A.N.: Here's another of Under Hardship. Since I got 3 reviews in one day, here's another chapter! Remember, No reviews = No updates.
Also, I put up another poll on which story you'd like to see next: Book 3 or the Alternate Universe where Arata gets saved earlier. ANSWER THE POLL, PLEASE, also, if you can't access the poll, write in a review!. I'd like to know so I can get that started once I finish writing all the chapters for this story! That way, the chapters come faster! Let me know what you want to see in either stories, I'll take note and add them. Promise!
Enjoy the Chapter.
silverhawk88: Thanks! I wanted there to be tension somewhere besides the androids and cell. Plus, it's fun to write those scenes.
asredwer: (ch. 8 review) I remember you saying you didn't just want another story with a character thrown in and that's what I've been trying to do. (ch. 9 review) I know right, Vegeta can be a royal pain in the ***, lol. And thanks for your answer, I figures that's what others would want, but I just wanted other's opinion.
Hero ben: Thanks, it wasn't exactly in the front of my mind when I was writing, but as I wrote the interactions b/w Vegeta and Natsuki, I guess it happened. :D
briannap0122: Thanks! I'm glad you like the series. I've been working really hard on it.
Different Upbringing (Book 2): Under Hardship
Summary: In the timeline where the androids terrorize the Earth, Son Arata falls to Frig but not before Natsuki, her daughter, is able to escape. Natsuki arrives on Earth and found by Gohan. Follow Natsuki through the tough challenges of going into the past and the possibility of getting her mother rescued in the past timeline.
Chapter 10
-Another Player in the Game-
-Past Timeline-
"Wow." Gohan said as Krillin finished telling Gohan what he missed. "Are they really that strong?"
"Let's put it this way. Multiply Trunks and Natsuki's warning by 10." Krillin said.
While everyone mulled over what Krillin explained, ChiChi shouted out, causing everyone to look at her and Natsuki to nearly fall off of the seat she was sitting on. "Oh, I'm a terrible mother. Because of all the commotion, I almost forgot the most important thing!" ChiChi cried.
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Gohan asked.
ChiChi walked over to Gohan with books in her hands. "You have studying to do." She said sternly. "I'll be damned if I don't have one of my kids educated."
"You can't be serious!" Gohan complained.
Pan started chuckling at her father's expense. Natsuki looked down at Pan's spot on the floor. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you." She said. "When we get back I'm sure that you're going to be next."
Pan stopped laughing a pouted. ChiChi looked at Gohan without wavering. "Current circumstances don't prevent you from doing schoolwork." She said.
"Wow ChiChi." Krillin said. "You really are something else, you know that."
"So, what's our next move?" Yamcha asked.
"I've got an idea." Trunks said. Everyone looked at him, ChiChi pulled Gohan's head to focus on his studies. "Since I know where Dr. Gero's lab is, I can go back and destroy them while their still dormant."
"Won't work." Natsuki said immediately.
Krillin nodded. "I agree. I thought you said that time machine wasn't all that precise." He said.
"And besides Trunks. It won't change this timeline anyway, let alone ours." Natsuki said.
Trunks sighed. "You're right." He said.
"I'm not following." Yamcha said.
Natsuki stretched her shoulders before talking. She could feel ChiChi's gaze on her. "Well, we gave Goku the medicine to fight the heart virus, as you can see, but in our time, Goku is still dead."
Krillin looked at her. "I get it. You're saying that even if you do go back and destroy Gero's lab, that wouldn't change either timelines." He said.
Natsuki nodded. "Exactly." She said. "Also, we don't have the fuel to do that anyway, so that's out of the question with that alone. The fuel we have left needs to be used to get us back home."
"Wait a minute." Yamcha said "If any of your work here won't change your timeline, then why are you doing this?"
"Mom always said that a life without those monsters, even in a different timeline, is a life." He said. "She was done living in a world without any hope. If she could make a change, even if it wasn't her own timeline, then that was good enough for her."
"Also it makes us stronger to defeat the ones in our timeline. If we can get stronger here and we defeat the androids here, then we won't have a problem defeating the ones in ours." Natsuki added.
