When they left the Room of Spirit and Time, Trunks felt somewhat overwhelmed by being suddenly able to feel so many more kis. She took a moment to adjust her senses while Vegeta walked forward looking ready to pick a fight. The last couple of months hadn't been satisfying, due to Trunks' issue, and the past few days of being able to go all out barely made up for it. The time traveler took a moment to properly thank Mr Popo, who said he'd reset the chamber for Goku and Gohan who were waiting on the platform.
With her notebook firmly under her arm, she walked a fast pace to rejoin her father and everyone else she felt on the lookout. Piccolo was standing on the edge alongside Tenshinhan, Goku and Gohan were talking to Vegeta (or rather, Goku was talking and Gohan was listening, but his eyes were on Trunks), and if her ki-sensing was to be trusted, everyone was sour, distraught or absolutely pissed. But also she noticed something that intrigued her: everyone felt so much weaker than she remembered. Her sense of scale went absolutely off balance with only Vegeta's constantly increasing power as a measuring stick, no doubt.
Seeing Vegeta was busy talking (boasting?) to Goku about him not needing to waste any time by training and that he'd solve the problem, Trunks chose to approach Piccolo and Tenshinhan, to get a feel of what happened during the last twenty-four hours. And without her prompting, while the two men still looked towards the horizon, Tenshinhan told her the most important information.
"Cell absorbed Seventeen. Eighteen is on the run."
Trunks let out a small 'mh' sound to show she'd heard, not that pleased with the news. She was somewhat happy she'd decided to leave the chamber in an outfit ready to fight, with the reinforced binder under a loose black tee. A good decision to properly rest and heal before coming out, she was at full strength. Vegeta had also made the decision to take it slow for the last three days, to let his body recover.
"You surpassed super Saiyan, didn't you?" Piccolo asked for confirmation, expectant- hopeful even. Truth is he felt the two Saiyans got more powerful, and Trunks had abandoned all reserve in hiding her strength, even if she kept her ki in check.
"Yes." She stood closer over the edge as well, trying to sense where Cell could be, but the bastard was in hiding. Like Vegeta, she was ready to fight, but that didn't mean she would go in blind. "How strong is Cell now?"
Piccolo's antennae twitched. He had been taken out by Cell even before he absorbed Seventeen; the monster had absorbed so many people right under their noses and the Namekian was furious, despite their multiple attempts at catching the monster. Tenshinhan had managed to hold that intermediate form for a few minutes at the cost of his life (until Goku saved him), but he did no damage. Neither really could answer the question; they'd not sensed Cell's full power, and Trunks was in base.
"You've gotten a lot stronger, but I don't know. Didn't sense Cell's full force… nor can't make up yours." Tenshinhan said eventually.
"My first target is Eighteen then," Trunks stated, murder intents clear in her aura and her demeanor. "We went far beyond super Saiyan," she added with confidence, meeting the eyes of one then the other, conveying exactly how much stronger she believed she had become. "Where are they?"
"Somewhere around Kame-House's archipelagos as of an hour and a half ago." Tenshinhan gave the information.
"With Father, Cell should be no problem," she confirmed, and turned around to join the other Saiyans intending to talk to Gohan, give the information to Vegeta and get going. She missed Tenshinhan's raised eyebrow at the mention of 'father', since the teen had been adamant about denying the parentage. He and Piccolo now believed the 'should be no problem' statement, the teenager was resolute if anything.
Bulma's plane landed on the platform in the meantime, and she hopped off with the baby in her arms, looking absolutely exhausted. She quickly called out for people to meet her, and everyone rushed to meet her, hoping for good sciency news that could help them.
"Ah this is where you were hiding!- Trunks? Is that you?! Your hair!"
Bulma approached her teenager hastily, with the baby secured against her, and was about to reach for the long hair that intrigued her when she saw 'big Trunks' death stare and a decent amount of hostility in lieu of the usual act of kindness. The murder intent stopped her in her tracks, and she suddenly felt like prey under the blue eyes she didn't remember got ever that cold. Trunks' hair was tied back right in a low ponytail, reaching just a little under the shoulders. Some parts didn't make it to the elastic, framing the face. The baby stared through his alternate self with a stern expression, one hand firmly holding his mom's vest, the other extended towards the teenager.
Trunks saw the sudden mood shift, and blinked, trying to calm her aura down enough to reassure the young mother. She also registered Gohan's gentle tug on her sleeve, gave him a kinder smile and approached Bulma and the baby. She reached a hand towards the baby who promptly grabbed her index firmly, and the pout disappeared in favor of a playful babble, recognizing the occasional babysitter he'd had over the past week. Once the baby freed the teenager, Gohan gave him his finger too and played with him while Trunks briefly explained the state of her hair.
