A/N: And so, we've reached the end of the "everyone dying" stage of the story. Originally I intended for everyone to well, die. Just like they do in the regular Future Trunks timeline but as I thought more about the next, Otherworld phase of the story, I couldn't come up with anything for most of the human cast to do bar, Tien. Next chapter won't have much action, but it will serve as the setup for a particular rematch the FT timeline never got to have.
Chapter 4: Humanity
May 12th, Age 767, Amenbo Island
"How much further Krillin?"
"Just... gimme a second..." Placing the flashlight into his mouth, the bald monk pins the map of the underground and underwater railway system connecting Amenbo Island to its nearby neighbors and the mainland. Constructed twenty years prior with the assistance of the engineering prowess of the Capsule Corp company, now these tunnels once responsible for taking people from their homes to jobs lie either destroyed or in the case of Tunnel 03, serve as a temporary safe haven.
Unlike the stronger fighters such as Piccolo or Vegeta who were able to recover quickly and engage the enemy or Tien and Chiaotzu who were lost in the ensuing chaos. Krillin and Yamcha, some of the finest warriors ever produced not just by the Turtle School, but in the history of mankind ended up in the railway system, buried under rubble like dozens of others once the power failed island wide.
Fearing discovery by the enemy and sensing the deaths of Vegeta and Piccolo, two beings who's powers far dwarfed their own, the two Turtle students opted for a sneakier approach. Suppressing their powers and intent helping the citizens responsible for dragging them out of the rubble, they lead the men, women and children through the tunnel in hopes of finding some refuge.
Without their ki to light the path, they resort to simpler means of traversing through the dark tunnel with lighters, flashlights, cell phones, matches,... Any source of light available.
"5-C... " Krillin muffles the painted designation on the wall and then glances down to check the map. With a pleased smirk, he picks up his walkie-talkie and contacts Yamcha. "We're in luck, just another 15 or 20 minutes of walking and we'll get to the mainland!"
A lot can go wrong in 20 minutes... Is the first thing to pop into Yamcha's head as he glances around the people at the back end of the line, covering their backs while Krillin protects the front. Despite the dim light provided by whatever they have in hand, the ex-bandit recognizes the looks of fear and hesitation on every single person there. The kind of look he used to enjoy seeing, it let him knew he was the one with the upper hand during his bandit days.
Bitting back those memories and his own, recently surfacing but long-festering skepticism, he responds with his usual, chipper tone. "Sounds good, the sooner we're out of here the better."
"I hear ya," Krillin looks up at the surrounding tunnel and not for the first time since coming there, feels unnerved by being surrounded by water that could drown them all in no time should the enemy make even a reasonably big crack.
Not interested in spending the remaining time down here imagining himself and everyone else sinking into a terrible, watery grave, Krillin contacts his fellow Turtle pupil. "You think Tien and Chiaotzu made it out okay?"
With a sigh, he once again fights back the urge to de-moralize the clearly stressed out Krillin. "Tien's one of the toughest guys I know. He wouldn't let himself or Chiaotzu die from an attack like that. They've probably just hiding out, sneaking off this rock same as us."
"I wish we could be sure," Krillin admits. "After sensing what happened to Vegeta and Piccolo... Its just too damn quiet now y'know? You can't just kill a Super Saiyan and Super Namekian without a peep." Unintentionally raising his voice, Krillin turns to find the civilians marching behind him seeming, even more, nervous than before.
Poor guys, even more, worried than I am...
"Its nothing folks," He hears Krillin voice once more, calmer and more reassuring this time. "Just keep moving and we'll be out of here soon."
Feeling like he's back against a wall in his many arguments with Bulma where he's got nothing to say, Yamcha tells him the only thing he can despite not being sure he believes it himself. "We'll get through this Krillin, we always do."
"I know we do, it's just..." He lowers his head. "I wish Goku were here, he always knew exactly what to do in these kinds of situations."
"You and me both-"
A massive, sudden trembling of the ground instantly puts everyone on edge, freezing them in place as quivering of the ground along with the loud sounds of explosions is precisely what tipped them off to the catastrophe befalling the surface. Children cling closer to their parents who respond in kind. The injured and elderly, from renewed determination or fear break way from the one assisting them and prepare to pick up their own slack, not interested in slowing anyone done or getting them killed.
Yet Krillin and Yamcha sense something else in the midst of this, not their mysterious enemy but a single, familiar source of energy in the direction of the explosions. One belonging to Tien Shinhan. While the citizens march on, quite a bit faster with a jogging pace now as opposed to their previous, more hesitant walking one. Both of them remain still, clenching their fists as Tien's signature once again vanishes as quickly as it appeared with the explosions halting soon afterward as well.
