A/N: Explanations given in this chapter may differ somewhat from later revelations in DBZ canon. They are designed to reflect a certain character's views at a specific point in time. Oh, and over 50,000 words! This is the longest story I've ever written and I want to thank everyone who has been supporting it by reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, etc. It is much appreciated.

Chapter 12: The Future In The Past

"Where do you think Vegeta and Trunks are? It's starting to get late." Bulma peered out the window anxiously, hoping that she might see the two men landing neatly on the lawn of Capsule Corp. Two hours had passed since the father and son had departed for a private conversation on an island several miles out to sea. Gohan frowned.

"Didn't Trunks say he was going to take off directly after his talk with Vegeta? I'm sure that's probably what happened."

"Then why hasn't Vegeta come back yet?"

Gohan paused thoughtfully. There was something not quite right about the situation, that much was certain; he just couldn't place his finger on what it was. Gohan knew Vegeta pretty well; well enough that he could recognize when something was out of character for him. And Vegeta having a long heart-to heart with his son was not something he could picture the older Saiyan doing. Still, there was nothing fishy about Trunks not returning to Capsule Corp. He had definitely said he was going to leave directly after the talk with his father. That just leaves Vegeta. Whatever he was up to it surely couldn't be that he was still talking with Trunks.

Videl reached her arm out and brushed Bulma softly as she tried not to stir a sleeping Pan on her lap. "Don't worry Bulma; I'm sure the two of them can take care of themselves. After all it's because of Trunks that we're all alive again. I don't think there's anything out there that could possibly hurt them anymore."

Bulma tried to accept the comfort Videl's words offered but the truth was she wasn't worried so much about any sort of external danger. She was worried about the hurt caused from the inside. Ever since he came back to life Vegeta barely spent any time with Trunks; except Mondays. Every Monday Vegeta and Trunks beat the crap out of each other in their training regimen. But any other day and it was seldom you would even know that Vegeta was back. He spent all his time locked in that damn gravity room so no one ever saw him. Now after a whole month Vegeta all of a sudden wants to have some secret conversation with his son? Bulma didn't buy it. She knew Vegeta and she knew he was up to something. She had thought that things might be different this time; but ever since Vegeta saw firsthand just how outclassed he had become, he had retreated into his old shell.

"Tell you what" said Gohan suddenly. "If Vegeta doesn't come back in a half an hour I'll go out looking for them. I know the island that they went to so I'll know where to look."

Bulma looked relieved. "Oh Gohan, thank you."

"No problem."

xXx

A half hour later found Gohan scanning the darkened sea for the island in question. After a 15 minute journey he made a soft landing at the same spot where Trunks had demonstrated his power for them the day he returned from space. Scanning the dark land surface carefully he eventually spotted a motionless form lying about thirty yards away; it had striking lavender hair that stood out in the night.

"Trunks!"

Gohan ran swiftly towards his fallen comrade and knelt down beside him. He had been knocked out cold. "Trunks" he said several times while rubbing his hands across his cheeks. "Trunks, wake up." But the young man would not budge. Finally Gohan transferred a small amount of his own energy to his former student providing the spark that reignited his consciousness and opened his eyes.

"G-Go-han" he said blearily. "Ahh…my head. What…what's going on?"

Gohan looked seriously down at his young friend. "I don't know. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me."

Trunks rubbed the back of his head and raised his upper body gingerly. Then it hit him.

"My father!" he exclaimed. "Damnit!"

"Trunks what's wrong? Where's Vegeta?"

"It was him! He's the one who hit me from behind. I was showing him the time machine and…oh no." He looked around wildly but was crestfallen when he saw that the time machine had disappeared.

"He took the time machine Gohan! He's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean?"

Trunks hit the earth with his fist. "I mean he's gone. He took the time machine and left; for another timeline."

Gohan was floored. "What? But why would he do that? I thought he wanted to talk to you."

Trunks shook his head angrily but stopped quickly because he realized this hurt. "He didn't want to talk to me. He just wanted to distract me so he could knock me out and steal the time machine. I should have known something was up! Why would my father say those things to me? I know him, I met him in the past and there's no way Vegeta would ever speak to me in that way."

Gohan listened attentively. "What way? What did he say Trunks?"

Trunks struggled to hold back tears. There was only so much he could take. "He told me he was proud of me. That he died for me…and my mom. He said he cared about us. Liar!"

