Chapter 069 - Precious Time Spent
The setting sun's warmth was of little effect compared to the cool air brushing past them as the group of three travelled across the skies headed westbound. The sun was a warm orange as it started to vanish behind the horizon before them.
"My father did what?" Trunks asked in disbelief, his jaw falling rather far from the rest of his face.
"He must have been really angry when Cell killed you," Yamcha spoke with a mixture of awe and disbelief, though he could be certain he was not the only one who'd bared witness to the amazing sight. "He attacked Cell without any thought for his own safety. He put everything he had into it!"
Trunks turned to face the setting sun ahead and smiled to himself, "... Dad did that... for me?"
"Guess so," Yamcha nodded. "Little-miss Super Saiyan did something pretty wild of her own too! Her power just skyrocketed up for a second before dropping back down! I'm not sure what it was but it was wild!"
"It did? What were you doing then?" Trunks looked over to his sister, noticing the absent look on her face. Corset didn't respond, she didn't even seem to have heard the two men's conversation turning to her. This was unusual in itself; Trunks knew from experience with his older sister (the Corset from his timeline) that any mention of her name or person would instantly grab her attention. She had to be pretty swamped inside her own thoughts to have not heard them. Something was troubling her.
"Hey listen, this is where we part," Yamcha butted in. "I'll see you two tomorrow." With that he parted ways with the two demi-Saiyans.
Trunks slowed down a little; Corset'd been flying behind them the whole journey. Trunks hadn't seen the look on her face until now, it worried him a little.
"... Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.
This time she realised someone was addressing her. Corset seemed to jolt from her thoughts and looked at him surprised, "Oh, i-it's just that I was thinking about Goku's death..." She lied.
"... Yeah?" Trunks mused looking away, not entirely buying her response but also not wanting to pry. He did genuinely feel awful about Goku's death, even if it hadn't been because of the heart virus. Instead he'd done something noble, just as he'd always been led to believe by his mother, sister and former master in his own time. "... He was a hero in every way, just like mother told me... I mean the mother we have in my time!"
Corset pondered Trunks' last sentence. It was true, the mother he had in his own time was also her mother, although putting it that way made it sound far more complicated. She wondered if there were any differences between their respective mothers.
"... What's our mama like in your time, Trunks? What does she look like?"
"Uh, well she looks pretty much how she does in this time; her hair's longer though. When it comes to personality, mother's just as smart and feisty as here."
"Oh, ok then..."
There was a rather long pause between them. Corset's thoughts quickly turned back to her former trail and started to eat away at her for quite some time. It seemed like an eternity of awkward silence had passed until she finally spoke out.
"... I'm gonna miss you when you go back," Corset frowned. "You're the first brother or sister I've had that I can actually talk to."
Trunks seemed to be a little surprised at first but this quickly turned to a more sombre and thoughtful expression. "...I'll miss you too." He paused for a moment before continuing. "...What about my present-self – the baby version of me?"
"I can't talk to him... or rather, he can't talk yet!" Corset answered rolling her eyes a little at the last part of her sentence as if it had been obvious and unnecessary to point out. "It's just that... I know Gohan's just like you and me but there are some things I can't talk to him about and feel he understands whereas I feel I can do that with you. I... I don't really like saying this but... but I'm a little jealous of you..."
"Jealous? Why?" Trunks asked baffled but genuinely intrigued.
Corset was already embarrassed and fragile from admitting her jealousy of her brother but it pained her more than anything to tell him why. If anyone would understand it would be Trunks. "... Dad trained with you... He's always said no to me."
"... Yeah, I think I know what you're getting at," Trunks sighed, "... You know, even though I spent a whole year with him in the Room of Spirit and Time, he never once offered to spar with me or train together. He always stood alone; if I ever tried to approach him he'd tell me to get back. In reality I didn't get to train with him, just in his company."
"That's still further than I've ever gotten," Corset frowned. "It's like he likes you more because you were a Super Saiyan. I wasn't when you and dad went to train. I feel like he thinks I'm a weakling and not worth his time to train..."
"... I'm not so sure that's what he thinks," Trunks mumbled choosing his words with caution. "...Come to think of it, why wasn't dad at the lookout with the rest of us? Did he fly off as usual?"
"I think so, I passed out before he left so I assume he went somewhere else." Corset nodded, "I'm sorry for bringing this up. Maybe I'm just being silly!"
Up ahead the skyline of West City was fast approaching. The tall skyscrapers quickly blocked out the circle of fire eliminating the city in a strange and eerie red glow, the light reflecting off the buildings of metal and glass. Home wasn't too far away now and soon the large yellow dome with Capsule Corp written across it was visible. Without any more words the two siblings descended and landed upon the main pathway leading up to the main entrance. The two passed through the main doors whispering about how they would deal with their mother's reactions if and when they bumped into her. As they passed the main desk, Corset waved politely as the receptionist greeted her and Trunks. Immediately she and her brother headed upstairs into the living areas of the building.
"Hey, we're home. Mama, Grandpa, Grandma!" Corset called. "... Anyone?"
"Oh, is that my darling granddaughter's voice I hear?"
Mrs Brief appeared from around the corner of the living room doorway looking as cheery and chirpy as always. "Oh, and I see you brought that boy again! Trunks was it? I can't believe you're really our little Trunks from the future! You're quite the looker too!"
"Grandma, that's your grandson..." Corset raised an eyebrow grossed out at her grandmother's strange affections.
"Aww what's wrong with complementing your grandson?" Mrs Brief chortled. "Now would you both like anything to eat or drink? How about some of the lovely cakes I picked up earlier today?"
