JJ: It's about time!
BM: So, anyway, if you've been reading my stories for a LONG time, you'll know that I had actually gone a long way in this story, but then I decided it was just moving TOO slow, so I removed all the chapters and put up an authors note like a hundred years ago. Now, I'm finally bringing it back, continuing from Return from Darkness. No, this story doesn't really stand alone, and if you don't read Return from Darkness you're going to be quite lost. However, you might get away without The Secret Wars (Though I don't recommend it)
JJ: Blah blah, yadda yadda, etcetera. GET ON WITH IT!
BM: You are REALLY impatient
JJ: Your point?
BM: My point is
JJ: You don't own Dragonball Z, only Punch and Teal?
BM: Yes! NO! That wasn't it, but
JJ: As you'll remember, our last story left off with this, which is a multipurpose epilogue and prologue. Here it is, with a little more.
Chapter 1
Prologue/a change in plans: destination altered
"It's done" Chi Chi sighed. Bulma smiled at her old friend and nodded.
On the edge of the crater, one building still stood. The school. C. Trunks prepared to send a blast to finish it off, but Bulma stopped him.
"I have an idea" she said
24 and Oolong landed the ship next to the school, and Dr. Briefs and Punch worked to renovate a room in the school while the others cleaned it up as best they could, while still leaving traces of the titanic battle that took place. Bulma quickly constructed a beacon and a computer which contained the entire history of the ice-jins and the story of their demise, which they left behind in the school after boarding the ship and taking off. Any space traveler who stopped to investigate the beacon would see a large stone tablet carved with these words:
"Let it be known, this was the setting for the titanic battle that finally rid the universe of the ice-jin scourge and their horrible planet trade"
Bulma stepped onto the bridge and looked around like a little girl in a candy store.
"Oh DAD!" She cried, running to the different panels.
"Coffee?" 24 asked, offering a tray to her. She thanked him and watched as he went and sat down, plugging himself into the ship.
"Alright, begin take off" Dr. Briefs said
"Roger!" Both Yajirobe and Oolong said. As they began the checks, Bulma grinned.
"This is GREAT!" she cried. Dr. Briefs laughed.
"You should strap in" he said. Bulma nodded and walked to her chair, sitting next to one of the former slaves.
"Thank you for bringing us along with you" the young woman said
"Oh, don't even mention it. How could we leave someone in need behind?" she asked with a wink. The woman smiled softly. As the final checks finished and the engines began humming, Dr. Briefs buckled in and nodded to Oolong.
"Lets all go home" he said. Oolong grinned.
"Roger that" and the last they saw of the planet it was quickly fading from view as the ship fell upward into the starry sky.
At this point, it should be known that this story ends. Nice ending huh? But I KNOW you don't want that to be EVERYTHING, so there's a bonus. The beginning of the next story, which is in the process of being revamped and completely changed, so much that it's not even the same story. War of Legends will be making a comeback folks, and now, the beginning. This story takes place directly after Return from Darkness. Enjoy
The refugees on the final planet on the way to Earth waved as the ship took off into the sky, which left only the Z Senshi and a few former slaves from Earth on the ship.
"We're finally going home" A woman cheered. She and her family had been on the Ice-jin planet for nearly five years, and now they were finally on their way back to Earth. Teal smiled at her.
"Yes, it will be my first time on Earth" she said. The woman grinned.
"It's great!" she said. Teal smiled again. Things were going beautifully, and tomorrow they'd be on Earth again. Things were almost too perfect, but she simply credited that to the fates giving them a break after their grueling battle. If only it were true.
Suddenly, the entire ship shook, knocking her to the deck. She stood up and looked around wildly, then told the woman and her family to wait there while she went to find out what was going on. She ran out the door and ran directly into Bulma, who was dashing madly towards the bridge.
"Bulma, what's going on?" she asked
"There seems to be some sort of break in the space-time continuum caused by a number of things, but mainly a bunch of energy clinging to the ship. We entered a new warp speed a few minutes ago and that seems to be 'the straw that broke the camel's back' so to speak, and are you actually understanding what I'm saying!" Bulma asked incredulously
"I AM a scientist" Teal said. Bulma grinned.
"Well then, you should come with me. I'm going to go talk to my dad. We know what's going on, we just don't know what to do about it"
Here's where chapter one begins
Bulma and Teal burst onto the bridge and Dr. Briefs looked up at them.
"Bulma, Teal" he nodded briefly before going back to frantically punching keys on his keyboard
"Dad! What's the status?"
"Well, we're currently hurtling through the time-space continuum at an alarming speed, at the rate we're going the ship could be ripped apart at any moment, and when the ship lurched I spilled my favorite gourmet coffee all over my coat, and I won't be able to get more until we get back to Earth" he said. She nodded.
