(A/N IMPORTANT!: This is a rewriting of the original which was rushed, horrible and overall unpolished, so I decided to remove it and start over by rewriting it. I went back and re-watched a lot of Dragon Ball Z to get more accurate with the dialogue and characterizations. For the most part, the beginning has stayed the same with some minor changes while the middle and ending have seen the most amount and major changes. And for those who may have read this before, you can skip the Prologue as I barely changed anything. So with that being said, I hope you enjoy.)
Note: I do NOT own anything from the Dragon Ball franchise (Only this story.)
It seemed like everything was going to be alright. The monster known as 'Cell' was defeated and with that, everything was gonna be fixed once they were able to get the Dragon Balls. But then, a sudden surge of energy had everyone scared out of their minds, the monster they thought was just killed suddenly reappeared and this time… it was stronger. Beaming with glee as it somehow regained its perfect form, it's eyes served the faces of terror the Z-Warriors were wearing with its power flaring around it.
A young boy in his early teens named 'Gohan' managed to surpass them all in power and was the one who previously beat the monster, spun around to face it. He grinded his teeth and powered up ready to attack the monster when out of nowhere, PSSHHH! A beam shot from the monster's finger tip, passed the Z-Warriors and hit Trunks square in the chest. Everyone watched in slow motion as Trunks fell backwards on the ground and gasped for air as he began to cough up blood and mumble incoherently.
Vegeta, Trunks' father, felt rage slowly cloud his mind as he immediately let out an enormous yell as his power skyrocketed and with all his might he rushed at the newly reformed monster. Vegeta, with all his might, launched an incredible blast that struck the creature causing a glorious explosion. Although Vegeta's new surge of power had everyone in 'awe', he was still no match for the monster who was still leagues above him in power. Once the dust cleared, the monster simply swatted his hand, letting out a close range blast of green Ki that sent Vegeta flying back and crashing into the ground.
[=X=][=X=]
Empty, was the first thing Trunks felt. Staring at the sky, he was unaware of what was happening around him. The sky was strikingly blue, there were very few clouds out and the warmth of the sun hit his face because of it. To say the least, it was a beautiful day despite the current predicament. He began to feel light headed and his vision started to become blurry. His ears rang and the pain that he felt in his chest from being pierced was starting to fade. It's a strange feeling, with the subtle taste of the iron in his blood, the sense of pain leaving his body, feeling his blood run cold as he laid there, motionless. It was as though the world had stopped, so quiet, too quiet and almost relaxing as if nothing mattered anymore. But before he lost his dance with death, he heard one last thing; The distant yell of his father who witnessed it all.
[=X=][=X=]
Trunks' eyes suddenly snapped open as he awoke to a bright light, he was standing on a platform that was surrounded by golden clouds and he strangely felt at peace? Looking around, his vision started to refocus as his surroundings became coherent. He then gave himself a look over and It seemed the hole in his chest was healed. When he looked up to examine the area he spotted a path leading up to a building off in the distance, he turned around but there was nothing behind him, just more golden clouds as far as the eye could see.
"Next!" a booming voice suddenly called out, shocking Trunks as his head shot back to the building where the voice came from. He stood there wondering what or who in the hell that was.
"Well? Are you just gonna keep standing there all day, or are you gonna come and receive your judgement?" the voice spoke again, this time getting Trunks to quirk a brown as he started to think about his current situation. Trunks blinked a few times and looked down to the floor when all of a sudden;
"Wait… am I dead?!" Trunks yelled as he grabbed the sides of his head "Aww, mom's gonna kill me." he groaned. While he was panicking he hadn't noticed his surroundings had changed.
"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, no one is gonna kill you if you're already dead." said a man with blue skin and a horn protruding from the top of his head who suddenly appeared beside him. Trunks looked around in shock, it seemed as if he was teleported into a room. The walls were a light shade of red and were outlined with gold. There were patterns on the walls that formed symbols that were also gold. Taking a look behind him once more, he saw little blue orbs floating behind him and they led down a path as long as the eye could see.
"I-...I guess you're right." Trunks said as lowered his arms to his side. "Uh, who are you? And what is this place? Is this heaven?" he continued as he turned to look at the man.
