A dark and cold night on a distant planet.

A young alien boy frantically searched through his surroundings, sword in hand and at the ready, but before he was able to react he was suddenly crushed by a gigantic foot.

A voice let out a malicious and maniacal laughter in the background "Next stop, planet Earth!"

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A typical day in Orange Star City.

Cabba, clad in his usual Saiyan armor, stood in the middle of the street as he casually put on a pair of shades 'How I got stuck doing this I wonder. It's been about 6 months since that whole thing with Cooler on New Namek. Cabba and two Namekians joined us, Trunks' master was brought back to life, and we even stopped an alien invasion from Bojack and a gang of space pirates and saved that female soldier that Bojack tried to use as a sacrifice, and now she and Trunks are always getting it on. And yet somehow Tarble and I have been stuck stopping all kinds of petty crimes in random cities around the world. Oh, here they come.' he held out one foot, stopping a getaway car in its tracks.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" one of the crooks began firing at him with a rifle.

Cabba caught the bullets with one hand and casually let them fall "Okay then guys, looks like it's my turn now." he stomped down on the car, sending the crooks flying into the air and crashing down onto the street.

"You son of a-"

"You know, you guys really should learn to wear your seatbelts." that was when Tarble showed up in his own Saiyan armor and a pair of shades.

"You're going down!" one of the crooks charged forward with a knife in hand.

Tarble slugged him in the gut, knocking him out cold, then proceeded to do the same to his fellow crooks.

"That's it runt!" one guy pulled out a rifle.

"Nope." Tarble snapped it clean in half with two fingers.

"Who the hell are you guys?"

"Well it's quite simple really, I am Saiyan #1."

Then Cabba walked up beside him "Saiyan #2 at your service."

"And the two of us together are the Saiyan Supreme Crime Fighting Team."

"What he said."

The crook blinked "That name is kind of long isn't it?"

"I told you so Tarble, I mean even the lowlives agree."

Unknown to them, an old man with pink skin and whisker marks on his cheeks was watching them from afar 'Yes, they'll do very nicely.'

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"Masenko!"

Trunks watched as Toga fired off a Masenko at a practice dummy and nodded in approval when it was incinerated "Very good, you've gotten better."

Toga shrugged "Your teacher goes off to fight some alien robots for like 2 weeks and you tend to get some extra free time to practice."

"True. Still though, nice work. At this rate you might end up surpassing the level the androids were at."

"That's only because he has a good teacher."

Trunks looked back and saw Zangya wrap her arms around his neck "Oh hey, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Not much." Zangya pecked him on the cheek "Just thought I'd come in and see how you guys were doing."

Trunks blushed 'Damn, Gohan just had to try and hook us up didn't he? Seriously, just because I save her life doesn't mean that we have to end up together, but does he listen? No, he and Frost for some reason are trying to get me laid! And I like it! Curse my Saiyan hormones!' then he got a call on his phone "Hello?"

"Trunks, it's Cabba. We've got a situation in East City, there's this old guy on a tower and an old man is trying to jump. Tarble and I can't get there in time because we're still dealing with a bunch of thugs in Orang Star."

"Don't worry, I've got this." he dialed another number "Hey Frost, are you doing anything right now? Good, I need you to deal with a suicide attempt in East City."

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The scene in East City wasn't looking good.

Like Cabba said, an old man was threatening to jump from a high tower "Words! They're just words, as if you really cared! None of you know what it's like to live in despair day in and day out! One step and it will all be over!"

This was when Frost flew in, still in his first form 'Well Gohan was right, life as the mysterious Cryo Warrior of the Warrior's 7, defenders of the Earth, really isn't that bad when people know you're trying to help them and not eat them.'

"My mind is made up! I'm going to jump!"

"No problem." then Frost floated up and held out his hand "But just be sure that you take my hand first, okay?"

"Get back fool, I want to die! You'll see you fool!" then he jumped.

'Wow, I honestly didn't think he'd actually jump.'

"HELP ME!"

Then Frost quickly floated down and caught him before he was able to make it even halfway to the ground "It's alright, you can open your eyes now."

"What the hell were you waiting for? I could have been killed! I should sue you!"

"You're welcome. But what in the world would cause you to take your own life in the first place?"

"Well…"

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One very lengthy and boring explanation later…

Hoi shot Frost an incredulous stare "You mean to tell me that you've never heard of Tapion the Brave?"

Frost shook his head "I can't say that I have, should I have?"

"He was only the hero who single handedly saved the planet Konats of the South Galaxy 1,000 years ago."

"I had heard of Konats, but only once when I was a child. Tell me, would it be possible for me to meet this Tapion?"

"Why of course."

"So where is this Tapion anyway?"

"So where is he?"

"Why I thought you would never ask." the old man, who introduced himself as Hoi, pulled out a small box "I just happened to have brought him along with me. Unfortunately, he has long since been confined in this mysterious music box."

"But I thought you said he was a hero, what reason would there be for him to be confined in something like this?"

"That my friend is a conundrum that beckons to be solved."

"There's more here that you're not telling me isn't there old man?"

"Indeed there is. Planet Konats was spared from destruction. However, the same crisis now threatens this Earth."

"What are you talking about, what crisis?"

"This evil will first ravage Earth and then the rest of this universe, consuming all that stands in its path. There is nothing you or any of your comrades can do to stop it, Tapion is the only hope for saving this world now. That's why I've come, that's why I have spent the last 30 years searching for this music box."

