If I Knew Then
Chapter 7: Love Had Nothing To Do With It
Pearl3: You mean it? You really like the dialogue? Oh joy! I was so worried they seemed OOC when they were talking. Don't cry just yet! Everything will be okay. I would've warned you all if this were a tragedy. Thanks for reviewing again!
ShadowCatYumi08: Don't despair! You very well may be right. My story doesn't have any COMPLETELY unpredictable twists. Thanks for the review!
DarkestDestiny2006: Well, your bleeding can stop now. (At least from what everyone else knows. wink, wink) Tense back huh? I would stick you in the regen tank, but an angry Vegeta would probably throw you out when Bulma gets hurt. Because we all know she's constantly hurt. Remember what I told you! There IS an ending. Well, thanks a bunch for the review! Oh the jet scene. Just imagine Vegeta seeing a jet fly by and blasting off after it, then having Bulma appear out of nowhere laughing at the trick she played on him. Well… onward! Cya online.
Hieiko: Have no fear! Your cries of 'oh no' can be silenced, as I assure you everything will be just fine… as Goku told her. Have faith in our little Bulma! Thank you for reviewing and sticking with the story.
Raccly e.r 17: Hey, I understand completely! It's no biggie… we'll have lots of opportunities to talk online again. But hey, I just sent you the e-mail with chapter 5 on it. You meant Chapter 5 and not the fifth thing posted in the story, right? I would think I'd be Chapter 5 because that has some implementation of sort of rape and you already reviewed chapter 4. Well, don't worry, I love long reviews, makes me feel like you have a lot to say about the story. Well thanks again!
Trisha: I'm happy you like it. Love? You LOVE the story? (cries) Love is such a strong word! I'm so happy! Well, here's a bunch more so you can send more love. Thanks for the review!
DARK KI A.K.A LEE: Thanks a bunch for reviewing my story and adding me to your favorites list! Speechless, huh? I'm so overjoyed! Different is exactly what I was aiming for. Thank you for commenting and letting me know that!
WARNING: This chapter isn't nearly as long as the normal chapters. This is probably going to be 4 or 5 pages. Also, this is all dialogue, so you won't be bored. I tried to make it so that you could tell who's speaking without needing to say 'Gohan says' and 'Bulma says', so sorry if there's any part where you're confused.
"Mom, is the antidote in there?"
"Yes, Trunks, and relax. Don't rush around so much! You'll see your father now, but don't be all jumpy about it."
"Its just that I've heard so much about him."
"You can change what happened to him."
"Don't speak, Gohan. You shouldn't be moving too much! Your arm isn't completely healed yet. Trunks, go get me a damp washcloth."
"You really don't need to baby me so much. I'm alive, aren't I? And I feel fine."
"Here's the washcloth, Mom."
"Thank you, sweetie. And Gohan, don't worry about it. Just relax. You're very important to me. To both of us! But I guess I give you permission to speak. "
"Yea, Gohan. Just relax."
"Okay. Well good luck Trunks. We'll see you back, um… right after you leave!"
" Gohan I'm so glad you survived despite all the changes I made to this time."
"From what you've described, this time around is turning out a lot better than your first time."
"Yes it is. I'm just happy I have Trunks now, too."
"Well, you should considering what you had to go through to conceive him."
"Looking at how everything's turned out thanks to him, it was worth it."
"Guys! Stop talking about my conception like I'm a child!"
"But you are. You're 17, sweetie."
"I only have two weeks…"
"And then you're free as a bird?"
"Hahah. Trunks, you shouldn't worry about your mother. She's gotten us this far. I'm an adult and I still follow her around like a child!"
"Well that's because YOU never had a proper childhood, Gohan. The Saiyan arrival, a year with Piccolo… I'd say that was a pretty short lived childhood."
"It's certainly better than a normal childhood. And besides, you've had to live through the android attack your whole life."
"If you say so, but I think it's better to live through one tradgedy that a series of unfortunate events. We both had the Saiyan arrival, the whole Namek thing, Frieza's return, all that jazz."
" Mom? Gohan? Are we ready?"
"Yea, squirt."
"I'm not that much shorter than you!"
"Until you're my height, I'll just keep sayin' it."
"Listen to your elders, son."
