Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.
The Long Road
Chapter 62: Play
Taro:
Oh, so you're here again? How fun. I always enjoy it when I invite my audience to come to witness my journey to personal completion. Its something that naive, simple, and undeserving creatures can only look into, but can't fully grasp or understand. In other words, it's a perfect example of how insignificant you all are. Hm... perhaps I should take that back. It's so rude to treat guests with such low regard. I apologize that none of you can understand or feel what I can feel.
The newly acquired "audience" immediately shifted Taro's smile further to one side as he glanced around himself, his foot firmly planted in the deceased alternate self's back. His hand was still there above him, having drained most of what had made his counterpart his counterpart. Around him were the familiar ruins of West City. It was typical at this point. When they arrived, it was flourishing, and now as everything was being wrapped up, it was burning and ruined. Every one of these weak realities of his imagination were all defiant to the norm that he'd experienced through most of his own life.
The weak die, and the strong survive. I would recommend you take these words with you about the little lives I've invented for all of you. The strong acquire more power, and the weak become less and less relevant until they are nothing. So I suppose that makes all of you much weaker versions of that wretch Yamcha? Hah.
Turning his head to one side, he saw an exhausted Son Goku and "Great Saiyaman" standing there, trying to gather up enough strength to continue the fight. They'd already seen several of their comrades die, and likely felt several others. Vegeta would be dead in minutes, he was guessing, given how strong Junia felt at the moment and given how weak Vegeta-
And there it is. I really don't need to see it anymore to get some measure of joy that Vegeta died so miserably.
"Dad," Gohan breathed. "Vegeta just went down, and Piccolo's dead-"
As if on cue, Piccolo's body dropped out of the sky, slapping into the mud of what had once been the perfectly maintained grass of the Capsule Corporation Headquarters. The Namekian was always a disappointment, but then again they all were, weren't they? Not at first of course, not when they'd first started touring the time streams, looking for worthy game to test themselves. He remembered how many times he'd come close to death in duels with some of the mightiest warriors of their era. It wasn't until he realized his real goals, that he could see these creatures for what they were.
They couldn't hurt him, not really... because these were all figments of his imagination and little else. Even right now, the more complete he became, the closer he came to being whole for the first time, the less concerned he was of the fate of these pitiful creatures of his mind. Son Goku, no matter how powerful he envisioned him, was always nothing to him now. They'd impotently tried to strike him down for almost a half hour, and he'd become increasingly bored with them.
The things one does for family. Preserving one of these impotent wretches for my dear brother is far too kind on my part. In truth, I really need to make him stronger to allow him to deal with more of the meat that we are processing.
Hovering in the air above, his ever vigilant brother was floating above.
"The Namekian and the humans are dead. I'm fairly certain that Junia has finished off the Prince," he remarked. "So, I take it that these two are mine then?"
"You killed my friends," Goku cut in, staring up angrily. "I'm not going to let you get away with this."
"Do you know how tired I get of that line?" Taro finally asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "How tired I get of hearing you make the same foolish remarks, and then just die the miserable deaths that you all deserve?"
And its true. I've come to truly hate this game. The fighting itself isn't exhilarating anymore. There isn't a challenge in it. My desire even before I realized how much had been stolen from me by this ruined reality, was always power. The desire to fight was only born from the fact that I wanted yet more power. I wish all of you little creatures out there could understand what it is to be the centre of all reality, the founder of it even, but sadly I didn't create you to have that kind of understanding. None of my creations, none of these vessels of my mind in this world or yours, can see the perspective that I see.
"So, come on then, fight me you ignorant fool. Kakarot is clearly going to-"
Energy spiked a second later as golden power burst from Goku's form. The Saiyan charged him in a dash of pure speed to anyone from the outside. But to Taro? He was crawling towards him at a dismal pace. Grasping the hilt of his sword, securely behind his back, Taro drew the blade and in one fell swing and stride, moved past Kakarot. The whole time he did, he stared directly at his "adopted" brother, Son Gohan.
And now, Gohan, like in so many other worlds, I must imagine your end.
Goku fell to the ground behind him, he didn't even need to bother looking over to him because he knew the result. He'd struck him from shoulder to groin, and it was unlikely that the Saiyan could do anything other than expire.
"Dad," Gohan managed to say, looking over to the body past him before energy slowly started to rise past his own form. "You monster! First Trunks, and then the others, and now my dad-!"
"This is the part where you get angry," Taro observed, before casting his eyes up and towards Brass.
"It's your turn, little brother," Taro remarked. "Defeat this pale copy of Gohan, and take what you've earned."
Today is going to be a very, very productive day.
