Goten and I strode leisurely but not lazily, carrying stacks of supplies needed for our soon-to-be departure. It would just be the four of us going – us two, plus Goku and Gohan, the latter of which had insisted to come along despite recently getting married. Apparently, leaving your partner shortly after fulfilling a matrimonial contract wasn't something humans were supposed to do, but Videl and Gohan seemed to have reached a compromise over it. I didn't understand the fuss, but whatever misconceptions I had about Earth's relationship customs was just another item on my ever-growing list of confusions (despite any previous research I'd done about the planet).
Regardless, I was anticipating going home, or at least going back into space after only training and exploring Earth for months. Once we finished loading supplies, we were good to go; my mother had helped fashion us a few sets of armour, similar to what we usually wore on Planet Vegeta but not without some design alterations. I also still had one of the gis Goku had given me – the only one I hadn't destroyed or worn out – in addition to the rest of the clothing that was still idealized for moving around in. We were equipped with everything we needed, just in case we weren't able to access such things back home.
"Hey, anybody in there? You're zoning out again," Goten said as he nudged me.
"Huh? Did you ask me something?" I replied, coming back to the present.
"I asked if you value my time and opinions as your friend, but it looks like you already answered that question," he said in false affront, setting down the supplies in his arms. We'd arrived back at the garage-type laboratory that housed our completed spaceship, its rounded shape looming large ahead of us.
"Contrary to popular belief, you're just full of passive-aggressive criticisms," I said as I placed what I was carrying on the floor as well.
"I do my best. Besides, if you didn't have me to take you down a notch every once in a while, your ego would be bigger than your power level."
"Maybe. But power levels are kind of bullshit. You should technically be half as strong as me, yet you can't seem to land a punch on me even fifty percent of the time."
My mother's voice interrupted our banter, echoing from her position around the other side of the spaceship.
"Polite vocabulary only, Trunks. There's a child in here," she reminded.
"Trunks has a potty mouth," Bulla's voice followed from the same area.
"Yeah, gosh, Your Highness. Watch your language," Goten teased at me as we made our way over to the craft. Having grown up surrounded by guards and soldiers for the most part, it was no wonder my habitual lexicon wasn't always the most child-friendly.
"And I suppose our resident Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are getting along as usual?" Mom questioned with humour as we approached. "How are you doing with the supplies?"
"Besides having to load them onto the ship, I think we have them all," Goten replied.
"That's good. I've given the ship one final look over and everything's in place. All our hard work paid off," Mom said.
"Finally. I'm looking forward to seeing home, even if it'll take us a few weeks to get there," I added, gesturing towards the spacecraft.
"Yep. I get to live on a spaceship in close quarters with my dad and my older brother for the next foreseeable weeks. Good thing Trunks is with me, 'cause otherwise I might die of boredom with only Gohan to torment," Goten said.
As he spoke, the sound of others entering the room reached my ears – my grandparents and Tarble, come to bid us goodbye. I surmised Goku would be bringing the others soon enough.
"Are you sure I can't go with you guys?" my younger sister interjected, recapturing my attention.
"Sorry, Bulla," I replied, kneeling down to her. "You can't. I need you here to take care of Mom and help protect the planet while we're gone. We'll be back before you know it – once I find Father, Goku can teleport us right back here. Besides, if you want, you can use Mom's communicator to talk to us."
"Okay," she acquiesced, still sounding disappointed. Then, she reached to wrap her arms around me, bringing me into a tighter hug than one would expect for a child her size. I hugged her back until she let go, turning to look at Goten.
"Your turn," she instructed, and after his momentary surprise he copied my movements, kneeling to embrace Bulla.
It wasn't long after that Goku arrived via Instant Transmission, bringing with him Gohan, Videl, and Chi-Chi (the latter two I assumed were here to say their farewells). While Goku moved to take the last few supplies onto the ship, Gohan and his wife approached us with my grandparents and uncle in tow.
While my mother activated the technology that opened the roof of the lab, revealing the bright blue sky I still wasn't used to, I said my goodbyes to everyone else while Goten did the same. Gohan seemed loath to part ways with Videl, so as they spoke I turned my attentions to Mom, the only person I hadn't properly acknowledged yet.
"Well... I guess this is goodbye for now," I said, "though all this is thanks to you. I promise to bring Father back – I'm sure he's doing just fine."
"Pssht. I'm not worried about your father being safe. He's tough as nails, but also ten times as stubborn – the day he gives in is the day hell freezes over. I'm more worried about you two scrapping all the time once you do find him," she said, though I noticed a hint of forced joviality.
I was sure that she missed his presence after so many months of him absent. For me, he had usually been around, even if I didn't spend as much time with him, but what I did or didn't feel in that regard wasn't the most important thing. I didn't know what would happen after I did get him back – what our family would do, after being reunited for the first time – or what that meant for my personal future. Though I had given it some thought these last few months, I was still unaware about what my father truly meant by 'making things right,' and I'd resolved to save my choices until it was time.
"I'll try not to beat him up too badly, if that does happen," I replied to her statement, to which my mother gave a small, real smile.
"Oh, you," she chastised gently. Then her tone shifted. "You'd better take care of yourself, you know. And yes, I know you're strong, all four of you are, but please..."
"Don't worry. I am strong – strong enough so nothing like that will ever happen again. I promise that too."
It was Mom's turn to embrace me, the moment lasting long enough to convey both her troubles and her trust without speaking another word. I almost regretted that she couldn't come along for safety reasons, but then again, it offered me some peace of mind to know that she would be nowhere near any possible danger. The thought of losing her again wasn't something I could bear to even entertain.
