AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another potentially dry chapter…but important. Also, in case you haven't noticed I'm calling the young version of Trunks in this timeline 'Little Trunks' to differentiate him from 'Chibi Trunks' who was Marron's ex in her world. I know…too many Trunks'…I get con-foosed too. ^^

On the far side of Dende's Palace, where the Castle of God backed almost up to the very edge of the Tenka itself, was a secluded ledge where the curve of the white marble surface nearly met the straight wall of the palace. It was a forgotten corner of the shrine; even the diligent Mr. Popo barely remembered the alcove was there.

Marron sat on the very edge of the Tenka bowl in the alcove, her long legs dangling over the side and she watched the serene world below. The tranquility of the blue green planet seemed in sharp contrast to the conflict within her. She wanted to clap her hands over her ears and eyes and blot out the truths of what Juunana-gou and Juuhachi-gou had done. It had been easy before to disassociate their atrocities in Trunks' time. Easy to say that wasn't her mother, but this timeline was so close. Here she was faced with what they had done, even more than the haunted look she sometimes still saw in Trunks' eyes, here were the real consequences…Yamucha maimed, the other warriors murdered… And the responsible party was the woman who under alternate circumstances had borne her. It tore at her.

Was Trunks right? Was this what her mother would have been if her father hadn't cared about her? Had Juuhachi-gou always been just a hairsbreadth away from reverting to a cold systematic killer? Again, she was reminded of what her mother had told her after her father died, that she had lost her humanity, but did she ever really have it? Marron refused to believe it -to think it- her mother wasn't that person, she couldn't be! She couldn't have loved her father enough to follow him into the afterlife if she'd been completely heartless and cold.

Marron leaned over and stared straight down, the bottom of the Tenka bowl curved away, allowing her a thrilling view of the clouds and little slices of the Earth below. The high winds that blew at the ceiling of the world lifted her hair to cover her face like a golden shroud. For a horrible instant she was tempted to just let gravity take her, to not to use bukujutsu to keep herself in the air, and just plummet like a stone toward the planet below, anything to quiet the whirling chaos of her mind…to stop the hurting. Marron gripped the edge of the Tenka hard instead, and stared up to the blue sky above, the stars hidden just beyond the thin scud of atmosphere. Trunks' eyes were that exact shade of deep impossible blue. If it weren't for her loving Trunks, she'd give just about anything to wake up and find out this had all been a horrible dream, and that she was back in the lab at Capsule Corp. living her boring lonely life.

She wasn't at all startled when she felt him sit down behind her, between her and the wall of the palace, his legs outside of hers. Since she'd met him she'd noticed he had a tendency to seek her out, and she'd been expecting him. With a sigh, she leaned back against him, as he leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked quietly. She could feel the violet silk of his loose hair tickling her cheek as the wind blew through it, twisting it with hers, his body warm and solid at her back, comforting her. His arms tightened around her a moment and his breath tickled her ear.

"Lesson for another day, my beloved…masking your ki."

She said nothing, just continued to stare out into the air, toward the gentle curve of the planet's edge.

"Come on, we need to go talk to the others…they're waiting," he told her gently. He had given her some time to be alone, purposefully stalling any discussion waiting for her to return, until he hadn't been able to stand it anymore and went to look for her.

"I can't. I just can't face those people knowing what Juunana-ojisan and Kaasan have done to them… Knowing when they look at me they'll just see Juuhachi-gou. I don't know what to do. I've never hated my own face before now," she said sadly, "I don't want to pretend that this whole thing isn't tearing me apart."

Trunks turned her in his embrace so he could see her face, tilting it up to his. "You can face them, and you will…because you're strong, Marron. That isn't your mother out there, that Juuhachi-gou never had someone to care about her. I know it's hard, but you have to remember that. She's not your mother. It's a different time, a different set of circumstances. But even if it was the same, you can't blame yourself for what she's done. You had nothing to do with it."

