A/N - Thanks for my first review Luna's Meow! A little spoiler, in the next chapter you find out that Gohan was the only one Porunga could revive, other than the general people of Earth.

Chapter 2 - Defections

Gohan took another sip from his cup of coffee which lay steaming on a coaster on the table. His mother, Chi-Chi, still had a box of tissues by her side to draw from whenever fresh tears came, which hadn't stopped since he had arrived the previous night. Gohan looked around pensively with a contented smile on his face. Lazy beams of light wandered through the curtains in the morning son. After his father died, he had never spent much time home. His mother accepted this and let it go, her heart already broken, and she knew that Gohan was following in the footsteps of his father. But now that the half-Saiyan sat before her after so much grief from his death, she couldn't contain her emotions any longer. The Ox-King smiled, watching his daughter finally happy talking to her son into the early hours of the morning.

Far away, through nearly endless distances of cold space, another half-Saiyan was having a much less comforting morning. Over crumpled trees sat a mammoth, egg-like ship, and a massive army of armored troops all circled in attention around a single, dark-skinned man with a scar over his eye and a white cloak, and a brown tail wrapped around his waist. Before this obvious leader was Trunks, dressed lightly in baggy grey pants, his usual yellow-jacket boots and a black wife-beater that his muscles spilled out of.

"Prince Trunks, I have waited long for us to meet." He said, in a rough voice that reflected his appearance, as if he had weathered all of eternity.

"I see that Gohan and I aren't the only Saiyans still alive..." Trunks said, his eyes slightly narrowed in analysis, looking to his tail, "But how do you know about me? Who are you?"

"I am Paragus, last survivor of Planet Vegeta. I have been watching your father for quite some time. We seek to found a new Saiyan race, one with power over the entire universe, and were to offer him his own planet and kingship over all! None would stand before us, it'd be a new and glorious beginning! I am here to invite you to the same fate, now that your father is gone. We knew you were...preoccupied with the Androids before now." Paragus raised his hands as if the beautiful vision of a new Saiyan race were balanced on his shoulders, creating quite an effect. He was obviously a skillful orator...or liar.

Trunks looked over the army thoughtfully, then turned his piercing stare to Paragus once more.

"So what if I decided to accept? All this would be mine..." He said, motioning to the soldiers all kneeling before them on the blue Namekian grass. "And I'd just abandon everything I've fought for?"

Paragus looked as if he had expected this question, and spoke, rehearsed, with his eyes closed. "Imagine the opportunity...for the rest of eternity the universe will remember you as the first King of a mighty empire, the greatest ever known! Blood is thicker than water! You'd abandon the Saiyan race for these...humans?" Paragus looked disgusted at the word. The troops began chanting, "ALL HAIL KING TRUNKS!" and raised their fists to the air.

Trunks's ki level flared invisibly, triggering a shockwave of awe in the troops. "You forget, Paragus, that I am half-human, born on Earth. I can't just leave it now, not after everything that's happened. They need me. I'm sorry, I have to step down, but thank you for your offer. Good luck, I hope we meet again." Trunks turned his back to Paragus and slowly walked toward the Namekian city, the troops clearing out before him.

"Don't worry..." The outraged Paragus said coldly, "We will." Paragus pressed a button on a golden band around his hand. "I wonder how many planets he can defend." Paragus and his men sped into the ship, and immediately departed Namek. It was only a few hours later that a Capsule Corp. ship also left the planet, but in a direction toward another solar system.

Millions of miles away, in an entirely different galaxy, a cold, throaty laugh was instantly silenced by the void of space, although it should've echoed forever, because the atmosphere of the nearest planet had been shattered by an enormous green blast of energy from the palm of the amused assailant. His immensely muscular body was a golden shadow outlined in the infinite blackness of the universe. Suddenly, he convulsed with pain, several golden rings around him pulsing, and the golden aura around him faded. The warrior rocketed off to origins unknown, through the debris of the murdered planet, leaving chaos in his wake.

