Encounters of the Fifth Kind
Fall of the Homo sapiens.
°000000000000000°
Year 769
Planet Earth
His hands were shaking as he held onto the crumpled piece of paper, after seven years, seven agonizingly long years, he had news of his daughter's whereabouts.
At last, good news.
Dr. Brief allowed himself to smile hopefully, while looking up with watered eyes. The sky was shining with millions of stars tonight, now that there was no smoke to obstruct the view. He squinted a little, focusing his attention in a certain constellation. Yes, his daughter was alive in one of those seemingly tiny dots.
He lowered his eyes, staring in determination at the piece of paper again; it was time to get to work. Perhaps if he hurried, the spaceship would be ready in a couple of months. Although, he'd have to make a few arrangements, start with the schematics tonight and a have a rough sketch by morning. Then he needed to speak to Chichi –the message had stated that they were all safe and she had the right to know, after all, Gohan was her son- and Yamcha, he would be of great help. Maybe he could organize a descent crew –well, as descent as it could get with only a couple hundred of humans still alive and on the run.
The only problem here was the time. It had taken seven years for the message to arrive, that meant it would take them the same amount of time to arrive to their destination. That is, if he could manage light speed. Of course he would, he was not about to wait fourteen years more to see his daughter, not if he could help it.
That night he worked until dawn, and only stopped so he could get some food into that empty stomach and tell his wife the great news. An hour later he was back to work, from time to time his cat would meow to remind him to drink more coffee, or take a short brake. Ah, what a nice kitten he had. He patted his head softly and then set to work.
Later that day he called Yamcha and Chichi. He told them about the message and his plans of building a spacecraft. Chichi was ecstatic, she would be finally reunited with his baby. His poor baby, first kidnapped at the tender age of four, forced to live in the wilderness and trained to fight alien monsters –by another alien monster! To think he would end up stranded in space with only five years. Ah if only her poor husband hadn't been too late.
Dr. Brief worked himself to exhaustion every day, but it had been worth it. Four months later he had a perfectly functioning spaceship, able to travel at the speed of light, and with a capacity for 150 passengers. It was his magnum opus. As soon as he was finished he called Yamcha and together began looking for survivors.
°0000000000000°
Year 769, four months after the message was received.
Planet Earth
The petite girl raised her eyes from the nearly done puzzle as her dad burst into her room, panting slightly.
"Videl, honey, pack your bags, we're leaving." He threw two bags on her bed "I just found out, we don't have much time, hurry." He kept pacing around her room, grabbing shoes and whispering to himself.
Videl's eyes widened. That's it. Her dad had finally lost it.
"Huh? Where? What?"
"I'll tell you while you pack, hurry." He said quietly while picking some of her books and throwing them into one of the duffel bags.
"I just found out that Brief is organizing an intro… i-intraspace voyage or something. A search and rescue mission to find his long lost daughter. And he has a spaceship with 150 spots available. We have to get there now!"
Videl cocked her head to the side. Intraspace…? Was that a word? Well, she'll leave that for later. She quickly stood up, gathered everything she could at once and shoved it into one of her bags.
"They won't refuse me. I was the last to win the world tournament before those two demons appeared. They can't refuse me. We'll get out of this mess, I promise honey." The words were erratic, and so was his breathing. He kneeled, grasping her shoulders reassuringly.
There was a chance for survival, at last. They could finally be freed from the oppressive and violent reign of those two androids. Videl's breathing sped up, Erasa and Sharpener! She couldn't possibly save herself and leave them here –alone.
"Can I at least bring Erasa and Sharpener with me? You know they both recently became orphans, I-"
Hercules Satan could be many things, but he was no heartless monster. That position was occupied by two individuals wrecking havoc around the world right now. "Be quick Videl, we have an hour."
Videl nodded. She hastily gathered all her stuff into the 2 duffel bags in less than ten minutes and dashed out of the door, taking all precaution so she wouldn't be spotted if, by any chance, the androids were flying close by.