"There is a room here, where one year inside is the same as one day outside. I forgot to bring hair clippers," she admitted with a meek smile. Her eyes focused on Gohan and the baby babbling.
"Why are you here, woman?" Vegeta obviously couldn't care less about hair or other explanations.
Bulma explained she managed to build a remote to deactivate Seventeen and Eighteen, which she'd given to Krillin, who had told her everyone was on the Lookout for training (Tenshinhan had explained it to him once they woke from the birthday-party hangover).
Trunks walked away with Gohan and they left as they heard Bulma ask why Vegeta's hair hadn't grown, and Goku's intervention about his hair never changing either (and only noticing now). Gohan had been looking at Trunks occasionally this whole time with a healthy dose of worry, which is why he tugged at the teenager's hand again to prompt for a talk elsewhere.
"Tora-san, are you ok?"
"It's been a long year," Trunks admitted with a little blush, and handed her notebook to the boy.
"What's this?" Gohan took the offered item.
"My notes during our stay there. Since I could not convince you to renounce chasing super Saiyan…"
"Then it's for dad, not for me." The nine year old tried to give the notebook back, but Trunks shook her head no and put both her hands on his shoulders, looking straight into his black eyes.
"No, it's for you, Gohan-san. My mistakes, my doubts, my compromises and my path.. as a half-breed." She let him go, slowly, her fingers lingering on the contact she'd initiated and didn't know she missed for all those months, sliding from his partly covered shoulders to his uncovered arms. A full year without any sort of non-hostile touch had really left her deprived.
Gohan kept the notebook in one hand, understanding why it was for him and not for Goku, and nodded slowly, only answering when the physical contact was broken. "I'll study hard then, Tora-san."
The two felt Goku come towards them, wearing a full blue suit with the same armor Vegeta wore, and carrying a similar outfit in his hands.
"Bulma-san made us these!" Goku patted his own chest. "They're super light and comfy, but also very sturdy. Great for training!" Gohan nodded, he'd worn a similar outfit a few times before, and took his designated one. Trunks turned around when the child began changing.
"Tora, she wants you to wear it too." Goku indicated she should go and change as well, but Trunks just gave him the side-eye, noticing how skin tight the outfit looked on the older man, and how it had fit Vegeta as well.
'That is not going to happen.'
"So didja surpass it?" Goku asked Trunks while they walked back to Vegeta, Bulma, Tenshinhan and Piccolo. Vegeta had changed, but Piccolo and Tenshinhan refused. Gohan was close behind, he changed quickly.
"Yes." Trunks knew Goku wanted to know more, and would have told him more, if she knew how to put it into words, and if Vegeta hadn't heard him ask.
"The brat will tell you nothing, Kakarot! And I told you that armor is a waste on you." He interjected while sliding a new armor on.
Gohan, the smart kid he was, promptly hid the notebook under his armor, fully benefiting from being hidden behind his father, and knowing Vegeta barely paid attention to him when Goku was around. Trunks saw his movements and mentally praised the boy's wits.
When Mr Popo came to say the Room was ready, Goku and Gohan said their farewells and left. Goku walked back to Trunks as if he'd forgotten something, and placed three Senzu beans in the teenager's hand, whispering he saved them for them and Krillin just in case, and wished them good luck before disappearing for a full day.
"There's some for you too, it's flexible and will fit you too." Bulma pointed at the chest she'd pulled out of a capsule to Trunks, and insisted.
Trunks needed to absolutely not wear any of that, but saying no directly would prompt questions and conflict she had no patience for. Not after a full year of somewhat peace about that. Apart from the bath incident, and his comment about her hair getting longer, Vegeta had been remarkable at saying absolutely nothing about her body. She pulled a little on the loose black tee off her shoulder and showed the underneath 'armor' she was already wearing. Well, she showed Bulma the shoulder strap.
"I am already wearing something similar, made by Mother." Technically true, the reinforced binder was from the same material as Vegeta's armor, after all.
"Damn it all, outplayed by myself again!" Bulma complained, and Trunks found a certain joy and pride in it all. "Why are you wearing it underneath instead of over?"
"I like my clothes looser, it would be weird to wear it over." Also technically true. Bulma considered how Goku wore his weighed clothes under his gi, and just accepted the half-truth at face value. Truth was Trunks had also gotten used to wearing larger clothes because she could grow in them and didn't need to worry about sizes that way.
Vegeta, having wasted enough time, but having somewhat appreciated a fresh and better armor (his had suffered enough damage during the year of training, even if it hadn't broken), got the direction where Cell was last seen, and went off his way. Trunks went off to follow him, but Bulma stopped her with a word.
"Trunks!" Even if it wasn't her mother, her voice and tone was the same, so she turned to Bulma, expectant. "Stay safe, ok?"
