A/N: I want to thank my reviewer and give some credit to one of them (unfortunately I can't remember the name...I forgot who it was...) from which I got the idea for a lot of the stuff that's gone on in this chapter. Thanks for the extra psychology tips. I really enjoy reading other people's ideas and opinions. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I think people jump a little too quickly to conclusions, and sometimes I think they're right on! But, anyway, I like reading all these reviews. Of course... some suggestions, while I liked them, I couldn't use because I just couldn't imagine that Vegeta would EVER no matter HOW logical the idea, do some of these things. This chapter is kinda pushing it, in my opinion, to be honest. I would say they've ALL kinda gone OCC.... But, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!
The morning came with many changes. The events of the previous day had changed circumstances considerably and brought a lot of confusion for everyone. The death of the monster had made everything different. It meant that the Vegeta from the fourteen year old's time was still alive. It meant that it had been killed long before the fourteen year old had ever escaped to the past and, therefore, it hadn't come along when he'd gone back in time. Which meant none of the parents of the past had been frozen, which meant that none of the younger Trunks' had need to be taken... And the fourteen year old no longer had need of coming to the past. His mission had been accomplished.
But, even with so much resolved, so many changes in the emotional systems both of Trunks and of Vegeta, due to the words spoken so much earlier than they originally were intended...one BIG problem still remained. Vegeta sat in a space ship on the front lawn of his future self with FOUR versions of Trunks STILL tagging along. And with so many changes, THIS didn't add up. It was as if being on board this ship somehow defied the logics of time. Yet, the memories of everyone involved was in constant shift, but on a DAILY basis. It happened over night, after hours of sleep, not during the day, or through a nap. It was all incredibly STRANGE.
Today EVERYBODY, except the baby, woke with a headache. Not much had changed for the four year old. The only thing that was different for him was the memory of the monster. Now he only remembered being taken by his father from the future. He was confused and wanted to go home. MOST affected, however, was the oldest of the five Trunks, followed by future Vegeta and HIS Trunks, who were probably tied for second most affected.
Fourteen year old Trunks was baffled. Everything his father, from one year in the past, had said to him the day before was still vivid in his mind. Yet, at the same time, he had a whole set of memories between that time and his OWN father in which Vegeta had behaved differently. What had happened yesterday for him, had happened a YEAR ago for HIS father.
Vegeta's idea of keeping a record of his current memories each day had proved very helpful. It confirmed what Trunks was suspecting. That the monster dying had, once again, changed reality around. So the past year of memories he had, were almost non-existent. HE had never experienced them! They were the things his THIRTEEN year old counterpart would experience! It was baffling though because they were clear in his mind, as if they really HAD happened to him too.
He let out a long sigh. Things were very different. He felt a lot more content then he could ever remember feeling before. It was irritating him though. After all the years he'd felt so rejected and spent so much time trying to gain his father's approval, now that he HAD it...he didn't know what to do with it, but DENY that it really existed, or be angry over the past, which only made him feel guilty because he KNEW his father held much regret in that. Yesterday may have been the first time HE had heard him say so, but in the year he had lost, his younger selves would be hearing it SEVERAL times.
When Vegeta woke up, his future self was already sitting in the control room. "Get a move on, we have work to do," he was instructed.
Vegeta frowned with irritation. He didn't appreciate being told what to do...by ANYONE. "We'll leave soon enough," he went into the kitchen.
"We'll go NOW," future Vegeta glared.
Vegeta's temper grew. "Do as YOU wish, but I am going to eat."
Future Vegeta growled. "YOU are going to tell me what TIME period to go to!"
Nine year old Trunks sat at the doorway watching with excited curiosity. The fourteen year old was just getting up. "What's going on?"
"Shhh! Look, they're fighting!" nine year old hushed him.
Fourteen year old's eyes widened a little with interest as he crouched behind the younger one, watching. It was only a matter of seconds before the four year old had entered the room as well. Even HE was interested in THIS.
"I do NOT take orders from ANYONE, YOU included, and I will take this thing back to the past when I am good and READY!" Vegeta spat.
