Chapter 13: The Reckoning
The tension in Capsule Corp was unbearable. Bulma, still fuming from the revelation that her son had been hiding Android 18—the Android 18—in their home for weeks, could barely contain her fury. She stood in the living room, her arms crossed and her piercing gaze fixed on Trunks.
Android 18, or Hazel, stood off to the side, arms folded, her expression unreadable but her jaw tight. She wasn't used to being confronted, but she could feel the storm brewing. Bulma's energy was like a bomb waiting to go off.
And then it did.
Bulma Turns to 18
Bulma's voice was sharp, cutting through the suffocating silence. "You," she spat, pointing at 18. "Get out. Right now. I don't care where you go or what you do, but if you're still standing here in the next five minutes, I might lose what little restraint I have left."
18 narrowed her eyes, her usual defiance bubbling up. "Listen, lady, I don't take orders from—"
"Don't push me!" Bulma snapped, her voice loud enough to make the room vibrate. "You've got a lot to answer for, and trust me, we're going to have that conversation. But not right now. Right now, I need to deal with him."
She jabbed a finger toward Trunks, who was standing stiffly, his head down. "So unless you want me to make this a group therapy session, you'd better get out of my sight."
For a moment, 18 looked like she was going to push back, but something in Bulma's expression gave her pause. With a huff, she turned and walked out, slamming the door behind her.
Bulma Unleashes on Trunks
The second the door closed, Bulma rounded on Trunks, her eyes blazing with fury. "What the hell were you thinking, Trunks?" she shouted, her voice shaking with anger. "Android 18? You brought her here? Into our home? Are you out of your goddamn mind?"
Trunks winced but didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the floor.
"No, don't you dare pull that silent routine on me," Bulma continued, her tone rising. "You lied to me, Trunks. You lied straight to my face for weeks. And for what? To protect her? To protect some monster who destroyed our world, killed millions of people—including your own father—and left us with nothing?"
Trunks clenched his fists, his shoulders trembling. "Mom, it's not that simple—"
"Bullshit!" Bulma interrupted, her voice cracking with the force of her anger. "It is that simple! You had no right to make this decision without telling me! This isn't just about you, Trunks. This is about all of us! You had no right to bring her here after everything she's done."
"She's different now," Trunks said quietly, his voice barely audible.
"Different?" Bulma laughed bitterly. "Oh, so now she's just a changed woman, is she? That erases everything she did, does it? The people she killed, the cities she leveled—none of that matters anymore because she's different?"
Trunks finally looked up, his eyes blazing with frustration. "What do you want me to do, Mom? Leave her out there to die? Let her have the baby in some ditch? I couldn't do that!"
"Oh, so now you're a savior?" Bulma shot back, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're just out here saving lives, even when it's the same people who took everything from us? You're unbelievable, Trunks. Absolutely unbelievable."
The Real Truth
Bulma stepped closer, her hands clenched into fists. "Tell me the truth, Trunks. The real truth. Why is she here? Why did you bring her back? And don't you dare give me some half-assed excuse about the baby."
Trunks hesitated, his throat tightening. "I… I didn't know what else to do," he admitted. "I didn't plan this. It just… happened."
"Don't give me that," Bulma snapped. "You're a grown man, Trunks. You don't get to shrug your shoulders and say it just happened. You made a decision—own it."
Trunks took a deep breath, his voice trembling as he continued. "I hated her, Mom. I hated her and her brother for everything they did. But when I saw her in Parsley City, after what happened… I didn't know what to feel anymore. She was broken, and she… she wasn't the same."
"So what?" Bulma asked, her voice laced with disbelief. "You felt sorry for her? You thought you could fix her? Is that it?"
Trunks shook his head. "I don't know! Maybe! I just… I couldn't kill her, Mom. Not after everything. And when I found out she was pregnant… I couldn't just walk away."
Bulma's Fury Peaks
Bulma threw her hands up, pacing back and forth. "This is insane. This is absolutely insane. You brought the same woman who destroyed our lives into our home, lied to me about it, and now you're expecting me to just accept it?"
"I'm not expecting you to accept anything," Trunks said quietly. "I just… I'm trying to make things right."
"Right?" Bulma whirled on him, her voice rising. "You think this makes things right? You think housing a murderer and lying to your own mother makes things better? You're delusional, Trunks. Absolutely delusional."
Her voice cracked as she continued, her emotions spilling over. "Do you have any idea what this is doing to me? To see her face in my house? To know that she's here becausee of you? After all the years we spent fighting, struggling to survive—you brought her here. And you lied to me."
"I'm sorry," Trunks said, his voice barely a whisper.
"Sorry doesn't fix this," Bulma shot back. "Sorry doesn't bring back the people she killed. Sorry doesn't undo the pain she caused. And it sure as hell doesn't make up for the fact that my own son didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth."
The Aftermath
The room fell silent, the weight of Bulma's words pressing down on both of them. Trunks stood frozen, his head bowed, while Bulma glared at him, her chest heaving with the effort of keeping herself together.
Finally, she turned away, her voice cold. "Get out of my sight, Trunks. I can't even look at you right now."
Trunks hesitated, but the look on her face left no room for argument. He nodded slowly and left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
Bulma sank onto the couch, her head in her hands. Her mind raced with anger, pain, and confusion. She didn't know how they were going to move forward from this, but one thing was clear: nothing would ever be the same.