DB series Story collection

Point of no return II

"We're not flying?" Trunks asked, hurrying up a bit and falling into step next to his father. He blinked as sweat ran into his eyes again. How strange that was when it was so cold on this planet. Must have been his stress. He wiped his sweat away again.

"I want to enjoy the scenery, kid," Vegeta said in a tone Trunks couldn't read. Trunks glanced around, seeing nothing but endless stretches of black sand. He swallowed heavily, wondering if his father had completely lost it.

Suddenly, Vegeta put a hand on his shoulder and roughly shoved him forward. "Stay in front of me, boy," Vegeta growled. "You never know what creatures are lurking about, and your lack of awareness is nothing short of astounding."

"Yes sir," Trunks replied automatically, now walking a few steps ahead of his father.

Trunks' hands began to shake again from his stress. He was walking in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, on a dark and cold planet, with his father walking right behind him. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was walking the plank. He clenched his fists tightly to stop the shaking, which made Vegeta chuckle from behind him.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark," Vegeta said. For no particular reason, his tone sent a chill down Trunks' spine.

"No," Trunks said, shaking his head.

"A true Saiyan fears nothing, not even death," Vegeta informed the teenager, taking on an almost lecturing tone. Trunks smiled a little at that, deep down imagining that this is what Vegeta would probably sound like while talking to him, if he knew who Trunks really was.

They walked on in silence, trudging along in the sand. Trunks ran a hand through his now sweaty hair, feeling fatigued. He was wondering if he was getting sick. To get his mind off of it, he decided to break the monotony and try engaging Vegeta in conversation after they had walked about a mile through the dark desert.

"So these scouters, they're communication devices?"

"The best of their kind," Vegeta replied in a guarded tone.

"Then why do we need someone to fix them?"

"Because I disarmed all of our scouters and took them offline. Even yours is offline. Though it's brand new, I didn't activate the inter-communication mode on it."

Trunks frowned in confusion. "But why can't we just activate -"

"Enough out of you, boy," Vegeta said, sharply cutting Trunks off. "It's my turn now to ask the questions."

"Okay..." Trunks said in a wary voice as he tensed up in anticipation.

"Do you want me to teach you the critical survival lessons of the universe, boy?"

"Yes, yes. I would like that very much," Trunks replied eagerly, relaxing now and starting to feel a little more at ease. With his father on his side and walking behind him, there was little that could happen to him.

Vegeta snickered at the teenager's enthusiasm. "Well, the first thing you must know is that you never do something for someone else without getting something in return. I will tell you nothing, boy, until you tell me how it is that you can suppress your power level."

"Oh, well, that's a simple technique," Trunks said with a smile as he took a quick glance over his shoulder at his father. Vegeta just raised his eyebrow at him, his eyes guarded. Trunks looked forward again and kept walking, trudging along. "You just have to be in tune with your life energy all at once, and focus on it until you can control every bit of it. If you can control it, then you can bottle it up inside of you and no one will detect it."