"Why don't you just open it and set Tapion free yourself?"

"You fool, don't you think I've tried?"

"What does that mean then, you're not able to open it?"

"That honor will be yours my friend. Try spinning the handle on the side of the box, if it opens then Tapion will live once more."

"Very well." Frost tried, even briefly powering up to his second form, but despite this the handle wouldn't budge, and he reluctantly powered down to his base form "Strange, how is this thing not moving no matter how hard I push? Perhaps I need-"

"Shenron!" Hoi blurted this out randomly at the last second "Please, summon the mighty Eternal Dragon."

"Wait, you know about the Dragon Balls?"

"Ask the Eternal Dragon to use its mighty mystical power to free Tapion from this music box, I beg of you!"

"So that's what this was about?"

"I never meant to deceive you, but I knew that you may very well be my only link to the Eternal Dragon Shenron! At the very least, would you be so kind as to introduce me?"

"So I suppose Cabba was right, there truly is a fool born every minute, some with antenna hanging from their cheeks."

"Some never grow up do they?"

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Pilina eyed Frost with clear skepticism back at Capsule Corp "So let me see if I understand this, you don't trust this old guy in the slightest and yet you still bring him here of all places?"

Frost sighed "Good or bad my Namekian friend, if there truly is another crisis threatening Earth then we have to know exactly what is in this box."

"Whether you believe me or not really isn't very relevant at this point." Hoi pointed out "A great evil is at your doorstep, and unless you are able to find a way to release Tapion all of mankind will be laid to waste."

Bulma finished scanning the contents of the box and sighed "Nope, sorry guys but the scans are inconclusive. Whatever is in that box won't be revealed until you open it."

"Let me try." so Trunks tried to open it, but found that even with his strength the handle wouldn't turn "Damn, sorry guys but it won't budge."

"I don't see the point of this." Tarble commented "After all, if someone as strong as Trunks can't open it then I doubt that thing is going to stay shut."

"Not necessarily." Cabba pointed out.

"You have something else in mind?" Hoi inquired curiously.

"As a matter of fact I do, all we need to do is gather the Dragon Balls and ask Shenron to open the box for us. After all, these new Dragon Balls require only 100 days or so to recharge after fulfilling 3 wishes so they've been ready for about 2 months or so. We actually went out to gather them up in case of emergencies the minute they reactivated so we have all 7 of them right here."

"I see." Hoi then smirked to himself 'Excellent, I never thought I would find help here on Earth. This is too easy.

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Soon enough, the Dragon Balls were gathered outside.

Gohan was the one who stepped up and made the wish "Shenron, arise and grant our wish!"

The balls glowed, the skies darkened, and in a golden light Shenron appeared.

"Astounding." Hoi murmured "It really worked, the Eternal Dragon Shenron…"

"I have returned to grant you three wishes, quickly name your heart's desires."

"I wish only for the release of the noble hero Tapion from his cruel prison."

"It shall be done." Shenron's eyes glowed crimson as both Hoi and the box were zapped by electricity, and the box fell to the ground "Your wish has been granted, what is your next wish?"

"We don't have any other wishes right now Shenron, you can go." Tarble told him.

"Very well. Your wish has been granted, I bid you farewell." then he disappeared, the Dragon Balls scattered, and the sky returned to normal.

Cabba stared down at the box on the ground "That's granting our request? He must be losing his touch."

"Quiet." Saonel hissed "Just listen."

"What?" then Cabba heard some music playing as the handle started turning "Well I guess the music is an improvement."

Bulma pondered the sound as she listened to it "It sounds so beautiful."

Zangya frowned "I don't know, it actually sounds a lot more sad to me."

Then the box shot open as a whirlwind emerged, taking on the form of Tapion, playing a strange sort of ocarina.

'Yes.' Hoi backed away and smirked maliciously, a strange energy emanating from his body, only for him to be forced to pull it back in, much to his ire.

"Wow." Gohan muttered "Hoi was telling the truth, his hero really does exist.

Tapion landed on the ground and opened his eyes slightly 'This feeling… someone freed me from the box, but who? Do they have any idea the carnage I could unleash?'

"Excellent." Hoi stepped forward.

Tapion promptly held his sword out pointed at Hoi "Stay back! Tell me, were you the one who revived me?"

"You're most welcome, it must be nice to have some leg room after 1,000 years is it not?"

"You old fool, send me back!"

"I'm afraid that isn't an option now that the music box has been destroyed." then he shot a greedy look at the ocarina Tapion was holding.

'No doubt about it, that old man intentionally set me free and knows fully well what I hold inside of me.'

That was when Gohan stepped up "Hi there, you must be this Tapion we've been hearing so much about. My name is Son Gohan, we had a pretty hard time getting you out of there."

"You sound so carefree about this, that means that you clearly have no idea what you and your friends have done. I don't know if I will be able to stop him this time."

"What do you mean?"

"It's best if you all stay away from me, for your own safety." then he promptly leapt over the railing to the Capsule Corp yard and walked off by himself.

"I don't like this." Bulma commented "We don't know the first thing about this guy aside from the fact that he has trouble saying thank you."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Gohan told her "He honestly looked like he was disturbed by something."

"What do you mean?"

"He knows something." then he lowered his voice so only Bulma could hear "I think Hoi knows something that he's not telling us."

Having heard what Gohan was saying thanks to their advanced Namekian hearing, Saonel and Pilina shared a look with each other and gave subtle nods.

