"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our disposition, and not upon our circumstances." -Martha Washington

I remember it all so vividly, especially the day it all truly began.

With the day coming to a close, the sound of rustling wind and the loud pitter-patter of rain could be heard from outside. Dark clouds had long been gathering in the October sky since the early morning hours, but it was only a little under an hour prior that the first crack of lightning shattered through the dull gray of the clouds and brought a light drizzle that quickly became a downpour, sending the previously strolling pedestrians of West City running for shelter.

There I stood, safe from the unfriendly fall weather in the confines of my home, in front of the wide open, three panel french doors that led to the balcony of my master bedroom suite. I watched as a curtain of rain shrouded the city in the far distance, drowning out the lights and noises of the still bustling populace below. The wind blew wildly, causing a spritz of water to dampen my skin, but it didn't bother me in the least under the warmth of a thick, gray cardigan over a white V-neck with a pair of acid washed jeans.

I took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the air. There was always something so calming about the rain. So peaceful were the rhythmic sounds of droplets hitting the surface of all things that stood in their path from the heavens to the ground. It was days like this where I would take advantage of a warning of "harsh road conditions" and send my employees home early. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy my work, I just preferred to relax outside my lab. On rainy days, I usually had no interruptions when trying to unwind.

"Bulma,"

I sighed. That day was not one of those days. my arms still loosely wrapped around my middle, I looked back over my shoulder at the sudden voice in my bedroom doorway. "Yeah Mom?"

"Gosh, it's chilly in here!" my mother pointed out, coming farther into the room. "Why I are you just standing there with the doors open like that?"

I shrugged one shoulder. "You know me, just trying to enjoy this weather." I reached forward and closed the french doors, but not before my eyes at something that almost blended with the flashes of lightning in the sky. I searched the clouds for any sign of an anomaly, but found none. Foolishly, I brushed this away before turning to face my mother. "Was there something you needed me for?"

She gave me a confused expression. "You've been up here a while, so I just came to see what was taking so long."

I was supposed to be having dinner with my family that night. The whole reason I came to my room in the first place was to get changed out my work clothes. I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that Mom, I kinda spaced out for a minute there."

Concern began to furrow her brow. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I waved off.

"You sure?"

"Yeah,"

"Are you really sure?"

"Yes, Mother!" I said with humor in my tone as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm just thinking too much, that's all. Now let's get downstairs before the guys start eating without us." I guided us out of the room, through the long, curved hallway and down the flight of stairs. Although I wasn't upset with my mother in any way, I was simply aware of where the questions were leading if we continued.

As we entered the kitchen, we were greeted with the sight my father attempting to strap my son to his booster seat, with a heavy emphasise on attempting. The boy's kicking and thrashing made it very difficult to secure him to the seat. The half-Saiyan always put up a fight when it came to sitting still. As well-behaved as he usually was, him being stuck in a state of play meant trouble for anyone that wasn't me, even if they just so happen to be my parents.

"Oh, isn't this just precious!" Mom fawned over the sight.

My father looked back at us. His glasses sitting crooked on his face and his graying lavender hair was frazzled, obvious signs of his struggle as he continued wrestling with his grandchild, who was clearly having way too much fun, as evident in his jovial laughter.

I giggled at that, my son's laughter was always infectious. "Do you want some help, Dad?" I offered.

"No worries dear, I can do this. I'm wearing him down, I know it!" he proclaimed.

"Good luck with that," I smirked as me and mom took our respective seats at the table. We immediately began making the plates for everyone. I looked over at my father still struggling and decided to take him out of his misery. "Trunks, please, settle down for dear old grandpa,"sI said and watched as the boy instantly calmed, my father to strap him in before I set his plate in front of him on the table.

He cleared his throat, sheepishly, as he straightened his glasses and combed a hand through his hair. "I tired him out for you, just so you know."

"And I thank you for your services, Daddy." I said, jokingly, before making a plate for myself. Once everyone had food in front of them, we simply started to eat. For as long as I could remember, I never recalled my parents to be very religious, so they never bothered to say grace. My father was a man of science and logic, who had certain beliefs, and was a few steps from being an atheist, while my mother was more free-spirited and never liked to be bound by the shackles of religion. Their union was an inspiring one, that raises eyebrows for anyone that didn't know them very well.

I looked around the table at her family. It's moments like that one that made me thankful for what I had in life, and, also, sorrowful that it didn't happen nearly as much as I would have wanted it to. Back in those days, with me being the active president of my father's company and being busier than ever, I tried making more time during the day to spend with my aging son. Even back then, I was aware of how a child could turn out without proper attention from their parents, so I did my best to put in more than enough time for my only child to ensure he didn't become another stereotypical rich kid.

"So, sweetheart, should we be expecting an appearance from Vegeta this evening?" my father asked.

