Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Beneath the Surface ❯ Onward ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Onward

Goku awakened to the sound of pots and pans gently rattling. As much as Chichi tried to disguise the noise, Goku's sensitive hearing picked up on it instantly. No it wasn't food, but it meant that food would follow shortly, thus triggering Goku's keen senses.

Goku groaned, rolling over in the direction of the window and noticed that the sun was barely up, providing a few golden rays as a gift for the darkened bedroom. What, he thought to himself, Chichi never gets up this early to cook breakfast. Goku switched positions to gaze at the small clocked located on his nightstand to be sure he was seeing correctly. Wow, 6:12, why is she up this early? Besides that day he had awakened to the sunrise a few mornings prior, the Sons never woke up to get started on the day before 7:30 am (7 for Goten and Chichi on school days, Goku continued to sleep in regularly). Now fully awake, Goku got up and followed his ears and nose to the sounds and smells of the bacon Chichi had just put into the skillet.

"Hey hon," Chichi said when see saw Goku arrive. "Don't you think you need to get dressed first?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why?" Goku asked, confused.

"Because I will not have you eating breakfast in your underwear at my table. It's inappropriate and teaches Goten bad table manners, you know that Goku." She kissed him on the cheek then shoed him off to change.

"Well ok, but why are you up so early?" Goku asked on his way out. "We never eat this early, or get up this early for that matter."

"Goku don't be silly," Chichi replied, an edge of intolerance lingering in her statement. It was too early in the morning for her to put up with Goku's childish games.

"I'm not."

Chichi looked up suddenly, she herself detecting the seriousness of his voice. The look on Goku's face was of sheer questioning. He honestly did not know. "Goku…"she whispered, gazing at him for a few seconds, not know what to make of the situation. "I'm up early because you said last night that you guys were leaving at about 7 to meet at Master Roshi's to start searching for Brolli's children. Remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Goku mumbled. He then turned and continued back to his bedroom to change and freshen up for their meal.

Goku what is wrong with you, Chichi thought to herself as she placed two dozen breakfast rolls in the oven (Goku and Goten could eat!). She too, had noticed the sobering of his generally pleasant, carefree aura. He was often caught lost in thought, and staring off into space instead of his routine training in the backyard, fishing, and waiting for Goten to return from school so he could spar for fun. He usually scheduled Saturday training with Gohan to keep him from getting lax like he had in the 7 years of peace prior to the arrival of Babidi. But the last Saturday, Goku had forgotten all about it, after they had been doing this training since Pan was born.

What is wrong with me, Goku silently screamed. How could I possibly forget something so important, he thought as he slipped into his bedroom and threw on his characteristic gi outfit. He silently scolded himself while he brushed his teeth. Shape up Goku, he repeatedly told himself, the Earth needs you right now, come to your senses already. As he splashed his face with the warm water running from the tap, he took a long, hard stare into his image. He looked ok, didn't seem to show any signs of the stress he had been through the past few weeks, but he didn't feel ok. This battle is gonna be tough, but am I ready?

*****

"Here you go Trunks," Bulma said as she handed her son a 6-pack of copter capsules. The two were leaving her laboratory and heading for the entrance to Capsule Corps. The two-year old Bra was tagging along, struggling to keep with Bulma and Trunks' speed. The lengthy corridor was brightly lit, with white walls decorating the sides along with a white ceiling, white floor, and even white doors. Walking through this hallway everyday was like walking down a hospital aisle. "You guys might get tired of flying, since you have quite a distance in between the places you need to get." Bulma had reviewed over the locations Trunks showed her when she returned home the previous night. She had taken the liberty of mapping out the quickest routes they could take to reach each destination, but these kids weren't anywhere close to each other. "Besides, it might be best to use those once you find them, since I'm sure none of them know how to fly, and it would look silly if you guys carried them around."

"Thanks Mom," Trunks replied, giving her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek as they had reached the door that lead to the living quarters of the house.

"Me too," Bra piped, unwilling to be left out of anything at her young age.

"Hah ok you little rascal," Trunks said, bending down to give his baby sister a peck on her nose.

"Where's Father?" Trunks asked as he was preparing to leave. He packed away the photos, mapped route, and other information he thought might be useful in their quest.

"You know you don't have to call him that if you don't want to," Bulma replied to her demi-saiyajin offspring.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Trunks asked, looking confused.