Gohan didn't know what to say. He had never told Trunks the details about his father's death. But from what it sounded like apparently Vegeta just did. And it's a shame because Vegeta wasn't lying; he really did die for Trunks and Bulma. But of course Trunks would never believe that now.

xXx

Vegeta was flying through space and time, unsure of anything but the sensation of jelly that had overtaken his bones. He struggled to see but all there was all around him was brightness; he wasn't even sure he had eyes anymore. There were sounds, unearthly sounds, but were they even sounds? Where had his ears gone? Did he even exist? Of course he did; he had to, otherwise he would have been unable to form thoughts. But just what Vegeta was at this point he himself did not know.

Finally there was darkness and the sensation of being glued back together. Then quite suddenly he was looking across a barren landscape that he distantly remembered as being the approximate site of his battle with Kakkarot many years ago. He felt quite a disconnection with the place; as though what had taken place there was a foreign experience. He felt certain it was his current miserable predicament that caused him to feel so, but that would be fixed very shortly. As he climbed out of the time machine, Vegeta vaguely registered that he could do any number of things with time travel now at his disposal. He could travel back to that original battle with Kakkarot and beat him within an inch of his life; kill him even if that's what suited him. But no, that was not necessary. He had already beaten Kakkarot twice: he survived when Kakkarot was felled by a pathetic heart virus and he returned to life even though Kakkarot had not.

What else could he do? The prince thought about it for a moment and smirked slightly at the thought of going back in time to destroy Frieza as he had always desired to do. But that would accomplish nothing. In fact, engaging some alternate version of Frieza might even prevent Vegeta from moving on as he intended to. He had moved far beyond the memory of that wretched lizard anyway. So while entertaining the fantasy of these things he had the ability to do, Vegeta consciously moved on and capsulized the time machine before slipping it into the compartment of his armor. There could be no more distracting thoughts for now; he had a mission to accomplish.

Vegeta took off at a fast but leisurely pace as he busied his mind with thoughts relevant to his purpose. He wanted to make absolutely sure he was prepared for the chaos that could ensue when he arrived at his destination. He would arrive in West City in an hour.

xXx

Bulma knelt inquisitively over the table that held an assortment of mechanical parts just waiting to be assembled. If you didn't include the time machine her future counterpart had designed this would undoubtedly be her most ambitious invention to date: A watch that could instantly restyle your wardrobe with just the click of a button. She had actually gotten the idea from the time machine her future son had traveled in. The concept was similar if vastly less complicated: Instead of transporting a human being plus an enormous machine throughout time and space, this design would simply transport clothes and accessories across space to replace the clothes being worn by the watch's operator. There was much fine tuning to be done but Bulma felt sure the watch would be an instant success once released to the public; maybe she could offer one to Gohan as well?

Things sure had changed in the year since the defeat of Cell. Everyone had gone off their own separate ways. Krillin had started dating Android 18 and had even started growing in his hair! Tien and Chaozou packed up and moved who knows where. Yamcha completely gave up his training in favor of a career as a professional baseball player. Piccolo took up residence at the Lookout and Gohan…well, poor Gohan was still a little down because of the loss of his dad but everyone agreed that Goku's last decision really was for the best; but that doesn't mean it didn't still hurt. Chi-Chi just recently gave birth to a beautiful little boy named Goten who appears to be the spitting image of his father. It was quite a responsibility to be put on Gohan's shoulders at such a young age.

Then of course there was Bulma and her family and yes she could actually say that she had a family now. Everyone was amazed at how well Vegeta had adjusted to fatherhood and having a permanent residence at Capsule Corp. Of course, no one expected Vegeta to win any awards for father of the year but still, the once dastardly Prince of all Saiyans had turned into quite the family man in his own gruff way. Little Trunks, who just turned two the other day, definitely loved his "papa" as he called him.

Deciding that she needed a break, Bulma headed upstairs for some lunch passing the occupied gravity room as she went. Despite his initial vow that he would never fight again Vegeta had resumed his intensive training routine a few months after moving back in. It just seemed beyond his capability to not train like a madman; but even here Vegeta had changed. No longer did he train to the detriment of his own body and the interests of those around him. Vegeta was always present at breakfast and dinner time and there had not been one single instance of Vegeta nearly killing himself during the entire year since Cell was defeated. Apparently he had adopted a philosophy of: "I'll never quit training but training is not my life anymore." Well that was just A-okay with her! She actually had her Vegeta back! She, Vegeta, and Trunks and formed the family she always thought she'd have with Yamcha but just could never quite stomach the thought of.

