Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc.


Chapter 22: Father


The time-travelling felt like the first time after not experiencing it for a while. Lights with many kinds of colours were blasting all around them and they were always wondering what were they. Though it took them months to refill the energy, it took them no more than five minutes until they reached the past.

The coordinates Trunks had entered into the machine brought them to the plains nearby Metro South. The buildings that looked new and well-maintained were the proof that they had arrived in the world seventeen years ago. Jumping off from the machine, they checked the area that should be their rendezvous—the very spot where the androids were reported to be sighted for the first time.

Scouting the area, they spotted no citizens and puff of smokes billowing in several spots. There was a big chance the androids had made their appearance and had been engaged in a fight with the warriors of the past.

"Trunks, I sense a big Ki engaged in a fight right now!" Tenten said. "It's your father's Ki."

"Let's go then!" Trunks pushed the button to turn the time machine into a capsule. They both took off to the source of the Ki. Deep within, Trunks couldn't suppress the excitement to watch his father's fight directly. However…

"I can't sense my father's Ki…" Tenten gulped with anxiety visible in her voice. "I wonder if he makes it. Did the medicine work or…"

"Don't jump into any assumption yet, Tenten. I can't assure you anything but it's better to check who battles who right now!"

With them giving medicine to Goku, they could no longer track how would the event flow on the past. The warriors were all prepared for the upcoming battle so they would stand a chance to win over the androids.

They unknowingly flying past a plane, not realising Bulma and Yajirobe inside the plane. The blue-haired scientist instantly recognised them and gasped.

"Did you see that!? That's them! The kids from the future! They're going to fight too! So we are going the right way!" said Bulma as she picked up her plane's speed to catch up with them.

Tenten made an abrupt stop when the corner of her eyes caught something on the ground. She flew closer to the ground and widened her eyes. "T-Trunks! You've got to see this!"

It was an android's head, a white-skinned chubby android they have never seen before…

"W-what is this android? What in the world are they fighting right now?" Trunks said with a deep frown.

"A-are there three of them?"

Trunks shook his head. "I don't know. Let's go to their place and find out."

The Ki source brought them to a rocky mountain area—a place that wasn't even a good place to fight to begin with. Whoever chose the area must be a sneaky fighter because the area allowed them to hide while waiting to attack when their opponent slacked. None of the warriors they knew would choose that kind of place.

Both Trunks and Tenten stopped in the mid-air. Their appearance was noted only by Piccolo who blurted Trunks' name, which surprised Vegeta because it was the name of his son. It didn't take long until the Saiyan prince fully grasped what was actually happening, especially after seeing Trunks' appearance.

He was his son, the future form of his son…

"W-who is that? You were fighting him, weren't you?" Tenten asked while scrutinising the old, slightly tanned-skin man with a bushy white mustache.

"What do you mean by 'who'? That's the android you told us about, of course!" Vegeta snapped.

There were four androids—two they didn't know of existing at that time. Both Trunks and Tenten were too flabbergasted to grasp what was going on. Vegeta insisted on an explanation they couldn't provide. Trunks' eyes fell to the ground, however, Tenten couldn't stop staring at the android's cold blue eyes.

That was the kind of eyes that were waiting to attack.

"Yahoo!"

They whipped their heads in the same direction where a plane arrived with Bulma and Yajirobe inside. Her arrival had distracted their attention from the android in which giving the android the golden chance to escape.

"I spoke the truth when I said you have no chance! # 17 and 18 will come for you soon!" He then fired an energy attack towards Bulma's plane.

"KAA-SAN!" Trunks screamed as he wasted no time to dash to the plane.

Tenten pulled the plane's door and pulled Bulma along with baby Trunks who were blown away due to his lightweight. Tenten caught him by his feet and pulled him close to her chest but the strong air pressure made Bulma loosened her grasp around Tenten and fell in the process. Luckily, Trunks came in time and held his younger mother by her waist.

When the explosion happened, Tenten set her barriers around them while flying to a safer place along with Trunks. Baby Trunks who was shocked by the explosion was crying in Tenten's arms.

"There, there, baby. It's all right now…" She cradled him while stroking his back to calm him down.

"He's gone! Damn him! He got away!" Vegeta snarled, clenching his fists while glancing around to see where the android might be absconded to.

Trunks was watching his father with his mouth slightly gaped. He didn't even hear his mother frantically searching for her baby as he slowly brought her land to the ground, eyes never leaving his father.

