Author's Note: I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the unbelievable amount of time it has been between postings. Life just got…crazy, if not slightly out of hand, to the point where I forgot that I even had stories to update. Things have seemingly smoothed out, but I make no promises. I am, however, very sincerely sorry.
/\/\/\
Trunks sat in front of the small house he was staying in, playing with the grass with his toes. The sun had been up for barely an hour, and he had been awake that entire time.
He had gotten up at half past five, in Goten's bed, and felt like he had to get out of there before anyone else got up. He loved hanging out with Goten, and his family had always been nice to him, but if they gave him that sad, "Poor Little Boy" look again, he wasn't sure that he could keep from killing someone.
So he had snuck out just before dawn, heading for what he was hoping was only a temporary bedroom for him. He knew that there would be hell to pay when everyone else woke up and discovered that he wasn't where he was supposed to be, but he didn't care. He needed air, he needed space, he needed to think of anything but the hell he had been going through for the past month. He figured he would just sneak in, then just explain to his dad later. He expected to get in a bit of trouble, but he was ready for it.
What he hadn't been ready for, though, was watching his father get home at the same time.
The two simply looked at each other for a minute before Trunks broke the silence. "So are you going to explain why you were out all night first, or do I have to explain why I'm not where I'm supposed to be first?"
When Vegeta glared hard at the boy, Trunks just rolled his eyes. "I needed space," the boy simply stated.
"I was at Capsule Corp," Vegeta shot back.
Trunks raised his eyebrow. "Call it even?" he asked, not bothering to hide his hope.
The elder prince contemplated for a moment before agreeing. While he certainly didn't approve of his son sneaking out, he honestly didn't have the energy to punish him at the moment. "Proceed unpunished," he responded.
The boy smiled up at his father and began heading for the house, but found himelf blocked by his father's arm. Hesitantly, he looked up. "You changed your mind and I'm a dead man, aren't I?"
Vegeta shook his head. "Not yet, but if you really want me to..."
"No, I'm good!" Curiously, he tried to figure out his father. "Dad, what's up?"
The elder prince held no emotion on his face as he spoke to his son. "I spoke to your mother last night," he bluntly said. "She is aware of her relation to you and would like to see you later this morning."
Trunks blinked in surprise. "She...wait...what?"
"She is aware of her relation to you and wishes to see you later this morning," he repeated. "Do you wish to be there?"
The nine year old was more than slightly shocked. "Um, yeah, I guess. I mean, of course!" A giant grin broke over his face. "Mom knows that she's Mom? This is awesome! We can go back home, Dad! We're going back home! I'm going to go..you didn't say that we were going home, did you?" he sadly realized. "You were talking about a visit, and Mom still doesn't know who I am, huh?"
"Do you wish to go or not?" Vegeta asked again.
Trunks shifted his gaze to the ground, watching the early morning sunlight reflect off the morning dew. He really didn't think he could stand another day of talking to a mother that didn't remember him. It was too hard. Far too hard. Didn't he deserve one day off from the hell that his life had become? Hadn't he earned just one day of not having to deal with his seemingly shattered family issues? Couldn't he spend a single afternoon just carefree and being like any other kid?
But his mother wanted to see him, so that meant that she wanted to get the family back together...didn't it? So if he agreed to go over, maybe he could help jog her memory. After all, the biggest secret was out in the open, so he could tell her anything, couldn't he? And if he was going to go over, his dad would have to go with, and if his mom and dad spent a lot of time with each other, then even if his mother couldn't remember, his parents could still get back together, couldn't they? After all, they had fallen for each other once...why couldn't they do it again? Then this entire nightmare could end...
Slowly, Trunks began to nod. He knew it was going to be hard, almost unbearably so, but if would get his family back together..."I'll do it," he whispered. "I'll go."
Vegeta only offered a small nod in return. "Be prepared to leave by 9:45," he answered, turning to the house. He hesitated before glancing back at the boy. "Aren't you coming in?"
Trunks shook his head. "Actually, I think I'll just stay out here, Dad...alone."
And that's where he stayed, playing with the grass with his toes, waiting and hoping.