"Because you look uncomfortable when you say it," Bulma answered, "and it sounds so unnatural, as if you're forcing yourself t say it, even after all these years."

"But Father wants me to call him that Mother," Trunks replied in a low voice, looking at his shoes.

"Don't call me Mother, I am your Mom, got that," Bulma exclaimed. It unnerved her to see her once so confident son reduced to an uncertain young man. Just as she was about to suggest that Trunks go look for his father, Vegeta emerged from the gravity chamber located near the door that separated the building into to two places.

"Da-Father…" Trunks said, bewildered.

"Vegeta," Bulma yelled. "Why aren't you dressed, you guys are going to be late."

"Well since big shot here already found the brats, kinda took out the fun of searching for them. Since they are already pin-pointed I'm not needed." With that Vegeta continued down the hall towards the bathroom to take a shower, though it seemed futile since he would obviously be back in the chamber later to work up another sweat. If Goten and Trunks hadn't discovered where the kids were, Vegeta would have gone off on the hunt by himself anyway, either way leaving Trunks by himself. He didn't need help from anyone.

"You've got to be kidding," Bulma said quietly, stunned that Vegeta would just throw the mission over something so trivial.

"You wish," he answered as he slammed the bathroom door behind him. Trunks and Bulma were at a loss for words. They stood for several minutes staring at the door Vegeta was behind. Bra was quiet as well, though she had no clue what was going on.

"That's ok I can go alone," Trunks spat out angrily as he stormed down the remainder of the hall, passing the now yellow walls with family pictures decorating either side. What a joke, he thought as he passed the still frames, random captures of when he was younger and everything was ok back then. He took a small mental note that those pictures hadn't been updated since his ordeal with his father began. No surprise to him though.

"Trunks wait," Bulma cried out, running after her irritated child, with Bra futilely trying to keep up. "Trunks!" she gasped, clasping on his arm while she caught her breath after feverishly trying to catch up to him. When he was angry, he walked extremely fast. "Listen, I can go and try to talk to him, maybe he'll--"

"He already said he didn't want to go Mom," Trunks replied, the muscles in his arms tightening under Bulma's grip. "As a matter of fact, he never wants to go anywhere with me. Why should I have expected different." With that he yanked his arm from his mother, maybe a little too hard because she fell. He heard her fall as he headed out the door, but figured if he turned around to help her up he might start to cry and he wasn't about to do that. But this was beginning to be a bit much on him. His hopes that things would take a turn for the better were fading as the day grew more mature, even though it was still very early in the morning. Giving up was not an easy thing to do, but it seemed like the only alternative he could take that might ease his mind, or perhaps, fully break him down.

*****

Vegeta had just finished taking a shower when his thoughts over-powered him and bombarded his mind at full speed. Why don't you just bulk up and talk to your son. Are you too proud to apologize? Is it too hard to tell him that you are proud of him? You can't keep doing him like this, he's your son!

"Bah," he muttered allowed. Yes, it was hard to apologize. He would look weak in front of his son for apologizing for all the stress and pain he had put him through over the past several years. Poor kid, he was really trying too. But Vegeta had never apologized to anyone, about anything. To apologize would be to admit that he had been wrong, somewhere he had been wrong. Vegeta was never wrong, or was he? No, never. He was the Prince of the Saiyajins, princes always knew best, right? Besides, Trunks was his son, the boy could tough it out, as Vegeta had during his youth.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to even travel alone with his son, for then he might break down his guard, and tell him how he really feels. He knew he had Trunks' respect, that was evident, but Vegeta feared that if he did make up with Trunks, his son would know that his father could be wrong, and had admitted to it, and Vegeta might lose some of his respect in that sense. It was too risky, he dominated this household, and it was going to stay that way. There could never be any doubt from any of them about him. If only there was a way to make up with him without looking wrong…

Well, maybe there's a chance that Trunks will gain more respect for you if you admitted that you hadn't been fair to him over the years… "Bulma," he mumble as he brushed his teeth. She was creeping into his mind and influencing his thought. She would say something like that. But could she be right…what if she wasn't…nope couldn't risk it.

All of this pondering on his current family state had left Vegeta no room to spend a lot of time musing on how much he despised Goku and was going to defeat him someday, if it was the last thing he did. He too would be a Super Saiyajin 3, he was already training in 600 times Earth's gravity. It was tough too, but Vegeta could stand up straight now, and walk around a bit. He could only do 20 push-ups though, but he was working his way up the ladder. Nonetheless, he would pass Goku, since Goku didn't train in any type of gravity at all. He should be getting weaker where Vegeta was getting stronger.