"Trunks! Thank goodness! I owe you both! Thank you so much for saving me and my boy!" Bulma slightly bowed as she took baby Trunks from Tenten.

"Guys! Are you okay?!" Krillin worriedly approached them with Gohan following behind him. Trunks kept his gaze on his father, waiting for him to turn his head, even for the slightest to check his family well-beings.

But Vegeta didn't turn around…

Instead, he resumed his search for the android.

Seeing that, Trunks jumped in front of Vegeta to block him.

"What do you want, Kid?" Vegeta snarled.

"Why didn't you try to save them?! They're your wife and child!"

Vegeta smirked and replied, "Ridiculous. I have no use for the sentiment! Stay out of my way!"

The words stabbed him right on his chest and torn the image of what a father he looked up to into pieces. His father was nothing heroic like Tenten's and he never held his expectation as much.

"Your Father? Hmm… he did do a lot of bad things… as long as he stays dead, I'm sure he's in hell. But you know… There were some good things about him. He was too proud to show any kindness, but I could tell…"

He always believed in his mother's word about that but he could no longer believe it now.

Maybe the father he always looked up to never value him and his mother as anything…

"Trunks?" He turned around to see Tenten's worried expression. "Are you okay?"

Trunks forced a chuckle. "We don't have time to dwell on this. I just hope my mother doesn't take this to heart."

"Uhm, about that…" Tenten scratched the side of her face. "It appears that she doesn't look bothered by it… Not even the slightest," Tenten replied while seeing Bulma animatedly describing how gruesome the situation she was in before to Krillin and Gohan.

"Ah, I see…" Trunks said with a sweat-dropped.

"…I have no doubt that it's Dr. Gero himself! I'm very certain about it!"

Trunks and Tenten widened their eyes upon the snippet of information Bulma just said. She told them about the possibility of him turning his own body into an android so he could live longer but that ultimately contradicting the information they had from the future. Trunks wondered if the change of events were the chain reaction that occurred after their first trip to the past.

Piccolo asked them to brief and describe the androids' appearance so they wouldn't make any mistakes next time and so they did. The #19 and Dr. Gero himself were the type that absorbed energy and made it theirs while #17 and #18 were the types that had infinite energy supply.

"Uhm…" Tenten bit her bottom lip before all the warriors leave. "I've… been wondering if you know where Son Goku-san is?"

"Ah!" Gohan excitedly clapped his hands. "That's right! You're Tenten, right? You're my sister!"

"Eh?!"

"Otou-san had told us about you! No wonder you're a spitting image of Okaa-san!" Gohan said as he grabbed both of her hands. "Okaa-san and I have been looking forward to seeing you!"

Suddenly, their future images appeared in front of her. Tenten couldn't stop herself from falling to her knees, which put her on the same height level as her brother's past self.

"It wasn't only you, Onii-san…" She smiled at the exhilarating feeling of calling her brother again.

"Uh, just call me Gohan? It must be weird to call me that knowing that we…" His scent, his gentleness, and his warmth were all the same thing she had almost forgotten ever since his death four years ago. Tenten pulled him into her embrace, allowing her body to recall the sensation of being hold by him.

"No…" Tenten shook her head. "Please let me call you that, Onii-san…"

"If that's what you want then," Gohan replied with a smile.

"Oh, okay… That answers why you're looking like Chichi and has Saiyan blood. I just hope you don't have her personality traits because I'm seriously scared of a Chichi with Goku's strength." Tenten chuckled at Krillin's blunt remark about her mother.

"What if I do?" Tenten playfully asked.

Krillin swiped both of his palms. "End of the world," he said, making them laughed.

They learnt that Goku's disease hit them during his battle with the androids. It surprised both Trunks and Tenten to know that it shifted far from history. Something didn't feel right for them but they couldn't put their fingers on it.

"Let's worry about it later. We need to help them find the androids first," Trunks told her.

"What if—" she suddenly said, making him stopped on his track. "…What if the timeline changed… and the androids aren't what we should worry about?"

The bad premonition washed over the two in form of goosebumps. The crease on Trunks' forehead was never deeper but he decided to take her hand instead of verbally responded her.


AN: I must say that Vegeta is indeed the character with the best character development in the entire Dragon Ball series. From a villain to an ally, from hating humans to marrying one, from an ignorant father to a loving one? I hope I can create such a character in the future. XD

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