MIRAI NO TERROR

By Genesis Nightshade

Chapter Two
Gardeners Aren't The Only Ones With Green Thumbs…


A/N: In response to a review, yes Nameks can reproduce…you must have been thrown off by the whole asexual thing. How else would Piccolo have been born and how did the eldest Namek Guru repopulate the planet after they died out? Ok, I'm done with my ranting. Enjoy this chapter, and don't worry, the serious action comes in chapter three…


The lab was completely silent as the screaming voices of the television filled the room.

"But… that's impossible…how can Piccolo have a son?" Trunks asked, still completely shocked.

"You see," Bulma explained as she regained her sanity and her rational side took over, "the same thing happened with Piccolo Damaio, if you remember the story."

"Yes, he was Piccolo's father."

"Piccolo Damaio produced Piccolo's egg right before he died to carry on his mission of killing Goku. Apparently, Piccolo did the same thing that Piccolo Damaio did. This new Piccolo is in search of the Androids, and he'll keep looking until he finds them."

They both stood in silence, knowing what had to be done. Trunks would be the one to go after him, either to reason with him or kill him. It was a task that neither of them hoped would be necessary. With the new Piccolo alive, Trunks might have an easier time on New Namek and there was still hope of regenerating the old Piccolo. If he could show them where the Old Piccolo's body was, then they could most likely reanimate him. Unfortunately, that technique could only work on Nameks.

"Trunks, hurry up before he causes any more damage. And try not to kill him; we can use him here." Bulma said, breaking the silence.

"What's going on?" Videl asked, confused.

"Videl, sit down for a moment… we need to talk."

Trunks quickly complied with his mother's wishes, throwing his lab coat to the ground and picking up his sword from where he had leaned it against the kitchen table.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

Trunks then took off through an open window in a blaze of golden aura.

This was insanity. He had told himself that he would never have to fight again. He had established a sense of peace, and now this was happening…Trunks was almost in a murderous rage by the time he reached downtown. The rebuilding projects had been completely destroyed, and many of the ones who had been assigned work-detail that day were sprawled on the ground. Trunks could only sense the energies of a few of them, and even those were very weak. He was just like Cell. He was just like the androids. In the quest to end terror on Earth after his death, Piccolo had just assured the deaths of hundreds more people. Trunks could barely keep himself from screaming out in emphatic agony.

"It…it was over…" he said, quietly as he hovered over the traumatic scene below. He had to stop the Namek, no matter how important he may have been to his mother. So what if he could be the key to regenerating Piccolo? He was just like Cell.

Trunks looked down and saw the Namek just in time to witness him murder an old man with a rifle. The Namek shot a ki blast through the old man's chest, and he flew backwards, blood gushing from the wound in his chest, his eyes glazed over with death.

"Hey you! Namek!" Trunks yelled, on the verge of killing the Namek with his sword in one fatal swipe.

The Namek seemed to pause in his destruction, but did not speak. Trunks took this as a sign that he could move forward and began to descend.

"No! No more killing! Don't you realize what you're doing?" Trunks moved a bit closer to the Namek. "Killing innocent people is no way to find the androids!"

"How…how did you know I was looking for the androids? You...you must be one of them! DIE!"

The Namek began to attack Trunks, using a rapid fire of ki blasts. Trunks powered up, flew into the air and easily dodged them, quickly moving to the right or left before they could get close enough to hit.

"If I'm an android, then how come you can feel my life energy?!" Trunks yelled, and after a moment, the fire stopped. After a few moments, the smoke cleared, and the Namek stood below, his hands poised for a ki blast.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Trunks. I am a saiyan, well, half saiyan. Search your memory…it's there." Trunks silently hoped that the Namek had inherited Piccolo's memories.

The Namek stood in eerie silence for a moment, the expression on his face not moving.

"Another alien." He finally said, slowly bringing his hands down to his sides.

"Yes. No more killing. I am not an android."

"Then what do you want?" He asked, with a tinge of anger present in his voice.

"I have someone that you need to meet."

The Namek debated in his mind for a minute.