I sighed. "No, he's off somewhere in the mountains. He shouldn't be back until tomorrow," I said with a shrug of my shoulder. My relationship with the man in question, if our situation could even be described as such at the time, had gone from being complicated mess to a complicated normality in my everyday life. It had been close to two years since the ordeal with the androids and peace came upon us, but the Saiyan refused to let up with his training. I had grown used to him being gone for days at a time, without any word of when he would be back. But, despite his frequent absences, Vegeta proved himself to be reliable, especially when it came to certain things involving Trunks. He wasn't the most loving father on the planet, but he made it his business to ensure his son be the best...meaning that he wanted him to be more Saiyan than human, so he declared to begin his training within the next year, even though Trunks would have barely been four-years-old by then. One could suppose that's how Saiyans show love to their offspring.

"Mama, more juice, please." Trunks asked for, having already drank down his sippy cup.

I looked over my left and down at the little boy, who still has more than half a plate of food. "Nuh uh, little man, not until you've finished eating your dinner."

"But Mama!" he pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. I hated when he did that, but only because he knew that my track record was bad whenever it came to him doing that face.

I held my resolve and didn't falter. "No Trunks, you'll get more juice afterwards, and not a moment before. You understand me?" I said, not one to fold so easily.

"Yes Mama," he mumbled, quietly, going back to his meal.

I did the same. "Good," I ended things with, taking a bite of my food. I was a loving mother to him by every definition of the word, but I wasn't so much so that I was going to allow my son to get over me...all of the time.

"Bulma, dear, don't you think you're being a bit harsh on him? He's still so young," Mom said, having caved at the sight of Trunks' pouting face.

"Absolutely not. You have to teach children discipline while they're still young," I disagreed. "These are his most crucial developing years, so the timing is perfect for me to do this," I explained to them. I didn't need to be a child psychologist to know that children needed to be tamed early on in life.

"She makes a valid point, dear," Dad told her.

"Thank you Daddy,"

"I still can't get behind all of these new child rearing techniques," Mom said, idly.

The three us adults at the table began comfortable conversation about children, what will my next model for a line of jets I was working on, and everything else.

"So, how is everything going with finding an event planner for the upcoming season?" Dad asked me.

I took a sip of my water before I answered. "I'm still at it. I met with a few the other day, but I won't make any decisions until I meet with the rest of the applicants later on this week."

"Are you considering any of the ones you've already met?"

"Two of them had some really good ideas, so I'm placing them on my list of potential hires."

"Why so picky, sweetheart?" Mom asked me.

"I'm not being picky," I opposed, but the look she was giving me quickly put a stop to it. "I just want to find someone creative and imaginative enough to be a part of my team," I defended my methods. "Is that so wrong?"

Mom shook her head and smiled at my stubbornness. "I guess not," she went back to eating. "But just know that I'll be coming with you to meet the other applicants."

I sighed. "Fine." I dug back my plate like an angsty teenager. My mother always had a way of bringing out that side of me.

As dinner came to an end, Trunks, at last, finished his food, so I got up to refill his cup with juice. I waited for him to empty his cup before removing him from his seat, bidding my parents goodnight and carried him out of the kitchen. Once upstairs, he and I began our nightly routine of getting ready for bed. As we left the bathroom after his bath, we entered his bedroom.

The room was very spacious, even with all of the furniture and toys. The walls were sea foam green with posters of fictional superheroes on them and one, a circular window with a bench below it. Above were glow in the dark stars, expertly aligned to form constellations, on the smooth, white ceiling that surrounded the light fixture as if it were the sun in the center of the universe. There is a twin-sized bed in the middle of the room and a bunk-bed in the corner, both had wood adorning them. The floor was solid mahogany, as were the rest of the main floors of the house, with only a round carpet at the foot of the bed, littered with toys.

I sighed as I went to his dresser and grabbed him a pair of blue pajamas. "Trunks, go put these on," I said as I handed the toddler his neatly folded clothing. He gave me a nod before running out of his room. "And brush your teeth while you're at it." I called to his fleeting footsteps. I walked towards the middle of the room and began gathering toys off of the floor and into my arms. I took them over to the bench below the window, that also doubled as a chest, and dumped the toys inside. I took a seat on the bench and stared outside.

It had been hours later, and the rain was still coming down heavily. The lights of the city were more pronounced as the night rolled in. I watched, soberly, as raindrops raced down the glass, enjoying the look of various distorted lights that beamed through the droplets.

As I watched drop after drop, something in the distance caught my attention. Far off in the northeast outskirts of the city, slightly to the left from my position, a flashing light could be seen. At first, I thought of shrugging it off as simply lightning from the storm. But as I looked closely at it, my interest peeks once I realized that the light was coming not from the clouds above, but from the ground below.

I had no idea what it was. I narrowed my eyes to see it better, but my focus was interrupted by something grabbing my hand. I looked down to find that my son had finished getting dressed. "Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yes Mama,"

I raised a playful eyebrow. "Let me see for myself," I said with humor. Trunks opened his mouth up wide, already used to this part of our routine, showing me all of his clean little baby teeth. "That's my boy," I smiled, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Now, go hop in bed and I'll tuck you in," I told him, gesturing to the bed with a tilt my head.

I watched him walk across the room before turning my head back towards the window. The light that I saw a moment ago was gone, without so much as a trace of what it could have been.

I sighed. It was probably just something that got struck with lightning, is what I thought at the time. I shrugged off my suspicions as I got up to join my son on his bed.

