Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unconditional Bonds (revamped) ❯ Seeds of the Past ( Chapter 15 )

Chapter Fifteen: Seeds of the Past

Scooping the child up, the Saiyan Elite carried his son to the room he had been sleeping in. He placed the youth on the bed and sat beside him, waiting for him to get control of himself.

But apparently, Trunks was taking his sweet time for his sobs weren't dying down any.

Finally, the prince lost his patience and spoke.

"Stop crying."

A few choking sounds.

"But you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"But you yelled at me."

"You scared me," he said flatly. "I've never heard you speak like that before."

Trunks sat up, his head feeling groggy from all of his crying.

"I...I didn't mean it. He just made me really, really angry." He swiped his arm across his face in an attempt to scrub the tears away, "I've never been that angry before in my whole life. I wanted to make him sorry for what he said." He hung his head and fiddled with a snap on his jacket before taking a deep breath. "I don't like him, but I don't want Billy to die. And I never wanted anything bad to happen to mom."

Vegeta nodded, remarkably relieved by this.

"Saiyan rage. I need to teach you how to control it." He stood up. "You're going to sleep here tonight. I suppose I should let your mother know where you are."

Trunks, however, reached over and grabbed his father's wrist.

"So you're not angry with me?"

A sigh, "I'm disappointed in you, Trunks. You shouldn't hit people who can't defend themselves, no matter how much they may deserve it. But no," he admitted, "I'm not angry with you."

He turned to leave but Trunks voice stopped him once more;

"You didn't mean that dad, did you? About you being scared? Nothing scares you, right?"

The prince looked over his shoulder.

"I wish that were true. But yes you did scare me, I was afraid you were turning into..." he trailed off.

The boy looked up at him questionably.

"Turning into what?"

Vegeta shook his head. Finally,

"Me."

Trunks eyes narrowed in confusion but then he smiled, "But you're great! I want to be just like you when I get older. You're the coolest person in the universe."

Vegeta sat back down. He had wondered when he was going to have this conversation with his son. It wasn't something he was looking forward to, but it had to be done and considering the circumstances now was the best time.

"Me, as in how I used to be, son. You've been told that I wasn't always the way I am now. I've done some bad things in my life."

The boy was unperturbed. "Yeah, but you worked for a tyrant. He's the one who made you do those things, it wasn't your fault."

Vegeta gave his son a sad smile.

"That's not entirely true, I'm afraid. Yes, I worked unwilling for a sociopath and yes I followed orders because if I didn't I would have been killed. It wasn't just my life that was a stake, either," he added. "He had considerable leverage over me. My future empire, Vegetasei, was under his thumb. I wasn't about to anger him. I didn't want to disappoint my father either." He paused here as the memories of a life long past flashed before his eyes. "He sent me to Frieza's base for training to become the best of warriors. At least that's what I was told."

Trunks hung on every word; it wasn't often his father spoke of his past. The prince continued, "But in the long run it didn't matter. My father was laid to waste along with my planet. They said it was a meteor shower, but I knew better." He halted, wrestling with his thoughts, "Frieza destroyed them all. I swore someday that I'd have my revenge. But thoughts of vengeance gave away to the conquest of power." He paused again, not quite sure he wanted to tell his son this. "I…I enjoyed my work. Saiyans, by nature, are a war-faring race." He stopped, no, he wasn't going to make excuses, "I did horrible things not because I was told to, but because I wanted to." That wasn't an easy confession, but it was the truth, "And after a time, Frieza didn't have to tell me what to do anymore, I did it on my own accord."

"Did you hurt people, Dad? People who couldn't defend themselves?" Trunks asked softly.

Vegeta nodded.

"Yes." He said truthfully, "I hurt a lot of people, Trunks. You're mother was right; I was a monster. I'm not proud of it, but it's true." He smoothed the lavender hair out of his child's eyes. "I have a lot of regrets in my life, Trunks, but you're one of the few things I've managed to do right. I've tried to make sure that you never have to grow up in environment like I had to when I was your age. I wanted to make sure that you never turn into the heartless soldier I once was... that you would turn into something better than me." He paused, looking his son in the eye.

