"Dragonball AS: Destroyer Saga"
Chapter 1- "Breaking the News"
By- Tiny
It was well known on Earth that whenever a big event happened, be it depressing or joyous in nature, the Briefs and Son families would end up getting together at the old Capsule Corp. building. Of course, only the hostess of the latest event, thrown together at the last minute by a very hyperactive Bra, was the only one who knew exactly what this latest get together was about, other than her brother and Marron. Everyone was coming, including the original Z fighters that were still alive and the Earth's guardian Dende, and the human's had even convinced their students to tag along for the ride!
It was the perfect opportunity for a very overeager Trunks to see just how strong his fellow warriors had become, especially his childhood friend and rival Goten, who kept his training habits a close secret. The strength of the new batch of fighters would also be nice to know, since Trunks had heard they were stronger than their masters, and he was almost as giddy as his little sister. Not that that was the reason Bra was throwing this little party together for him, but it would still serve to the hybrid prince's advantage in the long run.
Bra was still frantically going about the place when the first of the guest started to show up, way ahead of schedule since it was only 2 p.m. and the party wasn't until later on at about 4:30. Still, Trunks offered to go and get the door while his sister continued to get ready and Marron rested on the sofa, moving quickly towards the front door to the massive compound and swinging the door open. He was so anxious to see whoever was at the door that he hadn't even bothered to try and get a ki reading, which turned out to be a mistake as he was pinned to the floor by a small boy.
"Uncle Trunks!" the boy laughed, "Your hair got long!"
"And I see that you've gotten heavy lately, Medon," Trunks chuckled picking the boy up in his arms, "Your mom been feeding you that well, huh?"
"Yep!" Medon grinned broadly, "Mommy's the best!"
Trunks couldn't help but smile whenever his old friend's son was in the room, as Medon was a constant reminder of the kind of free spirits that Trunks and Goten had been as children. He was only two years old, making his overactive nature seem almost normal were he a full-blooded human, but as a Saiya-jin it had a tendency to make things blow up when he got really wired. Still, Medon was all around the kind of good kid that his uncle Goten NEVER was as a child, even sharing the hairstyle that his father had sported at the same age, so they guessed it must be Gohan's influence in him.
Speaking of Gohan, now the oldest Saiya-jin on the planet with Vegeta disappearing all those years ago, the first of the hybrids wasn't looking to bad at all for a forty or so year old Saiya-jin warrior. As a matter of fact, Gohan didn't look any older now that he had when he graduated from high school, the only visible difference being his bulked up muscles from his intense training. The power Trunks could feel radiating off of the scholarly Saiya-jin was another strong clue as to his progress in the last four years, easily surpassing the power of anyone else in the house.
Videl, on the other hand, was starting to show her age to some degree, though she didn't look a day past thirty, but the gray hair that had begun to streak through her hair was a definite indicator of her years. Not that that wasn't understandable, seeing as she was only a human and she had been taking care of Gohan and the children for close to twenty years now. That would be enough to make anybody get a few grays, or a few hundred in the case of Goku's other son, Goten, but Trunks was smart and avoided mentioning anything to Videl.
"So Trunks, what's all this about?" Gohan asked calmly, "I hate not being in on what's going down in my friend's personal lives."
"You'll find out later, along with everyone else, but it's good to see you again Gohan," Trunks chuckled, "I see you've been doing some training of your own. Maybe we could spar sometime?"
"You'd be way out of your league Trunks, I can sense that much," Gohan laughed, shaking his friend's hand, "Besides, don't you have your hands full enough training Bra and Marron, plus running the company, without having spars with old buddies?"
"Yeah, I guess so, but it just sucks to train with people that are so much weaker than you are!" Trunks grumbled, "I mean, I love Marron and Bra to death, but Marron is still weaker than her mother and Bra is barely even a Super Saiya-jin, nowhere near my level!"
"Maybe an old buddy can help out with that problem Trunks, even two of us!" a new voice called out from behind, "Unless you've become a big chicken in the last four years, that is..."
Trunks smiled wide as he whipped around behind Gohan to see a blast from his past standing smugly in the doorway, two other's tagging along on any given side of his being. Even if he hadn't recognized the ki signature of his new guests, that wild hair and goofy grin would've given Son Goten away no matter where he was or with who, once again looking like a younger version of his father. Trunks did think something seemed a little off with his friend, however, seeing as Goten's power didn't seem to have risen at all in four years, but waved it off quickly as ki suppression and turned to the rest of the group.
Ubuu was looking as fit as he ever had, his darker skin stretching perfectly over his finely tuned muscles, covered up by a black t-shirt and a pair of rather loose fitting blue jeans. Everyone knew for a fact that Ubuu hated wearing such clothes no matter where he was, so Trunks guessed that Pan must've picked his clothes out or that Ubuu had just given up and gone with the flow. The only thing that hadn't changed about Ubuu in the past four years was that thick black mohawk of his, though everyone could sense his ki had grown tremendously.