As she entered the kitchen she caught sight of her mother chopping happily away at an onion.

"Hey mom."

"Oh hi there Bulma sweetie" said Bunny Brief. "I'm supposed to tell you that Vegeta wants to speak with you. He's waiting for you in the living room right now."

Bulma stared blankly. "What? But I just saw Vegeta in the gravity room a minute ago."

Bunny blinked rapidly showing her confusion. "But that can't be right Bulma. I just saw him out in the front yard. He asked me if you were home and I said absolutely but that you were a little busy in that lab of yours. He told me he didn't mind waiting if I would tell you that he was waiting to see you. He's just over there in that room."

Well that made no sense. She had distinctly heard the hum of the GR as she passed and Vegeta never left it on when he wasn't in there. He said it took away from the room's performance the next time he used it. Deciding to get to the bottom of this Bulma headed for the adjacent living room and was greeted by quite a sight: Vegeta clad in his old Saiyan battle armor looking just as smug as could be.

"Hey bub" she began. "I thought you agreed to turn off the GR when you weren't using it. It's still on!"

Vegeta smirked knowingly at her. "I would guess that the room is still on because it is being used woman."

Bulma blinked confusedly. "What do you mean 'it's being used'? Who else uses that thing besides you…Vegeta! You did not leave Trunks in there all by himself did you?! He's two years old! I don't care if he's half Saiyan or not, a two year olds body is not built to withstand 500 times gravity!"

Vegeta continued to smirk. "I'm sure your son is just fine."

"Excuse me?" said Bulma. "My son? He's your son too you dimwit!"

Vegeta inclined his head. "In a matter of speaking, yes. But I'm afraid the situation is somewhat more complicated then you currently imagine. I wish to speak to Vegeta."

Well that was odd. What did he mean by that?

"Umm…are you okay Vegeta? You seem to be acting a little strange right now."

"I'm perfectly fine Bulma" he replied, placing emphasis on her name. "But I did come here for a purpose. I demand to speak to Vegeta at once; I do not like to be kept waiting."

This was becoming too much for Bulma to handle. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about! You are Vegeta; why on earth do you need me for you to have a conversation with yourself? You're not making any sense!"

And indeed, Vegeta could see that it was time to end his little game; it was getting him nowhere. "Perhaps this will clear matters up for you" he said. He pulled out a capsule from within his armor and tossed it to Bulma. As she caught it she looked at the label which was very clearly marked: Capsule Corp. #1: Hope!

"Hope" she whispered quietly to herself. Then her lips formed a small "oh" as comprehension began to dawn on her.

"You" she said softly. "You came from the future. From Trunk's timeline. You're the Vegeta who was killed by the androids."

Vegeta smiled sarcastically. "Very good. Now do you understand? I am not the same person you assumed I was. I am very different from your version of Vegeta. And I really would like to speak to him. So please lead the way."

But Bulma remained rooted to the spot. "Why would you come here? Is everything all right? Is Trunks okay?"

"Everything is just damned fine woman! The androids are gone, Cell is gone, and the boy wished everyone back to life with the Namekian dragon balls; everything is just damn peachy! Now take me to my counterpart at once!"

Well he hadn't changed. "Fine" Bulma huffed. "You don't have to be such a jerk about it you know."

He merely grunted in response. Bulma huffed again. Bulma led the way to the gravity room where the distinct hum could still be heard, indicating that it was definitely still occupied.

"You'd better have a good reason for interrupting his training. He's not going to be happy."

"I'm sure he'll understand" said Vegeta cynically.

Bulma pressed the override button which was located on the outer wall and very suddenly the humming sound stopped and silence set in around them. Until…

"What is the meaning of this? I've been very clear that no one should interrupt me while I'm training!"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Well you know what? Goku's dead, the androids are reformed, and Cell's been blown into a million pieces; there's no one left for you to beat so I think you can spare a few moments for some important guests!"

The door burst open. "Guests?" shouted the irate man who was clad only in black spandex training shorts. "You're not having one of those ridiculous dinner parties again? You just had one last month!"

