A Matter Of Time
Chapter 1: Timewarp
Timeline: Paix World
Tamiran closed her eyes and felt her ki level grow. She positioned her outstretched hands and yelled, "KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAA!!"
The blast exploded in the ocean. A huge wall of water came rushing toward the island. Tamiran cringed as it flooded over the small house.
Here we go again. 5…4…3…2…
"TAMIRAN!!"
Tam turned to see a soaked, furious Master Roshi. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Master Roshi. I'll be more careful next time. But my Kamehamehas keep creating tsunamis whenever I practice."
Krillin appeared out of nowhere. "Hi Tam! Fancy seeing you here!"
"I live here, Krillin," she reminded the bald man, smiling to herself. It was kind of cute the way he had such an obvious crush on her.
Master Roshi watched as Tam and Krillin talked, his gaze wandering over Tam. She was certainly a pretty girl; she was tall and slender but strong. Her long spiky black hair waved slightly in the breeze, almost reaching her butt.
And what a fine butt it is, Master Roshi mused. Clad in the tight black pants, white leotard and black boots she wore for sparring, Tam was definitely appealing… and definitely oblivious to the fact.
Not like her two best friends and comrades-in-arms, Chi-chi and Bulma. The former knew she was attractive and didn't flaunt it, the latter flirted with every guy she could get her hands on.
Speak of the devil. Chi-chi and Bulma strolled out of the waterlogged house, deep in conversation. They plopped down onto the sand, still talking and ignoring everyone else around them.
Tam looked up and smiled. "The guys are coming," she said. Sure enough, a few minutes later Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu and Yamcha landed on the grass.
Bulma squealed, jumped up and hugged Yamcha fiercely. Those two had an on-again, off-again relationship. Lately it was very definitely on-again.
Tam dusted off her hands and grinned. "Hey guys. How's the training?" she asked. Piccolo smiled — a rare occurrence for Piccolo — and replied, "fine. And judging by the dampness yours is better than ever."
Suddenly, a sneering voice interrupted them. "Aw, isn't this sweet. Can I kill them?"
Standing ankle-deep in the water were two dark-eyes guys. Their black hair was spiky like Tam's, only theirs stood up straight on their heads. They wore blue-and-white armour with blue boots and gloves. One was big and brawny, the other smaller but muscular.
The big guy smiled nastily. "So we meet again finally… you've grown into quite a fine young woman."
"Hey!" Krillin yelled. "Don't talk about her that way!"
Tam looked at them, a blank expression on her face. "Huh?"
"We recognise you, Princess Tamerisk," he said. "Party's over. I think it's about time you came home, don't you? I mean, fun is fun, but six years away from home?"
Tam frowned. "I don't think I understand. My name is Tamiran and THIS is my home."
The smaller guy laughed. "Enough joking around, Princess. Come home. Hey, we'll even let you destroy this pitiful planet."
"Why would I want to do that?" Tam asked. The big guy looked shocked. "Because you're a Saiyan like us! Princess, what's gotten into you?"
"Princess, did you ever hit your head?" the smaller guy asked. Tam nodded. "Yeah. I don't remember it, but I still have the scar. I lost all my childhood memories."
"She's not herself, Kakarott. She doesn't remember," the smaller guy said. He turned to Tam. "Come on. Kill a few of these… creatures… and you'll feel much better."
"I'm not killing my friends," Tam cried, sickened. Kakarott brightened. "Hey, maybe WE can kill them, Vegeta."
"You'll have to go through me first," Tam snarled. "KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAA!!"
Kakarott and Vegeta dodged the blast and retaliated. Soon all three warriors were flashing through the air in a flurry of angry cries and ki blasts.
Suddenly, three blasts connected. They detonated with a huge silver flash. The three combatants and the onlookers all saw stars and strange flashes of memory. Memories that never happened.
Kakarott saw himself and… a child?! He was walking through a flower-laden field with a child and a woman, a stupid lovestruck expression on his face. Impossible!
Piccolo saw himself, striking down everyone around him. People he knew and others he'd never seen. Fighting alongside a dark-haired youth with cold blue eyes. Killing Yamcha, one of his greatest friends. The Namek sought out Yamcha with onyx eyes, silently begging for the vision to be false. But he could see nothing but memories that weren't his.
In fact, the only person who saw nothing but blackness was Tamiran.
Timeline: Mauvais World
Chi-chi stroked Trunks' hair off his forehead and sat back on her heels, watching the little boy sleep. She shot a worried glance at Krillin. "He looks so peaceful," she murmured. "I don't know if he even realises what's going on aboveground."
