Chapter 2: The Search Begins
Trunks woke up to the smell of breakfast being cooked. He gently got out of bed so he didn't wake Pan. He got dressed and when he went to check on Little Vegeta, he found his son awake and smiling back at him. "Hey, little one," Trunks whispered as he picked the boy up. "Let's go and let mommy sleep for a little while." He walked out of the room quietly so as not to wake Pan.
As he approached the dinning room and kitchen, Trunks could hear his parents and Goten talking. "You two never did seem to do anything separate," Bulma said.
"Not like we had a say in it," Goten replied.
"Had a say in what?" Trunks asked, walking in the room. Bulma was in the kitchen cooking while Vegeta and Goten sat at the table. Goten turned to his best friend just far enough that Trunks could see a small bundle resting in Goten's arms. Trunks smiled as he sat down at the table. "When?" Trunks asked.
"Last night, just after we all retired to our rooms. That's why Bra was so restless yesterday," Goten replied, fixing the blanket that had fallen.
"I didn't hear anything last night, from either one of your rooms," Victor said, appearing from behind the couch where he had been meditating.
"Bra did very well last night. Never once did she scream or complain of pain. Even their son didn't cry when he was born. Must have been all that training she did with you boys," Bulma said, beginning to set food on the table.
Goten laughed. "I guess we never gave her a chance. She always trained hard but none harder than with Vegeta," he said.
The others laughed till Trunks interrupted, "True, but Pan is the same. They both train hard and take pain with ease. That explanation makes no sense."
The others sat speechless, Trunks had a point. Vegeta stood and walked toward the window before he softly spoke, "The way they reacted, neither one could help it. It's in their blood."
"Huh?" Trunks looked at Vegeta and then joined him by the window, "Dad, what do you mean?"
Vegeta turned and faced trunks as Goten, Victor, and Bulma joined them. Vegeta smiled as he looked at his grandsons resting in their fathers' arms. He was just about to answer Trunks' question when Pan and Bra walked into the room. "Good morning, girls," Vegeta said.
The others turned around and Trunks and Goten walked to their wives, who took their sons into their arms. "How are you two feeling?" Bulma asked as they all sat down at the table for breakfast.
"I'm okay, hungry, but what else can you expect?" Bra replied, gaining laughs from everyone.
"I always knew you children favored your father," Bulma said, making everyone laugh harder. Vegeta chuckled, but never looked up from his food. "Vegeta, you were about to tell us something before the girls walked in."
"Hmm," he replied, looking up with his mouth full. He swallowed his bite and looked at the family he had gained over the past years. "Oh, yes, the debate Trunks and Goten were having about Bra and Pan," he said thoughtfully, "Like I said before, neither one of them could help the way they reacted, it's in their blood."
"Reacted to what?" Pan looked at Trunks as she shifted Little Vegeta in her arms so she could eat.
"The boys being born. We were trying to figure out why you reacted to the pain and Bra didn't. Vegeta said he knew why," Goten replied as Trunks had his mouth full. They all turned to Vegeta, awaiting his reply.
"See, it spans back generations, in both my family and in Kakarot's. My family was trained to be warriors and leaders; we were the royalty after all. We were taught to be intolerant to pain, to not express what we felt. Before long, it became part of our genetic makeup, being passed on from generation to generation. That is why I never had to train Trunks, Bra, and Victor to resist pain, it was ingrained in them from the time they were babies. Kakarot's family, however, was different. They were not fighters but scientists. Sure, they trained, but they never gained the intolerance to pain that most saiyans had. Kakarot, Gohan, Goten, and Pan are the first of that family to be purely fighters. It will be several generations before Kakarot's family gains the intolerance in their genetic code," Vegeta replied and then returned to eating. The others sat staring at him for several minutes, shocked; not because of what he said but of how he said it. For a short time, Vegeta seemed to show the compassion they knew resided somewhere in his heart.
Finally, Goten broke the silence, "What about our children? I mean, since they have both my family from Pan and I and your family from Trunks and Bra?"
