A Daughter's Difference Chapter 3: Preparations for a Trip, a dragon ball z fanfic

Chapter 3: Preparations for a Trip and Explosive Conversations

AN: So I can't even begin to apologize for the lengthy time it took me to finish this chapter. I have not decided how often I will upload a new chapter, just know it is mostly likely be proportional to the amount written as well as how much free time I have. These last two weeks, friends of mine have been trying to cram in a whole amount of Summer fun in the last few days. Let me tell you it is not fun. Aside from that I want to quickly thank a hundred times both Ace Son as well as Power9987, for taking time to actually correct all my mistakes. So if you notice how much better this chapter flows, you can thank these guys. Check out their work. :)

Mirai Timeline

"Wake up Grandma, come one … wake… up. I'm getting hungry," Pan spoke while shaking Chichi, who was still resting. When Pan noticed she was stirring, she began to hop on her bed. "Come on, the sun is out already."

"Uh, oh what time is it?" Chichi rubbed her eyes while she began to sit up. To her left she could still see the bright eyes of her energetic granddaughter still hopping. She began to crack her neck vertebrae, after feeling some discomfort in that area. 'I must have slept in an awkward position, but then again I'm not as young as I used to be.' Chichi slightly chuckled at her thoughts.

Chichi looked towards her granddaughter once again, and beyond her, she could see the window where the sun was barely rising. The sky was still dark. She began to narrow her eyes at the innocent face displayed on Pan. On the night table she could see her clock read the time of 4:45 am. 'Just under 5 hours,' Chichi sighed. 'Guess I'm not going to get any more time to sleep. Typical Saiyans, always thinking about one thing: food.'

"Pan it's barely 5:00 in the morning, why aren't you still asleep like all the other good children in the world?" Chichi asked as she lay back down on her pillow in the hope that Pan would for once let her sleep a little more. 'That is the last time I stay up listen to those two bulls lock horns,' Chichi lamented her lack of sleep. But like every morning Pan had decided for Chichi that she had already enough sleep.

"But Grandma, I'm really hungry, and Trunks said he would play with me today," Pan whined.

Chichi sighed and pulled her covers off of her to get up. "Alright, alright I got it." Chichi began to get up. Pan had already jumped off Chichi's bed and was waiting 'patiently' by the door.

"Les go," Pan eagerly shouted.

'I'm sure the others are probably already up with all the shouting Pan has been doing… and if not, they soon will,' Chichi thought as she smirked. 'If I have to get up, so do the others.' Chichi took Pan's hand, as Pan half dragged her to the kitchen.

When Chichi arrived at the kitchen, she began to rummage through the cabinets in the hopes to find something good to make. Pan on the other hand sat on her high chair, patiently waiting for her grandmother to begin the routine of cooking breakfast. She hoped they would be getting a large breakfast, with all the food they brought the other day. She could almost feel the drool fall from imagining all the delicious food her grandmother could make.

With the destruction of the androids, many businesses began to reopen, and in most cases the world seemed to be making quite the recovery. Food however,was still quite troublesome to find, and in most cases buying groceries was near impossible with the high prices for stock items. Not that the grocers took money. Trading of goods was the currency now. Building material was one of the most sought after 'currencies.' It was one of the reasons, even with her old age and with the help of Pan, Chichi had made a small farmland of her old home in order to provide food for both her family as well the Briefs. She understood the appetite of the young Saiyans. Still both hybrids had reserved from eating as much as she knew a Saiyan ate, in order to make their food supply last.

Chichi turned around and chuckled lowly at the glossy-eyed look and drool of Pan, as she stared off into space. She could only imagine what was going through the mind of her granddaughter. That look on Pan's face reminded Chichi of her sweet son when he was Pan's age. The thought was bittersweet, as she could see Gohan in his little green outfit and red hat staring at her the same way Pan is doing right now, but it also brought memories of the last time she saw him before he perished.

Gohan was such as strong young man; almost 4 years have passed and yet she could still remember that faithful day when Trunks arrived at her household. He was holding in his arms the batter remains of her once pride and joy. She could still remember the soft yet somewhat rough-patched voice of Trunks as he was struggling to keep a straight face, but failing miserably as Chichi could see the tears had not stopped from falling in his eyes since he found him. Slightly behind her to her right she could remember turning slightly to see Videl's approaching smiling face drop, her eyes widening when she saw the remains of her husband, and finally fainting from the sight.

Chichi shook her head, clearing her mind and wiping the tear so Pan wouldn't see. That was a story for another time. Trying to mask her hurt by forcing her best smile, she spoke to Pan once again. "Honey, how about you go wake up your Aunt Bulma and Trunks the only way you know how to, while I make breakfast," Chichi suggested as she saw the full blown mischievous smile appear on Pan's face. She actually laughed when she saw Pan jump from her high chair and race down the corridor to Bulma's and Trunks' respective rooms. Pan was notorious for finding creative ways to wake someone up. 'If I have to wake up early, so are those two,' Chichi concluded as she turned around to begin making breakfast from what she had at the moment.

After a few minutes Chichi stopped momentarily to look around. 'Hmm that's weird. It's too quiet still; I thought for sure Pan would have those two lazy bums up by now.' At that moment she heard the sounds of someone collecting water from the faucet in the bathroom. Chichi shrugged and thought that maybe Pan was being a silent alarm clock for once. At that moment she heard someone running to the kitchen. It didn't take long to see Pan stop right next to her, and pulling on her apron. "What is it honey?" Chichi asked.

"Um, can I have some ice plwe-ease?" Pan asked, mustering the most innocent and angelic face she could.