"I can have a party whenever I want and I don't need your permission. But no, I'm not having a party today. Actually, there's someone here to see you."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Me" came the plain response.

Past Vegeta (or is he present Vegeta?) stared dumbly at his future self for a few moments.
"What sort of trickery is this?" he asked.

"It's not a trick. This is your counterpart form the future. He came here in Trunk's time machine."

Well that was original. "Can't these future people just stay in their own timeline? Don't tell me: We're about to be attacked by some new, terrifying monster?"

Mirai Vegeta stepped forward and said "I traveled here of my own volition to speak to you personally. I would appreciate a moment of your time."

It certainly was an odd experience being addressed by the future version of yourself. But Vegeta had grown used to odd things; the earth was a pretty odd place.

"I take it Trunks wished everyone back to life then? He mentioned something about that before he left."

Mirai nodded. "How about it then?"

Bulma observed the situation carefully, wondering what in the world was going to happen. Somehow it just didn't seem healthy to have two Vegeta's together in one place feeding off one another.

Vegeta pulled a towel off the bar near the gravity room's entrance and flung it around his neck. "Fine. My morbid curiosity is getting the better of me. Follow me."

Bulma quickly interjected herself. "And just where are you two going?"

"Somewhere away from prying eyes and ears" said Canonical Vegeta. "And I trust you won't be following us."

Mirai Vegeta smirked slightly as the two Vegeta's made their way out of the hallway and towards the indoor garden with Canonical Vegeta leading the way; had he not just said the same thing a few hours ago?

Bulma watched in silence as the two versions of her husband disappeared without a word. What a life she had come to have.

xXx

Canonical Vegeta settled himself against a tree, leaning nonchalantly as if he had not a care in the world; the truth was that he was very interested in what the future version of himself had to say. The two Vegeta's stared one another down for a moment, sizing one another up; canonical and Mirai. Finally, it was Mirai Vegeta who started to speak.

"You're probably wondering why I came here."

"There must be a reason" said Canonical Vegeta.

Mirai scowled slightly before he continued. How should he word this without sounding like a whiny fool?

"I envy you" he said finally.

Canonical Vegeta raised an eyebrow casually but the rest of his features remained stoic.

Mirai clenched his gloved fists and, throwing his pre-planned words to the wind, he proceeded to launch into a tirade.

"I envy you…and I don't know why. You have gained unbelievable power, more than I can even comprehend. And yet…look at you! You've actually settled down amongst these humans! You have reduced yourself to becoming a common resident of this planet just like all these other pathetic beings! You're no different than Kakkarot! Worse! You're actually worse than him! I never would have believed that my own self, my very own essence would betray his Saiyan pride and become…one of them!"

Canonical Vegeta merely observed his counterpart impassively, a faint trace of amusement beginning to pull at his lips.

"You don't deserve the power you have" Mirai continued. "Unlike you, I remained a warrior down to the bitter end. I lost my life in battle, which is more than can be said for you! I can't even believe it; just looking at you makes me sick to my stomach! You with your towel and your house and your garden. I can't believe it! Imagine my embarrassment when I found myself restored to life and I've literally become the third wheel. My son is stronger than me and what's worse is Kakkarot's brat is more advanced as well. I am hardly stronger than the Namek and in the past month I've made zero progress towards ascension. But you…you're just sitting on all this power, all this glory and you're not even doing anything with it! You just sit back and enjoy mediocrity. How can you even stand yourself?"

Again, Canonical Vegeta simply observed the situation and allowed Mirai to rage. He would be getting to the heart of the matter shortly no doubt.

"And what makes it all so much worse, what makes it so utterly ridiculous is that for all your shameful inaction and all your pathetic attempts to blend in I actually envy you. I envy what you have achieved. How is it possible? Why should I envy you? I shouldn't! I should hate you for being a disgrace to the Saiyan race and a dishonor to the name of Vegeta! But I find myself envious. You should be the ruler of this planet by now. There's no one left to challenge you. The boy, Kakkarot's brat, is no real threat. It's common knowledge that he doesn't want to fight. Even in my world we know how reluctant he was to fight Cell even though he was the only one who had a hope to win. You could very easily take what you want from this planet. Just like you used to do to all the other planets.