"Oh is THAT so, huh?" Future Vegeta stood up.
The four year old's eyes widened a little and he smirked. "Look...Daddy's telling DADDY what to do."
"Shh!" the older two hushed him, but it wasn't soon enough. Both Vegetas were looking at them in surprise.
All three of the kids stared back for a second and then stood up.
"What do you three think you're doing?" Vegeta glared at them.
Nine year old folded his arms, smirking. "Watching someone ELSE get the orders barked at them."
The other two snickered.
"Yeah," fourteen year old took on the same stance as the younger one. "Not so nice on the RECEIVING end is it?"
Both Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "Get in your rooms!" they both pointed simultaneously.
All three of the Trunkses broke out in laughter.
"Look...he hasn't even changed at ALL from your time to when you're thirteen," the fourteen year old said between laughs, clutching his sides.
Both Vegetas looked at them with surprise and irritation.
"...I know...same reaction as ALWAYS!" nine year old agreed.
Suddenly the four year old sat up, pouting. "Does that mean he's ALWAYS going to hate me?"
Fourteen year old sat up, still chuckling a little. "He doesn't hate us, he never did. He just doesn't know any other way but to give commands. LISTENING and THINKING about what's at the root of a problem isn't his strong point."
"Yeah...if it can't be solved with 'Trunks go to your room!', he ignores it," nine year began laughing again.
Fourteen year old snickered, but controlled himself.
Both Vegetas were speechless as they watched EVERY version of their child talk in AGREEMENT! And about HIM! The younger Vegeta was first to speak. "That's ENOUGH! Now GO!"
The older two boys folded their arms and mimicked their fathers with a smirk. "I do NOT take orders from ANYONE, YOU included." Each of them snickered a little bit.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, but was stopped by his future self. "Don't...," he eyed the kids with a touch of suspicion, but mostly curiosity. "There's a lesson in this and they're right."
"What?" Vegeta turned with agitation. "There most certainly is! That boy has NO respect for his elders! Obviously I have failed in teaching him proper OBEDIENCE!"
"Oh, right!" the fourteen year old scowled.
Future Vegeta shot him a short glare and then dragged his younger self out the door and onto the front lawn where they could talk with less interference. "If you would just calm that stupid temper of ours and stop to think about this..."
"I'm perfectly calm!" Vegeta shouted, clenching his fist.
Future Vegeta looked him over and rested his vision on his eyes, blinking a few times.
"Fine, so I'm a BIT angry," Vegeta admitted.
"Yes, and that's just the problem. We're authoritarians. BOTH of us. I haven't changed much since being you. The only thing that seems to have improved is my control of our temper and my ability to stop and think. Trunks is RIGHT. Neither of us top and think about what's REALLY going on before we give him some kind of order."
"That's not true!" Vegeta crossed his arms, scowling and turning his back. He knew it WAS, but he didn't want to admit it.
"Listen! YOU went back in time to improve things with him. I KNOW, I was in your time once. Well, it didn't work. Here we are NOW and the only chance of improvement is in YOU. I can do what I can now, but MY Trunks is already thirteen. YOURS is only nine. We can STILL improve his life if only YOU would listen to what I'M saying..."
Vegeta let out a long annoyed sigh. "All right, FINE! But you know as well as I do that this temper is probably the biggest contributor."
"Yes. And I'm sure it'll take time for you to improve it, so my suggestion in the mean time is that after you loose your temper with him, cool down, and have a chance to think things through, THEN go back and talk to him. It's not a perfect plan, but perhaps you'll get to being good at it so that by the time I come along, I'LL be pretty advanced...," future Vegeta raised one eyebrow. "...That doesn't sound quite right... but you understand what I mean, right?"
Vegeta nodded with a frown. "It's a possibility I can attempt, but I don't know that it'll do much good."
"Well, barking orders at him certainly isn't doing any! Neither of US take kindly to that, so why should we expect our own flesh and blood to be any different? All that's going to do is make him angry and more abt to disobey."