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"How'd you know?"
"Hey, is Trunks leaving or not?"
"Well I ORGINALLY came in to ask if you put the extra fuel cells in it, mom. It would royally suck if I could get there but couldn't get back.'
"Well I'm sure I could fix it, even back then."
"I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right."
"Always the modest one, Bulma."
"Shut up Gohan."
"He has a point, mom..."
"Dude, just go already! And don't die, because I want to see you in 10 seconds and I certainly can't defend from the androids that well with my one arm."
"Ha ha. Very funny. Fine! I'm leaving!"
"Well go!"
"I'm going!"
WHIRRRR… SPCHH.
"So…uh… what are the chances he'll die?"
"The same chance as anyone could die. Only he's got an advantage. He's stronger than Vegeta was at that time. He'll even get to meet you, Gohan! I set him to appear right when Frieza does."
"Oh, goody. Too bad this doesn't affect US."
"True, but we can at least spare the people in that timeline from suffering our fate."
"Okay, I'm back."
"You look the same. Didn't stay very long?"
"No. I told them I'd go back when the androids arrive."
"Okay. Did you give myself what I told you to?"
"Yea. And she seemed to understand everything."
"Great. I thought she would. I was worried a little about her reading it though…"
"Mom, you act like she wouldn't get you. You ARE her."
"Sort of. I've had more life experiences than her."
"What are you talking about? You're the one calling yourself a genius all the time."
"Oh, Gohan, stop making such good points. It's just that I never was one to understand myself."
"Mom, you are one of the most introspective people I know. That should mean she is, too, unless it's a recently acquired habit."
"I guess not. But anyway, how was everyone?"
"Goku was great. He looked so relieved about the antidote. He said he already knew he had heart disease and that they didn't currently have a cure."
"I never did find out… but did he explain how he found out?"
"He said when he visited Yadrat, they told him. Apparently they also told him the life expectancy they thought he would have. Says he could start to feel that they were dead on."
"His survival will make a BIG difference."
"Vegeta won't feel the need to kill him."
"Right. Hey Gohan, I also saw a younger you!"
"Hahah! How much similar am I to now?"
"Well, you're more polite…"
"Trunks, be nice."
"I'm just kidding! Anyway, you certainly adored your father. It was still at the point of more of a follower than a leader, though."
"Yea, I didn't really learn that until the attack."
"That's what I figured. It was obvious you had a stressful childhood, but you had a lot of support."
"Ahh good ole days. I can barely remember em, though. All I remember is that they were good."
"That's how life is, Gohan. You move onto more experiences and you forget exactly what happened in the old ones, only remembering the lessons."
"Such wisdom, Bulma…"
"Well, this is my 2nd time around…"
"Why didn't you go back again?"
"I don't want to deal with it again. And besides, Dende is gone."
"Yea. I DO remember Vegeta was quite… difficult."
"Why do you think it took me a second time to get it right? That's how much time you need to have on your hands to just UNDERSTAND him. I'm just glad that when I did get him to stick around, he managed to take out Android 17. That saved us a lot of trouble. He was the more violent one. But speaking of that, what'd you think of your father, Trunks?"
"You're right. He's an asshole."
"I told you. He may have died saving the planet, but that doesn't mean it's what he wanted."
"Yea, cause YOU forced him to."
"So what happened when you got there?"
"Be patient, Gohan!"
"-.-"
"I'm just kidding. Jeez! Well, I came right when Frieza was arriving. Vegeta was on a rampage, and YOU, mother, like you told me, was running after him like your child was being taken. So I killed Frieza before he had the opportunity to shoot that beam."
"Ah, damn it. Is that the only thing you could do?"
"Yeah. There wasn't enough time to get to you and protect you, so I did a burning attack. I didn't think it was actually strong enough to KILL him, but he fell like a log. Then Goku arrived and took care of King Kold."
"Damn it. I hope the fact that Vegeta didn't get to kill Frieza doesn't mess anything up."
"It shouldn't too much. But what it does mean is I prevented him from going Super Saiyan so soon. He didn't need to cause you never got hit, and Frieza was already dead."
"Good job, honey."
"Yea, way to go! So he's still behind my dad?"
