DB series Story collection

Point of no return II

Trunks sat down numbly next to his father, scouter back on, gripping his hands tightly together under the table. Nappa and Raditz were no longer eating, both of them just waiting patiently for Vegeta to have his fill. Trunks felt like he was barely breathing, just staring blankly at the slaughtered meat in front of him as he wondered hopelessly what he was going to do now.

"Report," Vegeta ordered gruffly after swallowing a mouthful of bloody meat.

"Two planets. One trivial and insignificant. Rithica. The other could be a bigger problem. Liyana," Raditz answered mechanically.

Vegeta just grunted, looking up to Nappa. "Warrior race like us. Not as good though. How serious a problem?"

"I haven't run the updated reports yet but the Liyans do have a reputation of being worthwhile warriors. I thought I'd wait for you. We're going to need a strategy to deal with them."

"News on Ares?" Vegeta asked, motioning for the bucket on the table. Trunks grabbed it with shaking hands and handed it to his father. Vegeta noticed but didn't comment as he took the bucket and tipped it back to drink from. He did it with much more refinement than either Nappa or Raditz.

"None. He's laying low."

Vegeta lowered the bucket to the table, contemplated for a moment, before standing up. "Very well. Let's get it done. Get on a move on, now," he ordered harshly, fixing all three with a hard, authoritative gaze.

"Yes, Vegeta," Raditz and Nappa both answered as they stood up. They both headed off towards the direction of their space pods, but Trunks remained sitting. Vegeta turned his intense eyes to his son.

"What's the matter, kid? You look down. Is the life of a Saiyan not the grand adventure you were expecting?" Vegeta asked in a deadly threatening tone. Trunks cringed at his words and looked down, his hair falling into his eyes. "Should watch what you ask for, boy. Now move your legs, before I rip them the fuck off. Understand?" Vegeta snarled.

Trunks stood up slowly and followed Vegeta, his head down and tears still in his eyes. His only consolation was that at least he still had the antidote for Goku's heart virus. He could still make a difference. Yes, he could still save the fate of the Earth in this timeline.

Even if he could no longer save it in his own.

As soon as the door to his space pod closed, Trunks cursed and slammed his fist into the side wall of the pod out of frustration, leaving a dent. He took off his scouter and let it fall by his feet, before rubbing his eyes with two fingers. The stress, the tension, the atmosphere, it was starting to get to him. His stupidity, more than anything, gnawed at him as he berated himself again and again for his impulsiveness and his lack of patience with his time machine capsule.

"Is there a problem, half-breed?" Raditz's voice said over the sound system. Trunks was startled when he heard it, having forgotten that they could hear each other easily.

"Erm, no, sorry," Trunks replied sheepishly, brushing his lavender hair out of his eyes. His hand involuntarily began to tremble a bit, and he looked at it with wary eyes. The teenager clenched his fist and it went away. He was sweating now, and he wiped his brow with his forearm.

Yeah, it was definitely starting to get to him.

Lights flickering on the control panel of his space pod suddenly caught his attention. The teenager peered out of the oval glass window and could make out Vegeta and Nappa talking as they stood near their space pods. Or rather, Nappa was talking and Vegeta was listening intently, his arms crossed over his chest. As if feeling that he was being watched, Vegeta immediately looked over at Trunks' space pod. Trunks instantly leaned back to get out of sight, glancing down at the controls of his space pod.