rest had been swallowed by the leaves. Trunks crawled onto the mighty stone and dragged a claw over it's chinked surface with a lazy glance at his actions.
'Mom is gonna try and find me. I know she will. She'll probably send Vegito after me.. Damnit! He's so stupid, what a big weenie! My dad is a hundred times cooler, and until he's back I know I won't be able to stand that guy. And he's after Goten! Goten..'
Trunks' young face crinkled into an angry scowl as he pictured Goten's face and remembered the tone of his voice when he declared that Trunks was a monster. Trunks didn't feel like a monster inside.. he just.. Trunks had expected that Goten would warm up to what was happening to him. He was scared to reveal his secret, of course, but there was always that underlying belief that Goten would be with him no matter what. Even now, a large part of Trunks counted on Goten as his support and companionship.
Trunks felt warmth stir in his tummy as he pictured his friend sitting with him and giving him a nice warm hug. Trunks missed Goten's hugs, he missed his Chibi's honey scent and his optimistic view on life. Without Goten right beside him, Trunks was out of balance. Goten was the one who kept him in line, kept him sane. But Goten was Vegito's friend. he called him FATHER! Despicable! Trunks crushed his jaws tightly together at the thought of Goten following along beside that idiot of a saiyajin, Vegito.
But, one thought of Goten's happy face and all of Trunks' anger melted away into a fuzzy, giddy feeling. If it made Goten happy, then, it made Trunks happy too. Maybe there was more to this whole liking Vegito thing than he'd thought? Could Goten be right in learning from him and befriending him?
'Not a chance in HFIL.'
'Unless. I'm missing something about him that Goten can see. I know Chibi sees more than me. he knows when people are sad. he knows when they're scared or when they don't like him. Maybe Chibi sees more than I do, and I should try listening to him for once? Ah! But that's so. so. dumb! I'm not giving in! I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I'll figure it out. And when I do, Vegito's going down. And if he thinks he can take my Chibi with him. grrr.. he's nuts.'
Trunks felt hot all over now, angry inside; furious, actually. He snarled and shook his head, panting and digging his claws into the cold stone's surface. His mind pictured Goten again, this time a happier picture, one of him and Goten playing video games together. Goten got this great look in his eyes when he was challenged by the game, it was determination. Trunks loved that look in his friend's eyes. He knew he was a little young for this warm feeling in his tummy, and for the way he liked to hug Goten, but it was hard to help. He just felt better with his Chibi.
Trunks clicked his teeth together once more and began to plot his course of action. Everything was a lot better now that he'd had a chance to think.
===========
Gohan traveled to a few more places on his job hunt, and most of them seemed very pleased to meet him. He felt pretty confident about some of the places he'd been, and he was certain he'd get some calls back from places seeking to hire him. The waiting game was hard to handle, and with no place to turn, Gohan knew that all he could do was find a way to pass the time. Unfortunately, there was one thing that Son Gohan forgot to consider. He had yet to realize that by running away from home, giving his home phone number was a useless thing to do. Chichi would answer any calls he received, and if anybody wanted an interview or to offer him a position, she would likely tell them they had a wrong number. There was no way for him to reach anyone unless he went home! GAH! But, as mentioned, the young fighter was oblivious to this for the time being.
He peered around himself and smiled at the sunshine as his feet carried him away from the city. When he was far enough out of anybody's way, he rose high into the sky and headed for Capsule Corps.
What can you say, 'oblivious' is Gohan's middle name.
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Bulma returned to work shortly after Trunks disappeared. She wasn't bothered by his immediate retreat, in fact she didn't blame him one bit. He must be absolutely terrified, finding horrible fur and strange ears and teeth and claws.. She wished he'd come to her sooner, she could have calmed him down.
However, the blue-haired scientist didn't have even one spare moment to waste on her son (that sounded really wrong in her head when she thought it), because she had FINALLY come up with the solution to all her problems. She'd done it. Cracked the code that was Vegito's complex DNA. The way Bulma saw it, DNA was like a road map, it was just laying there waiting to be manipulated or poked at. But to be able to move freely through the complex map of information, Bulma needed to understand all of it, especially the parts pertinent to her specific situation. She needed to target what was causing his aggression. Then she needed to create something that was compatible with Vegito's body, something that would not harm or impair him, something that would still do the job even after all these specifications were met. And the recipe for such a concoction was laid out before Bulma's eyes, the creation of her own impeccable intellect.