In less than thirty minutes she had dragged her two blond friends and their respective bags back home to her dad. Mr. Satan studied the three kids in front of him. They were all pale, and skinny –even that Sharpener boy. Their clothes looked more like old rags. Even their faces were filthy; those dark circles didn't help either…
"Here" he said taking a few pieces of wet cloth "clean your faces as most as you can –you too Videl. We should all look presentable"
This was their only chance out of this hell.
Once they were as clean as they could be, he opened the front door. "Let's get moving kids"
It took them several minutes to reach the big old warehouse, the door was closing as they ran. "Wait, wait!" Mr. Satan whispered loudly and the door pause long enough for them to get in. Unsurprisingly, the place was clustered with people, everyone waiting for their chance to get into the spacecraft.
Mr. Satan grabbed Videl's hand with one of his and Erasa's with the other one, and instructed Sharpener to never let go of his jacket. He then moved, subtly, to the front of the line. There was a woman, reading an old cooking magazine and a little boy next to him. He had to be quick if he wanted to be the next one up. He let go of Videl's hand for a second to take a rubber ball he had in his pocket. Inconspicuously, he let the ball roll away; making sure the boy would follow it. Videl frown, and was about to speak when her dad interrupted her.
"Ma'am" he said a couple of times until he had the woman's attention. He nodded toward the kid, who was happily chasing the ball. "Isn't that your kid?"
"Oh no, Goten!" the woman scrambled from her seating position on the floor to chase after her son.
Videl frowned, looking at the floor guiltily. What if that woman didn't make it because of them?
"Next!" it was their turn now. The man on the door didn't look up as he muttered "How many?"
"Four"
He blinked, raising his eyes. "Um, I'm not sure if this is allowed. There if a maximum of three family members."
"Please, these two are orphans" he pleaded sincerely. "I just can't leave them here alone."
"Listen, we don't have enough rooms to accomo-"
"They'll share a room, please" Videl cried inwardly. No, not with Sharpener, he's a fart-machine when he sleeps!
The man sighed, but let them in anyway. "Here" he said, giving him four empty name tags "You'll need them later" Their ticket to freedom.
As soon as they got into the ship they heard a woman yell "Yamcha! Why didn't you tell me I was next!"
"I-I'm really sorry Chichi, I... you can come in now. Here, your name tags." he offered pathetically as she stomped her way in, along with her son and her dad.
Videl took a look at her and realized it was the woman from earlier. Ah, thank goodness. She smiled lightly as Erasa teased Sharpener and his nightly problem. That was the first time they'd all laughed in weeks.
And so, at the tender age of twelve, Videl set to face the unknown. She was ready to leave the world she knew behind.
They were all ready.
°000000000000°
Year 776
Somewhere in space
Seven years. Seven excruciatingly long years stuck in this spaceship. And now they had finally reached their destination. She should've been excited, but to be honest she was a bit scared. Scared of the unknown. For god's sake, they were seven light years away from home. They were alone and vulnerable in space.
And she was the only one to realize the magnitude of their gamble. Everyone else was too busy daydreaming about the very habitable planet they were about to conquer and make their own.
There could be things much more dangerous than the androids out there.
But Videl, she was ashamed to admit it, but she often thought there was something else in that planet besides Bulma-san and her friends; it was a habitable planet for Pete's sake, it was likely to have intelligent life! Aliens, bad, cunning and strong. Most of the time she gulped down those dark stupid thoughts, but at times like this –when they were only hours away from their final destination, she couldn't help but wonder if they would be safe once they set foot on that planet. Once they stepped out of the cocoon of security that this ship provided.
She opened the door to her dad's office. Time to send those thought to the recycling bin.
Videl entered the room with a tired smile. "Hello dad." She said plopping into the couch closest to the door.
Mr. Satan let out one of those rare smiles, reserved only for his daughter. His little baby, all grown up now. Nearly nineteen years old "Ah, Videl, you're finally here. What took you so long?"
