The older I get
Will I get over it?
It's been way too long for the times we missed
I didn't know then it would hurt like this…

The time between
Those cutting words
Built up our defenses, Never made no sense, It just made me hurt
Do you believe
That time heals all wounds...

Three months after entering the Time Chamber…

"The room of time and space"

How fitting a title.

Father, you and I have been sealed in this chamber for at least three months now, and you've barely spoken a word to me… unless it was about training, or a criticism of some sort.

"You're in my way, boy"

"Pathetic"

"You're too weak"

"You hold me back, brat"

I'll be honest. It was a shock, when I finally got to meet you. There are no photographs of you in my time, you see, so I'd never seen that coldness in your eyes before. And my mother… she doesn't like to talk about you too much. Nor of her life before the androids. It causes her too much pain, I think.

But now…

I'm beginning to suspect that you were the cause of her pain all along. She never told me what you were really like. Oh, she said you were distant and difficult to get to know; obsessed with training and beating Goku. I even know a little of your life as one of Freeza's slaves from her stories. But I never imagined that my mother, a woman with such strength and intelligence and a warm heart, could fall in love with you, when you're so… cruel.

Yes father. You are cruel.

'Cold' is too hollow a word to describe how you are, how you treat the people around you.

Mother believed you cared for her. But… when Gero attacked the ship carrying both her and this time-line's version of myself, you left them to their fate. Had I not stepped in, we'd both be dead in this world.

Would you have cared?

Would you have regretted your obsession with defeating the androids, and proving your strength, when you realized the only people in this universe to every truly care for you had been murdered right before your eyes, and you did nothing.

I'm watching you now. You're standing in the middle of this empty chamber, and it's almost like a reflection of your soul; harsh and vacant. Are you meditating? Trying to figure out the next step to gain more strength? I don't know. I don't understand a thing you do… I don't know you.

I always dreamed of what you would be like. I took my inspirations from the things I was told, and I guess I never imagined you as a… a thinker. I was told you were a brilliant tactician, of course. Gohan spoke of you more freely then mother ever did, and he could understand you as a warrior. But still, I always thought of you… like fire. Blazing and unyielding. But seeing you stand there now, immovable, you remind me of ice; a frozen statue in an empty room.

Father…

… why must you insist of being alone?

Six months after entering the Time Chamber…

You struck me today.

I think it's possibly only the second time you've come close enough to touch me, of your own free will, since we met. The first time, you hit me then too; in the stomach, as I tried to stop you going after the androids when Goku was too ill to fight.

You say I interfere in your training, that you fight alone and always will.

I am your son, and still, you won't let me near…

When I saw you there, bellowing in a way I'd never heard before, surrounded by flames that threatened to swallow you whole… even thought you've been so unkind to me, I had to save you.

But you didn't need my help, of course.

The flames weren't a threat to you, because they came from you. An outward manifestation of all the pain and rage you felt. I was wrong about you. Your soul isn't empty at all… it's filled with hate, vengeance and blood.

Father, I think this was a mistake. All my life, I wanted to know you, to understand what it meant to be your son. But now, the knowledge I have of you only brings me fear. Is this what it means to be a Saiyan? To share your blood?

I've known fear all my life, but never like this…

Nine months after entering the Time Chamber…

I understand now. I do.

All of the pain and the anger I've witnessed was merely a shell, a masquerade. It doesn't hide a softer side to you, but it does hide something I never thought I'd associate with you…

Vulnerability.

Not that you're weak. Not at all. But, your greatest strength is also your greatest flaw. Not your pride, but your honor as a warrior, and a Prince. The two are separated by a fine line, of course; pride and honor. They're almost the same. But I think I've grown to understand the subtle line that distinguishes them. As a child, you had everything stripped away from you. Your entire life, like mine, was spent fighting for your… your everything! Freedom, power, a sense of self that had no mark of ownership on it.

Just like I am scarred by the presence of the androids in my world, you still bare the mark of your fathers betrayal, and Freeza's cruelty. Though I cannot accept the poor treatment you've shown others, myself and mother included, I can understand the reason for it. The loneliness, the resentment.

Father, I thought coming here would give me answers. Then, I thought it was a mistake, creating only more questions. I've learnt now that one can't simply accept things at face value. There is always something deeper, waiting to be discovered. Your arrogance is just another flaw, as all people have. Born from a need to prove yourself, your worth, your right to your own existence.

I can see now, the thing that my mother saw in you too. I'm glad I made this journey into the past, and that I got to see the true pride of a Saiyan. When I return home, I'll be taking more then memories with me. I'll take with me a sense of honor that I never knew before…

What it truly means to be your son, and a Saiyan of royal blood.

Disclaimer: All right belong to their respective owners (including the lyrics – "The Older I Get" by Skillet)

Author Notes:

I'll be including information on the time in which these little 'letters' take place in the chapters following, just so no one gets lost and you can see the development of thought over time.