"So do you understand now where I was coming from?"

Trunks nodded, he had a billion questions he wanted to ask, but exhaustion was setting it. Today had been rather traumatic for him. His eyelids became heavy. Vegeta sensed this.

"You go to sleep now, we'll worry about the rest of this tomorrow, okay?"

Trunks nodded, within a few seconds he fell into a deep sleep. The prince watched him for a time, and then he quietly exited the room. Dende walked by inquiring if everything was well. Vegeta replied the affirmative, and asked if he could deliver a message to the boy's mother. Dende was happy to do so and wished him a good night.

Vegeta waited until the young guardian had completely disappeared from sight before making his way down the spacious halls of the Lookout. He soon neared a door he had never entered before. The Saiyan raised a hand to knock, but the door soundlessly swung open. He stepped inside.

The room wasn't as big as he thought it should be, but wasn't as small as he expected it to be either. There wasn't much furniture, a large bed in the center of the room, a table in one corner, a chest in the other, and along the back wall an overstuffed chair that the Namek was currently sitting in. He had his eyes closed and looked like he was in a deep meditative state. The door suddenly shut behind him. Vegeta repressed the urge to be startled by it reminding himself that Piccolo was telekinetic.

Although the Saiyan Prince was a much more powerful warrior, Piccolo had a wider variety of abilities. Vegeta often wondered if that was the reason he never felt jealous of Goku or himself. The tall warrior opened his dark eyes and studied the elite standing before him.

"Is everything all right?"

Vegeta simply placed two fingers on his temple.

"It would be easier this way."

The green man nodded and closed his eyes; pleased Vegeta was allowing him to read his mind. He searched the prince's thoughts. It was jumbled, but he could make out what had occurred and feel the Saiyan's emotional reaction to all of it. He sighed deeply; things were getting too complicated for his liking. But he wasn't going to let that deter him for a minute. He stood up.

"Trunks can stay here for as long as he likes, I have no problems with it."

Vegeta inclined his head in thanks.

"He nearly killed the bastard. Heh, part of me was proud of him. Can you believe it? I think that's what disturbed me the most."

Piccolo nodded, "Believe it and understand it. To this day I still have the urge to randomly blast things, be it buildings or living people it makes no difference." He shrugged, "I'd never act on it, but it still resides within me. It is disturbing, but you have to accept it as a part of yourself. You can't annihilate the darker side of your nature; you're a fool if you try."

"Oh, I fully agree. But I don't want it reflecting in my son."

The Namek smirked, "Yes, I can't stand to think of two of yourunning around. That would be horrible."

Vegeta grinned, he moved to the bed and plopped down, giving the Namek and inviting smile.

Piccolo chuckled.

"I just read your mind and I know you've got too much going through that pointy head of yours too see straight, little alone do anything else."

Vegeta gave a disappointed sigh, lay back, and closed his eyes. The Namek was right; he did have too much on his mind. He had been eager, however, to finish where they had left off.

He felt someone move onto the bed next to him. Fingers brushed through his hair, the prince smiled slightly, savoring the sensations it gave him.

"Soon enough," the deep bass ghosted across his ear, "But when I have you again I want your undivided attention."

"And you'll have it."

"I had better."

Vegeta chuckled. Luckily, despite Piccolo's sparse taste he had a rather large bed. The two of them fit nicely upon it and had room to spare. In a daring move he toed off his boots and sat up and threw his shirt off. It landed in a nice little pile on the floor.

"Well just make yourself at home."

"I think I just did." And with that the Saiyan curled up into the-slightly taken aback- larger warrior's chest.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Piccolo turned out the lights with a mental switch and wrapped an arm around the Saiyan at his side. A feeling of warm comfort settled upon them both and it wasn't long before sleep claimed them in quiet reprieve.

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Author's Note: Forgive me for waiting so long to post this. I just moved from Missouri to England and I've been without internet for awhile. But I'm working as fast as I can to get these chapters re-worked. So hopefully, now that I have access to the net these will be coming a lot faster. Thanks for your patience and your hits.