Chapter 39
Last time on Dragon Ball Z…
"I'm sure Kakkarot will try to do the same, don't you think? Now if any of you would like to take on Cell or the androids while I'm away be my guest! I'll be back to finish the job once you failed!" Without waiting for their response, Vegeta once again took to the air. His veins pulsing in delight at the prospects that lay ahead. He might have experienced some setbacks earlier today but he was a true warrior and "giving up" was not in this Saiyan's vocabulary! "I will train like never before! I will push my body to its limits and beyond… I will do everything until I ascend and I am the most powerful being in the universe!"
…
Vegeta stood, once again, on top of a rocky cliff. But this time he wasn't blowing up his surroundings, instead he stood perfectly still trying to think of a way to ascend past the Super Saiyan level. "This should be a good spot to contemplate my future." Vegeta closed his eyes, slowly clearing his mind. Just when he was ready to begin his intense thought process an annoying and now-familiar ki was making its way towards him. "Ugh! The brat…"
Sure enough Trunks landed confidently behind him in a matter of seconds. "What were you talking before, Vegeta?"
"Go away, boy, I don't have time to play babysitter right now!" His father growled, refusing to even turn around and face him.
Trunks clenched his fists angrily, "I'm not leaving! How is it possible to ascend beyond the Super Saiyan level?"
"Why should I tell you?" Vegeta smirked, "You are too weak to actually do it anyways!"
"I AM NOT WEAK!" Trunks roared. Vegeta may have been his father but the boy could only take so much of the Prince's haughty attitude. Being called 'weak' was the biggest insult in his eyes and the Demi-Saiyan began to feel an anger rumbling in his stomach that threatened to spread over his entire body. He was still unable to believe that the arrogant man who stood before him was his father and the same man that his mother had mourned for, for so long. Trunks took a deep breath, trying to calm down. But this was difficult when Vegeta watched him with a look of sick amusement on his face.
"The boy is so much like the woman it's scary. Look at him going to outburst to calm- outburst to calm!" The Saiyan finally turned around towards him, crossing his arms and glaring down at him as if he were nothing but a pebble in his boot.
"I'm here to train with you," Trunks stated finally.
It took everything within Vegeta to keep his jaw from dropping at the boy's impudence. First of all the way he said it was a command not a question and the Prince was displeasingly shocked that his own son would dare give him orders! Second of all he trained alone- he didn't need anyone else's help to become the strongest warrior in the universe much less an overconfident teenage boy! And third Vegeta was not Kakkarot; he had no desire to spend quality father-son bonding time during a training session. Training was work not a sentimental pastime and he didn't need Trunks, who had the woman's eyes, getting in his way! If it had been anyone but his son, Vegeta probably would have just blasted them to the next dimension but there was a hopeful and determined look in Trunks' eyes that reminded Vegeta of his himself as a child. It was then that it hit him: The androids were to Trunks and Frieza was to himself. But the Prince's pride would never allow him to show the boy any affection even with this fact in mind. "I train with no one! You will only get in my way so why don't you just run back to that blasted woman, Momma's Boy?"
Trunks' teeth grinded together furiously but he would refused to let his father's immature comments get to him. "I don't care what you say, Father, I am not leaving!" Deep down he hoped that Vegeta really did want to train with him but his arrogance was blinding him. "I can't give up hope in him…no matter how much he wants me to!"
"What the hell is with this brat?!" Vegeta growled angrily and turned away from his son again, "Fine! You can stay but I will not interact with you, boy, for that is beneath me!"
"ARGH! Whatever, Vegeta!" Trunks roared back at his father.
Immediately the Warrior put the boy out of his mind and began to get back into his thinking state of mind. "I must ascend! Nothing else matters… nothing!"
Upon seeing that he was being completely ignored, Trunks sighed, rolled his eyes irritably, and sat down on a nearby rock. "He can't stay like that forever… Can he?"
…
Bulma sighed as the hot water relaxed her petite body. She had just received a call from Krillin that he would be over soon to give her some blueprints he and Trunks had found in Dr. Gero's lab. She had immediately rushed to take a shower, not wanting anyone to see her red eyes and disheveled appearance thanks to a certain obstinate Prince. "Vegeta…Krillin said Trunks went off to convince you to let him train with you. I hope your pride does not blind out son in letting him see the good in you." And Bulma truly believed there was good in Vegeta- she always had. Even if he had tried to strangle her earlier he had stopped. Slowly but surely the Prince was changing. She was no longer going to try to 'tame' him, but she was going to try to make him realize that he was not the repugnant killer he thought himself to be. She was going to try to keep Vegeta here on earth with her and Trunks… forever.
About an hour later Krillin had showed up with the plans for Android 17. Fortunately the plans told her everything she needed to know- now all she needed to find was 17's weak points and use it against him. "Finally I can create an invention that will help my friends in battle! For once I will be the hero and then what will you do, Vegeta?" She smirked at the thought of her, who had not trained a day in her life, and not the cocky Saiyan defeating Earth's biggest threat yet. "That would teach him a major appreciation lesson!"
