DISCLAIMER:

Rath: Psssst! (Hiding under a large black hood) Is the coast clear? I'm hiding from that lawyer! (Looks around nervously) You'd think I had unlawfully claimed DBZ as my own or something... But we all know I DON'T OWN DBZ!

[Chapter edited 5Jan2014]

AT THE SON'S HOUSE:

Trunks finally landed at the doorstep of his best friend's house. He eagerly rang the bell.

"I'll get it! I'll get it!" Trunks heard Goten shouting from within. After several loud crashes, the door suddenly flew open.

"Hey, Trunks!" Goten greeted in his usual cheerful manner.

"Guess what, Goten?" Trunks said excitedly after giving Goten a playful shove.

"What?" Goten asked as they entered his living room.

"My mom is gonna talk my dad into letting me do my project about him!" Trunks replied. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked in a very Vegeta-like manner.

"Really? That's great!" Goten replied. "But do you really think he'll do it?"

"Yeah, my mom can talk him into anything," Trunks said matter-of-factly. "I can't wait!"

Goku just happened to overhear their conversation. "Oh hey, Trunks. So you're doing a project on Vegeta, huh?"

Trunks nodded. "Uh huh! But first I have to wait until my mom talks him into it."

"Well, good luck," Goku replied. "You know how stubborn he can be."

"Yeah, I know." Trunks agreed. "But I've always wanted to know how he grew up!"

Suddenly, Goku stopped smiling. "How he grew up?" he frowned.

"Yep," Trunks then explained to him about the topic of his school project. As he finished explaining, Trunks noticed that Goku actually looked serious. "What's the matter, Goku?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing!" Goku replied quickly. "I just remembered something, that's all!" He ruffled with Goten's hair and left the living room in somewhat of a hurry.

"What was up with him?" Trunks quirked an eyebrow at Goten.

"I dunno," Goten shrugged. "Come on! I think my mom finished dinner, so let's go eat!"

"Yeah!" Trunks agreed, deciding to put Goku's strange behavior to the back of his mind.

AT THE BRIEFS' HOUSE:

"No! No! And NO!" Vegeta growled at Bulma. "Absolutely not! I will not do it!"

"Vegeta, please reconsider," Bulma pleaded. "It would mean a lot to to me... And to your son. It wouldn't hurt to open up just this once, would it?"

"How dare you request such a thing of me?" Vegeta's voice questioned in a dangerously low tone.

"Would it really hurt to open up to him just once, Vegeta!?" Bulma repeated.

"You have some nerve, woman!" Vegeta said as he narrowed his eyes at her. "The answer is 'NO'! I suggest you drop the subject!"

Vegeta threw his plate into the sink, shattering it on impact. He them stormed out the front door.

"And where do you think you are going?!" Bulma yelled after him in frustration.

"To train!" Vegeta yelled back as the door slammed shut.

Bulma sighed as she went to pick up the phone. She hated to break the news to Trunks. He was going to be so disappointed.

AT THE SON HOUSE:

RIIIIIIiiiiing! RiiiiiIIIIIIiiing!

Chichi picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Can I speak to Trunks?" Bulma asked on the other end of the line.

"Of course, Bulma," Chichi replied. She noted the twinge of sorrow within Bulma's voice. "Hold on for one moment..." Chichi went in the dining room. "Trunks, your mother is on the phone. She wants to speak with you..."

"Great!" Trunks exclaimed as he ran to the phone. "Yeah, mom?!" he greeted excitedly as he put the phone to his ear. "Did he say 'yes' already?! Wow, that was fast! I knew you could do it!"

"Trunks, he refused," Bulma said softly. "He said he won't do it. Now, he's angrily training in the gravity room. Knowing him, he'll be there all night. I'm afraid it is as I thought. You won't be able to do your project on your father after all. I'm so sorry, Trunks. I really am."

"Oh, don't worry, Mom," Trunks replied, trying his best to keep his emotions in tact. "I understand... I know you tried your best. I-I should have known it wouldn't work. Well, I'll see you later... Okay?" He then hung up the phone.

"Trunks?" Bulma asked just before they disconnected. "Oh, Trunks..."

"So, she did it?" Goten asked expectantly.

"No," Trunks replied sadly. He quickly wiped away a lone tear that had escaped down his cheeks. "I really wanted to know more about my dad, Goten. I really did. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity, but now, it seems that I'll never get the chance. I d-don't understand why. It's not fair!"

"Hey, Trunks...?" Goku called from the next room. "Come here for a moment."

When Trunks and Goten entered the room, Goku motioned for them to sit down. "Trunks, how much do you know about what had happened to Vegeta as a child?"

"What 'happened' to him? What do you mean by that?" Trunks asked. "What happened him?"

"Well, you see, Trunks," Goku said solemnly. "I once found out that while your father was a very young boy, he was forcefully taken from his home and everything he knew. Soon afterwards, both his home and family, along with most of the Saiyan race, were destroyed by an evil space tyrant named Frieza..."

