CHAPTER TWENTY

Author's Note; I am back dear readers! I apologize for taking so long to update with the next chapter, I had written it quite early on in the year but before I had the chance to upload it my computer died on me. Thankfully I was able to save the hard drive and therefore all my files, and so here is long-awaited chapter for you all!

I realize that a lot of you may find this chapter strange and off-track to the actual story, but trust me, there is a big reason this has been written and is here. You'll just have to wait and see why. I tried my best to make it as OOC-less as possible, fingers crossed I succeeded.

I hope most of you will continue on with my story and remember, reviews are very much loved! :)

Bulma walked along the darkening street, pulling her large jacket tightly over herself as the chilly night air brushed across her face. She hadn't expected the meeting to run so late, and she was thankful that Trunks was spending the night at the Son's, at the insistence of Goten. Bulma was glad that Trunks had such a good friend, he found it hard to make friends with other children, mostly because of his superior strength, as well as the air of arrogance he had inherited from his father.

Bulma smirked, she knew just where Vegeta would be. In the gravity chamber, training harder than ever. It had been six years since she had convinced him to return to his fighting, and he had not once returned to his defeated state. It was a horrible memory that Bulma had of that time, Vegeta had seemed so different, as if his soul had simply disintegrated.

But he had been convinced in training Trunks, which had turned out to be lucky as Chi-Chi had decided to teach Goten martial arts. Bulma wasn't sure if it was because of Trunks' own fighting abilities, or that Goten resembled Goku so much, right down to the personality. Bulma enjoyed Goten's cheery demeanour, it reminded her of her younger days, travelling around the world with his young father in search of the Dragonballs.

These days, Bulma just felt old. She knew that she didn't look it, most people were amazed to find out her true age, but she could see the bags that were under her eyes, the lines that were beginning to etch into her face. She was grateful that her hair remained blue, and she was yet to find a grey hair, but she knew that was down to the fantastic genes she had inherited from her mother.

Her son was growing bigger every day, and stronger. Sometimes it amazed her that Trunks had once been a baby with chubby cheeks, but the many photos that adorned the halls of her home proved otherwise. One picture stood out to her the most, it was one she had insisted on taking, of the older Trunks posing with his baby self on his lap.

She would often catch Trunks looking at the picture with awe, it fascinated him that an older, different version of himself had been amongst them even before he had been born. "Is that really me, mom?" he would ask Bulma when she joined him, and she could only nod. "I sure do look strong, huh?"

The future Trunks had visited a few times since, but always very discreetly. Being around himself had been alright when he had been a baby, but now that Trunks was seven, it was dangerous for the two to meet. Still, Bulma enjoyed the conversations they shared, and finding out what he had been up to. The last time he had visited, over a year ago, he had revealed that he met a girl, another fighter, and they were planning to get married.

"What about you, mom? When are you going to settle down?"

"What do you mean? I have settled. I have your father, and I have you. What more do I need?"

"Do you think you'll ever get married?"

Bulma had been rendered speechless, she hadn't known the answer to that question. Sure, she sometimes had the fantasy of walking down the aisle in a big white dress, but she was also very aware that weddings were not exactly Vegeta's sort of thing. She was pretty sure he didn't even know what a marriage meant.

She was content with how things were, and she knew that Vegeta would never stray, and that neither would she. That was enough.

So lost in her thoughts, Bulma failed to notice the pair of men that followed her, hidden under large black coats and hats that covered their faces, one short and one tall. "Are you sure that's Bulma Briefs?" the short one whispered to the other, who nodded. "Positive. Blue isn't exactly a common hair colour." the tall one muttered, and they quickened their pace, before reaching out and grabbing the startled woman, knocking her out with one blow to the back of the neck before she had the chance to scream.

Vegeta wandered around the empty halls of Capsule Corporation, feeling an unusual sensation of boredom settle in his mind. The doctor and his wife were away on a vacation, an attempt to rid themselves of daily stresses, the doctor especially. Trunks had gone to stay with Kakarott's mate, to spend time with the child that seemed to be a more annoying version of Kakarott himself, and Bulma had been summoned to speak for her father at an important meeting.

Walking into the kitchen, he felt his stomach rumble and glanced up at the clock. The sky was already dark, he wondered when Bulma would be home. She had promised to return in time for them to have a nice dinner, and some 'alone time' as she had put it. Vegeta smirked. He knew exactly what she had meant by that.

Since Trunks was much older, Vegeta and Bulma found it harder and harder to get some time to themselves, and their son had an annoying knack for barging in at the worst times and constantly forgetting to knock.