"I was in the training room."
"… and?"
Videl's face broke into an excited grin "this time it was four against one and I still beat the crap outta them! And Sharpener was one of them! Should've seen it dad, most of the guys there couldn't believe it!"
Mr. Satan smiled warmly "I'm really proud of you, honey"
"Thanks dad, by the way why did you call me? They said it was urgent."
Mr. Satan nodded toward the window. "We're almost there Vi" His office was one of the few rooms with a window –a real window, not a holographic image. And so, he was one of the few who could see the ship's progress… not that he could pinpoint their exact location, per se, but Dr. Brief kept him informed and that was enough for him.
Videl jumped from her seat and dashed toward the window, quickly scanning around. "Are you sure this is it?" she asked her father in a low murmur, to which he only nodded. "We're so close!" she only earned another nod. And people said she was the one with communication issues. "Aren't you gonna say anything?"
"We're landing any minute now, so you better put that suit on while I make the announcement." She stared at the black bulletproof suit as her dad left. It had the official 'Earth Special Forces' logo over her left breast and a few pockets for ammunition and other stuff she might want to keep with her at all times.
Once she was sure the door was locked she began to undress. Good-bye to baggy shirts and comfy spandex shorts.
The time had finally come.
°0000000000000°
Year 776.
Planet SKP-4
Ahh, finally home. Gohan smiled to himself blissfully as he saw the little jungle he resided in, it had been a great idea to turn that cave into his home. He was now able to spot the forest-shrouded entrance, but only because he knew it was there, anyone else would just fly by. It was partly the reason why he had chosen this place to live. The other reason was because it was only a few minutes away from the village.
He told his space pod to start descending. To think that training had left him exhausted enough to use his pod, which meant he had wasted a whole day confined to this almost claustrophobic space… on the plus side, the pod had replenished his energy, and he had been able to sightsee! He grinned childishly, he even had a little souvenir. He looked down at the hand-made sword that one of the blacksmiths had offered as a token of gratitude when Gohan had saved his village from a flood. It had been nothing; really, he had just changed the course of the water flow so it wouldn't hit the village. Ah, Yardrats were so nice. It almost made him want to stay. Almost.
Once the pod was safely on the ground, Gohan stepped smoothly out of it, gingerly putting the sword on the floor as introduced his upper torso back into the pod to grab his bags. He still had to walk a short distance to get home so he grabbed his bags and tied the sword to his waist, and began to walk leisurely back home, thinking about his trip.
After a long span he was finally able to come back –and with a new technique! Ah, this planet had so much to offer, he never got tired of meeting new people and learning new stuff. He just couldn't wait to meet the Kanassajin community that had taken refuge on this planet, as most of the other creatures that lived here –including himself. The Yardrats, the aliens he'd just met, had revealed that they lived in a secluded region, halfway across the planet. He only needed to wait until the humans settled down on Bulma's village and then he was free to-
Gohan looked up, sensing Trunks' ki as he flew at a remarkable speed toward him.
"They're here! Gohan-sensei, they're here –the guys mom constantly rants about, are finally here!" the lavender haired boy yelled as he landed a few yards away.
"I see…" he said, smiling pleasantly "Your mom knows?"
"Yeah, she's on her way, but we can get there faster, come on!"
"Hold on." He was about to take off again when Gohan grabbed his shoulder. "Trunks-kun, I need you to wrap your tail around your waist and stay like that, understood?"
Trunks frowned, but nodded all the same. "Yeah… but why, Gohan-sensei?"
"Humans are very impressionable creatures; you'll come to realize that by yourself in a few minutes. That's why I need them to think we're humans, just for the time being. So, don't attack unless it's absolutely necessary –and don't show off." Trunks rolled his eyes but quickly straighten his expression at the warning look Gohan was sending him. Ah, so this was a serious issue.
