“I don’t see what the problem is. Just land the damn ship and let us kill them.”

“Vejiita, we cannot just rush into an unknown environment with no plan and run all over the place trying to kill everyone we see.” Bulma reasoned with her husband, rolling her tired blue eyes. The other people in the room nodded in agreement, though Gokuu looked slightly less enthusiastic. Trunks reasoned that Gokuu was probably itching to kick some Saiya-jin ass. Much like his father sometimes, Gokuu wanted justice, and he wanted it as soon as possible. In a way, it was almost admirable, loving. He wanted to save ChiChi, no matter what the cost, or how much danger he was putting himself into. Trunks leaned over and cupped his chin in his left hand, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair he was sitting in, listening to his mother.

“Not only is it difficult to accomplish any kind of organization, but it also puts our hostage in danger. We don’t know where ChiChi is or who’s watching. One wrong move and we could put her in serious trouble.” Bulma continued, looking at everyone in the room with a great deal of seriousness. “We have to create a plan and we have to stick to it thoroughly. There is absolutely no room for error, here. If we want ChiChi back safely, we have to keep to our plan. If we risk carelessness and trot out on there unorganized and unprepared, she’ll be killed.”

Trunks cut a glance at Gokuu, and noticed that he went slightly pale at Bulma’s words. Obviously Gokuu hadn’t thought of that aspect yet. Getting to the planet, actually stepping foot on ground was just the first step. ChiChi wasn’t safe until she was back on Earth, in her own home.

His mother’s eyes suddenly looked as though they were very deep in thought, very distracted. “When a loss of organization and planning occurs, someone always ends up losing their life.”

He looked around the ship, meeting everyone’s eyes briefly. Bulma’s statement hit a lot of people very hard, including Trunks himself. He didn’t want to think about anyone on the ship dying. Not even Tayhei, he thought, glancing to his left where she stood confidently next to the window, her arms crossed casually across her chest. As always, her hair was knotted in a long ponytail at the back of her neck, but it was flung over the front of her shoulder, golden strands curling down to her waist. She looked beautiful standing there, easily the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. It was just too bad she was a bitch.

Marron was looking pretty too, though a little shaken up. She might have stumbled into something bigger than she thought, and she was just beginning to realize how much danger she had just put herself in. Trunks hadn’t thought about it before, but Tayhei’s decision to lie about the ship needing to be fixed also put Marron in a lot of danger. She had helped Goten and his family immensely, a great and amazing kindness to them, but in the process, she was also placing Marron’s family in jeopardy.

“I think the first priority is keeping the girls safe.” Gohan said, nodding towards Marron. “I’m sure I’m not alone on this, but I really do think that they should stay on the ship where it’s safe. During the fight just awhile ago with the those enemy ships, ours really held it’s own. You saw them blast us way over a dozen times, and the ship held up amazingly well. I think it is really the safest possible place for them to stay.”

Tayhei blanched. “Gohan-san, I don’t mean any disrespect, but---”

Gohan looked at her with a regretful frown. “Tayhei, I know you want to help, and I admire that very much, but I have your safety to consider. You may think you are a capable fighter, but compared to most of us, compared to those Saiya-jins, you would not be able to hold your own. Besides, we’re all counting on you to fix the ship and have it ready to take off after we rescue Okaasan.”

She looked down with what might have appeared to most people as understanding, but Trunks saw the glint of fury in her emerald eyes. He knew in that instant that she would not stay on the ship and obey Gohan’s words. She would be out there, fighting just like the rest of them, because that’s what she was. Tayhei was a fighter. Maybe not in power or in measures of muscle, but in spirit.

“In fact….” Gohan continued, looking thoughtful. “It might actually be a good idea for all of the kids to stay on the ship.”

This, Trunks had not be prepared for. “Nani?!” He screeched, lavender locks falling into his angry blue eyes. He immediately perked up and stared Gohan dead in the eyes. “Goten and I are more than capable of defending ourselves, Gohan. We don’t need to be protected like children.”

“Hai.” Goten agreed quickly. “I want to help save Okaasan.”

Gohan pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, looking frustrated. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you couldn’t take care of yourselves --- that wasn’t my train of thought at all.” He opened his eyes, looking more determined than ever. “But this isn’t about you. It’s about Okaasan, and I have to do what’s best for her.”

“What’s best for her?” Trunks cried out. “What’s best for her is to have as many people helping as possible. You can’t just lock us up in the ship because we’re a little bit younger than you.”

Bulma quickly came to Gohan’s defense. “I think I understand what Gohan is trying to say. Like I said before, caution and planning is absolutely everything in this mission. You may be perfectly fit to battle or more than qualified to defend yourselves in that sort of situation, but as far as common sense and patience is concerned, you may not be that applicable. This will truly take adult thinking and decision making. Trunks, I trust you, and I trust Goten too, but I also know that the two of you can be very careless at times. We absolutely cannot risk that.”