"I'm just an assistant. And as for where you are, this is the after life check in. You'll have to talk to King Yama to figure out if you're going to Heaven or Hell." He said nervously.
"Oh, and where can I find him?" Trunks asked. "Wait, was he the voice I heard?" he added.
The man shook his head, "That is correct. And he's right here." The man said as he pointed to the side then up. Trunks looked up and over to see a giant red man dressed in a purple suit sitting at a desk.
"Why am I just now noticing him?" Trunks thought as he eyed the giant man.
"Hello, Trunks." the giant man greeted while turning a page in a book. "I've already gone and taken a look at your track record and oh boy, you are quite the fellow... Fighting against all odds to protect your friends and family, as well as the planet. Quite the feat for a young man, especially one from another time." the giant man said while looking at Trunks.
Trunks blushed and rubbed the back of neck with his hand and let out a chuckle "Thanks, but I don't know if I can say that I did that well. I wasn't able to make a difference and I failed to do anything against Cell." he said as he narrowed his eyes in mentioning the monster's name.
"Nonsense, you did a fine job, in fact, you remind me of that Goku fellow when he came here, although he was a bit more… persistent than you are." King Yama stated. "And as for your judgement, you won't be receiving one. I have a feeling you'll be revived soon, so you can head to the Waiting Lobby. There'll be someone to guide you once you've stepped outside." He added with a smile. Trunks felt a sense of pride and happiness knowing that he was comparable to Goku, someone he had come to admire.
Well, it sorta made sense. Both Trunks and Goku fought for the same cause, as well as the other Z-Warriors; To protect each other alongside the Earth and its inhabitants. Trunks smiled and thanked the man before he turned and walked away.
[=X=][=X=]
When Trunks stepped outside he was immediately greeted by a red skinned man that resembled the blue assistant from earlier, but instead of one horn he had two.
"Hello there. Trunks, right? I'll be guiding you to the waiting area." the guide said.
"Oh… thanks." Trunks responded.
As the two walked along they had a small short conversation about the afterlife and how everything worked. Along the way, Trunks spotted a statue of a snake's head and behind it was what he assumed to be a path that seemed to stretch on forever.
"What's that?" Trunks asked.
"Oh, that's Snake Way. It leads to King Kai's planet." the guide answered.
"I see… So who's King Kai?"
"He's one of the Kais here. There are 5 in total in our universe. There's North Kai which is King Kai and there's also a South, East and West Kai as well." the guide explained. "They all are important in overseeing their respective parts of the universe and keeping things in order."
"So they're like managers?" Trunks asked.
"In a sense, yes." the guide answered
"What about the fifth Kai? You only mention four." Trunks questioned
"Oh, yes. In your analogy of the Kais being like managers, then the Grand Kai is like the overseer or boss to the other Kais. Put simply of course." The guide explained "Well, here we are,'' he added as they stopped in front of a door frame that led into a room with a few benches that lined the wall and small statues in it. Trunks turned his head and peered into the room. The room had the same general anesthetic as the rest of the palace-like structure.
Just as they were saying their goodbyes, footsteps of someone approaching grabbed their attention. A young boy wearing a green hoodie and red headphones. He seemed to be distracted by a phone he was holding.
"Hey!" the guide shouted at the boy who quickly looked up and then started to look at his surroundings.
"Woah, this isn't the Soul Purification Station." the boy answered in a bit of shock.
"Of course it isn't! You shouldn't even be up here." The guide said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come on, you trouble maker. Next time you do this you'll be in serious trouble, young man." The guide scorned as he and the boy walked off.
Trunks smiled as he went inside of the room where he waited for quite some time before the sound of footsteps approaching him made him look up and turn his head to the person coming. He felt his blood boil as his eyes widened and his jaw nearly dropped as his gaze landed on the approaching figure; A man with raven black hair, pale skin, cold- icy blue eyes, and a sinister smirk, slowly walked towards him. It seemed he hadn't even noticed Trunks standing there as he just casually strolled over while looking towards some of the statues that were in the room.
"17 … ! " Trunks said with his voice full of malice.
Taking a few moments to realize who it was who just called him, the android's smirk got even bigger as he began to speak;
"Well, well, well," 17 taunted while stopping in his tracks. "Would you, look who it is. How's it going, Lilac? Wow, you sure do look different from when I last saw you. Let me guess: new hair cut?" he said as he continued his approach towards Trunks.