Trunks looked shocked. He already knew that the Saiyan race and home planet had been destroyed by someone named Frieza, but he hadn't known that his dad had been forcefully taken away from his home before it happened. His father had only told him that he just happened to have been away at the time. A question began to plague Trunks's mind. "But where was my dad when everything was destroyed?"

"That's the sad part..." Goku replied. "He was still living with the same being who'd taken him away in the first place... with Frieza."

"WHAT?!" Trunks exclaimed in horror. "But that's the same one who'd destroyed..." He trailed off as Goku continued.

"Exactly," Goku nodded. "I don't know exactly how bad it was for him because that's all I know, but I do know that he wasn't treated well. I really shouldn't have even told you this. It's Vegeta's life to tell or not, but I just thought you should understand about why your father may be refusing to tell you. It isn't a topic he openly embraces."

"Still, I wish I could learn even more," Trunks sighed. "I have to know more."

Goku nodded in understanding. "I shouldn't be doing this, but I know of a way you can... At Dende's Lookout."

Trunks suddenly perked up. "Really?!" he asked.

Goku nodded. "There's a special room within Dende's Lookout that can actually send you back to the past without affecting this timeline. If you really want to, I can meet you there tomorrow morning at around... Let's say ten o'clock?"

Trunks nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds great!"

THE NEXT DAY, AT CAPSULE CORPORATION:

The next day couldn't come fast enough for Trunks. Trunks was glad it wasn't a school day, though even if it was, he'd probably have skipped out for the day. He found himself rushing through breakfast.

"Well, you're certainly in a good mood today," Bulma observed with relief. "I thought for sure you'd still be upset."

"Upset? Me? Nah," Trunks replied. "I'm feeling great!"

"What's the rush?" Bulma prodded, knowing something must be up. Call it 'mother's intuition'.

"Is Dad around?" Trunks looked around anxiously.

"No, he's out in the GR still," Bulma replied. "He's been in there since last night. Why? It has to do with him?"

Trunks nodded. "Ya, but you can't tell him!" Trunks quickly repeated to her everything Goku had told him.

"Well, I'm going with you," Bulma declared. "I am curious to know just as much as you are."

Trunks nodded, "Ok, but we have to hurry. It's almost ten, now!"

After Bulma fixed herself up, Trunks lifted her up and flew off towards Dende's Lookout. Trunks insisted that it was much faster this way rather than driving in the capsule car. As it turned out, they ended up arriving fifteen minutes before ten.

"Where is Goku?" Trunks asked anxiously as they landed.

"Calm down, Trunks," Bulma laughed. "We still have fifteen minutes. We got here early."

As all things that are highly looked forward to, time seemed to take centuries before it was finally ten o'clock. Trunks must have paced back and forth over a hundred times!

"Trunks, you're going to wear a hole in the ground if you don't stop pacing so much!" Bulma commented, shaking her head.

"I can't help it!" Trunks replied. "I'm just too excited! Where is Goku? It's already after ten!"

Bulma looked at her watch. It was 10:02 AM. She once again shook her head in amusement. 'Trunks really is looking forward to this,' she thought to herself. 'But are we truly prepared for what we may see?"

"Oh, finally, he's here! Hey, Goku! Goten!" Trunks's calls of joy interrupted her from her thoughts.

"Hey, Trunks! Are you ready?" Goku asked. Trunks nodded in the affirmative. "And I see you brought Bulma along for the ride."

"Yeah, she wants to know, too," Trunks replied. He playfully shoved Goten, who promptly shoved him back.

"Is this everyone who will be coming?" Dende asked as he greeted them. "The four of you?"

When Goku nodded in confirmation, Dende motioned for them to follow. He lead the way through countless corridors and chambers until they at last stopped before a relatively small chamber. It looked tiny in comparison to the others.

"Alright," Dende began. "Once you step within I will transport both your spiritual and physical bodies to another time and place. There Vegeta will be but a small child. You may stay until you decide to return."

Dende turned to them with a solemn expression on his face. "Now, I will warn you ahead of time that it is actually possible to interfere with the timeline in which you will be sent, but I strongly urge you not to. Everything you see will be events that have already occurred. This past time will only become a present reality for all should you purposely interfere with any event. In other words, if you interfere with any event then you will become visible for all of the Past to see and thus make yourself known to them. I can't emphasize enough how bad that would be. Whatever you do will not affect our current timeline's past in any way. However, the Present's future remains negotiable. I warn you to think of the consequences before acting upon a happening irrationally by interfering with what has already been. With that clear, I now bid you to enter."

Dende stepped aside for them and gestured at them to go inside. "May you find what it is you seek to discover. Please, step within..."

Once the chamber door closed, it didn't take long before Trunks, Goku, Bulma, and Goten found themselves in a whole new place and time...

Rath: Well... Anyone care to make any predictions? I hope you enjoyed it so far, though it is only the beginning! Please R/R!