And another! I'm going to spoil you. ;

Spara hesitated, then came back to Trunk's side. "Are you ok?"

Trunks nodded, ignoring the pain that the movement caused him. "I'm fine," he grunted and shoved himself to his feet. The ki blast hadn't hurt much, but it had given the groborzk the upper hand for a second. Gods, his ribs ached; at times like this, he wished that he was still a simple servant, with a simple life. "Let's get them."

Spara shot off into the air. Trunks pushed himself off the ground; despite both Spara and Osper's headstarts, he quickly overtook them. Ahead of him, the tails from Avia's and Nappa's flight sparkled, but they were coming closer as well. A grin cut his face as he was easily going to catch up to Nappa, despite his injuries.

Sometimes, it was nice being stronger than almost anyone else.

Nappa felt fear constrict his throat as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the slave gaining. He had seen too much, he was sure of that, and now he would suffer for it. It was so damn unfair that this slave was the Legendary!

Desperately, he pushed himself harder, knowing it was useless, but trying anyway. His last thought, as golden hands slammed into his back and knocked him to the ground, was that he had failed to warn the King. The knowledge that it was an impossible task was no comfort; any failure was still devastating to a Saiyan's pride.

Trunks dropped to the ground next to Nappa, pleased to see that he still breathed. Avia landed next to him after a moment, and Trunks was nearly knocked over as she grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Ack! Ribs!" he gasped, trying to pull her arms away. "Watch my ribs." Avia released him, cupping her hands around his face. Trunks jerked back with a yelp; his cheeks even hurt. "Watch everything, Avia; I ache everywhere."

"As well you should, after fighting a groborzk," Avia growled, but her voice echoed with worry, not anger. After a second, she added with a slight crack in her voice, "When I saw you, fighting that thing-"

"You were worried," Trunks guessed with a smile. "Trust me, so was I."

"No," she said fiercely, "I was proud!" Her beaming smile and gleaming eyes echoed her words.

Trunks shook his head. "Saiyans are so weird," he sighed as he gently touched her cheek.

"I was worried, too," she said softly after a moment, her voice nearly a whisper as if she were telling a secret. "But," she added with a sharp snap to her voice, "I would never disgrace you by saying so to anyone else!"

"You are acting funny," Trunks said, taking her hands. "Avia, please don't treat me different because I'm… because I can…"

"But I have to treat you differently," she said, her golden eyes fluttering away from him. "You are an equal, a warrior of proven power. I can't treat you as a slave."

"I'm still me," Trunks said, hearing the plea in his voice. "I'm just Trunks."

Avia gazed at him sadly. "You're the Legendary," she said pointedly. A sudden frown crossed her face, and her sorrow turned to suspicion. "You are the Legendary?"

"You knew I was stronger than you," he said quietly.

"But the Legendary!" Avia exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What was I supposed to tell you, that I was a half-breed?" Trunks said. "You know what the law is concerning half-breeds-" He trailed off at the look on her face. "Oh, you didn't know that either?" he asked sheepishly.

"Half-breed?" Avia gasped, as the pieces finally all snapped together. "Trunks, are you-- are you the bond-heir?"

"I am," he said calmly.

Avia pulled away from Trunks. She needed to think, to absorb all that had happened. Gods, I am so stupid!, she thought, as memory after memory offered a clue to the truth – a countless chain of clues that she had ignored. Trunks looked a little hurt from her withdrawal, but he quietly waited for her to do or say something. Finally, all she could say was, "Does Vegeta know?"

Trunks frowned. "He knows that I'm a Legendary, but not the bond-heir."

Avia shook her head wryly as a thought occurred to her. "No wonder you mother told sad stories about the King," she murmured. "He must have broken her heart."

Osper and Spara landed nearby; Osper was laughing heartily. "That was a merry chase, boy!" he cried and pounded Trunks on the back. Trunks bit back a scream and instead gave Osper a weak smile.

"Not so hard, Uncle!" Avia said chidingly. It was surprising how easy it was for her to pretend for a moment that nothing was wrong; to pretend she wasn't a stupid fool who was bound to a half-breed. "You'll hurt yourself on the Legendary's back!"

"That I will!" he roared approval. His approval faded when Nappa stirred briefly. "He's still alive?"

"I thought I could use him when I'm King," Trunks grinned, and Avia's heart flipped at his smile. Well, part of her certainly didn't care about his change in status. "Someone will have to be in charge of sanitation!"