***
"I cannot believe that you didn't tell me I had a son," Bulma hissed to her parents. It was almost ten in the morning, and if anything, her mood was even worse. She had been up almost all night, trying to figure out just how the hell she had ended up in the situation she was in. What could possibly have led her down that path? What could have possessed her, ten years ago, to even attempt something with Vegeta, let alone settle down with him? Why, why did it have to be Vegeta of all people? Waking up to find out that she had hooked up with Krillen would have been easier for her to digest than Vegeta. And that was saying something for her!
For the first time since she had come home from the hospital, her memory loss was causing more frustration and anger than worry and curiosity. No one was telling her what she needed to know, and as she thought about the conversations she'd had with her friends, it was very likely that they honestly couldn't. It seemed that the only people who had ever known what really had happened were herself and the Saiyan, and even that list had been cut in half.
So there she sat, exhausted, frustrated, angry, and very confused. The idea of waiting for a visit from her son still seemed to be a bit much for her to process. She had secretly hoped, when she had found out that twelve years had passed, that she'd had the sense of mind to have a family. While she couldn't remember actually vocalizing her desire, she had definitely been jealous when Goku had popped up that day and announced that he had a son. She had yearned for a child of her own, and during the night, it had dawned on her just how lucky she was that she already had one. At forty years old, the chances of her successfully having a healthy child were drastically diminished.
But having to see her son, a child she honestly didn't know, like a parent who had lost a custody battle…that was not part of her dream. And with no ring on her finger to tell her otherwise, she was fairly certain that her child was not born in wedlock. Which was just as well, since she still hated the idea of being anywhere near the Prince of Saiyans, let alone being stuck with him for life.
"Oh, honey," Bunny softly said, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "you know that we were only looking out for you."
Bulma glared at her mother. "By lying to me?" she accused.
The blonde shook her head and waved a finger. "Now, now, dearie, it's not like we told you that you didn't have a child, is it?"
The heiress growled and stomped across the kitchen, snatching angrily at the coffee pot. "No," she fumed, pouring herself a scalding cup of much needed caffeine, "you just removed photos from my photo album, and I'm guessing redecorated the house, and probably my room, to make sure I couldn't find out!"
Blinking in surprise, Bunny tapped her lip with her index finger. "Now how did you figure out that we changed your room?"
"Because everything is exactly as I remember it, and I like to change things up every few months," Bulma responded, violently shoving the coffee pot back in its place.
"I told you she would figure it out," Dr. Briefs calmly said, sipping at his drink and not looking up at all from the newspaper.
The younger woman's anger suddenly turned on her father. "How can you be so calm about this?" she demanded.
The good doctor didn't even offer his daughter a shrug. Instead, he just calmly turned to the next page. "Because, sweetheart, there isn't anything for us to be worked up about. We've known the boy all his life, and until your terrible accident, we saw him almost every day."
"But this is a big deal for me!" Bulma cried out, slamming her cup on the table and spilling a few drops in the process. "How are you not worried about how this is going to go? How are you not even a little bit concerned about how terrifying this is for me, and probably for Trunks, too? I mean, if Mom suddenly forgot who I was, and I was going to go talk to her, I'd be scared out of my mind!"
"Well," the elderly man said, folding his paper in half, "I suppose you do have a point there. After all, the poor boy has been through so much lately, and you haven't exactly been yourself around him…I suppose that he would be nervous."
Bulma blinked at her father's words before turning red with anger. "I'M NERVOUS TOO!" she screamed, fisting her hands at her sides.
"Oh, Bulma, you're a grown woman," her mother responded, dismissively waiving her off as she opened up the pantry. "We don't doubt for a minute that you'll be able to handle it. But just think about what that poor boy has gone through in the last month. Finding out his mother has been in an accident, worrying that she was going to die, finding out she doesn't remember him, having to move out in order to protect her…it's an awful lot of stress for a nine year old to be under."
For the first time, Bulma really contemplated what it must have been like on the other side of the accident. She had been so wrapped up in her own issues, just as anyone else would have in that position, that she hadn't really thought about what her son was going through. Granted, she had only known that she had a son for about ten hours, but she still hadn't tried to put things in his perspective.
"I guess this has been hard on everyone," she muttered, finally sitting down at the table.
