"Oh, um, not sure what to tell you.." A big grin came over Gismo's face.
"Just jokin," he said laughing a bit. In a normal circumstance he would beat the hell out of him for playing such a joke, but he didn't really favor Gismo's mother. "So where is Trunks at man? We haven't seen him in a really really long time."
"Good question," said Vegeta, "kinda figured you guys would know where he is." They walked into Therese's nightclub, Haven, and sat down near the dance floor. "Last time I saw him was before he left for the past."
"Yea, that's the last time we saw him too," said May.
"What are you guys up to these nights?"
"Oh you know, same old same old. A war recently broke out between Therese and Bertrum, he is laying underground last I heard."
"Pfft, that's nothing new," said Vegeta, not all that shocked.
"Mary spends most of her nights alone," said Gismo.
"She says she wants to be left alone most of the time," joined Marianna.
"Mary shut us all out and unhooked her phone from the cord," finished May, "we see her every once in a while but when we go over to talk to her she just ducks from us or makes up excuses to leave. I think she is really heart broken."
"Has anyone asked if she knew where Trunks was,' asked Vegeta.
"I did once," said Marianna, "she just looked really sad and said 'he's dead' then stalked off."
"I don't think he's dead," said May looking down at the table, "I think he just likes it better there then here. We all know that that time line has more to offer him then this one does. He went there and had a chance to get comfortable, find another girl, settle down and have a family. He couldn't do that here."
"May," said Marianna sympathetically putting her hand on her friends back, "I'm sure there is a good reason for him to be gone so long."
"Her reason was a good reason," snapped Gismo now feeling depressed, "who's to say he will ever come back. What if she is right. He found a place to actually call home there."
"Don't say that," Marianna snapped back, "Trunks would never just up and leave us. He has a great job as a bounty hunter for his sire and he loves his job, his friends and family are here, this is his home!"
"Who would want to come back to a place like this and call it home," yelled Gismo now standing up, "he had a job he loved, people he loved, but he also was a thief, a scrounger, he felt like a burden on us most of the time, not to mention that this place must have driven him farther off the deep end then this other place probably did."
"Or maybe," said Marianna slowly standing up, "Mary was right and he did get killed!" That was it, May lost it. She burst into a sob, Marianna and Gismo where now arguing with each other and half the club was listening in to the new drama. Vegeta looked around and finally stood up.
"Knock it off," he shouted. Silence spread over the shaken table. "there is a possibility he chose to stay, and if he did we need to leave him be there, if you love something then let it go but never hold it against them! However, there is also the chance that he did die! In that case we will not sit around this table after 10 fucking years so you two can scream at each other and make May cry! Stop it now or take it outside. I suggest you just drop it before you make May more upset cause then I will be really PISSED OFF!" The two slowly sat back down and stayed quiet. Vegeta sat down as well and focused on the drink a waitress set down in front of him. They where right, it had to be one or the two, why else would he still be there….unless. His head lifted suddenly.
"What if the war wit the androids is still going on there!?" The others looked at him in shock. Why had they not thought of that before.
"Oh my god," said May wiping the tears from her face, "we need to go help. If this war has been waging for that long we need to go help them end it!"
"No," ordered Vegeta, "we will stay right here. This is his fight and we will not get involved. There is nothing more insulting to a saiyan then having there match interrupted. Vegeta stretched his arms and rested on the seat a bit.
"I need to go to bed," he said solemnly, "I have a meeting with the other primogen in the morning."
"Yea, I need to go to bed to," said Marianna, "I really don't like the sun light much."
"I didn't feed enough to walk around in daylight," said Gismo, "guess I should head home to."
"Hey Vegeta," said May, "can we come home with you." Vegeta looked around the table. They looked back at him, he could practically see the longing to go home with 'dad'. He huffed a bit then nodded his head. The three jumped up and hugged him.
"Hey, hey, hey," he snapped, "get off me all of you. You can stay this one night!"
"Remember the last time you told us that," said May with a broad grin, "we ended up being over there three to four nights straight."
"Well this time I mean it. You are all almost 100 years old and you should be capable of handling yourselves now. You don't need to be feeding off of me anymore."
"Yea," said May jumping up and down.
"You know we aren't actually going to leave you alone anymore don't you," said Gismo eyeing Vegeta.
"Yea, I know that, damn, I'm starting to miss those ten years already." He got up from his drink and walked outside. "You guys call up Nikkei Matin, Jezebel, and Mary. Tell them to head to CC."
"Mary isn't answering her phone, remember," said Marianna pulling out her phone.
"Yea, but leave her a message, or two…or three…maybe four or five." Marianna nodded sadly. "Tell them all they can stay the night but everyone leaves first thing in the morning!" Marianna smiled a bit and called everyone up.
Vegeta signaled a cab down and loaded the kids and himself inside. "Where to," he asked.
"West City," he said sitting next to him while the other three where in the back. The man just nodded and drove them to their destination. When they arrived Nikkei, Matin, and Jezebel all stood on the porch already. They saw Vegeta walk out of the car and practically attacked him with love. Vegeta was slammed against the cab receiving hugs, excited talking, a lecture from Matin for being so closed up, and 'welcome home' from everyone. He took them all inside and as if nothing had ever changed, Jezebel, Marianna, and Nikkei all went into the kitchen and started pulling out food, a large bottle of human blood, and put on music and started making food for all of them.