“We wouldn’t be careless --- we’d just fight as hard as we could! You’re not being fair to us.” Trunks said desperately, trying to help her see things his way. He couldn’t believe the unfairness of it all. He had come all this way to fight, to fight for Goten and Goten’s family, to right what had gone wrong. And after all this, after everything, he couldn’t even fight.

“You’re not listening to me, Trunks.” Bulma snapped, and her blue eyes glared fiercely from under a cover of turquoise bangs. “This isn’t about you. This is about ChiChi. We’re doing what’s best for ChiChi.”

“We have to be careful.” Yamucha agreed, looking thoughtful. “Mixing emotions and feelings with battle can never be a good thing. Anger can really hurt sometimes too. We have to think about this logically. ChiChi’s life is in our hands right now.”

“Yamucha is right.” Gokuu jumped in suddenly. “Goten-chan, I know you want to help, and any other time I would be more than happy to have you fighting by my side, but now is not the right time.” He looked at Goten then, identical eyes meeting slowly together in understanding.

After a moment, Goten nodded. “I’ll stay, then. I understand, Tousan. If it will help Okaasan and keep her safe, then I will stay.”

Everyone looked at Trunks, and he felt slightly embarrassed for how selfish he had been earlier. “Hai. I’ll stay too, then.”

“Great.” Bulma said. “I also think it would be wise to have someone watching over the kids at the ship, to make sure that everything goes as planned. I’d stay, but I think that we need someone more apt in the fighting department. Just in case danger arises, we need someone who will be able to defend not only themselves, but Marron as well. We need someone level-headed and wise, patient, understanding, more than willing to give his life for another person, good with children….”

“Vejiita?” Tayhei suggested casually.

Goten and Trunks snorted in unison. Vejiita shot Tayhei a murderous glare and she glared back with equal fury, a smirk on her pretty face. Bulma hid a smile. “Iie, I don’t think Vejiita is quite what we’re looking for. Besides, with his knowledge of the Saiya-jin background and attitude, he could be very useful to us out in the field.”

“They aren’t Saiya-jins, woman.” Vejiita snapped. “There are no Saiya-jins left.”

“Well, they sure as hell aren’t Nameks.” Piccolo argued. “If they aren’t Saiya-jins, then what are they, Vejiita? What else has a tail and smells that bad?”

Before Vejiita could say anything in return, Bulma put a calming hand on his chest, as if to hold him back. She leveled her gaze towards Piccolo. “Piccolo-san, I’m not doubting you, but I also think there is room for argument here. You have to admit, there’s no way of being entirely positive that they were indeed Saiya-jins. All of the evidence points in that direction, yes, but there is no certainty. And there is also really use in arguing about it. An enemy is an enemy, no matter what they’re called.”

Her eyes traveled up to meet Vejiita’s. “And as for you, keep your temper in check. Use that anger when it’s appropriate, not right now.”

Like she always managed to do, Bulma calmed the furious look in Vejiita’s eyes. He still looked angry, as he always did, but there was a certain peace there, a stillness that only Bulma could give him. Trunks loved the way that they were together sometimes. Although they had their fair share of arguments, they also had an amazing understanding as well. He loved the fact that his parents were so different from others. His mother didn’t clean and cook for his father, and his father didn’t do outdoor barbecues or play golf on the weekends. They were unique and special, one of a kind. And his parent’s actual relationship was fascinating to him. Through all of the arguing and yelling, fighting and screaming, there was just a hint of playfulness and respect. A bond that ran deeper than probably any of them suspected was there, hidden beneath all of the fury. There was something between them that could never be broken, and Trunks knew that not even death could separate them.

“I think Piccolo-san would be a very wise choice.” Gohan offered, moving the conversation back in the original direction. “He’s strong enough, yet patient enough to make wise decisions.”

“Would you mind, Piccolo?” She asked him, a hopeful look on her face.

He grumbled, but voiced no objections. Gohan looked at his sensei with a small smile on his face, probably remembering the time they had spent training together, so long ago. Trunks didn’t know a great deal about it, but he knew from Goten that Gohan and Piccolo had a very special, very deep relationship.

“What about the rest of us?” Kuririn asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are we going to attack all together? It would probably be quicker that way.” He paused. “Rush in, get ChiChi, rush back out….”

“Baka.” Juuhachi-gou muttered under her breath. “What a stupid idea. What if we’re caught? There would be no one left to rescue anyone. We should split up.”