Chichi narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She briefly thought about what the little girl was up to, but in the end, she saw no reason to not give what she wanted. She walked over to the freezer, and pulled a bag of crushed ice, and handing it to her. "Is someone feeling sick?" Chichi asked somewhat worriedly.

Pan took the bag from her grandmother quickly and held it closely to her chest. "Ye-e-sss." Pan nodded and spoke slowly, while her eyes kept shifting back and forth. Sometimes she was too much like her father. Pan of course, had inherited that bad poker face Gohan was well known for.

"Well let's hope the ice helps them get over whatever they have" Chichi replied as she got back to making breakfast.

"Yea les hope" Pan answered while biting her thumb to stop any smile from forming on her lips. She quickly dashed away so her grandmother could not see her smile.

A few minutes later, Chichi could see Bulma stepping into the kitchen. She was yawning and stretching her limbs. She went to the table and plopped on her chair, letting her head fall on her forearms. "Did you really have to send Pan after me? I was having a wonderful dream," Bulma whined.

Chichi chuckled as she walked over to the table with a coffee mug in hand and placed it in front of her. "Hey, by now you should know that if we are sleeping over she will be your alarm clock," Chichi stated. "And put that death cylinder out this instant! I swear Bulma don't you know the dangers of this?" Chichi reprimanded when she noticed Bulma had lit a cigarette; she took it upon herself to take the cigarette away from her and deposit it inside the water filled sink.

"Ah Chichi! I don't have many of those left!" Bulma shouted, outraged by her friend's actions as she dashed towards the sink in the hope to save the poor cigarette. She was too late.

"Good, that means I'm one step closer to 'helping you' kick the habit," Chichi smugly stated as she was finishing up the final touches of breakfast. Bulma was sobbing at the cruelty of her best friend. To think she would throw away such a precious item away!

"That's odd… neither Pan nor Trunks seem to have arrived yet," Chichi began to wonder. 'Maybe Trunks was the one that was sick, but Trunks has never been sick.'

"You're right. Trunks is usually right behind me," Bulma replied shaping up after her mini breakdown. For a moment everything was silent. Even the critters around them had quieted down. It slightly unnerved both women slightly, as if something bad was about to happen.

Then, like mini explosion, a large yell could be heard.

"TRUNKS, I SAID …GET UP!" A splash of water quickly followed that screech.

"ARGH, THAT'S COLD!" could be heard right after the water.

Like a canon ball Pan ran towards the kitchen. When she got there she immediately got behind her grandmother. She knew what was coming next, so she chose her best guardian at the moment. Pan gleefully poked her head from around Chichi's legs to see the corridor, where in a few seconds would house a sopping wet demi-saiyan.

Chichi looked down at Pan and sighed. 'I should have known,' Chichi lamented with a small smile as she began to put together the sound of water being collected from earlier, the ice Pan had asked for, and the dodgy behavior Pan had when asking for the ice.

Bulma was laughing loudly. "Oh that has your mother's name written all over it, Pan."

At that moment, a sopping wet, and slightly disoriented Trunks appeared holding onto the wall at the end of the corridor, looking for the source of his bad awakening. He glared at the three-year-old holding on to her grandmother's leg as if her life depended on it, and with Trunks, it might as well been true. If looks could kill, Pan and her still smiling face would be buried right alongside her parents.

Pan knew very well that a wakeup call like that would annoy Trunks greatly. After repeated amount of serving like an alarm clock for the Briefs, she had learned that when she needed protection, after one of her pranks, her grandmother Chichi was the best option. Neither members of the Briefs family would dare go against the Son matriarch.

"Trunks, are you okay honey?" Chichi asked, trying to make sure that the young man in front of her was feeling all right after seeing the dazed look in his eyes, and trying desperately to not let her amusement show like Bulma had.

"Give me a second Aunt Chichi. My ears are still ringing," Trunks muttered, shaking his head.

Chichi shook her head, "All right. Go get changed Trunks, and come back soon so we can eat breakfast."

"Food … Yay!" Pan looked up to her grandmother, and then to the table already served. Without a second thought she jumped from her protection to the table. Pan took the closest spoon, and just as she was about to dig into her breakfast, someone came and took the plate in front of her.

"Aw, Grandma I wanna eat." Pan made sure to emphasize in her voice her great displeasure at having breakfast cut short so soon.

"And you, young lady, you have to learn that those types of pranks are out of line. Also I thought I had taught you better Pan; we wait for everyone to be seated before we eat." Chichi stated, making sure to make a point by holding the plate out of reach. Turning to Trunks, she finished by saying, "As for punishment, I think that you will have to wait until Trunks has come back and picked out his share."

Pan eyes widened in disbelief at the thought of having to wait for Trunks to get back, and let him have first pick at variety of delicious food available on the table. "Trunks! Hurry up!" Pan whined, "I'm hungry!" She then stood on her chair, putting both of her fists on the table, glaring at Trunks, in the hopes it would intimidate him in submission.

Unfortunately for Pan, her glare and her size made it look no more intimidating than a puppy growling at a big dog. Trunks could only chuckle at the pouty glare on Pan's face. "Hahaha I'll be sure to go extra slow just for you Panny," Trunks answered. He even went out of his way to make it his mission to torment his small human alarm clock, walking extra slowly as he exited the kitchen.

Pan could only gape at the ineffectiveness of her glare. She stood rooted in her chair for a few moments longer, looking at the retreating figure of Trunks. To think she would have to wait until he came back so she could eat! The world could be so unfair at times!

