The Z warriors all stood outside of the Kame House as per Trunk's request, as he wasn't sure what type of damage his transformation might cause while inside of the house, and he didn't really want to find out. Plus, destroying the house the people he was trying to gain trust from with a massive power was really not a good idea in of it's self.
Really though, so far things were going better than Trunks could have hoped. Hopefully after showing them his Super Saiyan power he would be able to persuade them to give him the Dragon Balls so he could get back to his own time. He didn't want to stay in this timeline any more than he had to, even though he knew what Hell was awaiting him back in his own time.
"Alright." He balled his fists and prepared himself to unleash his power. "Here goes..."
The Z warriors all watched Trunks with intense curiosity, their eyes never leaving his body, and suddenly Trunks started to let out a small scream.
His hair started twitching and standing up on end as he started to power up into his Super Saiyan state - raw power flooded through his veins as the rage in his belly laying dormant ignited fueling his power even more.
Suddenly a golden aura 'exploded' from him, enveloping his body and his hair went from it's lavender color to a bright gold one similar to the color of the aura surrounding him, and his irises changed color, turning into a teal color.
Trunks then relaxed, taking in the Z warriors' surprised expressions.
"Wow..." Yamcha exclaimed, staring at Trunks in wonder.
"Holy..." Krillin looked like he was going to pass out.
"RUN FOR THE HILLS!" Oolong shouted and suddenly turned around, taking off running in horror with Puar shrieking slightly as well and following after him.
"I don't believe it..." Master Roshi muttered - Somehow, this boy's extreme strength had tripled - no - quadrupled. If it was hard to process the intensity of the boy's power before, now it was nearly unbearable. How could someone hold such a massive power? And most of all... What had it taken this boy to unlock such a power?
"Well, here it is." Trunks said.
"Master Babidi!" Dabura almost fell out of his seat as he read the extreme power signature off the screen. "The being's power reading... It... It just skyrocketed!"
"Sky rocketed?" Babidi repeated.
"It's.. It's reading as 180,000 kilis!" The demon lord exclaimed, and this caused Babidi's eyes to widen as well.
"180,000 kilis... That's more than enough to revive Majiin Buu... That's incredible..." Babidi muttered.
Originally, their plan was simply to travel around the universe absorbing extremely powerful beings who's power was over 2000 kilis... But 180,000 kilis? With a being that powerful... They could absorb all the energy they needed and more! Babidi was ecstatic! Finally... He would revive his father's creation, and he would rule the universe!
"Dabura... Cut power to all the crew quarters. I want all power going towards the engines. Get this hunk of junk to Earth as fast as you possibly can - Do you hear me!?" Babidi ordered, and Dabura's eyes widened at this order - he was literally flat out betraying almost his entire crew.
"But... Master... If we do that, the crew will die..."
"Dabura..." Babidi looked over at his servant with an annoyed look. "It's funny... If I didn't know any better, I would say you were questioning my order... And you KNOW how annoyed I get when my minions question my orders..."
Babidi raised his hand in Dabura's direction, and the demon lord barely even managed to get a word out before a purple aura of powerful magic enveloped him. Screaming in pain, Dabura fell to the floor.
"Dabura, Dabura, Dabura... I could send you back to the shadow realm in an instant if I wanted to... I will not warn you again - do NOT question my orders."
Dabura struggled on the floor to escape his master's dark magic, but it was a futile effort. "A-allrigghttt! Pleaseee!" Dabura managed to get out, and Babidi relinquished his hold on the demon, and Dabura sat up, breathing heavily.
Once again, Babidi wondered why exactly he was keeping Dabura around. He could have been much more useful to Babidi if he was absorbed to power Majiin Buu. But as powerful as Babidi was - Babidi hated to admit he needed the demon lord. Babidi had very powerful magic, but he could probably very easily get killed against an experienced fighter.
Babidi didn't ever admit it - But those who were cursed by the Majiin were much, much more susceptible to his dark magic. This of course was to make them easier to control, and it also had the benefit of making him look much more stronger than he appeared.
Eventually, he would probably end up killing Dabura... But for now... He was needed.
"Now... Cut that power, and get me to Earth... Do not make me ask you again." He commanded.
"...Yes Master Babidi."
Before Dabura powered off the crew quarters - Babidi prepared to suck in all the power they contained. The more power for Buu the better.
After all, they wouldn't be needing it where they were going.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Goku could hardly believe his eyes - The stranger infront of him suddenly had golden hair which seemed to stand up on it's end, and a glorious golden light surrounded his body, illuminating him in the night... And the power... The power made Goku's body shake.
And what was amazing even more to Goku was that the stranger said in the future... He would have this power too! He knew he was strong - but to become that powerful? It was amazing!
"Yes... It's quite impressive." Master Roshi still sounded in shock at the sight infront of him, "A very impressive power... I can't even begin to fathom..." He trailed off.
Trunks smiled at the expressions of shock and awe around him, and a part of him took pride in the attention. When he transformed into a Super Saiyan infront of Android 17 and 18, they just mocked and laughed at him. Here, everyone is amazed at it. It was a welcome change.