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Junia:
It used to be a challenge. That was something she missed. The only satisfaction she received from killing her father now, was the satisfaction of knowing that she ruined that smug ego of his before he died. Several city blocks were utterly ruined around them at the time as he eyes continued to glare into his fallen body. Her hatred never subsided, even after he died. It was a strange thing to behold, and perhaps rang true to something her mother told her years ago, before they'd left their universe for this one.
Revenge will never make things better.
Her eye flinched in disgust as she stared down at Vegeta. Her revenge wasn't complete yet, and almost couldn't be until she finally proved herself beyond her own father. The day they returned to her universe, she was going to not only overpower and destroy the father who'd used her, and neglected her most of her life, she was going to prove him wrong by becoming everything he couldn't, by killing Turles as well. The image of herself standing above all comers was a pleasant one, but it was shrouded by something uncomfortable. Her power was rising with every world they went to, but it'd slowed because of the declining quality of opponents. Most timelines and realities rarely went past the strength levels they were seeing, and the few that did, Taro had to handle them almost exclusively.
Which means we're not getting stronger. We're not gaining strength fast enough.
There was no hesitation as she stepped over to Vegeta's body, closing the small gap between them, and looking down at his broken and shredded, lifeless body. The empty look in his eyes were always something she cherished. The wind picked up around them before her senses picked up that the Namekian was dead, along with most of the other warriors. Within a second, she recognized that Kakarot's power had disappeared in a flash of stupendous energy. That meant all that was left was Gohan. Turning her eyes towards the frightful humans all watching from shattered ruins, she gave a disgusted hmph noise, before looking back towards her father's body.
Sensing Brass fighting a moment later, as well as Gohan, Junia knew the outcome immediately. It wasn't the fight that unnerved her, it was what was going to happen after that engagement. What was going to come, was going to be the end of him. After this, she would be travelling with another creature like Taro, another one reliant on a technique which sucked the lives from people, instead of earning their strength. Brass's ambition had lead him there, just as it'd lead Turles to using the Tree of Might, and her own father. It somehow made it all the more hollow.
She remembered purging worlds with Brass at her side when they were teenagers. She remembered after intense battles, how he'd try to blow off steam by trying to get in her pants, sometimes it worked if she'd been heated enough. He was ambitious, strong, and battle-tested, an incredible natural talent... but he was also the son of the self-declared ruler of the universe, and the one her father chose for her later.
But there was a small part of her, which didn't resent him because of her father trading her like she was livestock to Turles's son, for political favour. There was a part of her who remembered laying there under the stars on a battle scarred planet, wondering where they'd find their next challenge and opponent. It was a piece of her youth, and she knew the moment she sensed Gohan's energy plummet, that whatever was left of that, was dead to her now as well.
"This is all your fault," She remarked to her father, crossing her arms as she did. "You always found ways to ruin everything you have a hand in. You even ruin my killing you by being too weak."
With that, she kicked the battered frame, Vegeta's head snapping to one side from the force before she started to walk ahead, coming one hand through her black hair before quietly beginning to take to the air, ignoring the scared and helpless people left in the wake of her battle. She resented Brass for his company, and now resented him for turning into the kind of creature which Taro was, leaving her all alone. She resented Taro for losing his mind. Worse, she was starting to resent herself, because she too was being tempted by the call for power.
The question was, was power worth her pride, and worth her sanity?
No. No I don't need to steal to have the power I deserve. I don't need to steal to defeat my opponents.
In the distance, she could sense Brass's power suddenly change, and realized everything she though had come to fruition. The deal was sealed, and there would be no going back. She was now the weakest, and worse, the one most reliant on the others. She had no recourse, and even less pull than before. This expedition would become more and more uncontrolled, and Brass and Taro would inevitably destroy one another, or themselves.
That's the only thing I have to look forward to then.
The ground beneath her began to pass below her, faster and faster as she let the aura burst from her body, twisting through the air as she did. There was no real point in delaying her arrival to the situation. If anything, she needed to get there as quickly as she could, to find out just how totally fucked she was.
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Brass:
His right hand was trembling as he looked into the dying eyes of the life in front of him. Something beyond ki flowed between the cooling body and his warm hand. Blue energy swirled into his fingers as Gohan's hand reached out desperately, clinging to his arm as he struggled to breath. It was everything in him not to sneer and kill him himself, he needed to keep himself steady for this transition to work correctly.
At first it was just power, he could sense his body getting stronger, sucking in the ki from the body of his half brother. It felt good too, even if it was a struggle, and even if his body ached at the unnatural application of power. But then something else started to happen as well, while he was looking into the dying man's eyes. He started to see memories. The beginning of his life began to stream past his eyes, from reading books at home under the tutelage of his mother, to training with the Namekian Piccolo. He could see him growing, gaining in power, and changing as he fought against the Saiyans, Frieza, Cell, and others. He could sense how much he'd loved his family, and he even tasted the grief and despair he felt as he watched his father be cut down by Brass. In the last seconds of the transfer, he could feel the hand weakly losing its grip on his own, as the devoid, lifeless husk of Gohan slipped through his fingers.