Bulma just smiled at the expression of horror on Pan's face as she sat down once again seeing the young girl's longing looks at the food; she was so close, yet so far. Bulma decided to have some mercy on the poor girl and yelled at her son, "Trunks, hurry up I'm also hungry, and you don't want to deal with a cranky me! We got a lot to do today!"

After 10 minutes, 10 very long minutes if someone asked Pan, Trunks arrived, and the small family was able to have breakfast in peace. Aside from the sounds of Pan and Trunks devouring their respective food, no other sound could be heard.

When everything was finished, and Chichi began to clear the table, Pan decided to ask Trunks if he was going to be able to play today like he promised. "Trunks, can we go play hide-n-go-seek?"

"I'm sorry Panny, but I don't think I will be able to play today. I have too much preparation to complete if we are going to travel back in time," Trunks answered with a small smile, hoping the little girl was paying attention to the words he used.

"Wait… that means…" Pan began to say as looked into the eyes of Trunks for any fallacy.

"That's right, in a few days we will be able to go back! Aunt Chichi and my mother have agreed," Trunks responded with a bigger smile, as Pan looked towards her grandmother and aunt for assurance. They both nodded when she looked at them.

The feeling of jubilation could not be contained within Pan, as she began to jump off the walls in celebration. Her dream of meeting the man of Trunks' stories, her idol, her father was within reach! She had heard that Trunks was attempting to convince her Aunt Bulma, but it had not been an easy task.

"Pan, settle down I'm not finished." Trunks interrupted. Seeing Pan give him her undivided attention once again, he continued with his new. "They have also agreed to let you stay there. You will be able to live with your father!" He finished excitedly.

There was just nothing to stop Pan from jumping up and down. She ran to Trunks, and gave him the biggest hug she could muster.

Chichi looked on with a split feelings. On one hand, she could understand her granddaughter's want and need to see her parents, even if they are from alternative timeline, though she would only be meeting Gohan. On the other hand though, she could not help but feel a little hurt by the prospect of letting her go. The excitement in Pan's cheers made her momentarily feel like she was not good enough for Pan as a parent. She tried her best to be the best possible parent for Pan, but seeing her elation made her feel somewhat inadequate.

Bulma, as if reading her best friend, scooted over to where she sat down. She placed her hand on Chichi's shoulder and in a soft spoken volume; she began to reassure her best friend. "Come on Chi, you know you did your best, but you and I know that a child's love for her parents will always be stronger. She has been hearing wonderful stories about Gohan since she was born, so it's a no wonder that the idea of seeing her father excites her greatly. Don't take her enthusiasm like an indication of being a bad parent. I know you did a wonderful job."

Chichi nodded as she wiped her moist eye at Bulma's kind words. She knows that the excitement on Pan's face was all she needed to see in order to tell she made the right decision of letting Pan go. "I know, but I just can't help what I feel. I mean seeing her happy makes me happy, but she is the last of my family Bulma."

"I know Chi, I know, but always remember you have me here." Bulma assured her as she brought her in for a hug.

In that kitchen, two opposite emotions primarily dominated the atmosphere. One half of the room was buzzing with excitement, as the two younger members laughed and kept talking about what they would do. Meanwhile, the other held an air of depression as the two older members held onto one another in a single embrace. One of these ladies slowly cried her sorrows into her best friend's chest.

Following the scene of breakfast, everyone decided to split to attend to their personal matters. Chichi and Pan decided to go out for a small walk. Bulma on the other hand, went to one of her numerous labs that was still somewhat intact, to work on whatever she was working on while Trunks made his way to the Time Machine; he had to make sure everything was in working order.

As he walked along the ruined corridors heading towards one of their larger hangers, he began to think of when in time he should show up.

'On one hand, I could show up a couple days right after I left,' Trunks thought as he entered through the large doors of the hanger. 'That way it doesn't seem like I took a long time to take care of those android. I'm also sure the others would like to know as soon as possible of my victory.'

In front of him was the Time Machine in all its glory, connected by various cables to many computers around the room. Bulma had been very curious as to the effects of inter-dimensional time travel on the machine. She was constantly monitoring any changes through the machine's central computer for any de-synchronization in any of its multiple electronic sensors and tools.

Bulma theorized that any rift in the time-space continuum had to have an adverse effect on the machine; after all, it had to break through dimension gaps. It could explain why the machine kept sending him to the right day, but not the right time.

'But with Pan coming along, this could be very bad.' He counters his previous thought. 'I'm sure Gohan and Chichi are still reeling from the loss of Goku, not to mention Pan wants to meet her father, and the last time I saw Gohan, he had looked distraught. I know he was smiling, but I know my master well enough to know that was one of his fake smiles, to appease those around him. I want Pan to meet him under better circumstances. The only problem is that at this point, any time will be a bad time for Gohan.' Trunks rubbed the bridge of his nose as he walked up to the Time Machine.

With a single hop he entered the capsule part of the ship. He immediately picked up the small computer on the driver's seat to look at the charts of activities from the different parts of the machine. He took a seat as he knew he was going to be here a while. 'Hm, the computer's central clock and the clock on the main dashboard seem to be off again.' Trunks groans as he once again ran into the same problem he had been having for a while, 'Sigh Not this again! I already fixed everything I could think off. What could possibly be causing the delay on the dashboard clock?

'Mother said any de-synchronization could lead to bad reading, or worse, landing on the wrong time imputed into the computer. The problem is that we have repaired it as best as we can, yet the problem persists, and I don't have the proper equipment to make any larger repairs. Guess I will have to add that to the to-do list when I get back to the other timeline. I just hope this simple delay doesn't cause us too much grief. I think this machine can only handle one more round trip, and I would like to arrive at the correct time or as close to it as possible.' He sat back on his chair and looked up as he went back to his earlier thoughts.

