Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Worse Punishment ❯ Chapter 1: 20 Years Later ( Chapter 1 )

A Worse Punishment

By: Nova Starlight/ Dannielle Johnson

Chapter 1: 20 Years Later

Trunks Briefs sat outside in the Capsule Corp. garage reflecting to himself. It had been two years now since he had killed the Androids and Cell of this time. He would never have been able to accomplish any of it, if he had not made that trip to the past. By making that trip and seeing all those people he had been deprived of in his time, he managed to discover a power within himself. He had began to lose hope that power was even there.

He glanced casually at a console he had been working on rebuilding. He could not believe how bored he was with the world in peace. Of course, he would never wish for the world to be in danger, but it also did not mean he had plenty of things to do now. He just sat around day after day working on machinery as if the world itself had not been near falling apart less than a decade ago. The people of this world adjusted so quickly to the changes, a global economy was now thriving, schools were repaired and back in session, and there had already been hundreds of children born that would never know the horrors of the androids. He decided that he had no real interest in tinkering around with the machines anymore and headed to the adjoining bathroom to wash the grease from his hands.

As he washed away the oil and grease he wondered if he and his mother would ever be able to adjust like the other people of Earth had. He had lost a father and she a husband, but they had been so crucial to the salvation of the earth. No one could ever know about his trips back into time, but somehow he wanted to let someone know. He knew that his mother felt this way too. They both needed someone to be close and open up to. He looked up into the mirror and could visibly see that as he was reaching twenty years of age, he may have still looked young but he was beginning to feel much older. He looked away from the mirror and left the garage.

Bulma sat curled up on the living room sofa, looking through photo albums. She was somewhat amazed that she had been able to keep these albums with everything that Capsule Corp. had been through over the years. Most people would say that she was only causing herself more pain by revisiting the memories of what would never be again, but to be honest, she could not help herself. She heard a noise from behind her and turned to see Trunks entering from the garage.

"Hey Mom, what are you looking at?" he asked.

She smiled and replied, "I'm looking at our old photo albums," As she looked at his face, she saw the concern cross his features. "I am just looking Trunks," she admonished. "You don't need to worry about me half as much as you do." His face relaxed visibly at her comments.

"You know I just worry out of habit," he said softly. Then he bent down to kiss her cheek. She seemed surprised at the offered affection and smiled back at him warmly. Trunks had to wonder if his father had shown her any affection at all in the time they had been together. He came around to the other side of the couch and sat down next to her. "Which is your absolute favorite picture?" he asked with a smile.

Bulma began to flip through the album until she stopped on a page that was filled with pictures of Trunks as a baby. "This is my favorite page," she replied. "I'm not sure I could pick a favorite." Trunks put his arm around his mother and pulled her into a gentle hug. She had done so much for him and loved him so much; he only wished that there was something, anything he could do for her. Maybe it was time that she put her memories of Vegeta aside and moved on with her life. To be perfectly honest, it was probably time for him to move on as well. He let her go and smiled at her again. Then he got up and went to his room for an afternoon nap.

After he had left the room Bulma allowed her fingertips to trail lightly over a picture in the center of the page. In the picture she was holding Trunks as a baby and Vegeta was standing behind her. You could even see that he was looking over her shoulder at the tiny infant with curiosity and pride. "Actually, I think this is probably my favorite picture," she whispered to herself. Then she closed the album and placed it on the coffee table in front of her. She lay back on the couch and remembered how her mother had snuck around the house for weeks with a camera waiting for just the right moment to snap a picture. She even remembered how shocked and angry Vegeta was when he realized that his picture had been taken. "I loved him so much," she whispered. Then she brushed away a falling tear and curled up on the couch with her arms wrapped around her legs.

Vegeta sat on a grassy hillside, watching the ogres mill around below him. He knew of other creatures in Hell, but remained a loner from the time he had arrived, twenty years ago. When he arrived he could not have cared less about Bulma and Trunks, or at least if he had, he would not have admitted it. Now, he would give anything to see them again. He thought a lot about what had happened to them. He had no idea if they were still alive on Earth, or if they were sitting up in Heaven. For all he knew, the cyborgs could still be terrorizing the Earth. As he sat there pondering these thoughts he had no idea at that moment that he was being watched.

Baba sat on her crystal ball watching Vegeta meditate from a good distance away. She noticed that he kept his distance from the other spirits in Hell. This was just more evidence to her that she was doing a good thing. He was a changed man and hopefully she would be able to help him.

She had learned about Vegeta through Goku and his friends in Heaven. It had been a surprise to hear that anyone they knew could be in Hell. Of course, they had all been eager to tell her exactly why he was there instead of in Heaven. After hearing the story of his past, her interest was piqued. She went down to Hell and checked Vegeta's rehabilitation record. When she saw that his remorse had been high after his first time in the punishment room, she decided to approach the Supreme Kai.

She remembered well, the first time that she talked to the Supreme Kai, she had only asked him if there was something that could be done so Vegeta would be moved to Heaven. No matter how much she tried to convince him, he was adamant that Vegeta would remain in Hell for everything that he had done during his life. She left him alone and decided to come up with another idea.

A few days later, she approached him with a new idea. She wanted to let Vegeta's soul enter someone's body on Earth as they died. This way he could have a new life. The Supreme Kai refused again, but Baba had a plan. She had insisted that this new life would be a punishment for him because he would not be able to tell anyone who he really was. It was only then that he agreed.

"That's a great idea," he told her. "Go find some choices for him and we will approach him in Hell tomorrow." She knew that this new life would not be under the best circumstances but hopefully he would just jump at the chance to be on Earth again. She would try her best to give him a good choice. She felt the Supreme Kai coming closer so she took a deep breath and prepared to talk to Vegeta.

To Be Continued. . .