Nikkei, a black girl in her green halter top, hand stitched long brown jacket, and dark khaki pants with green flip flops , green eyes, black long hair held up in a half bun was the Tremere. Tremere were masters of blood magic and she was a genius at thermography. Jezebel was a Toreador who had black hair, and unusual characteristic sense almost all Toreador where red heads, she had on a spaghetti strap that said Totally Touchable cross the chest, with the playboy bunny tattoo on her left breast, a short plad skirt, and high heeled lace up boots, just as sluty as ever.
Matin was a Gangrel like Gismo, his hair use to be bright pink, now it was long dirty blond with dread locks. He wore a red track shirt, blue baggy jeans, and white shoes. He now sported a tattoo of a Mayan symbol on the back of his neck he was rather proud of. May was the only other Ventrue there and Mary, who was sadly not present was Brujah. Vegeta felt a ghost of a smile on his lips. As much as he hated to admit it, he missed them, all of them. It is understandable, he did practically raise these kids, he actually raised these kids as if they were his own. He deeply missed having them around to annoy him. They played old songs they liked to listen to back in the day and danced and laughed with each other.
I get knocked down from chumbawa, Why don't you get a job from the offspring, Rehab from Amy Winehouse, Seven nation army from White Stripes.
For the first time in a long time Vegeta actually felt happy and content. He felt relaxed to have them all under one roof again under his watchful eyes. He had always kept track of them, kept them under his ki radar as often as he could, but it was better to have them all collected right there. Maybe it was just his lack of age but he realized that he didn't want them off in the world alone just yet.
Of course they were all capable of caring for themselves, that was obvious, but there was still so much Vegeta could guide them through that he never did. He shook the thought, he figured it was just the loss of his son making him feel this way. Mounts of food was put in front of him and he took it all down as fast as he could. He felt starved, he hadn't had a meal this good in a long time.
Finally it was time for them all to go to sleep. Vegeta waited for them to all one by one go to bed. After they all left he got up and did his long lost routine. He first hit the living room. Marianna was crashed out on the couch with the TV going. He then wondered to the back room where Jezebel lay asleep on the bed. Up the stairs to the first bedroom that had two beds. In the first was Matin, in the second was Gismo. Vegeta scowled a bit, they should have let Marianna have one of the beds and one of them should have been on the couch, he would have to get onto them for that one.
Next room May lay sleeping soundlessly to the sound of the radio in the next room. In that room, Nikkei lay sprawled out all over the bed. Vegeta chucked to himself and pulled out his cell phone and took a picture, he would have to text it to her one of these days.
He finally trudged into his own room and started packing a bag. He then slowly walked down the hall and down the stairs with a time machine capsuled in his hand. There was no way he was going to return without his son unless he had a family and life there or he was in fact dead. As he reached the back yard he noticed Mary standing there next to the garden that had been dying there.
Vegeta's mother-in-law had originally owned that garden, until one day Trunks had been saddened by the dead plants and started caring for it himself. It was turned from a garden of assorted flowers to a garden with use. It use to have a pumpkin patch, Belladonna, deadly night shade, a banana tree, which took a lot of hard work just to get it to grow, an apple tree, and orange tree, tomatoes, and other strange, tropical, and edible plants. Vegeta never asked Mirai what the purpose of some of the plants where, like the nightshade and the belladonna, he figured it was best he didn't know.
Now it sat as a dead neglected graveyard. Where colorful plants and trees once resided now was a waist land of dead plants, weeds, yellow grass, trees with no leaves leaning in the most pathetic way you can imagine. Mary seemed to be staring at the death trap that was once a heavenly get away for anyone who just wanted to relax and smell the sweet smells lingering together, especially when the melons where just right for picking.
"He really did work hard on it," she said softly. Vegeta was relieved her Irish accent remained. "I never quite understood why. But I look at it now and realize that he did it because he loved this place. He wanted a place that wasn't surrounded by death and grief. Our home turned to Hell so he put a piece of heave on it." She smiled a bit. Vegeta just stood there and listened. "He was quite brilliant for a 13 year old you know."
"Yea," said Vegeta, "he did work hard on it and was very brilliant for his age."
"You never told him he was," she said now turning her head to look at him, "he wanted to show you once and you just blew him off and said he was wasting his time on it."
"I know," said Vegeta softly, "I said a lot of things I regret now. Didn't realize how much he actually did until he was gone."
"That's usually how it works. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get him," he said firmly now.
"And if he is dead?"
"I will wish him back."
"And if he is happy where he is, suppose he hasn't come home because he doesn't want to come home?" Vegeta fell silent. He popped out the time machine and climbed him. Mary watched him start up the machine and waved him goodbye. He just looked at her. Then he was gone. "Be careful," she whispered, "I don't know what I would do if we lost you to."
………………………….
A little reminder of the people Trunks wants to come home to. A better look at Trunks's personal friends as well. See you in the next chapter.