"Chaozu, do you have any idea why Tien would just take the time machine like that? It doesn't make sense," asked Krillin.
"Well I'm not really sure," answered Chaozu. "Maybe something came over him. It seems that many strange things have been happening to our friends lately."
"That's true," piped in Yamcha. All three continued to fly on in silence. There was an eerie tension. Krillin then broke it.
"Hey guys, look!"
Everyone looked ahead to see the large yellow dome, surrounded by smaller domes coming from it. In large letters on the front, it read: CAPSULE CORPORATION. All three descended slowly and landed on the ground just in front of the entrance. Krillin, Yamcha, and Chaozu entered.
When they got inside, they saw Bulma sitting on a couch, reading a magazine, but looking to be in great distress. When she heard them enter, she screamed in happiness.
"Guys! I'm so happy you're here! How is Trunks?! How is Vegeta?!"
"Whoa whoa, calm down there Bulma," said Yamcha. Yamcha then proceeded to tell Bulma the entire story. When he finished, she shook her head.
"This is strange. Why is the Ginyu Squad coming back into place? We took care of them a loooooooong time ago!" wondered Bulma, who walked over to her workbench.
"Well guys, you are in luck. I haven't told anyone yet, but I just recently built a time machine. I knew that the Bulma in the future had done it, and since she's just as smart as me, I gave it a try. I need to test it anyway, so you guys could head to the past using it!"
"This is great news!" said Krillin, looking very anxious.
"How many people can fit in the pod, Bulma?" asked Yamcha.
"Two," she answered.
"Yamcha and Krillin, you two go," said Chaozu. "I would just get in the way because of how weak I am."
They all agreed that Yamcha and Krillin were to go, figure out where Tien was, and then come back in shifts. As Bulma, Krillin, and Yamcha entered the room, Chaozu slowly floated up into the air and left Capsule Corporation. And he wept for his friend.
--- --- ---
Gohan felt his brother's power diminish in the distance. It almost caused him to stop and turn around, but the burden of his father on his shoulder would not allow him to do so. He hoped for the best, that he could still be healed. He had forgotten who was going where, but he was pretty sure that the Trunkses would've taken him if they thought Goten was dying. At least he hoped so.
He almost felt guilty that his brother was in trouble, but he was just flying to Korin's tower for a senzu that may not even work. Gohan knew he had to be faster. He stopped in mid-air and screamed out, powering into Mystic form. With that, Gohan erupted in a speed many times faster than normal, rocketing towards Korin's Tower, his father slung over his back.
--- --- ---
The itch.
The itch was back. He didn't like the itch at all. It gave him such an uneasy feeling; it made him feel like something was coming that didn't belong.
It didn't belong anymore.
Goku saw the piercing white light, burning into his lower back. As much as he tried to move, he couldn't. He could feel it burning a hole in his body, but it was pain he felt. It was…
The itch.
The itch would never leave. It would haunt him. And so would the voice…
Kakarotto…
The voice haunted him. The voice gave him so much fear.
So much guilt.
Envy.
Anger.
You have forgotten…
Why couldn't it just leave him alone? What had he done wrong? Did he deserve this?
Your questions will be answered soon.
The light burned harder into his back, and something began to…
--- --- ---
Chibi and Mirai Trunks flew through the air, concentrating on the task at hand. They were to save Goten. Along with them was Dende, who was so slow a flyer that M. Trunks had to carry him in his right arm. He didn't seem to be enjoying the ride.
Chibi Trunks looked extremely worried. Goten had been his best friend for many years, they had done basically everything together, and Trunks could never hurt him severely like he always ended up doing with his other friends.
Actually, Chibi Trunks had no other friends. Due to his extreme strength, he could never play around with anyone without doing any damage, even if unintentionally. Trunks was looked down upon by his peers, and many were afraid of him. This made it very hard to make friends.
A tear slowly rolled down Chibi Trunks's face. If Goten was gone, he didn't know what he would do. There would be no one left for him. He would be alone, with no friends…or anyone that cared about him for that matter. He had to save him.
Chibi Trunks knew they had to go faster.
"Hey Mirai!" he yelled behind him. Mirai Trunks looked up. "Let's speed this up a bit!"
Without stopping, Chibi Trunks erupted into his Super Saiya-jin state, giving him an impressive speed boost as he rocketed ahead. Mirai Trunks did the same, exploding in power and trailing Chibi Trunks by a few yards as they raced for Goten.
--- --- ---
The glass closed over their heads as Krillin and Yamcha fastened their seatbelts. Bulma gave her usual, corny thumbs-up and smiled.
Yamcha reached to the dial next to a LCD screen reading "2002" in block numbers. He slowly turned it clockwise to the year 2022.
Twenty years in the future. The timeline of Mirai Trunks.
Krillin nervously flashed a smile and thumbs-up back at Bulma. Yamcha pressed the "Activate" button and a whirring sound began. Slowly, the yellow dome began to rise above the floor, powered by strong air propulsions.
It was truly a sight, especially to Bulma. Her creation, something she had worked on for some time now, was finally coming into play. Bulma had always helped the Z-Senshi before, but this was big. Who knew what was happening to Tien in the past? If he was in trouble, Yamcha and Krillin would be sure to fix it.