There was the sound of footsteps on rocks. Chi-chi and Krillin could tell it was Gohan by the slow, tired sound of the steps. King Piccolo and Android 17 always walked as if they had somewhere to go.
Sure enough, a tall teenager with spiky black hair and a tired expression walked into the room.
"Oh, Gohan!" Chi-chi cried, wrapping him in a tight hug. Gohan hugged her back. "It's okay, Mom, I'm okay," he assured her. Trunks woke at the sound of his voice and ran over, grabbing Gohan's legs and hugging them. Gohan grinned. "Hey there little guy. Miss me?"
He sat down on a pile of rubble and scooped the 5-year-old into his lap. Trunks became mesmerised with the medallion Gohan wore around his neck, playing with it as if it was the best toy invented. Gohan leaned his head against the wall and sighed.
"What's up, Gohan?" Krillin asked. Gohan replied, "I found more victims today. A family… three little children. How can those monsters kill children?"
He sighed. "Ever since Father and Vegeta were killed, there's been more death. First it was close to home… now it's just whoever gets in the way."
They all silently looked at the seven furrows in the uneven dirt floor where they had buried their friends, one by one. Vegeta, Goku, Chiaotzu, Tien, Yamcha, Bulma, Goten. And now two warriors, a woman and a little boy were all that was left of the once-proud Z fighters.
A blast suddenly incinerated the roof of their ramshackle shelter. Gohan thrust Trunks at Chi-chi and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Krillin as a green Namek and a dark-haired youth dropped into the shelter.
King Piccolo and Android 17.
17 laughed. "So, we've found the hiding place of Earth's last hope. Huddled like little mice."
Without warning, he lunged forward, engaging Gohan in combat. Leaving Krillin to face King Piccolo.
Chi-chi trembled and huddled against the wall, hugging Trunks to her chest. King Piccolo turned his evil gaze on her.
And then the world exploded in a silver flash. The six in the shelter saw stars and flashes of impossible memory.
17 saw himself fighting what looked like a slightly younger King Piccolo. But King Piccolo was his ally… how was this possible?
Krillin saw himself talking to a pretty girl with spiky Saiyan hair who he'd never seen before, as well as all his dead friends. But it was no memory he knew; it was on Master Roshi's island. But King Piccolo had destroyed the island long ago…
Chi-chi saw herself, but younger, talking to a younger Bulma. Saw younger-Bulma leap up and hug Yamcha, despite the fact that Yamcha and Bulma had barely been speaking, not once Vegeta had shown up.
And then none of them saw anything for a long time.
Timeline: Mi-Chemin World
Vegeta sighed as he watched Goku's son play in the gentle waves. One could almost believe everything was as it should be. If one was willing to overlook several things.
One, Krillin wasn't there. Hadn't been there since the evil Piccolo killed him. Two, both Vegeta's son and Goku's son were without mothers.
Trunks was used to living without a mother. Bulma had been dead for almost eighteen years now, killed barely two months after Trunks was born. But Chi-chi's death was much more recent. Goku's wife had been killed five days ago. Gohan hadn't caught on that anything was wrong and Vegeta was glad. No child should have to lose his mother, least of all a 5-year-old.
A shadow made him look up. Android 17 stood behind him, the one expression Vegeta had never thought he'd see on his face — sorrow.
"I am truly sorry for Chi-chi's death," the android said softly. Vegeta nodded. He still hadn't come to terms with the fact that 17 was on their side, thanks to some nifty reprogramming on the part of Dr. Briefs.
There was a tug on Vegeta's sleeve and he looked down into Gohan's innocent eyes. "Mr. Vegeta? Where's my daddy?" he asked.
Vegeta hesitated. He knew where Goku was — at Chi-chi's grave. But how could he tell this innocent, trusting child that his mother was dead?
"I'm here, son," Goku's soft voice said. Gohan ran into his father's arms. "Daddy! Where did you go?"
"Your father had to be alone for a while, Gohan," Tien said, when he saw Goku struggling to come up with a reply that wouldn't shatter his son. Goku shot him a grateful glance. Tien merely nodded and turned back to his conversation with Yamcha and Chiaotzu.
Vegeta glanced up at Android 17 again. "Do you know where my son is?"
17 nodded. "Yes. He's in the house, helping Master Roshi move some things."
The android paused. "Or they could be looking for some of Master Roshi's… uh… dirtier magazines. I couldn't say."
Vegeta hid his surprise. Who'd have thought 17 had a sense of humour?
Yamcha and Tien looked up suddenly. "Woah. Can you guys feel that?" Tien asked. The others nodded. "Yeah. It's Piccolo, isn't it?"