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Tapion settled himself down in an abandoned factory 'This place should do, from what I can tell it's abandoned so nobody will come around here.'

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Nightfall came, and Bulma and the members of the Warrior's 7 were in the middle of having a barbecue.

Gohan scarfed down a kabob, then thought of something and looked around "Has anyone seen the old guy Hoi?"

"I haven't seen him in awhile." Tarble commented "Not since we set Tapion free and he took off."

"Yeah. Hey by the way, anyone seen Trunks?"

"Not since this thing started."

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The abandoned factory was quiet.

Tapion sat in silence, trying to suppress his inner darkness 'No matter what, I can't let this planet fall like mine did.' then he paused 'Someone's coming.' he gripped his sword.

"Easy." Trunks held up a hand as he set down a plate of meat "I thought you'd be hungry, that's all. There's nothing wrong with having some good meat in your stomach."

Tapion just gave a simple nod and looked away.

"Look, if you're dealing with some kind of problem then my friends and I want to help you in any way we can."

"...There's nothing you or your friends can do, not against something like this. It's far beyond anything you could possibly imagine."

"I can imagine a lot, but I guess I'll just have to take your word for something like this and step up my training."

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A crisis was unfolding in Orange Star City as a massive pair of legs was rampaging through the streets, destroying buildings and setting the city ablaze.

Frost had gone to investigate the potential causes of the chaos with Pilina, only to be horrified by the carnage caused "This is just absurd, what could possible have done this in such a short amount of time?"

"Well there's only one way to find out." Pilina lowered himself to the ground, only to find something very shocking "Oh."

"What's the matter?" then Frost saw the pair of legs as well "Oh, that's what the matter is." then he looked and saw a massive tail sweeping through buildings faster than they could blink, forcing them to dodge it by taking to the air once again.

"What sort of creature is this?"

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I." then Pilina thought of something "Tell me Frost, about what Hoi had told you before. The evil that destroyed the planet Konats in the South Galaxy 1,000 years ago, could this be what he had been referring to?"

"I don't know but it definitely qualifies as a crisis on a major level." then Frost promptly got whacked to the ground by the creature's tail "Ow…"

Pilina leapt out of the way and landed on the side of a nearby building "Frost hurry, get out of there quick!"

'This is bad!' Frost quickly leapt out of the way of an attack 'This creature's power is just unbelievable, at this point I have no choice but to enter my final form and hope that will at least slow it down. It looks like you're dead set on doing this the hard way, well if that's what you want then that's what you'll get!" with a furious roar and a soaring purple and blue light, Frost transformed into his final form, electricity crackling around his body "Come on then, let's end this!" he charged forward, dodging a kick and slamming the creature in the side of its ribcage.

The creature remained standing.

Frost retreated into the air "Well it doesn't look like that worked." then he charged forward at full speed.

The creature disappeared and suddenly began thrusting its tail at him from an unknown location.

Frost dodged the strikes and fired a barrage of Chaos Beams, the attacks slamming straight into its side and sending it staggering back "Yes!"

"Special Beam Cannon!" having spent the entire time charging an attack, Pilina fired off a Special Beam Cannon, striking the creature in the tail "Yes!"

"Pilina this creature has a weakness, it's flesh is vulnerable the moment it tries to attack anything!" Frost dodged various sweeps of the creature's tail and an attempt at stomping him to death, then fired a miniature Chaos Ball at point blank range, sending the creature stumbling backwards and crashing to the ground.

The creature used its tail to get back on its feet.

"Light Grenade!" Pilina fired a Light Grenade from atop a nearby building, sending it crashing into several more buildings, then followed up with a barrage of Masenko blasts, before finally powering down and trying to catch his breath "Frost."

"I know." Frost appeared beside him "This isn't over, not yet at least." then they heard a strange sort of music "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah, but it sounds familiar." he looked and saw that the creature had vanished "What the-? It's like it vanished into thin air."

"Yes, it's strange." then Frost looked further and saw a silhouette of Tapion looking back at him before finally disappearing "That's Tapion…"

"Frost, take a look at this." Pilina pointed to where he saw a cloaked figure dashing across the rooftops and then promptly disappearing from sight "Who do you think that was?"

"I'm not sure, but whatever the case may be we've accomplished one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"We know who the enemy is now."

"Yeah but how are we gonna stop something like that?"

"I don't think we can, at this rate it's going to take all 7 of us to take that thing down and even then I'm not sure we'll be powerful enough to."

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It was much later that night.

Tapion was fast asleep, but woke up when he realized that an evil presence was escaping from his body "No!" he reached for his ocarina, only to realize that it had fallen off while he was asleep.

A massive hole appeared above him and from it emerged a gigantic claw, and once the hole widened enough the whole figure emerged, in the form of a hideous demon.

'There!' seeing his ocarina lying on the floor, Tapion quickly blitzed over and grabbed it, then began playing it as he was slammed into the wall.

The creature tried to reach for him, only to somehow be paralyzed by the melody, and it suddenly disappeared back into Tapion's body.

Tapion fell to one knee, panting heavily 'That was close, far too close.'

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Morning came.

Trunks came by with another plate of meat and saw Tapion sitting on a rock on the other side of the room "Oh good, you're alright. I felt a huge power surge last night and was about to rush out here to check on you but it disappeared."

Tapion just stared at him 'This guy…'

"Here's some meat, you can't save the world on an empty stomach right?"