"Fine."

"Ok, but could you please put some clothes on first?"

The Namek looked down at his naked body and then back at Trunks.

"Why?

"Just…please…"

The Namek looked at himself again, sighed and then placed his opened palm over his head. Instantly, he was engulfed in a puff of smoke. When it cleared, he was wearing a black gi with a yellow belt wrapped around his waist. A black headband was securely tied around his head, covering up his antennae. Apparently, he had inherited some of Piccolo's abilities.

"Do you have a name?" Trunks asked, admiring the Namek's new clothes.

"Snare." He replied without hesitation. Both his face and his voice were expressionless. Yes, he had been confused a few minutes ago, but amazingly, Snare seemed completely sane now. Trunks thought about this and tried to convince himself that Snare was not a killer. He was not like Cell. He had not been intentionally killing people…but wait…even if it was unintentional, PEOPLE DIED. They would never see their families again. Some little boy would grow up without a father…Yes. He was like Cell.

'After Bulma is done with him, he must die.' Trunks thought to himself.

"Come on, Snare." There is someone that you need to meet."

Trunks rose into the air, and Snare easily followed. They both sped in the direction of Capsule Corp.

'Yes. He must die.'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the center of a swirl of yellow cloud, a small planet seemed to dangle from the strings of the air. The weather was calm as always, and the sun shone its gleeful rays onto the surface.

But things were not as peaceful as they seemed, for on the surface of this planet, nine solemn warriors were once again full of worry and fear. Even in death, they could not escape the worries of their planet.

"But Piccolo, how could this have happened?"

The Namek clenched his fists until they shook and sweat seemed to seep from the pores.

"It's blurry, but I remember it…Juuana-gou bashed his arm right through my chest… I had to do
something…something…DAMN IT! I didn't know it would be like this! There wasn't enough time to make sure that he'd be stable, I just did it as fast as I could!"

"It's not your fault, Piccolo." Goku replied, placing a reassuring hand on the Namek's shoulder. "You didn't know that he would turn out this way."

"Like hell it isn't his fault." A voice stated in a snobbish tone. "No species was meant to reproduce that fast. Not even the saiyans. How could you think that your offspring would be perfect? You are completely delusional." The cocky prince crossed his arms across his chest and walked away from the area where the group had congregated. A smirk crawled onto his face.

"Don't be insensitive, Vegeta." Kullilin said. "Not everyone is a saiyan, you know." Tien, Yamcha and Chaozu nodded in agreement.

"Ha! You're just mad that you're not one, weakling."

"The way I remember it, you're dead too."

Vegeta growled.

"Don't provoke him!" King Kai said. "You remember what happened last time, don't you?"

They all cringed as they tried to repress the memory of the 'Princess Snake' incident. Half of snake way was in ashes.

"I don't care anymore! I'm already dead, what else do I have to lose?" Kullilin said, as he took a fighting stance.

"Hey! That's got nothing to do with what's going on!" Gohan intervened. "Even if it's not Piccolo's fault, Snare is completely unstable. You guys have seen what kind of power he has! What if he becomes like the androids and that Cell creature that Trunks killed? Even if it was an accident, it could mean the deaths of hundred of people."

"I'm not getting a good feeling from his aura, either." King Kai said

Gohan bowed his head with worry. Yes, Trunks was able to defeat the androids and Cell, but that had been easy. They were pure evil. Snare had some goodness in him somewhere and Gohan was sure that Trunks was aware of the fact, but how many human lives would be sacrificed to find it?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I…I can't believe this…" Videl said as she collapsed into a chair. "You…you mean you know that…that THING?"

Bulma nodded.

"He's a member of an alien race known as the Nameks. They are normally peaceful by nature, but this one seems to be the exception. I just hope that Trunks is ok. After the androids, something like this is likely to push him over the edge."

"And he's bringing him back here?"

"Yes." Bulma said. "He's going to try to."

In response, Videl's eyes opened wide.

"Oh, don't worry." Bulma said, reassuringly. "Trunks is the strongest person on the planet right now, and you're forgetting one thing."