Vegeta sighed. "Agreed."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have to warn now (even though half the time I don't REALLY do as I warn...), I may not be updating this quite as frequently for a little while. I've got some other stuff to focus on a little more and this story is sometimes holding me back from it, so I just might not get to this for a little while. (...even though everytime I say that...it ends up being updated JUST as often, if not MORE. but just in CASE....)
The morning came with many changes. The events of the previous day had changed circumstances considerably and brought a lot of confusion for everyone. The death of the monster had made everything different. It meant that the Vegeta from the fourteen year old's time was still alive. It meant that it had been killed long before the fourteen year old had ever escaped to the past and, therefore, it hadn't come along when he'd gone back in time. Which meant none of the parents of the past had been frozen, which meant that none of the younger Trunks' had need to be taken... And the fourteen year old no longer had need of coming to the past. His mission had been accomplished.
But, even with so much resolved, so many changes in the emotional systems both of Trunks and of Vegeta, due to the words spoken so much earlier than they originally were intended...one BIG problem still remained. Vegeta sat in a space ship on the front lawn of his future self with FOUR versions of Trunks STILL tagging along. And with so many changes, THIS didn't add up. It was as if being on board this ship somehow defied the logics of time. Yet, the memories of everyone involved was in constant shift, but on a DAILY basis. It happened over night, after hours of sleep, not during the day, or through a nap. It was all incredibly STRANGE.
Today EVERYBODY, except the baby, woke with a headache. Not much had changed for the four year old. The only thing that was different for him was the memory of the monster. Now he only remembered being taken by his father from the future. He was confused and wanted to go home. MOST affected, however, was the oldest of the five Trunks, followed by future Vegeta and HIS Trunks, who were probably tied for second most affected.
Fourteen year old Trunks was baffled. Everything his father, from one year in the past, had said to him the day before was still vivid in his mind. Yet, at the same time, he had a whole set of memories between that time and his OWN father in which Vegeta had behaved differently. What had happened yesterday for him, had happened a YEAR ago for HIS father.
Vegeta's idea of keeping a record of his current memories each day had proved very helpful. It confirmed what Trunks was suspecting. That the monster dying had, once again, changed reality around. So the past year of memories he had, were almost non-existent. HE had never experienced them! They were the things his THIRTEEN year old counterpart would experience! It was baffling though because they were clear in his mind, as if they really HAD happened to him too.
He let out a long sigh. Things were very different. He felt a lot more content then he could ever remember feeling before. It was irritating him though. After all the years he'd felt so rejected and spent so much time trying to gain his father's approval, now that he HAD it...he didn't know what to do with it, but DENY that it really existed, or be angry over the past, which only made him feel guilty because he KNEW his father held much regret in that. Yesterday may have been the first time HE had heard him say so, but in the year he had lost, his younger selves would be hearing it SEVERAL times.
When Vegeta woke up, his future self was already sitting in the control room. "Get a move on, we have work to do," he was instructed.
Vegeta frowned with irritation. He didn't appreciate being told what to do...by ANYONE. "We'll leave soon enough," he went into the kitchen.
"We'll go NOW," future Vegeta glared.
Vegeta's temper grew. "Do as YOU wish, but I am going to eat."
Future Vegeta growled. "YOU are going to tell me what TIME period to go to!"
Nine year old Trunks sat at the doorway watching with excited curiosity. The fourteen year old was just getting up. "What's going on?"
"Shhh! Look, they're fighting!" nine year old hushed him.
Fourteen year old's eyes widened a little with interest as he crouched behind the younger one, watching. It was only a matter of seconds before the four year old had entered the room as well. Even HE was interested in THIS.
"I do NOT take orders from ANYONE, YOU included, and I will take this thing back to the past when I am good and READY!" Vegeta spat.
"Oh is THAT so, huh?" Future Vegeta stood up.
The four year old's eyes widened a little and he smirked. "Look...Daddy's telling DADDY what to do."
"Shh!" the older two hushed him, but it wasn't soon enough. Both Vegetas were looking at them in surprise.
