Ch 13 - A Struggle Within

Much to Bulma's surprise, Vegeta took her requests seriously as after the shared meal he took Trunks and shushed her away to finish up her work. He even brought her that coffee after an hour, with Trunks diligently in his arm. The boy was cradled so perfectly and seemed to find every little thing the man did entertaining. It was so heartwarming to see, she was able to pick up the pace on the project! It seemed things were going right on schedule! Well, the schedule she figured would work anyway.

So much so, she turned down lunch. She was able to finish the first remote and if she worked through lunch then she'd be able to finish the second one with an extra two hours left before her Vegeta and Future Trunks came out of the time chamber.

Unfortunately, things weren't that simple. Since she skipped lunch, her mother came looking, serving cut sandwiches which was nice, but also delivered one feisty baby Trunks which was not so nice. Her father had come to the lab and took Trunks, but the baby wasn't exactly happy nor helping with Bulma's concentration. Make that one hour, at best, before they exited the chamber…

Ugh. It was so nice when Future Vegeta was watching over the baby, but she understood he didn't intend to do so all day. Although she was tempted to force him to, it wasn't as if he was someone she had leverage over. He was helping them just to help them. She couldn't push him like that as she could with her Vegeta. Honestly, that part alone made her feel slightly uncomfortable with the man. She didn't really know how to act around him because he was Vegeta, but not her Vegeta so it was weird.

"Woman!" the very man she was distracted by burst through the doors, sweat dripping off his bare chest. She turned in her chair expecting him to be right there, but found herself blinking as he remained halfway across the room. "What's the progress of the remote? The Namek has decided to take on Cell, so we're running out of time."

The bluenette gulped at the news, "Th-the first one is done. I'm working on the second one now. It should be done by the time other-you exits the time chamber."

The man grunted, "Well, pick up the pace."

"I'm working as fast as I can, Vegeta! This is really precise stuff, you know?!" she burst.

"Please, I've seen you do that type of work in your sleep. Even a four year old could work faster than you are," he scowled evilly, knowing just what to say to make her rise to the challenge.

"As if a four year old could do this! Let alone faster! Even I wasn't that good!"

Vegeta watched as Bulma turned swiftly back to her work and concentrated. Jokes aside, he was getting nervous. As soon as Cell's energy flared, he'd wondered if the group at Kame House would wait for his younger self to exit the chamber but of course he was answered by Piccolo's surge of energy in response. It had been so long ago since he'd seen the green alien that he almost forgot how brash he was. He was a warrior, and Vegeta had always respected him for that. But now wasn't the time to play the hero. Nothing was going to stop Cell. It will only slow him down.

He was seriously considering using Instant Transmission to drag the foolish green man away from the battle, but his goal was to either end Cell or at least delay the bug man for long enough for Vegeta and Trunks to exit the time chamber. It was becoming more difficult for the older saiyan to stand by and watch from the sidelines. However, it was their time, and despite things going differently it wasn't anything they couldn't handle on their own. As long as Piccolo could continue to take on Cell somewhat evenly and survive, that was probably the best case of action for right now.

As patiently as he could, he remained in meditation observing the battle. In his mind's eye, he studied and practiced against Cell's abilities. Combining his memories with his current observations with Cell in order to run down the best strategy to take against this villain. The bug was fast and innately had skill from the cells he'd borrowed to make up his very being. But even Cell had weak points that could be exploited. Frieza was too stiff, taking blows unnecessary and that seemed to be something Cell favored as well. He himself and Kakarot both contributed another flaw, the desire for a bigger and better challenge.

Vegeta was sure that if they couldn't get extra time for the hyperbolic time chamber, then he'd be able to instruct someone on the fusion dance. It was a last resort and he hated the very idea, but it was the best chance at getting them strong enough on their own without directly taking the fight into his own hands. His younger self and Kakarot could easily learn it, should they be desperate enough. Perhaps he could teach Trunks just in case his younger self refused? The boy was always doing that putrid dance with Goten as a kid, so surely his son's future self would be able to do it.

But first, they had to exit the time chamber. He was sure it wasn't long now. His younger self would take every second available to him. Of course, the year time limit was a bluff from the genie, but they wouldn't know that.

The old saiyan stood from his position on the spaceship's floor. He tentatively chose an armor piece and matching undersuit. It was an older piece of armor. Despite this, he'd never worn it in battle before. It was made before he got his tail back, so wasn't as accommodating for the appendage. It had small shoulder pads and thigh guards with his royal crest on his right and the capsule corp logo on his left. The armor was created around the time Shorts was born, making it the oldest original armor piece he had on the ship.