Vegeta never glance up, but only replied, "Only time will tell." Then he returned to his meal. Bulma sighed, her hopes that Christmas might finally bring out the compassion in Vegeta's heart were beginning to dwindle; it would take a miracle to change him.
They finished the meal in silence and when they finished, Trunks, Goten, and Victor all stood up. "Hey, dad, we're going to go train in the gravity room for a while; care to join us?" Trunks asked.
"No, I have some things to take care of today," Vegeta said, standing and then he walked out of the room. The boys looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before walking out of the room and to the gravity room.
"Hey, mom," Bra said as she and Pan sat at the table with Bulma, "What do you want for Christmas?"
"Hmm," Bulma said thoughtfully, "Honestly, Bra, what I truly want is for your father to be himself. He tries so hard to be stoic, appearing arrogant and rude. Deep inside him lies a compassion so great I wonder how he contains it. I know it's there, because I've seen it."
Vegeta sighed and leaned against the doorpost. He had heard Bra ask Bulma about the Christmas gift and had waited in the shadows for his wife's answer. Each year, Vegeta went along with his family and celebrated Christmas, though it meant nothing to him. As far as he was concerned, it was just a day where the Earthlings got overexcited about giving useless gifts to one another. But each year, the Christmas spirit seemed to get to him when it came to Bulma. She was his wife, his whole world, and each year, he tried to get her a gift to show what she meant to him, but, even though to the others she appeared happy with the gift he gave her, he could see the disappointment in her eyes. How could he give her the gift she wanted? When he said his family didn't show what they felt, he meant it, not just physically but emotionally as well, he envied his sons and daughter because they had overcome what he was learning was a defect in his makeup. He wanted Bulma to have the best gift possible, and he didn't know if he could ever give it to her.
Vegeta sighed once more and began to walk down the hall. Slowly, and idea came to him. Bulma had said the night before that she wished it would snow - a white Christmas was what she wanted. For anyone else, the gift would have been impossible to give, but for someone with knowledge of the dragon balls...It might not be showing his true self to everyone, but, Vegeta would give all he had to get Bulma her white Christmas. He walked into her lab. Now where did she keep that radar? With only five days to Christmas, he would need the radar to find the dragon balls in time. Shortly, he found the radar and put it in his pocket. Then he went to his room and changed into his saiyan armor, making sure to take the radar with him when he left the room.
Vegeta walked into the dinning room when Bulma, Bra, and Pan were laughing about something. They stopped when he walked in and Bulma wondered why he was in his armor. "Bulma," he said harshly, "I'm going to train by myself, away from here. I maybe going for several weeks."
"Vegeta," she said, walking over to him, "You're leaving now? What about our grandsons? And what about Christmas? You're not going to miss that, are you?"
"Woman, I could care less about Christmas. It's a stupid holiday you Earthlings celebrate, not me. I have been here every Christmas since Trunks was a baby and I have hated everyone. I'm going to do what I want this year, now just deal with it," Vegeta replied then turned to walk out of the room.
"But, Vegeta..." Bulma tried to stop him but he still walked out of the room, "Christmas is about being with the ones you love..."
Though Bulma didn't think he had heard her, Vegeta heard every word she said and it hit him like a knife in the heart. He took to flight as his eyes stung from the tears that were threatening to roll down his cheeks.
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"Mom, are you okay?" Bulma didn't realize she was standing there crying until Bra touched her on the shoulder.
"I...I...I'm fine. That's just like your father, taking off at the wrong time," she replied, looking at the door. She wiped away her tears and put on a smile for the girls. "He'll be back. He may miss Christmas, but I don't care, he's always a scrooge anyway." She was able to fool the others, but inside, she couldn't fool her heart. If Vegeta missed Christmas, this would be the first Christmas without him since they got together and it tore her hear in two.
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Vegeta flew at top speed without going super saiyan, not even thinking about the dragon radar until he was halfway across the world from West City. He reached one of his favorite training spots and sat down on the edge of a cliff. "I'm sorry, Bulma, but I couldn't get your gift without lying to you," he whispered as he pulled the radar out of his pocket, "Now, let's find those dragon balls. I will make this a Christmas for you to remember." Vegeta turned on the radar and saw there was a dragon ball not far from him. He had to start somewhere, so he took off after it.