Moving closer to the window, Vegeta looked out over the city that was now lit up with millions of lights. The meeting had most likely run longer than expected, Bulma had warned him that it was quite possible and a regular occurrence. Still, something about it seemed off, and Vegeta felt himself growing worried.

Deciding that standing around waiting for Bulma to return home was a waste of valuable time, Vegeta returned to his gravity room. After managing to destroy yet another gravity chamber – unintentionally, of course – Bulma and her father had decided to build Vegeta a permanent gravity room located in the house, near Bulma's laboratory.

Closing the door behind him, Vegeta walked over to the control panel and set the gravity to 600 times that of Earth. As the room grew hotter and the air thick, all of Vegeta's thoughts and concerns set themselves in the back of his mind as he set about a series of high punches flying kicks.

"What's...what's going on?"

Bulma opened one eye groggily, trying to remember what just had happened. She'd been walking home, that she was certain of, when suddenly she'd heard loud, quick footsteps behind her and then been hit on the back of her neck, which was now throbbing as a reminder.

She went to lift one hand to rub it, before realising that she was unable to – her hands were tied behind her back tightly with thick, scratchy rope, as well as her legs as she sat on a chair. As Bulma began to panic, she looked around, trying to figure out just where she was. Her surroundings were not familiar at all, but from the large area and thick metal walls, she assumed she was being held in an abandoned warehouse.

"Hello, sleeping beauty. Nice to see that you're finally awake."

Bulma looked to her left to see two men grinning evilly at her, one rather tall and thin, the other shorter and round. "I hope you're comfortable." the tall one teased, approaching her. Bulma could see the malicious glint in his brown eyes, the yellow stains on his crooked teeth, making her shudder as he came even closer.

"What is it that you want from me? If it's money, then it's yours if you let me go." she bargained, trying to keep her voice calm. The short one scoffed. "If we let you go, then you will go straight to the police. We will be getting your money, however." he nodded to the taller one, who continued. "Shortly, we will be calling the notorious Dr. Briefs and demanding a ransom for your return, or else we will kill you."

Bulma gulped. Her parents were on vacation, but she wouldn't dare let them know that. If their plan was to go wrong in any way, there was no telling what they could do to her. "And so what happens when the money is handed over? I just go home and forget this ever happened?" she asked, fidgeting on her chair nervously.

The tall one smirked. "Oh no. Even if the money is handed over to us, we still plan to kill you."

Trunks stood up, looking around him warily. "Trunks, what's wrong?" Chi-Chi asked him, setting down her chopsticks as she looked at him with concern. Goten paid them no interest, instead concentrating on finishing the rather large bowl of egg noodles that sat before him. "Something's wrong." Trunks stated, furrowing his lavender eyebrows together.

"Is somebody in trouble?" Chi-Chi inquired, trying to figure out just what was going on. "I...I don't know." Trunks admitted, sitting back down in his seat. "I just know that something is not right, I can't explain it." he sighed, picking up a dumpling and devouring it quickly. Chi-Chi sat back in her chair, looking between her son and his friend. "Well if you need my help in anyway, you just let me know, alright?"

After dinner Goten and Trunks went to play in Goten's bedroom, noting a certain absence. "Hey, where's Gohan?" Trunks asked, looking around the room. He hadn't seen the older boy since he had arrived that afternoon, being dropped off by his mother as she made her way to an important meeting. Goten sat on the bed. "He's in mom's room, studying." he replied, looking slightly put out. "That's all he ever does now, he doesn't even play with me anymore."

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Studying? For what?" "A test, mom said. He wants to go to a school next year, and he has to pass a test to get accepted." Goten explained, looking bored. "Schools are yucky. Why would anyone want to go when you can spend the day outside, climbing the trees and swimming and playing with all my animal friends!" he exclaimed, jumping up on the bed.

Trunks smiled, but it faltered. Goten caught this, and moved off the bed towards his best friend. "Trunks, what's wrong?" he asked, his big dark eyes curious. "Somebody's in trouble." the lavender-haired boy said softly, looking towards the open window before turning his blue eyes onto Goten.

"And I think it's my mom."

Bulma could feel the beads of sweat dropping down her face as her heart pounded on her chest. These men were planning to kill her, no matter what happened. What she wouldn't give to be able to reach Vegeta somehow, to tell him what was happening so he come and save her. She'd tried sending him mental messages for the last half an hour, screaming at him in her head.

The men approached her once more, this time with a phone in the tall man's hand. "Time to give daddy a call." he mocked, looking at a piece of paper as he dialled the number for Capsule Corporation. Bulma shut her eyes tightly, and wished with all her being that for the first time in his life, Vegeta would pick up the phone.

