Disclaimer: Dragonball is owned by Akira Toriyama, as are its derivatives. Xenoverse is owned by Namco Bandai.
AN: I needed something to do to hold me over until Xenoverse 2 later this month, and I figured I might as well make it something that can last longer than my wait and maybe give people a little joy. Without further ado…
Chapter 1: A Hero lost in time.
Elder Mori sighed heavily, having aged to the point that he could barely move in his worry. It would seem that his time as Grand Elder of the Namekian people would end much the same as his predecessor Guru. An invading force led by a powerful alien dictator was once more seeking the Dragonballs, and this time there would be no Goku to appear and save them in their hour of need. None of the Namekians had heard anything from Earth since New Namek had been founded, and he doubted that anyone he had met was still alive. Only Piccolo would have had a long enough lifespan to still be around.
"Cello! Our people need you more than I do right now. Head to our central village while everyone gathers here with the balls. Hold out for as long as you can, for you are the hope of Planet Namek." Outside of the humble building that housed the aged leader of Namek, an imposing figure gathered his strength. Standing seven feet tall and three across, a Namekian whose skin was tinged ever so slightly bluer than his brothers launched swiftly into the air. He was wearing garb typical to his people, save for the fact he remained bare chested. A soft grunt left his body as he watched the majority of his people fleeing as stealthily as they could for Mori's home, likely to use the Dragonballs and wish to be moved to a safer planet far from prying eyes.
The massive warrior landed shortly before the large dome ship of his enemies did, grimacing as he watched it flatten several homes in the process. He kept quiet as he watched five warriors whose powers eclipsed his own rose from the top of the ship, followed by a horde of foes he could easily defeat, though taking all of them would wound him greatly. The most powerful of the group was the most unassuming, his size and shape being medium compared to the other powerful allies with him.
Aqua skin was hidden by black bio-armor, the newest leader of Planet Freeza smiling lightly as he gazed upon his idol's dream. Arctic had been the first of his type born since the death of Lord Freeza, a frost demon capable of shifting his form to unlock ever greater power. He had collected the most powerful warriors he could find as he reconquered planets that had managed to escape after the Namek Disaster, and the fulfillment of the Super Saiyan legend. Now, after nearly fifty years of effort, he would finally prove that he was the strongest in the universe, succeeding where Freeza had failed. All that stood in his way, was a single massive Namekian.
"Greetings, Namekian. I am Lord Arctic, the King of the Freeza empire. Would you be so kind as to show me to your Dragonballs? I can promise that none of your people will die if you simply give me what I want." The tyrant was taken aback as the large Namekian in front of him began laughing, something he had believed the stoic race incapable of.
"Sorry, Frostbite, but I can't do that. However, as the official welcoming committee of New Planet Namek, I am allowed to deport you for landing in an inhabited zone. I can promise that none of your soldiers will die if you leave now." Cello knew that these people relied on their scouters to gauge their enemies, he only hoped that they underestimated him enough to send the weaklings out first, but be wary enough that they would stay to watch. Hopefully he wasn't insulting enough for the creepy demon guy to just kill him outright.
"Hohoho… Seems the people of Namek have gained some spirit and humor since the last time they were slaughtered. How about this: if you kill enough of my soldiers, you get to join my army as a commander, what do you say?" Arctic laughed as his weaker foot soldiers looked around nervously, enjoying their panic at the idea of being used as a test. Before they could panic too much, or Cello could respond, Arctic lazily waved his hand and watched in amusement as his army flew towards the lone foe.
Cello cursed under his breath as he shot a multitude of blasts to hold back the charge. He had hoped that the banter would buy him some time, not cause the soldiers to attack immediately. He stopped firing and turned around just in time to block an attack from one of the many goons, stretching his arm to throw him into the rest as they tried charging him again. Of course one on thirty isn't good odds, even when you were seven times stronger than anyone individually.
Cello's head whipped back as an errant knee struck his chin, purple blood flying from his mouth as he launched a ferocious heavy combination. Backhand, knifehand, slidekick, finishing with a heavy axe-kick that crushed the helmet of his foe, along with the head inside of it. He fired another quick series of blasts at a group closing in on his right, grunting as one got through the assault and sent an uppercut into his stomach.