Before, he'd made the decision to avoid wearing it as the crest was something he'd circumvented at that time. Who was he to wear the symbol of his people if he didn't have any people? But after they had crowned him King, he'd been proud to wear other crested armor… Until he left his time, or more specifically he'd left Trunks as King.

That wouldn't be what Trunks wanted, though. No, Trunks would want him to be proud of the saiyan he was. The crest linked him to home.

Shaking away the hesitation, Vegeta dressed in the undersuit. The older spandex type material had lost some of its flexibility with time, but he had lost weight over the years so it was no issue. He'd hardly worn armor in the past eight years, and even then it was a one off for that year when he was away in space on a training mission for finding a new level of super saiyan. The fact that he'd so easily put on the armor for the training in space felt natural, but this felt different.

The only times he'd ever worn armor on Earth typically led to something bad or something changing. Vegeta hated change. Typically the challenges would have excited him, but since his first defeat on Earth they had devolved into something more routine. Something he didn't want anymore. Perhaps that was why he wanted to leave so badly? Twice! To take a fight without the consequence of his home? Some good that did!

The old saiyan frustratedly pulled on a black leather jacket and dark navy pants to instead hide the undersuit. No, he wasn't supposed to fight. And honestly, he was coming to terms that he didn't want to. He'd been making excuses as to why not. It was pathetic, really. He had the power and any saiyan would have relished the idea of defeating the foe he knew had potential… But he wasn't that kind of saiyan anymore.

Some space exploration to find his saiyan pride elsewhere. All he did was find that he had none anymore…

Vegeta released a heavy sigh as he capsulated the armor and pocketed it. Time was running short for them. The Namek could be defeated any moment, then the androids could be found at any point after that. Cell was at his weakest in his second form, so the group were counting on Bulma if all went to Hell. Given his luck, it most certainly would.

When the saiyan made his way to the old scientist's lab, his ears were met with infant's screams. The man cringed as he entered quietly, leaning against the back wall to observe the situation before him.

Dr. Briefs cooed, "Now, now. There, there. Your mother's working, Trunks. Look at Grandpa, boy!" as he attempted to make funny faces. The old human scientist slumped slightly in defeat, "Oh, well. That's funny. That one almost always works. Hey, mayday Bulma, help!"

Said mother insisted annoyedly, "Just a second, Dad, please!" as she furiously typed at the computer in front of her. It wasn't long before she hollered, "This should do it! I'm almost there!"

"I don't think I can take this much longer, honey! I'm exhausted!" the grandfather complained, holding Trunks out as the child angrily flailed about.

Bulma gave a frustrated groan as she sipped at her, most likely cold, coffee beside her. She yelled in retort, "Hey! Come on! I haven't slept for 36 hours! What do you think about that, hua?! I've only been working on this thing for over a freakin' day!"

Having heard enough of Trunks' cries, and noting how the child was not going to be settled, the saiyan removed himself from the shadows and plucked the small baby from Dr. Briefs' hands. Instantly, the child whimpered down to a much more tolerable level of volume. Trunks' blue eyes opened to look up at the future man in wonder. It was as if the boy could never get enough of how strange yet familiar he was.

Vegeta grumbled aloud, not particularly to Bulma specifically, "The brat takes after you. Won't ever shut his mouth."

"Oh my… Thanks," the older scientist said hesitantly. It was obvious the man didn't fully trust Vegeta, but was grateful for the assistance nonetheless.

A definitive clack of the keyboard sounded as Bulma rotated herself around on the desk chair and announced, "There, that's it! Tada! All finished, guys! Ah, it's so rare to find beauty and genius all wrapped into one tiny package! Well, isn't it?"

Having heard such declarations over decades, Vegeta's only reply was a "Hmph," and a roll of his eyes. Dr. Briefs, however, was far more enthusiastic, "Great work, hon! You did it!"

"Thanks, Dad. We both did it!" the bluenette smiled widely. "If it works, I should be able to stop this Cell monster with the push of a button."

"That's my little girl!"

Bulma stood and stretched, holding up the duplicate remotes in each hand. She sighed before noting Trunks was now quiet in Vegeta's hold and announced, "Hey, can you hold Trunks for a little? I gotta call Kame House to tell them the good news."

The saiyan grunted, "Why don't I just take you there with the remotes? That'll be faster."

She paused, "Oh, okay, sure. I thought I made it right on time, though. 24 hours, plus a little extra to make the spare remote. I figured you would have wanted me to go about as if you weren't even here… Is something going wrong?"