Nothing.

"Just let me know if you need anything, but I'll be teaching a class at my dojo so come by around sundown." and he took off.

'Why is he trying so hard to get me to loosen up around him? Surely he knows how dangerous it is to be around me.' then his stomach growled 'Well…'

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Bulma was in the middle of washing dishes, with Zangya helping her "There have been twice as many dishes to wash since that new guy arrived, I think Trunks is sneaking him food."

Zangya sighed "That does sound like Trunks, honestly there are times when he can be way too stubborn for his own good."

"He must be trying to make that guy into an ally so they can work together and protect the planet and all that."

"Well whatever this crisis is it's pretty clear that Tapion knows something about it so Trunks wants his help, and maybe when this is over he'll try and get Tapion to stay on Earth and join them."

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At the same time, Trunks was bringing Tapion another plate of meat "You're not even gonna bother saying a word to me are you?"

Tapion said nothing.

"Suit yourself, I know that you're still eating these after I leave. The plates are empty when I come to get them."

Nothing.

"You sense it don't you, that energy outside?"

"Now!" the cloaked figure from before suddenly dropped down from the roof, then blitzed forward and knocked the ocarina out of Tapion's hand.

Trunks blitzed over and picked it up.

"Give me that flute!" the figure sped forward and attempted to steal it.

Trunks sent him tumbling back with a shockwave, revealing Hoi underneath the cloak, as well as spilling some oil and setting the factory ablaze.

"Trunks, here!" Tapion held out his hand.

"Right, here!"

"Hold on, here me out!" Hoi quickly stopped him "Tapion is not a hero, in fact it was he who destroyed the city!"

"No Trunks, he's lying." Tapion told him.

"Once you hand him the flute he'll destroy not only your planet but the entirety of the whole universe! Give it here, I will save you."

"No he won't, he's evil."

"Silence!"

Trunks stared at Hoi for a moment "Tell me something Hoi, if he was going to destroy all of us then why would you ask us to use the Dragon Balls to free him?"

'...Crap, I was hoping he had forgotten about that. I, uh, well… you see."

"That's what I thought. Here!" he threw it to Tapion.

Hoi merely growled and took off into the darkness of the night.

"You alright?"

Tapion gave a simple nod "Thank you."

"Sure. Well I should get going, I've got a class to teach and it starts in about 10 minutes." he then started walking away.

"You said you own a dojo." Tapion's voice stopped him.

"That's right."

"Would you mind… if I came to watch you teach them?"

"...Sure."

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Gohan was listening to what Frost and Pilina were telling him about Tapion and the creature that destroyed the city "I don't know guys, that whole thing sounds kind of far fetched in my opinion. Tapion can't be in two places at once and as far as I know he hasn't left the sight of that abandoned factory, at least from what Trunks tells me."

Frost sighed as he downed a cup of tea "Look Gohan, I'm well aware of how foggy it had been in the city, but I'm telling you that I know exactly what I saw. Trunks will believe me."

"Ask him when he gets back, he went off to teach that midnight class up at the dojo in North City."

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Trunks was watching the students practicing their katas 'Look at them go.'

"They're promising for beginners, especially that one." Tapion looked over at Toga "How long have they been training?"

"About a year and a half or so. Hey by the way, do you have any brothers or sisters or anything?"

"...I have a brother, yes."

"I thought so, what's he like?"

"Well he was a good kid with a good heart."

"I see. What about your planet, is it anything like Earth?"

"Sort of, my home was a small planet called Konats in the South Galaxy. It had lush green forests as far as the eye can see, and there was water so clear you could see the bottom of the deepest ocean. It was a beautiful world before the nightmare known as Hirudegarn came, a phantom of mist and shadow. What it found in peace it left in pieces, Konats was completely decimated. It was said that there were many but we only saw one, it reduced the land to ash and hunted my people to the brink of extinction. There were only a small handful of us left when a miracle happened."

"What-"

"Master, we're ready!" one of the students called.

"Be right there! Hold on a minute Tapion, I promised that today I'd show them how to perform the Kamehameha. It was created by the guy who taught Gohan's father and to them that technique is legendary." and he leapt down off of the roof.

Tapion smiled slightly, then frowned when he saw an image of his younger brother 'Minotia… why did you smile at the fate that day? I swear it will never happen again, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure of that.'

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'Finally…' Frost was making his way down the halls of the dojo after finishing up his evening class with his students 'Now I can just get a nice hot cup of coffee and…' then he saw Tapion making his way down the hall "Where are you going?"

Tapion stopped 'Crap, I was hoping nobody would see me.'

"You don't have to leave you know, the dojo has plenty of spare rooms. Besides, I'm sure that Trunks will be glad to have you. He's very welcoming like that, he let most of us in after all."

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay."

"Why not?"

"Just forget everything told you, having me around you is dangerous."

"Oh please, I'm the spitting image of a tyrant who had the entire universe in the palm of his hand and you're the dangerous one? Why don't you tell me about it and I'll see if there's anything I can do to help."

"...Alright."

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Frost led Tapion into the break room of the dojo and handed him a cup of coffee "You don't have to you, we can talk later if you find it too difficult."