She went to work on the serum immediately. It was a lot of work to create something from scratch, without even having any former knowledge of where to start. But Bulma was on a roll now, and actually making the drug seemed like child's play when stacked against researching her options. She was sure it would work. She only hoped that whatever small dose she started off with would not be too powerful. Such a possibility was doubtful in her mind, as Saiyajin's were highly tolerant to. well. pretty much everything. Nothing killed the bastards, at least that's the impression Vegita gave. had given her.
'Oh quit thinking about that baka like he's dead. you'll have him back, you're you!'
'Then. who are you?'
'You, of course.'
'. Something isn't right here. I'm going to ignore you in hopes you'll disappear.'
'Yes ma'am, won't make a sound.'
Bulma allowed herself an exasperated sigh as she leaned closer to her work with determination in her big blue eyes.
After doing the mad scientist dance for several long hours, Bulma held up a thin glass tube containing a pale blue substance that was thicker than water, and foggier. It looked like melted blue cheese to Bulma, which put a smile on her face. She began to run tests on her serum, placing a tiny amount of it into a fresh tube of Vegito's blood. She was intently studying the results of this test when there was a tap at the back door.
Thinking it might be Trunks, come to apologize, Bulma set down what she was working on and headed to get the door, opening it and looking down at about the place where Trunks' head would be if he had been the person knocking. However, Bulma was greeted instead with a pair of khaki's. She looked up to see Gohan blinking curiously at her.
"Oh.. Gohan. hi. Can I help you with something?"
Gohan gave a confused smile and shrugged. "I came cause I went job hunting, and I was just sort of in the area. uh. if this is, like, a bad time or something I can go."
Gohan stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking almost guilty for having disturbed Bulma. He sure was good at playing innocent. So good, that it was impossible to tell anymore if he really was innocent or of it was an act. Knowing the boy, however, Bulma was willing to bet on the former. She smiled at him, trying to clear the discomfort from the air.
"Oh no, don't do that, come on in Gohan, I just thought you might have been Trunks, he ran off earlier. he's always worrying about something or other. you know. Oh! I didn't even tell you, I've started on my first batch of serum for Vegito, I'm pretty confident! My research took a lot less time than I'd thought it would, so I already managed to make some of the stuff. You can help me out if you have a minute, I need someone to hold things for me while I'm measuring amounts."
Gohan was a little overwhelmed by the friendly buzz of chatter that Bulma offered him. He glanced at her bare legs as he followed her into the laboratory, blushing guiltily when his eyes wandered a little higher than her knees. That part of a woman's body seemed. forbidden. to him. Its not like Bulma was even close to his age or anything like that, he was just curious. intrigued by her beauty, despite her age. And under all the pretty blue hair and eyes was a genius mind too, it made Bulma Briefs seem like a very desirable woman. But not to Gohan, he just had a little too much tension built up inside. He certainly would never consider something like. like. well, its not like he was considering it, so there's no point in elaborating further on it.
Bulma and Gohan made a fairly good team, though Gohan lacked a lot of knowledge in the area of biochemistry, he was smart and obedient and the pair made excellent progress over the space of a single hour. They worked in relative silence, until Gohan spoke up out of the blue.
"So, I told my mom off this morning."
Bulma dropped the pen she was jotting numbers down with and there was a short silence before she burst out laughing, growing hysterical with giggles in moments. Gohan sweatdropped and frowned, wanting to defend his accomplishment, not be mocked for it.
"Hey. stop it Bulma, I really did! I told her that I was old enough to take care of myself and that I wasn't going to come back home until I could support myself and make my own money. And. well I'm not sure I could go back even if I wanted to now, since she's so furious with me."
Gohan's frown remained securely in place on his face as he realized what an awful position he'd deliberately put himself in. How would his mom feel about this? The moral code of values that had been drilled into Gohan's head his entire life protested his actions vehemently, and it made him want to reconsider what he had done, it made him want to go back and kiss Chichi's feet in apology. The young demi-saiyajin looked up at Bulma with worry.
"Do. do you think she will forgive me Bulma? Maybe I should tell her I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt her feelings. I mean. she's my mom. I love her."