Arctic and his generals were watching with mild interest, having expected this foolhardy Namek to fall in the initial rush. Even with the skill he was currently showing, there was no way he could beat them, but it seemed possible he would actually finish the fight against the disposable soldiers. Arctic clapped his hands sarcastically as yet another of his troops fell, considering whether he should kill this one himself before they all died. He soon made up his mind.
"Alright minions, that's enough. I may need some of you for petty tasks on the way home." The Frost Demon slowly flew towards the sole defender of Namek, his troops backing away and bowing as he entered the fight. Cello on the other hand, cursed his luck. At this rate, he would die before the farthest tribes managed to make it back, meaning that the Dragon balls may not yet be used. He threw on a strained smile as his last battle approached him and opened his mouth for a taunt that never came.
Blood erupted from his mouth, his entire body screaming in pain as he felt a massive blow encompass his ribs. Straining to look forward, he saw his opponent's tail extended through where he had been just a second ago. 'This is unreal! He's so fast I can't see him move, and he hits like nothing I could even imagine! Is he suppressing his power level that much? Or can I just not understand the difference?' The entire world seemed darker after that hit. He began fearing that he was losing consciousness from the single blow, until he noticed that Arctic was now staring at the sky above and behind him.
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"Porunga! Please take us to another planet that can support our people, far from this demon and his empire! We beg this wish of you mighty Porunga!" Mori was breathing heavily as he finished calling out to the Dragon of Dreams, its massive form and presence darkening their entire planet. Little did he know, that someone else was making a wish that would guarantee that not all of the children of Namek would be seeing this new home.
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"Shenron! Send me a warrior with the power to save time itself! This I ask of you oh mighty Shenron!" Trunks stared as he saw the eyes of the mighty creature glow red, a voice that resonated within the soul of any who heard it responded.
"YOUR WISH IS GRANTED."
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Cello smiled brightly as his body was surrounded with light, spitting his blood at the second monster to fail in their quest for his people's treasure. "I'd say better luck next time, but that would be a lie. So long, Frostbite, I hope you die before I do!" His body vanished just as a Death beam went through his previous location, a howl of unending rage echoing around the now uninhabited planet, years of effort reversed simply because no one under his command knew how to hide their power levels. The rest of the nameless army that had been standing around exploded violently as Arctic let out his rage, his generals afraid that they were to be next.
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Cello blinked as he was surrounded still by white light, though he could no longer see anything else. He heard a powerful voice echo towards him through the emptiness, shaking the very core of his being. "SOMEONE HAS SUMMONED YOU, YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED TO SAVE TIME ITSELF!" Cello shivered as he felt solid ground under his feet, the empty field of white replaced with the sight of a very different dragon than he had expected.
"What on New Namek just happened? I can't be separated from the Elder!" Before he could continue his complaints, he watched the dragon glow and separate into the seven pieces that would allow it to be summoned again one day. Footsteps reached his ears immediately, turning he saw a young man with purple hair and a sword walking towards him a small smile on his face.
"You're surprised, I'm sure. I'll have to explain it all to you later. For now, let's see how much power you have. AAAAAHHH!" Cello dodged back as the sword narrowly missed his face, the young man that had apparently wished him here sheathing it smoothly as they both took on a stance. Cello opted to act first, stretching his arm once more to throw the odd warrior by his jacket. He didn't give the swordsman a chance to recover, chasing him down and extending both arms to cover his opponent with punches. He finished the assault with a rapid blast, panting as he felt his earlier injury take its toll.
To his surprise, the purple haired warrior wasn't even scratched, but was giving him an encouraging smile. "Not bad, but try and hit me a little harder." Once more Cello was rushed, but this time he wasn't fast enough to dodge and took a roundhouse to his face. His antenna felt like it would rip off from the amount of force, until he flew back into the stairs leading to the dragon pedestal.