"I know," she said quietly. "It's just…"

"Just what, Marron? You can't punish yourself because you resemble her a little," Trunks told her, and Marron laughed harshly.

"A LITTLE? Kuririn-san tried to take my head off today, you tried to charbroil me that time, all because of how much I look like her so don't tell me…" she said her eyebrows snapping down, "I bet if I cut my hair I'd nearly be her twin," she muttered miserably, turning her face away.

Trunks stared at her profile. It was true, where once he had looked at Marron and only seen the likeness of Juuhachi-gou; all he saw now were the subtle differences between them. Marron's eyes were darker and wider, despite the distinctive cat like tilt. Her eyebrows were several shades darker than her pale hair and a different shape than her mother's. Her waist length hair parted in the middle. He reached up and took her pointed little chin in his hand and turned her face back to his.

"No one has more reasons to hate the Jinzouningen than I do, Marron. I've hated Juuhachi-gou and her brother my whole life," he said softly, "But when I look at you, I don't see Juuhachi-gou…I see YOU. I see Marron, and I love you. If I can get past the resemblance, then they can too, if they can't...they can take it up with me," he told her. Her lips trembled and she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, her tears wetting the shoulder of his jacket. Trunks stood, still holding her tightly against him, and let her cry.

When she finally let go of him to wipe her eyes, she gave him the first real smile he'd seen from her all day, and he felt himself love her a little more. She was light; darkness shouldn't be allowed to touch her as it had him. She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him, just a brief press of her lips and breasts against him as she grasped his arms.

"I love you, Trunks…thank you," She whispered, and let him go. He smiled at her, looking a little mischievous, and cupped her face in his hand tenderly.

"Anytime…Jinzouning-jo," Trunks teased her gently, using the nickname of 'Android daughter' Vegeta had always called her. Marron blinked at him, but understood the meaning. He was right…she couldn't change who she was or where she came from, why fight it? She might as well embrace it. She lifted her chin in a defiant little tilt.

"Don't you forget it."

Marron leaned against the wall near Trunks, cupping her elbows in her hands; as she half listened to him explain his history, and what events had brought them to this time. She let her eyes idly roam over the people assembled in the dining hall of the Palace. She had been a little nervous when she and Trunks had rejoined them, still anticipating a hostile welcome. But she had been pleasantly surprised to find they had been curious about her, but not openly antagonistic. She supposed she had Kuririn and Gohan to thank for that…they had probably prepared them for her appearance. Still, she had nearly burst into tears again when Yamucha had greeted her warmly, wanting to meet the woman who was with the future version of his son.

She let her eyes rest on Little Trunks, who was sitting with Goten and staring up at her Trunks as he spoke with absolute worship on his face. She couldn't really blame him, Trunks was pretty impressive with the sword and all. She studied the boy carefully; she had seen enough pictures of Chibi Trunks as a child to be nearly certain that Little Trunks was also a child of Vegeta, not Yamucha. Despite both Yamucha and Bulma introducing the boy as Yamucha's son. She bit the inside of her mouth thoughtfully. Did Yamucha know the boy was part Saiyajin and claimed him as his own anyway? Or was Bulma hiding something from them all? Trunks had told her all about when he had first met his father when he went to the past and defeated Furiza – he had been a Super Saiyajin when he did it…did they just not remember it? Or believed Vegeta when he insisted Trunks couldn't be Saiyajin?

She noticed that Bulma was watching Trunks intently, chewing on a fingernail, and wondered what was making her so edgy. Before she could ponder it too long however, her attention was snapped back to the conversation when she heard Trunks ask Kuririn how Juunana-gou got the Dragonballs. She'd missed that part.

Kuririn explained that about eighteen months after Cell had been defeated, Juunana-gou and Juuhachi-gou had suddenly reappeared, with company. Three more Jinzouningen that seemed to be taking orders from Juunana-gou. Piccolo had been the first to fall at their hands. Tenshinhan and Yamucha had fought them together with disastrous results, Tenshinhan killed by Juunana-gou, and Yamucha maimed by his sister. Marron kept her face expressionless, despite the deep regret she felt at the sorrow she saw etched on their faces…especially little Chaozu at the mention of Tenshinhan.