"We had a plan. If what Natsuki said didn't work and we didn't find a weakness for them, then we were to bring Goku to our timeline for a face off." Trunks explained further. "But because of the changes in this timeline, those plans are slightly messed up. There's one more android that we didn't expect and they're somehow stronger."
"What was it that changed this timeline so much?" Gohan asked before he was forced back to his studies.
"That's a good question, Gohan." Natsuki said. "But it's one that Trunks nor I can answer for you. Though, I do wonder if it's all us."
ChiChi stood up. "Hey, don't over think this." She said. "Even though it seems worse, we're still better off than we would be if you didn't come. My Goku is better thanks to you two."
Trunks nodded towards her in thanks. Natsuki, however grateful she was for ChiChi's words, immediately started thinking of her mother. The scouter was still in with the time machine in a closed compartment for safety. She knew now that she'd be able to save her mother in this timeline, but from what she was told by Gohan, there was no way she'd see her mother again until the day she died in that timeline.
"Yeah." Krillin said. "Things will work out."
"They always do." Yamcha said.
Krillin started laughing. "We've been in worse spots than this, right?" he said. "We'll come through this one way or another." He paused. "Probably."
"KRILLIN!" ChiChi yelled.
"Just kidding!" Krillin said quickly.
Natsuki was the only one who was not laughing. She was looking down, her thoughts consuming her mind. "Nat?" Pan tried to get her attention. Gohan looked up as well, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Natsuki, what's going through your mind?" Krillin asked.
Natsuki sighed and shook her head. "Nothing important at the moment." She murmured. "Just my thoughts wondering."
"Don't hide anything from us." Krillin said. "We're in this together right?"
Natsuki sighed. Unlike Piccolo, Natsuki agreed with him. "I'm just thinking about my mother." She said. Trunks looked at her knowingly, as did Krillin and Yamcha.
"Your mother?" ChiChi asked, interested, as she turned Gohan's head to his studies again.
Natsuki nodded. "Because of all the changes here, it's just got me wondering if it has changed anything for her." She said. "She's in a-tough situation- you could say and I know how to get her out of it, but at what cost?"
Trunks nudged her. "Natsuki, don't look into." He said. "Your mother shouldn't be affected by any of this. Remember?"
Natsuki scoffed. "You can't be certain, Trunks." She said annoyed. "I hacked into the coordinates from King Cold's mainframe. Was that realized? That's all I'm wondering."
They all stayed silent. ChiChi, once she knew Gohan was focused on his studies, walked over to Natsuki and sat by her. "Goku told me what you told him 3 years ago." She said in a quiet voice.
Natsuki looked at ChiChi, slightly stunned. "So you know-" she was cut off by ChiChi's nodding and knowing smile. "I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself."
ChiChi smiled. "I just want to make sure." She started. "She is safe, isn't she?"
Natsuki nodded. "The person looking over her sees her as his own. He won't let anything happen to her. He'll be around for a while." She said with a smile.
"That's good to know." ChiChi said.
"Please don't tell Gohan." Natsuki said. "I don't want him to know quite yet. I'll tell him at the right time."
ChiChi nodded. "Of course." She said.
"We're almost at Master Roshi's place." Yamcha informed. "I don't think anyone has thought of this, but shouldn't we clue Bulma in?"
"Yeah, sure." Krillin said. "Wait you mean for me to tell her, don't you?"
"You're the best person to get her up to speed." Yamcha said.
Krillin groaned. "Fine." He said while walking to the other seat and faced Trunks. "Man, your Mom has one heck of a temper."
Trunks started chuckled, along with Natsuki. "Trust me, she's not going to mellow with age." He said.
Natsuki heard Krillin punch in Bulma's phone number. She heard to voice of someone she didn't recognize before hearing Bulma's loud voice on the line. "Krillin! Is that you! Please tell me everything's alright." She said, causing Krillin and Trunks to get startled at her tone. "Tell me everything. First, where are you calling from and second, I called to make sure Gohan got home alright, but no one is answering the phone and thirdly, please tell me my future version of my son is with you."
