Chapter 0 – "Prologue to the Past"
The barren land in front of Capsule Corporation was hauntingly silent, save for four figures staring each other down. Three stood beside one another, and one taller one across from them. The trio was none other than Krillin, an adult Son Gohan, and a teenage Trunks Briefs. Across from them was the terrible sight of Imperfect Cell.
"I give you warning, noble warriors," the tall android hissed, his words oddly verbose, "you cannot defeat me, even in this form. And when I absorb those androids, I will achieve perfection. Nothing will be able to stop me."
Gohan took a battle stance, and Krillin and Trunks followed suit. Cell seemed to grin through his primitive mouth, and mockingly took the stance of Gohan's late father, Goku.
"We need to just fend him off. We've spent all these years training in hiding, and if we die, we'll lose all we've worked for." Gohan wasn't a kid anymore, and he knew the magnitude of this situation. Krillin nodded, and Trunks began powering up, a white aura surging around him. Out of all things, young Trunks hated androids most of all. They took his father, and all of his friends… he wasn't just going to run away anymore. Gohan put a firm hand on his pupil's shoulder. "Don't even think about it."
"This talk is getting annoying," Cell interjected. He extended his hand, and outstretched two fingers. He switched between pointing at Gohan, then Trunks, then Krillin. "Who shall I kill first? Ah… I know."
Without warning, Cell disappeared in a flash, before appearing in the air over Krillin. "Death Beam!"
Frieza's signature purple ray, faster than light itself, sped forward. Before Gohan or Trunks could even see where it had come from, it had already pierced through Krillin's head, instantly killing him. Trunks looked on in horror, and Gohan's mouth hung open, a cold sweat pouring down his face. His eyes were awestruck—in the past years, Krillin had become like his uncle, and they had gotten very close, much like Krillin did with his father. "Krillin!"
The earth began to crumble beneath Gohan's feet. He could feel a new type of energy flowing through him. All of his life, he had been training to be able to go Super Saiyan like his father had, but even after witnessing his friends die at the hands of the androids, all he could do was cry. Not anymore. His aura began flashing gold, and Cell looked on, almost scared by the sudden burst in the half-Saiyan's power level.
"I won't allow this!" Cell teleported in front of Gohan, intent on sending a kick, but Trunks blocked it with all of his might. "Out of the way, you worm!" He sent Trunks flying with a strong elbow, before kneeing the transforming Gohan in the gut. Gohan immediately stopped transforming and flew into Capsule Corp, which caused him to slam his head against the hard concrete and lose consciousness. Cell slowly walked toward the strongest Z-Fighter, before picking him up by the front of his orange gi. "No power," he whispered darkly, "will be greater than mine."
Cell looked around, before his eyes found what he wanted. He may not have had the power to kill Gohan right now like he thought, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't exist in this timeline. He drug Gohan over to Bulma's newly finished Time Machine, constructed so Trunks could bring heart medicine and blueprints for Gero's androids to the past, and eliminate this threat that had plagued them for over a decade. Now, Cell was killing two birds with one stone—with Gohan gone, he wouldn't have a rival, and with the time machine gone, nothing could interfere with his plans to become perfect. He opened the pod of the time machine, before tossing Gohan in. He pressed random buttons on the control panel, not really caring where Gohan went, as long as it wasn't the present. He closed the lid, and in a flash, Gohan was gone.
"Now... to find those androids."
Words from the author:
This is just a short prologue— I was originally going to pair this with Chapter 1, but I didn't want to have a novel. So consider this a morsel to get your appetite going. Also, I've altered some things in the DB/Z canon to fit the story—for instance, you probably noticed future Gohan wasn't able to go Super Saiyan. This is for story purposes, and I don't think it's too radical of a difference. There will also be a few other changes, one of which being a rather major one next chapter. It's a pretty big change, but again, essential for the story. I hope it'll be enough to keep you all entertained!
- AW