Splitting chapter 2 into two parts because it's so damn long X'D Anyways, I'm so sorry that this took soo long to update; I've had to deal with school, writer's block, I've gotten sick a few times, and I've got finals this week. But on the plus side, summer break starts for me immediately after finals, which means I'll have more time to work on this story! :D
Normal text = Present Timeline
Italic Text = Future Timeline (Future Yamcha's POV)
See the end of the chapter for notes ^ ^
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z, it belongs to Akira Toriyama! I only wrote this story, and I own this version of Bra Brief! Enjoy!~
Chapter 2: Lost Hope
Yamcha could only stare at what was right in front of him, almost paralyzed from shock and confusion. There was no way any of this was real. This was all just a dream, it had to be. Because there was no way in hell that an older version of himself had just shown up, completely destroyed Freeza—Freeza of all people!—and then passed out after asking to speak with Son Goku…
Bulma rushed forward to the older version of her boyfriend, who was still being held up by Gohan and Krillin, and immediately noticed that his face was flushed red and that his breathing was somewhat ragged. Concerned, she placed her palm against his forehead and then instantly pulled it away. "He's burning up!" she exclaimed. "Quick, we have to get him back to Capsule Corp!" Bulma stood up and ran back to the plane that she had arrived in. She had no idea what was going on, but her boyfriend—even though it was an older version of him—had a terrible fever and nothing was going to stop her from helping him out.
That finally seemed to snap Yamcha, and pretty much everyone else, out of their stupors. "Wait a minute!" he managed to exclaim. This was all happening too fast for his liking, and it was starting to make his head hurt. Just who was this mysterious stranger? And even if it was an older version of himself, how and why was he here?!
The ex-bandit's shout made Bulma stop and turn to look at him, but before either of them could say anything else, Krillin, who had been supporting the older Yamcha from his right side, suddenly felt something wet against his hand. He pulled it back to look at it, and inhaled sharply when he saw it dripping with blood, which drew everyone else's attention back to him.
Krillin stole a glance where his hand was and immediately noticed the dark red stain on the side of the older Yamcha's shirt. "He's wounded as well!" Krillin said quickly.
"It could be infected," Bulma mumbled worriedly to herself, then turned to her boyfriend and shouted rather angrily at him, "Hey! Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help him…yourself…Oh, you know what I mean! Just help me get him back to Capsule Corp!"
Her shout made Yamcha jump a bit. He looked back and forth between his girlfriend and his older self for a moment, then mentally slapped himself back to reality. "R-Right, I'm coming," he told her, and she looked majorly relieved at his words. She ran up to him and jumped on to his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, and he went over and picked up his older self—this still felt way too weird—in his arms. Before flying off, however, he looked back up at the rest of the Z-Fighters. "Are you guys coming back as well?"
"He said that Goku will be coming back in about three hours, didn't he?" Piccolo said, his voice back to its usual stoic tone. "I'd like to be here when he does, just to see if this guy is telling the truth."
The others were silent for moment, then Gohan shyly added on. "I-I think I'll stay as well…I mean, I really wanna see my dad again, and…well…" he trailed off, obviously unsure as to what he was supposed to say.
Tien nodded in agreement. "I think I'll stay behind as well," he calmly told them, Chiaotzu and Krillin both nodding silently as well.
Yamcha dipped his head once to them before turning and flying off, Bulma on his back and his older self in his arms. Of course, they had to land once they found the plane so Bulma could turn it back into a capsule and put it in her pocket, then they sped off at top speed back to Capsule Corp.
OoOoOoO
"Will you marry me?!"
It hadn't gone the way that Yamcha wanted it to. He knew that Bulma always wanted it to be romantic, him getting down on one knee and showing the ring to her. Not randomly yelling it out in the midst of one of their arguments.
Bulma was stunned silent at those words, her blue eyes widening as all of her previous anger vanished from her face. "What…what did…you just say?" she asked him, trying to make sure that she heard that correctly.
Yamcha swallowed a lump in his throat. It had been over a year since Goku's return to Earth, over a year since the Saiyan had killed Freeza and King Cold. Now peace was finally returning to Earth, and Yamcha wanted to take his opportunity to take his and Bulma's relationship to the next level, but he hadn't found a good time to propose…until now, that is.
"Babe, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now…I just didn't think that it would happen like this," Yamcha told her honestly, her blue eyes still wide and locked right on him. "I love you more than anything else, and now that everything is peaceful again, I wanted to ask you that." He paused as he got down on one knee in front of her and pulled the small velvet box out of his pocket, opening it up to reveal the diamond engagement ring. "How about we try this again? Bulma Brief, will you marry me?"
Bulma came close to sobbing into her hands when he got down, a smile gracing her lips as a few tears fell from her eyes, everything else that might have happened before this now completely forgotten. "Yes…" she said. "Yes, of course I'll marry you, you dork!"
