Five more years pass in this pit called Earth…
Name: #9
Power Level: 4,925,000
New Characteristics: 26 years old physically. 34 years old
mentally. Hair is still in a ponytail, but only goes down to about shoulder length.
Name: Gohan
Max Power Level: 4,900,000
New Characteristics: 22 years old. A bit taller and much broader.
Lost his left arm in a battle with #17 and #18.
Name: Trunks
Power Level: 1,600,000
New Characteristics: 10 years old. Taller. Now has a short sword.
Chapter 68
Five more years have passed and still no success. All survivors have been scattered across the remains of Hope City at least, but they are still hunted down. Also lowering humanity's chances of living is that winter is going to set in shortly, and many will freeze.
Even though we have made significant progress, we still cannot hold up against the two twins of terror. But at least we can damage them, somewhat. We can actually hit back when they go all out, but not nearly enough to kill them.
Another morning, another battle. Those two androids have not let up. But they have not used up their fun either. Humanity lives, though barely. And #17 and #18 slowly kill them off.
This time, they've attacked near Capsule Corporation. We're going to fight them again. But something doesn't seem right with Gohan. He seems so content, so certain. There's a glimmer in his eyes I just can't place. No matter, we need to fight, not do psychological analyses.
Gohan and I chase after the two twins.
As soon as we find them, Trunks lands with us. "What the hell are you doing here?" I ask angrily. "I'm going to help!" "The hell you are! Get back home now!" I order. "No! I will help you guys beat the two androids!" Trunks says stubbornly. Gohan walks forward and socks Trunks right between the eyes, very hard. He falls down unconcious.
"That's one way of handling it…" I mutter. "They're here!" #17 exclaims. "We were beginning to miss you guys! Just shooting down humans gets boring after a while, you know." "No need to die prematurely." I respond. "Aw hell, you know we wouldn't kill you, at least not yet. You two liven up our days of boredom!" #17 says cheerfully. He says it so cheerfully it makes me sick.
Gohan then flares up in power and socks #17 right in the face. I pull out my sword and join in. #18 throws herself into the fray as well. This is not the organized battles we've had before, where we fight off in pairs. Now we just slam our fists into the nearest enemy. I like it.
I kick #17 in the face and headbutt #18. #18 counters with a ki blast in my face, but Gohan punches her in the throat. Then #17 kicks Gohan right in the back. I swing at #18 but only nick her shoulder. We fight on like this for a long while. But, as always, we eventually end up on the losing end and take a beating.
I blind #17 and #18 with some 'ki flashes'. "Let's go Gohan! Now's our chance!" I tell him. "No!" "What?" "I'm tired of watching them kill, tired of running, they die now!" Gohan says sternly. "Damnit you fool! They won't be blinded long! Let's go, it's better than dying!" "Maybe death is better…" I hear Gohan mutter.
"Uhn…" #17 mumbles, the twins start to recover. "SHI-NE!" Gohan rushes at them both. "IDIOT!" I scream as I try to back Gohan up. #17 looks up and grins. Right before Gohan lands a decapitating blow, #17 shoves his fist right through Gohan's chest and snickers.
"No…" I run over to try and make #17 pay in his own blood, but #18 kicks me right on the base of my skull, knocking me down.
"Not so fast. I won't kill you, just out of the fact you're one of us, but you aren't gonna be moving!" #18 tells me as she bludgeons me with her fists. I try to fight back but she dodges most of my attacks, and the ones that do hit don't faze her. Of course not, she's like me. She does something rather unplesant to my right leg. #18 then uses me for some sort of target practice by pinning me with her boot and shoots me with strong finger beams. Then a glowing ki blade forms around her hand, and she smiles. My fight is in vain and eventually, my body just shuts down on me…
Light pours into my eyes. And I hear sobbing somewhere near me. Crap, another orphan or something, it's sad to watch families die, but I really don't want to deal with some sobbing orphan right now. Then all of the recent events hit me. Shit…
I pull myself out of the dirt and look around. Trunks kneels over Gohan's body, which is stiff as a board. I'd imagine that Gohan would die after that fatal hit.
"WHY!" Trunks screams at no one in particular and his hair flashes gold. "WHY DAMNIT! WHY!" lightning stricks down in the distance and Trunks goes Super Saiyajin. His power registers as 3,125,000 instantly. That doesn't matter though.
I try to walk over, but my right leg doesn't comply. Looking down, I notice that it's been twisted pretty badly. So then I work with what I've got and limp over to Trunks.
I try to talk, but the blood in my mouth makes it hard. Swallowing the blood, I speak up. "Come on Trunks, let's carry him back…" "WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE! Why…" Trunks drops out of Super Saiyajin mode and passes out. I sigh.