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By midafternoon, the Z Fighters had all gathered at Capsule Corp. once again at the news of the birth of Goten and Bra's son. "Wow, two grandsons in one night. How'd you manage that one, Bulma?" Krillin teased.
"Luck, I guess," she replied solemnly, still upset about Vegeta.
"Um, Bulma, is everything okay? You don't seem very happy," Yamcha asked cautiously.
"Dad left to go train this morning and said he wouldn't be coming back for several weeks. We think he's just trying to get out of Christmas," Trunks said, taking Little Vegeta from Pan so she could eat her lunch.
"I can't blame him, I've forced him to stay for Christmas since Trunks was a baby. I guess he figured with the little ones and our children he wouldn't be missed this year," Bulma replied and went on cleaning up the dishes.
"So, Goten, where is this nephew of mine? We're all anxious to see him," Gohan said, knowing the subject needed to be changed quick.
"He's right here, Gohan," Bra said, walking into the room. She gently handed her son to Gohan.
"Wow, he looks just like dad," Gohan said as the small boy smiled and waved his arms at his uncle.
"Yep, that's why we named him Kakarot, after dad," Goten replied, standing next to Pan.
"Why do I have a feeling Little Vegeta and Little Kakarot are going to cause as much trouble as Vegeta and Goku and Trunks and Goten do?" Krillin said and everyone laughed, the two newest Z Fighters were sure to be a handful.
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"There you are," Vegeta said as he spotted the dragon ball precociously set on top of a stone pillar. He picked it up, this was too easy. Suddenly, he was surrounded by two huge, winged beasts.
"He's stealing the boss's ball! You'll give that back if you know what's best for you, puck," the larger of the two said.
Vegeta smirked, putting the three-star ball in a bag he had hanging at his waist. "Just try and stop me," he taunted. The beasts attacked and he easily defeated them. Even their boss was nothing for him to defeat. "Ha! If all the dragon balls are this easy to get, it will be no problem to get Bulma her white Christmas." Then he took off in search oft he next dragon ball.
Trunks woke up to the smell of breakfast being cooked. He gently got out of bed so he didn't wake Pan. He got dressed and when he went to check on Little Vegeta, he found his son awake and smiling back at him. "Hey, little one," Trunks whispered as he picked the boy up. "Let's go and let mommy sleep for a little while." He walked out of the room quietly so as not to wake Pan.
As he approached the dinning room and kitchen, Trunks could hear his parents and Goten talking. "You two never did seem to do anything separate," Bulma said.
"Not like we had a say in it," Goten replied.
"Had a say in what?" Trunks asked, walking in the room. Bulma was in the kitchen cooking while Vegeta and Goten sat at the table. Goten turned to his best friend just far enough that Trunks could see a small bundle resting in Goten's arms. Trunks smiled as he sat down at the table. "When?" Trunks asked.
"Last night, just after we all retired to our rooms. That's why Bra was so restless yesterday," Goten replied, fixing the blanket that had fallen.
"I didn't hear anything last night, from either one of your rooms," Victor said, appearing from behind the couch where he had been meditating.
"Bra did very well last night. Never once did she scream or complain of pain. Even their son didn't cry when he was born. Must have been all that training she did with you boys," Bulma said, beginning to set food on the table.
Goten laughed. "I guess we never gave her a chance. She always trained hard but none harder than with Vegeta," he said.
The others laughed till Trunks interrupted, "True, but Pan is the same. They both train hard and take pain with ease. That explanation makes no sense."
The others sat speechless, Trunks had a point. Vegeta stood and walked toward the window before he softly spoke, "The way they reacted, neither one could help it. It's in their blood."
"Huh?" Trunks looked at Vegeta and then joined him by the window, "Dad, what do you mean?"
Vegeta turned and faced trunks as Goten, Victor, and Bulma joined them. Vegeta smiled as he looked at his grandsons resting in their fathers' arms. He was just about to answer Trunks' question when Pan and Bra walked into the room. "Good morning, girls," Vegeta said.
