Once they got home, Trunks put Momo in bed while Vegeta put the cake in the freezer. At the same time, Knickers went to his room to read one of his books.
"What a day…" Trunks sighed, sitting on the couch.
"You're lucky I love those kids." Vegeta told Trunks, sitting in a chair.
"Uh-huh… Sure, I am. Now, if you were how you were years ago, I may believe that threat." Trunks replied, watching his father.
"Yeah… When did I become so soft?" Vegeta questioned, looking at the ceiling.
"Either when you figured out what it meant to be a father or when you had a daughter. And then I had kids: that's probably when it really hit you." Trunks replied with a cocky smile.
"Do you miss Mom?" Trunks after a few minutes.
"Yes—and no. I will always love that woman, but she's driving me up a wall." Vegeta replied.
"What does she want? Do you know?" Trunks asked, watching Vegeta.
"She said she wants to try an open marriage, just try to see where it goes—whatever that means." Vegeta answered.
"Which part?" Trunks questioned.
"Her wanting an open marriage. I thought our marriage was pretty open: everyone knows." Vegeta answered, annoyed.
"Dad—that's not… That's not what an open marriage is. An open marriage is where two married people agree to see and have sex with other people of their choosing. Of course, you need to make rules as well, but that's between you and Mom. Basically, if it complements the rules, Mom could go out and have sex with Yamcha or Goku. For you, it means you can go out and have sex with—say Momo's mother or Chi-Chi. Sorry. Those are the first names that came to mind." Trunks explained to his father.
"What are these said rules?" Vegeta asked, sitting up straight.
"I don't know. You and Mom have to come up with them together. Not only that; you have to agree to them as well." Trunks replied.
"Damnit! I'll be back for dinner." Vegeta told Trunks before taking off.
"Dad, is everything ok with Grandpa?" Knickers questioned, walking to the living room.
"With your grandfather, who knows? He just found out something that he didn't understand earlier. No, I will not tell you right now; you're not old enough for that just yet. But he's going to go figure it out. I'm sure he'll be fine after a few hours. What do you need?" Trunks replied before asking, noticing Knickers fidgeting.
"I was just wondering if Grandma didn't like Emiko for whatever reason." Knickers replied, concerned.
"You noticed that, huh?" Trunks asked, patting the couch to have Knickers sit next to him.
"It wasn't hard not to." Knickers replied.
"First and foremost: it has nothing to do with you; it has everything to do with your grandmother not being able to be in control. Secondly: she doesn't want any of us to get hurt: me, you, or Momo. However, she doesn't seem to see that Grandpa is correct in saying that Emiko is meant to be part of our lives. Yes, I've come to realize that and have just given into it. However, I will not take the choice away from her: Emiko needs to realize it on her own. Third: she, like the rest of us, is just frustrated and hurt with all this Leo information. And then with everything I learned from Amethyst—Grandma's just not happy. And Finally: as much as I love your grandmother very much: she's a major control freak. She feels the need to be in control at all times. And now that she's not; she's just spiraling out of control. She's mad that we moved out of her home and into a different house, and now she's furious that we moved out here. Don't panic: this isn't on you. I made this choice. I took control of my life and did what I thought was best for you and Momo. And as you grow up, I'll start letting you make your own decisions—so long as what you choose is legal. And when you turn of age, if you want; I won't stop you from moving out. But always remember this will always be your home, and you can come back whenever you want or need." Trunks firmly explained, patting Knickers's head.
"Ok. But I don't believe Emiko would hurt us. I think she's more afraid of being hurt or hurting our feelings than actually intentionally hurting us." Knickers replied.
"Yes, that's true. You really like Emiko?" Trunks asked, interested.
"Yes. I can see her as part of our family. And I know Momo wants her to be her new mommy. And she wants you and Emiko to have a baby so that she's no longer the baby. She was talking in her sleep." Knickers answered and then explained.
"Yes, well, no matter what happens—how many children I may have: Momo will always be my baby. And you will always be my little man." Trunks thoughtfully told Knickers, stretching a little.