"One more step and you're dead. Now, why are you here?" Trunks seethed as he took on his fighting stance.
"Woah, easy there pal. I'm not gonna hurt ya. Plus, how are you gonna kill me when I'm already dead? Seems a bit dumb." 17 said in a taunting tone while stopping a few feet away from the young Saiyan.
"Then I'll just beat you into a bloody pulp. Now answer the damn question, why aren't you in hell?" Trunks quickly responded.
"I could ask you the same question." 17 said unable to hide the frustration in his voice, although his smirk never wavered. He then sighed. "Don't know, the big guy said I've been a really good boy, so much so that I'll be getting revived pretty soon." he finished.
Trunks' face suddenly went from twisted with anger to extremely confused as his battle stance wasn't as tight as it was before. "I-...wha-...But you-... why would they-" Trunks was unable to finish his sentence as he was too dumbfounded by the android's words. "Could he be lying? He has to be, but it doesn't explain why he would be here if he wasn't telling the truth." Trunks thought to himself as he reluctantly lowered his guard because he now knew that the android's words held truth, even if they were meant to aggravate him.
"Look, I'm not much of a fan of you either, but it looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while so we'll have to endure each other, capish?" 17 said as he crossed his arms.
Trunks sighed "Fine. But if you try anything you'll be laying in a pool of your own blood..." He said with a less than friendly tone.
"Fine by me." 17 retorted as he started leaning against the wall.
For a while the two stood a few meters away in silence, unwilling to say anything to one other. 17 was the first to ask a question and Trunks reluctantly answered. Then a short and uncomfortable conversation followed suit between the two. They exchanged questions and answers for what seemed like forever as they went over the events of Cell and Dr. Gero. Trunks decided to tell 17 a little bit about where he had come from. But 17 didn't really buy that he was actually from the future. Some of the more interesting points came when android 17 talked about what they did after they fought the Z- Warriors.
"And what do you mean by that?" Trunks said with more anger than he wanted.
"It means exactly that. After we ran you guys into the ground, we simply took off in search of Goku. And since we can't sense ki, we went to some mountains and did a little sightseeing, hell 18 even went shopping for like the 15th time... We did get into some fights with some bikers, if you can call it a fight, but we never killed them. But we sure did give their bikes a makeover." 17 said.
"You're lying." Trunks said. Although Trunks had every reason to not to believe him, the android's next words shook his confidence in belief that 17 was lying.
"Look, I haven't lied to you since I've gotten here. Actually, I never lied to you once, cause we never talked for me to do so." 17 said as he glanced over at Trunks who seemed to be lost in thought. "You don't have to believe me, but you asked a question and got an honest answer, if you don't want to accept that, then that's your fault." he added.
"It's just… hard to come to terms with." He replied while looking down at his boots. The whole situation was surreal. This was, yet wasn't the same android from his future. They haven't followed the mad doctor's orders in killing everyone and setting the world ablaze. "Is it because I'm here? Was it because I intervened when I did?" Trunks thought about the future androids and wonders if they too could have been like these androids and not the bloodthirsty killers they were.
All of a sudden Trunks' eyes widened as his body started to glow while a weird tingly feeling took over his body. "This is what the guide was talking about." he thought while looking at his hands. He then looked over at android 17 who also began to glow, the two shared a look of shock.
"What the f-" 17 said but was cut off by everything going black.
[=X=][=X=]
"GAHH!" Trunks shouted as he quickly sat up in shock. His eyes snapped open as he studied his surroundings.
"Welcome back, Trunks." a small child Namekian named Dende greeted.
"Yeah, I hope we didn't take too long." A scared faced man named Yamcha said.
"I-" Trunks eyes widened as he cut himself off "Wait, what about Cell?" Trunks asked frantically.
"Don't worry, Gohan took him out. We brought you back to The Look Out once it was over." Another man with a third eye explained. His name was Tien.
"I see…" Trunks said as he was helped up from the ground by Dende. He looked around noticing that the sky was dark, he looked over to see a glow and then…. an enormous dragon was the next thing he spotted. "Is this Shenron?!" Trunks has heard stories from his mom, but to see him in person was a completely different story. He looked down and spotted Krillin who seemed to be the one making the wishes.
