I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.

Chapter 45: Memory

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me anything about what you were doing up at the lookout?" Lenz asked over the noise of the waterfall.

"Nope," Verto said simply as he floated next to her and Piccolo.

"Figures."

"If I felt it concerned you right now, then I would. It doesn't," Verto claimed.

"When will it?"

"Quiet girl! Your excessive whining is starting to annoy me! Another word and you'll find out what real training is!" Piccolo grumbled.

"Oh please! I went through his training and it was easy! How hard could yours be?" Lenz dared to ask. Piccolo's glare seemed to stop the water momentarily, but it continued flowing when he suddenly smirked.

Verto stifled a laugh, "I hope you realize what you just did Lenz. How long is boot camp going to last?"

"To be fair, I think we should both train her over a long period of time. Mostly in areas she needs improvement in, such as patience, of which she has none," Piccolo suggested.

"We'll take turns then. This isn't something I want to rush into since I don't feel like I've figured everything out for myself yet. No point in hurrying someone else through the process. Tell ya what, I'll go home and grab a capsule house and we'll stay out here most of the time. It will cut down on distractions, you don't need anymore of those!" Verto claimed.

"You and me, alone out here?" Lenz asked as she grinned.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I won't be available everyday or night. I have my own training to do and neither of you can be involved with that," Verto said as he looked away, catching Piccolo's eye.

"What about Vegeta? You know he won't approve of this," Lenz pointed out.

"I'll deal with it. If he doesn't like it, he can kiss my ass," Verto said simply.

Piccolo chuckled, "I can recall a time not long ago when you wouldn't dare tempt Vegeta's wrath. Now it's becoming a daily habit."

Verto nodded, "He'll have to get over it. This is not his area of expertise after all."

"Would you care to repeat that boy? Surely you don't possess the gumption to defy my policy!" Vegeta growled.

"You heard fine the first time, general," Verto mocked.

Vegeta snarled, "You want your way, then you know what comes first! That goes for the girl as well!"

"We did that already. It involved you getting your ass kicked and me turning into a monster. You want to see that again?" Verto countered. Vegeta grumbled something inaudible and didn't answer.

"Besides, you can't train Lenz for something you don't know of yourself, just like you couldn't train me. And I don't plan on keeping away all that often. I'll be here for your precious sparring sessions on occasion. Just not every day," Verto compromised. Vegeta only glared back before Bulma finally stepped in.

"The way he's acting, you'd think he were an adult again," Bulma pointed out.

"You can blame the Zerg for that," Verto retorted.

"Yeah, I suppose so. I have no objections to this as long as you aren't gone for months at a time. Even I understand that you kids need your privacy space, right?" Bulma asked with a tight grin.

"It's not for that," Verto frowned back.

"Sure it isn't, but I'd bet you're almost a teenager now, so you're capable of it. Here's a nice capsule house with a big hot tub, but you'll have to come back for more food. That is unless you plan on hunting and cooking it yourself," Bulma noted.

"Probably not. Lenz isn't that great a cook, and you know Piccolo usually doesn't even touch food," Verto said.

"Well good, just don't use that as an excuse to come home!" Bulma said sternly.

Verto took the capsule from her, "Thanks I won't."

"Good, if you two need anything, either call or stop by. Aren't you going to take her some clothes?" Bulma asked.

"I'll let her do that herself. Besides, we won't need to worry about torn up clothes with Piccolo around, and the risk of it is extremely high as it is," Verto added.

Bulma's grin returned, "Are we still talking about training, or something else that's pretty intense?"

"Very funny, maybe in about five years that joke will be valid," Verto glowered.

"Wow, planning to start that late eh? Well I don't think you'll last that long with Lenz around," Bulma claimed.

"I said maybe, see you later," Verto said as he departed. As he was flying away, Trunks watched him go from his bedroom window. He bore a saddened expression for the moment, but seemed to think of something and picked up the nearest phone.

"Hey Goten, you wanna have some fun tomorrow? I have an idea…"

After sending Lenz for her own things, both she and Verto were winding down for the night, though Verto had more on his mind.

"Tell me something Lenz," Verto began.

"I thought you already knew my measurements?" she asked.

Verto grimaced, "Not that, I can guess those. What do you know about any special abilities your people have? Are they like the mutations we've been seeing in others?"

Lenz's eyes popped open in surprise, "How did you know about that? Were you reading my mind or something?"

"No, but thanks for confirming it. Now what do you know about them, and what can you do?" Verto asked again.

"As far as I know, all of our special abilities are somewhat random, and not normally found in a Saiyan, or so I was told. But it's not supposed to be the Saiyan blood that causes it, it's supposed to be Rotarian in nature."

"Let me guess, partially based on emotions?"

Lenz scowled, "How do you do that? Guess right every time?"