Tapion shook his head "No, it's fine. But to explain my story, I must first start with his. Hoi was a member of the Kashvar, power hungry aliens who believed themselves to be the superior species of the universe. For eons they've travelled the stars using their dark magic to hunt down and exterminate all life forms different from their own, and when they reached my homeworld of Konats they revived an ancient evil long thought destroyed by my ancestors known to us as the beast Hirudegarn, a malevolent assassin that consumes its victims and then imprisons their life force."

"I should have known Hoi was a villain, those whisker marks are a dead giveaway."

"Yeah. He murdered half of our population in that onslaught."

"Just when you think intolerance can't get worse than it already is. But I have to ask, how did the survivors of your people manage to handle a threat of such magnitude as this Hirudegarn?"

"Well it wasn't until we stumbled upon an enchanted sword that we realized that we even had a chance at surviving."

"Is that sword the one you carry on your back?"

"Yeah, a wizard found it in the ruins of the temple. Along with the blade, two ocarinas had been discovered. My brother and I used them in hopes of distracting the beast, they must have been enchanted as well seeing how neither one of us knew how to play. The melody seemed to consume Hirudegarn with rage, but try as it might the beast could do us no harm. At the moment the wizard took up the sword and charged, and the monster barely had any time to react before the blade cleaved him clean in two. What should have ended there turned out to be only the beginning, because somehow Hirudegarn survived. To prevent it from becoming whole once again, the wizard confined its upper half inside of me and the lower half inside of my brother. It was a small price for such a great victory. My people were able to survive the onslaught and Minotia and I both became heroes."

"A fascinating story, but it doesn't explain how you ended up being sealed inside of that music box."

"We had no choice, it was the only way to ensure once the Kashvar would never be able to get our hands on us. At least, that's what we thought. The wizard agreed to conduct the procedure, but he vowed to release the both of us once the Kashvar had been brought to justice. The both of us knew better, but we were still proud to serve. As a final precaution that had been ordered by our war council, the boxes were sealed and sent to the opposite ends of the farthest galaxies. That was the last time I ever saw my older brother, or my home for that matter. Now here I am, 1,000 years later and clearly nothing has changed. I'm still a prisoner on the outside constantly looking inwards."

"What about your younger brother?"

"I have no idea, he's probably dead at this point."

"I see." Frost clasped a hand on Tapion's shoulder "I can assure you, none of us are going to let Hoi get away with this."

"Well so long as I stay awake he can't free the upper half from inside I body, I never thought I would say this but I really do miss that music box."

"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you haven't slept since it was destroyed?"

"Like I said, I can't without risking Hirudegarn getting out."

"I see." Frost pondered for a moment, then got an idea "I know, we can have Dr Briefs build you a new one. Better yet I'm sure she can build you a whole bedroom, you can stretch your legs out without getting splinters."

"But the music box had been specially designed."

"I know, she has the remains stashed away in her lab somewhere and I'm sure she will be able to reproduce the same material."

"That's fantastic, I don't know what to say."

"I think they'll be willing to call it even if Trunks finds a new swordsmanship instructor for his dojo."

"You mean me right?"

"Of course."

"Oh you have a deal."

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Morning came.

Tapion was helping Trunks out by teaching one of the classes some swordsmanship moves "So the main key is to remember to maintain a proper stance. A tree with weak roots is easy to topple over, especially when it has a lot of fine branches at the top."

"What do you mean?" asked Toga.

"Your sword is nothing more than the tip of a fine branch, what I mean is that putting your strength into your sword has no meaning if your roots, or perhaps I should say your lower body and legs, aren't firmly planted into the ground."

"I see." Toga got into a stance "You mean like this?"

"Perfect, you have to make sure your legs are both firmly planted and completely balanced on the ground."

"Hey Toga." then Trunks came in "My mom wanted me to tell you that the new room is ready, you wanna check it out?"

"Oh now this I've gotta see. Sorry guys, we'll pick this up later." and he flew off, with Trunks following.

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Once they arrived at Capsule Corp, Bulma showed them the chamber she made out of the material used for the music box "This chamber emits the same frequency that the music box did, allowing you to achieve rem sleep while maintaining your control over all cognitive functions. You shouldn't have any problems with getting your beauty sleep."

Tapion looked around and smiled "It's perfect, I can't thank you enough."

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Unfortunately, that didn't stop the bottom half of Hirudegarn, which Frost and Pilina had fought before, from returning that time and devouring the people of West City and absorbing their life forces.

Hoi was commanding Hirudegarn with malicious glee as the carnage unfolded "These putrid humans are but a mere taste of the endless flesh you will consume once you have become whole again, together we shall bring this entire universe to its knees!"

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Tapion woke up and was confronted by the top half of Hirudegarn in his mindscape 'No, not this again!'

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Bulma had been woken up by a loud crash "Tapion!" she opened the curtains and looked out the window, only to see a gigantic hole in the wall, and the inside of the music box replica had been shredded 'I'd better call Gohan and the others, this could be serious.'

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Soon enough, Trunks, Gohan, Tarble, Cabba, Toga, Saonel and Pilina had come down from the dojo up in North City to check out the situation.

Gohan observed the damage to the room "Well wherever Tapion is, let's just hope he's in better shape than this room."

Then footsteps could be heard and Tapion appeared "Please…"

"Tapion!" Trunks caught him before he collapsed "What happened to you, did this Hirudegarn thing escape?"

"No, it tried to escape and it wasn't easy but I was able to stop it in time. But we have a much bigger problem though, the lower half of Hirudegarn is free and it's in the middle of attacking the city right now."

"What?!"