The teenager couldn't help a saddened smile, she wanted to hold her mother so much but couldn't, and she knew she couldn't promise she'd stay safe. So she just flew off without a word.
While Cell was hiding its ki, it wasn't completely masked because he was flying. And suddenly the monster started blowing up islands, which made Vegeta and Trunks go super to reach their destination faster. Trunks in hopes of saving what could be saved, Vegeta in hopes of getting to Cell before the thing slipped off again. They soon could hear Cell's shouting, asking for C-18 to show herself 'and join her brother'.
"Cell absorbed Seventeen," Trunks told Vegeta as they approached.
"That's one less fly to worry about. You stay out of this fight, since I can't beat the shit out of Kakarot."
Trunks didn't like that idea, but she wasn't about to defy the ball of anger and pride. As soon as they arrived, Vegeta launched himself, foot first into Cell's face, and they landed on one of the islands. Trunks dropped super Saiyan before her foot touched the ground.
"Vegeta!" Cell called while standing up from the kick that sent him down. He'd been caught off-guard, that was it.
"So you're Cell. Shit you're ugly despite having my genes."
"Why are you here? Surely not to defeat me, that would be hilarious." Cell flared its ki to show off.
"Defeat you? Oh no, I'm going to shred you." Vegeta smirked at the attempt at intimidation.
"And who's that behind you, you got some help?"
"The brat? Oh no that's my number one fan. A mere spectator."
Trunks smiled quietly to herself. It was strange that Cell didn't recognize her, must be the hair. She stood away, arms crossed, ready to observe.
"Bold of you to assume you're anywhere near as strong to defy me, Prince Vegeta. Even Goku didn't consider trying, and you're telling me you're stronger than him?" Cell was confident, and soon that confidence would be met by Vegeta's punch in the gut.
What followed was a ruthless beat-down of the half-cicada creature, and Vegeta was having fun, after having broken past super Saiyan to humiliate the ugly monster that had insulted his strength and had had the audacity to mention Goku. Trunks observed, arms still crossed. Vegeta was visibly so much stronger than Cell, and if this version of Cell was stronger than Seventeen and Eighteen, that meant she could destroy the Cyborgs easily. Eighteen, and Sixteen if it mattered, were nowhere to be seen. Trunks couldn't sense Krillin either.
Cell might have increased his ki, after underestimating Vegeta, but it wouldn't make a difference. The teenager still kept attentive, in case things turned sour, while the two fighters tested or taunted each other.
"How can you be so strong! The computer knew your super Saiyan strength, this isn't possible!"
"I trained all day yesterday," Vegeta answered with a grin.
Trunks couldn't help a chuckle. 'That's a good one.'
Cell didn't think the joke was funny, despite it being actual facts. He was being toyed with and he was losing his temper, and Vegeta decided to twist the knife.
"See the brat there? That's my heir. I am stronger, of course, but barely."
"Trunks?" Cell asked in disbelief, and Trunks just moved a hand to her hair, pushing some of it away, staring coldly through the monster. The flash of recognition, and subsequent terror in the monster's eyes, hearing Vegeta's 'praise', tugged at her deep desire for blood, but she stayed put. Vegeta was a cat playing with his food, despite all of his talk about 'attacking with the intent to kill' spiel.
The Room of Spirit and Time was overwhelming for Gohan, but he was armed with knowledge and experience to take on this new challenge. And he wasn't alone. His father was there, and he was going to teach him. Goku gave him a quick tour of the facilities, and Gohan walked in the white void slowly, trying to get used to the sudden change of gravity. Goku had told him to take it easy for a few days just to get used to it. A few minutes in, he went back into the living quarters to start on reading.
"What's that?" Goku asked and sat next to his son at the table, seeing him read a notebook he'd not seen prior.
"Tora-san's notes. He gave it to me, so I could study his path as a half-breed."
"That sounds so much like Bulma, writing down things to pass on knowledge." Goku was impressed, he wouldn't have thought about it. "Oh, better not tell Vegeta about this."
"Vegeta-san treats him so awfully… and he doesn't even have a dad in his own world. It's so unfair, dad." Gohan looked up to his father, and Goku put his arm around his son's shoulders.
"Vegeta's harsh, but he'll mellow out," the older Saiyan tried to reassure. "Tora lived without him for seventeen years after all, Bulma- his mother, probably gives him all of her love. So.. what did he write?"
"I just started, so, so far, just a bread recipe, for the flour over there." Gohan pointed at the pantry.
"Oh I tried eating that when I was a kid! Tasted like fish," Goku made a yuck face. "And not the right kind. You can make bread with it?"
"It seems so, and it has healing properties," Gohan smiled, and turned the pages, skimming through slowly. "Seems he tried many different options until he found one that was good enough." Gohan spoke with gratitude. Chichi had shown him how to make bread, because she baked her own loaves, so he could probably do that. His father couldn't be trusted with kitchenware (even if he could cook around a campfire).