"Your wish has been granted, although the one called 'Goku' was unable to return due to him already being wished back previously." Shenron said in a voice of thunder. Everyone seemed saddened by this news until the Namekian child piped up.
"I can contact my people in order to revive him since he hasn't been revived by our dragon balls." Dende offered.
"Wow, you really think they would allow us to use their dragon?." Krillin asked as he turned back to the Namekian, who nodded in response.
"Of course, we do owe Goku after he saved us from Frieza." the Namekian said
"Thanks a lot." A young boy who was dressed in tattered purple clothes said as he stepped forward. This boy, although young, was the one who saved the planet. He is the son of Goku and is now the strongest person on Earth and his name is Gohan.
"Well, I guess that settles that then." Krillin said as he turned to the dragon who was waiting.
"Now hold on. Don't I get a say in this?" A voice suddenly asked as everyone looked around for who said it.
"Was that...Goku?" Yamcha asked
"Yeah, it's me." Goku responded
"D-...Dad!" Gohan yelled with joy, happy to hear his fathers voice again. "We'll bring you back using the Namekian dragon balls. So don't worry." he added, still beaming with joy.
Unfortunately Goku didn't really partake in that same joy as he replied in a saddened tone. "Hey son…" he said back in response, he took in a breath before he continued. "Look, I won't be coming back." he finished.
"Bu-...but why?" Gohan said in a sad and shocked manner. Everyone looked on in shock as they heard Goku's voice speak.
Goku sighed a depressed breath "Look… nearly all of the reasons the Earth has been attacked was because of me. If I'm alive well, the Earth might be in even more danger if I stuck around." he said. "Don't worry, you have each other and that will be more than enough. I mean, you even defeated Cell and achieved something not even I could, you're stronger than you think son and I believe in you. All of you. If there's one thing I know, the world will be better off without me." Goku finished
"Not to ruin your touching moment, but may you please state your second wish so that I may return to my slumber?!" The dragon thundered impatiently.
"Alright dad. If you trust us that much then, I guess I can live with that." Gohan said with a sad smile.
"I love you son. Goodbye everyone. I'll see you later someday." These Were Goku's final words before he left them.
"Goodbye dad." Gohan thought to himself as Goku's voice faded away.
"Well, what do we do about the last wish?" Yamcha questioned
Everyone thought for a second and shared ideas, but it was Krillin who spoke up.
"Can you turn android 18 and android 17 into humans?" Krillin quickly asked the dragon. Everyone was confused as to why he would wish for something like that. Shenron's eyes began to glow and after a while the dragon spoke;
"I am unable to fulfill that wish as the ones known as 'Android 18 and Android 17' power far exceeds my own. But if it helps, they are already mostly human. Now please, restate your second wish so that I may finally be on my way." the dragon said. Krillin and everyone was horrified at that revelation, Trunks was even more horrified as he was under the impression that they were just machines.
"Hold up… you mean... they're human, or, at least somewhat human?" Yamcha said with what sounded like horror.
"So, that would make them, what, cyborgs?" Tien asked with a dumbfounded look. Everyone was stuck in shock for a few seconds until Krillin spoke up again.
"Well, can you remove the bombs that were implanted in 17 and 18 by Dr. Gero?" Krillin asked. The dragon's eyes glowed and after a short time he spoke again;
"Your wish has been granted. Far well." The dragon thundered as he went back into the dragon realm. The dragon balls lifted up into the air as they shot off across the sky, then the dark clouds disappeared as the sky turned back to normal. Everyone was left in shock at the wish Krillin made.
"Why did you wish for something like that? Helping them isn't going to make things better!" Trunks asked with a face that was a mix of confusion and frustration.
"Yeah, I know, but, well... don't you think they deserve a second chance? I mean, from what we just learned, they were turned into androids...- cyborgs. And I'm pretty sure they didn't ask to be, knowing Gero, they most likely were forced to, seeing as how they killed him. So I thought they deserved a chance at life. Sure, they're bad, but I'm sure Goku would have given them the same chance. I guess he rubbed off on me, huh? Also, the girl's kinda cute, y'know?." he said while rubbing the back of his neck and blushing as he chuckled nervously. Trunks didn't didn't bother responding as he just stood there in his own thoughts.