It was like living another life. It was hard to keep his own thoughts coherent, and even know what his own thoughts were. But there was one thing he anchored everything on, power. He wanted more power, to be the strongest being alive. Whatever was happening to him, it didn't matter, so long as he acquired more strength.
"You'll hear him from time to time. He'll scream in your mind. You're going to need to learn to ignore him," Taro remarked. "And if you don't? Well, those kinds of mistakes can lead to a very serious mistake."
I can sense something, behind my own mind. That must be what Taro is talking about. It goes beyond just taking on their power and memories, you steal a part of their mind.
The idea of having his own half-brother being trapped in his head was something he'd not considered until this very moment. But it even made him look at his own brother Taro in a different light. He'd been killing and absorbing Trunks in every reality they came across. There were hundreds of them. Staring for a few seconds longer, he looked into the eyes of his brother and could almost hear the screams himself. It was perverse, but if he ever wanted to be the strongest in the universe, it'd be his own fate. Gohan, Goku, Goten, Piccolo, Vegeta, he didn't care who he devoured. He had no goal to be the only "Him" in existence.
But the price to be the strongest in the universe, was starting to give him pause.
Crossing his arms, Brass looked up as Junia's energy approached, much closer than it was before. There was a sharp pain in the back of his head fro a brief second as he felt something akin to memories try to force their way forward. Gritting his teeth, he shoved everything back as quickly as he could, not wanting to see more of this Gohan's life, spurred on by a trigger.
What the Hell have I gotten myself into with this? Shit, I'd better get this thing under control, or all this power isn't going to mean a damn thing.
When she landed in front of them, Brass smirked all the same however.
"New and improved, you like it?" he asked, posing himself to flex one arm.
"You've become as weak as Taro, I see," she remarked simply, crossing her arms.
That was enough to get Taro's head to perk up slightly.
"Oh? Dear sister, as weak as who?" his elder sibling enquired. "Please elaborate, given that you're now the weakest one here."
There was a simple motion in response, she cast her hand up, flicking away from Taro.
"You're not my brother, and I'm not your sister. And he's become as weak as you are, because he was too afraid of his own lack of power. You're right, I cannot beat either of you in a battle now, but I am not reliant on others for my power. I will find a way forward without devolving to that."
The points were barbed, and most definitely played on his own shame for taking Taro's advice, if only because it was shameful to admit that he'd never catch up to him without treading the same path. But words and pride didn't change realities. They weren't going to advance far enough to match their fathers, or even Taro, doing what they were doing anymore. They were getting diminishing returns, except for Taro.
But then there was something, a hint of a smirk on Taro's features.
"No, sister, I am not deluded. I am your brother, I am Trunks, remember?"
"You're insane," she responded. "My mother, in my universe, never had Trunks."
Turning his head to the side, Taro pulled a capsule out, clicking it before dropping it on the ground, revealing their ship.
"It's time to go, I suspect," he remarked with an amused glint in his eyes. "The next world awaits us, and I think we're only one or two jumps away from the one I seek."
Then what? That was the question Brass was asking right now. Even if they hunted this apparently very special version of Trunks down, what did it even mean? Why did it matter so much to him. It wouldn't matter soon. This planet was a trial run, and the next planet, he was going to get to see what he could do.
As soon as he walked aboard the vessel, its door sliding open for them, he looked towards Junia.
"I'm still me," he pointed out. "Nothing changed."
"So what?" she responded. "Either you've changed and become stronger at the expense of your dignity, or you're the "same", whatever that means, and you're still a pining fool."
That was enough to make him sneer, trying to focus before he blinked, slowly beginning to 'hear' a dull, scream behind his head.
Shut up.
When his eyes focused to the fore of the ship, just as the ship blurred through reality, tearing through the fabric of the universe around them. When the ship appeared again, there was immediately something different about this world. Taro's head rose up from the chair, his eyes flashing wildly as his black hair whipped past his shoulder.
"Oh yes. We're here..."
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Android 17:
You'd figure people would be inclined to believe me. You'd figure my own sister would at the very least.
"Look, I don't know if this is some desperate cry for attention 17, but I'm busy with having responsibilities. I'm not going to just start calling random Saiyans and asking if they have a missing kid with unknown parents. Better yet, I'm not even convinced you have a Saiyan kid with you. None of them have a kid named Pan, you're imagining things."
In the background, 17 heard something crash, followed by the loud wailing of a child.
"Marron, for Kami's sake I'm on the phon-... Great. The most rewarding part of being a parent, cleaning up the mess-"
It was frustrating for him to stand there with his phone up to his ear like this, utterly annoyed the entire time as he looked over to the girl currently residing on his couch.