"I love you, too, Dad. Umm… Will you tell me what Amethyst told you and what you learned about Leo—and all that? And will you also let Emiko make her own decisions when she gets older?" Knickers replied before nervously asking.
"Maybe later tonight—after Momo's in bed. She's up and moving now; I don't need her hearing any of that just yet. That was a short nap. As for her making her own decisions and possibly moving out… We'll just have to wait and see. I want to say "yes," she'll be able to make her own decisions. But I also know that she needs to be monitored. I just know if that will always be the case. As for her moving out—I'd like her to be with someone who can care for her. But if that's what she wants; like you, I won't stop her. Like I said: we'll just have to wait and see. Hi, Baby. Did you have a nice nap? Are you feeling ok?" Trunks answered Knickers before asking Momo as she walked over with her Berry Bear and Benny Bunny.
"Head hurts." Momo answered, trying to get into her chair by herself.
"Your head hurts?" Trunks asked, standing up; he then placed Momo in the chair.
"Yeah." Momo answered, watching Trunks.
"A little or a lot?" Trunks asked.
"In middle." Momo answered.
"Ok. I'll get you some of your Tylenol and some milk." Trunks sighed, standing up.
"Otay." Momo replied, leaning into her chair.
Four Hours Later:
"Welcome back. Did you and Mom work something out?" Trunks asked when Vegeta walked through the door.
"Yeah. It's kind of late for her to be napping, isn't it?" Vegeta muttered before noticing Momo sleeping in her chair.
"She's been up and down; her head has been hurting. It's nothing serious: I gave her some of her Tylenol earlier and it seemed to help. Since then she's just been up and down to use the bathroom. I'm thinking she has a head cold. Knickers and Leo had one last week." Trunks answered, sighing a little.
"I wish I could tell you it'll get easier, but I don't know if I can. Where is Knickers?" Vegeta replied before asking.
"Knickers is reading in his room. He's been reading for the last two hours; he wants to win that waterpark prize for Momo. And it's fine. I'm just pissed that Amethyst could do that. However, somehow knowing that he wasn't really Leo, helps a little. If there were some way to forget any of that, that'd be fantastic. But seeing as I have Leo's name and birthdate tattooed over my heart, that won't happen." Trunks replied, stirring some rice around in a pot.
"Emiko could help you with that." A female voice spoke.
"Knickers! Get out here, now! Who's there? Show yourself!" Trunks yelled for Knickers before ordering the invisible voice.
Vegeta was searching high and low, trying to key in on whoever was there.
"What's going on?" Knickers asked, confused.
"Go wait by your sister." Trunks ordered.
"You can all relax; I'm not here to hurt or take any of you or anything like that. And if you'll look toward you're window above your sink, you'll see me." The voice calmly spoke.
"Is that Emiko's cat?" Knickers asked, looking at a gray cat outside of the kitchen window.
"Yes, I'm Yuki." The female spoke
"You can talk?" Vegeta asked, slightly annoyed.
"Of course, I can speak. I am a witch's cat after all. Thank you." Yuki responded before thanking Trunks when he let her in.
"Is Emiko not with you?" Knickers asked, looking around, confused.
"No; I'm here on my own. Don't worry; she's fine. She just had a long, stressful day. Fucking Amethyst—and that man. But anyway: Emiko's fine; she's sleeping right now. I can and do venture out on my own from time to time." Yuki answered, grumbling a little.
"How is your gentleman friend? I know that was a concern for Emiko." Trunks asked, watching Yuki after stirring the rice again.
"My gentleman friend? Oh, you mean Hatchi. He's fine. Emiko found him hobbling on the side of the road on our way home; she took him in and healed him up. She also gave him a name; I do believe she plans on keeping him." Yuki answered.
"How do you feel about that?" Knickers asked, curious. He had read somewhere that sometimes when a person gets a new cat, any cat(s) they may already have may not like the new cat.
"It puts my mind at ease—knowing she'll have someone when I'm gone. And yes, I put a small spell on Hatchi that will keep him alive as long as Emiko." Yuki answered.
"When you're gone?" Knickers asked, confused.
