"Dragonball AS: Destroyer Saga"
Chapter 24- "Of Endings and Beginnings"
By- Tiny
Krillin's funeral had been a somber occasion, filled with both joy and sadness as those who had known him and been close to him came to pay their respects to the departed warrior. Tien and Yamcha, both older than their short friend by a considerable number of years, had nearly broken down into sobbing heaps at the sight of his peaceful, if not aged looking body. Jace was there as well, his eyes misty with tears he refused to let fall, knowing good and well that his mentor was now in a better place, though you could tell he wanted to bawl as the two elder warrior's had.
Trunks himself had shown no emotion in either way regarding his father-in-law's passing, save to hug both his wife and his son, who couldn't quite grasp why Krillin wasn't waking up. Marron, on the other hand, had been an emotional wreck who couldn't do much more than hold her son tight and cry on her husband's shoulder, especially when they had to lower the casket into the ground. It had been an altogether sad day for the extended family that called themselves the Z fighters, and one that was about to get much, much worse...
The Briefs family had gone home for the remainder of the day, opting not to have a big get together as they had after Goten's passing, and were accompanied by Jace, Juunana, and Juunana's wife, Amy. The dark-haired cyborg and his wife were sitting in the living room with Jace as Trunks emerged from the upstairs shower, having changed into his more casual attire. Marron had laid down for the day, exhausted from crying so much and from just the recent events in general, and little Boxer had decided he could use a rest himself and laid down with his mother.
"I just can't believe it," Juunana shook his head, "Krillin doted on Juuhachi, did everything he could to make things right for her and Marron, and then she did something like this."
"I don't get it either, especially where Yugin is concerned," Jace agreed, "He knew what he was doing was wrong, yet he acted on his animal urges anyway and then...I just don't get it."
"Drop it guys, Marron is trying to rest and hearing you talking like this wouldn't do her any good," Trunks shushed his guests, entering the room, "What's done is done, we can't change it even if we wanted to. All we can do now is try to move on...and hope it all works out for the best."
"Easier said than done Trunks," Juunana grumbled, pulling his wife close, "Especially when we're all training to fight something that not only killed Goten, but also took Vegeta out!"
"I had almost forgotten about that with all that's been going on lately," Trunks smiled, his eyes distant, "I wonder what Goten's doing in the Other World...if he's met up with his dad, or mine."
"Not likely, Goku is a good distance from anybody, not even the Kaio-Shin's can find him!" Jace chuckled, "Or at least he was when I was still there. Perhaps things have changed a bit..."
Trunks was about to inquire further about Jace's life in the afterlife and what he knew of it, but was cut short when a very breathless and flustered looking servant came bursting into the room. They had been informed not to disturb Trunks unless it was of the utmost importance today, and apparently it was because the servant had come running with a small disc in his hand. It was a video disc from what Trunks could determine, probably filmed down in the lab somewhere, and his curiosity quickly became aroused as he rose to greet the servant man.
"Mr. Briefs, I know you didn't wish to be disturbed, but an urgent video message was just received from the Intrepid," the servant panted, "I thought it best to come to you right away, sir."
"And right you were, thanks," Trunks gulped, "You may go now."
"What the hell is the Intrepid?" Juunana asked, watching as Trunks put the disc into his monitor, "Some kind of a ship?"
"Not just any ship, it's a scout ship that Kimuchi and Gohan went out on to train themselves further," Trunks said quickly, "If the message is that urgent...then something has gone very wrong."
"Well, then don't keep us in suspense!" Jace snapped, "Play the damn recording!"
Trunks didn't need to be told twice as he pushed the disc in and the recording automatically started up it's recording, showing an image of the inside of the ship and a very battered Gohan. His face was covered in blood, both his own and that of some other unknown race of creatures, and heavy breathing could be heard in the background somewhere. The most gruesome part of the image was the face that Gohan had a huge, open gash running down the front of his face, one of his eyes either sealed up or missing as the lids had closed.
The inside of the ship was dark, so much so that you could barely make out the room Gohan was sitting in as he spoke, not to mention the dark blood that stained the walls around him. Spark flew about every now and again from where the ship had sustained heavy damage, the alert system disabled somehow as the red lights were not flashing indicating a hull breach somewhere. Something had gone very wrong in space, something that Gohan had felt important enough to send back home, and everyone in the room was dead silent as he spoke.
"To those on Earth, who I have spent my life trying to protect, if you are hearing this right now, then it means that Kimuchi and I did not survive," Gohan panted, his good eye glossy with tears, "The enemy...was far closer than any of us could have realized, having already passed Yardratsei and closing rapidly. We had no choice but to engage them on the planet's surface. Their weaker troops were easily taken care of, but the seven ringleaders...they beat us as though we were nothing but rag dolls."
"My gods...they're that strong, they overpowered our two strongest," Jace gulped, his mouth open wide, "Unbelievable..."
"We managed to get to the ship, but Kimuchi had already been severely injured from a blast to his chest before we got away," Gohan continued, "Even with our medical equipment, I was unable to save him...he doesn't even have an hour left to live...and our ship has sustained heavy damage. This message is all we can give to our families back home, as the enemy is near and I doubt that they will let us live to see you all again."
"Gohan...no," Juunana gulped, "He's the strongest we had...our best hope..."
"I was able to damage their ships engines quite a bit and scramble their records of where our home is, but it may still not be enough," Gohan sighed heavily, "Our time has been significantly reduced, I doubt that it will take them more than one year to find Earth...cutting your training time down. I know you will all find a way to win, and all my hopes...all my dreams for my children and my mate now rest on your shoulders, Trunks. I love you all...good-bye..."