'So maybe a few days might not be the best choice, but how long until Goku's passing isn't as heavy burden on Gohan's heart. Maybe after a year?' Trunks ponders the thought a moment before nodding to himself. 'Yeah, that seems more reasonable. I know after the passing of Master Gohan it took me a while to get over it. Well maybe not get over it, but it certainly got easier as time passed. It also helped having Pan around. Every time I look at her eyes it reminds me of those eyes that guided me through my rough childhood.' Trunks' thoughts drifted as he began to reminisce about the life of his old master. With those memories it also brought back that self-loathing from being so powerless back then. Here was a man that took care of him all his life, and the moment he needed Trunks the most, what was he doing? Why taking a nap outside the city, while those buckets of bolts killed his mentor, his friend, and his father figure!

Trunks thought he had been over this stage of grief long ago, but the trail of tears running down his face was evidence enough to know it was not over yet. 'Because of my weakness, Gohan lost his arm, and because of my eternal fragility, Master Gohan had to take it upon himself to fight off those two alone.' Trunks clenched his fist as he began walking down the same dark path he had walked many times before. 'It is my fault Master had to die, and because of my weakness Videl…' At this point Trunks could not stop the torrent of anguish rushing through his body. 'It's my fault Pan lost both of her parents, but I promise you Pan, I will do everything in my power to make sure you live a happy life. I just hope Sensei and Videl forgive me one for my shortcomings.'

Trunks lamented as he put his head down on the dashboard in front of him, and let the darkness of his anguish engulf him. Of course everyone told Trunks it was not his fault for the death of Gohan, and that Gohan would not like to hear Trunks say those things, but they did little to comfort him. If he had the power he has now, he could have assisted Gohan better. Maybe Pan would be living happily alongside her mother and father, and not with their small family that consisted of her grandmother, a non-blood related aunt, and a young man responsible for her parents' demise.

Pan's eyes, the same shade as her father, always brought him peace of mind, but also a sense of loss unlike any other. He was looking at this little girl grow up, and the more he saw her, the more he was reminded of his old master, but also that young lady that had captured the heart of his old master, Videl. That is why he promised himself that he would do the utmost to give the little girl back her parents back. It was then when he realized the other time still had Gohan, and somewhere in that world, Videl. Though they are different from Pan's parents, they are essentially her parents.

Trunks rested his head on his forearms for a long time. He stayed in that position until he heard the sound of shoes approaching the machine. He immediately began to wipe his eyes of the tears, as well as tried to bring the red around his eyes down.

"Trunks are you up there?" Came the voice of Bulma from the base of the ship.

"Ah, yeah Mom I'm up here. I'm just looking over the charging progress of the ship." Trunks hurriedly replied hoping his voice came out even.

"Okay and how is it coming along?" Bulma asked.

"What?" Trunks replied confused

"The charging progress, you know the thing you are looking at," Bulma asked somewhat amused by Trunks lack of attention.

"Oh that. Yeah, um it's good; it's coming along well. Within a few days it will be ready to make the trip," Trunks responded, still not showing his face from within the capsule. Embarrassment was clearly written all over his face from the fact that his mother almost busted him, on a lie he had told just a few seconds prior.

"Are you okay son, you sound awfully jumpy?" Bulma asked concerned as she began to worry over her son's weird behavior.

"Yeah mom, maybe it was the awful way I woke up today that has me jumpy." Trunks tried to distract his mother from noticing he was still wiping his eyes.

"Haha that Pan, I swear she gets her mischievousness from Videl. I don't remember Gohan ever being that bad, though Chichi swears Gohan was the same or even worse than Videl. She says that, that great mind Gohan had was not only for book smarts, but also for getting himself into and out of so much trouble as a child." Bulma began to think of that little boy she met all those years ago on Roshi's island. "I just don't see it, but then again I always saw him as well-mannered child."

When Trunks felt that the red around his eyes was not going to lessen anymore, he decided to climb down from the capsule to the ground, where his mother was leaning against one of the legs of the ship. Bulma immediately noticed the red in the corners of Trunks' eyes, but decided not to mention anything, as he seemed to be uncomfortably shifting back and forth in the hope to not let her know something was wrong.

She cleared her throat and decided to ask about what brought her to the room. "So how are things coming along?" Bulma asked. "Are there any irregularities?"

Trunks was relieved that his mother did not notice he had been crying, or that she choose not to press the subject. Either way he was glad he didn't have to come up with excuses. "Well everything seems to be marching according to plan. If this keeps up we will be ready in a couple days. The only problem is that delay between the central clock, and the dashboard clock. I have tried everything, but nothing seems to work. I'm ready to just accept it and roll with it. I know what you have said about the dangers of going with faulty equipment, but there is nothing I can do here." Trunks sounded exhausted

"Well that is a problem, but how much is the delay? I mean we have seen it before, and all it affected was the time you arrived. If it's not so bad, then maybe time will be the only thing that is affected." Bulma attempted to think of another solution, as she received the data from both clocks from her son.

Trunks shook his head, as he gestured they move over to the nearby table to spread the paper out. "It is much greater than those times. Back then it was nanoseconds of difference, and we thought it was our fault because we started them incorrectly, but now it is minutes of difference. See here," he added, pointing to the dashboard clock and then the central one graphs. "There is even a 12 minute difference. The problem is that it is not a constant increase, but a radical change in differences. Also, if nanoseconds could make me land hours later then I input, I wonder what minutes will do."

