The steady hum of medical equipment was the only sound in Lord Duskborn's private chamber, where green light bathed the room in its glow.
At the center stood a massive healing tank, its reinforced glass containing the suspended form of Toji Fushiguro - alive once more, though still unconscious.
The regenerative fluid swirled gently around him. Though he had no injuries- Whis reassured them of that - Freeza would take no chances with her beloved.
Before the tank stood a child who appeared to be about six years old, though his true age was barely over one year- having like his grandfather stated countless times, accelerated in his physical aging.
Megumi Fushiguro pressed his small hands against the glass, leaving tiny fingerprints as he studied his father's sleeping face.
His violet eyes reflected the green glow of the tank while his black hair fell in unruly strands across his forehead.
"Daddy still sleeping," Megumi said with a sigh, his childish voice echoing in the empty chamber. "Gumi waited and waited. Seven whole days!" He held up seven fingers to demonstrate, though he miscounted and only raised six.
The boy wore miniature imperial armor, scaled perfectly to his size but with subtle modifications for comfort.
Around his neck hung two pendants - one crafted from a fragment of Freeza's bio-armor, given to him by his father, the other fashioned from a piece of Toji's Vader helmet, given to him by his mother after his father's death.
"Everyone said Daddy gone forever," Megumi continued, leaning his forehead against the cool glass. "Servants whispered when they think Gumi not listening. Say Daddy trapped in scary hot place."
He frowned, his small face scrunching with disapproval. "But Gumi knew better. Gumi could feel Daddy here." He tapped his chest with one finger.
The boy began to pace in front of the tank, occasionally floating a few inches off the ground before settling back down - a new skill he was clearly still mastering.
"Gumi got big!" he announced proudly, stretching his arms wide. "Three days ago! Went to sleep little, woke up big!" He giggled. "Mama was surprised. Doctors scared. Only Grandpa nodded."
He moved closer to the tank again, his expression growing more serious.
"Gumi watch vid-vids of Daddy with Mama every day since Daddy gone sleep moons ago. Mama doesn't like me not able to sleep not hearing Daddy's breathing."
The boy's small hand traced the outline of his father's face through the glass.
"Gumi will never leave Daddy," he declared with sudden intensity. "Not like Mama did us long ago. Gumi stay with Daddy forever and ever. Daddy belongs to Gumi, because Gumi can feel how much Daddy loves him."
Inside the tank, Toji's eyelids twitched.
"Daddy fighting bad dreams?" Megumi asked, noticing the movement. "Gumi will help!" He pressed his face against the glass and began to sing in a high, clear voice - a lullaby that one of his caretakers had taught him.
As the child's voice filled the chamber, Toji's eyes suddenly opened.
Consciousness returned in a disorienting rush. Green fluid. Breathing apparatus. The muffled sound of a child's voice.
Memory flooded back: Hell. Whis. Divine ki. Worship. Prayers. Resurrection. Collapse.
His senses extended outward, confirming he was truly back in the living world. The familiar weight of Hell's atmosphere was gone.
His body felt whole - the arm he had lost fighting Dragon Slug had regrown, and the constant pain that had become his companion was absent.
As his vision cleared, he focused on the figure standing before the tank - a child who appeared to be around six years old.
For a heart-stopping moment, Toji couldn't process what he was seeing. Had he been unconscious for years? Had he missed his son's childhood? The panic was insane and overwhelming.
Then instinct took over. Toji extended his ki sense toward the child, probing gently. The signature was unmistakable - Megumi's unique blend of human and Frost Demon Ki signature.
Luckily, it still felt like the life force of a very young child, approximately one year old.
Relief flooded through him, followed immediately by understanding. His son's body had grown rapidly, but he was still developmentally a baby.
Toji hadn't missed years - but he had missed something significant, that much... That much was clear.
Megumi suddenly noticed his father's open eyes. The boy's entire face lit up with pure joy.
"DADDY WAKE! DADDY WAKE!" he shrieked, jumping up and down and pointing excitedly. "GUMI KNEW IT! GUMI TOLD EVERYBODY!"
Toji reached out telepathically: Megumi, step back from the tank.
The boy froze mid-jump, his expression shifting from excitement to wonder. "Daddy talking in Gumi head! Not just in vid-vids!" He obediently scampered backward, watching with rapt attention.
Toji focused his telekinesis on the tank.
With a thought, he shattered the reinforced glass while simultaneously suspending every fragment in the air, ensuring not a single shard could reach his son.