"He doesn't know it, but he has the capability of turning Super Saiyan. He just doesn't know how and he doesn't think he's stronger than Goku yet. He doesn't realize his capabilities."
"Good job, Trunks. You've saved my past self from some trouble living with him."
"Yea, I could tell already how revlied you looked. After I explained everything to Goku, she pulled me to the side and directly asked if I'm her son from the future. I guess maybe I shouldn't have worn the CC jacket. But she said that she could tell by the hair, which is yours, and the fact that I could turn Super Saiyan. She concluded that she would've made Vegeta stay by having his child."
"You didn't tip Vegeta off, did you?"
"No, but he got VERY suspicious."
"Both of them would. You strongly resemble both of us."
"Yea. But who else could we send? Both of you were alive back in that time."
"Yea, and besides, I don't think my younger self, nor my mother, would've been able to handle me not turning into a scholar."
"Oh, Gohan. Don't fret about that. I'm sure they'd understand. And don't worry, I'm slowly and surely nursing you back to health."
"You're doing a wonderful job, Bulma, but a whole arm?"
"I see your point. But I could always make a synthetic arm. The ones I'm working on now are rather advanced. They attack to your nerves and everything so that you have the full movement and capabilities of a normal arm. And I might even be able to make it so that ki blasts that come out of that arm are enhanced or something."
"That would be great, Bulma. Even in your late 40's, you still can do anything!"
"What are you talking about? I'm 35!"
"Women…(shakes head)"
"Hey, we'd better go check on everyone else. Make sure none of the other complexes collapsed or anything tragic like that."
"Yea, okay. I'll go."
"But your arm!"
"It's fine, its fine. I'm sure just walking around won't KILL me, and I can still fire blasts out of my other arm if there's an enemy."
"Well, if you INSIST. But if you get yourself killed I'll never forgive myself. Or YOU for that matter."
"Don't worry! (wave) I'll be right back."
"Mom, what was that thing you made me give her?"
"Hmm?"
"It was like, an electronic device of some sort. When I asked if she understands, she looked at it and grinned and gave me a big hug."
"(giggle) Really?"
"Yea, then she started ranting about how wonderful that all her inventions came true, and that when she got home she would start working on it IMMEDIATELY so she could read it."
"Oh, it was nothing. Just an electronic journal."
"A journal? How'd you keep it? I've never seen you typing or anything…"
"That's because I never typed it."
"What? It was sound recorded?"
"No. (grin) It's a chip I implanted it in my brain."
"That's so cool! Why didn't you tell us this before?"
"Didn't think it was that big a deal."
"I'm back! Everything was in order. The Kelly's new baby is doing just fine."
"That's great. Hey Gohan! Mom has a chip in her brain that records her thoughts like a journal!"
"Oh, Trunks…"
"That's fricken' awesome! Why didn't you give us one?"
"I don't know… I didn't really think of it. Sometimes I forget I have it in there. I could if you want me to."
"But I thought you were 35? "
"Shut up, Gohan. Always the smart ass…"
"So how did you send it to her?"
"It's at the back of my head, right on the outside. It's not directly in my brain, but it picks it up pretty well."
"You're amazing, Bulma!"
"Yea, you're so awesome, mom!"
"It's not that great! I just uplinked it to a memory chip and sent it to her."
"So what was on it again?'
"Oh, Mom said that she sent her past self her 'journal'."
"Your journal? What'd it have in it?"
" Everything!"
"Wow. So your sent it so she would know what not to do? To tell her that if she did what you did, this would happen?"
"Yea, sort of. But I'm also giving her and Vegeta another chance."
"What do you mean?"
"I told her to give him a chance. I hated him, especially after the way he took off last time around."
"Hmm… that's no way to speak about your husband."
"Yea, especially with Trunks right here. You're giving him bad ideas about real relationships. (grin)"
"Hahah. No I'm not saying two people who hate each other can get married. It's just that I kinda made him marry me out of necessity."
"Such a shame. You two were perfect for each other, from what I saw."
"Yes, but this time love had nothing to do with it."
I could be mean and just leave it here… But I'm not cruel. Stick around for an 'epilogue'. Please read and review. And feel free to e-mail or IM me about it if you have questions about anything, or you'd just plain like to talk!