It was. Piccolo came into view seconds later, an evil smirk on his face. "At last I have you all together," he sneered. "I've been waiting for this day all my life. The day I KILL you all!"
Trunks and Master Roshi had just exited the house and froze when they saw the standoff. Goku and Vegeta had powered up to SSJ. But before either of them could do anything, there was a bright silver flash. All of them saw stars, and memories that never happened.
And then none of them saw anything.
Timeline: Somewhere in between 'Paix World' and 'Mi-Chemin World'
Chi-chi gently rocked baby Gohan as she waited for Goku to finish his training and come back for dinner. She smiled down at the sleeping baby. "Gohan. I just know you're going to grow up to be a scholar. Or something like that," she murmured.
Chi-chi felt a shiver run down her spine, as if she was being watched. She craned her neck but couldn't see anyone.
Suddenly, there was a bright silver flash. Chi-chi saw stars and flashes of impossible memory. And then she saw nothing at all, for a very long time…
Timeline: Somewhere between 'Mi-Chemin World' and 'Mauvais World'
Gohan glanced at Piccolo. The tall green Namek had been meditating for days, much longer than he normally did, and Gohan was starting to get worried about him. They'd lived in the forest together for over fifteen years, after the Saiyans had killed Gohan's parents, but Gohan had never seen Piccolo look so worried about anything.
Piccolo spoke without opening his eyes. "You can stop hovering over me, Gohan. I'm fine. I just want to clear my mind before we spar again."
The Namek actually grinned. "You're getting too strong for me," he said. Gohan laughed. "You said that when I was ten, Piccolo, and then again when I was fifteen."
Piccolo was about to say something else when there was a bright silver flash. He and Gohan saw stars and strange memories. Memories of Chi-chi and Goku, still alive, though they'd been killed when Gohan was barely six years old. Memories of Gohan fighting Piccolo, serious fighting, not training.
The memories were nothing that Piccolo and Gohan knew. They were almost relieved when the images were replaced with blackness.
Timeline: a world way, way worse than 'Mauvais World'
"Work, slaves!"
Gohan, son of Kakarott the King of Saiyans, glared down at the humans working in the radium mines. Such a weak species. Fortunate for them we came along. Now they can elevate their lives by working for such as the Saiyans!
He looked down to the execution pits. There was going to be a public execution today, one of the Saiyans who had disobeyed the laws concerning slaves and what was appropriate contact with them.
Three of the slaves were looking up at Gohan with hatred written clear across their faces. This amused him. Most of the slaves had hated his kind at first, but now they were only feared. Ever since Kakarott had come and prepared the way for the Saiyans to begin their reign of terror.
Few humans hated the Saiyans now.
Few humans had the capacity to know what hate was.
Apparently, these three did. And it amused Gohan that they would dare look upon the Saiyan Prince with anything less than awe.
He flicked the whip down hard, leaving a bloody gash across the male slave's right shoulder. The younger woman let out a soft scream and moved to take a step forward. The man's hand on her shoulder restrained her. He shook his head and whispered something Gohan couldn't hear.
Just then, the trumpet sounded, the signal that the execution was about to begin. Gohan turned to the execution pit and watched as the guards dragged the doomed Saiyan into the light.
A collective gasp went up from the gathered Saiyans and slaves. Even Gohan had to restrain his surprise. It was Vegeta, his father's most loyal follower. What could HE have done to make Kakarott kill him?
Gohan's father walked out and stood in front of the Saiyans, who cheered. Gohan sneered slightly; such fools, even his own race. His father was nothing special. King, certainly, but nothing to cheer about.
"This Saiyan has done the unthinkable," Kakarott shouted. "He dared to fraternise with slaves when we first remade this world. That is a bad enough offense but I was willing to dismiss it. Then a week ago I found out something even more heinous. Twenty-three years ago, this Saiyan actually had a child with a slave!"
Gohan gasped. A Saiyan mating with a human? Disgusting! Now he could see why his father was going to destroy Vegeta. No matter how long ago, having a whelp with a human was NOT to be tolerated.
Kakarott sneered down at Vegeta. "Do you have any last words?" he asked. Vegeta spat in the King's face. "Baka," he hissed. Kakarott's expression darkened. "Destroy him!" he roared.
Before the guards could move, the slave Gohan had struck launched across the bare ground between him and the captive Vegeta. The two women followed, more out of concern for their stupid young friend that worry about the Saiyan. Gohan also flew across, trying to intercept the humans before they got in the way.
There was a silver flash just as Vegeta broke free of his guards and the younger man reached him. Gohan saw stars and flashes of memories full of humans. Humans who looked nothing like a slave should look. Humans calling him by name, calling his father 'Goku'.