Cello growled as he stood once more, before unleashing every last bit of energy he had left to fire even more ki blasts than he had against all of the soldiers he'd faced earlier. Smoke rose from the area around his opponent as the thirty second long stream of blue ki waves ended, Cello panting as his ki drained. "Eat that you… smug… bastard." He immediately paled as the power coming from his opponent grew to far higher than Arctic's had been when they fought, Just as he figured he really was going to die today, the youth powered down and walked towards him, sheathing his blade by tossing it in the air and leaning just as it came back down.
"That's enough for now, you have some pretty good potential. Maybe you'll even surpass me someday, though I'm hardly out of tricks. I'm Trunks, the leader of the Time Patrol. Our job is to protect history from any changes that may damage the present or future. Shenron brought you here to assist me, changes have been happening rapidly and I needed someone new to help me out." The two took a moment to examine each other as Trunks finished his speech, Trunks gauging his reaction and Cello trying to determine whether Trunks was trustworthy.
"Anyway, welcome to Toki Toki City. Go around and speak with some of the other patrollers, I'll be waiting here for when you've familiarized yourself a bit. When you're ready, I'll take you to the Time Nest." Cello nodded slowly as Trunks dismissed him for the moment, deciding to at least give him a chance. After all, he could have easily killed him, and had chosen not to. That at least deserved some measure of trust.
Trunks watched as Cello wandered off, calling up a small screen to contact the Supreme Kai of Time. "Hey, we're gonna need people to come by and help train the newbie soon. He's got potential, but he's reckless and doesn't have the skill or powers to keep himself alive against some of the foes he's going to have to face. Start small and work our way up as he improves." He didn't wait for her to respond, instead sitting on the grass as he waited for the oddly colored Namekian to walk back to him.
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Cello was in awe mere moments after leaving Trunks, having met people of many races that were all stronger than himself, and he'd nearly had a heart attack as the strongest he'd yet seen was the same race as Arctic. The Frost Demon had called himself Percel, and stated that they were going to be working eras that were close to one another. In spite of his menacing appearance, he'd simply warned Cello of the dangers of the job, and told him to make sure he didn't accidentally change time himself while correcting it.
Afterwards, he'd met several beings that were brightly colored and seemed rather springy. One of them had even asked if he wanted to join her team: The Taino Force. The armor she was wearing and the pose she struck unnerved him enough that he declined, stating that he was going to be working with Trunks and that he couldn't join any other team. No one else he met was particularly interesting, so he wandered back to where Trunks had summoned him.
He saw his boss standing right where he had left him, though from the grass blades that were falling off of his coat, he hadn't been standing there the whole time. Maybe he had guessed how long it would take? Either way, he decided to get the man's attention. "Trunks!"
"Hey! So, ready for your first mission then? I know your people heal quickly, so this shouldn't be too soon yet." He motioned Cello to follow him after receiving the confirming nod, walking through the large archway sunk into the wall across from where he'd been summoned. They walked in silence until reaching two buildings, one of them large with a tree growing out of it, the other small with random machine parts scattered around it. Trunks glanced at the smaller building, before leading him up the stairs into the large one.
"This is the Time Nest, where all of time is formed and gathered, and this…" Trunks grasped a scroll that was glowing with a sinister black and purple energy, the feeling of which made both of their skin crawl. "...is the Scroll of Eternity, each one of these holds the history of a certain period of time, and together, all of history. Watch." Trunks opened the scroll, and Cello watched as a man with very uniquely spiked black hair and a tattered orange gi fought a Saiyan alongside one of his own people. He didn't recognize where they fought, but something about the two allies seemed vaguely familiar.
He stood in shock as the same aura surrounding the scroll briefly flared to life around the long-haired saiyan, a warped grin on his face as he dodged an attack that surely would have ended his life. Instead, the Namekian killed his own ally, and was swiftly ended by the savage Saiyan. He felt cold as he watched the man laugh, taking joy in the slaughter of his kin.
"This isn't right, Piccolo is supposed to land that attack, and kill Raditz. I'm not able to go to this era anytime where I would be seen, which is why I needed your help. We don't have anyone in the Time Patrol who is free enough to work this era as well as their own. Please, focus on the scroll and right history!" So saying Trunks gave Cello the scroll in his hand, watching as the Namekian closed his eyes and felt the scroll take him to its time.