"Well give me their numbers and I'll call them myself."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with them, 17? Is that what this is really- stop squirming Marron, you're a complete mess now hold still," 18 responded, sounding annoyed. "Look, Krillin will be home soon, and I've got things to do right now. If you have anything important happening, please call me. And if this was actually important, I'm sorry you've cried wolf so many times."
As if I'd have some deathwish, please. I try to do one nice thing for someone, and all they do is turn me away.
With impassive, unfeeling eyes, 17 looked back towards his window.
"Well, then I guess I'm just going to have to go finding the kid's parents myself. Thanks for the help, 18."
Hanging up the phone before she could respond, 17 stood there for a moment, processing the conversation and his options. The child was clearly a Saiyan, his files on Goku and the others made that much clear. She was also clearly left to her own devices, and even now after being fed, was hardly in a good mental position. The latter... and former, come to think of it, really wasn't his problem. Walking over to the couch, he poked her before smiling to himself.
"Hey, wake up," he ordered. "Now."
Slowly, two eyes started to open as she stretched, before looking up at him, her tail wrapping around her own waist immediately, almost frightfully. The child was scared, but that didn't exactly matter.
"My sister has refused to assist us on our little journey to find your parents. So, that means I'm going to have to find someone out there who takes up the responsibility. I think we should take a ride to Goku's house," he commented bluntly. "Or maybe we could go to Vegeta's."
"Who?"
"Goku and Vegeta are two Saiyans, likely your parents unless that Future Trunks left a mistake behind. Heh, that one might actually be amusing," 17 remarked, before turning his head up and looking for his coat, beginning to move around his very humble, one room apartment.
The girl however, seemed to be thinking, he could almost hear it she was thinking so loud, having obviously heard the name before.
"Trunks, that's the name of one of the people... at the tournament?" she asked. "He was at the tournament. I think... I think I remember."
Well, she really is a little source of information, isn't she?
"Oh? You met mister Trunks?"
"No," she answered after a second. "I think he fought my dad?"
Maybe I should try being a cop after a ranger, I'm clearly good at interrogating people, and I didn't even have to break her arm.
A smile crept across 17's features as he walked back over to the couch, kneeling down and staring mechanically at her, trying to almost stare through her to find out more. This was at the very least, an interesting puzzle to solve.
"Well, what's your dad's name? Maybe he and I are old... friends. I've met a few Saiyans before," 17 remarked, letting memories of his easy victory over Piccolo and Tien come to mind as 18 crushed Vegeta and Trunks.
There was clear hesitation on her part as she even looked at him almost frightfully. There was a clear process going through her mind, and 17 read it in a nano-second. She was trying to determine what she should divulge to him, and what she intended to keep to herself. For someone who was just "five", she was very, very clever. Over the last few days since they'd met, he'd determined that there was a lot going in that head of hers for a kid of such limited years.
"I can see you're clearly weighting what you want to tell me," 17 observed openly, smiling as he did. "But let me make it clear, if I needed you to talk, I'd get every answer I wanted from you. So I'm just asking, and I'm not demanding. Really, this is just a fun little game for me. Find out the origin of the random, missing child-Saiyan."
For a few more seconds she thought, though was taking what he said into account before she swallowed.
"My dad's name is Gohan."
Gohan.
Now that didn't make much sense. Perhaps he'd been off the grid for a few too many years, but Gohan was listed in his data files, as being Goku's only son, abducted by the Saiyans and taking into Space. Given the girl claimed she was born here, and wasn't even as knowledgeable as he was about Saiyans, that really put this in an interesting scenario. That was Goku's son, the son of the man he was designed to kill. Immediately popups appeared across his vision, documenting everything Doctor Gero knew about Son Gohan, which was limited. He defeated Garlic Junior in year 760, and was abducted by the Saiyan known as Raditz in 761.
After that, all of his files ended, and the next files to automatically open were about Son Goku, and his weaknesses, as well as his directive to kill him on sight.
Rolling his eyes for a moment, all 17 could think was that it would be impossible for him to finish his objective at this point.
"Well, that would match, except that Gohan isn't supposed to be on this planet right now," he answered. "So, do you know where I can find him?"
Her entire frame seemed to shrink as her arms trembled for a moment. The shivering only got progressively worse over the seconds as she started trying to keep herself together. There was a violent sob that escaped her for a second. She wasn't looking at him anymore, her features hidden by her hair given how her head tipped down.
"H-he. He's dead," she managed to finally say. "He died protecting me."
It was sad, sure, but those kinds of emotions had a very limited impact on him. If anything, beyond his limited sympathy, he was annoyed, because all of this crying was going to prevent her from saying anything more to solve the mystery that was now growing for him to solve.