The green healing fluid cascaded around him as he stepped forward, wearing a simple white medical garment that somehow remained dry despite being soaked.
The suspended glass shards floated gently to the floor as Toji maintained his focus on Megumi.
The boy appeared frozen for a moment, as if unable to believe his father was truly standing before him.
Then, with a cry that was half sob and half laugh, Megumi launched himself forward.
Toji caught him effortlessly, crushing the boy against his chest. Tears streamed down both their faces - Megumi's from pure joy, Toji's from a complex mixture of relief, love, and lingering grief for the time lost.
"Daddy squeeze too tight!" Megumi giggled, but made no effort to loosen the embrace, instead hugging back with all his childish strength. "Gumi missed Daddy so much! Gumi knew Daddy come back!"
"I missed you too," Toji whispered, his voice rough with emotion. "More than you can imagine."
"About time you woke up."
The voice from the doorway belonged to Vegeta. The Saiyan prince stood with arms crossed, wearing formal regalia that marked his status as Grand Regent. Despite his attempt at casual disdain, there was a hint of genuine relief in his expression.
Toji, still holding Megumi tightly, rose to his full height. He said nothing, merely nodding acknowledgment while keeping his focus on his son, who had now wrapped his arms around his neck and seemed determined never to let go.
"Follow me," Vegeta continued, turning to leave. "I had a feeling you'd wake today. Ordered the kitchen to prepare food." A smirk crossed his face. "The real kind, not whatever passes for cuisine in this palace."
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The dining hall was smaller than the grand imperial chambers but still impressive by Earth standards.
A massive table dominated the center, laden with dishes from Earth that would have fed a small army: steaks cooked to various levels of doneness, pasta with rich sauces, rice prepared in different styles, roasted vegetables, and an array of desserts on separate platters.
Toji sat at one end, working his way through plate after plate. Megumi floated happily around him, occasionally landing on his shoulder or lap before taking off again.
"Look, Daddy! Gumi can fly now! Like big people!" The boy performed a small loop in the air, beaming with pride.
Toji nodded, a small smile crossing his face as he reached out to ruffle his son's hair. "That's impressive. Who taught you?"
"Gumi learn by self!" the boy declared proudly, then immediately contradicted himself. "Uncle Kaka help little bit. Show Gumi how to feel the... the..." He scrunched his face in concentration. "The bubbling."
"He means the ki flow," Vegeta clarified from across the table, where he ate with significantly more restraint. "Kakarot's been teaching him basic energy control."
Toji raised an eyebrow at this but didn't comment, instead turning back to his meal. After months in Hell and a week in a healing tank, food - real food - tasted like paradise. This time, unlike in the ship, Hell's sulferous atmosphere didn't interfere with the taste.
"Mama visit sometimes," Megumi continued, settling onto Toji's lap and reaching for a piece of bread. "But always busy. Says empire needs her."
He stuffed the bread into his mouth, speaking around it. "Grandpa tells Gumi stories about conquering planets!" His voice dropped to what he clearly thought was a whisper. "Scary stories. But Gumi not scared."
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Toji said automatically, then paused, surprised at himself. The fatherly instruction had come naturally, as if he'd been saying it for years, despite Megumi never having eaten anything besides drinking Milk when he last saw him.
Megumi swallowed obediently. "Sorry, Daddy."
"So you've been running things," Toji said to Vegeta, the first direct words he'd addressed to the prince.
Vegeta grunted. "Someone had to. This empire doesn't maintain itself." He took a sip of wine. "Your territories have expanded by eight percent. I've established new trade routes with the Galactic Patrol, put down three rebellions, and executed exactly seventeen traitors."
"Only seventeen?" Toji's lips quirked slightly. "You're getting soft."
"I've been selective," Vegeta replied with a thin smile. "Quality over quantity."
Megumi, bored with the adult conversation, floated up from Toji's lap and began chasing a small ball of ki he had created. The glowing sphere bobbed through the air like a soap bubble while the boy followed, giggling.
Toji watched his son with undisguised wonder. "He's grown so much. Not just physically."
"Cold predicted it," Vegeta said. "Frost Demon hybrids develop unpredictably- since it is unprecendented. The physical growth happened three days ago - overnight. Freeza was surprisingly calm about it. Cold seemed pleased."
"And his power?"
"Growing steadily. Nothing like your current, but impressive for his age - his real age." Vegeta leaned forward slightly. "He can sense ki naturally. No training required. Could feel his mother even from across the Galaxy."