There was something nagging in the back of Vegeta's mind about Goku though. He seemed different nowadays, like something was bothering him, something was wrong with him. Sure the news of Brolli coming back with Majin and his children being almost as strong as Goku with the possibility of going Majin, would be enough to unnerve him a bit. But Goku was never really seriously worried about any of the enemies they had faced before, even when the odds were heavily against them. Something was wrong with him, and Vegeta noticed. Any other time, Vegeta would have been thrilled to see Goku at a point of weakness, just the perfect time to stomp him into the ground for good. But now was not the time for that, they had a planet to protect. No, fighting along side Goku was never fun, but they seemed to triumph with him on their side every time. Vegeta couldn't shake the feeling that Goku might not be able to provide much help in the end, something was definitely bothering him. This in itself, unnerved Vegeta, fighting without Goku put a major dent in their overall strength. But then, with all the training that Vegeta had been through over the years, they might not need Goku after all. We will see won't we…

*****

"You will be going to school today young man!" Chichi bellowed to her youngest son as he begged to be allowed to accompany Goku and Gohan on the mission. "You and Trunks did a good job finding out that information, but now they really don't need you to go with them. So you can still go to school today."

"But Mom…" Goten whined. "Its just a few days. We might even find all of them today Mom. Pleeaaasseee!"

"C'mon Chichi," Goku pleaded. "I really want him to come. I promise we won't be out long. Give him a break he's been going to school everyday since he started. This is important."

"I don't want him slacking off," Chichi said stubbornly, crossing her arms firmly. "First its one day, then he'll want to miss more and he'll fall behind and--" There was a knock on the door. Chichi paused her lecturing and crossed the room angrily to answer the untimely visitors.

"Hey Mom," Gohan said, as he bent to kiss his mother on the cheek and entered the room cheerfully. Videl followed with Pan asleep on her shoulder. "Aw looks like you guys just finished breakfast. I'm still a little hungry." Videl rolled her eyes. It was quite difficult to keep Gohan's appetite satisfied.

"Yeah we just finished," Goku replied, mischievously rubbing his tummy.

"Well anyway we just came to drop off Pan and head out. I couldn't convince Videl to stay home even though we know exactly where we are going now. She still wanted to come," Gohan explained, winking at his wife.

"See Mom," Goten exclaimed. "Even Videl wants to go and she's not really needed."

"Videl is grown and she doesn't have school," Chichi replied firmly. Goten scratched his head, like his father does, desperately trying to think of something that would help his case. Defeat was written all over his face after a bit, but then they all detected a power level approaching.

"It's Trunks," Goten exclaimed, rushing out the front door as Trunks landed himself delicately on the plush, dew-sprinkled grass of the early morning. Goten stopped short of reaching his friend when he noticed the dismal look on his face. He looked as if he had been crying the whole way here, his eyes were puffy, but they weren't red so maybe he had been holding back the whole time, or maybe because the air was chilly this morning and he had flown quite a ways from his home. Whatever the case, Trunks looked miserable. Goten had noticed when Trunks wasn't feeling well or thinking about something he wouldn't understand, but he had never seen him like this. As many times that Trunks had flown by in the birth of the morning to go hiking or fishing before the sun was up, the cold air in the higher atmosphere did not do that to him. So something was wrong with his best friend.

"Hey, you wanna come inside?" Goten asked hesitantly, putting a friendly hand on Trunks' shoulder.

"Sure," he replied, with a crooked smile. Even though he'd been thinking the worst thoughts on his way, he automatically felt better being around Goten and his seemingly perfect family atmosphere. When Trunks entered the house he was surprised to see Videl and Gohan already there, and everyone in the living room was surprised to see him in such a state. He looked a bit better than he did when he first arrived, but everyone could sense that Trunks was going through some sort of struggle.

"Hey Trunks," Gohan said playfully, gently punching him in the arm, "you ready?"

"Where's Vegeta?" Goku asked, as everyone else noticed his absence.

"He's not coming," Trunks replied quietly, his eyes downcast.

"Why?" Goku continued.