His face flinched as he considered his response, "Not necessarily. I can sense the fight between Piccolo and Cell has increased. It doesn't seem like the androids were found by Cell yet, so I'm thinking the bug isn't Imperfect. I can't go back to train any longer, so I might as well make use of my time. Don't worry, we don't have to fly the traditional way."

"A-alright," she stuttered. His voice was calm, but his body was rigid stiff, making her worry that something was wrong that he wasn't telling her. Or perhaps it was more dire than he let on it was? "Well, then. I'll see you soon, Dad."

"Wait, with Trunks too…?" the man questioned but was cut off as the future man had already used the technique once Bulma touched his arm that still held the baby.

As the odd family formulated into the living area of Kame House, Chichi gave a startled yelp, "Oh! Bulma?!" Sure enough, the bluenette stood before her with two devices in her hands along with a strange middle-aged looking man holding the baby Trunks. Bulma nodded her head and waved to the ravenette. So she wasn't going crazy! Quickly, Chichi rushed outside where the Z Warriors stood observing the battle out yonder with their ki sense. She announced as she burst open the door, "Hey guys! It's Bulma!"

"Don't accept the call," came the only response.

Bulma, having stored away one of the remotes safely in a capsule she had handy, walked to the door with her hands on her hips in frustration to such a reply and chastised, "That's no way to talk to the woman single handedly in charge of shutting down the android monster!"

"What?!" Roshi gawked as he turned to find Bulma in the flesh standing in the doorway behind Chichi. The others too turned to find the bluenette smirking at their shocked expressions.

"You're lucky I'm in such a good mood, guys. I guess I'll let you use the remote I invented that jolts the androids' circuits! But only if Mr. Loud Mouth Don't Accept The Call Yamcha agrees to give yours truly a foot massage!"

"Why… you!" said person grit his teeth. "You know I can't stand rubbing your feet!"

"Well? What's it going to be, hm?!" Bulma taunted. So she was a bit sleep deprived, what of it? A foot massage was just what she needed after the long two days she's had to deal with. Plus, it was always easier to forget about worry when teasing Yamcha. He was just too easy to pick on sometimes.

Krillin exclaimed, "You got a deal!"

Yamcha whined, "Hey, man! That's no fair!"

Ignoring the bickering of Yamcha, Tien stated, "That's great. If we can destroy the androids, then there's no way that Cell can complete his evolution."

Understanding what Tien stated, Yamcha sighed, "Hua, leave it to Bulma to figure out how to get rid of the most powerful fighters of the world with a push of a button."

"Yeah, great job, Bulma," Tien agreed, much to Bulma's boost in ego.

She smiled brightly at the praise, "Thank you! This remote should do some damage to that Cell freak in case the androids are absorbed. Only preventing the end of the world, don't ya think?"

But there was one person who wasn't so sure what to think. Krillin wasn't sure what to feel about this remote situation. Would the remote harm the androids? Would Cell harm the androids? Oh, what was he doing worrying about the androids anyway?! Get it together, Krillin! They're supposed to be cold blooded murderers, wheren't they?! It wasn't as thought they had some form of human emotions or anything… Even though they were scared of Vegeta… And 18 had kissed him too…

"What's wrong, Krillin?" Tien asked the short man, bringing him out of his revere.

"Eh, wrong? N-nothing's wrong! Why?!" Krillin stuttered and stated a little too quickly.

Vegeta slowly joined the group on the porch and brought the attention off the short bald man, "The Namek will be defeated soon. Once he is down, Cell will start his search for the androids." As soon as he made his presence known, he'd regretted it as all eyes drifted to him. They seemed surprised he was even there at first, but then it seemed as though they were waiting for something more. They shared a look like they expected him to lead them on what to do… He remained as unaffected as he could to suggest, "Krillin. You should take the remote. Just in case."

"Right," the man nodded, pushing away his distracting thoughts for now. He had a job to do and he wasn't going to let his feelings interfere with saving the Earth. He walked up to Bulma, but she immediately backed away.

"Not until after my foot massage!" she insisted.

Yamcha groaned, "Bulma! Now's no time to be stubborn! If Cell defeats Piccolo and absorbs those androids, we're all doomed!"

"Tch," Vegeta's voice sounded, making Yamcha stumble at the threatening noise. Truth be told, Vegeta was entertained by the woman's insistence in the scar faced bandit's torture. They had time, for now. "Do as the blasted woman says."

With a winning smirk, Bulma turned on her heels and walked inside the house with Chichi closely behind her. Vegeta could have sworn she added an extra sway to her step, much to his chagrin. Trunks giggled in his arm and reached for the man's face, making him stiffen. The blasted boy could tell every change in emotion from him and found entertainment in that. Was he really that easy? Or was the boy just overly observant of his ki?