And then he saw nothing at all…
Chapter 2: Awakening
Timeline: Real World
Tamiran groaned and sat up, rubbing her head. Lying nearby were Bulma, Chi-chi, Yamcha and Tien. All four were still unconscious, but Tam could sense them beginning to awake.
It took a few minutes for them all to wake up. Tam waited impatiently, gazing around. They weren't on Master Roshi's island anymore. She wasn't sure WHERE they were, actually. Tam hardly ever left Master Roshi's island, except when something threatened the Earth, or if she was visiting her friends. But mainly she trained.
"Well, where do we go now?" Bulma asked. Tam smiled to herself. For such a fierce fighter, Bulma sure was an airhead. She acted like such a bimbo that the others had had trouble taking her seriously when they first met.
That is, until Bulma had kicked their butts. After that they admitted she was a good fighter, no matter how clueless.
The guys had had problems believing Chi-chi was a fighter too. She was… well, for lack of a better word, a sweetie. But she had the worst temper ever and once she was mad, you DIDN'T want to get in her way.
Chi-chi stood up and looked around. "Does ANYONE know where we are?" she asked. Tien and Yamcha shook their heads. Tam certainly didn't know. For all she knew, they could be in Madagascar or something.
"Where are the others?" Yamcha asked. Tam took another, longer look around and realised that he was right; they were the only ones there. Piccolo, Krillin, Chiaotzu and Master Roshi were nowhere to be seen.
On the plus side, neither were the two 'Saiyans'. Tam suppressed a shudder when she remembered how Kakarott had looked at her.
She sighed. "Well, we'd better find someplace where there are people. Let's get going."
All five powered up and began to fly towards what they hoped was civilisation.
Trunks hovered above the countryside near Capsule Corp and looked down at the kid lying asleep on the ground, underneath a huge oak tree. How such a little kid had gotten out here alone he didn't know, but maybe when the boy woke up Trunks could find out where he lived and take him home.
It didn't take long for the boy to wake. He stretched, as if he'd been asleep for a long time, and rubbed his eyes. He was holding a silver medallion clenched in one small fist.
The little boy looked up as Trunks landed near him. He was about five years old, with lilac hair and… an oversized Capsule Corp jacket that looked a hell of a lot like the prototype Bulma was working on.
Trunks knelt down to be on the kid's level. "Hey there. How'd you get out here?"
The kid sniffled. "Don't know."
"Okay. What's your name?" Trunks asked. The boy wiped his eyes and replied, "Trunks."
Oookay. This is weird.
"Uh… Trunks… where are your parents?"
The kid's face crumpled. "Th-the bad man k-killed them," he stuttered. Trunks' eyes widened. "Geez… well, you want to come with me for a while? We'll look after you until…"
Okay, until what? And where IS this kid from?
The kid nodded. "D-do you know where Gohan went?" he asked, his eyes pathetically hopeful. Trunks sighed. "I'm not sure," he said truthfully. Gohan could be anywhere. The boy looked downcast. "Chi-chi?" he asked. Trunks nodded. "Yes, I know where Chi-chi is. You want to go to her?"
The kid… I really should get used to calling him 'Trunks' Trunks thought to himself… nodded. Trunks scooped him up and took off toward Chi-chi and Goku's house.
Chi-chi heard footsteps outside. Amazing. Goten's actually on time for lunch, she thought, smiling to herself. She jumped as Trunks called, "Chi-chi? You home?"
"Yes!" she called back. "Come on in."
What's he doing here? And where IS Goten?
Trunks walked in, carrying a little boy with lilac hair. Chi-chi smiled. "Well, who's this?" she asked, speaking in that tone people use around babies and little kids. Trunks replied, "well, as far as I can tell, a younger version of me. But he's from a realty where both my parents are dead."
The boy held out his arms to Chi-chi. Trunks continued, "he seems to know you, or at least a you. I think that you… another version of you… has been looking after him. He also knows Krillin, Gohan and 'the bad man'."
The boy looked up when Trunks said that. "The bad man?"
Chi-chi stroked his hair. "Don't worry. The bad man isn't here. You're safe now," she soothed. She looked up at Trunks… teenaged Trunks. "What do we do now? I mean, we don't know how to send him to his reality, and even if we did we couldn't send him back alone. We—"
A child's voice interrupted them. "Where is everyone, Daddy?"
Goku … or at least someone sounding a hell of a lot like Goku… answered. "I don't know, son. We'll find out tomorrow, after you've had some sleep."
The door opened and Goku walked in, trailing a little boy with black hair. And very familiar little boy with black hair.