A massive crowd surrounded a podium in the center of a decimated city that had sprung to life literally, overnight. The sounds of reconstruction efforts and cheers filled the air. At the podium, a muscular man with an afro and moustache stood, waving his arms and peace-signs at the crowd, wearing his signature brown gi and cape. He was finishing an egotistic and long-winded speech.

"...and that is how I, Hercule, champion of Earth and the Universe, single-handedly destroyed the Android menace and got them to use their powers to bring everyone back to life. YEEEAAAHHHHH!" He yelled, posing with his eyes shut. The crowd only responded by screaming even louder, with signs like: "I DROOL FOR HERCOOLE" or "LONG LIVE MR. SATAN". Besides Hercule stood a young woman who looked extremely uncomfortable next to her father, her arms around herself. She wore a purple and orange shirt with the word, "Fight" on the chest. Her eyes seemed to scan the crowd for something, longingly.

Seeming very out-of-place in the back of the mob scene was the only man not smiling or cheering. Gohan's fiery red gi was only another red dot to the people on stage, and noone seemed to notice the deadly glare he sent toward Hercule.

"This isn't right..." He thought, "Trunks should be up there, not this loser." Gohan winced as a giant, oversized, and slightly embellished statue of Hercule was unveiled, with the worlds, "Worlds Greatest Hero" carved into the base.

Suddenly the clear blue eyes of the girl beside Hercule fell upon a lonely speck at the back of the crowd. She tugged at Hercule's cape.

"Daddy, there's something I need to do."

Mr. Satan looked down at his daughter. "Of course pumpkin. Go sign some autographs!" He said arrogantly, then turning back to the crowd for more photo opportunities. She dashed off into the masses.

Gohan noticed her heading toward him, and a bedazzled look came over his face as she nearly tackled him, flinging her arms around him and landing a kiss on his cheek. Gohan stood firm but blushed heavily, never having been really hugged or kissed before. He looked at her with a questioning glance. She noticed and blushed as well, and then looked down and spoke softly.

"Listen...I'm here to thank you...you saved my life during one of the attacks."

Gohan rubbed his cheek and said shyly, "Uhh...do I know you?" After all, he had saved more than just one girl over the year.

"My name is Videl...I'm Hercule's daughter. He said he destroyed the Androids but I never noticed him mentioning going out of his bomb shelter to do it. Then I remembered...it was a long time ago, at the Super World amusement park. I had just gotten off of the Ferris Wheel when the Androids started clearing out the park. The boy Android sent a blast of energy at me, but then out of nowhere I saw him fall, you had drop-kicked him in the chin. So...I really owe you for my life. Was it...you that destroyed the Androids? If not, I know you're very strong and I was wondering..."

Gohan thought for a moment, and then turned cold at the decision he had to make. "Videl, you're a nice girl from what I've seen, unlike your father, but...I didn't destroy the Androids. I'm not that great. I'm sorry, I have to go, maybe some other time." His eyes glazed over with remorse and Gohan turned his back, and then prepared to blast off. Videl ran and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Gohan wait!"

He turned his head. Videl was blushing hotly for some unforeseen reason.

"In 1 month a World Martial Arts Tournament will be held, the first in many years. My father won the last one and I know that your father, Goku, was the one before him. I wanted to know if...maybe you could train with me for it and enter the competition? There's a huge prize money reward! And you could show the world who really stopped the Androids!" She looked very eager and her eyes had some effect on Gohan that made him unable to resist.

"Sure Videl...I'll see you around...sometime." He turned reluctantly and then flew off into the sky, leaving Videl with her jaw dropped down to the floor.

A young boy and his mother walked out of a nearby hospital's doors.

"Look mommy!" The young child said, pointing to the sky, "There's a weird man flying around in the sky!"

His auburn-haired mother turned to him and said, "No honey it's the drugs...you're just seeing things.

Gohan arrived at Capsule Corp. just in time to see a familiar young man exiting a circular spacecraft.

"Welcome back Trunks." Gohan smirked, and Trunks went pale as he raced out to embrace his old mentor.

A/N - Okay, not much of a cliffhanger I know, and there hasn't been any action yet. All this celebration is just introduction, things are going to get a lot darker soon enough. Please review!