"What about Vegeta-san?" Marron asked, contributing to the discussion at last, and asking the question she knew Trunks was most curious about.

"Vegeta fought them many times, before and after Ten and I fought them that last time. He was training Gohan and Goten, since the three of them were the only Saiyajin left, but the Jinzouningen never fight alone, always in two's or three's like a wolf pack," Yamucha told them. "They finally got tired of playing with him I guess."

Marron watched Bulma surreptitiously at Yamucha's mention of Vegeta, Gohan and Goten being the only Saiyajin. Her eyes met Bulma's, and Marron knew without the other woman saying that she'd been with Vegeta. And the nervous expression on her face told her that Yamucha didn't know about it. Marron swore to herself, this could really compromise how effectively they could deal with the situation if Trunks didn't feel he could show his Saiyajin strength.

"After Tenshinhan was killed, we gathered the Dragonballs to restore Yamucha's sight and wish Chi-Chi back. Unfortunately, somehow Juunana-gou got wind of it and sent his flunkies. They snatched the balls right out from under us. Vegeta went after them to get the Dragonballs back…he never returned. We...found him a few days later," Kuririn finished quietly. Marron wanted to reach out to Trunks, who took the news stoically, but didn't want to call any attention to the fact that Vegeta's death may have special significance to him. Trunks asked if they still engaged the Jinzouningen in battle.

"Since we lost Vegeta, our goal has been more of survival than fighting them. It's pretty much Gohan-kun and I at this point, and with Chi-Chi and Gokou both gone…it's fallen to me to take care of the boys, and I can't do that dead," Kuririn told them. Trunks nodded and studied his folded hands a moment.

"Marron and I ended up in your time by accident. Anything we do here could cause another timeline, but it seems clear to me that we have no choice but to help you get the Dragonballs back and defeat the Jinzouningen before we leave," Trunks said thoughtfully. Marron's eye twitched the tiniest bit at the mention of defeating the Jinzouningen.

"We already made another timeline when we first showed up Trunks…" Marron reminded him quietly. "And I still have to find a way to charge the Time Capsule back up or we're not going anywhere."

"Very well. Then it's decided," Trunks nodded, and looked at Kuririn. "Tell me more about these other three Jinzouningen…"

The late afternoon sun sparkled off the Time Capsule as it sat on the courtyard of the Tenka near the Capsule Corp plane. Bulma watched from afar as the young blonde woman Marron, sat on the ground nearby hunched over a laptop computer. She'd put on a pair of the ugliest wire framed glasses Bulma had ever had the misfortune of seeing on a woman, but the effect did more to disassociate Marron from the Jinzouningen then the young inventor could ever know. She was curious to talk to the young woman who seemed to be as on the ball as Bulma herself, maybe more so. She was fascinated by the Time Capsule too, it seemed like something born of her dreams as it stood glistening in the sun.

Her own son was sitting on one side of Marron, while Goten sat on the other. The fact that the young boys had quickly taken to the Jinzouningen's daughter should have alleviated Bulma's hesitation in approaching her, but the memory of those icy blue eyes meeting hers while her husband mentioned Vegeta wouldn't leave her mind. Those eyes seemed to look right into her and know the truth. Bulma looked across the Tenka courtyard to where Kuririn, Gohan, and the future version of her son -the one who'd been here before- sat on the steps leading into Dende's Palace with the young Kami himself. She vaguely wondered where Yamucha had gotten himself off to, then noticed Roshi, Oolong, and Yajirobe were missing as well…knowing them they were all together.

