DISCLAIMER:
Vetyga: [Waving arms frantically] "Noooo! Don't look! Don't look! Don't look! Still not ready!"
Rath: [Shakes her head as the army of 'Invisible Disclaimers' continues to block her path] "Ummm… Vetyga? Does it really take this long to make a simple Disclaimer? I mean, all you have to do is stand up and say, 'WE DON'T…'"
Vetyga: [Interrupts Rath before she can finish her sentence] No no no NOOOO! DON'T SAY IT!
Rath: [Sweatdrops]
Vetyga: [Points up at 'Invisible Disclaimers'] Do you want them to go on another rampage?
Rath: What?! I thought you fixed that issue? Why'd you make a whole army of them if they still have tendencies to go on murderous rampages?!
Vetyga: Well…
Rath: [Sighs at reader] You know… Sometimes I think having an assistant is more trouble than its worth… Anyways, you know what it is that we don't own. Enjoy the chapter!
AT THE BRIEFS' HOUSE:
"Until he eats, I'm disabling all access to the Gravity Room!" Bulma had threatened.
Vegeta blinked at her.
Bulma had the gall to blackmail him over this? If the brat wanted to starve, Vegeta had half a mind to let him. His younger self didn't need all this coddling.
"Fine," Vegeta conceded. "You want the brat to eat? I will make him eat. He'll be down shortly."
Bulma grinned. "Thanks, Vegeta!"
Vegeta brushed passed her without saying another word. He was already in a bad mood. This wasn't helping. He stormed inside the house and made a beeline for his younger self's room.
The boy was sitting in the middle of the bed with his legs half-covered by blankets when the older Vegeta barged inside.
Vegge looked up in surprise, but before he could do or say anything, Vegeta back-handed him across the face.
"Not a sound out of you," Vegeta warned.
Vegge didn't even get a chance to react before Vegeta struck him again… And again… And again…
Vegge kept silent and simply curled up into a ball. He didn't understand what he'd done wrong, but he didn't question it.
"What was the first rule?" Vegeta growled as he grabbed Vegge's arm and yanked him off the bed and into a standing position.
"I-It was…" Vegge's mind raced as he was forced out of his defensive posture. He knew the rule, but he couldn't think clearly enough to recite it.
A hard punch impacted with the side of Vegge's torso.
"What was it?" Vegeta repeated.
Vegge opened his mouth to reply, but only a faint whimper managed to escape his lips. His mind began to shut down as it often did when he was subjected to particularly unfair treatment.
"You won't like it if I have to remind you," Vegeta warned.
"Y-your word is… law," Vegge answered after a long delay. He struggled to formulate the words.
"Yes," Vegeta confirmed. "But that was only part of it... If the woman tells you to do something, you also do it, you hear me? You don't have any say in the matter. If either of us tells you to do anything, it is never a request… It is an order. Understood?"
"Understood," Vegge replied, but his own voice sounded distant— like some far off echo.
"Good," Vegeta said. "This had better be the last time I hear complaints of you not eating. In fact, I don't ever want to hear complaints concerning anything with you."
Vegge was vaguely aware that he was being dragged out of his room. He stumbled several times, but his older self did not slow his pace.
'Perhaps all of this is just some elaborate dream,' Vegge thought. 'Why does he hate me so much? How can he truly be me?'
'Why wouldn't he hate you?' the reply echoed back from the depths of his own mind.
The moment they entered the dining room, Vegeta shoved Vegge forward.
"Oh my!" a shrill voice exclaimed.
Before Vegge knew what was happening, some tall blond-haired woman snatched him up into a tight embrace.
"Are you alright, sweety?" Bunny asked as she fretted over him.
Vegge froze up. He was unsure what to do. Only the tip of his hair was visible as he practically drowned within Bunny's hug.
'Is this how all of the women from this planet greet people?' Vegge wondered. He found it unnerving. Physical contact always put him on edge. He understood that the blonde woman posed no threat to him, but he still could not bring himself to relax.
"Mooom!" Bulma exasperated.
Bunny paid her no mind. If anything, her embrace only got tighter.
They weren't the only ones present— the entire Briefs' family was there sitting at the dining room table enjoying their midday meal.
Dr. Briefs let out a loud cough as he flipped to the next page of his newspaper.
"Just let her be, dear," Dr. Briefs responded calmly.