Avia gaped at Trunks. He was acting so… Saiyan. She was suddenly both more and less sure of him. Had he changed that quickly? In just a few weeks, had she lost her slave and become bound to this stranger?

"Good one, Prince Trunks!" Osper giggled. Avia now gaped at her uncle. Osper giggling? It didn't quite seem real. But he was, and there was a distinct glint of hero-worship in his eyes. Avia shook her head. It didn't seem real that Osper was reacting this way to her Trunks.

She looked at Trunks again, really looked at him. He had, she realized with a sinking heart, changed, subtlety, but changed nonetheless. It was there in the way he held himself, in the look on his face. He was … calmer, stronger. And that sadness that he had always had was faded, and nearly gone. It was the same sadness she now knew.

Trunks had found himself; he knew who he was, and what he was doing. Would she be able to do the same?

Trunks grunted softly as he settled carefully into the regeneration tank; the padded seat felt wonderful after both the beating he had received and the long flight back to the palace. He briefly closed his eyes to compose them; when he opened them, Avia was in front of the tank, her eyes worried, just as they had been since he told her he was half-Saiyan. He hadn't told her who his father was, but he was pretty sure that she already knew. The fact that he was Legendary named his father rather effectively.

He had worried how she would handle it, and now that the moment had arrived, he wasn't sure that this was the reaction he was expecting. Calm and quiet was not what he had pictured. As Osper leaned in to apply the sensor pads to his chest – he realized with a slight shock that he was already getting used to people doing things for him – he said, "I'm sorry, I should have told you."

"No," she said suddenly. "I wasn't ready before." She gave an ironic smile. "As my conversation with Uncle Osper made clear several weeks ago."

Trunks frowned, unsure of her reasons for remaining calm. "You don't have to agree with me because I'm a Legendary." Gods knew he had enough of that from Osper and Spara.

Avia quirked her eyebrow at him, irritation crossing her face as she grumped, "As if I would. You're assuming I care."

"And you don't?" Trunks said, not quite believing it.

Avia hesitated, and Trunks was going to bet her real answer was yes when she said, "Yes and no. Saiyans follow the strongest, and the Legendary is the strongest of the strong. Some part of me wants to fear that power." She paused, and finally added, "But you're also just Trunks to me."

"So you'll be here when I get out of the tank?" he murmured, a little startled that he had actually said it.

Avia nodded, and Trunks realized just how afraid he was that he would lose her over this. And suddenly, as the possibility of their future opened up, he also saw the complexities that future would bring. And there were other, unrelated things: what about Bardock? Technically, the scientist owned the future King. The oddities of the whole situation hit him all at once, and he realized just how far outside of Saiyan norms he was.

Osper had pulled himself back out of the tank; he was reaching back in with the mask when Avia took it from him. "Allow me, Uncle," she said in a polite tone. Osper handed her the mask with a knowing smile and stepped back.

Trunks watched as his Avia leaned in; as he had expected, she slid in far enough to give him a kiss. "We will talk when you're out," she promised and matched his gentle smile. He nodded, already half-asleep; he must have been pushing himself really hard if just sitting down made him fight to remain awake. She gently affixed the mask, checking it carefully to make sure it was sitting right. Then she slipped back out of the pod and shut the door. He watched her as the blue fluid covered him; all too soon, he was in a wonderful deep, healing sleep.

Little did he know how badly he would need his rest.

Hands shook her roughly, and Avia slowly clawed out of sleep. The hands on her shoulders were her mother's; when the Queen saw her daughter blinking at her she pulled her into a hug and said, "Where did you go? Why didn't you finish the purification?"

"Mother," Avia said groggily, pushing away from the wall she had slept against, "I had to come here. What are you doing here?"

Cyrane smiled and stroked her daughter's hair. "Daughter, I finished the purification and the priests told me you had left before you were finished," she said, her voice concerned and gentle. "Why did you leave? You know that you'll have to start over again, right?"

Avia remembered suddenly why she had come. Sleepiness fled before a wave of panic. Cyrane could warn the King; in fact, she would warn the King to save the crown for Vegeta. Quickly, Avia extended her senses, reaching for King Vegeta. With a gasp, she realized he was close, very close, maybe an hour or so away.

Frantically, she pushed past her mother and dashed to the controls, checking how long Trunks had left. About an hour; when the machine was this close to completion, it would become vague about the time left, as everyone healed at a different rate.

"Why is the slave in the regen tank?" Cyrane's question was like a terrible blow to Avia.

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