"What's that?"

"Even though I'm a little old, I'm still a genius. You don't think that I would let Trunks bring the Namek here without some kind of protection, do you? During the time that the androids were alive, Trunks went on a trip. In order to protect myself, I did a little constructing of my own. I've got three androids equipped with every kind of weapon you could think of. It will be enough to hold off anything stronger than Trunks for at least a few minutes."

Videl nodded, but for some strange reason, she wasn't reassured. Just minutes ago, she had seen that green creature…that Namek…destroy buildings and murder innocent people. Now Trunks was bringing it to Capsule Corp. It would be not miles from her, but mere feet, ready to bash a beam of energy through her head or snap her body in two, savoring the excruciating pain that she would be in. Videl sighed. This was all too much to handle atone time. There was no way that Videl was going to get her day's work done now.

"Excuse me, Ms. Briefs?"

Bulma turned in her chair slowly, and faced the worker, a tall boy who was about 20 or so.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've finished the work on the refrigeration system. Do you want us to start on the coolants for the engine?"

Bulma was silent for a moment as she picked up her cup of coffee that she had been subconsciously sipping on for about a half an hour.

"Do you know what? If you all leave right now, you can take the day off. See a movie, go out to lunch and put it all on the CC account, ok? Everyone gets the day off."

"Ar…Arigatou!" he said, and joyfully went off to spread the news to his co-workers.

Videl was shocked. Bulma never let ANYONE have the day off. She had been a work-a-holic ever since Videl came, and was always intensely concentrated on her work. She had been completely devoted to this space ship thing. What was so important about it? Sure, Bulma had explained to them that the ship was going to transport the first CC satellite, but what was so important about that?

"Videl?" Bulma said quietly after she was sure that most of the workers had left.

"Hai, Bulma-san?"

"I want to know if you'd like to help me with some experiments on the Namek after Trunks gets back. I'll understand if this is all too much for you and you'd like to go home…"

"Iie," Videl said. "I'm fine."

"Good, because I think I just heard Trunks land outside."

"Kaasan! I'm back!" Trunks yelled from the doorway as he entered with his new companion.

Both Bulma and Videl stood up when Snare entered- Videl with awe-struck eyes and Bulma with scientific ones, quickly comparing Snare's features to what she remembered of Piccolo. Of course their features seemed similar, but Snare was significantly leaner. Even if he had inherited Piccolo's power and most of his memory, the muscle couldn't be passed down genetically.

"Hi." Bulma said. "My name is Ms. Briefs."

"Snare."

"You don't have anything to fear here. The androids are gone now."

"Trunks explained that to me."

Snare glanced at Videl, who flinched at his look.

"That's Videl." Bulma explained. "She'll be helping me with the experiments that I'll be doing on you. Don't worry, it won't take long and won't hurt a bit."

He looked back at Videl, who flinched again.

"Does she talk?"

"Of course I do!" Videl yelled, but didn't come any closer to Snare. She hid behind Bulma. "I just don't feel like talking right now, that's all!"

Trunks snickered but kept it to himself. It really wasn't a time for him to be laughing. He had to be completely on guard, just in case Snare flipped his lid. Besides, Videl wasn't THAT cute when she pretended not to be scared…

"Ok, we should get started right away." Bulma said. "Videl, could you get the rejuvenation tank ready to go?"

"Rejuvenation tank?" Trunks asked, confused.

"Yes. I heard your father mention it a few times when he was alive, so I built one myself and used it on him after some of his intense training sessions. If I fill it with water, then it will provide just the medium I need for tests."

Snare swallowed hard.

'He's just as scared as Videl is…' Trunks thought to himself. 'No, wait…it's all just an act…'

Trunks watched as Videl slinked past Snare with a sweat drop on her face.