I had always use to despise the weather patterns of Earth. One moment I was peacefully training out in the grasslands, the next it's pouring rain, effectively ruining my supplies. I took advantage of the delay and made my way back to Capsule Corp for some supplies more fit for the conditions.

With my speed I effortlessly reduced the numerous miles between my location and my destination in a matter minutes.

As the lights of the city came into my view, I caught sight of a flash in my peripheral vision about a mile or so to the left, just outside the city limits. I stopped in mid-air, silently contemplating whether or not it was truly worth me wasting my precious time with.

I decided that it wasn't, but curiosity got the better of me.

As I neared the flashing light it began to quickly dim, and it was gone by the time I reached it. I had found myself standing in a field of turbines, this being one of many owned by the woman's family, looking around for the source of the light. I didn't find single trace of light nor could I sense a single soul within two hundred feet of my surroundings.

I flew nearly thirty feet upwards, truthfully on my way towards leaving, when I something odd about the line of turbines. Amongst the rows, one was obviously missing. My eyes examined the spot from my distance in the air and I saw a short, black stump where an enormous fan should have been.

"What the hell?" I mumbled to myself as I flew downwards towards it. I stared in confusion upon realization that it was in fact the remnants of a turbine. I reached forward and placed my bare hand to it and quickly retracted due to the surprising amount of heat radiating off of it. Just when I was preparing to overanalyze this oddity, a loud crash of lightning lit up the sky helping me to draw my false conclusion and leaving it at that.

I flew away, completely oblivious to the large patch of fresh dirt not twenty feet behind me.

The very first thing I could remember about waking up on Earth was being in utter pain. My landing had been harsh, having not anticipated the entrance into the atmosphere to be so rough. I emerged from my vessel by pulling myself forward and stepped out, only to have my left leg give out beneath my weight. I assumed that it was injured during the landing.

I slowly got to my feet and realized that I was standing in a decent sized crater. I carefully climb out and looked down at my ship, that was practically buried in the ground, barely visible in the darkness of night. I decided that I could not leave it exposed like that, so I pushed as much dirt on to it as possible, burying it almost entirely.

With that done, I turned and began making my way towards a row of trees, an obvious limp present in my steps. I stumbled my way through foliage and forest until I came across an enormous field of what appeared to be large fan-like structures, dozens of them, and the lights of civilization just beyond it. At seeing signs of life, I began making my way through the field, but, in my hast, lost my balance and my bare feet slipped on wet grass. Thankfully, I was able to catch myself on one of the structures. Unfortunately, however, that was the exact moment that lightning chose to strike my very position.

Already in pain, I screamed as thousands of volts of electricity surge through my every molecule. Unable to remove myself from the structure, under the shere pull of electric currents, I placed both hands firmly against it. From the point of where my hands were making contact, glowing blue veins spread all over the large object, and, in the next instant, it crumbled to the ground.

Now standing completely upright, I opened my eyes and turned to the lights of the city, a place, no doubt, booming with electricity. "It seems I need to be a bit more cautious if I'm going to be here." I looked down upon myself and sighed my current nakedness. "But first, I must find suitable attire before I can begin my search. No use introducing myself like this." I looked back over at the city. "That looks like an excellent place to start." My pace was slow as I made my way closer to the lights, with a crackle of electricity left behind in every footprint.

Thirty minutes after putting my son down for the night, I was now in the process of getting ready for bed myself. I didn't usually turn in so early(it was only 8:01), but, since I didn't have to stay up all night reading contracts and looking over blueprints, I just took the extra hours of sleep whenever I could get them. Which wasn't very often.

Having already changed into a pair of red and black, plaid pajama bottoms and my old gray t-shirt that had "West City Zoo" written in big, bold white letters on the back(the shirt was a souvenir from Trunks' first trip to the zoo), I went downstairs to get on my laptop. I was getting something to drink when an e-mail alert came from it. I was sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen, responding to the message, when the stupid thing gave a low battery warning. I reached over to where the charger was plugged into the wall and connected it to my device.

I continued to type away until I had said all I needed to say. But before I could press send, you guessed it, the lights go off. Well, wasn't that just... convenient. I got up from the stool and went to try flipping the light switch, but nothing happened. The power had just gone out. I carefully walked into the dark hallway, opened a closet and grabbed a flashlight. Just as I was about to turn it on, Mother Nature decided that was the perfect opportunity to scare the hell out of me and unleashed a mighty roar of thunder that lit up the inside of the house.

All could think about was I hope that didn't wake Trunks up.

Seconds later, the power came back on. Well, that was a relief. I put the unused flashlight on a table and walked back into the kitchen. I wanted to break something when I my laptop. The dark screen told me that the reply wouldn't be sent as soon as I would have liked. Great. I told myself that it could wait until morning. I made sure that the device was charging before I turned around, shut off the main lights and headed upstairs, blissfully unaware of the real storm brewing within Mother Nature's scorn.

Okay, so that first prologue wasn't really the best; way too vague. This is why I'm rewriting it; to try new things out. I liked the original first chapter the way it was, so I kept it mostly the same way and just added a scene. Review this with your thoughts so I'll know if you like it or not.