The screen went fuzzy after that, leaving the occupants of the room in dead silence as they either tried to dry their tears or just pondered what Gohan had told them on the flight recording. Amy looked halfway on the verge of crying more than Marron had in just that one day, her eyes puffy already and her husband not much better off as he held her close to his chest. The older Saiya-jin had been as influential a part of Juunana's life as he had anyone else's, and the impact of his passing hit home like a ton of bricks in the very center of his body.
Trunks, on the other hand, did not appear sad as he got up to eject the disc from it's player, his eyes ablaze with a mixture of anger and guilt as he threw the disc clean through the nearest wall. His muscles were tense and tight as he turned to face his friends in the room, seeing a similar look on Jace's face as the red-haired human rose to his feet silently. Gohan and Kimuchi had been the best hope for the Earth's warriors, the strongest of the Saiya-jin left alive and the oldest, the ones they looked up to for inspiration...and now they were gone. It was an offense that would not be tolerated, not anymore...
"Contact the others...tell them to meet me at the Lookout," Trunks snarled, reaching for the sword given to him years ago, "I will inform them of our dilemma there myself."
"Trunks, what are you planning?" Jace asked calmly, "Why the Lookout and not here?"
"Because our time is shortened and we must now take our training to a new level of intensity...and we have lost our dearest friends," Trunks sighed, "I am not going to lose anymore friends to this crisis! Those bastards are going to pay for this, I'll stake my life on it!"
The others were speechless as Trunks stormed out of the front door, his lavender hair standing on end as he took off into the air, heading for the Lookout to work out his strategy. They had never seen Trunks so angry before, not since Goten was killed back at the Budokai, and it was once they got a good look at the Saiya-jin's face as he stormed off that something hit home. The way he carried his body, the way he spoke just before he left, and the way his eyes narrowed as he stormed out the door...they all brought back old memories as a smile spread to Juunana's face.
"Maybe we still have some hope after all," the cyborg mused, "Especially if he keeps acting so much like his father..."
The vortex warped every few minutes before Goten as he stood entranced before it, his currently jade eyes gazing into it as he felt his grandfather and Piccolo walk up behind him. It had taken them two years just to reach this swirling mass just beyond the Kaio-Shin's world, being told he couldn't use Instant Transmission to get there for fear of rupturing the seal over Hell and releasing it's inmates. This was the gateway that would lead him to his father, but he had been warned that it would not be an easy task reaching the legendary warrior...possibly even risking his own existence in his search.
"Are you alright kid?" Bardock asked, putting his hand on the younger Saiya-jin's shoulder, "You look worried."
"I'm not worried...just a bit intimidated," Goten gulped, "I'm trying to find the greatest warrior the universe has ever known, a journey the Kai's told me may destroy everything that I am. It's a bit overwhelming."
"To a Saiya-jin warrior, no task is overwhelming or impossible, no matter how dangerous others may say it is," Bardock smirked, "I was born a low-class warrior, without any hope of surpassing a power level of 2,000...and yet I rose to the ranks of being stronger than any Saiya-jin save King Vegeta..."
"Quit being so high on yourself Bardock, Goten doesn't need to hear anymore of your stories of yesteryear," Piccolo coughed, "Remember, we have a job to do and the last thing he needs is for you to make him overly confident."
"Relax Piccolo, it can't possibly be that bad," Goten chuckled, looking very much like his father, "My father was the greatest fighter ever...anything he can do, I can do too! Now let's get this operation started!"
Piccolo could only smirk as he watched the young Saiya-jin hybrid jump rather childishly into the swirling vortex, the innocence that had once oozed out of Goku now radiating just as strongly off of Goten. Even Bardock, though he could not sense energy levels or emotions though ki, could feel the carefree attitude that lingered around his grandson's body. It was a feeling that made the two aged, vastly experienced warriors even more on edge than before, since this mission was going to be hazardous and if Goten didn't take it seriously...someone had to.
"Well, no time like the present to take the plunge," Bardock chuckled, cracking his knuckles, "See you on the other side, green bean!"
"And I thought Goku was childlike," Piccolo shook his head, watching as Bardock jumped in after his grandson, "Oh well, someone needs to keep an eye on those two..."
And with that, as the large Nameksei-jin stepped through the swirling portal, that the most critical journey in the history of both the Z fighters and the universe began; the hunt for Son Goku...
...End Destroyer Saga...
Fully Updated Power Chart
Enemy Fighters
Bosses: Over 120,000,000
Average Troops: 12,000,000
Earth Warriors
Mystic Gohan: 120,000,000
Mystic Kimuchi: 118,500,000
SSJ3 Trunks: 105,000,000
SSJ3 Berge: 95,000,000
Ubuu: 85,000,000
Juunana: 80,000,000
SH Marron: 72,500,000
SSJ2 Apio: 74,000,000
SNJ Sanil: 68,000,000
Ice: 66,500,000
SSJ2 Pan: 65,000,000
SSJ2 Bra: 62,500,000
Juuhachi: 60,000,000
Roshi: 56,500,000
Yuno: 54,000,000
Yugin: 52,500,000
Bonzar: 52,000,000
Jace: 50,000,000
Bruno: 48,500,000
Other World Warriors
SSJ3 Goten: 100,000,000
SNJ Piccolo: 64,500,000
Bardock: 2,500,000
Authors Notes: This concludes the first part of the Dragonball AS legacy, with the death of Krillin fresh in everyone's minds and they will now have two more fallen allies to mourn. I won't be giving any specific review recognitions in this chapter, mainly because I heard is not happy with author's recognizing reviewers, and thus I would like to thank you all for your support. There will be an epilogue after this chapter that goes into details about the damage sustained by the enemy, plus a glimpse at what the dark warriors' commander looks like.
Again, thank you all for you support of this story and me in general, and I hope to see you again in the next part of this story. Until then, farewell...