"I see. You're right, that could be disastrous." Bulma agreed "Well, let me look over the data, and I'll give you a rough estimate of deviation from the input time. I'll just assume the nanosecond difference to the time you arrived is proportional to minutes of difference." Bulma finished

"Very well" Trunks agreed

"Have you thought of what time you will be arriving at?" Bulma asked

"Uh, yeah I was thinking, one year after the Cell Games. With Pan coming, I hope that will be enough time for things to have settled there."

Bulma nodded at his reasoning. She can imagine how the Son family at that time would be feeling.

"I was thinking momentarily, if maybe I should do it a few years later, but I realized that with the limited knowledge we have on inter-dimensional travel, we should not risk attempting to travel to a timeline that is separating from ours every single day." Trunks continued. "The gap could be very large if I decided to travel 5 or maybe even 10 years after the Cell games. At least one year after the Cell Games the hop maybe long, but not too long."

"I see you have been thinking about this for quite some time." Bulma replied, smirking at her son. "You're right let's not risk you two getting lost in the rift." She then looked at her son seriously. "By the way Trunks, have you thought about the possibility of destroying any chance of Pan actually being born in that time, or that Pan may blab her mother's name to Gohan?" It was one of the things that she forgot to mention in their last discussion.

"As for Pan blabbing Videl's name, I'm not sure if Pan truly knows her mother's name," Trunks began. "I always hear her say mommy and daddy, and only react to their names when we say them. As long as we keep it out of conversation, and with some luck, Pan will never divulge that information. As for the other thing, I have to be honest; I don't think the chance of Gohan and Videl meeting will happen in that time."

Bulma gasped, horrified at the thought of Gohan and Videl not being together in that time. "What do you mean?" She asked her son

"I mean it happened here, under special circumstance, and that circumstance is no longer possible in that time." After seeing his mothers still confused, Trunks explained his theory to his mother.

"Here, they met a year after the androids began their attack. Her family had perished, and Gohan became her lifeline. I mean the number of people alive was limited, so they had a better chance of meeting, but there…" Trunks sighed as he continued, "there, there is no longer the threat of androids, the population is in full bloom, and as much as it hurts me to think, the chances of their paths crossing seems very slim," he finished, quite upset at the thought of Gohan and Videl not being together. To him, they seemed like the glimmer of hope for the future in a sea of darkness. To find love that powerful when everything was falling apart, gave him hope that someday he would find someone like that.

Bulma frowned as she thought and reevaluated Trunks' reasoning. As much as she wanted to refute his points, she could not see any fallacy. It became a game of statistics, and the chances of them meeting became significantly harder with the more people alive. She sighed; and not to mention the addition of Pan will make it harder for any girl to stay with Gohan.

Finally she relented. "I guess you are right. I just hope they meet. After all, they seemed to be the embodiment of true love, or soul mates," Bulma reminised with hearts in her eyes, as she thought back to the rocky relationship of Gohan and Videl. As much as those two tried to deny having feelings for one another, if either was hurt in the least bit, they became extremely protective of one another.

She began to chuckle at how protective they were, while strongly denying having any romantic feelings for one another. Hell, she could still remember once when Gohan was about 15, and he had received a particularly harsh gash on one of his cheeks after one of his duels with the androids. Videl dragged his half mangled and bloody body by his foot through the doors of Capsule Corp, stating she found him barely breathing in the ruins of Green Arbor town. She proceeded to pick him up and slam him down on the table. She kept screaming and glaring at the barely conscious demi-saiyan, saying that how reckless he could be. At the time, Bulma rushed into the room to take care of the harshest wounds. She knew his saiyan half could take care of the others.

Bulma could remember seeing the fire behind Videl's words and eyes, yet she could also see the immense amount of fear of losing him behind the fire. When Bulma began to get closer to Gohan, she noticed that Videl's eyes were narrowed and looking directly at her, as if following Bulma's every step for any wrong move in order to jump her. Yes Videl knew Bulma, but when Gohan was hurt, Videl would not hesitate to attack anyone that could cause him anymore harm, even if that person was Gohan's mother, as Chichi found out when she pressed on one of Gohan injuries in order to keep him in bed. Videl lunged from her chair when she heard Gohan's howl, and let's just say Chichi never tried to do that again. As old and more experienced as Chichi was, Videl matched her, and began striking back harder until Chichi left the room. Of course later Videl apologized for her behavior, but Chichi waved it off since Chichi knew Videl only did it to protect her son, and furthermore to protect Videl's own lifeline in the form of Gohan.

Yet somehow, Videl found it acceptable to slam a hurt Gohan on the table, but would not allow anyone close to him, fearing they would hurt him. The only way anyone was allowed near him was if Videl was present as well, to supervise. That is why when Bulma applied a small amount of alcohol to his cheek, and he would unconsciously wince, Bulma would do the same when she looked over to Videl, only to see her baring her teeth at her; she could almost feel the killer intent rolling of Videl, getting increasingly bigger with each wince by Gohan.

Treating Gohan was never a fun thing to do when Videl was around. She would always stay by his side the entire time he was unconscious holding his hand, yet the moment she felt him stir, she would walk out of the room. Every time, Gohan would wake up and immediately go out to look for Videl; he couldn't care less of his remaining injuries. She didn't want him to think of her as a worrywart, finding her hovering over him, yet she never ran far. Videl would only go to the end of the corridor, and wait for when he would go out to find her.