"You were the destroyer of worlds, the conqueror of civilizations. It was your birthright to rule the entire Saiyan race on Vegeta-sei. The entire reason you came to this planet in the first place was to conquer it and gain immortality; why haven't you done that? It is well within your reach; no one could hope to stop you. And then you would be free to finally realize your destiny…our destiny as the most powerful being in the universe! And still you sit here quietly playing Bulma's pet Saiyan! It's an outrage! What is wrong with you?"

Canonical Vegeta straightened his posture and took a step forward at that final jibe. "Leave the woman out of this Mirai; it would be a shame for me to have to hurt you."

Ordinarily Mirai would have simply continued his verbal assault but the very real threat of being overpowered by his past self prevented him from doing so. He remained silent, unsure of how to continue his rampage.

Canonical Vegeta's patience was beginning to run thin. "You have welcomed yourself into my house and interrupted my training and so far all you've done is whine about why things haven't gone your way. I believe you probably have an actual purpose in being here other than complaining like some pathetic child; but I do not have unlimited patience so I would recommend you spit it out quickly."

Again, in an ordinary situation Mirai would have been quick to take offense but somehow, hearing those words from an alternate version of himself somewhat softened the blow. There was a long silence where both Vegeta's contemplated one another. But finally, Mirai spoke up.

"How did you do it? How did you achieve your power? And why, now that you have this power, have you not used it to your advantage? You should be living as a king. It is your destiny!"

At this Canonical Vegeta just laughed. The sounds of his laughter, so familiar to Mirai, was maddening. These were legitimate questions! How dare the Prince of all Saiyans make a mockery of the Prince of all Saiyans!

"So that's it huh? That's what you're here for? You want me to tell you the secret of ascension? Well my dear Saiyan, you should have simply said so. No need for you to spend all this time insulting my honor in my own house."

Vegeta continued to laugh but Mirai sensed that he wasn't about to be given an easy answer to his questions.

Finally Vegeta settled down enough to take some breaths and he gestured for Mirai to take a seat on the grass.

"I don't need to sit at your feet like some child; just tell me the secret!" said Mirai.

Canonical Vegeta smirked tauntingly at Mirai. "You know, it's no wonder you're so weak. You haven't got a clue have you? You have no idea what this is all about. You thought you'd come here with all your righteous anger and indignation thinking that I surely am the one to blame. You think that I've betrayed myself and thus, am undeserving of the power I possess. But you're wrong; you haven't even come close to understanding. Let me explain something to you, clueless."

Mirai's nose wrinkled in anger.

"You think that power is all about the energy you possess. I know; I used to think that way as well. You think that in order for you to fulfill your destiny you must travel that road alone, as a solitary being; I understand that as well. But you're wrong on both counts."

Mirai was looking at Vegeta now, his anger being slowly replaced by focus and an emotion he couldn't quite place.

Vegeta continued. "You've spent your whole life pushing yourself to your limits and beyond because that's how you thought power was achieved. But let me ask you, did pushing yourself beyond your limits in a mad dash for power make you strong enough to defeat Frieza on Namek? How about when he came to the Earth? And when you finally became a Super Saiyan, did your continued efforts to isolate yourself enable you to defeat the androids? What's the answer Mirai? Tell me."

What's the answer? No, obviously. But what was the point of all this?

"I don't see what this has to do with anything" Mirai began.

"Of course not. What's the answer?"

Mirai scowled. "No."

Vegeta smirked. "No. Now, if you can admit to yourself that our previous attempts to gain power through mad training and isolationist behaviors did not produce the desired results why can't you see what's holding you back?"

Mirai didn't get it. What was holding him back? Was the answer that obvious to his alternate self?

Canonical Vegeta shook his head. "Think about it. I'm sure you already have many times. It probably still frustrates you to no end even today. How that clown Kakkarot always seemed to take the easy road and still ended up stronger than you. How even the most intensive training program you could come up with never produced the same results as what seemed to just come easily to that buffoon. These thoughts still haunt you don't they? Even though the clown is gone and is never coming back in your time or mine. I struggled with those questions myself until about a year ago. But now I see things more clearly." Vegeta smirked. "And yes, I do enjoy the new clarity I've been given."

Mirai stared at his counterpart blankly. Yes his thoughts were still haunted by Kakkarot and how he still seemed to be taunting him even from beyond the grave. Trunks had only gained so much power because of training that had been recommended by Kakkarot and Gohan's current superiority to the prince was a living reminder of Vegeta's subordination to the Son family. But what was this clarity he spoke of?