Scratch, Dr. Briefs' ever-faithful black cat, was curled up on top of his left shoulder observing the situation with wide eyes.
"Mommy?" Bra's small voice piped up. "Who tat?"
"His name is Vegge," Bulma answered. "He will be living with us, now."
"He my new broter?" Bra asked innocently as she reorganized the food on her plate.
"You could say that…" Bulma told her.
Bra's face scrunched up. She wasn't sure what to think about this bit of news. She didn't really want a new brother; she wanted Trunks! Then again, Trunks stopped playing with her as much as he used to… Maybe Vegge would be her new playmate!
"No, the brat is not your brother," Vegeta scowled. "I'll not hear you or anyone else refer to him as such."
Bra looked back and forth between her parents. She wasn't sure which one to believe, but she decided that she liked her father's version better. Perhaps this Vegge kid was trying to take Trunks's place. She certainly wasn't going to let that happen.
"Ok, Daddy!" Bra sang.
Bunny must have hugged Vegge for a good ten minutes before letting go of him. She knelt down and gently combed her hands through his soft gravity-defining hair as she took in his features. It tore at her heart to see such lifelessness in a child's eyes. They were the eyes of one who had seen and suffered much in their lifetime—eyes that no child should have.
Bulma's face fell when she saw Vegge's physical state. She could tell Vegeta had beaten him again.
"Vegeta…" Bulma started.
"I don't want to hear it," Vegeta interrupted in a low tone a voice. "You can't come complaining to me about the brat and then question me when I do something about it. You interrupted my training over this. You want him to eat? He will do so. Isn't that right, boy?"
"Yes," Vegge replied automatically. His face settled into a scowl.
"Oh, you're hungry, dear?" Bunny asked as she cupped Vegge's chin in her hands. She was oblivious to the growing tension in the air.
Vegge did not say anything, but it turned out he didn't need to.
Bunny immediately ushered him over to an empty chair beside Dr. Briefs.
"What would you like to eat, honey?" Bunny asked. "I'll fix you anything you want."
Vegge raised an eyebrow. He was sure she must have some ulterior motive to make him such an offer, but he wouldn't question it with his older self still present.
Besides, even if the older Saiyan hated him, he wouldn't let them poison him, would he?
'No, that would be far too easy. He'd much rather you suffered back in Frieza's hands…'
'But why?' Vegge silently anguished. 'He knows what Frieza will do. He knows…'
"Vegge doesn't know about Earth cuisine," Bulma spoke up on his behalf when he did not answer. "How about you make him a variety of things to try?"
"Sure thing! Coming right up," Bunny agreed as she reassuringly rubbed Vegge on his back.
Vegge blinked. One would think he was dying the way the women treated him. He glanced towards Vegeta, silently seeking guidance on what to do. However, the moment the two made eye-contact, Vegeta narrowed his eyes and frowned at him.
Vegge quickly averted his gaze. He didn't wish to provoke Vegeta's anger any more than he already had.
Vegeta's expression was set like stone as he stood there watching the women pamper his younger self. He thought it was ridiculous how much they were babying the brat, but he did not interfere.
Even though Vegge no longer dared to make direct eye-contact with him, Vegeta could tell the child was still keeping track of his every move.
It was as though no one else was present but them.
"Once you are done here, you will meet me outside, brat," Vegeta spoke with a gruff tone.
"Okay," Vegge replied as his older self exited the room.
Not long afterwards, Vegge's mouth gaped open as Mrs. Briefs and Bulma set plate after plate after plate of food in front of him. Each plate contained at least three unique items. Of course, he had no idea what any of these food items were, but the smells alone were enticing.
The women encouraged him to eat whatever he wanted, but he had no idea where or how to begin.
Even Bra's eyes glistened in awe at all the yummy food spread across the table. One particularly large cupcake caught her attention, but she could not reach it.
"Gimme cake!" Bra demanded as she held out her hands expectantly.
"That cake is Vegge's cake," Bulma told her. "You already had your lunch and snack."
"No, Mommy!" Bra pouted as her bottom lip quivered. "My cake!"
Bra crossed her arms over her chest in a very Vegeta-like manner. Her eyes glistened as tears threatened to explode out any moment.
Bulma was about to reprimand Bra when Vegge quietly asked, "Which one is 'cake'?"
Bra looked up in surprise. She pointed a chubby finger at some fancy-looking food item resting on a plate in the center of the table.