In one of those times, Bulma was lucky enough to see when Gohan found Videl. He embraced her, and at first she punched him in the stomach repeatedly telling him how stupid he was for fighting alone; yet towards the end, she buried her head into his chest, breathing heavily, and wrapped her arms around his midsection, as she began to cry about how she thought he was going to die this time for sure. Gohan only embraced her and softly, saying, he would always be here for her as long as there was a single breath in his body.

The vision of those two holding on to one another in that dark broken corridor, became tunnel-vision as Bulma came back to reality. Bulma smiled sadly at the thought of those two stubborn lovers. Gohan would do almost the same for Videl when she got hurt, only he didn't care if she thought of him as a worrywart, and no one ever got in between Gohan and Videl during those times. They would only provide Gohan with all the necessary equipment to take care of Videl himself. It's one thing to fend off against Videl, but its suicide to get in front of Gohan. That called for some quite comical scenes when Videl got hurt in a particular area both had deemed as inappropriate to be looking at, and both would come out of that room making perfect imitations of tomatoes. Bulma chuckled once again as she remembered that day.

Trunks had been looking at his mother for some time now, seeing as a range of emotions run through her face. 'She must reliving old memories,' he concluded. He smiled, and once again, and got back to work.

When Bulma finally came back, she had a large smile on her face, as she saw her son looking over some other charts. She sighed once again, and decided to persuade her son once again.

"Trunks, I know we talked about this last night, but would you reconsider staying to live in th—" Bulma began, but she immediately notice Trunks was going to object.

"Mom…" Trunks interrupted, just as expected.

"—e past. Now at least let me say my piece young man before you interrupt me." Bulma continued, stopping any further interruptions from Trunks, as he leaned against the table, and gestured her to continue. "I know you have your pride, and you want to stay here because you feel you owe it to Gohan, but … but son you don't have to punish yourself. You are a world savior, and you deserve to live in the same peace you want Pan to live in. Gohan would not hold it against you if you left this timeline. Plus you would be helping to taking care of Pan in the past. I'm sure having two saiyan toddlers will stress anyone out, even me in the past.

"There you could find a nice girl, settle down, and make me a bunch of grandbabies." Bulma added, laughing towards the end. "I know you feel responsible for our well being, but like Chichi said, we're already going out the door, and I would like it if I left knowing that you were with family." Bulma finished.

"Can I speak now, mother?" Trunks asked his mother patiently since he didn't know if Bulma was done with her speech, or if taking a small break to breathe.

"Yes you can." Bulma relented, already knowing what his response was.

"Mom, I appreciate that you feel the need to try to convince me to stay in the past. Somehow I knew you would not just let it go after yesterday. Sigh My answer has not changed mother. This is the way I honor my ancestors, this is the way honor my mentor, but above all else, this is how I atone for my misgivings and mistakes.

"Pan is a child that does not fully understand the horror of the world as it stands now. Yes she has seen some of the destruction, and the slow rebuilding, but she doesn't fully comprehend this was done by two beings that did it only for the purpose of having fun. I want her to grow up in a place where she will be protected at all times, but if I leave then who protects this planet?How can you think I will be able to sleep at night, knowing that I abandoned a world to its own luck because I wanted to sip fruity drinks on a beach in a different time? I can't, and I won't."

Trunks began to slowly let his emotion show with each word. "I want to be able to stand by and protect my planet at all costs! I want to be able to reach the pearly gates, see Gohan, and tell him: 'Master I did my best, and only my best, and if it's not good enough for you, then I will work hard for the rest of eternity until I have made you proud enough to call me your pupil.' I want to be able to apologize to Videl for letting her down, and not being there for Gohan in his final battle. But above all else, I want to be there to tell them about how wonderful Pan was, and about how much fun she was having and how safe she was in the arms of her father of the past."

A lone tear managed to escape, slowly making its way down his face. "I can't face them if I stay in the different timeline, and I would feel like a coward for not at least asking for their forgiveness, forgiveness I know I don't deserve, but something I will work for until I have received it," Trunks finished as he clenched fist, and looked right into the eyes of his mother to show her his determination; to show her this is one battle she will not win.

Bulma took one look into her son's eyes and gasped, covering her mouth with both of her hands. She walked right up to Trunks, and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. "Honey you know that Gohan doesn't blame you for what happened. None of us do," Bulma reassured, having no problem to shedding a tear at the words of conviction in her only son. "We both know Gohan has always been somewhat of a lone wolf when he became a fighter. He did it to protect you; he did it to protect us all, and left knowing fully-well that he left a stronger person in his stead. He is proud of you my son. He always was, and always will be.

"As much as I disagree with it, if this is what you really want, then do what you feel is right. Just know that you have made me and everyone else very proud." Bulma finished as she looked into the eyes of her son. When she got a nod from him, she unwrapped her arms from around him, and took a couple steps back in order to give him back his personal space.

"Well, how about we focus on getting little Panny to her daddy," Bulma suggested attempting to lift the heavy tension that had settled around them with all this depressive talk. She smiled at her son, and once again got back to work on one of the computers in the hanger.

Trunks smiled at his mother's attempt to lift the tension. He nodded once again, and began to look at the graphs in front of him.

Present Timeline

"Good morning, Gohan you and I have a long conversation to have…" Chichi spoke as neutrally as possible.

Gohan stiffened at her words. He stood by the doorframe leading to the living room. Hesitantly, he looked directly in the eyes of his mother, and could see the anger and slight annoyance in her eyes, betraying the neutrality of her voice. Blinking a couple of times, he slowly walked towards her. As she sat on the brownish loveseat, Gohan took the living room chair to her left. He wanted to be close, but with enough distance, knowing their discussions could become quite heated, and he wanted to be out of reach.