"I have been alive for four-hundred-fifty years now; I won't be alive forever. It's amazing I've been alive this long. Emiko and her mother have been my favorite girls I've looked after all these years. But honestly, Emiko's been my number one favorite. And that's saying something because I never liked kids. But Emiko's different—she's special. And she's probably one of the strongest witches I've seen in a long, long time. And that's despite everything she's gone through. I will have my babies and then we'll just have to wait and see. Emiko knows I won't be around much longer, but that doesn't mean anything: I've been her only support since her mother was killed. It puts my mind at ease that Hatchi will be there because he's doing well at keeping her calm. But… Anyway: moving on…" Yuki answered and explained before stumbling on her words.
"Do you know how many kittens you're having?" Knickers asked, watching Yuki.
"Three or four. And I'm thankful for that because it may be easier for her to find someone for each kitten." Yuki answered.
"Why is that?" Knickers asked, interested.
"From what I've gathered: mortal or earth cats normally have between three and five kittens but can also have up to ten in a litter. Witch cats from Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, the Moon, the Sun, and a few stars can have up to fifteen kittens per litter. I've never had any litters before; this is my first one, so that works in my favor. I'm also have the kittens of a mortal earth cat, which lessens the amount even more. So far, we haven't met very many—"normal" people living on Earth, but we have met a few. Now, Emiko just has to find someone willing to take the kittens. Because, while they may be half mortal earth cats, they're still half star witch cats. I do not think a regular human would know what to do when the kittens started talking or something." Yuki explained before licking her paws.
"You'd be surprised: we have plenty of friends who are regular humans who would understand. But—why wouldn't Emiko be able to keep your kittens? Would it be too hard for her?" Knickers asked after stating.
"No, that's not it. When I was brought to the Moon, I was made an adviser to the royal family—after Emiko's mother married her father. Adviser animals: cats, dogs, or rabbits of the Moon… If it's a female, they are forced to give up all but one of their babies." Yuki sadly explained. Only Trunks understood what she meant.
"Oh. I'm sure your babies would be taken care of if you still lived on the Moon." Knickers responded.
"No… Sorry, but that's not what I mean. When I say we're forced to give up our babies, I mean the babies that aren't chosen are executed." Yuki explained, trying not to cry.
"But why? That doesn't seem fair." Knickers argued.
"It's their rules. And despite not living there anymore, Emiko and I are supposed to follow the rules. We got a message the other day while in town. However, since we aren't on the Moon and are on Earth instead, there's a loophole. As long as she can find people who will take the kittens, they can't be killed because they're not longer in our possession. And as long as Emiko keeps her cloaking ability up, they won't be able to locate us." Yuki explained.
"So, Emiko has to give up the kittens and know that eventually she won't have you anymore?" Knickers asked, becoming upset.
"Emiko will be able to keep one of the kittens. But moving on; I'd like to talk about why I'm here. And I'm only here because I was passing by, on my way back to Emiko when I heard your dilemma." Yuki answered before changing the subject.
"What dilemma?" Knickers asked, confused.
"I was talking with Grandpa about Leo. I was just saying it may be easier if I could forget about Leo. But because I have his name and birthdate tattooed on my chest, above my heart, under your name, that isn't possible.' Trunks explained.
"Oh." Knickers replied, understanding.
"But it is possible—in a sense. What I mean is that Emiko knows a spell that can and will make you all forget about Leo. Your daughter, because she's supposed to be younger than Leo, will completely forget him. You, your parents, your oldest boy, and anyone else you may know will know about Leo. However, instead of remembering the imposter growing up with you, you will think he was stillborn. Your tattoo will change slightly—meaning that his death date will be there as well. Ultimately, you will have to talk to Emiko about all that, but she can do it. I do believe there's a charge for asking though." Yuki explained, ending in a mumble.
"Did you know about Leo when Emiko told us the other night? What about Emiko? Did she know as well?" Bulma demanded, walking through the front door without knocking.
"Mom, what are you doing here? And don't you knock?" Trunks asked, slightly annoyed.
"I came to see what was going on with Vegeta. Your windows are open; I could vaguely hear what was going on. Do I need to knock? I am your mother." Bulma responded.