Flying both Gohan's body and Trunks with the last of my strength, I curse Gohan mentally. That fucking idiot, why did he do it? We'd have a chance in time, all we were supposed to do is drive them off. I'm tired of this too damnit, but I'm not running off and practically committing suicide! They run off after they have their fun with us, and he knew it, so why not just get them away and live on? Didn't he think of what his death would do to others?
I then remember what his last words to me were, "Maybe death is better…" he had said. Selfish asshole. What about Trunks who practically looked up to Gohan as his hero? Or his friend Bulma? And what about his mother Chichi, who now has little, if anything, to live for? Selfish bastard.
I land at Capsule Corporation and drop the bodies, since my battered form can hardly hold itself up. I feel no pain, but my body knows when it needs some damned rest. Resisting the urge to just let gravity take hold, I hold my body up using my sword as a crutch.
"Gohan? Trunks? #9?" Bulma calls out. I don't bother responding, but instead sway on my sword as I try to keep myself balanced. Bulma walks outside, drops her coffie cup, and gasps wordlessly. The cup shatters on the patio. "What's wrong Bulma?" Chichi asks from inside. Oh shit, she shouldn't have to see this crap. But Chichi walks out anyway, and screams.
"GOHAN!" she rushes over to her dead child and starts crying hystarically. "W-what happened?" Bulma asks quietly. Why do I always have to give the news? Ah well, why should I complain? I'm not the one who lost a child.
"We fought the two androids…" I start to explain sounding a lot better than I look "… Gohan did a suicide attack on the two and I tried to help him get out. Instead he was killed before I could help and I was pummeled to unconsciousness. Trunks had followed us earlier, but Gohan had knocked him out just to keep him out of the fight. Later he woke up and saw Gohan's dead body. He got so pissed he went to Super Saiyajin, and then passed out." Bulma stares at me.
Now I understand why Gohan seemed so content, so confident. For him, this was to be the last battle, either they die or he does. He wanted it to end that badly.
"YOU BASTARD!" Chichi screams at me. "You said he'd live! DAMN YOU!" Chichi starts hitting me while Bulma just stares. Finally Chichi stops hitting me and just drops to her knees and crys again.
I try to limp inside, but my body gives out before I can and I drop to the ground. "Damnit…" I mutter as I lay on the grass a few yards away from the patio. Bulma walks over and tries to lift me up, but can't handle my weight and she has to drop me back down. That metal skeleton of mine isn't exactly light. "Thanks anyways…" I tell her as I try to pry myself up again, but fail. "This has been one fucking bad day… I think I'll just lay here…" I mumble. My twisted leg, various small ki blast holes, bloodied skull, and slashed torso will eventually heal… I wish I had that infinate energy thing just so I can lift my body up into the air and fly inside.
"You need to get into a tank." Bulma says. She then walks inside and gets some robots to pick me up and carry me inside. Not so carefully, the robots drop me into a tank. Thankfully, I can't feel pain, or I would destroy the two robots for increasing my misery. Bulma takes my coat and sword out so they don't get ruined.
The tank fills up with that clear healing liquid and I let my body just shut down.
Chapter 69
After a long while, Bulma takes me out of the tank and I'm mostly healed. But a large gash on my chest didn't heal quite right, and seems like it might be a permanent scar. No matter.
I walk around a bit to stretch myself. My leg seems to be fine, as well as everything else. Bulma walks out without a word and I follow.
Chichi is still sobbing over Gohan. Bulma tells me that Trunks is in his room now, probably sleeping.
With little else to do, I walk towards the gravity chamber. "You're just going to go off and train more?" Bulma asks me with disgust. "Yeah, I am. How else am I supposed to get enough strength to kill those damn androids?" I respond while still walking towards the chamber.
When I enter I turn up the gravity to 675G and train hard. It's now been upgraded to 800G.
I have a hard time adjusting, but I will adjust. My power has significantly increased to 5,275,000. At least I got that much from this day of hell. I wonder what Trunks new power is? Ah, I'll find out much later.
I train for hours on end…
That's enough. I turn off the gravity and go inside. By now it's night and it seems almost everyone is asleep. I sit on the couch, drape my coat over the couch, and let out a sigh. Things are not going well.
"Do you know why he did it?" Bulma asks from somewhere. It startles me for a second. Damn, I wasn't even paying attention. Then Bulma turns on a light and walks into the living room.
"I'm pretty sure he was just tired. Tired of fighting those bastards all the time, tired of running, tired of watching people die and do nothing. Tired of his life in general." I explain.
"That doesn't sound like Gohan. He'd think of what effect it'd have on others first." Bulma argues. "Sometimes, when one is that tired, and that pissed off too, people just don't think clearly." I respond.
"Have you ever gotten to that level?" Bulma asks me. I think for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so…" "When?" she continues. Normally, I'd stop it right there, but right about now I really don't care or mind. "If I were thinking clearly when I realized Freeza had killed #8, I probably would have waited for a better chance to kill Freeza, instead of rushing off to fight him. How foolish of me…" I tell her. "Krillin told me about the fight with Freeza, he said he had transformations and each one gave him more power. How could you have known?" Bulma throws at me. "I can read maximum power levels, I knew how powerful he was." Bulma doesn't say anything for a while.