"Yes, sir." He managed to say without stuttering. He always stuttered when his sensei had that, yes that, look. Well, he had a repertoire of looks that could, and most likely did, make his blood -or anyone's for the matter- run cold. And the worst thing was that Gohan wasn't even aware he could inflict so much… terror with only just one stare. Luckily, those glares were stored for special occasions, so most of the time he had an easy-going smile on his face.
After a few seconds of silence Trunks grinned heartily. Gohan's easy-going grin was back.
Ha! Gohan-sensei just couldn't stay mad at him. It was his curse and Trunks' blessing.
"Now go ahead and greet them. Be sure to be the first one there. I'll be there in a few minutes. I still need to drop this off and change out of my Yardrat clothing." He said, nodding toward his luggage. The small boy opened his mouth, surely to ask details about the trip but Gohan got ahead of him "I'll tell you all about it later" nodding the little Saiyajin set to work. He watched as Trunks tail wrapped around his waist and he gave an approving nod. "Now go!"
Gohan smiled softly as he saw the little demisaiyajin fly away, in the direction of the big spaceship. Hopefully the Saiyajin close by wouldn't notice… or worse, the Namekkujin. He grimaced. That would really be a hard first impression, green aliens.
He sighed, as he levitated and took off toward his home at neck breaking speed. In less than a minute he was back into his usual attire, which consisted on a simple cream bottom up shirt, a brown open vest with the collar popped up, dark pants and a pair of boots. He quickly clasped his handy tool belt around his waist.
Gohan grinned. He was ready to go.
°000000000000000°
"It's really quiet outside." Someone mumbled behind her. Videl felt the heat that only many bodies trapped in a small space could emanate. There were nearly 40 people clustering the main exit. 96 percent of whom were uselessly wondering what to do no.
She was getting tired of this. "And?"
The soldier fidgeted nervously. He was head of security? Where the hell was Yamcha! "Well, no one really wants to be the guinea pig! What if we are on the wrong planet?" bunch of fraidy-cats.
They all turned back to Mr. Satan, staring at him with big, hopeful eyes. "S-sir, what do we do?"
Hercule Satan gulped. Those eyes were silently chanting: please volunteer, please volunteer, please volunteer!
Li-like hell he would!
The young woman next to him rolled her eyes in exasperation, hastily making her way across the pool of bodies and heading toward the main exit, ignoring the loud beating of her heart drumming against her chest. She grabbed her custom made helmet –with a big 'SATAN' printed just above the clear plexiglass of the helmet- and threw an "I'll deal with it dad" over her shoulder.
"No, Videl wa-"
Too late. The girl had already opened the door that lead to the –probably very dangerous- outside.
It was sad to think that out of 40 men, his girl was the only one brave enough to step into the unknown. She had got that from her mother, for sure. Mr. Satan let out a defeated sigh.
She would never change, would she?
Damn his recessive genes.
°0000000000000000°
Once the access ramp was completely down, Videl stepped on it, blinking a couple of times as she tried to adjust to the sunlight. Her eyes watered slightly and she wasn't sure if it was the emotion, or the intensity of the sun, or…
A sun. It had been years since she had felt this warmth! She opened her still moist eyes wide in fascination as she took in the vegetation, it was mostly blue –even the endless ocean of grass was blue! Tall mountains to the west, where the sun was slowly setting, a big lake a few miles to the east, and north rested what seemed to look like a jungle. Her eyes caught two humanoid figures standing a fair distance away from the ship, both of their hands were visible and it didn't seem as if they carried any weapon. The tall one even waved a little.
Wait, what if they really were on the wrong planet after all? She gulped, tightening her grip on the gun.
The two guys were still staring at her impassively.
She sucked breath through her teeth. Uncanny.
Videl didn't know what to say, would they even understand her? Well, why wouldn't they? She spoke to herself in a soft, comforting whisper, "They're humans, after all."
"Hi" the tall, dark haired one said before she'd even opened her mouth. Videl lowered her gun a little bit, still on guard.