Bulma gave a snort that she must have picked up from the Prince of Saiyajins, shaking her head at Gohan. "Jeeze Gohan, you sound like she's got you on a pretty short leash. I mean she's your mom, sure, but you're a big boy now, remember? You can dress yourself and everything. I thought that was the whole point of running off and declaring yourself officially independent. Wouldn't it be proof to the contrary if you came crawling back like a dog with its tail between its legs? You gotta stick it out and do exactly what you said you would do, or better. Otherwise Chichi will win this round, and she'll have an even tighter hold over you. Remember, at some point, the decision to leave and care for yourself was rational to you. Reasonable even. it was right to you. You just have to rediscover the mindset you were in when you made that decision. Maybe you feel confused about it, but you know inside yourself what's the right thing to do, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna figure out sooner or later that living under Chichi forever isn't it. Eh. enough lecturing, Hold this for me, will you? Actually, I need some of your blood. I want to do a few tests on it with this stuff, just to see where Vegito stands compared to you. If this is too strong for you, then it might be too weak for him. I don't wanna knock him out, but I don't want the stuff not to work either."
The blue-haired scientist handed Gohan some vials to hold while she poked him with a needle and borrowed a little of his blood for tests. Gohan looked away from the needle, he didn't like them, though his fear was nowhere near so severe as his father's was. When Bulma told his she was done they continued with the testing, and Gohan's thoughts continued to race madly around in his mind.
============
Goten played by himself in the sandbox behind Capsule Corps. for most of the afternoon. His options for playmates were getting sorely limited, which depressed the boy greatly. Trunks was so. scary. and Gohan was always worrying about grown-up things now, it made him less fun, and more necessary to avoid. And. well trying to get Vegito's attention earlier this afternoon hadn't worked out very well, it seemed to Goten that Vegito didn't like him much at all. The way the powerful saiyajin spoke to him. it was all negatives, he felt bad about himself and about his family and friends after talking to Vegito. it wasn't fair. It also confused the young boy significantly, as Goten had been under the impression that he could find a replacement father in Vegito, but instead he was met with the face of an antagonist. Of a person who looked at others as being beneath him. Vegito honestly believed he was the greatest guy around, and Goten feared that he wasn't.
He sighed, shaking his head and brushing his hands together to get the sand off of them. Maybe he needed to see Trunks and give him another chance. they were best friends, after all. It was just so hard to face the strange boy now, after the way he had acted lately, all introverted and angry and confusing. Goten stood up in the sandbox, brushing sand off the rest of himself and rubbing his feet in the grass before putting his shoes back on. He closed his eyes and searched for Trunks' energy signature, feeling fearful anticipation rising in his throat and chest.
'I have to tell Trunks I'm sorry. what if he's still gonna be mad at me even if I'm really, really sorry? S'not fair. me an' Trunks are bestest friends. he'll like me still. I hope.'
Goten hopped into the sky, gaining some height before looking down at Capsule Corporation far below him in hopes that nobody was going to decide to follow him. He wanted to be a big boy and do this by himself. Trunks was really far away though, and he seemed to be hiding. Goten was glad he could feel Trunks all the time, whether he was hiding or not. It made everything in life seem more like they were doing it together, rather than separately.
The young demi-saiyajin made a beeline for his friend, taking his time during the flight in hopes that he would have something good to say worked out in his head by the time he got there. However, it only took a few minutes for him to realize that he would have to wing it, real apologies were always better when they came from the heart.
Goten landed beside the thicket of trees and vines that he could sense Trunks was hiding in. He crawled inside, looking around and immediately heading to sit on the large stone that Trunks already occupied. He crawled into a comfortable position, not looking at Trunks' facial expression just yet. His eyes remained low because he felt shame at his actions earlier.
Trunks snorted at Goten, feeling his insides wrench when his best friend appeared out of seemingly nowhere and came to sit beside him. He wanted to grab Goten and hold him tightly to keep him away from everyone else, but at the same time he feared that Goten would only turn around and hurt him more.
"What do you want?" Trunks asked rather rudely, crossing his arms and licking his sharp teeth with impatience ands nervousness.
Goten twisted in his seat to give Trunks a hopeful smile. "Trunks I'm really sorry.. I want us to be friends still. I didn't mean to say that to you. it wasn't nice and I'm sorry and we should be nice to each other now."
Trunks regarded Goten skeptically. "You're a jerk."
Goten's eyes became worried, he fidgeted and crossed his legs as if he were sitting on the flying nimbus. "Well. you were acting scary."
Trunks exploded with anger, standing up in his place so he could effectively glare down at Goten. "Shut up! Its your fault and don't blame it on me! You called me a monster and we're best friends and you think I'm one anyway! That's dumb! What do you think I'm going to do to you Goten!? Bite you? Scratch you with my stupid claws!? Fuck you. get lost Goten. I don't want friends who're brainless, idiotic retards with.with.stupid hair." Trunks gave a furious glare to Goten, expecting him to leave like he'd ordered.