OoOoOoO
"Get him into the medical wing, I'll go find my dad's health kit capsules," Bulma firmly ordered Yamcha as soon as they touched down in front of Capsule Corp., the blue-haired genius running off to do just that. Yamcha rushed in an opposite direction; he had spent well over a decade at Capsule Corp., and he knew just where everything was, so he found the medical wing with ease.
He placed his older self back-down on one of the beds, and barely a minute later, Bulma ran into the room, a case of her capsules in one hand. "Help me get these off of him," she said quickly, placing the case down on a nearby table before starting to remove the cloak from the older Yamcha. Once she had completely removed it from him, Yamcha pulled the shirt off of his older self, and both he and Bulma flinched when they saw the ugly scars, bruises, cuts and bloodstains that littered his torso, and the large, deep gash in his right side.
Bulma shook herself off and then worked to remove his shoes and pants, feeling herself cringe when she saw more wounds covering the lower half of his body, then reached for her capsules. She pulled out one and clicked it; a puff of smoke followed and there was a thermometer in her hands. She placed it in his mouth, then pulled it out to see the temperature barely a minute later.
"One-hundred-one-point-two…" she muttered out, loud enough for Yamcha to hear it, then reached into the case for more capsules containing medicine and bandages.
OoOoOoO
On a cold November night, the moment that the clock's time turned to 1:10am, a tiny shrill cry filled the Capsule Corp. medical wing. Bulma fell backwards into her pillow and panted heavily, still holding her husband's hand as tears fell from her eyes. But as soon as she saw the wailing infant, which the nurse was cleaning up and swaddling, all the pain just seemed to disappear into nothing.
"Congratulation, Mrs. Brief, it's a girl," the nurse said with a smile as she handed the tiny pink bundle to the new mother, though Bulma barely even heard her as she held her newborn daughter in her arms.
"I can't believe how beautiful she is," Yamcha whispered out, unable to stop the smile that came to his face as he gazed down at his daughter. "She must get her looks from you."
"She has your spirit, she's the most awake newborn I've ever seen," Bulma giggled out as she gently kissed the lavender fuzz atop the baby's head. The infant stared up at her parents, onyx-black eyes taking in as much as a newborn could. "Welcome to our crazy world, Bra Brief."
OoOoOoO
The medicine seemed to have brought down the fever, if it was only by a little bit, but it hadn't even been an hour since they had gotten back to Capsule Corp. Yamcha and Bulma had used quite a bit of the disinfectant, bandages and even some stitches from the capsules, and now, with an IV drip in his left hand, a heart monitor hooked up to him, a cool cloth draped across his forehead and even a breathing mask placed over his mouth, the older Yamcha was sleeping peacefully in the medical wing.
Bulma had gone to the kitchen to wash her hands and grab something for herself and Yamcha to drink while they waited for the others to come. Or for the older Yamcha to wake up, which ever came first. Two bottles of water in hand, Bulma entered the medical wing again and went over to where her boyfriend was sitting in chair, looking at his older self, not noticing his girlfriend's presence until she had walked up to him and held out one of the water bottles for him.
"You feeling okay?" Bulma asked, sitting down in another chair right next to him as he took a sip of water. He swallowed before sighing lightly and giving his response.
"I…I honestly don't know, Bulma," his gaze never tore away from his older self as he spoke. "Even if this guy really is me…how did he get here? Why is he here?"
Bulma hummed in thought for moment, her fingers drumming against her own water bottle, then said, "Maybe a time machine, or some new chi ability that he…you…learned? Oh, I don't know, Yams." She paused, then added, "This is gonna sound cheesy, but don't people usually come to the past to prevent something bad happening in the future? You don't think…" she trailed off, her blue eyes practically cloudy as she was deep in thought.
Quickly noticing this, Yamcha placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She remained silently before adding on, "He said that he needed to speak with Goku…but what does this have to do with him?"
It took Yamcha a moment to find the right words to answer that. "I wish I knew, Bulma…I really do…"
OoOoOoO
He had to be okay, Goku had to be okay. He was a Super Saiyan, after all, he couldn't be taken down by a measly sickness, right? Right?!
Yamcha bit his lip, trying to calm his nervousness. He was standing outside the Son household with the other Z-Fighters and Bulma, his wife standing right next to him. Little Bra, barely a few weeks old, was squalling in her mother's arms, the blue-haired woman bouncing the infant lightly in her arms to try and calm her down.
Goku had contracted some kind of heart virus last night. Chi-Chi was inside with a doctor, desperately trying to find a way to make her husband feel better, and right now everyone was waiting as the sun began descending from the sky. Yamcha kept telling himself that Goku would be okay, that in a few minutes, Chi-Chi would come out and tell everyone that Goku was going to be okay, and that they would finally enter the calm after the storm.
