Chapter 1 - Introductions

As Gohan struggled to find the right words to describe the situation, a very confused Bulma, Goten, Goku, Mirai Trunks and Vegeta slowly took in their surroundings. They were in a white room with buzzing, whirling and blinking machines lining the walls. Wires were hanging down from the ceiling, making the room seem like some mad scientist's unfinished basement. Behind them was a large screen that covered most of the wall. In front of them and behind Gohan there was a large door, sealed tightly. Vegeta appraised it, wondering how much effort he'd have to expend to blast it open, and whether or not such a blast would injure any of the other occupants (though he would never admit he was concerned for their safety). Next to the door was a panel with various controls that even Bulma was at a loss to understand.

Finally regaining his wits, Vegeta walked over to Gohan, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him a full foot off the ground. He put on his most menacing look (which was admittedly pretty menacing). "What is the meaning of this, brat?" he demanded.

Gohan put his arms up in defense, though the gesture meant nothing with his feet hanging limply. "Whoa! Calm down Vegeta!" Gohan said, unsure of how to react. Honestly, he knew this whole thing would eventually lead to him being on the receiving end of Vegeta's temper, but he had thought he'd make it past the five minute mark at least.

Man, that's Vegeta? Bulma thought, drooling over the older version of the Saiyan Prince. I mean, I always thought he was cute, but NOW… he's totally HOT! She blushed when she realized she had mentally been undressing him.

There's no way that's Vegeta, Goku thought. He inspected the odd-looking, familiar, short man with the unfamiliar haircut, then looked at the odd-looking, familiar, tall man being held by the collar. His ki feels about the same, though much stronger. I guess… it could be Vegeta. But I never thought Vegeta would cut his hair…

Mirai started giggling, finding it very amusing to see his father in that odd outfit with the weird haircut. What did Mom do to make Dad cut his hair and get new clothes? Would've LOVED to see THAT fight.

Goten merely cocked his head to the side, wondering what was going on. Why was Uncle Vegeta being so mean to his brother? Why was his hair so funny? Why was Trunks so tall? Why was there an older verison of him there? He didn't even bother wondering about Bulma's unusual hair style or clothes. Goten was used to her changing her appearance drastically.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and finally put Gohan back on the ground. Gohan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well?"

"Well what, Vegeta?"

"Where am I and what am I doing here?"

Gohan instinctively smiled his innocent Son smile and scratched his head, then immediately stopped when he remembered how much that always infuriated Vegeta. "Um well… funny you should ask that…" Vegeta growled, indicating that it was very much NOT funny. Gohan stopped smiling, coughed slightly, and then continued in a much more somber tone. "Well, honestly, most of you aren't supposed to be here."

Vegeta turned around, almost as if just now realizing he and Gohan weren't the only ones in the room. He had noticed them before, but hadn't really paid much attention to them. As he looked over the small crowd, he mentally took note of who was present. "Explain."

Gohan sweatdropped. This was going to be awkward… "Well, um… you see… Bulla asked me to bring you guys here… Actually, Vegeta, you're the only one that is actually supposed to be here. I was supposed to bring you, Bulma, and Trunks here. Oh yeah, and my Dad, just in case. Bringing Goten was just an accident."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "But you did bring me, the woman, the brat, and Kakkarott here."

Gohan laughed nervously. "About that. . . Um, Vegeta, take a good look at them. . . Notice anything. . . Unusual. . . ?"

Vegeta turned around to again look at the four others behind him. He hadn't noticed anything out of place before, but then he had only taken a quick glance. He raised an eyebrow and turned back to Gohan with a quizzical look on his face. "I see what you mean."

Bulma, finally finding her voice, decided to ask a few questions of her own. "Okay guys, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" She then pointed to Goten and Gohan. "Who ARE you two?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed. Leave it to her to make a scene, he thought, forgetting that he had had Gohan by the collar just a minute ago. "This is Gohan," he said, pointing to the man next to him. He then pointed to the runt in the corner. "And that is Goten."

Goten, upon hearing his name, finally came into action. He ran to Goku and hid behind his feet, peeking around to see if he was actually hidden. "Hey!" Goku yelled in surprise, nearly falling over.

"Oh wow," Bulma said, ignoring Goten. "You're Gohan?" She walked over to Gohan to get a better look. After a few moments of studying Gohan's nervous features, she smiled and said, "Yep, you're definitely Gohan."