"Oh, I see," Master Roshi pointed towards the old saiyan, breaking his concentration on Trunks. "Bulma made you hold Trunks, hua? Well, she is a bit hard-headed."

"Oh Yamcha~! I'm waiting~!" Bulma called in a sing-song voice from inside the house.

Tien sweatdropped, "Don't you think stopping Cell is a little more important than a foot massage?"

Taking the statement as an excuse not to answer the old man, Vegeta snorted, "Oh, no. I'd much rather watch the weakling suffer."

Yamcha grumbled with accusatory eyes, "You son of a… I'll get you back, some day."

The Earth warrior retreated into the house, his head low. It was only moments later when the group remaining outside turned back towards the sea. There was a surge of fresh power from Cell, and Piccolo's energy was drained significantly. They all instantly realized what had to have happened.

Roshi exclaimed, "What a horrible energy! Cell must've absorbed some of Piccolo's energy! Piccolo must be flipping out! I'm flipping out! O-oh dear! I-I think I overdid it on the coffee, guys!"

Krillin confirmed, "I didn't have any and I'm still about to jump out of my skin! Man, this just isn't natural. It's driving me nuts! Hanging out here in the bleachers while the fight's going on."

Tien agreed, "Yeah, you said it! This is nuts! There must be something we can do!"

"I appreciate that you're both eager to help, guys. But I think our best bet is staying put until Bulma hands Yamcha over that new remote control. We have to wait for the saiyans in the time chamber and until then, that gizmo is our only hope!" Roshi reasoned.

"Right…" Krillin shifted uncomfortably between his two feet.

"You hear that Yamcha?! Any day now!" Bulma called from inside. A revolting gagging sound followed from Yamcha as she most definitely shoved her feet into his face. The old saiyan on the porch chuckled in amusement, making Trunks babble at the sound.

Abruptly, Tien shouted, "I can't take this anymore! I'm not sure if I can help or not, but I'll never find out here!"

Without delay, Tien blasted off into the sky, making the Turtle Hermit reach out hopelessly towards the warrior, "Tien, no! Don't do it!" But as the warrior didn't return, the old man crushed his can of coffee in his hand and yelled out in frustration, "Damnit! Doesn't anyone listen?! Their heads are too thick! Aw, poopy. What am I talking about? My goodness." Then he sat on the grassy sand of the island in defeat, "If I was in his shoes, I would have probably done the same thing. My gosh, it seems like yesterday when I was just like them. I was considered the strongest in the world back then. Now, I'd do anything just to be able to help out again."

Chichi watched the display from the front window which was opened to allow the cool ocean breeze into the house. She looked over to the interesting interaction of Bulma and Yamcha, before looking towards the strange man holding Bulma's baby boy. She didn't know of any other warrior that was added to the team, but Bulma seemed to trust him enough seeing as he held the baby with expertise.

The princess suggested, "Why won't this strong man go, hua? If you're worried about the baby, I can take him off your hands."

She stepped up to the man and opened her arms in order to take the child away, but tilted her head as the man made no motion to do as she suggested. If she wasn't so used to the burly ki baring warriors, the stare he gave her would have made her reconsider. But alas, she remained with her arms out and expecting.

"He's fine where he is, Harpy," the man sneered. "If you touch him, he'll blow your eardrums and it'll be your own fault."

"Oh, nonsense! Here," Chichi assured as she took it upon herself to grab the baby. She was a mother herself, so she was sure the man was just being foolish. Trunks began to whimper but she cooed, "Hush, now."

Bulma, being very attentive to the happening of her baby, warned, "He really doesn't like strangers."

Chichi turned to the mother, "Hm? But he gets along with this man just fine?"

The older man in question snortled, "Mind blowing, isn't it?"

Begrudgingly, and still disgusted as he continued to rub Bulma's feet, Yamcha informed, "He's Vegeta from the future, Chichi."

"He's what?!" the ravenette exclaimed, making Trunks scream out in terror from the loud outburst.

"What did you say?! Vegeta?!" the old martial arts master stormed into the house, taking a thorough look at the saiyan who was still shocked at Chichi's audacity to take Trunks from him. The man recovered and firmed his expression as Roshi's eyes scrutinized his appearance. "Hm, yes. I see it now. Man, you really slimmed down!"

"Hmph," Vegeta nearly growled, seizing Trunks away from Chichi. As soon as the baby was taken away from the woman, the cries died down into simple sniffles. He patronized, "If you're not going to take care of the child, then don't bother snatching him away."