The others turned around and Trunks and Goten walked to their wives, who took their sons into their arms. "How are you two feeling?" Bulma asked as they all sat down at the table for breakfast.
"I'm okay, hungry, but what else can you expect?" Bra replied, gaining laughs from everyone.
"I always knew you children favored your father," Bulma said, making everyone laugh harder. Vegeta chuckled, but never looked up from his food. "Vegeta, you were about to tell us something before the girls walked in."
"Hmm," he replied, looking up with his mouth full. He swallowed his bite and looked at the family he had gained over the past years. "Oh, yes, the debate Trunks and Goten were having about Bra and Pan," he said thoughtfully, "Like I said before, neither one of them could help the way they reacted, it's in their blood."
"Reacted to what?" Pan looked at Trunks as she shifted Little Vegeta in her arms so she could eat.
"The boys being born. We were trying to figure out why you reacted to the pain and Bra didn't. Vegeta said he knew why," Goten replied as Trunks had his mouth full. They all turned to Vegeta, awaiting his reply.
"See, it spans back generations, in both my family and in Kakarot's. My family was trained to be warriors and leaders; we were the royalty after all. We were taught to be intolerant to pain, to not express what we felt. Before long, it became part of our genetic makeup, being passed on from generation to generation. That is why I never had to train Trunks, Bra, and Victor to resist pain, it was ingrained in them from the time they were babies. Kakarot's family, however, was different. They were not fighters but scientists. Sure, they trained, but they never gained the intolerance to pain that most saiyans had. Kakarot, Gohan, Goten, and Pan are the first of that family to be purely fighters. It will be several generations before Kakarot's family gains the intolerance in their genetic code," Vegeta replied and then returned to eating. The others sat staring at him for several minutes, shocked; not because of what he said but of how he said it. For a short time, Vegeta seemed to show the compassion they knew resided somewhere in his heart.
Finally, Goten broke the silence, "What about our children? I mean, since they have both my family from Pan and I and your family from Trunks and Bra?"
Vegeta never glance up, but only replied, "Only time will tell." Then he returned to his meal. Bulma sighed, her hopes that Christmas might finally bring out the compassion in Vegeta's heart were beginning to dwindle; it would take a miracle to change him.
They finished the meal in silence and when they finished, Trunks, Goten, and Victor all stood up. "Hey, dad, we're going to go train in the gravity room for a while; care to join us?" Trunks asked.
"No, I have some things to take care of today," Vegeta said, standing and then he walked out of the room. The boys looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before walking out of the room and to the gravity room.
"Hey, mom," Bra said as she and Pan sat at the table with Bulma, "What do you want for Christmas?"
"Hmm," Bulma said thoughtfully, "Honestly, Bra, what I truly want is for your father to be himself. He tries so hard to be stoic, appearing arrogant and rude. Deep inside him lies a compassion so great I wonder how he contains it. I know it's there, because I've seen it."
Vegeta sighed and leaned against the doorpost. He had heard Bra ask Bulma about the Christmas gift and had waited in the shadows for his wife's answer. Each year, Vegeta went along with his family and celebrated Christmas, though it meant nothing to him. As far as he was concerned, it was just a day where the Earthlings got overexcited about giving useless gifts to one another. But each year, the Christmas spirit seemed to get to him when it came to Bulma. She was his wife, his whole world, and each year, he tried to get her a gift to show what she meant to him, but, even though to the others she appeared happy with the gift he gave her, he could see the disappointment in her eyes. How could he give her the gift she wanted? When he said his family didn't show what they felt, he meant it, not just physically but emotionally as well, he envied his sons and daughter because they had overcome what he was learning was a defect in his makeup. He wanted Bulma to have the best gift possible, and he didn't know if he could ever give it to her.
Vegeta sighed once more and began to walk down the hall. Slowly, and idea came to him. Bulma had said the night before that she wished it would snow - a white Christmas was what she wanted. For anyone else, the gift would have been impossible to give, but for someone with knowledge of the dragon balls...It might not be showing his true self to everyone, but, Vegeta would give all he had to get Bulma her white Christmas. He walked into her lab. Now where did she keep that radar? With only five days to Christmas, he would need the radar to find the dragon balls in time. Shortly, he found the radar and put it in his pocket. Then he went to his room and changed into his saiyan armor, making sure to take the radar with him when he left the room.