"The closer each half of Hirudegarn is to each other the stronger each of the them becomes, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to fight it-" then he suddenly let out a scream of agonizing pain and collapsed and collapsed.

"He's hurt, he needs help right away. Gohan, can you use Instant Transmission to get him over to Korin?"

"No! I can't hold it any longer, it's too late! Quickly, kill me and take it with me now before it escapes!"

"Tapion…"

"Kill me!"

"Don't touch him!" a voice thundered, followed by the lower half of Hirudegarn crashing down in front of the building.

'No!' Tapion quickly pulled out his ocarina in an attempt to trap the lower half inside of his body as well, only for it to be blasted out of his hand almost immediately.

"No!" Trunks dove down to grab the ocarina and blasted some rubble away as it began to fall down on him "Tapion catch, now hurry and play it!" he threw it.

"Right." Tapion caught it and was about to start playing it, but then he suddenly hunched over and cried out in pain.

"Tapion!"

Then Tapion began screaming in pain as an essence emerged from his body and he collapsed to the ground in pain.

The essence slammed onto the top of the bottom half of Hirudegarn, materializing into the top half, with both halves combining and returning it to its original form.

"Well guys, it looks like our problem just got a lot bigger." Gohan noted "Hey Tarble, Cabba, you guys know that thing I taught you that I learned in the Otherworld? Well be sure to be ready to use it, if this thing is as powerful as it looks and feels then we're gonna need every advantage we can get."

Hoi floated up in front of Hirudegarn with malicious and evil intentions "I am Hoi, last of the Kashvar! I have summoned you here to do my bidding! Destroy humankind, wipe every last one of them off of the face of the Earth!"

Hirudegarn let out an unintelligent roar and brought down his fist, creating an even bigger hole in the wall.

"Everyone run!" Tapion grabbed the flute and ran out into the courtyard, then leapt up to the top of a storage house and attempted to subdue Hirudegarn by playing his ocarina, only for it to fail and for Hirudegarn to nearly stab him with his tail.

Hoi smirked "That relic won't be able to save you anymore, not anymore than it did your little brother."

"Minotia…" then the horrible realization hit Tapion, that Hoi had killed Minotia and freed the lower half of Hirudegarn.

"Now then you fools, you shall all bear witness to the true power of Hirudegarn!"

"Everyone follow me!" Trunks and Gohan flashed into Super Saiyan, with Saonel and Pilina both powering up their Kaioken 10x auras, having learned it from Trunks, and Toga powering up his Kaioken 5x, and they all charged, while Trunks went first and fired a Burning Attack.

Hirudegarn suddenly phased away and appeared behind Trunks, then smashed him to the ground with its gigantic fist.

"Trunks!" Gohan dropped down beside him with the others "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Trunks got up and shot a glare at Hirudegarn "Look I don't care what kind of freak you are, this ends now!" he flashed into Super Saiyan 2.

"That's the spirit Trunks!" Gohan flashed into Super Saiyan 2 right alongside him.

Saonel and Pilina both unleashed their Kaioken 20x, with Toga doing the same, and all 5 of them charged.

Hirudegarn suddenly vanished into mist when they tried to attack.

"Both his power and speed are increasing!" Saonel realized.

Hirudegarn materialized a fair distance away.

"Galick Gun!" Trunks fired a Super Saiyan 2 powered Galick Gun.

Hirudegarn disappeared again, causing the blast to hit a building.

"Trunks!" Gohan attempted to kick Hirudegarn in the face.

Hirudegarn just disappeared.

"Damn, I can't find any sort of way to track its movements!"

Hirudegarn appeared behind Gohan and caught him in a death grip and attempted to crush him to death, only for a barrage of red Ki beams to hit its arm and force it to let Gohan go.

"Hey you abominable beast, over here!" Frost made himself known from atop a tower, still in his first form "I was in the middle of teaching a class at the dojo while everyone else was off fighting for their lives, until I realized that my friends were fighting for their lives against some sort of flat footed mutated behemoth! You're going to regret doing this to my friends and comrades you vile beast, all the way to the grave!" he flashed into his final form and burst forward at full speed.

Hirudegarn attempted to swat and then stomp him to the ground.

Frost dodged the attempted attacks and fired a Chaos Beam at its face.

Hirudegarn phased away from the attack and attempted to punch him.

Frost stopped the punch, only to be backhanded towards the ground, but he managed to stop himself as he charged back upwards and fired a Chaos Ball, engulfing Hirudegarn in an explosion 'Good, I landed a direct hit.'

Hirudegarn appeared behind Frost and used its tail to backhand Frost away, sending him crashing into a nearby office building, then unleashed his Flame Breath in an attempt to roast Frost alive.

'No, I have to get up!' Frost forcefully willed himself to stand 'If I give up now the all of these innocent people will die! I have to protect them!' using as much energy as he could, he managed to summon an energy shield that was just barely able to withstand the flames. Once the flames subsided, Frost let down the energy shield and fell to one knee "Come now… don't tell me… that's all… you're capable of…" then he promptly passed out.

Trunks floated down to check on him "Frost!"

Then Hirudegarn appeared behind Trunks and slammed him in between his hands, causing him to scream in pain, then fall to the ground. Then it unleashed more Flame Breath, destroying a large skyscraper

"Trunks!" Cabba cried out "Tarble, I don't think we have any other choice now. We have to use the fusion dance."

