Chapter 21

New Future Timeline

The group of attackers was, as it looked, just walking through the streets, shooting at random citizens, cars or buildings. There seemed to be no greater pattern behind their actions than just to spread chaos and death.

They consisted of the two copies of Androids 17 and 18, along with one clone of Piccolo and two of Tien. None of them was particular powerful

With the clones being on a level from before Cell´s appearance and having nothing beyond basic skills and little independent thinking.

Under them the copied Androids were by far the greatest threat.

"What do you think Number Seventeen," the 18 copy said, "how long will our Masters continue to let us run this strike and run attacks without it ever getting anywhere?"

"I don´t know Number Eighteen," he replied. "We are just doing the same thing - attacking, blowing some things up, killing a few humans - every time. But that are our orders."

He blew up a couple of cars that had been parked at the streets.

"Yes - orders are orders, right?" she said... as she was aiming and firing a blast at a group of humans who were trying to run away from them.

But before it hit, Trunks appeared right before them and swept the blast aside.

"I know that the real 17 and 18 would be ashamed if they could see you," he said. "They would never simply following the orders of some maniac."

The two Androids raised their hands to attack him.

But before they could fire, Uub had already moved and blasted the copied Android 17, who was instantly disintigrated. Followed moments later by Trunks powering up into SSj2 and wiping out the 18 copy with one blast.

He was actually glad now that Marron was not here. She might consider the copied Androids as a disgrace to her family, but that didn´t mean she would be unaffected by seeing them destroyed.

He remembered how he felt when they had destroyed a Vegeta clone a couple years ago.

Yamcha meanwhile had taken out the two Tien clones and Pan had blasted the fake Piccolo to atoms.

"Well - that was quick," Yamcha commented.

"That is no surprise, right?" Trunks replied. "These clones had only been cannon fodder from day one after all. They just show up, attack a town or two, until we destroy them. It had been like that for years."

"What is the point of this attacks anyway?" Pan asked.

"21 is crazy, right?" Uub suggested. "And not just slightly, I mean like in completely out of her mind. So maybe she is just making this attacks just for the heck of it."

"Maybe," Trunks said. "To be honest that is what I hope for. Because the only other thing I can think of is that they are preparing something, something big and that this attacks are just a distraction."

He exchanged a short look with the others as he said this.

"Let us hope that Goten and Marron will return soon," Uub said, "and that they will bring help with them."

xxxxxxx

Neo 18 - the one from the past - was now floating right above 21´s underground base. The same one she had come from not long ago in her own timeline.

She had already been expected.

21, in her transformed state, had come out to greet her.

"An Android," she said. "Too bad. I hoped you would be someone I can eat."

"I am here with information for you and Doctor Gero," Neo 18 stated, ignoring 21´s antics. "Things he needs to know."

"Oh yes - and what is that?" 21 asked.

"For example the fact that Bulma Briefs had recreated her time-machine," Neo 18 said a bit impatiently. "And she and her comrades had used it. They had travelled to the past and already eliminated your counterparts from that timeline. I barely escaped with one of their time-machines that I managed to take.

Now they are returning with help from the past. Son Goku is coming."

This caused a reaction.

"Tell me." She now heard Doctor Gero´s voice in her mind. "Tell me everything."

xxxxxxx

The other time-machine was just arriving in this timeline.

They appeared at the same place where they had started from in the past, right in West City.

The cockpit opened and the six occupants jumped outside, before capsuling the time-machine. Five saiyan and one (partly enhanced) human were floating a few meters above the empty streets.

Yet except the fact that nobody was to see outside, the city looked mostly the same as in the past.

"So this is it?" Goku said.

"Yes," Future Goten replied. "We have arrived."

"Well - I don´t really see much of a difference," Goku said. "After seeing Trunks future, I would have expected the town to have somehow changed."

"Things have not become as bad asit was in his world... not yet," Marron explained. "Attacks are happening all over the planet on nearly regular base. Several towns have been destroyed. But to our luck, it didn´t happen to the entire world yet.

Just some cities are lying in ruins, not all of them. West City is one of the ones who were relatively spared from it so far."

"And with you here it will hopefully not come that far either," Goten added.

"But that doesn´t mean that it is save," Marron said. "You see that nobody is on the streets? The citizens have taken cover. There must be an attack happen somewhere right now.

And then one town is being attacked, sometimes one or two more are as well. 21 has the habbit to be unpredictabel. The people have learned to be careful."

"I see," Goku replied.

They landed in a short distance, right in front of the Capsule Corp Building.

The first person who greeted them inside was Bulma. She too looked mostly the same, except being a few years older.

"Goku," she called out as she saw them.

She threw her arms around him.

"Hey Bulma," he said.

"I am so glad that you are here," she told him.

A few moments later Pilaf, Shu and Mai came out from one of the rooms as well. The three of them had grown up and were now young adults (again).

"Yes - it is truly good to see you Goku," Pilaf said.