"Will that happen to you too? Will it happen to Trunks?" Bulma asks me worriedly. "I doubt it would happen to me, I made a living out of war. And it would probably not happen to Trunks either, since he grew up in this world." "Then why-" "Gohan though, he was not used to such things as Trunks is, he did not make a living of war as I have, and he got tired of it all." I cut in.
"Do you say you enjoy this?" "In a sense…" Bulma looks sickened. "I enjoy it for the battle, but I don't take any entertainment from the deaths of humans." I finish. Bulma gets up and walks away, turning off the light as she leaves.
As sad as this all is, we have to go on. Tomorrow, I will get Trunks training, we don't have time to mourn in this world.
All that power, but at what price? Trunks had gotten much more powerful but had lost his mentor. A high priced power indeed…
Chapter 70
I wake up the next morning and dress wondering how bad today will turn out. When I'm fully dressed in my spare armor, I walk out into the kitchen area.
Bulma and Trunks are eating breakfast very sollemnly. "Where's Chichi?" I ask Bulma. "She went back home." Bulma tells me. I sit in the living room and wait patiently.
A little while later, Trunks walks out and sits on the couch with a very morose look. "Trunks?" he doesn't respond. "Trunks, let's go and get some training done, okay?" I ask quietly. He doesn't even glance at me. "Trunks?" "I don't want to." he responds, his voice full of sadness.
"Look, we have little time to grieve. The sooner we start training again, the sooner we can stop this slaughter." I tell him as lightly as I can. "I don't care." he whispers. "Trunks, you are needed. If we don't both work together, many people will continue to die." "I don't care…" "So you will sit and mope for the rest of your life?" I ask, still lightly, but a bit stronger than before. He doesn't answer me. "If we work together, not only can you help stop those two monsters, you can have your revenge." I reason, Trunks looks at me.
"I guess you're right…" he sighs. "Let's go." I tell him and he gets up and follows me to the gravity room.
"I'm going to turn up the gravity, to compensate for your new level of power." I tell him once we enter. I walk to the gravity machine and turn it up to 250G, and Trunks buckles under the weight for a bit, but seems to adjust quickly once he turns Super Saiyajin.
"I'm, so much more powerful…" Trunks says with wonder, he seems to have some hope back in his voice. I turn up the gravity to 300G, but he doesn't have a whole lot of trouble. "How powerful am I compared to you?" "Want numbers?" "Uh… sure." "I'm at 5,275,000 and you're at 3,125,000." I inform him. "Oh…" he says with disappointment. "Don't worry Trunks, you will get much stronger, I'll see to that." I say to lift his confidence.
"Had you ever lost someone?" Trunks asks me innocently. "Yeah, why?" "What did you do about it?" "I worked on getting revenge." I respond. "You didn't cry or anything?" Trunks inquires with the same innocence. "I didn't have time for that, I took it all out with my fists." I tell him.
Trunks then starts doing some exercises and I do the same. Life seems so much easier to deal with when you're actually doing something with it.
Trunks pulls out his sword and starts practicing moves with it. I watch him. "Who taught you to use that thing?" Trunks looks at me. "Uh, no one." No one? He's pretty damn good for being self taught.
"You're good, you know. How about we have a sword fight?" I offer. "A sword fight? But we can get injured, and you're much stronger." "We have regeneration tanks for injuries, and I'll match any power level you fight with, but not go over or under." "Really? Okay then." Trunks says and I pull out my sword.
Trunks attacks first, and I parry the attack. He swings again, but I duck and stab towards him, but he dodges it. Then I do several quick swings at his torso, which he blocks and then thrusts at me. I parry his thrust and leap over him.
As I bring my sword down, Trunks turns around and guards himself from the attack with his sword. Our swords then lock together and we both push, trying to overcome each other. As Trunks pushes, I then sidestep and hit his head with the handle.
"Ouch!" Trunks yells out, but then swings his sword at me. I duck and bring up my sword, but he's gone. I feel his sword handle hit the back of my head, and I turn around. Trunks looks surprised for a second, but then blocks my next swing.
Trunks sidesteps me, and then smacks my hand with his sword handle while kicking my sword blade. My grip loosened slightly, but it was enough to make my sword fly out of my hands.
But using my telekinesis, my sword flys back into my hand. "Nani?" I leap forward and thrust, but he parries my attack.
Trunks is damn good for being self taught, but I see some prime openings. I feign a swing towards his legs, and as he blocks, I pull back and smack him in the forehead with my sword handle.
"OW!" Trunks staggers back. "You're damned good." I say as I sheathe my sword.
And this sets the pattern for each day…