"Gohan?" Chi-chi exclaimed. Goku stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Chi-chi? But… but Piccolo killed you," he stammered. Kid-Trunks looked at each of them with wide eyes, as did kid-Gohan. Teenage-Trunks held up his hands. "Woah, wait a minute here. You're Goku?" he asked. Goku nodded.
"Okay then. But you think Chi-chi was killed by Piccolo."
"She was. We were there when it happened!" Goku cried. Kid-Gohan's lower lip trembled. "Mommy's dead?"
Trunks shook his head in frustration. "Okay, you think Chi-chi was killed. And that's Gohan. But the Gohan WE know is an adult. So… so obviously you're from an alternate reality. The same one as him?" he asked, gesturing to kid-Trunks. Goku… alternate-Goku… shook his head. "No. I've never seen him before."
"Great. So we've got two alternate realities here. All right then, how did you get here?"
"I'm not sure," alternate-Goku admitted. "The last thing I remember is Piccolo saying he'd kill us all, then a bright silver flash and stars."
Kid-Trunks nodded. "I saw silver," he said. "Then Gohan and Chi-chi were gone."
Chi-chi frowned. "Are you three the only ones to come here? Or are there more?" she asked. Trunks realised what she was getting at. "If others from your realities also got here, then… we could have an evil Piccolo on our hands, and who knows what else? Plus any of us who don't know this isn't where they come from."
Alternate-Goku looked shell-shocked. "Geez… this could be a problem."
I guess I should get up… Ugh. That hurts. Do I even WANT to get up?
Gohan woke up but didn't move. From the way his body was aching, something was broken. He didn't really want to know what.
Still, I may as well get up. My day can't really get any worse.
He opened his eyes and looked into the face of the person who'd made his life a living Hell for as long as Gohan could remember.
Android 17.
Nope, I was wrong. It just got WAY worse.
The android was kneeling beside him, a concerned expression on his face. Gohan couldn't imagine why, unless it was concern over whether the android would have any fun killing someone who was hurt too badly to fight back.
Gohan scrambled away from 17, wincing at the pain in his obviously broken ankle. The android frowned and spoke.
"You really shouldn't do that. You'll hurt yourself worse."
He stood up and walked toward Gohan. The teenager powered up and threw a weak ki blast at the android. 17 moved to one side and let the blast detonate behind him. He looked back at Gohan with real concern in his icy eyes.
There's no way the REAL Android 17 would have let me live this long. Who can this one be, then?
The android hadn't moved any closer. He just looked at Gohan, waiting.
"I'll wait until you've finished trying to destroy me. Maybe then I can get you some help," he said drily. "Unless of course you prefer lying in the dirt, trying to turn me into the world's biggest piece of burnt toast."
That clinched it. The real 17 had no sense of humour. Gohan still had no idea what was going on here, but he knew he needed medical attention, or at least a senzu bean. There was no way he was getting anywhere on his own; he was just too weak. Going with this android was probably the only way.
I'll go with him for now. But that doesn't mean I trust him.
Tam slowed as she sensed a powerful being up ahead. "Hey guys, there's someone coming up," she reported. "It feels a little like Piccolo, but different somehow."
"Yeah," Chi-chi said slowly. "Kind of… bad. The way King Piccolo was, before you killed him."
They continued flying. After a few minutes they saw a green figure up ahead.
"Yep. It's Piccolo all right," Yamcha commented. The figure swiveled, as if he'd heard them coming. He looked right at them and grinned. A really, really creepy grin.
Bulma slowed down. "Guys, I have a bad feeling about this," she said. Yamcha laughed. "Bulma, you have a bad feeling about everything."
"This time it's not because there's a sale on at the department store!" Bulma yelled. "There's something wrong here!"
"Bulma's right," Chi-chi muttered, also slowing down. Tien, Yamcha and Tam halted and looked back at the two women.
"Bulma? Chi-chi? Can you tell us exactly WHAT'S not right?" Tam asked. Chi-chi frowned. "Like I said, he feels like King Piccolo. Malevolent. I think something's up."
"Yeah. Plus his ki is lower than it should be," Bulma added. Tam looked back to the figure hovering in the distance and frowned. "I felt that, but I thought it was my imagination. What do you think it is?"
They didn't have time to hypothesise. Piccolo came out of nowhere, hurling energy blasts at them. Tam dodged a solar beam cannon and tried to throw a kamehameha back at him, but he grabbed Chi-chi and used her as a shield. Tien, Yamcha, Bulma and Tam looked for a way to at least stun the Namek, but he kept his eyes on all of them, his fangs bared angrily.