"That's real tragic," he lamely attempted to console. "But-"
The sobbing only seemed to get worse as 17 stood up a second later.
"It's all my fault that he's gone," she breathed barely between sobs. "I let the demon get me. And then the green man left me in the woods, and I didn't wanna hurt the wolf or any of the animals but I was so hungry and I didn't know what to do. I didn't mean to get in anymore trouble and I just want... I want..."
"You want to go home?" 17 asked, crossing his arms. "Because if you know where your mom is-"
The girl's crying stalled for a moment, before she looked up at him, wet eyes staring at him trying to determine almost what to say again.
"I don't know where she is," she admitted, her breathing still heavy. "She couldn't protect me from the Green man."
Green man? Likely that's Piccolo.
This whole scenario was extremely odd. There had been a few very large battles on the planet over the last few years, but he'd not directly involved himself. Generally when the planet was rumbling and huge explosions were going off, you knew something bad was happening. So right now what he could piece together, was that this kid was the offspring of Goku's estranged son, who was now apparently dead, who was abducted from her mother by Piccolo? He was missing major parts of the information, that the five year old was clearly lacking. The real question became, was Piccolo going to come looking for her?
That would be interesting.
"Well, don't sweat that kid," 17 remarked, before smirking. "I've fought Piccolo before."
She froze at the name, and he immediately knew he scored that one.
"I think I'll keep you around for a bit, kid... I wanna see who comes looking for you."
I should thank 18. She's letting me have all of this fun solving this. I should thank her once this is all over.
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Abaddon: Planet of the Kai's
They grew ever closer, and that meant that there needed to be a frank discussion. He'd avoided coming here almost since his very birth into existence along with the others. West, South, and North Kaioshins, his West, South, and North Kaioshins, the ones that were brought into the world along with him, were all dead. They were dead, and it was largely his fault. This place not only brought back the memory of failure, but it brought about unwanted attention.
It'd been his decision, forty thousand of years ago, which had condemned them when they confronted the dark power of the sinister creatures of the age. He never met Kibito or The Supreme Kaio in the centuries they were here, if only because the two of them absent. Now he understood they had some sort of crisis of their own to settle, but at the time all there was to deal with the threat to all of creation, seemingly, was the four of them, and they weren't up to the task of dealing with the Empire of Rigor. Mortis, their leader, killed the South Supreme Kaio when they first confronted him, and they were forced back.
But, reliving old memories from a time in another age, didn't matter. They were now here, cleaning up his mess. These creatures travelling across time and space, creating thousands of fragmented universes linked to their own, needed to be confronted. The only shame was that they needed to be confronted with as much as this universe could rally. It wasn't just a matter of getting the mortal creatures to oppose them, they needed to play their own hand. Other creatures born of the tree, the demons, would need to participate as well. Which was how this had come about.
Standing there, his hand holding a staff, his eyes scanned over the assembly of divine and demonic creatures he'd assembled.
"So kind of you to invite us," Towa observed, her smile almost sinister by its very nature. "I am to assume this is about the foreign invaders on their way?"
"Of course it is, demon," Kibito fired back, his features turning into a sneer. "How the Supreme Kaio or the Grand Kaio allowed you to come here is-"
"That's enough Kibito," Shin said, before sighing. "I wish to hear out why we were rallied here, by our absent Daio Kaioshin."
Ah, the word was meant to attack, and it was a fair due. He'd neglected his duties since his failures. Running across the galaxy, trying to create life to replace all that which he'd destroyed. He had become a God of Destruction, not through his power, or want, but by his actions. Now things were getting ever messier, and these creatures were coming to finish the work they'd accidentally been made for. They would seek out and destroy the most powerful beings alive, and damage all existence by their very passing through.
"You know fully why, East Kaioshin," he said calmly. "And you as well, Towa. I have asked all of you here for the very simple and express purpose of confronting the Saiyans who arrive here from the extra dimensional means."
"They're strong enough to slay Goku, and his friends," Shin observed. "Our power-"
"Is sufficient to help," Abaddon remarked. "Our powers are among the strongest in the universe, behind our Saiyans. If we don't participate, we could face our own deaths, and another reality which could be crippled if they decide that they need to destroy us as well. From what I've gathered from the Supreme Kaio of Time, they kill the demons often at the very least, and often kill the Kais. All that's left behind are the Gods of Destruction."
"We are going to have to commit ourselves to fighting against them with the others," Abaddon stated. "Or we are going to watch as this universe is destabilized, and left a failed ruin."
It made his stomach turn, the idea of fighting along side any Saiyan. If only because he knew exactly what they were. He knew the kinds of monsters he'd made to stop other monsters. The very creatures they'd created through a bargain with the tribes that would become the Saiyans, were the very creatures who killed North Supreme Kaio, and West Supreme Kaio. After their job was complete, the monsters lashed out at their very makers.