"Ok you like the girl, so I get why you'd remove her bomb, but why the guy's as well?" the man with the third eye asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Well, even though I like her, I'd want her to be with someone that would make her happy. And if that person is him, then so be it. Wouldn't want them walking around with a bomb." he nervously replied.
"Ah, I get it. That's really kind of you Krillin, I believe it was a good choice to make and I think they'll really appreciate that you'd do that for them." Gohan said while stepping over. "Although-" he said with a face of discomfort. Errrrr. Gohan's stomach growled "I wish we could have wished for some food."
"That's definitely Goku's kid." Yamcha quipped.
Krillin started to laugh and before they knew it everyone was laughing until, excluding an older Namekian named Piccolo who just stared off at the sky.
"What your people call 'love' just seems like a hassle and a complete waste of time. Count me out." Piccolo stated. After a few seconds of laughs started to die down something caught their attention;
"HEY!" a voice cried out. Everyone suddenly stopped laughing and turned in the direction of the voice. Their faces were filled with shock as they saw the person who called them. The voice came from a woman with blonde hair, pale skin, and cold- icy-blue eyes, whose teeth were clenched.
"18? How did you get here?." asked Krillin as he and everyone else stared at her.
"Well, I thought I'd swing by when I saw the giant dragon that appeared in the sky. Sorry I didn't bring gifts." she sarcastically said while eyeing all of them. Her face then became twisted with anger and what seemed to be embarrassment as she quickly added "And...17 is my twin brother, you idiots." she roared as everyone's faces became even more filled with shock. Even Trunks was unaware of that which is why his eyes were the widest.
"I...I didn't know. Sorry." Krillin sheepishly replied
"Yeah? Well don't be, cause I didn't ask for your help." She stated as she turned away to take off. "But still...thank you."
"AH! Ya see? He's her brother! That means you might actually have a shot." Yamcha said as he patted Krillin on the back while letting out a chuckle. Krillin just blushed in response.
"WHA- WHAT?!" 18 yelled as she turned back around "Just because you helped me doesn't mean I've suddenly fallen for you! That's not how it works!" She yelled as she blasted off The Lookout.
"Or maybe not." Tien teased as everyone began to laugh again.
[=X=][=X=]
17's eyes snapped open as he woke up in the middle of nowhere. His head was spinning and the world around him was doubled. He stood up and steadied himself, confused as to what just happened. Then his eyes narrowed.
"Fuck." he finished his previous sentence.
All of the memories of what occurred right up to him getting absorbed rushed back in. Fighting Piccolo and then that monster Cell. He looked around thinking about why he was revived…
"Well, if I'm here, that means Cell is gone… and if Cell is gone then, where's 18? ." he thought as he looked around. But then he realized something, his chest felt off. "The bomb. It-...it's gone."
"17!" A voice called out from behind him. He quickly turned his head and saw his sister, 18, who was standing on a small ledge of a small cliff.
"18! Oh jeez, I was just wondering where you went." he responded as she landed next to him. "Do you have any idea as to what the hell just happened?"
18 rushed over and embraced 17 in a firm hug. "I thought I'd never see you again." she said. 17 was a bit reluctant to return the hug but he did anyway.
"Yeah, yeah. I missed you too, but now's not the time to rejoice." 17 said while gently breaking the hug.
"On the contrary. The reason you're here is because Goku's friend 'Krillin' decided to bring you back and remove our bombs" 18 explained.
17 had a blank expression as he felt his chest again. "Why would he do that?"
"Apparently, he has… a crush on me." she sheepishly answered.
17's mouth grew into a grin "Well that's not too surprising seeing as how ya' kissed him the other day. Maybe you two will start a little family an-" 17 tauntingly said but was cut off by 18.
"One more word and I will send you back to the afterlife!" she angrily spat, but her face was beat red with embarrassment. But she sighed tiredly "Look, Goku is dead and he isn't coming back. That means we no longer have a purpose anymore, right?" she asked rhetorically "I think I'll start a new life and live this second chance as best I can. I suggest you do the same, who knows, maybe you'll like it. See ya." she said as she floated up and took off leaving 17 standing there watching her as she flew off.