She watched the older version of her son with interest. He was such a self-assured, polite and quiet young man, well not that young…he seemed only five or six years younger physically than Bulma was herself. And handsome...more handsome even than Vegeta had been. His hair was much longer than when he'd visited that first time, falling to below his shoulders before he'd tied it back. And the color, like her son's, that pale violet they'd inherited from their grandfather, and the blue eyes from her…but his face. He was pure Vegeta, so much so that if she pictured black hair and eyes on him he'd be the mirror image of the Saiyajin Prince. Thankfully, she seemed to be the only one who saw the resemblance…so far.

She looked back toward Marron, her son's...what? He hadn't exactly said what the relationship between them was: just friends, lovers, married? Whichever of the three, they seemed very close.

"Bulma-san? Could I get your opinion on this?" Marron's voice cut into her reverie. Bulma went and joined the young woman. By the time Marron brought her up to speed on the Time Capsule's schematics, and explained the strange device she had laid out on the ground in front of her -the jinkouseki- Bulma had a new respect for the young woman from the future. She looked at her in awe.

"You're brilliant," Bulma told her. Marron blushed and pushed her glasses up her nose, seeming glad that Little Trunks and Goten had wandered off to play somewhere else a few sentences into her elucidation of the problem.

"Don't praise me…you built the Time Capsule. Well, Trunks' Kaasan from the future anyway," Marron told her humbly. Bulma gestured at the jinkouseki.

"This is what I was talking about, how innovative. I wish I had someone like you working for me," Bulma said. For some reason Marron found this funny and the blonde threw her head back and laughed. Bulma blinked at her, any resemblance to Juuhachi-gou was eclipsed when Marron laughed and smiled. Bulma noticed the sound of Marron's laughter had grabbed Trunks' attention. They're definitely more than friends, Bulma could tell as the older version of her son watched Marron with intense eyes.

"Sorry, it's just that in my world, before I left, I did work for you. You're the reason I became an inventor," Marron told Bulma with a smile. Bulma puffed a bit.

"It's nice to know someone appreciates my genius," she said waving her hand. Marron smiled at her, and the two women bent their heads over the computer, discussing Marron's plan to modify the jinkouseki yet again to take the energy it collected and charge the time machine with it. Any hesitation on Bulma's part melted away as they worked collectively and she found she really liked the younger woman. It probably helped that Marron had worked with Bulma for so long, she knew how her mind worked, and they collaborated very well together as they modified the device, completely absorbed in what they were doing. They were so engrossed in fact, that they barely noticed the nightfall. Mr. Popo brought them a light when they refused to come in and risk losing one of the tiny pieces of the jinkouseki they had spread around them.

Bulma stretched and tried to pop the kinks out of her back. They had been working for hours, but had finally finished making the modifications. Two beautiful geniuses are better than one, she thought smugly. Bulma looked back over her shoulder at Marron, who was packing up the tools they'd been using. She was bathed in the blue light from the laptop's monitor, her mouth set in a hard line. She sighed as she closed the laptop, casting herself in shadow. Bulma felt a twinge of unease.

"What's wrong?" Bulma asked her, pretty sure she would regret the question. She really couldn't see Marron's face in the weak work light Popo had brought them. Marron was quiet so long Bulma was about to ask again, when her soft voice came out of the dark.

"Yamucha-san doesn't know does he?" she asked and Bulma felt an icy dread move through her.

"Whatever are you talking about?"

"Don't be coy, Bulma-san. I'll not reveal what I know, that's not my place…it's Trunks'. But the Trunks I came in the Time Capsule with is the son of Vegeta and Bulma. Are you going to tell me your son isn't the same?" Marron asked. Bulma sat back down heavily next to her. Bulma had never heard Juuhachi-gou speak, but if she had, she'd have been struck by the similarities in the dry amused tone Marron used.

"No…I can't," Bulma sighed finally. "After your Trunks warned us of the Jinzouningen's arrival in three years, everyone went and trained to prepare. Yamucha and Vegeta both trained at Capsule Corporation. Vegeta in the Gravity Chamber my father made for him. He sparked my interest, you know? He was very proud and mysterious…there was just something about him…" Bulma said and tipped her head back to look at the star filled sky.