"Right, well, is there a way to slow us down?" Teal asked
"Not without risking pulling the ship apart in the slowdown, we only have the secondary emergency reverse drive functioning" Bulma said
"Can we fix the gradual reversal?"
"Bulma or I could, but we can't risk leaving the bridge in case something vital happens"
"Hmm, may I see the schematics?" she asked. Bulma reached into a compartment and pulled them out, turning to the reverse drive. Teal looked it over, her eyes flying over the measurements.
"Right, leave it to me" She said, running out the door
"Teal, wait!"
"Let her be darling, I'm certain she has a plan, a much better one than either of us could come up with at the moment"
Teal ran through the ship, bumping into Yamcha and Tien on the way.
"Teal, I don't suppose you know what's going on?" Tien said
"Honestly, I do. Now would you come with me please? I may need help" she said
"With what?"
"Fixing the reverse drive so we can slow the ship down, hopefully enough so we can all get out, and not have the entire thing ripped apart" she said. Yamcha blinked
"Suddenly, you remind me of Bulma right now" he said. She raised an eyebrow
"If the two of you aren't going to help me, would you mind getting out of the way?" she asked. Yamcha shook his head
"We'll help"
"Follow me" she said. Tien moved out of the way and she ran passed, leading the way to the engine room
"Bulma" Teal's voice came over the intercom "Yes, what is it?" "I'm going to slow the ship down as much as I can by fixing the reverse drive and activating it. Once that happens, you need to have everyone launch from the ship in escape pods" "What about you? There aren't any escape pods in the engine room" "Don't worry about that, I can make it in time. Just worry about getting everyone else out!" "Teal-" "Don't worry, we'll make sure she's safe" Yamcha's voice came through "Yeah Bulma, don't worry" Tien's voice joined in "What are you two?" "No time! Make the announcement!" Teal's voice cut out and Bulma sighed "Alright Dad, time to make an announcement"
"Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking" Bulma's voice came through, tinged slightly with humor "Please make your way to the escape pods, we have a plan implemented that should be able to slow the ship down enough for you to escape safely. When I give the signal, I want you to launch your escape pods. They are already preprogrammed to head for Earth, all you have to do is activate them. Yajirobe, please direct traffic"
"Yes ma'am!" Yajirobe saluted the intercom "Alright people" he said "I want all you people" he pointed at the refugees "To make your way to the large door right there"
"And you guys" he pointed to the Z fighters "Some of you need to make sure everyone's all out of their rooms. The rest of you should get to the escape pods reserved for crew members"
"Alright" Goku said "Hey, what about Bulma and Dr. Briefs, and 24?" he asked
"They're the last to leave, they have to make sure the ship doesn't go crashing before the escape pods leave" Yajirobe said
"How are they going to slow down the ship?" Chi Chi asked. Yajirobe shrugged.
"Chi Chi, you make sure everyone gets on the pods" Goku directed "Gohan, I want you and Trunks to make sure everyone's out of their rooms"
"Sure thing Dad" Gohan said, taking off for the rooms
"I'm gonna talk to Bulma" he said. Chi Chi nodded.
"You make sure you get out of here, Goku" she stated simply. He nodded and placed to fingers to his forehead before vanishing
"Come on Chi Chi" Yajirobe said "You should get loaded up" he pointed to a pod where Eighteen, Videl, and Lunch were motioning wildly for her. She nodded.
"When do you load up?" she asked
"After everyone else" he replied
"Make sure you get out" she said. He nodded and waved her on.
"Make sure you guys take good care of Marron" Krillin said. Goten and Trunks nodded.
"Go on Daddy" she said "I'll be fine!"
"Krillin, do we all have to go in separate pods? What if something happens?"
"Go on Eighteen, I'll be fine, you'll be fine, and Marron'll be fine" he said "I wanna make sure everyone gets on. I'll grab a pod with Goku and the others" he said. Eighteen sighed.
"Alright, but if something happens to you, I swear I'll kill myself and come after you" she warned. He nodded with a nervous chuckle.
"Just make sure I'm dead first" he replied
"I wanna wait for Tien!" Lunch protested
"Come on" Chi Chi urged, pushing her, Eighteen, and Videl through the door into the pod.
"Alright, laun-HEY! Let me go Goku! YAH!" Bulma's voice cut out and suddenly Goku appeared with Tien, Yamcha, Bulma, and Dr. Briefs. 24 had stayed to make sure the ship made it to Earth, along with Oolong.
"GO!" he shoved Teal and Bulma through the door then nearly DRAGGED Tien and Yamcha to another where he shoved them and Krillin in along with Seventeen and Vegeta, who protested loudly.