17 turned his attention to the ground and started to get lost in thought as he placed his hand across his chest.
[=X=][=X=]
It was getting late as the sun was starting to fall under the horizon. It had been a few days after the defeat of the monster named Cell, the Z-Fighters had been relaxing and taking time to recover from what could have been their last day alive. Although the other warriors were taking to to relax and enjoy their victory, it'd seemed like some of the others chose to train instead.
Floating in the air and making rapid hand movements was a young man with long, spiky, golden hair. He was staring down as someone before all of a sudden;
"BURNING ATTACK!" The young man shouted, as a ball of golden energy quickly left his palms and was sent flying towards another man who held out his hand in returned, shouting;
"BIG BANG ATTACK!" as a blue ball of energy quickly formed and left his hand flying towards the golden ball that was speeding towards him. The two balls of energy collided with one another and exploded in a glorious fashion.
After the dust settled, the two were left floating in the air breathing sharply as they had just finished up a sparring match. Their training clothes were in tatters and were looking worse for wear. The two began to float down to the ground and landed a few feet away from each other before the older man spoke.
"Well, well, well, I must say, I wasn't expecting you to be able to keep up this well. Especially under 100 times Earth's gravity." the man said in a taunting tone followed by a chuckle "But, I must admit; I'm proud of you, Trunks." He said in a satisfied tone before he walked over to a control panel and pressed a few buttons. The room's lighting suddenly switched from a dark red light to a brighter tent of white. The gravity in the room that was weighing on them suddenly got lighter as it returned to normal.
Trunks rubbed the back of his neck with a mildly shocked expression on his face. He wasn't expecting his father to say something like that. "Well, we did train for a year in The Room Of Spirit and Time together, it'd only make sense that I'd be able to keep up with you by now, even if I'm not as strong as you." Trunks said with a chuckle.
"Hmph. Nonsense, you are my son, so it's only right that you'd be as strong as you are now. It's the royal Saiyan blood that flows through your veins and don't you forget that." the man said while turning to face Trunks. "You're a prodigy in the making, even I can see that. You have the potential to become even stronger than I am. Kakarot's son proved that when he defeated Cell by ascending past Super Saiyan and breaking his limits. But, if he can do it, so can we. Although it infuriates me that he was able to do it before me." The man retorted with a frustrated smile. "And speaking of Cell, there's something I'd been wanting to talk to you about before you returned to your future." The man finished while walking towards a small fridge.
While on his way to the fridge, the man's hair started to turn black as it was the same golden color as Trunks' hair, but Trunks' hair also began to turn, but instead of black, it was a shade of lavender as the spiky hair began to fall down and landed on his shoulders. Both of their eyes went from a teal to Trunks' turning blue and the man's turning black.
The man opened the small fridge and grabbed 2 water bottles. He tossed one over to Trunks before turning to sit on a metal bench that was a few feet away. He gestured with his head to the empty space beside him wanting Trunks to sit next to him. Trunks took his invitation and sat beside him while opening his bottle.
"So, what is it you want to talk about?" Trunks asked while taking a sip from his water.
"You've gained the power to end those androids, I just want to know the plan you have to go about doing it?" The man simply said as he opened his bottle and took a sip.
This was an unexpected question, although it probably should have been expected since he was planning on leaving the next day back to his own time. After taking a sip from his water Trunks began to speak; "Well… I'll do what I've always planned on doing ever since I was able to fight them."
The response caused the older man to quirk a brow. "I see. And what might this plan be?"
Trunks raised an eyebrow as well and had a slightly confused face, but it was rather quickly replaced by a more serious expression "To destroy them and bring back peace, finally putting an end to their reign of terror." he responded through narrowed eyes and with his free hand clenched into a fist in front of him.
The man exhaled as he sat his water bottle down. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, he closed his eyes and thought for a moment before speaking.
"Listen, Trunks, the androids of your future aren't just another enemy you need to take down. They took everything from you and made you watch as they did so, they tormented you for too long. So, with that being said, you need to destroy them," The man said in an extremely serious tone. "Show them the struggle they have put you through and give it right back to them. Exact revenge, Trunks. Invoke the same fear they gave you back on to them. Revenge is the one of, if not, the best feeling for a Saiyan." the man said with a smirk with his eyes now open which were displaying a fiery shine.
