It was... incredibly disturbing to find the past not as he expected, and even more disturbing to realize that his most hated enemies were not even activated in this timeline.
This Android, weird and placid, was the first thing he had seen in this time. How terrifyingly powerful it was, yet gentle, was unsettling. It was far stronger than the Androids of his time, that much was obvious. Even 17 wouldn't have come out smiling after the attack he had unleashed on the hulking giant, were he to get an unguarded hit on him, yet this one had shrugged it off without the slightest effort.
The trip was short, mercifully so, and the knot that was tying itself in his stomach had little chance to further entangle his emotions. They stopped before a massive blast door that cleanly slid open to admit the giant. The hum of lights filled the tunnel that appeared.
Tac...tac...tac...
The journey was short, blessedly enough. Before long, he emerged into a much larger chamber, furnished with many scientific devices and some pods lining the walls. Most importantly...he saw his mother, talking animatedly with a wizened old man at a table, accompanied by a massively muscled bald man and a clownish-looking individual of indeterminate sex.
"Dr. Gero. The individual that was detected is here, and has an interesting tale to tell," stated 16 in a monotone.
Bulma whirled round, as did the rest of those present. Trunks was still trying to process his mother being literally in the den of the single person responsible for destroying his entire life. He struggled for a minute to gather his thoughts. He tried to speak, but was cut off by a confusedly accusatory tone.
"Hey, that's my old jacket...how in the world did you get your hands on it?" Bulma asked sharply.
Before an answer could be given, the hulking bald man was in Trunks' face, glaring pointedly. "I hope you have a good explanation, boy." The dangerous glint in his eyes left no doubt that he intended to have some damage done were the explanation not satisfactory.
"Christ, Nappa! Give him some time to answer, you oaf!" Bulma punched the general in the shoulder.
More questions were percolating like coffee in Trunks' mind, but he shook his head to clear it. "My name is...not important right now. What is important is...well, I am from the future."
Shocked looks from Nappa and Bulma answered him, but an intrigued harrumph issued from the old man. "Fascinating... So it is possible, as I suspected..." He looked as though he was about to pepper Trunks with questions, but Bulma held a hand up.
"Let him finish, you old fart!" She turned back to Trunks. "Sorry, he's a sucker for anything that he thinks might be new technology. Still...you're saying you're from the future? How does that work?"
Trunks sighed. "In my future...things turned out much differently than they have here. Dr. Gero released Androids 17 and 18, which promptly turned on him and then destroyed the surface of the Earth, hunting down humans for sport. Vegeta was killed, Krillin, Tienshinhan...everyone. Goku died of a heart virus shortly after killing Frieza when he came back from Namek...though from what I understand, that's not what's happened here. It's... confusing and I'm not sure what to think at this point."
Shock was evident on the faces of all those who could show emotion. Even 19's face was attempting an expression of horror.
Dr. Gero himself was the first to speak. "My future self...lost himself to his madness, it seems..." He trailed off, deeply troubled.
Bulma patted the chair next to her. "Sit down. It looks like we have a lot to talk about."
They did indeed have a lot to talk about. It took them nearly three hours to get every difference between their two timelines hammered out. It was a shock for Trunks to learn that this Nappa was indeed the same one who died when Vegeta visited Earth in his timeline.
In light of the situation being explained by Trunks, the good Doctor immediately shut down the power support for 17 and 18's pods, deeming them too dangerous to be reactivated until everything could be worked out. This avoided any potential mishaps with activations; without Gero's passcode, the Androids could not activate, and would thus be entirely inert.
Most surprising was the offer by Gero to send a solution to the Android problem back with Trunks. He brought them to a hidden sublab, where a small creature floated in green liquid. "This is Cell, a creature made from the DNA of Earth's most powerful fighters. Originally...he was made as a backup to 17 and 18, in case somehow they were defeated by Goku or his power exceeded theirs before activation. He was made to absorb them and become much stronger, but unlike the Androids, he is entirely reliant on my programming for his personality. I'll make some tweaks and accelerate his growth. From what you are saying, he will be needed as a protector for your time."
Hope...no, ecstatic joy filled Trunks' heart. This...was surely a deity's answer to his prayers and work.
According to Gero, it would take about a week for Cell to reach his larval form now, and about three days after that to mature to his Imperfect form. Once the larval form was achieved, he could be taken back to the future and he would deal with the Androids. Gero cautioned that Cell was, unfortunately, going to be rather arrogant as a result of absorbing the Androids, but his primary directive, overriding all others, would be to protect Trunks and follow his orders at all costs. There would be no subversion of any orders given. In essence, Cell would be a blank slate.
This was far more than Trunks had ever hoped for, even in his absolute wildest dreams.
The time came, though, for the awkward revelation of his parentage.
"Say, though...you never told me why you have my jacket..." Bulma prompted. Trunks sighed, having hoped he would be able to avoid this but realizing he couldn't.
"...you gave it to me, in the future. You're...my mother, Bulma."
Nappa began furiously choking on a chicken bone, and only the timely intervention of Android 16 kept him from suffocating.
"Well...that's... interesting..." she trailed off. "Wait a minute, if I'm your mother, who's your father?"
"...Vegeta."