Goten felt the impact of Trunks' fear with his words. he didn't quite understand it as easily or clearly as one can write it down, but he did know that it'd definitely be a bad thing to leave and let Trunks' efforts to push him away be successful. Goten stood up beside Trunks with wide eyes.
"Hey Trunks that's mean. see you're losing your temper and acting mean and scary again. act like Trunks!"
The lavender-haired boy blinked in surprise and swallowed his rebuttal soundly. He gave Goten a helpless glare. "I'm just mad Goten. I can't help it. I'm just mad all the time now. I wanna punch stuff and blast stuff. and then instead of being my friend you go off and make friends with that loser Vegito. You like him better than me, don't you." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.
Goten considered this with all the power that anyone in the Son family possibly could. His arms came up and wrapped around Trunks. Goten brought himself close to trunks and hugged him tightly, putting his head over his best friend's shoulder and closing his eyes. Her raised his ki some around himself and consequentially around Trunks. Goten stayed there, holding Trunks tightly.
The young prince felt his throat tighten in a sudden urge to start bawling like a baby. He let Goten hug him, then reciprocated the action, securing Goten safely in his arms. He hid his face in Goten's nice-smelling hair and squeezed the younger boy forcefully. He was almost afraid to speak, for fear of his voice cracking. He felt warm and jittery all over, especially in his tummy, where he was certain that a whole flock of butterflies was throwing a party.
"Goten. stay with me."
"You mean all day?"
"Forever."
==============
Vegito returned to Capsule Corporation after he meditated in the snow to clear his mind. The first person he saw when he landed on the lawn behind the main building was Gohan. The teen waved at him in what seemed to be an overly friendly manner, and immediately his suspicions arose. He put his guard up, glaring at Gohan with a decidedly murderous eye.
"What do you want. I have training to do."
Gohan wished Bulma hadn't sent him to 'go get Vegito.' He really didn't think that the man would willingly subject himself to serums and strange glowing blue stuff. He swallowed and gave Vegito his best smile, which looked incredibly guilty, as you readers can probably imagine.
"Eh.could you come into the lab before you start? Bulma's been working hard. she'd made progress and I think she needs you before she can go further."
"What, she doesn't have enough of my blood yet? If she thinks she's sticking me with one more needle she's nuts! You'll have to-
Gohan stuck a tranquilizer dart in Vegito's arm with shamefaced expression at his deceptiveness. He watched the saiyajin's eyes flutter shut as he fell forwards into Gohan's arms. Gohan picked him up over one shoulder and carried him into the lab, sighing as he laid the saiyajin fusion down on the lab table.
"Gee Bulma.are you sure this was all necessary? It seems really cruel."
Bulma came around the other side of the table with her tools and such in hand, laying them out on a smaller table so she could work.
"Nonsense Gohan, it was necessary, you ever tried to force either Vegita or Goku to do something they didn't want to do? Its impossible, they're both stubborn, and together they're even worse. This is the only way."
Gohan swallowed, looking down at Vegito. He watched as Bulma inserted an IV drip into his arm.
"Is that what you put the serum in?" He asked, looking at the liquid sloshing around in the drip bag.
"Yes, I diluted it quite a bit, it was much stronger than I'd expected, so I mixed it with the saline solution in the IV bag, and I'm figuring that this will work best. If I introduce it to him slowly, then its less likely to confuse him or make him act weird, so this bag is really diluted, but the next one wont be as much.
Gohan offered a questioning expression. "You aren't going to make me stick him with another dart, are you? I don't know if I can do it twice."
"We'll see how things turn out Gohan. for now I'd like if you stuck around in case he freaks out when he wakes up. He could kill me with his pinky."
"Yeah. I know. Man I can't wait till we have dad and Vegita back."
Gohan took a chair and sat on it, stretching his legs out and running his eyes over Vegito's gently rising and falling chest.
End Part Eleven
To Be Continued.
Hmm, moving things right along, did this chapter suck or what? I don't know. I guess it wasn't too bad, although it wasn't as fun to write as the last one. I guess this particular chapter was mostly just pushing the plot, it wasn't as interesting, but that is only my opinion. Are you reader people in fan fiction land still out there? Tell me what you think!
Lady AngelFiren
