Chapter 20: Connection
Time: 7 years after the previous chapter, I'm technically 26 now, though I only look 18, Trunks is 7, and Gohan is 17.
Gohan has been wearing an orange Gi for the past few years now, in honor of his dad. I've kept wearing the Sayjin armor, and cut my hair really short like a female Sayjin should. Trunks' purple hair has a short cut, and he wears a dark blue Gi. Out here on Mt. Frying Pan there's plenty of room for training, and even more room for getting lost. We always keep the tallest tower of the castle in sight.
"Now remember, if you even get lost and can't see the castle, either send up a Ki flare or go to the waterfall by going down stream."
That's what we know and practice out here.
We've trained for the past 7 years to stop 17 and 18, they've kept up they're genocide. I haven't fought 17 or 18 in years, and the last time I did I barely got away with my life.
"That's great, Gohan! Way to go! Trunks, lift your leg higher!" Trunks attempted, but fell over, "No, that was too high!" I shook my head, "I'm heading in for a drink, try again."
I went inside and grabbed three bottles of water, and noticed Bulma staring out the window and crying.
"Bulma?" I stood next to her and looked out the window to see what she was looking at. There was a perfect view of Gohan and Trunks sparring.
"He looks so much like Vegeta." then she turned and walked out of the kitchen.
I agreed with her, except for the eye and hair color, there was no doubt that Trunks was Vegeta's son.
I took the water out and tossed one to the guys.
"You're getting better, Trunks. Soon you may even start training to become a Super Sayjin." Gohan complemented.
"He's not ready for that." I said flatly as I took a drink, "Come on, Gohan, lets practice together now. Trunks, you better watch closely."
Trunks went silently to the side of the castle and sat down. Gohan and I powered up to SSJ and started sparring.
That night in my room I listened to Vegeta's hologram for the who-knows-how-many time.
"Why do you listen to that hologram everyday?" ALOCS asked.
"This is Vegeta. He was my hero as a kid, and a good friend to me until Android 18 killed him."
"He respected you very much, didn't he?"
"Apparently so. The feeling was mutual." I sighed.
Vegeta, thanks for believing in me. All of you guys did. I miss all of you, and I regret not getting to know you better.
"Trunks!" I heard Bulma scream. She sounded really scared.
"You have better go see what is wrong." ALOCS said, "You are the boy's paladin, after all, and-"
I took off before ALOCS finished, running down to the main floor.
Gohan and Chi-chi were already there, and Bulma was crying.
"…I just don't know where he could have gone." I heard Bulma choke out.
"Bulma, what is it?" I asked, moving closer to her.
"We can't find Trunks anywhere." Gohan said as Bulma started another round of wailing.
"Oh Kami no." I took off toward the door.
"Katrin, where are you going?" Chi-chi called after me.
"I'm suppose to protect Trunks, I swore to Bulma and to Vegeta I would! I have to find him!"
"Wait up!" Gohan called.
This is just great! Where could he be?
I ran outside and looked, but with no moon out tonight I could just barely see. I tried to find his tracks, but I couldn't tell what sets were old or new because we had sparred all over the place and tracks were everywhere.
"I'll head that way!" Gohan called as he took off, but I was just barely paying attention to him. I was worried about Trunks.
What if 17 or 18 somehow found him first?
I tried my Ki gauge, seeing if it could detect him, but it wasn't meant to locate Ki, only to tell me my own, like a speedometer. So, I tried to sense his Ki, but he was suppressing it. I was running out of ideas, so I just ran. I picked a direction and ran that way.
"Trunks! Trunks, where are you?" I called every hundred feet. Soon I was miles from the castle, and I could feel his Ki just a little. He was near, then.
I got to the middle of a clearing and stopped. It was then that I looked around, and I could see the castle's tallest tower in the distance.
"Trunks!" I called again, and I rested for a second while I listened to the woods. I heard crying. I went toward the sound and found a cave.
Not any cave, the cave where I visited Vegeta that Christmas. Our only Christmas together…
I walked in and saw Trunks, sitting against the cave wall, head down on his knees and crying.
"Trunks?"
"Go away!" he looked right at me, eyes cold and red from crying.
"I found him, Gohan. Go back to the castle and tell your mom and Bulma. We'll be back soon."
"Trunks, what's wrong?"
"You are, you and mom both!" he cried.
"I don't understand." I shook my head, and went to the wall across from him and sat down.
"Of course you don't!"
We sat in silence for a moment, except for his sniffles.
"Trunks, please talk to me. Please?" he didn't say anything. I went to touch him, but he pulled away.
"Why do you and mom hate me!"
"What?" I was in shock.
"Mom doesn't know it, but I hear her cry at night. She says father's name, and when she sees me she leaves the room to cry again. I hear you cry too, even though you say you can't cry anymore. And you yell at me when we train all the time! I got tired of it, so I ran away."
"Trunks, we don't hate you." I would have cried if I could, "Your mom just misses your dad a lot, and you remind us of him. I never thought how you felt this whole time. I guess I was kind of hard on you."
"So you don't hate me?" he said, sniffling.
"Never." I answered. He got up and came over and sat near me. I placed him in my lap.
"Trunks, did I tell you you're a prince?"
"I'm a prince? Really?"
"Yeah. Your dad was the last prince of the Sayjins, and he made me promise to look after you and your mom. Vegeta died trying to stop the androids."