All three of the kids stared back for a second and then stood up.
"What do you three think you're doing?" Vegeta glared at them.
Nine year old folded his arms, smirking. "Watching someone ELSE get the orders barked at them."
The other two snickered.
"Yeah," fourteen year old took on the same stance as the younger one. "Not so nice on the RECEIVING end is it?"
Both Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "Get in your rooms!" they both pointed simultaneously.
All three of the Trunkses broke out in laughter.
"Look...he hasn't even changed at ALL from your time to when you're thirteen," the fourteen year old said between laughs, clutching his sides.
Both Vegetas looked at them with surprise and irritation.
"...I know...same reaction as ALWAYS!" nine year old agreed.
Suddenly the four year old sat up, pouting. "Does that mean he's ALWAYS going to hate me?"
Fourteen year old sat up, still chuckling a little. "He doesn't hate us, he never did. He just doesn't know any other way but to give commands. LISTENING and THINKING about what's at the root of a problem isn't his strong point."
"Yeah...if it can't be solved with 'Trunks go to your room!', he ignores it," nine year began laughing again.
Fourteen year old snickered, but controlled himself.
Both Vegetas were speechless as they watched EVERY version of their child talk in AGREEMENT! And about HIM! The younger Vegeta was first to speak. "That's ENOUGH! Now GO!"
The older two boys folded their arms and mimicked their fathers with a smirk. "I do NOT take orders from ANYONE, YOU included." Each of them snickered a little bit.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, but was stopped by his future self. "Don't...," he eyed the kids with a touch of suspicion, but mostly curiosity. "There's a lesson in this and they're right."
"What?" Vegeta turned with agitation. "There most certainly is! That boy has NO respect for his elders! Obviously I have failed in teaching him proper OBEDIENCE!"
"Oh, right!" the fourteen year old scowled.
Future Vegeta shot him a short glare and then dragged his younger self out the door and onto the front lawn where they could talk with less interference. "If you would just calm that stupid temper of ours and stop to think about this..."
"I'm perfectly calm!" Vegeta shouted, clenching his fist.
Future Vegeta looked him over and rested his vision on his eyes, blinking a few times.
"Fine, so I'm a BIT angry," Vegeta admitted.
"Yes, and that's just the problem. We're authoritarians. BOTH of us. I haven't changed much since being you. The only thing that seems to have improved is my control of our temper and my ability to stop and think. Trunks is RIGHT. Neither of us top and think about what's REALLY going on before we give him some kind of order."
"That's not true!" Vegeta crossed his arms, scowling and turning his back. He knew it WAS, but he didn't want to admit it.
"Listen! YOU went back in time to improve things with him. I KNOW, I was in your time once. Well, it didn't work. Here we are NOW and the only chance of improvement is in YOU. I can do what I can now, but MY Trunks is already thirteen. YOURS is only nine. We can STILL improve his life if only YOU would listen to what I'M saying..."
Vegeta let out a long annoyed sigh. "All right, FINE! But you know as well as I do that this temper is probably the biggest contributor."
"Yes. And I'm sure it'll take time for you to improve it, so my suggestion in the mean time is that after you loose your temper with him, cool down, and have a chance to think things through, THEN go back and talk to him. It's not a perfect plan, but perhaps you'll get to being good at it so that by the time I come along, I'LL be pretty advanced...," future Vegeta raised one eyebrow. "...That doesn't sound quite right... but you understand what I mean, right?"
Vegeta nodded with a frown. "It's a possibility I can attempt, but I don't know that it'll do much good."
"Well, barking orders at him certainly isn't doing any! Neither of US take kindly to that, so why should we expect our own flesh and blood to be any different? All that's going to do is make him angry and more abt to disobey."
Vegeta sighed. "Agreed."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have to warn now (even though half the time I don't REALLY do as I warn...), I may not be updating this quite as frequently for a little while. I've got some other stuff to focus on a little more and this story is sometimes holding me back from it, so I just might not get to this for a little while. (...even though everytime I say that...it ends up being updated JUST as often, if not MORE. but just in CASE....)