The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps reached Yamcha's ears, followed by Oolong's shout that Gohan was back. He turned around in time to see said half-Saiyan throw the door open and run inside, not saying a word to anyone. A few minutes that felt more like hours dragged on…then Yamcha felt it.
Goku's chi vanished. He tried to detect it, desperately telling himself that his chi sensing ability was out of whack…but it was no use. There was nothing wrong with his chi sensing ability. "Goku's gone…he's really gone…" Krillin's shaky voice was all the confirmation that he and the others needed.
Son Goku…the strongest member of the Z-Fighters, the man who had seemed to trade his brains for a heart of gold, the best friend who always knew just what to say, the beacon of hope for the entire Earth…was dead.
OoOoOoO
Piccolo was getting impatient. It was getting close to the end of the three hour mark, and if Goku didn't show up like the older Yamcha said he would, he was going to lose his temper for his precious time being wasted. Not moments after this thought entered his mind, however, Gohan, who had been sitting close by, looked up into the sky and stood up.
Then, barely a second later, Piccolo felt a chi heading straight towards Earth. It wasn't monstrous like Freeza's had been, nor did it seem threatening, but it was eerily familiar like the older Yamcha's had been. The other Z-Fighters had obviously felt it too, as Krillin, Tien and Chiaotzu all looked up in the same direction as well.
"Something's coming…" Tien muttered out, not looking away, all three eyes wide. "Then he was right about the time and place?!"
"It's dad!" Gohan exclaimed with such rapture. "It's dad's chi!"
Sure enough, a high-pitched whistling-like sound reached Piccolo's sharp ears. A small, white glint appeared in the sky. The glint steadily increased in size, almost resembling a miniscule star streaking against the bright pale blue. Within seconds, Piccolo could make out a white, circular pod descending towards them at rapid speed. It sped past them, going completely over their heads, and landed several hundred feet away with a borderline-deafening boom.
Gohan moved first, flying off at high speed towards the crash site, the rest of the Z-Fighters right on his tail. It only took a few seconds before they found themselves at the edge of an enormous crater that had been created by the pod, which was planted firmly within the very center, still lightly smoking from its descent and crash.
A minute of silence dwelled amongst the Z-Fighters, then the pod's door slowly opened up. A hand came out of the darkness within the pod, gripping the side of it as someone pulled themselves out of the circular object. Wild black hair, unblinking onyx eyes, and dressed in pretty much the most ridiculous outfit that any of them had ever seen—and that was saying a lot—an all-to-familiar figure emerged from the pod.
"Huh?" Son Goku stared up at the group of his friends and allies, blinking his dark eyes in either surprise or confusion, no one was exactly sure. But none of them cared about that right now, not when the friend that they had been waiting for nearly two years to return was finally right in front of them.
"Dad!" Gohan exclaimed, joy mixed with relief practically dripping from his voice, just as Krillin shouted out, "Goku!" in a similar tone.
"Hey guys—OH!" Goku started to greet, but was quickly cut off as Gohan dived down into the crater and tackled his father into the dirt with a hug.
"Dad, I'm so happy you're home!" Gohan cried happily, hugging the Saiyan as tightly as he could. Goku grinned warmly and wrapped his arms around Gohan as he sat up, hugging him as well, though not as tightly. After a minute, Goku managed to pry Gohan from himself and floated out of the crater with him right before Krillin glomped him in a bear hug as well, which Goku gladly returned. Once that was done, he simply nodded respectfully to Tien, Chiaotzu and Piccolo.
"Why are you guys all here?" Goku finally asked, giving them all a rather confused smile. "How'd you know I was coming?"
Those words quickly made everyone present widen their eyes. "Th-That's right!" Krillin suddenly exclaimed, making Goku turn to him. "Then…Yamcha was right!"
"Wait, Yamcha knew I was coming here?" Goku blinked at his friend, a rather excited look coming upon his face. "How did he know? Does he have some kind of new ability that allows him to see the future or something?!"
"Wha—No!" Krillin managed to say, all of this craziness going on almost making him trip over his own words. "I mean…this is gonna sound crazy, but an older version of Yamcha told us that you'd be here!"
Goku blinked at Krillin, his eyes slightly wider than usual. "An older version?" he echoed, tilting his head in confusion. "How does that work?"
"We're not sure, but Bulma and…our Yamcha…took him back to Capsule Corp., and I'm pretty sure that they're treating his wounds right now," Tien was the one to reply this time. "And we should go there right now. He said that he needed to speak with you."
"He did?" Goku said, Tien nodding once before jumping into the air, preparing to begin the flight back to Capsule Corp., along with a few of the other Z-Fighters, when the Saiyan spoke up again. "Wait, we don't have to fly back, I can just take us back there instantly!"