"Krillin," Yamcha's voice breaks the silence as he steadily losses his cool facade and prepares to take off. "We've gotta do something-"
"No!" The monk states firmly with a seriousness to his voice Yamcha hasn't heard in a very long time. "There's nothing we can do for him we've got keep moving and get everyone else out of here!"
"Are you serious?! You really expect me to just walk away like nothing happened?! Tien wouldn't do that to us."
"And he wouldn't want us to die for nothing either!" Krillin snaps, not enjoying this any more than the ex-bandit. "Think about it, Vegeta and Piccolo are dead. Two guys leaps and bounds stronger than any of us humans! If they couldn't beat these guys, then we can't either! All we'd be doing is getting ourselves killed!"
Yamcha grimaces at his friends words, not remotely amused by the tables turning with the previously worried Krillin holding steadfast while he, once again, starts cracking once the pressure. He knows Krillin is right, the deaths of Piccolo and Vegeta reverberated through their minds crystal clear. But even with the burning urge to ignore Krillin's sound advice and rush headlong into battle, he knows he'd be abandoning one friend to try, and very likely fail, to save another.
Either way, for yet another time in his life, Yamcha knows he'll fail someone regardless, and very familiar but always disgusting feeling hurts more than anything else. Noticing that he's falling behind from the group, Yamcha presses down on the walkie talkie button as he runs to catch up. "You're right, let's get out of this place."
"I'm sorry Yamcha if I thought we stood a chance-"
"You'd back me up for sure," The ex-bandit forces a smile and both end the conversation there, not feeling particularly talkative anymore. Another quake begins again, this time lacking the accompanying explosions and nowhere near the previous ones strength. The tense calm of the tunnel temporarily returns once again when a massive shadow falls over it followed by the light taping of rocks falling against its upper section.
Glancing up the source of this noise, Yamcha spots an entire city block yanked out of the ground and descending on the tunnel. Knowing there's no time to do anything else without risking discovery, Yamcha reaches out the land mass sinking towards them and with a simple kiai, blasts it away.
"Yamcha!" Krillin's voice buzzes through the walkie talkie. "What happened?! Why did you-"
"They're trying to drown us Krillin!" The ex-bandit barks back as he focuses his ki on the people marching toward him, dumbfounded by his previous display of power and levitates them off the ground. Knowing that the enemy most certainly knows they're there anyway, Yamcha stops suppressing his power and runs with the people in toe as fast as he can with the terrified citizens levitating behind him.
"Come on people! They know we're here! Move!" Krillin urges to his half of the group, taking some of the slower people up with his pure strength and rushes towards the nearby exit as everyone else. For a few brief moments they fool themselves into thinking they might just get out of this, that is, until Yamcha hears the cracking of glasses followed by a loud burst of water behind him. In no time, the ocean utterly devours most of the tunnel with it reaching the back of the fleeing party.
Damn it! Yamcha curses and places the levitating citizens down onto the ground, "Just keep running! You'll be out of here in no time!".
Turning to face the incoming onslaught of the sea, Yamcha places his hand forward and telepathically holds it back, knowing full well he's making himself into a target. A fact that doesn't go unnoticed by Krillin who immediately senses him back there and calls out to him. "Yamcha! Get out of there now!"
"No can do Krillin," The ex-bandit replies with a smirk and surprisingly calm voice even being perfectly aware of what this choice will cost him. "You haven't tipped them off yet, so just get out of here while you can and find the others. God knows you'll be a lot more useful to them than me."
"There's no way-" Before his friends plea can come clearly through, Yamcha crushes the walkie talkie and tosses its remains to the side. His mind is made up, and nothing, even the risk of a painful death will deter him. Far into the distance, Yamcha once again senses Tien, substantially more powerful now along with Chiaotzu seemingly flying in the opposite direction.
Tien must be holding one of them off for him. Yamcha guesses as Tien's power once again grows, no doubt from the useful if straining Kaio-Ken technique taught to all three of them during their months on the World Kings tiny planet. Maybe I won't get my butt kicked as badly-
A sudden, strong and most importantly, familiar ki appears behind Yamcha, leaving him dumbfounded as he feels and sees it rush past him, flying directly into the wave of water before arriving at surface level. Feeling his blood boil, the ex-bandit contacts the culprit telepathically. Krillin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!
Not letting another one of my friends die that's what! The monk mentally yells from above the ocean waves, facing down the smirking Android 18 hovering in front of him.
"Damn," 18 mutters with genuine regret. "I was hoping you'd stay down and let the loser take the fall. It always pains me to hurt a cute one."
Figures. Krillin curses, temporarily ending his link with Yamcha. The first girl to say I'm cute is a crazy mass murderer, just my luck.
As he and his friends usually do, Krillin shouts as a white aura envelops him, increasing his power level. Despite only moderately training, the Guru's potential unlock on Namek has, for the past 3 years, yielded him extraordinary increases in strength. Even dwarfing the strength of say Tien and Yamcha at their peaks. Charging forward, he unleashes a flurry of punches her way with 17 casually hovering away from them.