"Uh sure, he's sitting right behind me." Krillin said.
"Really? Good. Do me a favor and put him on." Bulma instructed.
"Go ahead. You're on speaker so he can hear you loud and clear." Krillin said.
"Okay." Bulma said. "Listen, some land surveyors from some villa out west stumbled across some abandoned vechile that they thought they could claim. The trouble was, they couldn't digure out how to start it, so they asked if we could help them out."
"Ok, so-" Krillin trailed off.
"Well, our people asked them what the vehicle's model number was and they said they couldn't find one. Naturally, we asked them if they were sure that it was a Capsule Corporation product they had found and they said yes. The logo was right there on the body. We were shocked, so we asked them to take a photo of it and send it over to us as quickly as possible. Long story short, I got the photo in front of me and not only is it Trunks and Natsuki's time machine I'm staring at, but it's showing some major sign of wear and tear." Bulma continued.
Natsuki and Trunks looked at each other, stunned. "That's impossible." Trunks said while he pulled out the container that held the capsule of the time machine. "Here, look. Yeah, see, I've got it right here. It's condensed into capsule form."
"He says he has his time machine with him." Krillin said.
"That's odd. I mean, it's just uncanny." Bulma said. "The one in the photo is pretty mosey and overgrown, like it's been sitting there a while. But otherwise we're talking about a dead ringer. Is it possible that my future self made more than one of these?"
Natsuki shook her head. "No. You barely had enough material to make one. I know, because I helped find those materials when I had time." She said.
"Then that's really bizarre then because that would make this the same exact machine you traveled here in. I'm absolutely positive. I've got an eye for this stuff, trust me. Let me shoot a copy of the photo to you, so you can see for yourself." Bulma said.
A photo came through a small slot in front of Krillin. "Here, take a look at this." Krillin said while handing it to Trunks. Natsuki stood my Trunks to look at the photo as well.
Natsuki's eyes widened while Trunks gasped in shock. "It's pretty beat up." Natsuki commented as Gohan also came over to look. Pan climbed onto Trunks' back to look as well. "What's with the hole in the glass?"
"I don't know." Trunks said. "She's absolutely right. This is the same exact machine I came here in. There's no question. But what does it mean? Do you know the exact location where this is located?"
"Alright, he's got a question. Do you know where the photo was taken? Exactly." Krillin asked.
"Not exactly, but according to the postage, it's outside of section 1050 West. You going?" Bulma asked.
"Yes." Trunks said. "I have to see this for myself."
Natsuki nodded. "I am too." She said.
"I would like to come if you don't mind." Bulma said. "It's not that far from me."
"Sure, if you'd like to, I guess." Trunks answered.
"Great, meet you there." Bulma said.
Yamcha looked over at Trunks. "Just to make sure. Are you positive that there is only one time machine?" he asked.
"Positive." Natsuki said. "It'd be impossible to create another. It took Bulma years to find enough material to build this one."
"I'd-uh-like to take a look too if you don't mind." Gohan said.
"Me too!" Pan joined in. She hoped off of Trunks' back and was looking at Natsuki with pleading eyes.
"Excuse me?" ChiChi questioned her son.
"Awe, come on Mom. It'll be fun." Gohan pleaded. "It's not like I'm going anywhere dangerous. We'll be safe!"
"Alright." ChiChi said.
"Don't worry, ChiChi." Natsuki said. "I'll watch him."
"Nat, can I come too? Please?" Pan begged.
Natsuki sighed. "Pan, I know you're just trying to help and that you're bored, but I'd prefer if you stay here with ChiChi, Krillin, and Yamcha." She said.
"But Gohan gets to go!" Pan argued.
"Gohan can defend himself if it is necessary." Natsuki said sternly. "We don't know what to expect here. Granted, it is unlikely, it's just a precaution. Alright?"
Pan sighed. "Fine." She pouted.
ChiChi breathed a sigh of relief. Once Natsuki said that Pan was her cousin, she knew immediately who she was and she didn't want the daughter of her son out in danger at her age. "You can stay with me, Pan." She said.