"Piccolo, what's gotten into you?" Tam asked. He snapped, "do not address me by that name, human! My name is King Piccolo and you would do well to remember it!"
All five of them gasped.
How is this possible? Tam wondered frantically. I KILLED King Piccolo years ago!
The Namek didn't give them a chance to absorb that information. He pressed one hand to Chi-chi's shoulder and detonated a ki blast. Her body jerked as the energy raced through her. King Piccolo tossed her lifeless body at the four dumbstruck fighters and sped away.
Tien had caught Chi-chi's body and quickly checked it over. "She's still alive!" he cried. "But not for much longer, unless we get her help."
"VEGETA! If you don't get your butt in here in about TEN SECONDS you're gonna be one sorry Saiyan Prince!"
Bulma wasn't sure where Vegeta was; she just yelled loud enough for him to hear her if he was anywhere near Capsule Corp.
A few minutes passed in silence. Bulma frowned. Usually her summonses were answered immediately, even if Trunks was the one who answered, not Vegeta. But neither of them had acknowledged her presence.
She walked into the yard. Nobody was there, nor were they in the gravity chamber they had rigged in the training space.
There was a sudden flash of silver light. When Bulma's sight cleared, she gasped in shock. Standing in her yard were Chi-chi, Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta and… herself.
Gohan looked furious at someone. He lunged toward the small group huddled together on the grass, seemingly protecting Vegeta from Gohan. Trunks stood up and yelled, "you're not taking him from me again, bastard! You royal Saiyans have done enough to my world; I'm gonna do us all a favour and get rid of one!"
Bulma's eyes widened. Only one thing made sense to her: alternate timelines. And definitely not the timeline the other Trunks came from. These people, with the exception of Gohan who just looked pissed, looked beaten, down-trodden, defeated. The other version of herself was embracing the other Vegeta, tears streaming down both their faces, while the other Chi-chi was standing behind the other, older Trunks looking scared but determined.
Bulma ran into her lab and grabbed a couple of vials of the tranquiliser she'd been working on, as well as a dark gun. Dipping a few darts in the liquid, she ran back outside, took aim at Gohan and fired.
The dart hit and the tranquiliser took effect almost immediately. Gohan turned, snarled angrily at her and then hit the ground. The older Trunks glanced over and his eyes widened as he looked from her to the other Bulma.
Bulma approached them slowly, leaving the dark gun by the door. She held up her hands, hoping they wouldn't attack her.
Her counterpart looked up and smiled wearily. "I knew there were other realities out there," she said. "I never knew I'd see one for myself."
Alternate-Chi-chi was kneeling beside Vegeta. She looked up at Bulma and said, "look, I don't know what the f*** is going on here, but Vegeta needs medical help. The guards certainly like to torture people," she added bitterly.
Bulma nodded. "Get him inside and I'll see if we have any of Korrin's senzu beans left. I don't know how many Vegeta… my Vegeta… and my Trunks have used lately."
Alternate-Trunks and alternate-Bulma helped alternate-Vegeta limp into Capsule Corp. Bulma found the small sack of senzu beans and pulled a few out.
"Here. You all look like you could use one of these."
She explained what they did and then said, "look, do you guys mind me calling a few people? We really need to figure out what's going on. And I need to ask Goku how to keep a Saiyan down."
She injected alternate-Gohan with more tranquiliser before calling Goku's house. Chi-chi answered and she sounded more harried than usual. "Oh, Bulma. Look, I don't have a lot of time right now. There's—"
"Chi-chi, we have a problem. People are here from another timeline," Bulma interrupted, giving Chi-chi the short version. The other woman was silent for a few seconds then gasped, "you didn't get attacked by Piccolo did you?"
"Piccolo? No, why? What does he have to do with this?"
"Well, alternate-Goku, kid-Trunks and kid-Gohan all come from timelines where Piccolo is evil. We thought he might have come here too and when you said people from another timeline…"
Chi-chi trailed off. "This is NOT what we need right now!" she exclaimed. "Goku, Trunks, there are more people over at Capsule Corp. We should… oh my god."
The phone clattered to the ground. A minute later, Trunks picked it up. "Sorry about that, Okaachan. People from ANOTHER timeline came here with an injured alternate Chi-chi. She was… surprised."
He sighed. "Anyway, WE have Goku, kid me, kid Gohan, injured Chi-chi, you, Tien, Yamcha and a girl who looks like a Saiyan. And apparently they ran into evil Piccolo. Who do you have?"
"You, me, Vegeta, Chi-chi and a really evil Gohan," Bulma replied. "Um, you guys should probably come over here. If any other alternates show up, they'll either go there or here, and here is bigger."
"Yeah," Trunks agreed. "Okay. Okaachan, this is very weird."