Piccolo raised an eyebrow at that statement as he and the others touched back down to the dirt. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, when I was escaping Namek, I found one of this Ginyu guys' pods and it took me to this weird planet called Yardrat," Goku explained, still grinning as he told this to his friends. "They're mysterious…not much strength, but they know a lot of weird stuff. Anyways, I got to learn a new skill from them: Instant Transmission, what they call teleportation."
The rest of the Z-Fighters started at Goku in wide-eyed awe. "T-Teleportation?" Chiaotzu echoed almost dumbly, as if unsure how he was supposed to react to that.
"Yup!" Goku said cheerfully, then brought two fingers to his forehead. "Though I need an energy source to lock on to whenever I do it. Now grab on to me, I'll take us there." The other Z-Fighters did this silently; though Piccolo was the most reluctant out of the group, he complied and placed a hand on the Saiyan's shoulder.
"Now, let's see…" Goku muttered out as he concentrated to find his friend's energy. "Ah, there's Yamcha's energy! Huh…odd, feels like there's two of them…Ah, oh well." And not a moment later, Goku and the other Z-Fighters vanished from the dusty wasteland.
OoOoOoO
"Eternal dragon Shenron! By your name I summon you!"
And with that shout, the seven Dragon Balls glowed brightly as the sky above them darkened, and sure enough, Shenron emerged from the orbs.
"Yamcha, are you sure this is a good idea?" Krillin asked the ex-bandit. There wasn't exactly doubt in his voice, just a bit curious as to whether or not this would actually work.
"I'm sure, Krillin," Yamcha reassured his friend. "Besides, aren't you the one who told us about that ability those Saiyans have, from when Vegeta had you blast a hole in his chest?"
His cheeks dusted lightly red, Krillin nodded mutely in response, then Yamcha turned his attention back to the dragon before them.
"I am the dragon Shenron! I shall grant you any wish, but only one! Now speak your desire!" The eternal dragon's voice bellowed out, red eyes staring the Z-Fighters down.
It had been only a few weeks since Goku's death. One would think that they had summoned the Dragon Balls to wish him back to life, but that was not the case. Goku's death had been from sickness, a natural cause, so no wish was going to revive him any time soon. The rest of the Z-Fighters were Earth's only defenders now, and if they were going to be strong enough to protect it, they needed a way to push their bodies even harder than before…
Yamcha narrowed his dark eyes in determination as he shouted out at the top of his lungs, "Shenron! The Saiyans had an ability called the Zenkai; it made them stronger after an encounter with death! I ask that you grant me and the rest of the Z-Fighters this ability!"
"Such a simple request. It is within my power!" Shenron said nonchalantly, his eyes glowing briefly, then he said, "Your wish had been granted. Farewell." And with that, the Dragons Balls ascended into the sky before turning to stone and scattered to different corners of the globe.
The Z-Fighters trained in way that they had never trained before ever since that. They had made quite a good use of the Senzu beans from Karin's place, purposely shooting borderline lethal attacks at one another and coming back with those healing beans, just to get that Zenkai boots. And it was working rather well, as they each found themselves stronger and stronger every time they did that.
And it turns out that they had made the right call, making the wish when they did.
Because six months after Goku's death, they showed up.
The Saiyan's death had merely been the calm before the storm. On an island nine miles southwest of South City, two Androids, creations of Dr. Gero from the Red Ribbon Army, wreaked havoc on the innocent people of that island. The Z-Fighters had come to the island's defense, able to hold their own for, at most, a few minutes against those Androids thanks to those Zenkai boosts. But in the end, it wasn't enough.
Piccolo had been the first to fall, Kami and the Dragon Balls dying along with him. They could never bring back someone ever again. Tien went next, succumbing to death just like Piccolo had done mere minutes before. Then Chiaotzu, and then finally Krillin.
Yamcha and Gohan had barely escaped with their lives, retreating back to Capsule Corp. and the Son household respectively. It felt shameful, retreating instead of avenging their fallen comrades, but what choice did they have against those two?
They were Earth's only hope now.
OoOoOoO
"Just what kind of star were you guys born under for this to happen?!" Oolong demanded to know, practically sweating bullets as he stared at the older Yamcha's slumbering form, Puar floating close by. The heart monitor steadily beeping, thankfully never once speeding up.
"I wish I could answer that…" Yamcha sighed in response, setting his water bottle down on the floor next to his chair. His older self's fever was finally going down quicker, and Bulma had told him not ten minutes ago that she would soon be able to remove the breathing mask from his face.
Barely a few minutes later, Goku and the rest of the Z-Fighters suddenly materialized right at the foot of the bed, making Yamcha, Bulma, Oolong and Puar jump in surprise.