"Right." Tarble got into a stance on the right, with Cabba mirroring it on the left "FU! SION! HA!" their fingers connected in the center.

In a blinding light, a new figure emerged, with features of both Tarble and Cabba, in Super Saiyan form "Wow, so this is what fusion feels like, this is awesome! But first, I've gotta get the big guy's attention." he fired a Big Bang Cannon at its back, getting its attention "I am neither Tarble nor Cabba, you can either call me Tabba or your executioner. You can fight or you can surrender, but either way you're going to die."

Hirudegarn attempted to swat him aside.

"I don't think so!" Tabba dodged the attack with ease, as well as the follow up in an attempt to enrage into following him 'Come on, just a little further.'

Hirudegarn pounced.

Tabba dodged the attack, causing Hirudegarn to crash into a tower "Perfect, now you can witness my most powerful attack! HYPER FINAL FLASH!" he fired an enhanced and more powerful version of Vegeta's Final Flash, slamming straight into Hirudegarn's back and engulfing it in an explosion and causing his skin to harden "Strange, how did that happen? Did my Final Flash do that? Oh well, I guess it really doesn't matter either way."

"What are you waiting for?! Hurry and finish the attack!" Gohan barked "Do it now before something bad happens!"

"Understood sir!" Tabba began charging another Final flash, only for something unexpected to happen.

The body of Hirudegarn began cracking open like some sort of shell and another Hirudegarn emerged, this one having wings and giving off a Ki level much higher than before, and it let out a roar.

"Okay it's official, this is going to be very very painful."

Hirudegarn took flight over the city streets, swatting Tabba aside and knocking Tarble and Cabba out of the fusion with one hit, knocking them out cold in the process.

"Tarble! Cabba!" Saonel and Pilina both turned back to Hirudegarn "You're going to pay for that! Double Masenko!" they each fired a Masenko.

Hirudegarn disappeared before the attacks hit, then appeared behind them and began strangling them both with its tail, causing them to scream in pain.

"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!" using Saonel and Pilina's initial attack as a distraction, Toga had been charging a Special Beam Cannon.

Hirudegarn overpowered the attack using its Flame Breath, the force sending Toga slamming into the side of a building, knocking him out cold, as well as throwing Saonel and Pilina to the ground right beside him.

"I'm sorry master… I tried…" then Toga passed out.

Gohan flew back up in front of Hirudegarn, his Super Saiyan 2 furiously crackling with electricity "You have to have a weakness, everything does!" and he charged at Hirudegarn, managing to maneuver out of the way of its flame breath.

Hirudegarn slammed him in the back of the head, then whacked him in the tail and phased away, avoiding a quick Masenko as an attempted counterattack in the process.

"No, dammit!"

Hirudegarn promptly slammed Gohan from behind, sending him crashing to the ground, with several buildings falling on top of him upon impact. It then turned its attention to where the surviving civilians were running away in terror.

Gohan emerged from underneath the rubble, heavily battered but not beaten and his spirit not yet broken "It's as if… as if we're fighting… some kind of illusion…" he forced himself to stand, but he was left stumbling forward "I have to… to find a way… before he… destroys the entire planet… and all of the innocent people…" then he collapsed, out cold.

Hoi let out a maniacal laughter "Destroy! DESTROY! Grind their bones until they are nothing but dust beneath your feet!"

Trunks forced himself to stand, his Capsule Corp jacket shredded, leaving only his black tank top as a shirt, and he was back in his base form with blood dripping down his face "I can't… let it end… not like this… I have to… protect everyone…" then he heard music and looked up to see Tapion playing his ocarina in an attempt to subdue Hirudegarn "Tapion…"

Hirudegarn let out a roar filled with rage.

"Idiot!" Hoi let out a furious snarl "After 1,000 years, you would think he would learn to play some kind of different tune!" he watched in disbelief as Tapion was protected from Hirudegarn's Flame Breath by some sort of barrier.

"A hero." Trunks muttered, then smiled slightly "I guess Hoi wasn't lying after all, he really did come to save the planet.

Playing his enchanted ocarina, Tapion advanced towards Hirudegarn 'For too long, you have fed on the misery of others. You've stolen from me everything I hold precious and dear, but no more. It ends now.'

Hirudegarn let out one final roar before its body suddenly melted, and his essence disappeared into Tapion's body.

Now that Hirudegarn was once again contained within him, Tapion collapsed to the ground.

"Tapion!" Trunks limped towards him with a weak smile "You did it… it's over… we won…"

"No…" Tapion drew his Brave Sword and held it out to Trunks "Listen to me Trunks, there isn't much time left. Quickly, you must strike my heart…"

"What?"

"I can't hold it inside of me much longer…"

"But I can't…" tears fell from his eyes "I promised I would protect all of you…"

"Then I know that you don't want to see everyone else you care about and everyone on this planet be killed?!"

"But you're my friend too… You're just as important to me…" he began having flashbacks of Gohan's death at the hands of the androids.

"Trunks listen to me, I know it's cruel and not fair to ask this of you but there isn't any other way. I don't want it to destroy you or anyone else. I know that death seems cruel but I humbly welcome this blade, so I beg of you. Please, help me."

"...Alright." Trunks slowly rose the blade.

"Thank you Trunks, it was a true honor to know you my friend… my brother…"

"NO!" Hoi rushed towards them "Get away from him!"

"Please, forgive me…" With even more tears streaming down his face, Trunks rose the sword and was about to bring it down, when it happened.