Vegeta walked into the dinning room when Bulma, Bra, and Pan were laughing about something. They stopped when he walked in and Bulma wondered why he was in his armor. "Bulma," he said harshly, "I'm going to train by myself, away from here. I maybe going for several weeks."
"Vegeta," she said, walking over to him, "You're leaving now? What about our grandsons? And what about Christmas? You're not going to miss that, are you?"
"Woman, I could care less about Christmas. It's a stupid holiday you Earthlings celebrate, not me. I have been here every Christmas since Trunks was a baby and I have hated everyone. I'm going to do what I want this year, now just deal with it," Vegeta replied then turned to walk out of the room.
"But, Vegeta..." Bulma tried to stop him but he still walked out of the room, "Christmas is about being with the ones you love..."
Though Bulma didn't think he had heard her, Vegeta heard every word she said and it hit him like a knife in the heart. He took to flight as his eyes stung from the tears that were threatening to roll down his cheeks.
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"Mom, are you okay?" Bulma didn't realize she was standing there crying until Bra touched her on the shoulder.
"I...I...I'm fine. That's just like your father, taking off at the wrong time," she replied, looking at the door. She wiped away her tears and put on a smile for the girls. "He'll be back. He may miss Christmas, but I don't care, he's always a scrooge anyway." She was able to fool the others, but inside, she couldn't fool her heart. If Vegeta missed Christmas, this would be the first Christmas without him since they got together and it tore her hear in two.
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Vegeta flew at top speed without going super saiyan, not even thinking about the dragon radar until he was halfway across the world from West City. He reached one of his favorite training spots and sat down on the edge of a cliff. "I'm sorry, Bulma, but I couldn't get your gift without lying to you," he whispered as he pulled the radar out of his pocket, "Now, let's find those dragon balls. I will make this a Christmas for you to remember." Vegeta turned on the radar and saw there was a dragon ball not far from him. He had to start somewhere, so he took off after it.
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By midafternoon, the Z Fighters had all gathered at Capsule Corp. once again at the news of the birth of Goten and Bra's son. "Wow, two grandsons in one night. How'd you manage that one, Bulma?" Krillin teased.
"Luck, I guess," she replied solemnly, still upset about Vegeta.
"Um, Bulma, is everything okay? You don't seem very happy," Yamcha asked cautiously.
"Dad left to go train this morning and said he wouldn't be coming back for several weeks. We think he's just trying to get out of Christmas," Trunks said, taking Little Vegeta from Pan so she could eat her lunch.
"I can't blame him, I've forced him to stay for Christmas since Trunks was a baby. I guess he figured with the little ones and our children he wouldn't be missed this year," Bulma replied and went on cleaning up the dishes.
"So, Goten, where is this nephew of mine? We're all anxious to see him," Gohan said, knowing the subject needed to be changed quick.
"He's right here, Gohan," Bra said, walking into the room. She gently handed her son to Gohan.
"Wow, he looks just like dad," Gohan said as the small boy smiled and waved his arms at his uncle.
"Yep, that's why we named him Kakarot, after dad," Goten replied, standing next to Pan.
"Why do I have a feeling Little Vegeta and Little Kakarot are going to cause as much trouble as Vegeta and Goku and Trunks and Goten do?" Krillin said and everyone laughed, the two newest Z Fighters were sure to be a handful.
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"There you are," Vegeta said as he spotted the dragon ball precociously set on top of a stone pillar. He picked it up, this was too easy. Suddenly, he was surrounded by two huge, winged beasts.
"He's stealing the boss's ball! You'll give that back if you know what's best for you, puck," the larger of the two said.
Vegeta smirked, putting the three-star ball in a bag he had hanging at his waist. "Just try and stop me," he taunted. The beasts attacked and he easily defeated them. Even their boss was nothing for him to defeat. "Ha! If all the dragon balls are this easy to get, it will be no problem to get Bulma her white Christmas." Then he took off in search oft he next dragon ball.