"G-Goku!" Bulma gasped out, nearly falling out of her chair, then she jumped up and rushed over to give him a tight hug. "Where the hell have you been for the last two years?! We were all so worried about you!"
"S-Sorry about that, Bulma," Goku chuckled nervously, visibly sweating from the bluenette's obvious anger towards him. Once Bulma finally released him, Goku turned his head and finally noticed the older Yamcha.
"Whoa! You guys weren't kidding when you said it was an older version of him!" Goku exclaimed, onyx eyes wide. He paused, then stole a glance between the older Yamcha and the present one. "How is this possible?!" That's when he finally noticed just how many bandages were covering the older man, the strong scent of blood mixed with the disinfectant and medicine that Bulma had used was easily detected by the Saiyan's nose.
"We have no idea," Bulma told him, going over to the older Yamcha's bedside and removed the cloth from his forehead to check his slowly decreasing fever with one hand, then dipped the cloth into a nearby bowl of lukewarm water and placed it back in its original spot. "He said that he needed to speak with you when he got here, but he passed out from his wounds and this fever almost right away. And until he gets better, we're not getting anything out of him."
Well that certainly explained the borderline queasy scent of blood. Goku hummed in thought for a moment, then his eyes practically lit up with an idea. "Oh, I know!" he exclaimed, sounding quite optimistic now. "I'll get him a Senzu from Karin! It'll fix him right up!"
"A Senzu—" Bulma nearly slapped herself at that statement. "Oh why didn't I think of that?!"
Grinning lightly, Goku raised two fingers to his forehead and concentrated, then barely a second later he exclaimed, "Got 'em!" before completely vanishing.
OoOoOoO
Thirteen years.
It had been over thirteen years since Goku's sudden death. Thirteen years since the Androids showed up. Thirteen years since most of the Z-Fighters had succumbed to death.
Yamcha had never wanted his daughter to grow up in a world like this. Innocent people living in fear, wondering when and where those Androids were going to strike next…It was never something that Yamcha imagined his own family would be forced into the moment he found out that Bulma was pregnant. He had imagined a lot of things, playing both good and bad scenarios in his head, but her being forced to grow up in an apocalyptic world wasn't one of them.
He hated this. He hated it more than anything! Every time he saw those Androids, saw the reports of their attacks on the news or heard them on the radio, all he could see were the corpses of his friend from all those years ago. Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin…They were images that haunted his vision every time he saw those Androids, haunted his dreams at night.
He wanted nothing more than to put a stop to this. But how? 17 and 18, as he later learned were their names, were so much stronger than Yamcha and pretty much every one else on this planet, even with those Zenkai boosts and the strengths that he had gained from the thirteen years of life-or-death situations.
Still, there was one thing he could do to help humanity out…
Yamcha had developed a habit of carrying a handheld radio with him everywhere he went for the past few years, always knowing just where the Androids were attacking even when he was training deep within the wastelands like he was right now. So it didn't surprise him in the slightest when the small radio gave a high-pitched shriek as it came to life in the midst of his shadow boxing. He immediately paused and straightened himself up before pulling the radio out of his pants pocket.
"It's like an inferno here, folks! Pepper City is under siege by the Androids! It's madness! The recently restored district go up in flames!"
The rest of it was nothing more than static mixed with what sounded like metal screeching and faded screams.
Pepper City…that wasn't far from here. Yamcha quickly stuffed the radio back in his pocket and flew off. Sure enough, he reached the outskirts of Pepper City within minutes, and the sounds of people shouting as they tried to get away from the destruction and noise of explosions mixed with collapsing debris almost instantly reached his ears.
Not wasting a single moment, Yamcha descended towards the city, landing on the rooftop of one of the buildings that the Androids hadn't gotten to yet. Below, people were scrambling for their lives, evacuating the city as quickly as their legs or vehicles could carry them.
He might not have been as strong as the Androids, but thanks to his ability to sense people's energies, he could easily detect where missing and injured people were and help them escape before the Androids found them.
There. A surprising amount of energies close by…right where the explosions were coming from. Yamcha quickly flew off in that direction, and sure enough, he saw more than a few people trying to hide from their attackers in the midst of the chaos. He flew over to the closest people: a little girl and her father, the former clutching a little doll to her chest in terror. Both of them let out a gasp of surprise when Yamcha landed right in front of them, but when he put a finger to his mouth, signaling them to be quiet, they both nodded mutely. Yamcha didn't fail to notice the tears in the little girl's eyes.
Yamcha scanned the area, attempting to spot 17 and 18. Neither of them gave off any energy signals for him to follow, hence his constant relying on the radio to find their locations, so he was trying to see if he could spot them instead. Barely a few seconds, the ex-bandit tensed up when he spotted two eerily familiar heads of blonde and black hair, watching as 18 went inside a clothing store while 17 waited outside, leaning against a red hover car.