Nappa again tried to commit suicide by chicken bone. This time, it took both 16 and 19 working together to dislodge the homicidal bone. Hacking and wheezing, he turned to the time traveler and managed to hack out, "You're seriously claiming the Prince is your father?! What proof do you have?!"
"I have analyzed his DNA structure. He is undoubtedly the son of Vegeta and Bulma," intoned 16.
"I don't care if you've analyzed it. I want proof!" shouted the Saiyan general.
"Is this proof enough?" asked Trunks quietly. He stepped away from the table and gently raised his power level until he broke into the Super Saiyan transformation. The jagged flames of the energy whirred around him, and his eyes shone the teal of the Super Saiyan transformation.
"If it makes you feel better, Vegeta died a Super Saiyan in my timeline," Trunks said as he powered down, somewhat enjoying the shocked expression of the general.
Nappa harrumphed, though a pleased gleam shone in his eyes. "Pity I wasn't around to see it then," he muttered.
Zangya's eyes lit up with evil glee as she destroyed the last of the ships fleeing the latest planet that had fallen victim to Babidi's depredations. Horrible screams filled the outer atmosphere of the planet as its former inhabitants fell back to the surface, burning up as they re-entered the atmosphere.
Zangya frowned as she suddenly felt Bujin's power abruptly disappear. It was... strangely disconcerting. There was no warning, but immediately before his power disappeared, Zangya felt an odd sensation that instantly vanished. She sped to the last place she felt Bujin, but found only his mangled corpse, the stylized M on his forehead bashed in. The impact crater of whatever fist had crashed into it was massive.
Without warning, pain of an incredibly vast proportion made her scream in agony. The blow sent her reeling, spiraling into the void.
"My, my. Lord Champa, I do think you pulled your punch a bit too much on that one," a tall, blue-skinned being with ridiculously white hair and an ornate outfit giggled.
A purple skinned, slightly overweight catlike being scoffed. "Hardly, Vados. I want some information from this one. That other one was uncooperative." He floated to where Zangya floated in the ether, eyeing her with obvious distaste. "My name is Lord Champa. I am a Hakaishin, or, if that name confuses you, you may call me a God of Destruction."
The most horrible fear that anyone in Universe 7 had had a chance to feel, save for the inhabitants of one particular planet, filled Zangya's core, arresting her breathing.
A Hakaishin. The single being who could eliminate the entire universe without so much as a second thought. No other being in all of creation was stronger than a Hakaishin.
The god continued. "I am here to visit this universe's Hakaishin with my attendant here, Vados." Here, he motioned vaguely to the woman at his side, who curtseyed in a somewhat mocking manner. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like some information. If you refuse to provide this information, I will simply erase you from existence. Simple, yes?"
Zangya nodded, adrenaline coursing through her veins, making the pain recede somewhat.
"I wish to know which planet you know of has the most delicious cuisine. My brother, arrogant though he may be, is very fond of good food. It would be a good way of tempering his anger when he hears the... unfortunate news I have to tell him. Please, direct me to what I seek."
Zangya was shell-shocked and barely managed to get her wits together fast enough to respond, "I think you're...going to want to go to the North Galaxy's Kai... he'll probably know better than me..." she trailed off, knowing that she had no chance of giving him a good answer due to her imprisonment.
"Hmmm," droned Champa, lazily raising an eyebrow in appraisal. "Fine, then. Go ahead and resume whatever... activities you were engaged in. No offense, but your friend here was less than cooperative and tried to use some sort of attack on me the second he saw me. Sorry if that's any inconvenience." With that, the god turned and took off at great speeds, vanishing out of sight along with his odd attendant.
Zangya heaved a sigh of relief, letting her tensed muscles relax somewhat. The broken ribs in her side also relaxed, thankfully, leaving the stabbing pain to become a dull throb in time with her heartbeat.
A pile of clothes, recently emptied of the person who once occupied it, dropped to the ground, right next to another that had been similarly vacated. An evil hiss came from an orange, beak-like mouth.
"Finally...the time has come for me to pursue perfection."
Vegeta meditated, floating in his room. An ever-so-slight aura wreathed him, subtly lighting up the area.
He remembered the day that his father had told him that he was to inherit the title of King one day. The pride that this had given him...the sorrow when he found it was taken away...the madness that he had let himself fall into, ever so slowly, as his definition of honor and pride warped.
To be prideful in oneself because your strength allowed you to determine who lived and died...that was not pride. That was sadism. He realized that now with a start.
That was the difference between Kakarot and himself. An angry jolt of mental pain struck him as he came to the conclusion that yes... Kakarot was indeed the better Saiyan. His pride was in himself, that the strength he wielded could be used to protect those he loved.
This conclusion led him to make a decision that now somehow felt...inevitable, as though he knew his entire life that he would come to realize this. Without further ado, he stood from the cross-legged position he had been floating in and took off towards Kakarot's house.
Meanwhile...through all this...on the collapsed shell of a distant planet, so far off into space that not even the Kaioshin knew of its existence...a machine tore through the fabric of time. A cocoon sat in its seat, oddly shaped... It quickly hatched, revealing...
Hahaha ahahaha AHAHAHA. I've had a beautiful idea. Expect future chapters to increase in length. Oh, and I never liked Bujin. Too...wimpy and turdy. Reminds me of Pilaf, just with a worse fashion sense.