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"Come on Kakarot, join your family. Look, I'll let this slide and spare your both." Raditz felt nothing but disappointment as his pathetic brother shouted about how he would never join a monster like him, stomping down harder on his chest as he grew more and more irritated. Until he noticed a spike on his scouter from behind him, a loud crunch sounding as his nephew burst from his space pod.
"Leave my daddy ALONE!" Raditz was almost too shocked to move as he felt the child's power, until a dark aura suffused his being and increased his own. He dodged out of the way easily, and turned to fire a blast at the wretched child as it collapsed on the ground.
"NO, STOOOP!" Goku felt shattered as he watched Raditz ki blast explode, terrified that he had lost his son. As the smoke cleared, all everyone saw the destroyed ground. Goku felt relieved as Raditz scouter went off and signaled a new power level. They turned and saw another Namekian placing the sleeping Gohan on the ground, before glaring at Raditz. Goku stood up and moved to Piccolo whispering as he did so. "Someone you know, Piccolo? He seems to be on our side." Piccolo merely shook his head, keeping his focus on Raditz.
"You think one more piece of trash makes a difference? I'll slaughter all of you! HAA!" An energy ball formed in either of Raditz hands, before he split the energy blast to attack both of his opponents. 'Interesting attack, versatile. Maybe I should try and recreate it after I'm done.' The thought flew through Cello's head as he dodged, making sure to keep Gohan out of the way as well.
He heard the one called 'Kakarot' saying something to him, but ignored it in favor of rushing Raditz. He couldn't give him any breathing room, for fear of one or both his allies dying and history changing. Punch after punch, kicks ki blasts and grapples being thrown constantly. According to the advice Trunks was somehow giving him, all he had to do was wear him out until Piccolo was able to charge his attack. As soon as possible, he was to leave the fight to his temporary partners.
Cello dropped an axe-kick onto Raditz head, though with the dark aura increasing his strength it failed to collapse him as it should've. A bright blue beam of energy collided with Raditz as he was shooting to the ground, exploding violently as it met his body. Taking thar as his cue, Cello flew away under the cover of the smoke and refocused on the scroll. When he opened his eyes, it was to see Trunks smiling at him once more.
Looking into the scroll again, he saw the same scene as before. This time, however, Piccolo's attack struck true, ending both Raditz and Kakarot as it drilled through their bodies. Cello grimaced as he saw the wounds left behind by the attack, glad that smell didn't transfer through the scroll like sight and sound. Trunks mistook the grimace for something else entirely. "Don't worry about Goku, as soon as he finishes training with King Kai, he'll be wished back with the Dragon balls."
"Wait, that was Son Goku? The hero of my people? How the hell did he get strong enough to kill Freeza? I mean, before that dark energy surrounded him, Raditz was a cakewalk." Trunks shook his head, thinking back to when he had met Goku.
"He's a hero, and he always comes through when you need him to. He unlocks the power of a Super Saiyan, and uses that to destroy Freeza. Trust me, he might just be stronger than you next time you see him. After all, you're the new official Time Patroller for his adult lifetime. We've never needed one before, and since I can't be seen for most of the important events in his life, you were summoned." Cello could barely believe that someone that weak as a clear adult would gain much more strength, but nodded along to Trunks' explanation anyway.
"That reminds me, I've had some things called in for you, clothing, trainers, that sort of thing. Meet me at the Time Machine Station after you've had a rest, because you're going on an alternate timeline mission to make sure Raditz wins. Don't think too hard about it, there are so many parallel timelines you now have to take care of it'll make you sick."
Cello stared in open mouthed shock as Trunks casually walked away, disgusted at the idea of helping someone as evil as Raditz do anything. Unknown to him, Trunks was smirking at introducing yet another new recruit to his least favorite part of the Time Patrol.
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End note: This is the first chapter, and no, things will not be a word for word recreation of the game. In game one can only have seven skills, and that is ridiculous for a story. I already know what skills, clothes, masters and other things will happen to Cello, so hopefully I'll be able to motivate a decent amount of writing. Also, Cello is from the Future Trunks timeline, which is why the Namekians had no contact after getting New Namek. Just thought I'd clarify. Bye.