"Especially on those two," Bunny softly said, mixing up batter at the counter. "They've been so, so worried about you…"
Bulma looked curiously at her mother. "They?" she asked. "Who is 'they'?"
"Trunks and Vegeta," Bunny answered, slightly confused. The bubbly blonde thought it was a bit odd that her daughter always seemed to forget Vegeta unless she was angry, but she supposed that it was just due to the stress of the situation. "They've never stopped thinking about you."
Bulma looked down into her coffee cup, finally noticing that she had spilled some of it during her earlier tirade. Instead of cleaning it up, she began to trace the liberated drops around the table with her finger. "I had an actual relationship with him, didn't I?" she softly asked.
"And a good one at that," her mother quickly responded. "I've never seen anyone make you as happy as he did."
The dark liquid blended in with the dark finish on the table as Bulma continued to trail her fingers through it. "I don't understand it," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "He's a monster. He's a killer. How…just…how?"
"Sugar, not even the gods know that one," the blonde stated in a matter of fact fashion. "I mean, your father and I suspected you two were up to something for a while, but you kept insisting that there was nothing there. The next thing we know, he's off in space, you're telling us your three months pregnant, and…"
"Hold up," Bulma interrupted, a horrified look on her face. "Vegeta left when I was pregnant?!?"
Both of her parents froze. Neither of them had really expected to have to talk about that part of the relationship with their daughter yet.
It was no secret to anyone that Bulma and Vegeta had a very, very rocky start. Their initial relationship, so far as anyone else could tell, had been nothing but meaningless sex that ended with an unplanned pregnancy. Their no strings attached relationship suddenly had one very, very big string in it, and neither of them had handled it particularly well. Their fighting went from somewhat playful to downright vicious. One night, during a particularly bitter fight, she had screamed at him to get out of her life. What she hadn't been ready for was his literal take on her words. She had told him to leave, and he had done just that.
At least, that was the version that her parents had eventually gotten.
"It's not exactly like it sounds, princess," Dr. Briefs slowly began, trying to approach his daughter as logically as possible. "There were a lot of complicated factors, such as…"
The poor man didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the back door opened and Trunks walked in, followed by his father. Bulma was on her feet in an instant. She strode with determination to the Saiyan, and with every ounce of strength she could muster she slapped him across the cheek.
Vegeta had not been prepared at all for the attack, and while his cheek didn't necessarily hurt, his head still had snapped to the side.
The sound resonated for several seconds in the otherwise silent home, and everyone stood watching, horrified as they waited for whatever would come next. They had all seen the two of them fight before. Hell, they'd even take bets on who would win. But never, in the ten years that the two had been together, had they seen such hatred.
"You son of a bitch," she hissed, fisting her hands at her side. "You worthless son of a bitch!"
Trunks immediately felt the sting of tears in his eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all...they were supposed to be getting along and being a family again...
Vegeta's head remained facing sideways as his mind desperately tried to process what the hell had just happened. He had, by no means, expected to be treated nicely by her. He had, though, expected some level of civility, if nothing else for the sake of their son. While they hadn't exactly left on good terms the night before, he still found no logical explanation for her attack.
"This was the agreed upon time," he eventually said, slowly turning to face her. He felt slightly ridiculous saying that, since he knew that wasn't the reason for her wrath, but he couldn't come up with anything else at the moment.
"I don't give a fuck what time it is, you bastard!" she yelled at him. "I cannot believe that I was actually starting to think it was possible that I might have had a relationship with YOU!!!"
Trunks bit down on his lower lip, trying his hardest not to cry. He was standing directly between his parents, and he could have sworn that he could physically feel the tension pressing down on his young shoulders. The reunion he had been so desperately hoping for was slipping further and further away from them. "Please…" he whispered.
Vegeta opted for a slightly different approach. "If you insist on doing this in front of your family," he growled, slightly moving Trunks to the side, "then at least have the common courtesy of letting me know what, in theory, I did wrong!"
"Don't do this," Trunks softly pleaded, looking from parent to parent.
Bulma huffed and shoved her hands onto her hips. "You've got some nerve, you asshole, thinking you have any right to be with me, let alone my son," she growled.