"Mom told me, but she never told me about being a prince."
"That's because you have to turn 11 first. On your 11th birthday you will be crowned Prince Trunks. Except that there isn't a crown."
Trunks started to laugh, and I did too.
"Tell me more about my dad."
"Well, at first we were enemies. He came to earth to destroy it, but Goku stopped him."
"Gohan's dad?"
"Yeah. I helped, but in the end Goku saved the earth. Then later we joined forces to stop Frieza on planet Namek. He died then, but the Dragonballs revived him. Then Goku killed Frieza, or that's what we all thought. A year later Frieza came back, and I fought him until Goku showed up. Did I tell you I use to be psychic?" I asked before continuing.
"You were? Wow! What happened? Did you have cool mind melting powers?"
"No, I didn't have anything like that." I laughed, "I use to know the future, but something happened to me that day I fought Cyborg Frieza, and I couldn't remember the future events I use to know. I do remember that I was waiting for someone to come and stop Frieza, but he never came."
"Who was it?" he asked.
"I don't know. But Goku came and stopped Frieza. A year later Goku died from the Heart virus. There's a cure for it now, but there wasn't then. Then a few months later you were born. I knew before you were born that you were meant to do something really great, that's why I pushed you so hard."
"I'm suppose to do something really great? Like what?"
"No idea, kid, all I know is that I have to protect you. Even from your own dad." I sighed.
"What does that mean?"
"At first Vegeta didn't want you to live because he…he…" how should I tell him something like this? To the point, I guess, "he thought you were a disgrace to his family line, because your mom is human. I stopped him, and after you were born he decided to just renounce your title as prince."
"What does 'renounce' mean?"
"You wouldn't be prince, just a normal human with Sayjin blood."
"Oh. Was my dad really that mean?" he sounded disappointed.
"Yes, he almost killed me four different times. Lets go home, I want to show you something, and I know the others are worried about us."
I teleported us home right then, and Bulma as hysterical when she saw Trunks.
"Trunks, go on up and wait for me in your room. I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay!" then he ran up the stairs.
"Katrin, why did Trunks run off?" Gohan asked.
"He thought Bulma and I hated him."
"Nani?" Chi-chi asked.
"We both think of Vegeta all the time, right Bulma?" she nodded, "He noticed. He was confused as to why you cry when you look at him and why I always push him so hard during training."
"Oh, my poor baby!"
"I straightened things out. Everything's okay, but you might want to talk to him in the morning."
"Yeah, I will." Bulma said.
"We better get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning." Chi-chi said, helping Bulma up the staircase. She looked dead tired.
"Katrin, I know you miss Vegeta, but you're acting like a cult member." Gohan said.
"I'm just being the Sayjin I should have been sooner."
"But you always wear that armor, even when you sleep at night. You use your Sayjin name, you act differently, and you cut your hair. You don't have to hold on to the past forever. Its not healthy."
"That's typical. You still wear that old Gi made like your father's." I retorted.
"I do that for my mom. She wants me to wear it. And I don't always wear it, only when I fight." He turned away.
Way to go, Katrin, of course he misses Goku as much as I do. Just act like a complete ass next time, why don't I?
"I'm sorry, Gohan. I guess I just miss Vegeta so much, you know? I miss them all."
"We all do, but you know, we really do need to get out of the past. If we don't, we can't move on. How about tomorrow we wear something different? That'll be a good place to start."
"You got it." I sighed. Then he headed off toward his room.
I went to my room and got the disk. It was Trunks' time to know more about his dad.
"Did you find the boy alright?" ALOCS asked.
"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later, but I have to do something right now."
"That is fine with me, I was in the middle of a game of computer chess anyway. This computer's AI is so low it really isn't worth any of my time."
"Why don't you play online against someone?"
"Only amateurs play online, the real pros play out in your world." ALOCS stated.
"How about I play you later, then?" I asked.
"I would like that. You almost beat me last time."
"If only almost could count in the real world."
"True, Katrin. Checkmate."
I went down the hall to Trunks' room.
"Here it is, Trunks. You need to see this now."
"What is it, Aunt Katie?" that's what he calls me.
"I found this disk six years ago. It's a hologram message your dad left as his will, his last account of his life before Android 18 killed him. It was recorded a few months after you were born, and after I was kidnapped by Dr. Gero."
I gave it to him and we listened together. When it was finished he started to cry. If I could cry, I would have too. Everything but the tears, the most valuable part of crying, takes place now.
"Its okay Trunks, shh, don't cry. It'll all be okay."
He was still just a baby, I realized. I've been treating him like a man, but he's still just a little boy. Though he was also a man. He had a lot to put up with, and we all did the best we could.
He climbed into my lap as he cried, and I smoothed his hair back and comforted him the best I could.
"Hush now, my little one,
Sleep well this night,
For as long as you think of me,
I'll always be in your sight.
Hush now, my little one,
Don't you lose heart,
For as long as you remember me,
We'll never be apart.
This night I sing to you a Sayjin lullaby.
Just look to the sky,
As long as you love me,
I'll always be nearby. What do you know, I remembered more of it." I looked down and saw that Trunks was asleep. I got up carefully and tucked him in. The disk was tight in his hand, so I left it. It was time I left the past, and focused on the future. We'd all stop 17 and 18, or die trying.