By the time she let go, Goten and his father were waiting by the ship's entrance for the two of us still saying our words of going away.
I reached the entryway first, with Gohan not far behind me. However, we paused as Videl jogged over again, asking us to wait.
Before her husband could ask her what she wanted, she reached up, plucked his glasses off and pulled him down to kiss him intensely right on the lips.
After several long seconds of this and me looking at the ground, I made a sort of coughing sound into my fist to hopefully catch their attention. Even with a human mother and after spending time on Earth, I'd grown up in a society where little tenderness was openly displayed – so even the most innocent of intimate gestures tended to make me uncomfortable. That, and my natural demeanour was to be flustered around most aspects of such a topic anyway.
The couple pulled apart, and Videl put her partner's glasses right back where they belonged before stepping away and allowing us to begin our departure.
Shaking my head, I then went into the ship with Gohan behind me. He looked pretty embarrassed himself, but the hints of a smile on his face made me doubt he cared all that much about it.
The doorway sealed behind us and we moved deeper into the spacecraft, heading for the control room as we heard the sounds of our transportation firing up.
Our voyage thus far wasn't much different than it'd been the first time I was on a spacecraft. Of course, the main change was that instead of my reticent father as a companion, I had the often exuberant men of the Son family trapped in a small living area with me. Until we got close enough to Planet Vegeta for Goku to teleport (if needed at all), there wasn't really anything we could do about personal space. Even though the ship had been designed for a fair number of occupants, there were the occasional moments where it didn't feel like it. But most often the four of us got along without trouble.
Since our opportunities to train were limited to gentle sparring and stretching only, we filled up much of our time with conversation, card games, and for some of us, reading – namely Gohan and myself.
Though he didn't wear them constantly, the elder Son brother had remembered to bring along a few pairs of eyeglasses that were sturdy enough to not immediately get crushed by a casual touch. In my time on Earth I'd finally learned what the frames were for in a way that, though it satisfied my mild curiosity, also created a counterbalance of disappointment: according to Mom, in another year I would have no choice but to wear lenses of my own to read.
My eyesight had apparently begun its slow deterioration before I'd ever set foot in the Time Chamber, largely unnoticed in its slow progression. Mom theorized the farsightedness was a natural result of hybrid genetics, but thankfully I didn't have the issue nearly as bad or early onset as Gohan. (As Goten showed no symptoms, we also wondered if the lack of dark pigment in my eyes – combined with being raised under a constant, powerful sun – might've amplified the problem.) Even so, unless the printing was particularly small, I didn't have trouble spending an hour or two with a book. Again, our activity options were limited so I was glad such a thing entertained me, in contrast with Goten and his father.
"How can you not find that boring?" Goten complained as he peered over my shoulder.
"It's better than having nothing to do until we get home, unless you can think of a better option," I replied, not bothering to lift my eyes from the pages before me.
"Ugh. I know we're over halfway there, but there's only so many push-ups I can do in a row until they're boring too," my friend said.
"Goten, try to look at both the pros and cons of the situation," Gohan interposed from where he sat across from me, with a much larger book. Goku had fallen asleep elsewhere, so it was currently just the three of us together.
"Pros and cons?" the younger sibling groaned. "If you're about to say any variation of 'spending time with family' as a pro, I will hit you."
Gohan mouth quirked into a grin as he set his book aside. "Actually, I think after months of preparing on Earth, it's quite the opposite of that for some of us here."
"I guess that does have a bit of truth, if you're talking about the fact that my mom – and especially my grandmother – enjoy trying to smother me every chance they get," I added with amusement.
"Yeah, and you don't even have my mom," Goten said. "I mean, I thought she'd given up pestering Gohan about grandkids, but I think he rekindled her obsession by finally getting married. I almost feel sorry that my new sister-in-law couldn't come with us."
"Oh, Mom's not that bad. Besides, I doubt she'd make time in her day just to call Videl and bug her about whether or not we're having kids yet," Gohan countered.
Even though I already knew she was a lot different than my own mother, I still found Chi-Chi's values surprised me at times. I couldn't recall my parents ever really bringing up the topic of me having children – not even to ask if I'd want them in the future (regardless of what was expected of my station).
"I guess so," Goten conceded to his brother, "but on a related note, I'm still wondering why you wanted to come with us so badly. 'Course, you have, like, a robot arm now, but you only trained for a couple months and that was before Bulma made you the prosthetic. Plus -"
Gohan lifted the aforesaid metal appendage in a gesture to make his brother pause. Then, the older half-blood lowered it into his lap, almost like he was inspecting the replacement limb for flaws.
"Believe me when I say I have good reason to be here. Until I get my real one back, this arm is... like a reminder, I guess. I lost something close to me because I was indecisive – because I wasn't strong enough," he said, eyes flicking to his brother. "For now, I'm sure you can accept that alone as an adequate reason."
I remained silent, and surprisingly, Goten did too. Although, perhaps the conversation had drifted too close to something I discovered he didn't want to talk about – his death. When it had been brought up before, he'd often give very simplistic or deflective answers, so I suspected he might've felt some level of shame over it. However, even if I could tell my friend was covering up his emotions, it didn't mean I could make him tell me what they were. Since I'd experienced my fair share of grief over his loss, I figured he didn't owe me an explanation unless he wanted to give it.
However, I felt that once we were home, all the pieces would start coming back together again.
We would be there soon, back under the red sky. And hopefully, Father – or at least some trace of him – would be there too.