"I see…" Trunks said while looking at his bottle of water with an unreadable expression.
"However,-" the man added in a serious and stern voice "we can also be incredibly ruthless and extremely spiteful, which is the downfall to us. Our pride can blind us just as much as it can help us overcome. I hate to admit it but, I was so blinded by my own pride of being stronger than Cell that I allowed that bastard to absorb the androids. If I-... if I didn't let that happen, then he wouldn't have beaten me…. or been able to kill you." he said while looking down at the floor with a face that resembled regret, but it was over taken but another expression. "You may revel in your victory, but don't lose focus of your goal, otherwise, you'll get caught up." The man finished while looking down at his now clenched fist.
"The only Saiyan that doesn't fall prey to our weakness of pride is that idiot, Kakarot." the man added with a look of annoyance.
This is something that wasn't a total surprise, Goku or as his father called him 'Kakarot', because he down right refused to call him anything that wasn't his Saiyan name aside from 'idiot' or 'moron'. Goku was always a good person, at least, that's what his mother told him. He always believed that people could change and always sought the good in people, even if they were trying to kill him. That's why Frieza lived after the events of Namek. Goku wanted Frieza to change, but the tyrant's heart was too far gone. He was also the reason why his father, Vegeta, is sitting next to him. If it wasn't for Goku telling Krillin to spare him that day he came to attack Earth, he would be dead and thus Trunks wouldn't have been born.
"But why is he the exception?" Trunks asked.
Vegeta let out a sigh and spoke; "Because, It's his naivety that gets him into trouble. I'm sure your mother has already told you the tale of how he hit his head when he was a child. That incident altered his personality, making him into the imbecile he is-...was." he corrected himself, as Goku was dead. He was killed by Cell in a last-ditch-effort to destroy the planet. Goku ended up sacrificing himself to save them but to no avail. The monster came back, stronger than ever and he killed Trunks when he returned. Luckily, Gohan, Goku's son, was able to put an end to Cell by reaching a new state of Super Saiyan that they decided to call Super Saiyan 2.
"Yeah, but she never told me about him hitting his head before." Trunks said while looking down at the ground "Only that she had met him and he was extremely misinformed on how to interact with other people. But she said she passed it off as him being young."
"Well, if it wasn't for that, he could have been a completely different person… Although he still enjoyed fighting, much like myself. It's just programmed into every Saiyan's DNA, that includes you. I can tell you're different from the normal Saiyan and that you're cautious much like someone I used to know… But even so, there's a part of you that deeply enjoys the thrill of fighting." Vegeta said. "Even Kakorot's son doesn't like fighting, but yet he had a smile on his face when he was beating the hell out of Cell. Even when he expressed his distaste for battle, his body couldn't resist the urge to smirk. The revenge and power trip was intoxicating to him, which is why he lost focus and ultimately messed up by letting Cell activate his self destruct. Those who hate fighting can't deny the rush they get from it. However, if they get a sense of superiority over their opponent, they are more prone to lose focus." he finished while looking over to Trunks.
Trunks thought for a second. His fathers words rang true and he couldn't deny that. Even though he got his ass handed to him by the androids in his timeline, he enjoyed landing what blows he could on them. "I guess you're right…" Trunks said as he finished his water. "Well then, ready for round 2 old man?" Trunks said as he stood up with a cocky grin "Or are you still tired?" he finished with an even bigger grin as he stepped in front of a control panel. The man had a dumbfounded look that was quickly overtaken by a cocky grin of his own.
"Tired? Hardly." he simply said with a chuckle.
Trunks smiled cockily as he pressed a few buttons on the panel. Then, the room got heavier and the lights went back to the red it was before.
The man's hair began to take on a shade of gold and his eyes turned teal as he rose up. He chuckled "That was barely a warm up." he said as he rushed towards Trunks. Trunks responded with his hair turning that same shade of gold and his eyes turning teal as he rushed towards the man and countered the man's rush as their fists collided and their golden energy swirled around them.