Trunks' lip began to quiver. His heart began to race and he felt his entire world crushing down on his shoulders.
"For a genius, you really are an idiot," Vegeta fought back, tired of being blamed for whatever the hell it was he was being blamed for. "He is just as much my son as he is yours!"
The boy began to slightly tremble.
"I want you to get out of my house," the heiress demanded, waiving her arm dramatically. When Vegeta didn't move, she began to stomp her foot, screaming, "Get out, get out, GET OUT!"
Trunks slammed his eyes closed and tightly covered his ears. He couldn't stand to hear any more of it...he couldn't stand to see them hating each other...it was too much...too much...
Vegeta glanced down at their son, and to him, the fight was instantly forgotten. "Woman, now is not the time…"
"The hell it isn't!" she shouted back. "You left me, you asshole! You abandoned me while I was…" It was at that moment that Bulma finally looked down at Trunks. She lost all the color in her face, and her heart leapt to her throat. She had been so caught up in the fury of having been abandoned while pregnant that she had somehow blocked him out, and the guilt of that immediately began to consume her.
Vegeta had dropped to his knee to get eye level with their son, a slightly worried look on his face. "Look at me, boy," he softly said, placing his fingers underneath Trunks' chin. When the boy didn't respond, Vegeta tried to guide his head in the right direction. "Trunks, I need you to look at me right now," he gently commanded.
But Trunks couldn't hear him at all. His eyes were screwed shut, his ears were blocked off, and all of the screaming and yelling and hatred that had just happened pushed him beyond his limit.
Bulma's eyes widened as the ground began to shake beneath her feet and a strange golden light began to surround her son. Blue waves of what looked like electricity seemed to be striking around him, and even she could remember what powering up looked like. Her worry picked up as she realized that it was her fighting that had pushed him to that limit.
Her panic level skyrocketed when she noticed that her parents and even Vegeta seemed genuinely worried about what was happening. Vegeta didn't get worried. Vegeta never got worried. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
"Shit," Vegeta muttered, getting to his feet. Not even sparing a glance at the others, he called out, "Lock us in!" as he grabbed the boy and bolted from the room.
The next few minutes almost blurred before Bulma's eyes. Her parents literally dropped everything, spilling coffee and pancake batter all over the floor, as they scurried up the stairs. In the distance, Bulma could hear the anguished wail of her son, quickly followed by what sounded like an extremely heavy door being slammed shut. Racing after her parents, she found herself in the security room, staring at countless monitors that kept a constant eye on their property. Her father's old fingers flew deftly over several buttons, and the red words "Exterior Lock Engaged" suddenly lit up the board.
Every screen in the room suddenly functioned as one large one, and Bulma was struck by the image before her. No sound could be heard, but the image came through loud and clear.
Vegeta and Trunks were in a room that Bulma though looked an awful lot like the inside of the spaceship they had been building for Goku before Namek. Trunks was on his knees, eyes still closed, ears still covered, but now screaming wildly. Vegeta was also on his knees, gripping his son by the face and saying something over and over again to the worked up boy. Only a few seconds later, Goku and Gohan seemed to appear out of nowhere, both looking extremely worried. Vegeta seemed to give them a command, and the other two nodded. Goku disappeared again, and Gohan began to say something. Vegeta never let go of Trunks, but began trying to lock eyes with the boy.
The nine year old thrashed violently, his eyes snapping open and his arms tensing off to his sides. Bulma watched in horror as she realized that even though his eyes were open, it didn't seem like he could see or hear anything. Vegeta's grip visibly tightened, and Gohan dropped to his knees, grabbing Trunks by the shoulders and saying something into his ears.
Not a moment later, the entire compound rocked violently. The three humans in the control room held their breath and watched in silence as the mute screen showed them this child's raw, uncontrolled power.
There, before their astonished eyes, the nine year old ascended.
Trunks had surged into Super Saiyan 2.
Inside the chamber, Vegeta fought to get his son to see him. Both he and Gohan were trying to siphon off as much energy as they could, trying desperately to keep him from going too far. They could only do so much, though, and the boy didn't seem to be slowing down his ascent at all.