We created them to destroy, specifically. That was where it all went wrong. And by the very fact they are here now, spilling into this world from another just for the opportunity to fight and kill, shows how right I am.
Just as before, I am going to use the Saiyans as a weapon against a great evil. But they themselves must be destroyed, if only for the sake of the universe itself. Even the Rigor Empire never sought to overthrow the very foundations of universal order. Inevitably, the Saiyans will... its apart of their blood, its a mistake of their design.
"I agree with him," Mira remarked. "We fight with the others, and destroy them."
"We fight," Towa added, nodding in agreement to the blue demon.
Moving his slender neck muscles, Abaddon turned his gaze towards the other Kaios, who looked back at him with uncertainty, before Shin finally nodded.
"We fight..."
As if when the words were spoken, they all froze.
"Do you sense that?"
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Future Trunks:
Bleak.
That was how he could describe his time in the room as he stepped out. His eyes were traced down and his mind felt raw. It really put forward some uncomfortable questions for him, but at the end of the day they were his to tackle. Still, he had a brief vision of how they could win, and it terrified him. Breathing out, trying to regain his composure, he looked to his left just as Goku himself emerged from his own room. He nodded towards him, and got a smile and nod in turn.
"I never figured these rooms would be that helpfu. Gosh, I learned a lot. I mean, I think we're going to be in a lot of trouble, but I think we can do it if we put our minds to it. Man, I'm pumped for this."
That was Goku to a T, which was confidence inspiring. The only problem was, Trunks had met more than one Goku who'd felt the same way, and was already dead in some obscure timeline, along with everyone he tried to defend. It'd happened hundreds of times so far, and now all Trunks felt was pity for a brief moment, before he resolved that this time would be different. He was going to make this time different, no matter what. He knew Goku was a big key to winning this, and so was he.
When he looked over to the training area, he could sense two immense powers clashing. That was Piccolo and Vegeta. Those power levels were spiked compared to what he expected before, and Piccolo's even felt different.
"Do you think we have a chance?" Goku asked after a few moments, his face turning serious. "Because I don't know how much longer we're going to have to train, and that room was a pretty big boost to me, and it looks like Piccolo too."
The question was serious but felt almost innocent.
"Never change, Goku," Trunks answered, smiling grimly back. "I think that we have to fight, this is going to be where we all make our stand. For the endless stream of realities they've ruined, they need to be brought to justice, and they need to be stopped, even if it won't fix how they've ruined the multi-verse and time."
"But do you think we can win?" Goku asked.
You really don't want to hear this.
"I think we have a very small window for victory. We might be able to stop Brass or Junia, but they aren't the main problem. Taro's power is something I've never seen, and even though I have a plan... it's... not looking good, Goku."
Suddenly, Piccolo and Vegeta stopped in the air. In fact, every training warrior in the otherworld stopped dead in their tracks as they all felt something. It was immense, absolutely horrific in its size and power. It was very obvious what just happened, and it made Trunks' stomach flip immediately as he felt sweat begin to form on his brow.
"What is that?" Vegeta managed to say aloud. "That kind of power is immense."
"They've not gotten started yet," Piccolo's voice cut in. "We need to move, fast, before Taro gets impatient. He'll destroy the Earth if he can't find us, and then begin searching the Other World."
Goku grabbed his shoulder, nodding to him.
"Everyone come here, I'm going to use Instant Transmission. We need to hurr-... What?"
"What is it, Kakarot?" Vegeta demanded.
"I can't use Instant Transmission to where they are!" Goku gasped, his eyes widening. "I can sense the energy, but it won't work!"
"Reality is bent and twisted by Taro. His very presence bends and manipulates ki in a certain way. It can interfere with this kind of power. Just get us back to Earth, and we'll fly to them," Piccolo urged. "We're on a short timer."
Vegeta grasped Goku's shoulder, and so did Piccolo. Trunks however, felt one thing for certain.
We're in trouble.
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Gohan:
The sensation was immediate. Gohan felt the 'air' suck out of his lungs before his eyes turned towards the golden clouds above him. While his eyes stared into the ceiling of Hell, he felt something beyond the entirety of Hell itself, and even past the fabric of the afterlife. He could sense a power on a scale of ki he'd never imagined. His eyes widened as the gravity of the situation continued to draw him in. The worst part was though, was the fact that the ki was dark. It was very, very dark. Immediately he understood that it was something that his father would have to be confronting, right now.
Worse yet, he was guessing where the power was located... and right now, he could have sworn that felt like it was originating from the Earth. It was on the Earth right now, and he was stuck down here. By now, he knew his father was going to be stronger than he was, and probably Vegeta too, but this thing felt stronger than all of them put together. He didn't even sense tension on its part. But if it was on the Earth right now, that meant everyone was in serious trouble. Chi-Chi, Goten, Pan, and everyone else were now sitting on a planet with an intense dark power.