"C'mon, Snare." Bulma said, grabbing his hand and leading him towards the lab. "We've got a lot of work to do."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next week, Snare was subjected to test after test. Those testing bodily functions were the hardest, since he spent most of the day in the tank with Bulma and Videl poking and prodding at him. The ones that were easier were those that compared him to Piccolo, since those dealt with strength and fighting. But no, he didn't spar with Trunks; Bulma wouldn't let him; for fear that the two might kill each other. So Snare would sit and watch Trunks train Videl, and he would pick up a few moves everyday to store in his memory and try later when everyone was sleeping. Snare didn't sleep. He saw no need for it. Anything could happen at night, and besides, the best training came with the night air rushing at you head-on. You breathed it in with every attack.

But something bothered Snare. It was Trunks. Every few nights while Snare was training, he would glance down in to the bushes and catch sight of Trunks, spying on him. He most likely thought that his energy couldn't be sensed.

'I see you, you bastard.'

There was something about Trunks that Snare just didn't trust.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ok, Snare. We're all done for today." Bulma said to Snare as she drained the water from the tank. Snare quickly began to dress himself in his black gi.

"Where is Trunks?" Snare asked as he tied his headband around his head.

"I think he's training Videl out back. Why?"

Bulma didn't actually expect an answer from him; she had grown accustomed to his mysterious nature. He only talked when he had something to say, and answered when he felt like it. This time, he didn't so much as nod, only exited the lab with his water bottle in hand and went to the backyard to catch Videl and Trunks before they finished their afternoon training.

There they were, Videl struggling to use her ki to lift herself off of the ground. Trunks was looking on, every once in a while giving a word of encouragement or demonstrating how to use ones body energy to lift the body off of the ground.

'She's doing it all wrong…' Snare thought to himself as he looked on in disgust. 'Why isn't he showing her how to do it right?'

Snare took a swig from his water bottle, and Trunks's head turned to face him. His hearing was almost as good as Snare's- he had heard the muffled sound of water sloshing from over 20 feet away.

"Are you going to join us?" Trunks asked, and Snare couldn't quite read the expression on his face. Snare didn't answer, only took another gulp of water and wiped away the excess from his mouth. "I guess not." Trunks finally said, and went back to his training.

Videl was making significant progress. She had already learned most of the basic hand-to-hand techniques, and was in the early stages of flying- using her ki like a cushion to push her into the air.

But Trunks's mind was somewhere else. He couldn't seem to concentrate whenever Snare was around, because it always seemed like he was scrutinizing everything that Trunks did, silently telling him everything that he was doing wrong.

'Baka, why won't you go away?'

"Trunks, how was that?" Videl asked as she landed gracefully.

"Um…Gomen, Videl. I wasn't watching. Maybe I'm just tired. Can we call it a day?"

"Hai." Videl said. "Go and get some sleep."

Trunks nodded and walked into the house, making sure to cast an evil glance at Snare before he entered. Snare readied himself to follow Trunks into the house…this had gone far enough…

"Snare! Can I talk to you?"

The Namek's head snapped around at Videl's voice.

"What do you want?" he asked, flatly.

Videl jogged up to him, her ponytails bouncing on her shoulders. She was flushed pink from exercise.

"I…I just wanted to apologize. For the other day, I mean. I was kind of rude. You're not THAT scary."

"Whatever." Snare replied, looking away. Videl took his response as the end of the conversation and began to walk past him, into the house.

"You're doing it wrong." Snare said out of nowhere, and Videl turned around slowly. "You use up too much energy if you fly that way."

Videl smiled a bit.

"If I come out here tonight, will you teach me the right way?"

Snare paused before giving an answer, but the expression on his face showed neither anger nor surprise nor excitement.

"If you come." He finally said.

Videl's smile became a full grin.

"I'll see you tonight." She said, walking into the house without taking her eyes off of Snare. She ran right into Trunks, and because he was virtually the immovable wall, she bounced off of him and landed with a 'thud' on the floor.

"Gomen, Trunks. I wasn't paying attention."

She stood up, dusted herself off and brushed past trunks, humming quietly.

Trunks went to the window and looked at Snare, who was flying away. He was now but a speck in the blue sky.

'I don't care what my mother needs him for…Snare dies tomorrow.'



NEXT CHAPTER:…enter the villain….the terror of Mirai No Terror…but what or who is it?