Sensing this back at the tunnel, Yamcha grits his teeth and once again establishes contact with Krillin. And what about me huh? You think I want to see one of my friends die when he doesn't have to?
Stop arguing with me! Krillin barks back. You and I both know Chiaotzu got out of here, Tien's powering up like crazy over there, probably holding off the other one. Things are gonna get bad down here and some of us have to make sure the whole planet doesn't go to Hell!
Then you do it! Yamcha roars, feeling useless once again despite completely resigning himself to death, thinking that he'd, at least, secure the life of a vastly stronger and successful warrior to help the Earth in exchange for his own life. You and I both know I'm useless! All I'll do is just screw everything up like I always do!
"Ka... Me... Ha... Me... HA!" Krillin roars as he unleashes the Turtle Schools signature energy blast, enveloping completely with it only for her to emerge from the smoke cloud completely unscathed. With a kick far beyond his abilities to even register, let alone dodge, Krillin is smashed back into the nearby mainland, carving the edge of it in half with his aching body.
Whats done is done Yamcha, nothing either of us say or do is gonna change things. Just... get out of here, find the others, make sure they're safe while the rest of us get ready in the afterlife. Floating back up, Krillin tries to make his numb left arm work, getting only a small jitter in response. Regardless, he powers up once again and flies back at 18.
Sensing Tien's power spike up as well, the monk allows himself a cocky smirk as he finds some comfort in the fact they're both about to go all out, consequences be damned. Before ending contact with his fellow pupil. Besides, dying's not so bad when you get used to it.
18 does nothing, merely standing there, smirking with her arms crossed and actually mulling over whether or not to let him live at least. Even though his power pales in comparison to say, Piccolo, Vegeta or whatever that massive spike from Tien was just now, she begins to wonder just how long destroying helpless humans will remain entertaining.
A large, yellow disk of ki forms over Krillin's outstretched arm, creating his most devastating attack: the Kienzan. An attack formed not by shaping energy into a ball or pouring as much of it as humanly possible into an all out attack but by refinement. Forcing the very life energy of every living beyond into a mix between a flying buzz-saw and a surgically precise laser.
Cursing his arm injury for making it impossible to combine his technique with a Taiyoken, Krillin lets the disk fly and begs to any and every deity out there for her confidence to backfire horribly and let him end this here and now. For an instant it, he lets himself believe it too as she merely stands there, thinking herself too strong to take the attack. Maybe she is, but maybe she isn't.
"Get down!" Another voice suddenly yells out of nowhere and with it, another figure, a male resembling her quite a bit under his tattered clothes and numerous bloody bruises flies right into her and narrowly manages to get them both out of the disks path.
The newly arrived enemy shoots Krillin a venomous glare and without a moments hesitation, thrusts his hand forward and unleashes a wave of energy that instantly blasts right through Krillin's mid-section. The monk doesn't even yell or scream or get to put up a fight, instead, he simply lets out a single, blood filled cough before plummeting into the ocean below.
18 hovers behind her brother and winces upon noticing an actual, bleeding cut on her cheek where the disk grazed her. He actually would've killed me. She admits in a mix of shock and genuine admiration, not once thinking that an attack of someone so beneath her level would actually work. Looking away from the throbbing cut, she looks over to her brother and notices his ruined clothing and bleeding cuts all over his face and body from where she could see it.
"It was the tri-clops," He mutters with a spit as if he read her mind. "Bastard went all out and actually managed to hurt me good. Too bad he dropped dead right after or I'd have done worse to him."
"Same old 17," She chuckles. "Always smiling when things go your way but when your ego gets bruised..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," He cracks the bones of his spine, feeling tense all over. "The clown got away, though, think we should go after him?"
"Nah, the strongest aliens and humans here are dead and gone. The clown and loser can't do anything even if they want to," She grabs him arm. "Let's get you fixed up, can't look like a beat up hobo while we take over the world, right?"
Feeling his anger die down, 17 nod and smiles at her. "Not that you mention it, this might be the best chance to get me a tuxedo. I always wanted one."
With that, the two of them fly off to hit the next target in what will be a long, and dreadful time for the Earth. Completely oblivious of Yamcha, who hid inside the crack made by Krillin's impact and listened to all of it unfold. Look down into the nearby ocean, the ex-bandit knows it would be futile getting his body out, Kami likely snatched it immediately.
With a sigh, Yamcha jumps back up and senses Chiaotzu flying towards Mount Paozu, no doubt to inform Gohan of the disaster here. With a grimace, Yamcha knows that only leaves him with one option. Capsule Corp...