"Come ON" he said
"Kakarot, what are you-" Goku shoved Yajirobe into the pod with the refugees with instructions to care for them, then quickly did a scan. Where was Gohan!
Dad, get going! Gohan's voice came into his head
Gohan! Where are you
We're checking the last few rooms. Go
But
"Come on Goku!" Piccolo grabbed his arm and pulled him into the pod just as the lock clicked. 24 kept one pod open for Trunks and Gohan. He ran a scan of the ship and ensured all others were gone, then quickly used built in transporters to move Trunks and Gohan to the launch bay.
"Please board the pod, sensors indicate there are no others, and time is short" His voice came over the speakers. Gohan took the little girl he had found and loaded her into the largest pod before 24 relocked it, then boarded the final pod with Trunks and Gohan.
"Let's go!" He said. Trunks closed the pod and 24 quickly triggered the launch mechanism, sending them out, not noticing the slightly lowered shields of the last pod.
"Danger, danger!" The alarm suddenly went off "Instability in the stream, executing safety protocol for life boats. Life boat one, leveling complete. Lifeboat two" the protocols cut off as power to the main computer suddenly failed, and back up came up. 24 panicked as the pods one by one executed the stream, most before or after they were supposed to. Only the lifeboat carrying Dr. Briefs, Yajirobe, and the refugees made it out at the correct time. The rest would be sent to a different time.
"24, what happened?" Oolong asked
"They're, the continuum is instable. It could send them to almost anywhere" he said worriedly "I know for a fact that the lifeboat made it safely, but the rest…they most likely ended up scattered over the Earth, in a completely different time"
"But, what about"
"Do not worry, they should be unharmed"
"Danger, shields on pod seven lower than recommended level. Power surge detected"
"Oh great, NOW the alarms go off!" Oolong exclaimed
"Identify passengers" came 24's voice
"Occupants, Briefs Trunks, age 16 and Son Gohan, age 16"
"You got a malfunction there?" Oolong asked "Gohan and Trunks are both twenty one
"Unfortunately no, their biological auras indicate they are both seventeen" 24 said. Oolong gulped.
"That can't be good"
The space pods all passed out of the warp and into normal space just outside Earth's atmosphere, then quickly entered Earth's atmosphere, surprisingly all in the same time period. A large satellite detected the entry and sent a message to a space station currently orbiting on the other side of the planet.
'That's strange' the figure at the monitor thought, quickly sending a message to several people on the Earth.
The pod carrying the women descended through the sky like a meteor, Bulma at the controls fighting to stabilize their entry. She managed to bring it to a flat glide. Teal looked out the window, searching for a suitable place to land, struggling to see through the steam caused by the close proximity to the ocean after their burning entry. Unnoticed behind them, a small jet gently glided along.
As the entry to the Earth's atmosphere progressed, it was apparent that the capsule carrying Goku and the other male Z Senshi was out of control.
A figure flew up and began attempting to slow down the capsule. Unfortunately, he only managed to compound the problem when the capsule broke apart. Fortunately, the atmosphere had cooled down sufficiently, and the Z Senshi spilled out and began to fly. All but one. Vegeta, somewhat disoriented, began to fall. The figure watched in horror as a figure zipping along on a motorcycle below was struck by the falling figure. A figure on a flying motorcycle.
The pod carrying the chibis was sufficiently slowed by Trunks and landed safely, although somewhat roughly. Its small passengers unloaded somewhat wobbly, looking around shakily.
"Where are we?" Goten asked, looking at the desert-like surroundings
"I dunno, it looks like we're on Earth, but I don't see anything familiar. And we've been just about everywhere there is to go" Trunks said
"Yeah, I don't recognize this place at all" Marron agreed
"Ah HA! I knew they landed around here!" A voice said triumphantly. The chibis jumped, turning to face the speaker.
Trunks landed the pod roughly on top of a large building, walking out shakily supporting a dizzy Gohan.
"Man, what a landing" Gohan said dazedly. Trunks shook his head.
"I swear, you've got to have the hardest head" he said. It was then he realized he seemed a bit lower to the ground than usual. He left Gohan to walk by himself for a moment and then looked at himself in a piece of glass.
"Hey, Trunks. Did you shrink?"
"I…I don't know" he said "I look a little different" He then really looked at Gohan "Gohan, did you grow your hair out?"
"No, why?"
"Look" he held up a piece of glass. Gohan recognized his face. The one he had five years ago.
"What the!" he exclaimed in shock, taking the glass from his friend.
"And just what are you doing up here?" a quiet yet firm voice asked. They gulped.