"I'm surprised there were any stores open today," Corset mumbled, "Grandma, did you see any of the broadcasts on the television?"
"I did! I saw you all there with Cell." Mrs Brief nodded. "Oh, that's right, the reports cut out at one point so we don't know what happened. I guess everything's alright since you're both here! Where's your father? Is he alright?"
"Dad's out somewhere," Corset answered. "Where's Mama?"
"She went to go and watch the broadcasts over at Master Roshi's place," Mrs Brief replied. "She called about an hour ago to say she'll be here soon."
"We'd better brace ourselves then," Trunks chuckled.
"Yeah, she'll be asking a lot of questions." Corset agreed feeling just as nervous as her brother!
By the time dinner was being cleaned up, Bulma arrived home along with baby Trunks. Naturally she was screaming her two children's names as she sped down the corridor, finding them both in the dining room and squeezing them both as hard as she could! "There you are! Oh good, you're both ok." Bulma sighed, frantically giving her children a quick check before stepping back. "Hey, where's your father? Is he ok? Did something bad happen?"
"Dad's alright, he took off somewhere once the fight ended," Trunks replied.
"That sounds just like him," Bulma exhaled seemingly calming down, although her lips curved downwards. "... Is it true... about Goku? Master Roshi said he couldn't sense him anymore..."
Corset frowned and looked away from her mother; she had never been good at telling anyone about the death of a friend and she couldn't bear to see the look on her mother's face. She hadn't even told her mother that she'd died against Freeza; no one except those who bore witness to that event knew of her death!
Bulma's heart sank as the news slowly sinked in, slowly she sat herself down upon one of the chairs. "... I see... Poor Gohan... Poor Chichi..."
"... Gohan beat Cell, he blasted him with a gigantic Kamehameha," Corset changed the subject. "He was really strong. He surpassed Goku when we were training and I didn't even notice it! Cell didn't stand a chance against him!"
"Wow, so Gohan really saved us? He's just like his dad," Bulma smiled sadly. "Saving the world and being a hero must run in the family. Too bad they won't be recognised for it."
"Why?" Corset asked clueless as to what her mother was referring to, as was Trunks. Without saying another word Bulma rose from the chair and strode into the living room next door, switching the television on. Immediately reports were shown of Cell's defeat – there was a moving headline board scrolling across the bottom of the screen. The name that came up shocked and disgusted Corset.
Mr Satan defeated Cell. The television channel streamed 'Satan defeated Cell' and 'Satan the hero of Earth'.
Anger began to boil up inside of her as she clenched her fists. "That's not true!" She spat furiously, "That idiot never stood a chance! Who does he think he is claiming credit for things he didn't do?"
"I know... It's not right," Bulma grunted, "but at least this way Gohan and Chichi don't have to live with news reporters constantly outside their house... or at least that's what I've been telling myself!"
"That's just not fair! He was a weakling!" Corset wasn't letting this go easily, a small glint of animosity shimmered in her eye, something which did not go unnoticed by her brother. Trunks quickly intervened and grabbed onto one of his sister's fists.
"It's not fair but it'll protect Gohan and all of our identities," He replied in a calm voice, though he too was disgusted inside.
Bulma turned to her son, "So what now, Trunks? You came here to learn about the androids..."
"Oh, right. I plan to go back to the future tomorrow and get some rest tonight – if that's alright with you," Trunks replied.
"Of course it is," Bulma smiled at her future son, baby Trunks looking at him and reaching out. "Hey if it wasn't for you – or for myself building that time machine – the Earth now would be just like your future. We're both heroes!"
"Well if you're going in the morning then we should try to spend as much time as possible together," Corset decided grabbing onto her brother's gloved hand, "Let's do something fun! We haven't really had the chance to have fun since we've been fighting androids."
"Um... ok," Trunks hesitantly nodded. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well we can watch TV – wait, no... All they'll be showing is that jerk..." Corset pondered, "B-But we can still do other things like play games. I don't know what kind of games consoles they have in your time but the ones they have now are pretty awesome in their own right! I've got the latest consoles and games which we can play. What genre do you play? We have fighting, RPG, racers, shooters – you name it we have it!"
"... Why don't you pick," Trunks mumbled with a chuckle, "... You know you didn't really change in the future."
Corset stopped as something came to mind. Thankfully Bulma had taken little Trunks into the kitchen no doubt to feed the boy, so as far as Corset was concerned this was the best time to ask. "... Um... I know this is a sensitive topic for you Trunks but... I wondered how did I die and when – I mean in your time. I know you told us before but you kinda missed out that part..."
Trunks seemed to sombre up as he thought of what Corset assumed was a painful memory. After a while he spoke, "... Well it wasn't long before Gohan's death, I'd say a couple of months between you both," Trunks mumbled. "You went to do some shopping in one of the nearby cities since West City was short on supplies. Gohan and I sensed you power up but by the time we got there it was over."
There was more to it but Trunks didn't want to risk telling her about it. He couldn't change the future in this respect, although part of him thought he already had by helping them defeat the androids. Perhaps it would work out in this timeline too, even with the absence of the androids.
Corset frowned and looked down at her lap, "... That must have been hard on you and Mama."
"Gohan too," Trunks nodded, "You were best friends and the only survivors of the original fight when everyone else died..."
"I guess so," Corset muttered. "... Well at least now you can finally take down those androids from your time."
Trunks smiled at his sister and turned away, nodding a little. Tonight would be the last time he would be able to interact with his sister probably ever so he was going to make sure the two of them got to talk as much as possible. Tomorrow he would return to his time and would destroy the two androids that had been terrorising his world.
He was ready.