"What did I just tell you, Woman?" Vegeta mumbled under his breath.

"Well then, Gohan, are you going to explain to us why we're here?" Bulma said politely, ignoring Vegeta.

"Um, well. . . You see. . . Bulla. . . She asked me to bring you here. . . You, Vegeta, Trunks. . . and my dad."

"Who's Bulla? And who's Trunks?" Bulma asked, totally confused.

Vegeta was annoyed by how Gohan was explaining things. At this rate it would take forever and he'd NEVER get back to his training. He'd already wasted enough time at that infernal mall. He stepped forward, cleared his throat loudly to get Bulma's attention. "Bulla is MY daughter. Trunks is YOUR brat."

Mirai Trunks fell over both from hearing his father's explanation and from the realization that he had a sister. Goku and Goten were confused. Hey, Trunks didn't say anything about having a sister… the two thought in unison.

Okay, this is WEIRD… First I'm sucked into this weird place where there's some random adult Gohan and this weird – albeit hot – future Vegeta. And now I find out Vegeta has some random daughter in the future. Wild…

"VEGETA!" Gohan yelled, shocked and mortified.

"What?" Was he actually completely clueless or did he enjoy making things difficult? Probably the latter.

Gohan sighed. It was hopeless. How Bulla ever roped him into this… "Nevermind…" Gohan cleared his throat, about to resume his explanation, only to have Vegeta beat him to it.

"That," he said, pointing to Goku, "is Kakkarott, as you know. Based on his energy level, I'd say he hasn't even faced the androids yet. That," he pointed to Mirai, "is Trunks, the boy from the future. Based on his energy level, he was probably heading back to his own timeline to defeat the androids there." He pointed back to Goten, who was still trying to hide behind Goku's legs. "That is Goten, Kakkarott's younger brat." Goten ducked back out of sight.

Does he ever shut up? Gohan thought. With that crummy explanation, I'll have even more to explain…

"Wait a minute…" Bulma said, looking at Mirai Trunks. "You said Trunks is my son, ne? And you just said that the boy from the future, him, he's Trunks." Vegeta nodded, confirming what was so obvious to him. Bulma raised an eyebrow. "And Trunks is part Saiyan?" Vegeta nodded again, starting to become annoyed, but humored her with a level of patience reserved for only three people in the entire universe. Bulma sighed, then said, "I don't even want to know."

Vegeta smirked wickedly at that. I'm sure you WOULD, actually.

"Gohan, why are we here?" It was Mirai, speaking up for the first time.

Gohan smiled, glad at that Trunks didn't inherit his parents' rude behavior. "Well, as I was saying, Bulla asked me to come." Then he added quickly, before he could change his mind, "And so did Goten."

Goten looked up at hearing his name being called. Goku and Goten had already been in the middle of a conversation.

"Goten?" Vegeta hissed suspiciously. "Why would they both want you to speak with me, the woman and the boy?"

Gohan sweatdropped and tried to smile. How the hell did Bulla rope him into this? "Um… well…"

Mirai stepped forward, trying to spare Gohan from whatever bad news he was about to deliver. "Gohan?"

"Yeah Trunks?" he asked, eager to avoid answering Vegeta's question for as long as possible.

"Yeah, Trunks?" Gohan said, eager to avoid answering Vegeta's question.

"Uh… what exactly happened? I mean, you were supposed to bring the other me here, ne? And my mom from the same time as you brought… Vegeta, ne?" Trunks didn't feel comfortable calling Vegeta "Dad" or "Father." Neither of them had ever gotten used to it back when they were fighting the androids, and this version of Vegeta looked noticeably different from the one he'd spent all his time with. Now it would seem a little more awkward. I mean, some guy from another timeline that looks like your son calling you dad? It was kinda weird.

"Yeah. And I was supposed to bring Dad here from the same time."

"Well, you did get it pretty messed up if you brought us." Trunks paused. "Wait, why would you want Goku here, too?" Whatever little "family meeting" was being orchestrated, it didn't make sense to involve Goku in it.

So much for saving me… Gohan thought bitterly. Well, I'm trapped in that corner again… Geez, how did I let them talk me into this? Stupid pity… SIGH I may have spared THEM from Vegeta's wrath, but what about ME? How can Dad restrain Vegeta like he was SUPPOSED to if he hasn't even fought Cell yet? Well, best to just ease into it…

"Well, it's a… it's a long story, really…" Gohan said as he began to explain the situation…