"Trade secret. Not that it was hard to figure out in the first place, you're softer than I am," Verto claimed.

"Whatever. It's supposed to depend heavily on any particular emotion at the time, until it's mastered of course. I'm not really sure what my ability is. I thought it was supposed to come around during the teenage years, but there's been some that have never discovered theirs and some that have it before age three!"

"Never tried very hard have you?" Verto asked.

"Well I thought for a few years that maybe it was like an extra powerful persuasion, but these have done that most of the time," Lenz claimed as she grabbed at her chest.

"Yeah, I've noticed. What kinds of abilities have you seen?" Verto asked while trying not to stare.

"That's the confusing part, it's a lot like the special humans we've seen. While I don't know what my immediate family could do, I do know my cousin could make it rain when she was upset. Her father, my uncle, could affect plants and vegetation. Sure was something to see a full season of fruit grow ripe in an hour," Lenz claimed.

"I'll bet. Well I don't plan on pushing that issue unless it comes up, no use trying to master what you aren't familiar with. Same reason I'm not letting Vegeta train you right now."

"What about this Psi energy you claim I have? Could that be it?" she asked.

"It isn't a claim if it's accurate, it just took me awhile to notice. It is a little hard to notice anything else about you other than your ass and those two watermelons," Verto snickered as he pointed.

"Hey! Wait, is that a compliment or an insult?" she pondered.

"We have a lot of work to do if you couldn't tell by now. Anyways, that Psi energy might just be starting to make itself known, so I'm not surprised that you can't feel it. It might be what your special power is, but I really have no idea since I haven't met any other Rotians," Verto added.

"Fine, teach me how to use it," Lenz said.

"We'll get to that. First, I want you to work with Piccolo on patience and meditation. You won't get anywhere if you can't calm your mind and search within yourself. It'll be similar to your training at King Kai's place, but less physical. Don't worry, we'll train you in a way that allows you to understand things easier," Verto assured her.

"Bulma said that you actually had to transform to that silver form before you could ever even use your blue sword," Lenz pointed out.

"Twice by her count, and yes I did, under extreme duress. It was simpler that way since we didn't have much time, but that didn't mean that I was ready for it. I didn't even get the training until much later due to circumstance. Until that point, it was all trial and error," Verto admitted.

"You mean when you were with those Zerg creatures I've heard about?" she asked.

"No, it was after that. I could use Psi energy during most of that mess, but I wasn't allowed to train with it much. It was… complicated," Verto replied carefully.

"How will I be any different then?"

"Have I let you down yet when it comes to potential? You didn't seem to think you could ever be a Super Saiyan now did you?" Verto asked as he put a comforting hand to her shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I'll give you one little hint for after your efforts under Piccolo, it won't do you much good until then. Use your ki to help you locate and drag that excess power to the surface. Trust me, it will help until you have it figured out. Good night."

The very next day, a large forested area was disturbed by two fast blurs rushing through it. The dark blue blur beeped slightly, and pulled out a small device as both ran towards a nearby mountain.

"Are you sure about this Trunks?" Goten asked.

"It's perfect! With that girl around, Verto never has any time for us anymore. We'll use the Dragonballs to send her back to her own people!" Trunks proclaimed.

"I thought their home got blown up by one of the bad guys?"

"Yeah, that's why there's two wishes dummy! We'll use the first one to wish them back!" Trunks pointed out.

"Oh, I knew that," Goten said quickly.

"Come on, it's just up there, near that cave!" As the two approached, they noticed a small encampment just outside of the cave entrance. It was of very basic design, featuring a tent, table, chair and a small fire. The table looked like it was being used as a workbench, and there were various objects scattered about.

"Does someone live here?" Goten asked. Trunks didn't answer, but double-checked the dragon radar and saw the location of the Dragonball was moving.

"Check it out! Whoever is here has the ball inside the cave!" Trunks said. Goten stepped towards the entrance, unsure of it at first.

Then he took in a deep breath and shouted towards the dark opening, "Hello in there! We're looking for the Dragonball!"

"Goten, don't tell them what it is!" Trunks rasped.

"You boys get on outta here!" a voice answered from the cave. A tall but slim man with a gruff, raggedy beard emerged, shotgun in hand.

"Uh, we were just leaving…" Trunks said as he stepped away.

"I said get!" the man shouted. He fired a shot off, shattering a potted plant that was on the table as Trunks ducked out of the way.

"Hey! That could have hit me!" Trunks yelled back.

"That was your warning shot! The next one won't miss!" the man declared.

"Take it easy!" Trunks suggested.

"What's with this guy? He seems mad about something," Goten pointed out. The man aimed and fired at the bewildered Goten, who caught the shell easily.

"Why are you shooting at us? We didn't do anything to you," Goten added. The surprised man was too overwhelmed by the fact that Goten was still standing to answer. Trunks didn't bother waiting and quickly rushed forward, knocking the shotgun away.