Without hesitation, Vegge used his ki to levitate the dessert up into the air and plopped it down directly in front of Bra.
"There. Satisfied?" Vegge asked.
"What a nice young man!" Bunny exclaimed as she clasped her hands together.
Scratch mewed as Dr. Briefs flipped to another page of his newspaper. Dr. Briefs pretended not to notice Bulma wiping tears away from her eyes. He had no idea why such a simple action from a child would cause her to react that way, but he figured he'd find out sooner or later. Dealing with emotional outbursts was not his forte, so he decided he'd wait for her to bring it up to him first.
Bra chomped happily on her cupcake. Maybe having another brother was a good thing after all!
When Vegge was convinced that he was truly allowed to have whatever he wanted, he too began to eat.
'This is even better than a banquet!' Vegge silently concluded.
IN THE PAST WORLD:
The air became insufferably dense as Trunks entered the green portal of smoke. The wind was chaotic. It changed directions every second, making Trunks's hair flap wildly around his face.
Trunks felt blind. He could not sense Drinn's ki to know whether or not he was on the right track. Nor could he see more than an arm's length in front of him. The smoke quickly blackened to the point that Trunks felt he was walking through living shadows.
"Drinn?" Trunks called out with uncertainty, but no reply came.
'He did say take the green portal to follow him, hadn't he?' Trunks second-guessed himself. 'Or was it actually the purple portal to follow? What if I chose the wrong one?'
Whichever it was, it was clear he was no longer on Rijow.
Every step he took shifted the air in faintly visible waves. It was as though he was walking through some waterless ocean. The darkness lightened to a hazy grey, but it did not do much to improve visibility.
"Drinn?!" Trunks called out once more. This time his voice contained a twinge of panic in its tone.
"Outsider…" the wind hissed back at him. It had a feminine tone to it.
"Who's there?" Trunks demanded. His heart pounded in his chest. His eyes darted around, but he could not locate the source of whomever it was that had spoken.
"Every step you take brings you closer to death…"
Trunks jumped. That time the voice had whispered directly into his ear, yet he still could neither see nor sense anyone near him.
Trunks took in a deep breath. He knew he had to keep moving.
"Unwise…"
When the smoke cleared away, Trunks found himself in the middle of some large dark cavern. The only source of light was from the moon shining through a large hole in the ceiling. The moonlight had a red hue. Trunks considered using his ki to make better lighting, but ultimately decided against it. He didn't wish to draw any more attention to himself than he already had.
The shadows shifted around him. Only one of them was his own…
Rath: And thus ends this chapter for TTWV… Thank you to everyone for the great responses to the previous chapter!
At Lady-Alucard: (Check the end of CH38 for my official reply to you.) Based on your critiques, I made minor revisions to that chapter. Thank you very much!
At mandy: Glad you like the flashbacks! I will add in more to future chapters as they fit.
At WildVegeta: Really really happy that you enjoyed the last chapter so much! You've been following this story for a long while. I love seeing your name in my review list! :)
At WineIXI: Update delivered!
At Guest: This chapter took me a little longer than anticipated, but here it is! The parts where Vegge remembers what happened to him are some of my favorite parts too.
At Over8000: (CH12) I actually love the stories that emphasize the important role Raditz and Nappa played in Vegeta's childhood, but unfortunately, since both of them would have complicated things too much in later chapters, I decided to kill them off. Plus it was a shamelessly good opportunity for some angst! (CH38) That's a lot of reading! It makes me happy you liked it enough to even want to catch up. Thank you for telling me the parts you enjoyed thus far. The 'Ghoul Saber' arc was difficult for me to write. I had put the characters in such a complex situation and had problems getting them back out of it. In the end, it worked out, but not before giving me some major writer's block… Hearing you mention how you enjoyed that arc in particular makes me extremely happy!
At Guest: Thanks!
At Guest: He's definitely had a hard life… The nice trend I've been seeing in the reviews so far is that there are those who understand Vegeta's side of things and others who understand Vegge's side. I'm thrilled that neither one of them is coming across as being clear-cut good or bad with their actions.
At jazzymay377: I'm happy you are enjoying this angst-filled roller coaster ride of a story! One of my goals is to make each character's motivations and actions believable. Even I am not yet certain how the ending will pan out… A major part of it depends on how well things fare with Drinn and Trunks.
At Guest: When, you ask?! Today! (I must say, your review had perfect timing. I updated the very same day you posted.)