Chichi stood dumbfounded as though her entire world was tossed upside down. Bulma stated, agreeing that the revelation was groundbreaking, "As hard as it is to believe, it's true. He's really good with Trunks, and helps in the lab too. It's amazing, really."

Vegeta grumbled, "An annoying woman constantly screaming does that to you after a few years," much to Bulma's entertainment and Yamcha's agreement. The saiyan attentively watched his son who seemed to have relaxed again from the traumatic event. His big blue eyes looked up to meet his gaze and his shoulders relaxed slightly from the weight seeming to lift off his shoulders.

He was getting too old to put up with such foolish human drabble. He left to get away from the human continent, and yet here he was. Of all the places he could have ended up entangled with, he was back on Earth. Holding his infant son. Next to the woman… Bulma…

The saiyan snuck a weary glance towards the blue haired minx. She'd broken him. There was no other explanation. At some point over the years, she had broken him. Those blue eyes she had passed down to their children and grandchildren. Shorts, who's hair remained black like a saiyan, had her same very blue eyes.

"Bulma," Krillin's voice disturbed the saiyan's inner thoughts. "Now would be a great time to give me that remote! Piccolo's down!"

Her eyes found Vegeta's and he quickly turned away as he came back to the reality he now lived in, "Tien hasn't jumped in yet, Baldy! Patience. The past… Present version of myself and Trunks should be out of the time chamber within the next half hour."

The short man clenched his fists to his sides, but knew Vegeta was right. It wouldn't do any good to go with no location of the androids and no hope to stop Cell himself. Tien was their only hope to bide time. He was the strongest human, after all. He'd trained the hardest for the androids out of all of them. If he were saiyan, he might have given Vegeta, the present one, a run for his money.

~~~ An Outside View ~~~

On the Lookout high above the world, Goku and Gohan sat impatiently as they sensed Piccolo's life energy fade dramatically. Cell had won. Gohan cried out desperately, running to save his mentor, but Goku held him down. The entire reason Piccolo was giving his life was so that they could train in the time chamber and save the world. The ex demon/guardian knew the consequences.

Thankfully, it wasn't long until the Room of Spirit and Time opened once more. Behind the door emerged two powerful saiyans significantly stronger from when they had entered only 24 hours previously. Vegeta, being cocky as ever, insisted on Goku and Gohan not even needing to train in the chamber. He was now far stronger than the younger saiyan, and was sure to boast that Cell couldn't possibly defeat him.

He states on finding the next level of super saiyan. He'd done it, and the boy too. But, he made an offer that was never heard before. With a wicked smirk, Vegeta suggested taking Goku and Gohan's spot in the time chamber. Taking another year. With that extra time, there would be absolutely no way that Cell could grow strong enough to defeat him with the androids absorbed.

It was a tempting solution. But Cell needed to be stopped now. They didn't have the extra 24 hours to dawdle and wait for their saviors to come. Goku seemed confident that Vegeta and Trunks could do it. It was only fair that Goku got the extra year to catch up. Well, that only burst Vegeta's ego.

So the two stronger saiyans departed to the skies in search of Cell while the other two entered the Time Chamber. But you see, something was amiss…

Yajirobe had arrived on the Lookout ages ago. The large man demanded food from the genie, which wasn't abnormal. In fact, nothing about the man since his arrival seemed abnormal. Could it mean that he suddenly learned how to fly on his own? Or could it mean something more dire for the saiyans observing the world from God's perch?

Trunks was strangely quiet since his initial emergence from the chamber…

[And speaking of Trunks... Trunks' point of view on the events happening here can now be found in the story "Brick by Brick" where the series of events from this story are told in first person perspective from Trunks' eyes. Because sometimes it's nice to have just a little bit more intimacy with a specific character and I felt like a lot of great potential moments are missed because Future Vegeta isn't directly involved. Obviously this story is spoilers for that one, and potentially vice versa! Check it out if you really like this story and want that little bit extra!]

[Also, there is a mention of Semi-perfect Cell being the weakest transformation. This isn't true, but it also isn't false. The thought behind this is simply at how easily Vegeta was able to put Semi-Perfect Cell on the ropes in the original, and Vegeta never faced Cell in his Imperfect version. He simply knows that Piccolo and Tien were beat by Imperfect Cell, but no one (but Krillin and 16 both of which having unknown amount of power) were defeated by Semi-Perfect Cell. Semi-Perfect Cell after 18 was spit out was also really pathetic, so Vegeta is simply coming to conclusions here. Don't hate me! xD]