Yamcha and Krillin watched on in amazement as suddenly the entire world went white around them. Bulma disappeared, everyone was gone. They whirled the top of the machine around to see what they had just entered. It was the Room of Spirit & Time. The Bulma of this timeline seemed to be older and smarter, and harnessing the power of the Room of Spirit & Time was an excellent idea. So they traveled on in nothingness for about 20 minutes, not a word being said between them. They marveled at the room's secrets. It was not all white, as most of the Z-Senshi believed. At some areas, fire rose up from the blankness with no provocation, and sometimes it would rain acid down of their time machine, burning the hole with its toxicity. The room was a place of extremes, and there was no way of telling which disaster would strike and when, making it highly dangerous.
The time machine was able to avoid all of the perils, though, because of its high velocity traveling through the Room of Spirit & Time. Krillin and Yamcha just hoped they ended up in the right place.
And then it ended.
In an instant, the white disappeared and a strange Earth reappeared. It was no different than where they had left. In actuality, they appeared in the same exact lab they had left in. Slowly, the glass on top opened and Krillin and Yamcha stepped out. The lab didn't seem too musty or old, even though it was deserted. It didn't look like anyone had been there for a while. It was also empty, luckily for them, or they may have crashed into the other time machine when they arrived.
The two warriors looked through the building, and it was definitely the Capsule Corporation. Unfortunately, it was devoid of lights and people, even Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Briefs weren't present, even though it had always seemed that they had never left the building. Becoming impatient with the darkness, Krillin and Yamcha decided to head outside. Krillin walked straight into the automatic door.
"I don't get it, Yamcha. This place is supposedly so high-tech, but it doesn't even have electricity!"
"I agree, it's very strange."
Impatiently, Yamcha backed up a fired an energy blast at the doors. It left a hole just large enough for he and Krillin to fit through. They both exited the building and dusted themselves off.
And when they looked up into the world, they gasped.
--- --- ---
Vegeta landed in front of the blue house.
The paint was peeling, and many chips of it embedded in the tall grass, that hadn't been cut for years. The house was unattended, the sole window showing the inside was a dark black, and nothing could be seen.
Vegeta had figured it out after Gohan's quick fight with him. Someone had framed him. He was Vegeta, the royal heir to the Saiya-jins, and someone was playing him for a fool. This wasn't gonna fly. He knew that no one still fully trusted him, and so did the person who made the prank. The person was manipulating him and the rest of Earth's warriors, and was trying to tear them apart.
He stood in front of 25 Davidson Avenue. The Davidson Avenue that the call had come from, or so Vegeta thought. It made sense. The person (or thing) that had called Goku's house had come to this broken down house with the same address as the Capsule Corporation.
Clever. But no one outsmarted the Prince of the Saiya-jins. No one.
Vegeta ascended the granite walkway up to the house. It was full of cracks, and seemed to crumble with every step he took. The grass on the lawn reached up to his knees. Vegeta reached the door and kicked it in, not even bothering knocking.
The house was pitch black. Vegeta formed energy in his right hand to serve as a light, and then turned Super Saiya-jin for a little more. He entered the kitchen, which was full of pots and pans thrown all over the place, and on the table were the bones of a whole chicken. Vegeta looked confused as he entered the living room, where he found what he was looking for.
The phone was sitting on a small wooden table, with warped wood and a leg missing. Vegeta picked up the receiver of the phone. The line was dead. Strange. But then he found a clue. As he put the receiver of the red phone down, he noticed a mark on it. He focused his light on that spot, to reveal a clue. It wasn't much of a clue, but it was something. The phone had a mark of white paint on it.
Vegeta dropped out of Super Saiya-jin and exited the house, looking discouraged. He looked around, trying to piece together this strange revelation.
--- --- ---
Dende, Chibi, and Mirai Trunks were almost blind. If Dende were not the Guardian of the Earth, they would've never been able to find Goten, since he had no power left.
When Chibi Trunks saw Goten's mutilated body, he immediately screamed in rage. He flew down at the body as fast as he could, surveying the damage. Goten's leg was cut clean off. Blood surrounded him like a pool. His mouth lay open, one of the contributors to the puddle of Goten's own blood. Trunks screamed like a young baby, bearing all of his emotions at once. The tears flowed freely, and Dende rushed down and quickly put his hands on Goten.
The healing did not work. Chibi Trunks could not stop crying, he was almost maniacal now in his screaming. Mirai Trunks slowly placed two fingers on Goten's neck. The boy was dead. Trunks could only shake his head.
But Mirai Trunks and Dende did not realize what was going on behind them. They watched in awe as Trunks's hair began to grow out of place. Up to the level of Super Saiya-jin 2, but it didn't stop there. Trunks's hair slowly fell down to his lower body, just barely missing touching the ground. His eyebrows jutted outwards, his eyebrows disappeared, and his eyes went a dark blue. He looked reminiscent of Gotenks the fusion of him and his late friend.
Trunks stood there, trying to contain the power of Super Saiya-jin 3 that was erupting from his body. The tears still streamed from his eyes, and his scream was piercing…
And then it left him. Trunks reverted back to Super Saiya-jin, and then to his normal state. And he fell to ground, unconscious.