Yamcha had stopped the ship so the door could be opened without too much hassle. Trunks and Natsuki looked back to Gohan, who nodded back to them, before the trio took off in the direction of 1050 West.
"About the androids in your time, what about the humans? I mean, have they really turned the Earth into a warzone?" Gohan asked.
Trunks looked at Natsuki. "You can answer that better than I can." She said. "I barely went out there."
"Well, that's one way of putting it. If it's a war, than humans are easily on the losing side." Trunks answered. "The population has dwindled to near nothing. The few tens of thousands of us still alive live in secret underground bunkers."
"Whoa. That's bad." Gohan said.
"It is." Natsuki said grimly.
"I sure hope they have a weakness like you said." Gohan said.
"Me too." Trunks said. "I've been thinking about that. It seemed like Dr. Gero didn't want to activate the androids. He knew that they were dangerous, but we left them with no choice and that's when they turned on him. He may have been evil, but he was no idiot. If the androids were a threat, he'd have some sort of backup plan. He would have needed some way of turning them off in case they became too out of control. Like a emergency turn off device. It's a long shot, but if we can find it, we can use it to stop them."
"Awe, I don't think it's a long shot." Gohan argued lightly.
"I wish I could agree with you." Trunks said.
It was silent before Gohan looked towards Natsuki. "Natsuki?" he tried to get her attention.
"Yeah Gohan?" she asked.
"You said that you were raised by my mom?" he wanted to confirm.
Natsuki nodded. "Yeah, both you and ChiChi." She said.
"Do you know anything about my sister in that time?" Gohan asked. "Her name is Arata."
Natsuki sighed. "Listen, Gohan, I have some things to explain to you that involve my past, but I can't explain now. Once I find some down time, I'll explain it to you. Until then, you'll have to be patient. I know it's frustrated not knowing who I am." She explained. "But in my time, Arata is dead. She died when I was almost 4. I can't explain now, but I saw her die. Not long after that, I was sent to Earth where you found me."
"Oh." Gohan said dejectedly.
Natsuki tried to smile his way. "Don't sound so down." She said. "Remember when Trunks was defeating Frieza and I wasn't around until I killed King Cold?"
"Yeah." Gohan said.
"I have a plan to rescue your sister, Gohan." Natsuki said. "And so far, everything is going to plan. I have everything worked out."
"Really!" Gohan said happily.
Natsuki nodded again. "Yeah, but I have to wait until Goku wakes up. I still have a lot to explain to you two."
Gohan nodded. "Thank-you." He said.
They arrived at a terrain that mixed with slightly rocky terrain and grassy areas. "We're right on top of the area we should be looking for. So keep your eyes open." He said.
"You got it." Gohan said before they broke off in different directions. Gohan went left while Trunks and Natsuki went right.
"Do you really think we can find a shut off device?" Natsuki asked. "I was looking around when Vegeta blasted the doors open and there seemed to be that some sort of device that was destroyed. I know because I saw 18 step on it."
"Even if we can't find the device itself, there has to be blueprints or something that someone could follow to make it." Trunks said. Natsuki nodded.
"Hey Trunks, Natsuki! Over here, I found it!" Gohan called.
Trunks and Natsuki followed Gohan's voice and landed in front of the vehicle of the picture that Bulma had found. "Good job Gohan." Trunks praised. "Good eye."
"There's Bulma." Natsuki said. "We should probably flag her down."
"It didn't take her very long." Gohan said with a smile. "I'll flag her."
Natsuki smiled. "It's nice being around him. It's like when I first arrived and I wasn't fully aware of what was going on. You know, carefree." She explained.
Trunks nodded. "I agree." He said.
They returned their attention to the time machine. It was over grown with plant life and had a gaping hole in the glass. "That hole is even more gross seeing it in person." She murmured. "I wonder what made that."
"Well find out." Trunks said.
"Hey Trunks, look who's here!" Bulma called as she got out of the small craft. "The mother of the year."
"Uhh, hello." Trunks said.
"Hey Bulma!" Natsuki said happily.
"It is weird seeing me so young?" Bulma asked. "You have to tell me, do I stay this gorgeous in the future?"