"Look me in the eye, boy," Vegeta firmly commanded. He knew that if he could establish real eye contact with his son, he could bring him back down, or at least get him to control his power. He would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid at that moment. Vegeta had seen more than one warrior push themselves to total destruction by letting their power get the best of them.
He'd done it himself.
"Focus, Trunks," Gohan whispered, trying to calm the completely overwhelmed child. "Can you focus for me, kiddo?"
As Trunks continued to scream, Vegeta's patience ran out. "Damn it, where the hell is Kakarot?" he shouted at Gohan.
"Here," Goku panted, having just reappeared. Swiftly, he handed a capsule to Gohan. The teenager wasted no time in getting the syringe out of it and plunging it into the child's thigh.
The boy screamed for a few seconds longer before his eyelids fluttered. Almost as abruptly as the ascension had started, it ended. Trunks' eyes rolled up in his head, and he passed out on the gravity room floor.
As soon as he was sure that his son was subdued but otherwise fine, Vegeta got to his feet and punched Goku in the chest. "What the hell took you so long?" he shouted.
"I…I'm sorry, Vegeta," Goku sincerely apologized, rubbing his very sore chest. "I got the senzu bean just fine, but when Krillen tried to hand me a needle…I just…I froze…"
"If you had frozen for ten seconds longer, my son would have died!" the prince shouted back.
Gohan took a large step back, pulling the unconscious Trunks with him. His father really did have a crippling fear of needles, but he had to agree with Vegeta that only a few seconds longer would have been too long. Perhaps he should have gone with his father instead of staying behind. But if he's done that, then Trunks could have passed his physical limit earlier and just as easily destroyed himself. Either way, Gohan didn't want the two purebloods to start fighting over it.
"What happened?" he calmly asked, trying to ignore how hard he was breathing. "Dad, Goten and I were out behind our house when we felt the power spike."
Slowing his own heavy breathing, Vegeta remembered what had triggered the anxiety attack that had pushed his son beyond safety. Slowly, he turned his head and glared at the video camera. While he knew he was partially guilty and certainly hadn't helped the situation, Vegeta knew that he was not the one who started off swinging for the fences. For three weeks he had wanted nothing more than to have Bulma be safe and happy.
At that moment, those wishes died.
Dr. Briefs recognized the look his son in law was giving, and he disengaged the exterior lock. With a fury that most of the Earthlings had never seen, Vegeta stalked to Bulma's energy. Throwing the door open, he closed the gap between them faster than she could see. Bunny and Dr. Briefs took their cue and got out of the room as quickly as they could, closing the door on the way out. They knew their daughter was not in any physical harm, but they also knew better than to be anywhere near them.
Bulma suddenly felt afraid for her life. Even her memories of Vegeta never showed anywhere near the amount of anger he was displaying at that moment. The heiress hadn't meant to upset Trunks, she really hadn't. In fact, she had barely noticed he was there until he…
Bulma paused mid thought. She hadn't noticed that he was there. Her own son, who she fought for ownership of, had been in the room, and she hadn't seen him. She had been so wrapped up in her anger at the moment that she had brushed the boy aside, forgetting him as anything more than another thing to possess. The guilt ate at her, and she wanted to badly to apologize.
But Vegeta was not going to let her. "Listen, bitch," he started, "I find it ludicrous enough that you're getting mad at me for something I did ten years ago, let alone that you would attack me with no warning over such a thing. But so help me, if you ever do something like that in front of my son again, I will make sure that you regret it for the rest of your life. The boy and I have done everything that was asked of us, all for your sake, and you knew that. We told you that last night. And you dare to act as though this has all been about you? Well guess what, princess," he sneered, pushing her against the wall. "I'm done. I'm done worrying about you, I'm done putting up with your bigotry, I'm done worrying about what you think of me…I'm done."
As he stormed out, Bulma couldn't name the emotion that filled her. She hadn't considered herself in a relationship with Vegeta. In fact, she would have done anything to prove that she wasn't attached to him. But the way he seemed to wash his hands of her…all for one fight…was it betrayal she felt? Guilt? Loneliness?
Silently, she slumped against the wall and slid down. This was all wrong. This wasn't what her life was supposed to be like. Her body began to rack with her sobs as behind her, on the large screen, Vegeta gathered up his son's limp body and left.