She'd seen movies before, what was that they always said? "Uh, hey. We come from Earth… in peace. We mean you no harm" she said faintly, staring at them, looking for any hint of violence. "Do- uh, the name Bulma Brief ring a bell?"
"She's my mom" Trunks answered bluntly, still staring at her. "On her way here, while we're on the subject." He sighed, this was getting soooo boring.
Videl let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank god, we're on the right planet." She then turned her head a little, addressing the inside of the ship and whispered. "We're on the right planet guys!" there was a series of cheers and ovations, and "whoo-hoo's!" as more heads peeked from the big door.
Gohan and Trunks tried to contain their laughter as they clearly hear all the whispers of excitement.
"You can take off your helmet, you know… the air is breathable." He said carefully, and then he spoke to the heads that were poking out of the ship. "And you might wanna climb down that ship, I bet you're all dying to feel the grass and all that –I mean, after seven years stuck in that ship…." Gohan trailed off, his words had triggered a mass exodus. Ha, not the kind of evacuation he had in mind, but hey, he wouldn't complain.
Were they all really that trusting?
Only the girl remained behind, still on top of the access ramp. He surveyed the crowd of eager humans, joyfully laughing as they took off their shoes and run around. Some of them feeling grass, that seemingly insignificant plant, for the first time. Well… as long as they didn't wander away, everything would be fine. Gohan signaled Trunks to keep an eye on them as he climb the ramp toward the girl.
"Hey"
Videl acknowledge him with only a brief glance as she finally took off her helmet and inhaled deeply. Ah, the air smells so much nicer here. No smoke, no artificial air, just pure air.
Gohan stared at the girl's hair for a second. Pigtails, really? He tilted his head to the side in confusion. He'd never seen an almost full grown woman wear pigtail before –not that it looked bad or anything… it was just different. Was that a common hairstyle among women on Earth?
Ah, he'd been staring again, crap… he blinked repeatedly to clean his head.
"Are you alright?" he offered hesitantly.
Videl turned to look at him quickly, but her piercing blue eyes soon went back to the mass of people still playing with the blue grass and staring up at the green sky or the also green lake a few miles downhill. They were really enjoying themselves, huh? "Hmm? Oh- yeah, I'm just keeping an eye on them." She scoffed "you know, my dad's the high commander or designated captain or whatever the hell he calls himself and he's out there fooling around. And where the hell is that Yamcha guy?" she scanned around the familiar faces. "Oh, there he is… goofing with my dad. What a great team."
Yamcha? Why did that name sounded so familiar?
"This is so unprofessional! Throwing caution to the wind, I can't believe those guys."
Well, she did have a point there. Gohan just stood there listening mutely as she rambled about security and protocol and all that nonsense just to hide the fact that she was afraid to step out of the ship. He smiled; she was the only one who'd stayed alert and suspicious. Huh, and her ki was one of the highest ki signatures of this bunch. Not bad, not bad at all.
"My name is Gohan-" he blurted out suddenly.
So sudden indeed that it had caught Videl by surprise. "What?"
"We- uh, we haven't introduced yet. My name is Son Gohan, and that one over there, the lavender haired boy, is Trunks… wh- what I meant is, the universe is a scary place, but while Trunks and I are here, I promise that nothings bad is ever gonna happen to you guys. You have my word." Gohan finished awkwardly, scratching the back of neck as he usually did when he was nervous. "D-don't take it the wrong way, I'm the head of the planetary defense committee and as such is my duty to take care of this planet… and now you guys are here so..." Damn, very professional Gohan. Way to go…
Videl furrowed her eyebrow in deep thought. Should she trust him? Her mind said no. Of course not, he was a complete stranger… but the only stranger she knew on this planet and from what he'd said this planet was not all that safe. For now, it was all they got. "I don't trust you, I mean, I barely know you… but you better not go back on your word or you'll have my fist on your face at the first hint of treason." She muttered the last words darkly as she extended her arm.