"I don't really know, he changed his mind I guess. He says its because we don't have to hunt for the kids anymore since we know where they are, and that takes the fun out of it. But I find that hard to believe," Trunks replied with a bit of disgust oozing from his voice. This clearly upset him. He knew his tone of voice and what he was saying would start to give away the current state of the relationship between he and his father, but at this point Trunks didn't really care.

Everyone was quiet, the tension building up and the mood growing uneasy. "Um," Chichi finally said, "have you had breakfast yet? Goku and Goten ate all of it but I can make you something in a few minutes if your hungry." Gohan looked up with a smile, since he was still a bit hungry, more food was good.

"No I'm fine Chichi, thanks though," Trunks replied like a gentlemen. His tension was beginning to wear off, so everyone else began to relax a little.

"I think it would be a good idea if you went after all Goten," Chichi said as everyone got up to leave. Goten beamed at her, as well as Goku. Pan was left sleeping like an angel on the couch in the living room as everyone else exited the house. Once everyone was outside, Goku and Goten both gave Chichi a kiss on either side of her cheeks, and then along with everyone else took flight. "Bye everyone!" Chichi yelled, waving at the quickly disappearing forms. "Be safe!"

*****

Krillin and 18 arrived in one of Bulma's capsule planes at Capsule Corp. with Marron shortly after Trunks' departure. They had been hoping to catch Trunks and Vegeta before they left. What the found when the door was finally answered after several knocks instead was a distraught Bulma and a sad-eyed Bra beside her, clinging to her mother's leg.

"What happened Bulma?" Krillin asked as he set his soon to be 12 year-old daughter down from the short piggy-back ride he gave her from the plane to the front door and entered the house for a few minutes with 18 following.

"Well Vegeta decided that he wasn't going to go on the trip after all, since you guys know where you're going now and I think he blamed it on Trunks and Trunks got upset and…." She didn't want to cry, but it was too late.

"Hey its ok Bulma," Krillin said, giving her a hug to calm her down. "It'll blow over. Vegeta is just, well being Vegeta, hah. But seriously, don't let it get to you, I'm sure everything will be fine, this is probably the first disagreement they have ever had eh?" Bulma nodded, knowing she was lying but it was the only thing she could do to keep from breaking down into tears again.

"So did Trunks go ahead and leave, or is he still here as well?" Krillin asked once Bulma calmed down.

"He is already on his way, and you guys might be late if you don't scoot," Bulma replied, smiling through a fresh batch of tears, that refused to fall this time. Krillin was right, it would blow over, hopefully.

Realizing that Bulma was right, Krillin and 18 reluctantly left. "I hope everything is alright over there," Krillin said as he buckled himself in beside his wife. She just nodded, not wanting to really get into the emotional and personal business of others, but she knew Krillin couldn't help it. He and Bulma had practically grown up together.

*****

Everyone, except Vegeta, had finally gathered on Master Roshi's small island to begin the search. Everyone, except Yamcha, gathered around Trunks as he showed them the maps his mother had made, the photos he had printed off of the cities the kids were located in, and the copter capsules she had given him to travel in. Yamcha stood instead, on the outskirts of the group, just listening.

"Mom stayed up a while last night, tracing the addresses that were located on the photos labeled kid 1, 2 ect. They were the only pics in the group with addresses. She got some names though, which is good, now we know who we are looking for. And she also mapped out the quickest way to each one of them. The closest one located to us right now is the boy. His name is Zeusu Grishinwa and he lives in Myth City, which is located about 1600 miles from here."

"Six hundred miles!" Krillin gushed. "That's a lot of flying don't you think?"

"Well yeah, but," Trunks replied, "the others are over 2000 miles from here. They are pretty spread out. And if we get tired we have six copters so we will be ok. We can be there in a few hours, we fly pretty fast."

"Sounds ok," Piccolo said. "Will just be a lot of traveling, but we can handle it."

"Goten flies 500 miles to school everyday, another thousand won't hurt him," Gohan said, ruffling his younger brother's hair. He too used to fly 500 miles to school everyday. It took about an hour to fly that far, so it would be a few hours before they reached Myth City.

"Onward to Zeusu then," Goku said playfully, almost passing for his old self. He lifted off to take flight, with the others close behind.

Author's note: Krillin and Android 18 do not live with Master Roshi anymore, since the World Tournament where Mr. Satan promised to pay 18 20 million zeni. She bought a house with that money and saved up the rest incase there was any question as to why Krillin and 18 would fly from Roshi's and back just to drop Marron off when she could have just stayed with Roshi.