"Yes, you do need to knock; it's my house—my house that I bought and paid for myself." Trunks replied, now annoyed.
"That's one tough curse." Yuki spoke, walking around Bulma.
"Curse? What are you talking about now? Are you just going to let that cat speak to me like that?" Bulma demanded, watching Yuki circle her.
"I wasn't speaking to you like anything. Actually, I wasn't speaking to you at all; I was just speaking in general. She's your mother and his grandmother—so your wife?" Yuki replied before asking Trunks and Vegeta.
"Yes, that's correct." Trunks and Vegeta answered, looking from Bulma to Yuki.
"She was cursed. There is a cursed seal imbedded on the back of her neck. The sad thing is that this is a curse that could be permanent even after the seal is removed. It's a normal day-to-day curse that changes a person's mindset. It honestly depends on when the curse was placed—as in how long she's had it. It doesn't matter who placed it, but they have been watching and listening. That means it has to be someone she or you know—someone close to her or you. I take that back. The person who put the seal on her doesn't need to be watching if it was a curse for someone else. What that means is that someone found someone to place the curse on her. Looking at the seal, I can tell it didn't go as planned; Bulma fought it for as long as she could. Therefore, the curse had to change its original nature slightly in order to get any kind of anything. With that change, Bulma doesn't even realize anything is wrong; everything is starting to become normal to her." Yuki explained, jumping onto the counter.
"What the hell is that cat talking about?" Bulma demanded, annoyed.
"Why didn't she ask for help?" Knickers asked, confused.
"Are you just going to let that—that thing walk all over your counters and eat your food?" Bulma snapped.
"She most likely couldn't. Curses like the one on her comes with silencers. What that means is that if she would've tried talking about it, she or someone she loves could've been hurt. I have to go. I will let Emiko know what's going on; she may or may not be able to help. No promises. Also, I don't like rice and my feet are clean, thank you very much. Bye." Bulma replied before leaving.
"There is a weird mark on the back of Grandma's neck." Knickers noted, staring at Bulma's neck.
"Do you think Emiko will be able to help her?" Vegeta asked, watching his wife.
"What are you talking about? I'm fine; there's nothing wrong with me. I'm happy the way I am. I just wanted to say, I was going speed dating tomorrow to meet someone. Don't worry; I won't screw around with men we know." Bulma retorted before leaving, offended.
"Can't we stop her?" Knickers asked, concerned.
"No, we can't. We'll have to wait for Emiko. As for her being able to help her, I don't know. I don't know how long she's been cursed. I didn't even notice she was acting differently until I found out she was seeing Yamcha. And even then, I just thought you were both unhappy." Trunks answered Knickers and Vegeta.
"Yamcha." Knickers spoke, realizing something.
"What was that?" Trunks and Knickers asked, looking at Knickers.
"It was Yamcha; he's the one who had that curse placed on Grandma. It had to be him; he's obsessed with her. The curse would've had to have been placed on her sometime around when that started. That's why she went back to Grandpa when Momo was in the hospital." Knickers quickly explained.
"Ok. Calm down. Breathe. You're most likely correct. But none of us know where Yamcha is. And we most certainly don't know who placed the curse. Until Emiko can weigh in on this—or we see Yamcha again, we can't do anything. For now, at least it's not a curse that makes her physically hurt any of us. She still loves all of us. That's all that matters right now. For now, we can't do anything but wait." Trunks explained, looking Knickers directly in the eyes.
"Ok." Knickers grumbled.
"Daddy?" Momo groggily asked, rubbing her eyes.
"What is it, Baby?" Trunks asked, lifting Momo into his arms.
"I sir the wice?" Momo asked.
"Of course. How's your head feeling?" Trunks asked, walking over to the stove.
"Better." Momo answered, reaching for the spoon to stir the rice.
'Bedtime is going to be interesting. Neither of them are going to want to sleep. Knickers out of worry and Momo because she slept for the past few hours off and on.' Trunks thought to himself, watching Momo stir the rice.
At the same time, Knickers and Vegeta sat at the kitchen table, hoping they weren't too late…