Bulma hung up and turned to the others. "Some other people are gonna come here. Apparently there are more timelines than just yours and mine that have ended up here."
Chapter 3: Meet The Alternates
There was no stranger sight than the one in Capsule Corp about half an hour later. Bulma had called the other Z fighters, so besides the Z fighters who didn't have doubles — in other words, Krillin, Piccolo, Chiaotzu and Goten — there were three Bulmas, three Chi-chis, two Gokus, two Yamchas, two Tiens, adult Gohan and kid Gohan, teenage Trunks and kid Trunks and two Vegetas, as well as the unconscious evil-Gohan and the girl who looked like a Saiyan. The alternate Yamcha and Tien, and the Bulma and Chi-chi who came from that time, called the girl Tam.
What made things more complicated was the way Bulma-2 kept making googy-eyes at Yamcha-2. The other Bulmas were more than a little confused and annoyed, not to mention the two Vegetas. Tam noticed them glaring at Bulma-2 and Yamcha-2 and laughed. "They're always like that," she commented.
Gohan — the Gohan from this world, adult Gohan — was holding kid-Trunks-4 on his lap. The little boy was shy of the others and flat-out refused to go anywhere near Piccolo. They'd guessed that the Namek must be evil in kid-Trunks' world, which meant he was evil in two worlds, since Goku-2 had said he'd never seen kid-Trunks before.
"So let me get this straight," Tam said, leaning forward. "We'll call this the real world, since we all got temporally shifted here. So there's my world — Alternate Reality 1, where there's been no evil since I killed King Piccolo. Then there's Goku-2's world — Alternate Reality 2, where Goku killed King Piccolo but Piccolo Jr never became good. How am I doing so far?"
"Sounds about right," Trunks-1 said. Tam nodded and continued, "then there's kid-Trunks' world — Alternate Reality 3, where either King Piccolo was never destroyed or Piccolo Jr never became good, as well as another evil guy. And THEN there's the world where the Saiyans rule Earth. So we have four alternate realities so far."
"No, I'd say there are more," Chi-chi said. A Chi-chi who had just walked in, holding a baby Gohan. She sighed. "Well, this is awkward. You guys know me. I'm from ANOTHER alternate reality, I guess."
She gestured to someone behind her. "Get in here. I know it's weird seeing yourself as a baby but I can tell you it's weirder for me seeing you as an adult."
Piccolo and another adult Gohan walked up from behind Chi-chi. Tam looked around the now-crowded room and threw up her hands. "Great. SIX alternate realities. What next?"
Tien-2 answered that. "Guys? I can feel Gohan's ki heading toward us. And he doesn't feel strong."
Minutes later, two figures came into view. One was a teenaged Gohan. Helping him fly — actually, pretty much carrying him — was Android 17.
Vegeta-1 and Trunks-1 powered up as soon as they saw Android 17 but Goku-3 shook his head. "No. He's on our side. Dr. Briefs reprogrammed him once we'd destroyed Cell. He works with us now. Helps us fight Piccolo."
Kid Trunks-4 took one look at the fast-approaching 17 and burst into tears. Gohan-1 tried to comfort him but the little boy was hysterical.
"Little guy obviously doesn't like Android 17," he said. "So maybe there's a good 17 and a 17 who's still evil. But which one is this?"
"Gohan looks hurt," Chi-chi-1, 2 and 5 cried together. Goku-1 nodded. "Yeah. But we still have senzu beans and there are WAY more of us than that android, if it is evil."
The android landed a few metres away from them, helping the other Gohan to stay on his feet. "Steady," he murmured. "We're here. Though from the looks of things I have as bad a reputation among this bunch as I do with you."
He looked up and his eyes caught kid-Gohan-3's. "Gohan!"
"What?" all the Gohans except baby Gohan-5 asked. The android shook his head. "Okay, whatever's going on here is gonna have to wait. This guy needs help. I figured Dr Briefs would be able to do something."
The other Gohan looked up and saw kid Trunks-4. "Trunks! You're okay," he cried. The boy reached out to his friend, but adult Gohan-1 shook his head. "Not just yet, buddy. He's hurt," he told kid Trunks-4.
They helped teenage Gohan-4 into Capsule Corp and gave him a senzu bean. Within minutes, he'd recovered and was eyeing Android 17 with mingled suspicion and gratitude.
"Okay, why'd you help me?" he asked. The android looked surprised. "You reminded me of Gohan… the Gohan I know. The little boy," he said. "Besides, whatever my counterpart did in this timeline, I'm not him. I know I did a lot of bad things when I was evil, but I'm not like that anymore. Ask anyone from my timeline."