“Juuhachi-gou is right.” Bulma agreed. “In sports, they have an offense and a defense. Both of those sides are needed to win the game. And with us now, we’re going to need both. One team to defend and distract, and the other to rescue ChiChi. I was actually thinking about this earlier on. Placement of team members is very important. We have to be able to work well together and cooperate enough to pull off the mission with any success.”

“I would like to rescue ChiChi.” Gokuu hesitantly said, raising his hand slightly. He paused for a moment, staring at Vejiita, who was leaning casually in the doorway. “And I think it would be very wise if Vejiita and I were not on the same force. We need to balance the power out evenly.”

Vejiita looked momentarily surprised, then recovered, muttering quietly to himself about what an idiot Gokuu was for even mentioning him. Trunks knew though, somewhere deep in his father’s heart, he was actually proud to hear Gokuu say something like that. The rivalry between Gokuu and Vejiita was not only a competition, but also a test of respect. Bulma looked up at him and smiled, then quickly wrote down a note on the clipboard in front of her, making out a list of the two different teams. “Gokuu….Vejiita.”

“Who else goes with Gokuu?” She asked, lifting her eyes momentarily. “Yamucha? Kuririn?”

Gohan shrugged. “One of the jinzouningen?”

“Niichan and I work better as a team.” Juuhachi-gou informed him. She smirked. “As many of you already know. Besides, I doubt Gokuu would feel comfortable having us defending the life of his beloved.”

“Then, me.” Gohan offered, smiling tightly at his father. “I want to be able to fight by your side, Tousan.”

Bulma nodded. “Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamucha, Gohan.” She scribbled down the names and looked up again. “I assume the jinzouningen with be with Vejiita, eh?”

“Oh, joy.” Juunana-gou muttered, and Juuhachi-gou shot him a glare.

“Myself of course, and Videl?” Bulma continued, writing.

Videl snapped to attention. Her eyes found Gohan’s instantly and she looked lost and desperate. “Wait. I want to be with Gohan. It’s kind of important to me.” Her face softened a little, staring at Gohan. “After all, we can’t split up the greatest crime fighting team on Earth.”

Bulma nodded sympathetically. “Kuririn, you’re with Vejiita, then.”

“Nani?!” He stammered. He looked up at Vejiita wearily, and the Saiya-jin stared down at him with malice in his angry eyes. Kuririn shrank back. “Isn’t there some other way?”

“Do you have to make everything difficult?” Bulma snapped at him. “Just suck it up and stick to the plan, Kuririn. If we rearranged everything to make everyone happy, we’d never reach an agreement!” She slammed her pen down on the clipboard and shoved it out further in front of her so that everyone could see. “Gokuu, Yamucha, Gohan, Videl. Vejiita, Juuhachi-gou, Juunana-gou, Kuririn, and myself.”

“Is it wise to devise a plan like this before we even know what this planet looks like?” Gohan asked Bulma, his eyes glinting intelligently. “I understand it’s important to work out the basics, but as for specifics, don’t you think we should wait?”

“Hai.” She answered, folding her arms. Trunks thought he’d never seen her look so exhausted. Even when the anger started to flare in her eyes, she just hadn’t been the same. There was some special spark missing there, missing from her heart, but Trunks couldn’t figure out for the life of him what it could be. They had their fare share of problems. There was a lot of jealousy on Trunks’s part, because Bulma treated Bra with a little more love than she had ever shown him. Deep down however, there was a bond that ran very deep between them. He was her first born, a child that might resemble Vejiita more than her, but there was still a part of her inside of him. He knew that the future version of himself, Mirai Trunks, and Mirai Bulma, seemed to be very close indeed. It was odd to think about what would have happened, how his life would be if it were just him and his mother. Even more so, it was odd to think about what his life would be like without his mother.

He admired her; her intelligence, her determination, her grace and beauty. She was truly an extraordinary woman, and on many occasions, he had been proud to say that he was her son. Although there were traits of his mother’s that he would never want to have, there were some things that he strove to be. He knew what she wanted for him, and he always tried his best to accomplish it. But he was young, and at times thoughtless, and it was hard to keep up with his mother’s ideal of what a good son should be. He wanted to prove himself to her, though. On this trip, on this mission. He wanted to be responsible and intelligent, mature and caring, just like she wanted him to be.

“So, what now?” Tayhei asked, looking out her window at the deep blackness of space, the white form of the planet Sukuashi appearing in front of the window like an enormous full moon. Everyone stared out the window with her, excitement and anticipation running through their veins like fire. And mixed in there with all of that, there was just a tinge of fear, written in almost everyone’s eyes, of the danger they were about to face. Trunks blinked. He had a lot to prove, and a lot to accomplish. This was just one thing that he couldn’t mess up on.

“We land, we wait, and we pray.” Trunks answered unconsciously, and he stared as a star went streaking across the universe, a lone sign of hope in all of that desperate blackness.

Chapter 45
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