They hadn't seen him—or if they did, they chose to ignore him. Either way, there was not a second to lose. Yamcha turned his attention back to the man and his daughter, quickly scooping both of them into his arms and flying away, reaching the edge of the city within seconds. He set both them down, half-hearing their rushed "Thank you" as they ran off to ensure their safety and Yamcha flew back into the city to retrieve more people.
He went back and forth several times, flying another person to the safety of Pepper City's outskirts and then going back to do it again. He had quickly stopped counting how many times he had done this, promptly losing track of time as well, and, at nearly the same time, forgot about the Androids' presences as he was too focused on doing this…
…But his mind was snapped back to reality with a nearby explosion, the surprise nearly knocking Yamcha off balance. He snapped his head around in the direction of the explosion and his gaze instantly rested upon the flaming remains of the clothing store, 17 and 18 standing outside—the former rolling his eyes as latter yelled at him about something.
For probably the millionth time, Yamcha felt a cruel iciness form in the pit of his stomach. There had been a person in that store, a living one—Yamcha had been able to sense their energy amongst the other survivors. A person he could have saved, but didn't dare to get close to doing so…all because of his own fear of the Androids, the icy feeling mixing with guilt. He should have been used to this by now—Bulma had quietly told him countless times that he could save everyone in the world from the Androids, that there were going to be deaths no matter how hard he tried—but as one of the last living members of the Z-Fighters, it was his responsibility to protect the innocent people of the Earth. So what the hell was he doing, letting his fear get in the way of doing just that?!
Yamcha shook those thoughts from his head, mentally yelling at himself to continue rescuing those who needed his assistance. He dropped two or three more people off at the city's outskirts, keeping a cautious eye on the Androids—who were still bickering outside what was left of the clothing store—but had vanished when he returned for the few people still left.
It took nearly everything in him not to panic as he searched for them in midair. It wasn't until he heard screaming, which was immediately followed by a loud-sounding impact, did he finally see the two of them in that same red hover car, joyriding at ungodly speeds and smashing into every human that they set their sights on.
Yamcha's mind worked a million miles a second for Kami knows how many minutes, constantly diving down to rescue people from the Androids' path while trying to figure out a way to stop them without killing himself—a little voice in the back of his head told him that there was no way to stop them without turning it into a suicide mission, but he stubbornly chose to ignore it. 18 had jumped out of the hover car at some point, watching 17 continue to drive around in what looked like mild amusement. Yamcha watched 17's path, making mental notes of his patterns, and, thinking quickly flew to the top of a nearby building and built up a powerful Kamehameha within the palms of his hands, the blue light shining as he quickly fired it to where 17's car would be hitting within seconds. Unfortunately, whether he sensed the oncoming attack or not Yamcha wasn't sure, 17 jumped out a second before the energy wave hit the hover car, which promptly exploded upon impact. Flaming pieces of car debris were sent everywhere, and Yamcha barely caught a small piece landing at a nearby gas station out of the corner of his eye before the entire station exploded.
The ex-bandit stared at the burning remains of the station with wide eyes. There had been innocent people close to that station…there might have been people hiding inside there! And instead of rescuing them like he was supposed to, he had practically assisted the Androids in ending their lives, and even if by some miracle they had survived, they were probably covered in third-degree burns and might even be unable to move. And sure enough, 17 and 18 were standing close by the flames, completely unharmed by the explosion. Of course…explosions like that were nothing more than gnat bites to them…what the hell had he been thinking?!
17 and 18 left Pepper City a few minutes later, though Yamcha barely noticed them. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing on that rooftop, his gaze never leaving the smoking remains of the station, when an oncoming energy suddenly hit him like a slap in the face. He quickly turned to the direction it was coming from and spotted a dot coming towards the city. A dot with purple hair tied into shoulder-length low pigtails.
Yamcha saw the despair and fury in Bra's face from this distance as she stopped in midair, saw the tears brimming in his daughter's black eyes as she looked at the remains of the once prospering city and the corpses of the people that once thrived here, and was nearly overcome with the urge to rush over to her and comfort her. But he didn't have to, as she spotted him first and quickly flew over to him, barreling into his arms and angrily sobbing her heart out on his should.
"Daddy…why are they doing this?" she choked out in between sobs, her voice laced with the same anguish and frustration that Yamcha felt, as he held her gently and rubbed her back with one hand. "Killing all these innocent people…?!"
Yamcha wished he had a clear answer for that, he really did…but how could he tell her that he didn't know, that the Androids were probably only terrorizing the world for their own entertainment? Bra hadn't even been a year old when this apocalypse had started; now she was thirteen and due to be fourteen within a few months. Nobody deserved this; Yamcha wouldn't even wish it upon his worst enemies. Though before he could open his mouth or even think of a proper response, he felt another strong energy coming towards them, this time in a different direction than Bra had come.