"Gohan I just don't know where I went wrong. I have been nothing less than an exceptional mother. I have tried to set a good example for you, yet you choose to ignore it, and act like a rebellious brat." Chichi had never been one to beat around the bush. She figured the faster she got to her point, the faster they could put this all behind, and Gohan would be on track to becoming the scholar she always wanted.

She just needed to break this fighting spirit that kept lashing out at her.

Chichi began to shake her head disapprovingly, while she kept her stare directed at her first child. "Every morning, I have wake up to the sounds of my delinquent child destroying Kami knows what, and this house on the verge of collapsing on its self."

She then gave her son a heated glare. "LOOK! Look at the kitchen!" She shouted furiously pointing directly at the kitchen floor, where multiple amounts of plates laid scatter in pieces on the floor.

Gohan stared at the kitchen floor. He could see that one of the cabinet doors was open. It meant that either the locking mechanism had either failed, or the door was left open. Based upon the fact that he installed each locking mechanism from his personal design, he could only come to the conclusion that the door was probably left open. He would have to check to make sure he didn't jump to conclusions, but he doesn't usually make mistakes. If they failed, it would have been a great oversight on his part; since, he made sure they would withstand the constant shaking that his Super Saiyan 2 produces.

"Look at all those plates! Do you have anything to say for yourself!? Because it seems to be that you have no care for the amount of damage you are causing! How much money do you think was wasted on those plates!? Some of those were bought recently you know, after you broke the last batch!" Chichi was seething from the lack of emotion on the face of Gohan.

Gohan just looked at her calmly. He knew her game. This was just bait for the real problem. Sure, money had always been an issue for their family, but even when his father was here, they would go through more plates than those broken on the floor. He knew that if he focused on this issue, his mother would later blindside him with the real issue when he least expect it.

Chichi just scoffed at her child's lack of attention. She crossed her arms over her 6 month bump. "Of course you don't have anything to say for yourself. There is nothing you can say that could possibly explain why you are out destroying the wilderness at the early hours of the morning.

"At times like this I wonder if instead of some villain destroying the world it won't be you or one of your father's gang members. To think that such dangerous creatures are allowed to roam freely. Just look at Piccolo! A decade ago he was one of the greatest menaces of the world, yet now we are supposed to ignore all the damage he did because he supposedly has come to the good side."

Gohan flinched at the name 'Piccolo.' He could not understand how his mother could not let go of the past. Piccolo has done everything to change his ways, but his mother would not see any of this. She was stuck in this world, where no matter what someone does to remedy the past; she would just judge people by the mistakes of their past. With a small voice, Gohan came to the defense of his oldest friend, "Piccolo is not a bad person, Mother. He has done everything to prove that to you and everyone that he has changed his old ways, but you are the only person to not look past that."

"So he speaks." Chichi answers sarcastically. "I'm surprised. For a second I had thought you had gone mute overnight. I'm however not surprised you came to the defense of that creature; after all, he is the reason you have become quite rebellious in recent years. Ever since that evil man kidnapped you, he brainwashed you."

Gohan gritted his teeth and spoke as calmly as possible "Piccolo gave his life to protect mine." He had promised himself he would not fall for her bait, yet here he was doing that exact thing a few minutes later.

"I think you have slacked off enough." Chichi continued pointedly, ignoring his defense of that monster, as she called him. "If you have the energy to waste it on useless firework displays every morning, then I think you have the energy to get back into those textbooks I bought you. Do something productive with your life other than becoming a karate bum. No one will pay some lazy good-for-nothing. The only way you will succeed in this life is if you give up this crazy notion of training, and dedicate yourself to your studies. Just look at all those Theoretical Physics books that are collecting dust."

She pointed at a few boxes stacked neatly near the corridor towards the individual rooms. "It is for that reason that I have decided that, as your mother, I must look out for your best interest." She gave Gohan a hard start as she continued. "I'm sorry Gohan, but you are from now on banned from training. I will have to put you on a stricter studying schedule, so you may catch up on all the work you have been missing, while you were gallivanting around with your father, and that child kidnapper you call mentor for three years." Chichi finished by giving him a stern look.

Shock. That was the only thing running through the body of Gohan momentarily. He got up quickly, so fast that he tipped over his chair, "You can't do that!" Gohan exclaimed his eyes widening from him mother's implications. He could almost feel the stress building within him. He grunted as he shook he head from seeing stars in his vision from getting up too fast.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me Gohan! I am your mother, and I have made my decision. In order to make sure my will is done, I will be imposing higher consequences and punishments for disobedience. I think it is nigh time someone reigns in on your crazy life style." Chichi spoke calmly, unmoved by her son's sudden outburst.

Gohan began to stumble on his words. Every morning he had the assurance that at least any pent up emotion, or energy would be safely released, but with his mother's new orders, she was taking one of his pillars of stability. He began to pant at the thought of no longer having his early morning release. His head began to shake side to side in disbelief.

Chichi saw her son's actions, and chalked it up to him throwing a tantrum. Doesn't he know she is doing it to help him? 'Well one day he will thank me.' Chichi thought.

"I must train; the Cell Games have shown us that there are far bigger villains out there." Gohan began to speak louder with each word from a whisper to a normal tone. "I have to be prepared for the next threat." Gohan responded with conviction.

Chichi could only see this with fury in her eyes. Here was her son once again talking back to her, he was actually arguing with her about a direct order from her. "Well you know what, I'm done playing nice parent Gohan!" Chichi heatedly replied as she stood up, glaring at her first-born. "This is not up for discussion. If you have so much faith in that evil Piccolo or Vegeta, then I'm sure one of them could easily take over as protector, but you will no longer be part of that world."