Tapion began screaming in agonizing pain as the essence managed to escape from his body, shattering his enchanted ocarina in the process.

"No!"

Hoi smirked with malicious triumph "You pitiful weakling, Hirudegarn is mine to control, the same with all inferior creatures that pollute this universe, my universe!"

'Okay Trunks, you have to think of some way to get yourself out of this and save all of them. Toga's out cold, Saonel and Pilina are unconscious, and Tarble and Cabba used up all of their energy on that fusion. Gohan's conscious, but he can barely stand. I guess that means I'm the only one left, at this point I'll have to hope for a miracle!' he was about to get it.

"Slaughter them all!"

Then Hirudegarn accidentally stepped on Hoi and crushed him, killing him and leaving the race of the Kashvar extinct once an for all.

Trunks flashed into Super Saiyan 2 and rose the Brave Sword "Well at this point I guess there's only one thing left to do." then he heard a furious roar and looked to the side "Gohan…"

Sure enough, Gohan floated above the city, his aura crackling with electricity and his hair having grown down his back, as is common with the Super Saiyan 3 form "Fight me, if you're ready to die that is."

Hirudegarn let out a rage filled roar and lunged forward.

Gohan dodged with ease.

'Now!' Trunks flared his Super Saiyan 2 aura and brought down the Brave Sword on Hirudegarn, cutting its tail off in the process, causing it to roar and howl in pain and agony 'Yes, this thing is working!' he prepared to charge in for another strike.

"No Trunks, this monster is mine to handle and I'll do it alone!"

"...Fine." Trunks dropped his transformation and powered down "Just remember Gohan, it has a weakness."

"Yeah, I know." Gohan turned back to Hirudegarn 'Intense emotions drain this things energy, and that's when it can be attacked.' he leapt upwards and charged.

Hirudegarn backhanded Gohan, sending him flying away.

Gohan quickly stopped himself and smirked "Struck a nerve did I?"

Hirudegarn thrusted a fist forward.

Gohan easily caught it "You call that a punch? Sorry, but you're gonna have to do a lot better than that." he pushed the fist away "Oh don't quit on me now big guy, we just got started.

Hirudegarn let out a roar and attempted to punch him.

Gohan blocked the punch, the shockwave resulting destroying several buildings "Yes, I think it's working." then he actually got punched, but he recovered almost immediately "That's it, keep on roaring. I'm still standing!"

Hirudegarn fired off one final punch.

"Come on!" Gohan leapt over the fist 'I have to do this, after all if I don't then who will when Trunks and the others can't? Dad, Piccolo, Trunks, all of you, please lend me your strength to finish this fight! DRAGON FIST!" he fired his fist forward, unleashing a golden dragon made of pure Ki that looked exactly like Shenron, which then wrapped around Hirudegarn and then detonated, resulting in a massive white explosion that finally destroyed Hirudegarn once and for all, leaving white light to descend to the heavens above.

Trunks finally collapsed and fell backwards, breathing a heavy sigh of relief "We won… yay…"

Tapion watched and smiled "Minotia… Trunks, Gohan… thank you both…"

"Tapion, listen. I want you to know, about there I…"

"Just stop Trunks, there isn't any sort of need for you to explain. Whatever decision you made then, I know it was the right one. All you have to do is trust your heart, and then everything will work out in the end. So what's the plan now?"

"Well in about 3 ½ months we're gonna have go gather up the Dragon Balls again to put right all of the damage that Hoi and Hirudegarn caused, and in the meantime I'm thinking about hiring someone really strong and kind hearted to teach some of my students at the dojo about the art of swordsmanship." he shot Tapion a grin "Are you interested?"

"...You know, I think I'll take you guys up on that offer. But first…" he held out both the Brave Sword and the sheath "I want you to have it."

"Are you serious?"

"I am, it's yours my brother and I think it always has been."

Trunks looked at him for a moment, then looked around and watched as Frost, Cabba and the others started to come to 'If someone were to ask me what life was like when I was still 14, I would probably have said it was nothing but a living hell. Back then it was just sneak around and try to survive the android apocalypse. Then Gohan began training me to become a Super Saiyan, but then he was killed and his death triggered it for me. Then I went into the past and met my father and Goku and everyone else, and then came the whole thing with Cell and I got so much stronger. Then Gohan beat Cell, and I came back here and beat the androids without breaking a sweat. Then my mother insisted on me going back in time again to train with father and the others, and I before I knew it I started travelling around the Feudal Era in Japan with Gohan and these new friends of his, and in the process I received a demon sword with massive demonic power and I ended up awakening my Super Saiyan 2 form. Then I came back to my home, my time, and I suddenly found myself surrounded by all sorts of enemies. But at the same time, I found myself surrounded by all sorts of new allies as well, along with having my own dojo full of amazing and promising students, and I was even able to get a new set of Dragon Balls and wish Gohan back to life. So now that I've experienced truly living first hand, I can say this with confidence. Life isn't just full of pain, it's full of adventure, a great adventure that you're supposed to enjoy for as long as you possibly can with all of the people you care about by your side.'

A/N:

These past couple chapters have mainly been to give Future Trunks some much needed character development, seeing how he really is one of my top 5 favorite characters, them being in this order:

Gohan

Future Trunks

Piccolo

Android 17

Tien

As for why I had Trunks get all of these guys and basically create his own group of Z fighters, well Gohan and Goku from the main timeline both have their own teams so why not him?