Goku-3 nodded. "He's telling the truth. He's been with us for years now, since… since a few years after Bulma was killed."
Kid Gohan-3 looked up from where he was sitting beside Android 17. From what Goku-3 had told them, Gohan-3 hadn't known Bulma, but he still knew that death was a bad thing.
Trunks-1 shook his head. "Okay, so why are all you guys showing up in our timeline? And why just you? Why not anyone else?"
"We were all together," Bulma-2 said. "Tien, Tam, Chi-chi, Yamcha and I. But I don't understand… Chiaotzu, Krillin, Piccolo and Master Roshi were there too. As well as Kakarott and Vegeta."
"Maybe when we got sent here, the temporal displacement scattered us a little," Tam suggested. "After all, us five WERE closest together, remember? I'd just thrown a blast at Vegeta and Kakarott. Piccolo was standing away from everyone, Master Roshi and Krillin were nearer the house and Chiaotzu was in the air somewhere. You four were about to do something stupid, like jump in and get yourselves killed, and I flew near you. Then there was that silver flash."
"We saw a silver flash and stars," Chi-chi-7 commented. Not that there were seven Chi-chis — that's just the way they'd figured out the numbering. Everyone from Tam's world was a 2. Everyone from the world where 17 wasn't evil was a 3. And so on.
Adult Gohan-6 shook his head. "Wait, doesn't that mean there are more of us out there somewhere? I mean, we've got people from seven different realities here. There have to be more somewhere. The others from Tam's world, and AR2."
"And Krillin, Chi-chi, King Piccolo and evil 17 from my world," Gohan-5 said tiredly. Goku-3 frowned. "What about the others?" he asked. Gohan-5 just looked at hi, an unreadable expression on his face.
"They're all dead. We're the only ones left."
Videl, Pan and Bra were watching all this, inwardly glad that they didn't have any alternates, but also kind of pissed that they didn't have any alternates. They weren't sure which was better.
In AR1 Goku was still Kakarott and Vegeta was still the jerky Saiyan Prince. Apparently Tam was Goku's counterpart. Bulma and Chi-chi fought with her and there'd been no major evil after King Piccolo, but the people were basically the same, except with no Gohan, Trunks or Goten. Or Pan, Videl or Bra.
In AR2, Bulma and Chi-chi had been killed by evil Piccolo, Bulma seventeen years ago, Chi-chi five days ago. Krillin had also been killed by evil Piccolo a while ago, and Android 17 had been reprogrammed to help fight evil Piccolo. Trunks and Gohan's ages were reversed; Trunks was apparently eighteen. Everything there had happened like it did in this timeline otherwise.
In AR3 almost everyone was dead due to the carnage caused by King Piccolo and Android 17, who had never been destroyed after Cell. All the Z fighters except Krillin, Gohan, Chi-chi and kid Trunks were dead.
In AR4 everything seemed normal, just a few years behind. Then Chi-chi had mentioned Goku training for when the Nameks got there. She'd seemed surprised at the shock on their faces and explained that in her timeline, the Nameks were evil bastards.
In AR5, Chi-chi and Goku had been killed when Gohan was six and he'd grown up in the forest with Piccolo. The two didn't know much about what else was going on, but the Earth hadn't been destroyed so they figured it was all okay and that they hadn't been needed for anything else.
And in AR6, everyone was a slave and Gohan was an evil Saiyan Prince. And Vegeta had almost been executed for having Trunks twenty-two years ago.
These timelines are very confusing, Pan thought to herself, watching the others talk about what might have happened.
Bra was also watching, mainly entranced by how many Gohans there were. There was her Gohan, Gohan-1, the real one. Then there was Kid Gohan — Gohan-3 — who was younger than she was, which amused the little girl. And then there was the one she called Warrior Gohan, because he looked so much like Otousan — Gohan-4. And then there was Baby Gohan — Gohan-5. She hadn't known he was Gohan until Chi-chi5 started calling him that, trying the get him to go to sleep.
And then there was Forest Gohan — Gohan-6, so called because he said he'd grown up in the forest with Mr. Piccolo. And THEN there was Scary Gohan — Gohan-7, the one that Okaachan was making stay asleep.
Pan looked up at Videl. "Okaachan?"
"Yes honey?"
"What's going on?"
"I really don't know," Videl replied. "Hopefully they can figure it out."
"There are too many versions of Otousan," Pan complained. Videl nodded. "I know, honey."
"Okaachan? Can we go home now? They don't need us," Pan said hopefully. Videl sighed. "I'd like to, Pan, but I want to stay here until your father… OUR version of your father… is done here."