Back at Capsule Corporation, Vegeta stopped mid-punch, his ears picking up the sound of the phone ringing in Bulma's laboratory. All sense told him to answer it, but he decided that it was probably no-one of significant purpose, and Bulma never called, knowing he wasn't too fond of phones. He stood still for a moment as the ringing continued, then continued his training when it stopped.

"No answer."

Bulma let out a sigh, willing herself not to cry from the intense despair that filled her body. The men looked at her, obviously altering their plan. "Well, it looks like no-one is home. What now?" the short one asked the tall, who furrowed his brows together. "We go through with the alternate plan. But before we kill her, why don't we have a little fun?"

Bulma's eyes widened as the short one smiled. "That sounds good." he replied, approaching her and running one finger along her jawline. Bulma glared at him before moving her head away from his hand and then proceeding to bite it as hard as she could. "Aargh! Crazy bitch!" he exclaimed, pulling his bloodied finger out of her mouth.

Smirking, Bulma spat his blood from her mouth at him, satisfied when it landed on his shoes. The tall man however, was not impressed, and hit her across the face, knocking Bulma from the seat and making her fall onto the hard floor. "That wasn't very nice." the short man sneered, moving her back onto the chair and raising his thick eyebrows at his accomplice.

The tall one nodded in reply and produced a long white scarf, before approaching her and tying it around her head, making it an effective gag. Bulma tried to scream, but it didn't work, much to the men's satisfaction.

"Now, this will teach you to try and bite me." the tall one sneered, hitting her face again, this time from the other side. Bulma closed her eyes, trying to block out the violence that was due to occur to her, feeling the many blows to her body as she tried her hardest not to show any sign of how much it was actually hurting her.

She was losing consciousness, and from the feel of things, quite a lot of blood. All she wanted was to be saved. Or to see Vegeta one last time. And Trunks, to see his grinning face once more.

"Mom?"

Bulma opened her eyes, which was difficult as one of them had just been hit. She knew she was losing it, she had heard Trunks' voice, and now here he stood before her, his blue eyes shocked and yet furious. Was this all a dream? It was becoming increasingly hard to tell.

"Hey brat, what do you think you're doing here?" the short one shouted, and it was then that Bulma realised this was no dream, her son had actually come to her aid. His lavender brows furrowed together, and he crouched down ever so slightly, legs apart, fists clenched tightly. "What did you do to my mom?" he screamed, his hair floating around his head, and Bulma swore she could see flashes of gold throughout it.

The tall one moved closer to him, followed by the short. "It's none of your business, kid. And now that you're here, it looks like Mommy's going to have some company on her...trip." he jeered, but his words did not faze Trunks at all. Bulma on the otherhand, realised just what the men were implying. She tried to scream, but the scarf muffled it out.

Trunks let out an almighty scream, and the warehouse flashed gold, Bulma staring in awe at her son as he stood before her, his hair golden, his eyes teal.

Her seven-year old son had just become a Super Saiyan.

Realising that he was preparing to take on her two attackers single-handedly, Bulma struggled to get her hands free and protest. Suddenly a pair of hands appeared from behind her, placing themselves around her mouth. She struggled harder. "Please stop moving, Miss Bulma." a small voice spoke, and Bulma realised that it was Goten behind her.

He quickly untied the scarf, and then proceeded to untie her hands and feet. Overwhelmed with emotion, Bulma fell to her knees and hugged the young boy, who was bewildered. "You're a good boy, Goten." she whispered, finding talking hard to do with the damage down to her mouth and jaw. Goten blushed and looked at the ground, before the pair turned their eyes to Trunks.

He was advancing upon the attackers, the determined look on his face disturbing Bulma greatly. Never had she wanted to see her son like that, especially when he was so young. Goten rushed towards him, his own ebony hair turning gold too. Bulma stood up shakily, holding out a hand.

"Please, stop, they're only children!" she pleaded to the men, who were aiming guns at the two Super Saiyans, but they simply ignored her and fired. Bulma watched in horror as the bullets began to fly towards her son and his friend, but they caught each bullet with ease, before dropping them on the hard floor.

"That was a big mistake, mister." Trunks frowned, looking between the two men as their mouths gaped open. It was then that Bulma realised the true extent of the impending fight, and that there men were no match for the boys. "Trunks, you are not a murderer!" she cried out, as Trunks held a ball of energy in his hand. He looked at her, and for a moment Bulma thought that all hope was lost, until he powered down into his natural state, Goten following.

Bulma breathed a sigh of relief, standing up once again, not realising how weak her legs were. She wobbled and then fell to her left, and closed her eyes from impact, but it never came. Instead, strong hands caught her, and she turned her face up to see the identity of her saviour.

"Vegeta."