Bra had apparently sensed it too, as she turned her attention to the energy as well, and Yamcha was thankful for what was definitely not the first time that he had taught his daughter chi control once she was old enough to understand and control it. Of course, he hadn't been the only one to teach her this…
Within moments, the approaching energy came within their sight, revealing to be a familiar, tall man flying towards them, donned in an eerily familiar orange and blue gi. Dark eyes narrowed with determination as their owner approached, landing on the same rooftop several feet away from Yamcha and Bra. Oh kami, he looked so much like his father.
"Dad?"
A few hours later, Yamcha looked up from his drink, which he had been unconsciously staring into for probably several long minutes, when Bra had quietly called his name. The three of them had headed back to Capsule Corp., which now half laid in ruins thanks to a scuffle with the Androids a couple of years ago—they never really found the time to completely clean it up in between fighting for their lives. Twilight had begun to fall, and Gohan was standing on one side of the room staring out the cracked window, and Bra was sitting across from her father at the table, tear streaks visible on her pale face.
"Is this the way life is supposed to be?" Bra asked in a meek, quiet voice, staring down into her lap as if she refused to meet the eyes of either her father or her big brother figure. "So full of pain…" then Yamcha swore he heard an animalistic growl release from her throat before she continued in a voice tainted with rage, "Well, I'd rather fight and die than watch this all happen!"
Yamcha momentarily stared at his daughter in shock. He knew that this apocalypse was having an unwanted effect on her life, based on when he had heard Bulma talk about numerous times, and he knew that Bra was just as passionate about taking down those monsters as much as her father and Gohan did, but he never once heard her say that she was willing to sacrifice her own life. Then a second later his eyes narrowed as he banged a fist against the table, momentarily startling the purplette.
"Absolutely not!" Yamcha exclaimed as he stood up from his chair, his dark eyes meeting her own, a rather unique seriousness mixed with the same protectiveness that he felt the day she was born lacing his voice. "I know you want to help out in defeating the Androids, but you as still too young and too inexperienced to even consider fighting them! And I am not going to lose my only daughter to those monsters! I am not going to let you be added to their body count—"
"No!" Bra shot back, meeting her father's gaze with a tear-filled glare. "I can't just sneak around while this is going on! Please, dad, Gohan, train me! You have to train me so that I can fight!" Bra paused for a moment to stand up, not taking her gaze away from her father. "C'mon dad, you're just as human as me, so then you must know how I'm feeling!" Then she turned to Gohan, who hadn't looked away from the window this whole time. "Gohan, you're half human, so you know how I feel too. Please, both of you, help me channel this anger!" Bra paused again, this time a little bit longer, as if waiting for a positive reply from Gohan, but was only met with silence. "Gohan!" she exclaimed, mild annoyance evident in her tone.
Silence reigned again for a few more seconds, then Yamcha heard Gohan's calm reply, "You're pitiful, Bra. An emotional wreck. Just like I was when my mom wouldn't let me fight or train with my father."
Yamcha couldn't help but blink in surprise at how casually Gohan was able to bring up his mother, even after all these years. Gohan had disappeared almost immediately after Goku's sudden death, apparently heading to kami knows where in the world to train through his grief; but when he returned several weeks later, Gohan had found that the Son household had been completely abandoned. None of the Z-Fighters could find even a trace of Chi-Chi or Ox-King, no matter how hard they looked, and the topic of the fiery woman and her father had become a rather sensitive subject for Gohan, especially after the Androids' big debut thirteen years ago, a lot of them silently thinking that they had met their ends at the hand of those mechanical monsters, which Yamcha had seen push Gohan to fight them even harder.
Gohan finally moved away from the window and approached the table, looking down at Bra with a kind smile. "From now on, you're our pupil and we're your masters." He turned to Yamcha, his smile never faltering. "What'd'ya say, Yamcha?"
Yamcha could only stare at the young demi-Saiyan almost dumbly for a few long moments, though before he could even answer, the sound of a nearby door opening and closing caught their attention, followed by an all-too-familiar voice. "Bra, I'm home!" Bulma yelled as she approached the room, obviously back from retrieving what little groceries that they could find in this collapsing world.
"Oh, mom's back!" Bra exclaimed quietly, rubbing the tearstains away with the back of one hand. "Please don't tell her!" she quickly asked Yamcha and Gohan, to which the latter agreed to do so with a small chuckle.
"Hello, is anybody in here?" Bulma called out as she entered the room, a couple of paper bags loaded with groceries in her arms. "Yamcha, Bra! Nice to see that the two of you are still alive," she said, a bit of annoyance thinly covering clean concern in her tone. "Do the two of you plan on living long, or should I start shopping for one instead of three?"