"Hmmmm," Marron nodded. She could imagine, that intangible quality had been passed on to his son.

"Yamucha and I got engaged, despite the pressure to be ready for the Jinzouningen's coming. It was a surprise after all those years together that he finally asked me. I think he didn't like Vegeta being around, and wanted to make sure he knew whose girl I was," Bulma said with a little chuckle. "It caused a rift between us, Vegeta's being there, and my growing interest in him. I thought I hid it, but Yamucha knew. We fought about it, Yamucha wanted him to leave, and I wanted him to stay. I argued that we would need Vegeta if the Androids were as strong as Trunks predicted. I had my own reasons for wanting him to stay.

"Make no mistake, I love Yamucha…I've loved him since I was sixteen. But Vegeta, he just fascinated me."

"Did he love you?" Marron asked her. Bulma laughed brightly.

"I sincerely doubt it! He insulted me at every turn, every opportunity. Called me stupid and ugly. Used to make me furious! But part of me inside must have wondered if he really meant the opposite because I slept with him. Only once…but I guess once was all it took. Yamucha and I'd had another blow out over Vegeta, and I told him the wedding was off. Yamucha left…it was horrible. And then one night it just happened…Vegeta and me. I felt guilty, even though Yamucha and I had broken up. When Yamucha came and apologized a few days later I took him back without any hesitation, and married him without any regrets," Bulma finished.

"In my time…you are married to Vegeta-san, and have two children," Marron told her with a little laugh, and enlightened her on Bra, and life with Vegeta.

"Really? I couldn't imagine being married to that impossible man," Bulma said turning her amazed gaze to Marron. Marron bit the inside of her cheek trying to think of how to broach the subject that was concerning her delicately, but she was too much her mother's daughter in the end.

"Are you going to tell Yamucha?" she asked bluntly. Bulma narrowed her eyes a bit in Marron's direction.

"I wasn't planning on hurting him by telling him the son he's so proud of isn't his, no," Bulma said acerbically. Marron felt her own frustration rise in response.

"But Bulma-san, I know Trunks…even before I met this one, I grew up with a son of Vegeta. He's a Saiyajin! He has to fight; I could no more stop him from taking on the Jinzouningen, than turn the tide with pretty words. He'll fight them, he's incredibly strong and he could beat them, but only if he can become a Super Saiyajin. The minute he does it, everyone will know. Forcing him to keep your secret puts him at risk…I won't let that happen," Marron said with intent, and stared Bulma down in a battle of wills.

"You have to tell him or I will," Marron threatened quietly, when Bulma didn't respond. Bulma stared at the young woman. This was what she had been afraid of, since she had gotten off the plane and seen that the visitor was the young man from the future. She remembered when he defeated Furiza, and how Vegeta had assured everyone there was no way he could be a Saiyajin. When her own son had been born, she'd counted on everyone forgetting the mysterious youth. She'd never counted on him coming back.

"I'm sorry, Bulma-san. I don't want to hurt you or threaten you…but I will not lose Trunks because you're afraid to tell your husband you had a one night stand, during a break up before you were married," Marron said and put her hand on the older woman's shoulder. Bulma felt trapped, the girl was right certainly. She didn't want anything to happen to the future version of her son either. But she didn't have to like it, as she angrily shrugged the hand off her.

The sound of footsteps moving away alerted them to the presence of another, and they both looked up in surprise to see Yamucha walking away from them back toward the palace, having overheard enough. Bulma felt her guilt and worry give over to anger towards Marron, misguided as it may be. Even as she was relieved the secret would finally be revealed, she lashed out at the younger woman.

"I hope you're satisfied! You're a cold heartless bitch just like your mother, you know that?" Bulma spat at her venomously, before going after her husband.

"I know," Marron whispered to Bulma's retreating back, as hot tears pricked her eyes again. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she sat on the hard marble floor of the Tenka and wept for the umpteenth time that day until Trunks finally came to collect her for bed.

"This has been, on the whole, the singularly most crappy day I think I've ever had," she informed him.