"What's your problem?" Trunks asked.

The man stuttered for a moment, "How did he survive that?"

Goten shrugged, "I dunno, maybe your bullet is too slow."

"Don't you know who we are?" Trunks asked.

The stranger looked genuinely confused, "Should I?" Trunks promptly turned Super Saiyan, and his quick release of energy blew the stranger down.

Upon the second look, he had a sudden recollection, "Right, one of those golden fighter kids."

Trunks relaxed and powered down, but didn't let up on the stare down, "About time you old fool!"

"Well I don't care who you are, I'm not going back! You'll have to kill me first!"

It was Trunks' turn to be confused, "Go back where? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me you tiny punk! I know the police must have sent you out here to find me. How else would you have known exactly where to look?" the man claimed. As he was speaking, he didn't notice Goten sneaking up to him from behind. Goten reached into the man's coat pocket and retrieved the orange object inside.

"All right, I got it Trunks! The three-star ball!"

"Give that back you brat!" the man shouted as he swung towards Goten. Goten dodged away from the older man's arms, landing next to Trunks.

The man grabbed his shotgun and aimed, "Give it back now!"

Trunks smirked, "What's the point? You already know that won't do any good!"

The man's hands started to shake just slightly, "Please, just give it back!"

Goten stared at the orange orb in question, "Why do you like it so much? Did you have a wish you wanted to make?"

"It's all I have left of her, please!" he begged. At this point, the man had dropped his shotgun and sunk to his knees, openly weeping before the boys. Trunks' eyes narrowed sharply, though Goten didn't know what to make of this.

"Trunks, can a Dragonball be part of a human?" Goten asked.

Trunks face faulted, "No, stupid! Don't be ridiculous!"

"Dragonball? That's what the ball is called?" the man asked.

Trunks nodded, "So who was she? Your wife or daughter?"

The man sniffled slightly, "Wife, we had just married. She found that stone over a year ago when it suddenly fell out of the sky, shortly before the Zerg invaded. She could tell it was special from day one, even though I didn't believe her. Then, a few months ago, it turned into that. She found out she was pregnant on the same day. She thought it was a sign from the heavens that our baby would be a special one. How stupid I was to believe it." The man continued to sob lightly as the skies began to sprinkle a few raindrops.

"So, what happened?" Trunks asked.

"Whatever that ball is for, it's valuable enough to kill for. She gave it to me two weeks ago for me to protect. When I came home the very next night, I found her lying in a pool of her own blood," the man admitted.

"Is that why you're hiding out here?"

"Partially. Whoever killed her planted evidence pointing to me. After all, I am a former marine. If I ever find out who did it, I'll avenge her, I swear it!" Trunks stared at the ground for a moment while Goten was chasing a nearby rabbit.

Trunks sighed slightly, "If we help you find out who did this, can we keep the ball?"

"You already have it, and it's pretty much common knowledge that I wouldn't be able to stop you. But if you can find and prove who's guilty, you can have it with my blessing," the man said.

"It's a deal then, my mother always says you should compromise to get ahead," Trunks said.

"Smart lady, I'm Marcus Satsu."

"Trunks, and that's Goten," Trunks pointed as he and Marcus shook hands. Just as he did, Trunks suddenly became very dizzy and his vision blurred. Barely a second after it did, it warped into a fuzzy gray image of Marcus and a woman. The woman was handing him the Dragonball.

"Take care of this Marcus, I feel it will be safer away from me and the baby," she claimed.

"They may come after me then, but that's fine. You know I can take care of myself, actually I prefer it this way. Don't worry about me Catalina," Marcus replied.

"Oh you marines and your macho-attitude!" Catalina said in a playful matter.

"Former marine, I retired remember?"

"Which was barely four months ago, you still got it in you hot shot!" The two kissed and the image flashed white. Before he knew it, Trunks was staring at his hand coming away from Marcus' own. Trunks jumped back by reaction as his head seemed to clear up.

"Something wrong kid? I know my handshake isn't that firm, and I doubt you would feel it," Marcus pointed out.

"Uh, no. Just got dizzy for a second, used to happen all the time around new people. Nothing wrong here," Trunks lied. He stared at his own hands as Marcus was gathering his things up. What was that, Trunks asked himself. Goten walked up from behind, a tad curious to Trunks' lack of movement.

"Trunks?"

Trunks sighed heavily, "It's nothing. Tuck the Dragonball away, this might take a little awhile." Goten nodded and helped Marcus put out the smoldering coals as Trunks stared off into random emptiness. What the hell happened to me?

Next time on DBV: Trunks and Goten travel back to Marcus' hometown to help him investigate his wife's murder. It isn't long before they realize that there are others searching for both Marcus and the Dragonballs, and a scramble for the magical orbs begins with both old and recent foes.