[=X=][=X=]
Trunks collapsed onto the bed completely drained of energy, he just finished showering after an extreme sparring match that he and his father had a little over an hour ago. It seemed they bonded over fighting, not very surprising, but welcomed all the same. It made him smile with glee to finally have met his father and to have a heart to heart of sorts with him. Sure, he spent a whole year with him, but the situation didn't really allow them to take a break as they spent 90% of their time wearing themselves out training and the rest of the time was spent eating or sleeping. They did have a talk, but it was more or less a game plan on defeating Cell.
"Cell…" Trunks sighed as the back of his head sunk deeper into his pillow. That monster was so damn powerful. Even at his maximum power Trunks knew he wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him. Again, he sighed as his drowsiness began to take over as sleep crept in.
[=X=][=X=]
The sun was bright and the light poured in through the cracks of the curtains of his room. Slowly opening his eyes Trunks slowly blinked a few times before he sat up and stretched. After rubbing his eyelids he began to get up and got dressed, preparing to get back to his timeline.
After getting dressed and strapping on his sword, Trunks walked out his room and went left to go down stairs where he heard voices coming from. Stepping down a flight of stairs and turning a small corner into a large living room that was connected to a kitchen, Trunks gazed around the room to see the faces of the Z-Warriors standing before him talking amongst each other.
Krillin spotted Trunks and greeted him with a wave; "Heya Trunks, it's good to see ya!" he said with a smile.
"Hey, Krillin, how's it going?" Trunks replied.
"Pretty good actually and you?" Krillin replied enthusiastically
"I've been good," Trunks replied.
"Yo, what's up Trunks?" Yamcha said while walking up. "So, I've been meaning to ask, has anyone told you what your old man did after you were killed by Cell?" he asked as a smile crept alone his face
Trunks raised his eyebrow "No, what did he do?" He said with nervousness in his tone.
Yamcha chuckled as he began to explain what Vegeta did. He said it was the first time any of them had seen Vegeta to display so much emotion besides anger. It was kinda surreal if he was being honest. Trunks simply looked on in shock as he bashfully looked down at the ground as he didn't know his extremely prideful father would ever act in such a way.
"Wow… I never expected that." Trunks said as he couldn't hide the embarrassment he felt as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, neither did we. I guess you dying really sent him over the edge, huh?." Krillin chimed in with a chuckle.
Trunks laughed nervously "Yup! Death wasn't all that great."
"Ugh, tell me about it." Yamcha said in a tired voice as he rubbed his chest.
"So, today's the day, huh? Going back to your future to be the needed hero." Krillin said.
"Yeah, taking down the Androids is my first priority, then bringing back peace." Trunks said as he looked down at his clenched his fist
"Well then, good luck and have a safe trip back." Krillin added.
After conversing with everyone and saying his final goodbyes, Trunks turned and walked towards his time machine but he stopped about half way there and he turned his head over and spotted his father who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, watching him. His father smiled warmly at him and held up two fingers in a peace sign. Trunks was a little taken aback at first but returned the smile and the peace sign. That little exchange made Trunks feel more contempt with everything that happened while he was there as he turned and continued to his time machine.
He climbed in and sat down in the machine as the glass dome enclosed around him. He leaned back into the seat and looked up to the blue sky and closed his eyes and let out a breath of readiness. He reopened his eyes and went over the controls hitting a few buttons and flipping a few switches. The machine turned on and started to float upwards and he looked down to everyone who was waving and smiling up at him. Trunks smiled and waved back as he looked back up at the clear blue sky. The machine started to become overtaken by what seemed to be dark blue clouds as lighting started to dance around the machine and with a loud ZAP the machine was gone.
[+++++END PROLOG+++++]
(A/N: And that concludes the prolog. I hope you enjoyed it as the next chapter shall be the start of the story. I just wanted to add more context to the story in the form of this prolog and set everything up.)
At the end of every chapter from here on out, I'll be showing power progression in the form of something I'm calling "Threat Levels" they'll look like this;
Example 1: Threat Level; 1
-Transformation: 10
Example 2: Threat Level; 2
-Transformation: 20
Example 3: Threat Level; 3
-Transformation: 30
Oh, and all the chapters are named after songs I like just because. If interested, the artist(s) will be named at the end along with the songs.
Song name: See You Again By Wiz Khalifa Ft. Charlie Puth