Two Months Ago, Training Island
No matter how many times they repeated the exercise, now or back when they first started out for what seemed like two life times ago, Krillin and Yamcha never get tired of that early morning sun. For countless mornings spent training on this island, it always accompanied them and Goku during their practice sessions. Once they held it in contempt, a beginning to another grueling day of practice. But now, it would feel off without it.
The two traverse the vast steps leading to the upper section of the island. Another part of the exercise that once made them nearly groan to death was now a piece of cake, even with a pair of extra heavy turtle shells attached to their backs. As per Master Roshi's routine, the two march up, each holding boxes filled with cartons of milk made to be distributed across the entire island. At this point, either of them could just fly anywhere and do it easily, but this was better. It kept them occupied.
"Hey Krillin," Yamcha speaks up, letting his body instinctively take each and every step as his blank, thousand mile stare encroaches on his facial features, not for the first time either. "You ever think your life's going nowhere?"
"Well..." The monk began following a quick glance at Yamcha's direction and quickly found his somewhat good mood ruined. Not that he could blame Yamcha for feeling this way, the guy was never what you'd call lucky. Even if Krillin's own prowess was nothing in comparison to Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo or even a child like Gohan, Krillin at the very least managed to add something to their battles despite the odds.
Yamcha, however, could never catch a break. Always he trained just as hard as anyone else, and always humiliation and defeat were his only 'rewards'. The loss of Bulma to Vegeta of all people was just the latest, and arguably worst blow of them all.
At least, he had a girlfriend... A nasty, jealous little voice suddenly speaks up with Krillin immediately wishing it was an actual, physical being capable of getting a deserved beat down. But even with the guilt of feeling this way, he knew it was on some level right. With his 30th birthday merely two weeks away, Krillin can't help but feel like he's somehow stunted. Still living with Master Roshi after 18 years on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, nothing in his own personnel life budging an inch amongst all the ancient evils, galactic invaders, and genocidal space emperors.
With a heavy heart, he lowers his head and responds, "I hear ya. Almost 30 years old and I'm still doing... this..." His eyes look over to the same milk bottles he's been delivering since he was a boy. For a split second, he considers just smashing them against the ground and flying away, never to return.
As if reading his mind, Yamcha actually says it. "Sometimes I think about leaving here, y'know? Just fly off and never come back."
"But, you just got here."
"Not here, specifically," Yamcha corrects, his features growing sterner. "I meant the Earth, Krillin.
Perplexed and somewhat intrigued by the idea, the two of them stop in the middle of the stone stairway with Yamcha looking up into the sky. "We know there are lots of planets out there with all sorts of people, good and bad. Planets that might not have anyone to keep them safe like Earth does. Maybe its time they did."
"I don't know Yamcha," Krillin rubs the back of his head. "This planet's kind of our home, leaving it would feel wrong..."
"Like we'll make a difference," The ex-bandit states matter of factly. "Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta are the ones that'll make the real difference when something goes wrong. For all our training the fact of the matter is, we're useless here."
"And we'd do better out in space?"
"Sure as hell better than here where we'll never amount to anything in the one place we've spent our whole lives dedicated to."
His last comment hit a bit too close to home for Krillin's liking, yet even aware of these facts, he can't seem to agree with Yamcha. From experience, he knows that humans can't stack up to the likes of warrior Namekian's or Saiyan's, but with the right techniques and mindset, they could be just as deadly in other ways. Freeza's slice of tail can attest to that.
"If you feel so strongly about this, why not suggest it to Tien? He's not exactly thrilled with this either."
Yamcha shakes his head. "Tien's too deluded with pride. He still thinks he can go in there and fight someone of Freeza's level like he's actually capable of it. His pride won't let him back down even if he secretly knows he can't catch up."
Once again, Krillin must agree with him to a point. Ever since his revival, he can sense Tien pushing himself to insane levels each and every day. Even Vegeta, now apparently taking up more of a fatherly role has decreased his training while Tien and Piccolo have kept their respective paces going.
"I get how you both feel, I do, but," He looks Yamcha right in the eye. "Trying to pretend something we're not or running away isn't the answer. I want to help out just as much as you guys do, but we should do it on our own terms."
Yamcha lets out a defeated sigh, expecting to hear an answer like that. "I wish I could agree with that Krillin, must I've been beaten down too many times to believe that now. And frankly, I'm sick of losing everything and everyone."
Powering up, Yamcha takes off into the air, letting the meaning of his final statement linger. Bulma and Goku were both important in his life, with both of them gone in one way or another, Krillin can't honestly blame him for wanting to get away from everything and start fresh. Even on a potentially strange, faraway alien planet.
Sensing that Yamcha's gone back to Master Roshi's, Krillin merely sighs and picks up the pace for both of them. Not interested in letting anything deter him from completing the task at hand. After all, that's what Goku would do.