"Ah, no, three is fine, Bulma," Yamcha reassured his wife, smiling up at her. Bra, meanwhile, had sat back down at the table and picked up a book, pretending to be occupied so she wouldn't have to face her mother's wrath. And to be completely honest, Yamcha half wanted to join her; hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, they say, so who knows how the bluenette would react when they found out that her husband and her childhood friend's son were teaching her daughter to fight against the Androids!
Then Bulma seemed to notice the final occupant in the room, who had gone back to staring out the window. "And a surprise guest. How are you, Gohan?" she asked.
"Fine, thank you, Bulma," Gohan responded politely, turning slightly to look at her.
"Bra goes to fight the Androids, and then the two you just happen to show up," Bulma said as she headed towards the kitchen to put away the groceries. "What an interesting coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
"Uh, I live here," Yamcha bluntly reminded her as she disappeared in the doorway, though she didn't seem to hear that.
"I mean, it's not like you guys are planning anything, are you?" Bulma asked casually, then stuck her head back into the doorway to look at them. "Well, I didn't think so. Nobody's that stupid, right?" Then she narrowed her blue eyes into a glare at all three of them. "Right?"
Less than an hour later, all four of them were gathered in the kitchen; Gohan and Bra were sitting at the dining table, which already a few plates of food had placed upon it, while Yamcha was assisting Bulma in preparing the last of supper. "I really hope that you can stick around for a while this time, Gohan, we hardly get to see you anymore," Bulma said as she piled freshly-cooked rice into a bowl, while Yamcha finished preparing their drinks. "I miss the good old days. Traveling to Namek together has got to be the all-time greatest adventure."
Yamcha smiled as his wife reminiscing of the events of the past. He had remembered her talking nonstop about how amazing the journey to Namek had been not long after he had been revived by Porunga all those years ago. Dinners like this were quite rare as well; usually they didn't have enough to eat, so most of their food was cheap and synthetic, and they even had to resort to diet pills a few years ago, so having enough quality food for three humans plus a demi-Saiyan was a rarity they all enjoyed. They were just a couple of the many things that made him more determined to bring peace to their world.
The four of them sat down, and Gohan ate with the same vigor that his father had always had, which Yamcha had to hide his snickering as Bra gleefully mimicked, and before Yamcha and Bulma had even made a dent in their plates, Gohan quickly asked for seconds on the rice. "Yep," Yamcha said with a small grin as he took the bowl from Gohan's hands and stood up. "Like father, like son."
"Oh, yeah? You really think so?" Gohan asked, looking up at the ex-bandit.
"Oh, definitely," Bulma agreed with her husband, whom had gone back to the kitchen counter to refill the bowl. "The way you eat, and the way you're so powerful and so gentle at the same time. And the way you look, especially with that outfit on."
Gohan smiled at her words, placing a hand on the cloth of his gi fondly. "I guess I've always dreamed of being as strong as my dad…yeah, it inspires me to wear his old colors," the demi-Saiyan confessed, that smile never leaving his features.
"Well, I know he'd be awfully proud to see what a strong man you've become," Yamcha told him as he approached the table and handed Gohan back his bowl, sitting back down at his own seat once he had done so.
"By the way, Gohan," Bulma spoke up after taking a small sip of her tea. "I've been hearing rumors that you've been fighting the Androids as well," she paused and looked at Yamcha. "Well, am I right, dear?"
"Y-Yes," Yamcha told her, causing Bulma to sigh in response.
"Please be careful, both of you. And guess what? Now Bra is saying that she wants to fight too! I wish the two of you would talk to her, she might listen to you!"
Yeah, maybe it would be best to postpone telling Bulma this for at least…a few more years.
Chapter 2 (both halves)basically covers Future Yamcha's (will be named Mirai from chapter 3 onwards to avoid confusion) recovery and contains flashbacks of the future timeline from Mirai's point of view. And of course, in this version, Mirai survives the encounter with the Androids (obviously, otherwise most of the first chapter wouldn't have taken place XD)
A lot of chapter 2 is taken from/based on "The History of Trunks" special, which has really helped me understand the future timeline, so I'm using it to tell chapter 2. We'll see the RtS (Rewrite the Stars) version of it in the latter half of this chapter, I promise!
And yep, Yamch and Bulma get married in the future timeline and have a daughter, whom is named Bra Brief. She is different from Bulla (gonna call her this to avoid confusion with her and Vegeta's daughter); she has purple hair and black eyes instead of blue, and her present counterpart acts different from Bulla (will be shown in the future).
The idea to give the Z-Fighters the Zenkai boost came from my favorite DBZ fan comic "Elsewhere" (please don't kill me for putting it in here XD). I really liked this idea, and I'm pretty sure the Z-Fighters would be smart enough to realize how the Saiyans got stronger so easily and find a way to achieve it themselves. Well, that's what Dragon Balls are for.. x3