Alright I think that's enough... No need to be flashy.
His aura faded away, and seconds later his hair faded back to it's normal lavender color and fell back into it's normal form, and all was silent once more.
Trunks studied each of their faces - Yamcha looked like he was going to pass out, Roshi stared at him with disbelief, Goku looked on at him with wonder, Krillin was staring at him in a similar fashion to Goku, Bulma was just as much in shock as Yamcha was, and Launch was... Pointing an SMG at him, although she was frozen in shock.
"Okay... So, do you believe me?"
Each of the Z warriors broke out of their trances and exchanged glances - Launch lowering her SMG and placing it in the holster on her hip; a look of... Respect on her face?
"Yeah... Kid seems to be pretty alright to me." She said in her usual gruff voice. "I trust him."
Goku was the second to step up, "Me too! That was really cool! Can you teach me how to do that?"
Krillin jumped up infront of Goku "No way! Me first!"
Master Roshi shook himself out of the shock of witnessing such an extreme power - Something like that... He never thought he'd ever witness. It was amazing...
Master Roshi looked at Goku, and then back to Trunks - recalling what he had said earlier about Goku obtaining the same power, and he shook his head. I honestly hope that Goku never unlocks that power... I can't imagine what it took this young man to pull such a monstrous strength out of himself... His energy... It's so... Dark. On the surface he looks so... Calm. But now.. Now I see what boils under that surface...
"Well, I trust him too... Also, if you ever get some free time Trunks..." Yamcha cast him a friendly smile. "We should spar sometime - I'd love to see what you could do!"
Goku nodded, "Yeah! I wanna spar too! That sounds fun!"
"Well, if Yamcha trusts you... And Goku trusts you... I trust you too." Bulma offered him a warm smile.
Suddenly, everyone looked at Master Roshi, who was currently tapping his chin, deep in thought.
Then, silence once again ensued... And during this silence, Puar and Oolong slowly snaked back into the group, but making sure to maintain a safe distance away from the boy.
"I, too trust you. But I must ask you, Trunks... Why did you seek us out? What can we do to help you?"
Alright... Here goes.
"Well... My mother and I talked about ways of me getting back to my time once I finished up here... She told me about the 'Dragon Balls?'"
Trunks somehow didn't notice Goku tensing up.
"I was hoping I could just use those to get back home... If it's fine with you guys of course."
Before anyone could speak, Goku spoke.
"No."
Trunk's eyes widened and he looked at Goku - "No?" he echoed.
"No." Goku repeated. "Look mister... You seem really nice and all, and you are really strong... But it's just that... My friend Upa's father got killed by a bad guy, and I promised him I'd gather the Dragon Balls to wish him back. If you use your wish, the Dragon Balls will be turned to stone for a year!" Goku explained.
Trunks looked at Goku in disbelief. Well... That is disappointing.
To be completely honest - as important as it was for Trunks to get back home - he sympathized with 'Upa'... Even though he had never met him. Trunks never had a father at all, as he was killed shortly after he was born by the Androids. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if he HAD known his father, and he was killed.
Trunks would have gone to any length to get him back if that were the case... So that is why, Trunks decided not to take the Dragon Balls and let Upa's father come back first.
"Alright... You can wish Upa back first... But then... Can I please use the Dragon Balls when they are activated again?"
Goku's serious demeanor dropped back into an innocent smile. "Well sure! I don't see why not!"
Master Roshi stepped up to Trunks. "So... You're staying for a year then?"
Trunks nodded. "Yep. Guess that's the way things are turning out."
Well... Atleast this way I have some time to get some training in.
"Well great. Everyone is happy now." Oolong muttered.
"But wait! I don't even know where the last Dragon Ball is!" Goku exclaimed as he suddenly remembered - His Dragon Ball radar was broken!
"What do you mean? Just use the radar." Bulma said, and Goku pulled it out. "But it isn't working... I guess I forgot to tell you!"
Goku pulled off his backpack and poured out 6 small orange colored balls, each with a different number of stars on them. "See? I'm missing one!"
Trunks turned to Bulma. "Can you fix his radar?" He asked her, and she looked him shocked for a second before answering. "Well... Yeah I guess I can... But... Why did you ask me immediately?"
Ah crap.
"I don't know you just... Look... Like... You are pretty smart...?" Trunks gave a goofy smile, and Master Roshi shook his head slightly and Oolong chuckled. "Kid... You're a horrible liar."
Bulma immediate scowled at the pig, "And what does THAT mean? Are you saying I look UGLY?" She screamed at him, furious, and Oolon immediately cowered. "No! No not at all!"
Bulma smiled. "Good. That's what I thought."
Meanwhile, Roshi didn't take his eyes off the boy. There was something very strange going on with him and Bulma. First he locked up the first time she spoke to him - and then he kept looking at her on the way over, and now he just immediately asked her to fix something without possessing prior knowledge of her even being able to fix it.