"What's your point?" Mirai asked.

Canonical Vegeta smirked wider. "You have always lost to Kakkarot because you've fought against everything he represented. You've always failed where he succeeded because you've denied yourself the things he cherished. Family, friends. These sorts of things consumed Kakkarot and made him stronger. His need and desire to protect the ones he cared for always won out over our selfish need to better ourselves and desire for more power. I began to understand that after Trunks was killed by Cell. I had formed a bond with him without even realizing it. And when he died…I felt a power coursing through my body which I had not felt before…a power I have not felt since. It was a feeling of invincibility.

"You on the other hand have done nothing but reject the offers of friendship these people extended to you. I can't say I blame you. But eventually you're going to have to move past their stupidity and accept that without them what you have would not be possible. It won't be an easy transition for you to make, but that's the sacrifice you have to make. The same as I made. Do you think it's my initial preference to be surrounded by these humans whose customs I barely understand and whose power is so far beneath my own? But I understand that without them I would not be able to live the life I currently enjoy, and yes, I do enjoy it."

Canonical Vegeta wore a look of supreme superiority and pride, something that seemed inconceivable to Mirai given the circumstances.

"You think I've betrayed myself and my Saiyan pride by staying here and living comfortably with the humans but you're wrong. You just don't know any better. Let me explain this to you: I'm the most powerful being on this planet outside of Gohan an even with that exception I still sit on top. He can't summon his power as easily as I can; if I really wanted to I could eliminate him very quickly. But it pleases me to keep him around.

"He's still very young. He comes to me sometimes with his problems and questions because I'm the only person left who can truly understand his Saiyan nature and power. He honors my wisdom through the respect he shows me in that he comes to me with his questions. Not his mother, not the Namek, me. And his young brother who seems to have developed a bond with my son will come to respect me as well. Why? Because he will respect Gohan. And we all understand how younger siblings seek to emulate their older ones."

Mirai shifted uncomfortably at the mention of younger siblings.

Vegeta continued. "I have joined to me a woman whose beauty even you understand is worthy of Saiyan royalty and whose spirit is unmatched. Together we inhabit this house which is a palace by earth standards. Her brilliant mind has produced more wealth and prosperity than I ever would have dreamed imaginable on this backwater planet. And now, it's all at my disposal as well. Why? Because I consented to settle in here. My son thinks that I am the greatest person in the world; everything I do he tries to emulate. My greatest rival has been vanquished and every last member of my race is in some form of subjection to me. Don't you see?"

Mirai was struggling but there was a small part of him that was beginning to see the wisdom of Vegeta's words.

"I live a life we never would have dreamed of in Frieza's service. Power, wealth, beauty, and the respect of my subjects. Do you understand it yet? In what way is what I have now, what you're so angry at me for enjoying, any different from what we would have had on Vegeta-sei if Frieza had never existed? No difference. Except that now, I can actually enjoy it all because there is peace. Mirai, I am the Prince of all Saiyans. I haven't betrayed anything. I finally have what we have been seeking all our lives. And if you can't see that then you're lost. If you can't admit it to yourself then perhaps you don't deserve what you're looking for."

That snapped Mirai out of his silent contemplation. The two Vegeta's locked eyes as Canonical Vegeta began to walk away. As he passed, he stopped briefly and glanced sideways at Mirai.

"If you refuse to accept the truth of the matter then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you. You will never ascend."

And with that, Vegeta walked off leaving Mirai standing stunned and alone in the garden as he struggled with the weight of all he had just been told.

xXx

Vegeta didn't know how long he had been standing alone in the garden but from the appearance of the sunset apparently a few hours had passed. Vegeta had intended to leave Capsule Corp, without a word but most unfortunately he had run into a very troubling situation on his way out of the garden. It happened rather quickly as the small blue blur nearly ran right into him. Instead, it stopped just short and then looked up at the much taller man with bright blue eyes and chubby cheeks that for some ungodly reason reminded him of himself many years ago.

"How'd you get here papa?" asked little Trunks.

Great, now he had to actually say something.

"I-uh"

"I just saw you with mama. How'd you get here so fast? Why your clothes dif'rent?"

Vegeta struggled to come up with something quick. "I…Come here son." Trunks moved closer to Vegeta and was somewhat surprised when Vegeta picked him up and held him upon his arm.