"Oooh it tastes like Senzu, not like fish!" Goku realized with stars in his eyes.
"Tora-san also wrote down all the fights he had with Vegeta-san, how long they lasted, who won, and all of his thoughts.. oh. Sorry dad, I can't tell you more." Gohan closed the notebook a little fast, all red. This was Tora-san's diary.
"Uh? Alright sure. Well, once you're used to the environment, we'll get started on the routine. Morning for light exercise and meditation, lunch, then more intensive work out to get you super Saiyan."
Gohan approved of the plan and of Goku not being nosy with the diary, and went and put it under his pillow to get back to getting his body and mind used to where they would be living for a full year, just the two of them.
"I'm disappointed, it seems we trained too hard, you're not even worth my time, insect!" Vegeta had been trying to have fun with Cell, but the creature was just too weak for his liking.
In retaliation, Cell tried attacking instead of waiting for the next beat-down, but Vegeta threw the creature away again, and followed suit for another punishment. Trunks was too far away to hear it, suddenly, after a long moment of feeling and hearing the brutal one-sided fight, everything stopped, the fighting stopped, when Cell seemingly broke down screaming 'damn it damn it'. Trunks frowned, the kis just went on separate ways, and Vegeta came back and landed, arms crossed.
"Did you just let it go?" Trunks uncrossed her arms, frowning.
"Seems the blonde bitch is somewhere around here, so I let Cell go and absorb her. So I could have a challenge worthy of me."
Trunks couldn't believe her ears, but at the same time, she could. To hell with everyone's stupid desires to fight. She focused to find Cell, and finally saw the monster fly up and look around.
"Stay out of it!" Vegeta warned, but Trunks was already gone.
Trunks was out for murder, not for a fight, and she didn't confront Cell, she went straight after the cicada monster, in super, and proceeded to brutally attack for the kill. Cell barely had the time to register that indeed, Trunks was just as strong as Vegeta, which made absolutely no sense considering their past encounter two days prior.
Thankfully for the monster, the Prince was now an ally, and Trunks didn't expect Vegeta to come and unceremoniously kick her out of the way. The teenager took a moment to register the hit and stand from the rubble she caused with her landing. She didn't land head first, she had flipped around to land on her feet, but the strength Vegeta put in his attack was enough momentum to destroy the rocky terrain. She stood slowly, tense, seeing red. A broken rib, perhaps two. Vegeta didn't hold back. Her senses completely missed Krillin, who had destroyed the remote and asked Eighteen to flee, Eighteen and Sixteen, and how Cell had found the three of them, hidden by the terrain.
"You can't be serious, Father!" She growled as a warning.
"Tch! What are you a weakling now? Don't you want to face Cell at its strongest?"
"Of course not! I want it, and the Cyborgs dead and done for."
"There's no glory in that kind of fight, brat! Don't you have any pride as a fighter?"
"Glory? Pride and bravado only lead to hellish futures, Father! I'll stop this madness, even if for that I need to kill you!" She crossed her forearms in front of her, building up her ki, but Vegeta was having none of the threats.
"You'd attack your father? Don't make me laugh, brat."
Trunks' heart hesitated, but her mind didn't. This wasn't her father, after all. Her father went off and died, abandoning her and her mother, siding with his pride and his desire to fight over protecting his loved ones. If he even loved them.
She extended her arms forward, forming a diamond between her thumbs and indexes, aimed at Vegeta. Fighting stronger opponents was more important to Vegeta than anything else, including the lives of everyone on the planet, and Trunks had to come to terms with that reality quickly. Vegeta showed little interest in her as a person in the Room of Spirit and Time, only as a fighter, a punching bag at worst, a training partner at best.
'Vegeta is goal oriented,' she heard herself repeat to others. She was, too. Her goal was more important. Sacrifices were always part of her life, 'you can't have your cake and eat it too'. This was for the best, for the safety of everyone, Cell couldn't be allowed to reach perfection, she didn't know how strong it would get, and she didn't care to find out. Threats are to be dealt with, as soon as possible. Waiting and letting the desire to fight take over was a mistake she wouldn't repeat, and wouldn't let others repeat. She'd let these idiots activate Seventeen and Eighteen already instead of using the Dragon Balls as Bulma had offered. 'To hell with everyone's desire to fight, they can fight amongst themselves instead of facing monsters!'
She wasn't going to gamble everyone's life away just because Vegeta was bored by his fight with the monster that killed a version of her already. The baby could grow up with a father figure instead of a biological father. Gohan. Goku even. Goku was a loving and caring father. The baby will be fine without Vegeta-san. Mother will move on.
Her eyes full of tears couldn't see the shock on Vegeta's face when the full-force ki blast hit him at maximum speed.