The first two events could have easily been passed off as some sort of a simple crush or infatuation - Bulma was a... Fairly beautiful woman after all... But the third event completely blew that theory out of the water. Then again, he did come from the future, so it was pretty possible that he associated with her there... Maybe they were even lovers.
Either way, something was strange, and Roshi wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Alright Goku, gather up the Dragon Balls and get the radar and head back inside. I'll fix the radar up real quick, and then I'm probably going to get home. It's getting late." She stretched and yawned slightly.
Trunks wasn't really paying much attention to the exchange, as he stared off into the sky.
Was... Was he homesick? Trunks really didn't think he'd miss his mother THIS much. He wasn't really a mamma's boy in any way but seeing Bulma in this timeline not even know who he was... It just made his heart sink slightly. It saddened him to know his mother didn't know him.
Then again, this Bulma wasn't -HIS- mother. His mother was in the future - Probably scared and alone hiding from the Androids while trying to find out what happened to him... Lord she was probably worried sick about him right now! If only he had a way of just telling him he was OK and is just going through a minor setback...
Infact, at the thought of the Androids, Trunks felt extreme anxiety... Could she have already been dead? He sight; If only he knew what exactly she was doing and if she was ok or not.
Meanwhile, during Age 783, deep in the bowels of 'New' Capsule Corp...
Sweat dripped from her bow as her fingers danced across her keyboard rapidly typing in commands at a speed Goku himself probably couldn't keep up with. The dark circles which had been under her eyes before were now darker and she struggled to keep herself awake.
It had been only a day after Trunks - Her son - Had stepped onto the time machine and was sent back into the past... Or so she hoped.
Something during the time transfer process had gone wrong, and she had no idea what had happened to Trunks - whether he was alive or dead - or even still existed. She had known and Trunks too had known that this would be an extremely risky mission... But this... She wasn't expecting this.
Everything was fine. That was what was surprising to her most. Everything was perfectly fine throughout the procedure - The Red Matter engine had started up perfectly fine - Infact it was nearly flawless. Not bad for a prototype.
The nuclear generator powering the engine was also perfectly fine during the process - Not even an overcharge. She also had inspected the pad itself for any damage - None. None at all.
So she had ruled out that there was a defect with her equipment so now she had resorted to simply going through the logs the time machine had output during the transfer process. This was not a hard thing to do, but what was slowing her down was the fact that the machine had output exactly 1532 logs.
She would have to be insane to go through each of those logs by hand, so what she was doing right now was making a script to do that for her and write out any errors contained in the logs to a notepad file, which she would then be able to read.
This task had her current undivided attention - But if she had turned around and walked over to the Red Ribbon Army mainframe and looked at a screen she would have noticed a new log of activity which had popped up on the screen, which was extremely strange seeing as to how the Red Ribbon Army was destroyed, ceasing all activities.
A new event update hadn't appeared on the screen in years, but now a new one was there, and it read the following -
Alert: Android Model C3-L1 nearing completion. Approx time until incubated: One year, three days, seven minutes, three seconds.
"Hm... Goku, I hate to say it but I have no idea what's wrong with this thing. Everything looks like it's in working order... But I think I know why it's not picking up the last ball." Bulma said, tapping her finger to her chin while Goku looked up at her confused.
"What's wrong then?"
"Well..." Bulma placed the radar down. "It's possible that the Dragon Ball may be hidden in something the radar's scanner can't penetrate through... Maybe it was eaten or something?"
"Eaten?" Yamcha chuckled. "Who would eat a Dragon Ball?"
Bulma glanced at him with a look which said 'are you serious right now'.
"Well, other than Goku - Probably an animal of some kind. Point is - the radar can't find it. It could take years to find it without the radar..."
Trunks paled. Years? He didn't have years to wait to find a Dragon Ball... He needed to get back home. His mother needed him.
"Not necessarily." Master Roshi got everyone's attention. "I believe I know someone who can help us find the last ball."
"Really?" Trunks looked over at him hopeful, "Who?
"Her name is Fortune Teller Baba."
Yep.
Next chapter is the Fortune Teller Baba saga. I have a few things planned for that and I can't wait to do them. I wanted to make this chapter a little longer but there's already enough in it in my opinion. I don't really want to shove alot of stuff into each chapter, I'm trying to keep these from going over 5,000 words, but who knows. I might make longer ones.
As for the 'kili' level, for those who don't wanna do the math Dabura states his power level as a Super Saiyan is 180,000 kilis, which is 180,000,000 in BP format. So yes, I'm going to go ahead and keep the standard "Super Saiyan multiplies the base power level of the Saiyan by x50" as I don't really see any reason not to. :/
Also, unrelated kinda, but I have a draft written up on how I want this story to go and I've gone so far off the rails it's hilarious. There was supposed to be some interaction between Trunks a chapter or two ago, Babidi and Dabura weren't even going to know Trunks was on Earth until he turned into a Super Saiyan, etc. I dunno.
Anyways, till next time
-Twisted