The last, but not least member of the newly arrived group stood to Goten's right and there was also no mistaking who she was, since the way she dressed quite clearly gave it away. Pan had grown up into a very attractive young woman over the last four years, despite her young age of only fifteen, but she continued to cover herself in the classic tomboy look she had sported as a child. Some things would just never change, no matter how many years ended up going by, but it was still refreshing to see all of them once again after so long apart.
"Hey guys, everyone seems to be showing up early!" Trunks smiled, "Where's Paresu?"
"She took off for the kitchen while you were talking to Gohan, no doubt to see if Bra needed any help," Goten pointed behind his friend, "And besides, we have a good reason for showing up early!"
"If it's to get your hands on Bra's cooking before the party, then you can forget about that one pal," Trunks chuckled, "I tried to sneak a cookie out for Marron real quick and she blasted my hand! She's on the warpath in that kitchen man!"
"You Saiya-jin are all the same, always thinking about food and fighting before anything else," Ubuu shook his head, "How your race ever survived to make you, I'll never know."
"It's because we're just that good, Ubuu," Pan grinned, rubbing the Indian man's head hard, "And speaking of fighting Trunks, Goten wanted to know if you were up for a quick spar before this thing got started?"
"I don't see why not, but Bra and Marron won't be able to join us I'm afraid," Trunks shrugged, "What do you say to that Gohan? Think you can take a quick spar with the youngsters in your old age?"
"I'll show you who's old, Trunks," Gohan laughed, patting the prince on the back hard, "Let's take this into the gravity room!"
"Right on!" Goten cheered, "There's nothing like a spar before a meal!"
The rest of the group just laughed at Goten as they headed towards the gravity room on the far side of the building, Goten's attitude towards fighting reminding them all oddly of his father. They were already long gone by the time Bra came into the living room to greet her other guests, stopping short when she looked around and noticed that everyone was gone already. For a minute she thought that everyone had just left to come back later, but a quick scan of the area revealed them to simply be heading for the gravity room for a while.
The hybrid female just shook her head as she turned around and headed back into the kitchen to get back to work, not really surprised that everyone had taken off for the training facilities first. They were, after all, Saiya-jin like she was and Bra would have given anything to join them in there, though she knew she had to stay behind to make sure the food got prepared. After all, there was nothing wrong with a friendly spar before dinner, but when dinner itself was absent in the presence of a group of Saiya-jin, you had best be prepared for war!
"I just hope Trunks is careful this time," Bra sighed, "I don't feel like repairing the gravity room again this month..."
Just past the red planet known as Mars to the inhabitants of the Sol system, a small cluster of pods shot through the stay vacuum of space at rapid speeds, heading straight ahead for their destination. There were a total of four pods in the cluster, each containing one occupant as they avoided some as of yet unknown follower, constantly checking the radar to see if they were being followed. Not that it would do any good for them, seeing as their enemies always traveled in stealth pods, so they wouldn't show up on the scope anyway, but there was always hope.
Each occupant of the four pods was dressed in a strange type of armor that, while resembling the Saiya-jin armor of old, was slightly modified and could take considerably more damage than that. In addition to that, every one of them was equipped with a device over their right eye that resembled a monocle or something that was attached to their face by a large suction cup. The device constantly displayed random numbers as they drew closer and closer to their target, but were also used as a means of communication between the four partners.
"I just got in a report that we may be being followed by one of those bastards who tried to get us back on Yardratsei," one of the occupants, an older male, sighed, "Do any of you see anything on the scope or have you picked up any unusual powers on the scouter?"
"No sir, but I still think that we should keep an eye open just in case," a slightly raspy, pitiful sounding voice spoke up, "Then we'd at least be more likely to spot any abnormalities."
"I'm with the lizard man on this one, boss," another man spoke up, "Better to be safe and alive then to be stupid and dead."
"I agree, so tell that other lazy one that he needs to keep a watch on the other scouter and radar, just in case," the apparent leader mused, "We can't afford to not inform out brethren of what's going on without their knowledge."
"Do you think they'll even listen to us?" the raspy voice hissed, "Our forefather's didn't exactly leave the best mark for us to come in on..."
"We'll be fine, don't worry so much," the leader sighed, taking one last look at his radar, "Assuming the dark one's don't catch up with us first...."
Author's Notes: This chapter didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to, but I got all I needed to get down, so it'll have to do for the time being. I still have quite a cast of characters to introduce, including the new human fighters, but they will be in the next chapter as the party gets under way. As for the four at the end of the chapter, they are the ones in space mentioned in the last chapter, but you won't find out just who they really are for a while yet, so stay tuned for that! Now, to recognize my fans!
Draco the Destroyer: Yeah, that was kind of ironic, you finding the story and all, but I'm glad you did! Nice to know you liked the start of the story and I can assured, it's much better than the start of the original version ever was. Hope to see you again soon!
Gomer: The first reviewer of edition one and the second for this rewrite, it's good to see your reviews again man! Maybe this time I'll see a little bit more of you!
Erica: My first reviewer, thanks for reading. Keep that support coming in!!!