Toji nodded, unsurprised- Megumi is his son, of course he can do the abnormal. "He's special."
Though he internally wondered if his son could sense emotions from Ki as well. It would be quite the useful ability to teach him if he didn't already know. Could allow Megumi to sense when someone intends danger towards him.
(That his son would better understand how much he was loved being actually his true reason.)
If anyone held any malicious intent towards Megumi they'd die before they can birth their next thought.
"Understatement," Vegeta muttered. "He's the first Frost Demon hybrid in recorded history, son of the two most powerful beings in the universe." He paused. "Well, among the most powerful."
Toji returned to his meal, slicing into a perfectly cooked steak as Megumi continued his aerial game nearby.
The silence between the two men was comfortable - the two after this long, have become... almost friends. Though neither would ever admit it.
"The Namekian comes by occasionally," Vegeta said after a while. "Checks on your son. The woman too - Bulma."
"And Freeza?" Toji asked, his tone carefully neutral.
"Busy with the empire. Cold has her training constantly." Vegeta's expression darkened slightly. "She's... changed since you've been gone. More focused. Less prone to tantrums." He smirked. "Still terrifies everyone, of course."
Toji nodded, filing this information away for later consideration. His primary concern right now was his son, who had abandoned his ki ball game and was now attempting to build a tower from various food items.
"Megumi," Toji called. "Come eat properly."
"Yes, Daddy," the boy replied, abandoning his food sculpture and floating back to his father's side. He settled into his own chair, looking comically small in the ornate imperial seat.
As Toji reached for another serving of steak, Vegeta's watch emitted a soft repeating chime. Annoyed he wanted to turn it off.
He had already ordered no contact to be made - whether he says it or not, Toji being back is something Vegeta is geniunely happy about.
The Saiyan prince, seeing that it was from the emergency message line tapped it with annoyance, expecting information about another rebellion or the like - but his expression immediately transformed to one of great surprise.
His fork clattered to the plate as he stared at whatever message had appeared.
Toji froze mid-bite, instantly alert. His posture shifted subtly from relaxed to combat-ready, and in the same motion, he surrounded Megumi with a protective ki bubble, drawing the boy closer to him.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Vegeta seemed unable to find words, his typical composure completely shattered. After several attempts to speak, he simply tapped his watch again, projecting the message as a hologram visible to Toji.
The holographic message from Bulma appeared between them, her face tense with urgency: "EMERGENCY. Someone claiming to be from the future has appeared at Capsule Corp. Male, approximately 17-18 years old with purple hair. He's a SUPER SAIYAN. Arrived in what appears to be a time machine. Requesting immediate response."
The projection flickered out, leaving Toji and Vegeta staring at each other across the table. Megumi, oblivious to the tension, happily played with the floating food inside his protective bubble.
"A Super Saiyan," Toji said finally, breaking the silence. "Like Goku."
'Trunks,' he thought to himself.
"Yes," Vegeta replied, his voice tight. "The woman says from the future. I would love to dismiss it as nonsense, but she would never lie and is no fool either."
Toji nodded. "Purple hair," he mused, studying Vegeta's face carefully. "Interesting color. Not typical for a Saiyan."
Vegeta's jaw clenched. "No. It's not."
A time traveler. A Super Saiyan. A teenager with unusual coloring. Someone who might know things they didn't - or shouldn't.
"I suppose," Toji said, rising from his seat with Megumi's bubble floating securely beside him, "we should go meet our visitor from the future."
Vegeta stood as well, his composure returning though tension still radiated from him. "Yes. I believe we should."
Megumi clapped his hands inside his bubble. "Gumi go too! Gumi go with Daddy!"
"Yes," Toji said, his eyes never leaving Vegeta's face. "You stay with Daddy. Always and Forever."
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(Author note: So! We're finally getting into the Android/Cell Saga. Hope you guys are looking forward to it.
Also, yep, Megumi has finally gotten his growth spurt, though he is still mentally a child for the most part.
As you can probably see, Megumi loves his dad a lot (though Toji still loves Megumi more.)
Megumi since he was in the womb could already feel how much Toji cared for him, then loved him as the most important thing in Creation from the moment of birth. Constantly 24/7 being bathed in the warm love by his father.
And then suddenly, one day, that warmth disappeared. And only the coldremained.
So, yeah, that has... quite the affect on such a doted child.
Essentially, Megumi is a daddy's boy.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)