"You're quite the troublemaker aren't you?" Vegeta asked.

Trunks giggled. "That's what mama says. I don't mean to cause trouble."

The Saiyan prince looked intently at the small boy who was so different from the young man he'd come to know in his own time. But as he continued to gaze at the boy, he suddenly realized this Trunks was just a little older than his own Trunks was when the androids had killed him. That thought along with the accompanying reality that so much time had passed without him ever developing a relationship with his son hit him like a ton of bricks. Why had he not thought of this before?

It was more or less unspoken but common knowledge that Bulma had not been the first female to gain Vegeta's attention. As a space pirate Vegeta had had his share of encounters with the opposite gender. But why had he always killed them afterwards? Wasn't it because of his fear that they might actually bear his seed and become a target for Frieza's merciless whims? Really, he had felt that he was doing those women and any potential offspring a favor by saving them from Frieza. He never wanted any offspring of his to be torn from its family the way he had. He had vowed early on that he would never let that happen. But wasn't he doing the same thing to Trunks right now?

He had missed out on his son's early years but that was unavoidable. No one had foreseen the androids. But he was alive again and Trunks was still a young man. He possessed much power but lacked the control, he had noticed, that would make him a truly unstoppable warrior. Vegeta could offer him that. He could offer his son a unique perspective in understanding his Saiyan nature, the same as his counterpart was doing with Gohan in this timeline. He could choose to be there for his son in a way that his own father had never been. He could choose to do that…but would he?

Vegeta walked the small boy back to where he came from. Depositing him with his mother with the words "Keep an eye on that one." He turned to leave but before he left the room he spoke one last time. "Tell the prince I hope he enjoys his empire. He'll know what I mean."

Bulma looked back at him with Trunks in her arms. "Where will you go?"

Vegeta looked back and replied simply "Home."

Bulma knew she would get no further explanation than that so she instead took Trunk's arm and said "Say bye-bye to Mirai daddy Trunks."

Trunks waved happily at Vegeta. "Bye-bye Mir-mir…" Trunks struggled with that foreign word. "Bye garden daddy."

Bulma cast Vegeta a quizzical look but Vegeta just smirked and walked out.

Now that that was over, Vegeta was outside of Capsule Corp. and about to fly off when he noticed a large crowd gathered down the street. They were cheering and waving their hands in the direction of someone or something Vegeta could not see. Deciding to see what it was out of sheer interest in another timeline Vegeta approached the crowed which, as he drew closer, he noticed was gathered around a large platform. Suddenly, he bumped into something that angrily showed itself to be a someone. A little girl with dark brown, almost black, hair which was pulled into two loose pigtails. She looked vaguely familiar to Vegeta.

"Hey watch where you're going buddy!" she said indignantly.

"Be quiet girl. What are all these people here for?"

The girl shot Vegeta a nasty glare that he almost found comical. "Don't call me girl. And what do you think they're here for? My father is making an appearance. He's the World's Champion."

"World's Champion? Oh you've got to be kidding me."

Suddenly there was a high pitched voice that was shouting a name that definitely sounded familiar to Vegeta.

"Videl! Videl! There you are! We've been looking all over for you. The ceremony's about to start come on!"

"Now this is ridiculous" Vegeta thought. If this was Videl then that little blonde thing must be…

"I know Erasa. I was just heading up there when this guy got in my way."

"Why don't you show him who's boss good lookin?'" said some young boy with skater style blonde hair.

"Stop calling me that, Sharpener!"

"Enough of this!" Vegeta exclaimed. The trio fell silent.

"Now that I understand what this gathering is all about I have no desire to be here whatsoever. You should learn some respect young girl" he said, looking at Videl. Then he paused slightly, deciding to have a quick bit of fun at her expense. "Especially after all Gohan's done for you."

The three kids looked at one another blankly. "Gohan?" Videl asked. "Who's Gohan?"

But Vegeta had already taken off into the crowd. By the time she started off after him he was long gone.

Vegeta took to the air triumphantly, glad he was able to gain the upper hand on at least one person while he was here. So he had mentioned Gohan. Who cares? Obviously the girl didn't know him in this timeline. What were the odds they'd ever cross paths in their future?

A/N: So the votes are in and it's unanimous: The WMAT is what people want to see. So the WMAT is what you will get.

DarkVoid116: Thank you for taking the time to review every single chapter so far. Very cool of you.