"Is this really how you close a deal on your home planet?" he joked, cheerfully shaking her hand. "By the way, what's your na-"
"Videl, your dad is asking for you! Hurry up, Bulma-san's already here!" her blonde friend exclaimed loudly, face red and out of breath, but smiling nonetheless.
"…And now you know my name." Videl stared at Sharpener blankly. She turned back to Gohan, who was waving at who knows who.
"It was nice meeting you, Videl-san, but I kinda need to go now. See you around guys!" he waved at them and then broke off into a –not fast enough, in his opinion- run.
"Wow, he's fast –must be the gravity of this planet." Sharpener scoffed, leading Videl to where her father was waiting. "Who the hell was he anyway?"
"I'm as lost as you are Sharpener." He was very suspicious, though. Better keep an eye on him. She narrowed her eyes, a nice little puzzle for her.
"And to speak to you so carelessly" he felt Videl's intense glare on his head and gulped. "I mean, no offense or anything –I've known you for ages, and let me tell you, you're not the most approachable person I know."
"That's not true!"
"Please, me and Erasa are the only ones you ever talk to! Well, us and that woman and her child."
Videl turned to glare at him, but it lacked the usual anger. "She's a nice lady, leave her alone"
Sharpener laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Weren't you the one stalking her years ago?" Ha, he got her there!
Damn it. Videl stomped her foot childishly. "Shut up, it was only because she wouldn't let her son play with the other kids, and I wanted to know why!"
"Hey –see! You're getting all defensive again." he argued, laughing lightly as he gave her a little nudge. She didn't have time to give him his usual punch in the shoulder, seeing as they had finally reach Mr. Satan and Yamcha. Who was currently chatting animatedly with Bulma-san. She saw that Gohan boy, beside Bulma-san, smiling lightly at the two adults, and then she saw the lavender haired boy –Trunks, glaring daggers at Yamcha.
Amusing, indeed.
As if sensing all eyes on her, Bulma paused her conversation with Yamcha to address everyone else. "Welcome! Ladies and Gentleman, you've arrived to planet SKP-4, please enjoy your stay. But I would advise not to wander off without one of these guys" she paused to wrap an arm around Gohan and Trunks, who were standing at each side of her "to guide you. Now, if you would please follow me back to the village."
There were murmurs of confusion everywhere. A village? Weren't they only five or six?
One brave soul decided to ask the question that was on everyone else's mind. "Excuse me, Bulma-san, a –a village? As in, more people?"
"Oh," Bulma turned to Gohan with a look that said 'You didn't tell them!' Gohan simply forced a smile, but Bulma kept her steady glare on him, making his (attempted)smile melt away. There was no sympathy for him today. He sighed, preparing for the worst. "I'm afraid I have some ground shaking news, guys. We're not the only species living on this planet."
The same guy from earlier snorted incredulously. "You mean, like space dogs and alien horses, and –don't tell me your monkeys talk!" Trunks shook his head, Gohan, on the other hand raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. That was a bit insulting –to his mostly inexistent Saiyajin pride and to his intellect. He knew now that he wouldn't like this guy.
Even Videl rolled her eyes. Marker could really be stupid…
"What a stupid guy, Gohan-sensei meant aliens!"
Oh, no…
Gohan turned to glare at Trunks, really glare at him. Thanks Trunks.
There was a second of eerie silence, before all hell broke loose.
°00000000000000°
So? What do you guys think?
It's a weird timeline, I know but… It occurred to me while I asked myself: what if it would've taken several months for Goku to recover from Vegeta's fight instead of a month? He would've been too late, and it would've been up to Vegeta and Gohan to beat Frieza, right? And then life would go on without them. Um, the last World Tournament, Goku's disease, the androids… I'm not sure about cell, though.
So, uh, tell me what you think, help me improve my mistakes… it would be nice to know if you like it too.
P.S: I didn't bother to classify it into SF, because really, what part of DB/Z/GT is NOT Science Fiction?