…
"He's crazy!" Trunks shouted inwardly. "Three days! Three fucking days and he hasn't even budged! No food, no water, no sleep! I can't see if he has blinked or not but I'll bet he hasn't! How can he do that? Damn it! How can I prove myself to him if he won't even give me a chance? I just want to prove that I am worthy of fighting along side you, Father! I'm not asking for you to show me any affection… I don't even really want o be here!" He stared back at the still and imposing figure of his father, wondering how Vegeta was able to be so mean and yet make himself and Bulma want his acceptance so badly. "Father you're so proud and arrogant. Well I've got news for you! I'm not going anywhere! If you can raise your power to the next level then so can I! I'm here to stay whether you like it or not!"
The Saiyan Prince on the other hand had put both his wife and child out of his mind completely. It had taken three days but he come to a firm stance, "Yes, I can feel it! I know it CAN be done! I can ascend beyond a Super Saiyan… The only question is: How?" He tried to remember all of the legends of old, searching for clues and signs but he could come up with nothing. But this did not upset the Prince, in fact it delighted him because now he would be the first to ascend and he would do it without any help!
Out of no where the last person Vegeta wanted to see arrived. "Kakkarot! So he is finally better? Took him long enough!" Although aware of his rival's presence, the Prince made no move to acknowledge him. He refused to be distracted by anyone. "This is just great! My idiot son, my idiot rival, and his idiot son are all here! Now all we need is that idiot woman to make it all one big peachy family!"
"Goku?" Trunks stared at the taller man in relief, not only because he had been cured but also for the first time in three days he would have some contact with other living beings!
Goku smiled at the Bulma's son, "Hey, how is the training going, Trunks?"
Trunks frowned and his voice lowered in disappointment, "Not well. I guess my father really doesn't want me to train with him." He looked back at Vegeta's stagnant body with bitterness burning in his eyes, "He thinks I'll slow him down and every time I get close he tells me to get lost… Look at him! He's not doing anything! He's been standing in the same spot, staring into to space for the last three days! He hasn't moved!"
Goku also watched his old rival with a look of seriousness. "So you have figured out that the Super Saiyan level isn't our limit too, Vegeta? I should have known." He felt sympathetic towards Trunks' situation. Besides Bulma, he knew better than anyone else how stubborn Vegeta could be. But like the blue haired beauty, Goku had also seen the good in him that became unquestionable on Namek. "I'll never forget those tears, Vegeta…" From that point forward, he knew that Vegeta was not the regretless murderer he made himself out to be. "Yea that is strange. Maybe he is just waiting for a sign or something to show him the way, right? I'll go have a word with him." A smile crossed Goku's face as he lifted himself into the air and towards the Saiyan Prince.
"Do not fucking come over here, Kakkarot! Why can't that goof just mind his own damn business?" Vegeta mumbled inwardly but kept his indifferent stare on the outside.
"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku called out.
"As if I would answer you, idiot!" Vegeta desperately wanted to roll his eyes but refused to break his statue-like pose. When he heard his fellow Saiyan's boots land behind him, the Prince decided to make it clear to Goku his feeling on the matter, "Kakkarot, leave me alone!"
"Hey, hold on, I just want to help you out Vegeta!" The good natured fighter said cheerfully.
The Prince wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Why does everyone want to do that lately?! I don't want anyone's help- especially Kakkarot's!"
"I know what you are trying to do. There is a room at Kami's place where you can get a year of training in only one day!"
This one statement changed the warrior's mood completely, although he was kind of pissed off that no one had decided to tell him about this before! It would have been helpful these past three years! But his excitement to reach a stronger, invincible level outweighed his anger. "Hmm… I could ascend to the next level very quickly!" He turned towards Kakkarot and ordered, "Take me there!"
"Yes! He took the bait!" Goku's smile widened, "Sure, but here is the problem: Only two people can enter the room at once. I'm going in with Gohan so you will have to go in with Trunks!"
Vegeta growled at Kakkarot's attempt to create some father-son time for him and Trunks. "This better not be another one of your tricks!" He was 99 percent sure that it was but he knew that they did not have the time to argue about this. "Besides, I can just ignore the boy like I have for the past three days!"
"Hey would I lie to you?" Goku asked nervously. Vegeta was a pretty intelligent guy and all and Goku knew how much his rival hated being put in maudlin situations.
"Yes!" Vegeta answered inwardly.
"We are all in this together now, remember? This is on the level- I promise!"
Goku's voice was so friendly that it was making Vegeta angrier and angrier. "He is definitely lying to me!" "Alright I'll go! But only as long as I get to go first!" There was no way he would let Kakkarot beat him in ascending to the next level like he had for the Super Saiyan level.
Goku chuckled happily, "Okay sure! Um… You know this is a great way for a father and son to get to know each other!" He tried to say subtly.
"I knew that is what the sentimental fool was up to!" Vegeta's scowl deepened. "Shut up, Kakkarot."