"That was the dark power I was telling you about. They were the ones I saw in my visions," Bardock's voice cut through his inspections and thoughts.
Turning his head to one side, Gohan just stared back towards his grandfather, feeling his anxiety rise. Whoever the Hell these things were, they were light years ahead of himself, given he knew they'd not powered up yet. His fingers twitched a second later, breathing in and out. It'd not been a year yet, the Dragon Balls weren't back, and that meant he had no idea how he was supposed to get called up to fight these things. It felt like he was being cheated, given he never mastered the technique from Turles. Which meant he might be totally fucked even if he could come back.
"Well, I failed to learn from Turles, which means we're not going to win, even if I found some way to get back there to help," Gohan began to brood. "Not that it'd make a difference. Do you sense that?"
"The future can change. There are always variables," Bardock responded. "Even if its unlikely, you may still make the difference."
"I'm dead. Sorry there old man, but I'm not going to be fighting these idiots unless they get killed and sent down here."
"I didn't get the full viewing, or maybe the vision of the future I had was wrong," Bardock commented. "Either way, it's grim."
Sitting down on a nearby rock, the elder Saiyan just sighed. "Guess we'll just have to sit here and try to piece together what happens. At the very least it'll be something to do."
Guess we'll just have to sit here? First he says I'm involved, then I'm going to just sit here? Fuck that.
Rising slowly into the air, Gohan turned his attention his gaze to Bardock for a brief moment, almost scowling at his casual attitude towards all of this.
"I'm going to go find out what the Hell is going on, and I don't care what I need to do. I'm not going to sit this one out."
"You don't have a choice," Bardock pointed out bluntly, sitting back and placing his hands behind his head. "Just fate sometimes kid."
Yea, I know exactly why Turles can't stand you.
Pointing his hand down at him, Gohan quickly gathered the insignificant amount of energy required. He released the bolt of purple energy a second later, which shot straight down towards the other Saiyan, who jumped up at the last moment before it impacted. The entire dusty plateau they were on shattered with the force on the blast as purple light illuminated out across the bleak, hellish wasteland.
So tired of your shit.
Turning his head back towards the clouds, the Saiyan just felt his anxiety rising.
What the Hell am I going to do?
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Chi-Chi:
I wish I knew when Goku was going to get home.
That was the main thought that had plagued Chi-Chi since he'd left. It'd replaced the constant worry and concern she felt for Gohan, fearing what he was going through while they waited for the Dragon Balls to regenerate. What was she going to make him when he got back? He always needed a big meal, but she'd need time to make sure it was special. It was thankfully not hard to manage Keiko right now, and Goten was helping out with as much as he could.
Walking out the front door of her humble home, Chi-Chi took a second just to sit down on the bench they'd always kept outside. The sun was out and it was nice and warm right now. With a long sigh, she just let herself relax. The radish farm was still in production of course, given that she'd learned a long time ago how to handle that aspect of home life. The money Gohan had given them also had gone a long way to making sure things ran better around here as well.
Still, the empty holes in her life right now were always in the back of her mind. Even when everyone got back, it was still going to be hard to determine the best course of action. She really wanted Goten to do better in his schooling, she wanted to try and find Gohan some kind of honourable work, or a girlfriend, and she couldn't wait for Keiko to start getting old enough for school herself. It was all about the careful construction of the life she was trying to build for her children. Even on her brief moments of downtime, that was how it was.
It'd be nice if she could find someone for Gohan. It was always awkward to think about, but she was worried he'd die alone at the rate he was going. Certainly he'd been through a lot, all the scars showed that, but that didn't mean he couldn't build a good simple life for himself. Clearly he knew how to make money, so she didn't get why he'd never brought anyone home. Well, she knew now, given that he wasn't... alive, at the moment. Still, it was concerned to her. One day Gohan was going to get old himself, and enter the stages of life she was approaching, and she really didn't want him to do that alone.
Of course one day she suspected she'd be doting over Goten's future as-
What is he doing?
Turning her eyes towards the door as it opened, she saw Goten walk oout, his eyes widened and nervous.
"Mom, grab Keiko and get out of here," he said. "Quick."
The way he was talking, she immediately felt her heart race.
Oh no, not again.
Immediately she jumped up, rushing into the house and grabbing Keiko, who was playing with her blocks. Her daughter immediately squealed in anger and frustration, but that really wasn't her main concern. By the time she got outside, she saw three figures at the tree line. The one at the head of them looked almost... like an adult Goten? Gohan? His skin was more tanned, but the Saiyan armour was an immediate flag.