"Father said I was supposed to succeed him! He left me with the responsibility of being the next protector!" Gohan stated.

"Well your father is no longer here, is he?" Chichi spitfires. "No, he is gone and I'm in charge! You are the oldest male in this household. I will soon be having another child, Gohan. It is high time you settle down. You will soon be a role model for your sibling, and I don't want him or her looking up to some ruffian. Your father said he wanted to stay dead because it would mean that there would no longer be a threat to Earth, so there is no need for training. At this point, training would be to waste valuable time you could be applying to expanding your knowledge."

"It is foolish to think that all threats resonate from one man, even if he was my father. There will be others, and I must be ready." Gohan tried once again to reason with his mother, but of course, everyone knows that reasoning with Chichi is impossible.

"Are you calling me a fool Gohan? The nerve of you, to actually call your own mother, 'a fool.' Why I never thought I would see such disrespect, from my child no less!" And so began Chichi's waterworks, only to be replaced with anger a few seconds later.

"I want you to march into that kitchen, clean up your mess, and when you are done you will march into your room, and stay in there until I say so!" Chichi ordered, pointing at corridor towards the kitchen. "I want you to think long and hard about your recent decision. When you are ready to be part of this family, and listen to my word, you will be allowed to exit your room." Chichi said with anger predominantly in her tone.

Gohan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Though his stomach ached for some food, he just shook that feeling off and got to cleaning up the pieces of dishware. 'Why is she so stubborn? Doesn't she understand that I don't want to be stuck in my room all day? I understand the importance of knowledge and how to get ahead in life, but how much good will that do if there is no world to use that knowledge in.'

"Also Gohan, if I hear or see that you have run out of the house, then I swear to you Gohan, you will regret the day you decided to cross me!" Chichi fleetingly shouted as she made her way to her bedroom.

An: How many of you thought I was not going to add the confrontation scene between Gohan and Chichi? ;) Well don't worry this won't be the last one. This chapter is actually longer then the last two chapters combined, don't expect it to happen often. I'm not a person that writes long chapter. I'm just trying to get to the point I want to, without losing all these other scenes. Final note, I would like to see what everyone thinks of this chapter, so please leave a review. It makes me happy to see a new review, and I use it to motivate me to continue the next chapter when I don't know what to write.

Letters to my dear reviewers:

Dear Ace Son,

You know I had to do something funny. Not everything is sad and depressing in my work, there has to be some comedy to balance. I also feel bad for Pan since she is walking into a family that is falling apart, but maybe, just maybe she might be the key to stability. Oh trust me, I had to keep rewriting certain scenes because I just don't feel satisfied the first time. I have learned that I'm a pretty critical of my own work, except when it comes to the grammar haha

Dear The Fantastic Alturist,

Glad you liked the exchange. As for chichi... sigh I know. That's what I think she did to keep Gohan busy in canon. Gohan being to nice, never went against her word, and that is how we got Saiyaman Saga Gohan.

Dear dapmitidp,

Chichi has never been liked that Gohan was a fighter. I really think that she would do anything and everything to stop him from fighting. It's not sabotage in her eyes, after all, he was on route to being a scholar after the 7 years time skip. To her she is molding him into a better person. And putting the world at risk at the same time by weakening one of it's defenders (though that is unconsciously done).

Dear pir84lyf,

I know in her eyes its her way or the highway. *Shakes head*

Dear The King of Ranting,

We'll see *smirks* you're actually quite close :). I did look at the review when I felt stuck and it really helped. Thank you :)

Dear duskrider,

Chichi is a blind person to the needs of the others. It is not until she has lost everything that she realizes what she had. You will see what I mean in the next chapter.

Dear Zyphrost,

Oh, every single time I felt stuck during this chapter, I just had to read your review again. It brought a smile to my face to see what a cliffhanger does to people. Thank you for the inspiration. I have not decided how often, but I will try to do it within at least 2 weeks of each other. Sometimes days, sometimes 2 weeks. Hope that doesn't bother you.

Dear Power9987,

I really want to thank you, for all the help you have given me in this chapter, and your thorough review. I am really glad that my characterization of each character is well within each character. To me an angst-y Gohan is the only logical Gohan after the Cell games. As to how in 7 years, he became so happy go lucky, will be one of the greatest mysteries of our time. All I want to know it what did he take to get that way, cause I could use some of that. hahah That or a more powerful and confident warrior are the only type of Gohans, I could see after Cell. I really enjoyed reading the rant section. That was by far my favorite part of the review. I agree with you completely on Chichi. Chichi just thinks this is a phase, since she has seen he come out of each battle okay, but like a dam that is slowly overfilling, it will reach a critical point. The problem is that she has just shut one of the only escapes, so now the dam will reach critical faster.

Dear Squasher,

hahah kill her off, that's not a bad thought. ;) She is just concern with her own fantasy, and see any push back as rebellion from her child. It's one of those 'I'm right because I'm a parent' situations. We will see who gives her a wake up call.

Dear mindless-saiyan-kween,

I'm not going to lie, when I saw your review I immediately had to go find where we had talked. Cause I looked at your stories, and I thought I don't travel much to Goku/Chichi land. So I finally found some PM between us haha. Glad you liked it.

Dear xider,

Yes the harpy is still alive and very pregnant. ;) I know what you mean. I feel the same at times.

Dear TeeLee-Sensei,

Glad to see I'm doing a good job at setting the mood. I also liked their banter. I also can't wait for the meet-and-greet. If he doesn't find internal peace, well lets just say, sparks will fly.

Dear gx257,

Well wait no longer. :)