Ascending | ✔

Reflection

"M-mom?" stammered Goten, staring at the blank screen. "MOM?!" He pushed Trunks away and floated up to the machine to shake it. "MOM! MOM! MOMMY COME BACK!" Tears pricked his eyes as he continued to shake it, dislodging it from its place on the wall. "DON'T LEAVE ME MOMMY!" A golden blaze erupted around Goten, sending papers flying all over the place.

"GOTEN!" Trunks shouted over the wind. "GOTEN, YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN!"

"THEY TOOK MY MOMMY AWAY!"

"I SAID CALM DOWN! THAT WASN'T YOUR MOM! CHECK HER CHI. IT'S STILL IN THE BUILDING!"

Goten took a deep breath and forced himself to relax, trembling. He spread out his chi senses and, upon finding her chi, felt an overwhelming sense of relief. "Y-you're right..." He went out of super saiyan and floated back to the ground. "Sorry Trunks!" He looked around at the mess he made, wiping his tears away. "I'm sorry..."

Trunks simply sighed and threw an arm around his best friend's shoulder, bringing Goten closer to himself. "It's alright. I probably would have done the same thing if that were my mom..."

The two boys sat in silence, huddled together. Goten's transformation had reduced the machine to pieces and important looking flyers were now stuck in places that they shouldn't be. The blueprints Trunks had put away earlier was now plastered to the ceiling after a pot of glue smacked into the roof. Goten continued to sniffle occasionally, finding comfort in Trunks' brotherly embrace.

My mom's okay, he thought numbly. She's okay... Mommy's okay...

Suddenly, the door burst open and a livid Bulma stood at the doorway. "What. Have. You. Done." She gave the boys a hairy eyeball, making them quiver in fear. "Well?! What part of 'top-secret' did you not understand, Trunks?! And you too, Goten? I'm ashamed of you both."

"It was all me," Trunks piped, unwilling to put his best friend into trouble after the poor Son had gone through such a distressing experience. "I made Goten come in here with me."

"Of course it was you," Bulma huffed, a vein throbbing on the side of her head. "I would have been less mad if you hadn't completely trashed my lab!"

"Sorry..." Trunks muttered dejectedly. "It won't happen again."

"Damn right it won't, mister! Because you're grounded for a month! No video games or TV!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

Trunks clenched his teeth in anger but didn't argue. It would only lead him to be punished even more severely.

Bulma released a sigh and moved forward to hug Trunks. "Don't do it again. Ever. I love you so much Trunks and I don't want you to get hurt doing things that you shouldn't be doing."

Trunks blinked in surprise but snuggled into the crook of his mother's neck anyway. "Um, okay. Love you too, mom."

Goten watched on with large eyes, feeling a bit of remorse. When was the last time I hugged mom? He made a resolve to give her the biggest hug ever as soon as he saw her.

"Get out of here, boys," said Bulma, considerably less angry - she even smiled a little. "Don't let me catch you in here again."

"Right!"

xXx

Chi Chi was helping herself to a cup of much needed tea in the kitchen when a small body glomped her. The tea sloshed in her cup as she startled. She looked down at a mass of black spikes, blinking confusedly. "Goten?"