"So, this is the strongest one on the planet right now?" the female remarked. "Are you sure this is the universe with the Trunks you want? The small-fry isn't really what we expected-"
"It is, and don't worry. All we need to do is kill these ones and it will draw the others out," the long haired male commented, looking at her son with a dark smirk.
"We don't need to kill all of them. Hey mom... Mind if we take Goten and go play?" the tan skinned man remarked, making her blood freeze as he did.
She saw Goten turn his head towards her, his eyes clearing telling her it was time for her to leave. The cold blood in her veins forced her to keep her eyes on the three of them for a brief moment, before she took off into a short run. The capsule for the car was in her hand as well, thank goodness, but she couldn't bring herself to use it, not this close to those things back there.
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Author's Notes:
I wanted to get a lot done this chapter... and I think I did. Just makes me dread writing the next chapter however. We're approaching fight-time, so obviously we're going to have some huge chapters moving down the pipes. There is one flashback chapter I had planned called "Utopia", which is probably going to go up next, which is going to be an exploration of the world Junia, Taro, and Brass come from, but it might take a while to go up, as its going to be very large. The fight itself is going to be broken down into multiple chapters, if only because its going to be very large, given the number of important combatants. There is a huge array of spots I want to get in that I've been visualizing for months now. I've got a lot of the fight choreographed out already, but huge swathes are going to be logistically difficult to write in a satisfying way.
Expect twists, turns, violence! Everything you normally expect from my big fight chapters. I do expect this fight to last about 3-5 chapters after the flashback chapter. I'm just hoping its 3-4 honestly, given that writing over 100,000 words to fit it all in is going to be hell on my wrists and brains. Thank god there is only 1 antagonist for the next saga. Lol
On a side note, on to other stuff, still working overtime and having a really crowded life. So I am trying to get this done at the best pace I can when I get time to write. I would also like to add that I really heard a song on the radio the other day that really inspired me to get back to writing this story, if only because I think its kinda the perfect themesong for the whole story. FOALS – Mountain At My Gates. I just think the imagery works, given Gohan is constantly having to climb up, and really has to face himself.
Also, on a side note, after this big battle, you can expect some time acceleration at several points before the next things start to filter in...
Only 3/4 more sagas to go after this one. Thank. Goodness. :P
I'm also toying with the idea of writing out what was supposed to happen in The Catalyst, given that I'm not going to be finishing that story at this point. Just detailing what the characters would have done and how the story was going to progress until its ending, but it'd take a long time to write, as I had even bigger plans for that story than I did for The Long Road. The Long Road feels achievable to finish XD
Also, a lot of work went into this chapter. Please review. *holds out review tin*
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Reviewers:
Akum: Sooner than expected even!
Guest: I'm not really all that keen on most of what Super is doing. I think there is a lot of wasted potential in the show and its not really as interesting as Z was. It's certainly better than GT, but what does that tell us? I know its the least popular thing about my story, but a lot of the power level stuff just doesn't come into play for how I write... and funnily enough, given how willing AK is to change things in his own story and defy his own continuity, neither is AK. Its all negotiable folks.
Ronden Kiagre: I do try to deal with loose ends, and I felt Dabura really wouldn't have stuck around with Babidi after the failure to deal with Gohan and get their revenge. I think he had his eyes opened by Gohan before he got cut down. The other villains in Hell still have their role to play going forward however...
MalikJamalTimberlake: I really don't think they'd be unbearable. Even if Goku fused with Vegeta, they'd go down. Fusion isn't the answer to all problems :P Not sure if there will be any fusion in the story at all even, beyond Namekian fusion.
Hek'UnnSkipper: Gohan is a Super Saiyan II, but his power can still spike much higher even without an additional transformation, just the nature of his power.
Blades of Fury: I can't wait for Gohan to come back either. Especially for his next story arc after this. And you guys thought things sucked for him before... :P
RaijuBlue: Life goes up, life goes down, it largely will go that way until we all die. We have our good moments and bad. I hope obviously that my next few months get a lot better, but who knows? Whatever happens, happens. I'm more concerned about having the time to continue to write and do other things.
DBZ fan the first: Chapter so quickly? Definitely the best I can :p
Super Mystic Gohan: I doubt his strength will increase much more quickly. Piccolo doesn't really transform, so when Piccolo is fighting Super Saiyans and Super Saiyan II's, that his base form. Piccolo is crazy stronger than everyone when you factor out transformations.
Luke: Well, hopefully this falls into the former than the latter. :P
Jordinio: Answered this one by PM.
MaximumSSJ: Just to answer the Catalyst part. Things would not have been easier for them just having F Trunks and Gohan around. Not really at all even. If anything things were going to get harder, lol
Brelic: I really wanted to drop in the story's title in that part, it just felt like it fit.
F: Niceeeee... :P