Natsuki started giggling at Trunks' blush. "Well, you don't change all that much I guess." He said while glaring at a giggling Natsuki and Gohan.
"Seriously?" Bulma said. "So as the years wear on, my looks are spared from the cold ravages of time? It's almost criminal!"
"Mother, take a look." Trunk said while pulling out the capsule to their time machine. He clicked it open and let it settle beside the over grown one. "This is the one I've been carrying since I arrived here."
"Well that settles it. This one isn't yours." Bulma said.
"No mom." Trunks said. "There has only been one of these. There isn't any other way. This is the same one we came here in."
"That doesn't make sense, though." Natsuki commented.
"Are you sure?" Bulma asked.
"Positive." Trunks said as he was scrapping away the plant growth.
"What does that say?" Bulma asked. "'Hope'?"
"You painted that before we left." Natsuki explained.
"And it's on both machines." Trunks added.
"Hold on a second. I have to think about this." Bulma said. "It looks like this one has been here a while; several years from the looks of it."
Gohan, Trunks, and Natsuki lifted into the air to look inside. Gohan looked through the gaping hole and looked confused. "See something?" Natsuki asked.
"The dome was melted." Gohan explained. "Judging from the way the edges curl, it was melted from the inside out."
"Do you think the pilot did that?" Bulma asked.
"I don't know. Let's open it up." Trunks said.
Natsuki nodded and looked inside. "Wait a minute." She said. "What the hell is that?"
"What?" Trunks asked.
Natsuki got inside of the time machine and pulled out a opened purple egg, a big one. "Look at this thing." She said, handing it to Trunks.
Gohan looked at it too. "That's kind of weird." He said. "It looks like an alien coconut."
"Let me see, please." Bulma said.
Gohan grabbed each half and floated back down to the ground and handed it to Bulma. "Here you go." He said.
Bulma analyzed the egg shells. "My best guess is that this is the shell of some type of egg." She said.
"You think so?" Gohan questioned. "I've never seen an egg like that."
"The energy is almost down to zero, but it should scan." Trunks said. "Whoever or Whatever flew this ship came from the time 788, 3 years after our first trip here."
"Huh?" Bulma and Natsuki said together. Natsuki stayed by the edge so she could watch what Trunks was doing.
"If it's reading correctly," Trunks stated. "Then it landed four years ago. A full year before Natsuki and I defeated Frieza and his father."
Natsuki's mind clicked. "Trunks, this must be why the timeline is off by so much." She said quickly.
Trunks nodded. "I agree." He said. "That's the only directive."
Natsuki started shaking again, not in anger but in fear. "Natsuki, what's wrong?" Gohan asked. Trunks looked at her.
"Natsuki?" Trunks questioned.
Her head was shaking. "I was hoping that I was wrong in my thinking." She was muttering slowly as she landed on the ground.
Trunks hopped down and landed beside her. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Natsuki was shaking her head. "Everything is coming into place. That's why the Gohan in our timeline took me out with him when he wasn't fighting." She said.
"What?" Trunks questioned. "You're confusing me."
Natsuki faced Trunks. "I've always been analytical of my surroundings because of how I grew up, and our Gohan knew that. Gohan knew something wasn't right in our timeline. How could the androids diminish the population so fast, even in the 20 or so years. They had fun torching the humans not kill them. If they killed all the humans, the wouldn't have anything to do." She said.
"Continue." Trunks said.
"Whatever came to this timeline, Trunks, is the reason behind the huge disappearance of the humans in our time." Natsuki said.
"So what are you saying?" Gohan asked.
Natsuki sighed. "What I'm saying is that the androids are the least of our problems." She said before pointing to the shell in Bulma's hands. "Whatever was in that shell or whatever is a foe that makes the androids seem like nothing."
"So in basic words." Trunks said.
"We're taking screwed to a whole new level." Natsuki murmured.
A.N.: Let me know what you think of this chapter.
Which character (from books 1 & 2) is your favorite and why?
Next Chapter: Natsuki and Trunks come into contact with Cell.
Stay tuned!