Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Branded ❯ Chapter 7

"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku said enthusiastically. He didn't seem to notice the tense way the other Saiyan stood with his back to them.

"What are you doing here, Kakarot?" he asked between clenched teeth.

"He just brought me home by instant transmission," Bulma explained. Unlike Goku, she could sense Vegeta's hostility. She knew they would have to proceed carefully if they hoped to gain his cooperation.

Vegeta turned around and glared at Goku. "So, now you can leave." Then he faced Bulma with a frown. "I guess I don't have to ask where you've been. I assume Trunks was with you?"

Bulma nodded. "He's still with Goten. We came back to talk to you alone."

"About what?" he asked and turned back to face the window. "Drugging me in my sleep and sneaking off? This should be interesting."

Bulma hung her head. In her hurry to find an answer to his problem, she had completely ignored his feelings. They had spent so many years living under the same roof, yet going about their own business. Most of that time, Bulma never knew where Vegeta was or when he would show up. Now that they had become a true family, she should have remembered to at least leave him a note.

"I didn't sneak off ..." Bulma protested weakly, but was cut off by a loud sniff from Vegeta.

"Do you remember anything unusual about last night, Vegeta?" Goku cut in.

Vegeta looked over his shoulder at him. "What do you mean 'unusual'?"

"I sensed you going Super Saiyan. Do you remember doing it?"

Vegeta gave an incredulous laugh. "Why would I go Super Saiyan in my sleep in my own home?"

"That's what we want to know," Bulma said. "We need to find out how to stop the nightmares you've been having."

"Nightmares?" Vegeta threw up his hands in exasperation. "How many times have I told you that I don't have nightmares?!"

"Then you don't remember anything about last night?" Goku asked. "You have no idea why you powered up so high?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Vegeta roared. "All I know is that in my sleep that woman shot me with a tranquilizer gun!"

"I shot you!"

They all spun around to find Trunks standing in the doorway. He strode into the room with the confidence of a man and stood before his father. His face showed no fear or remorse, and his eyes flashed with an unspoken challenge.

"Trunks ..." Bulma began. He held up a hand to silence her, his eyes still locked with Vegeta's.

"I shot you with the tranquilizer gun," Trunks repeated. "You were powered up to Super Saiyan 2 and endangering mom. So blame me if you have to, but if there's a next time ..." He left the unfinished threat hanging in the air between them, his intent gaze never faltering.

Vegeta studied Trunks. He then looked to Bulma for confirmation. A slight nod and the tears in her eyes convinced him Trunks was telling the truth. He thought about the terrible possibility that he was capable of destroying his family without even knowing about it.

"So what am I supposed to do about it?" Vegeta sighed. "How can I stop something I don't even know about? Are you planning on reading my thoughts while I sleep, Kakarot?"

Goku waved his hands in front of him and laughed nervously. "Oh, no! I wouldn't dream of doing that! I'm just the transportation!"

"We're going to try this," Bulma said and picked up a clear, glass ball from the chair behind her. "We borrowed this from Baba."

"A crystal ball?" Vegeta asked, looking skeptically at it. "What are you planning on doing with that? Reading my fortune?"

"Think of it as a video camera focused on your sleeping mind," Bulma explained. "It will record your thoughts at night so the next day you can see what's been bothering you."

Vegeta took the offered ball almost as if he expected it to bite him. He looked into it, but only saw his own reflection.

"Well, I've got to be going," Goku said. "Baba made me promise to come right back and do a whole list of chores to be able to borrow that ball, so be careful with it. Good luck!" With a smile and a wave, Goku disappeared.

"I still don't think it's going to work," Vegeta announced. Satisfied that it wasn’t a flat out no, Bulma went to the kitchen to make them all something to eat. Vegeta then turned to Trunks. "So did you really think you could just shoot me and get away with it?" Vegeta asked.

Trunks gulped, but stood his ground. "It was three times," he clarified.

Vegeta nodded and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Then pushups in 300 times gravity should be no problem for a Saiyan warrior like you."

Trunks had to use all his will power to keep a serious expression on his face instead of smiling giddily. "Yes, sir!" he said and headed for the training room, his father's pride making even this demeaning task worthwhile.