"Pilaf, Mai, Shu. Hey you three look nearly exactly like when we met the first time

"Yeah - I guess," Pilaf replied a bit awkwardly.

"Well - we have grown up again," Mai commented.

"Cabba, Caulifla and Kale," Bulma said, looking at the three Universe 6 saiyans, "I had never thought that you would come with Goku to the future. Vegeta, Gohan or Piccolo maybe or 18 and 17. But you had little reason to come."

"We - well, we are here to help," Cabba started.

"We are here for a good fight," Caulifla commented. "Beside that we owe you all for bringing our universe back, right?"

"That is also a way to say it," Cabba stated.

"Back in the past, Vegeta is on Namek, dealing with this Moro," Goku said.

"Moro," Bulma whispered. She remembered this being all too well.

"Gohan and Piccolo are protecting Earth."

"And there is a good reason why Mom and Uncle 17 could not come," Marron told them.

"Where are the others Bulma?" Goten asked. "Are they still gone fighting?"

Bulma nodded.

"Trunks had just called me," she said. "They should be back any minute now."

"Good - we have a lot to tell you," Goten replied.

"We have found out much while we were in the past," Marron stated. "But..."

"An Android had stolen one of our time-machines... well - mine," Goten admitted, "a very dangerous Android."

"And she is probably here," Marron added.

"She?" Bulma asked.

"Yes - a copy of my mother. But one that is much stronger. And one who possess all the memories of the real one."

"I see."

A few minutes later Trunks and the others returned. He and Mai greeted each other with a short kiss.

"Goku!" Yamcha called out as he saw him.

"Grandpa," the little girl next to him said.

"Pan - is that you?" Goku asked.

A moment later she threw her arms around him as well.

"I am glad that you have made it," Trunks told Goten and Marron.

xxx

The two groups spend the next half hour exchanging information, especially the entire story of what happened in the past.

"So 21 is not actually the one in control?" Trunks said surprised after they heard their entire story. "Instead it is some kind of copy of Doctor Gero?"

"Unbelievable," Bulma stated. "But then again, if you think about these clones and the copies of 17 and 18, it does not even seems that off," she mentioned.

"And Super Androids? The copies controlling the real 17 and 18, leaching off at their power and merging with them?" she said horrified. "I guess it is a good thing that 17 and 18 had not come with you."

"Ahm Bulma - we have just destroyed the Android copies," Yamcha reminded her.

"That doesn´t mean that they don´t have more of them in waiting," she replied.

"Still - if Doctor Gero is truly the one behind all of this, maybe we should reconsider a few of the things we believe we know. I mean the man was utterly insane, but in opposite to 21, he was always someone with a bigger plan."

"You mean this attacks are maybe not just at random," Trunks stated.

"Yes," Bulma answered.

"You mean they are a distraction for something big?" Marron asked.

"Yes."

"And you died?" Trunks now turned to Goten.

"Yes," he replied. "But to my luck only a short time."

"You really died Uncle Goten?" Pan asked. "But the Dragon Ball have brought you back?"

"Right - you have never really seen the Dragon Balls in action, haven´t you?" Goten stated.

"You are Uub?" Goku asked the young man he had not seen before. "The reincarnation of the evil half of Buu?"

"Yes," he replied. "That is at least what I have been told. I can certainly not remember ever being a world destroying monster," he stated confidently.

This was true. But not entirely. While he could not really remember, he sometimes had weird dreams about the past. And sometimes, like at that day when Moro had nearly destroyed the world, he had the spirits of the old Kaioshins talking to him.

"But I had strange powers my entire life. It was not until I met you guys and the gods, that I actually got an explanation. I am glad to see you again Master Goku."

"Master?"

"You had started training me after we met. Until then I possessed great potential, but barely any idea how to use it. That is at least what you said to me," Uub stated.

"But then you and the others went to fight Demigra a short time later... and you all never returned."

"Right, you have mentioned that before." Goku looked to Marron and Goten. "You said that happened four years from our time, right? And afterwards 21 appeared?"

"Yes," Marron replied.

"Can you tell us more about what happened in your time in the last years?" Goku asked.

"Well - the first thing what happened would probably be Moro and his attacks," Goten pointed out. "Since we have warned you in your time of him. So Vegeta and 18 should now be able to deal with him pretty easily."

"Unless he has some other dirty tricks we don´t even know about," Marron remarked.

"Yes," Goten replied a bit darkly.

"Honestly - I don´t think it will make much of a difference," Bulma stated. "Even if he has a few more tricks, the difference in power should just be too great. As long as Vegeta actually takes Moro out when he has the chance at least, instead of screwing around. But if 18 is there as well, I am pretty confident here that at least she will get the job done."

"Hmm, excuse me Bulma - but why do you think it will be easy?" Uub questioned. "Have you not told me that Moro was one of the greatest threats you have ever faced? In the end even I had to send some of my energy to Son Goku to stop him, without even knowing what was going on back then."

"Yes," Bulma replied with some edge in her voice. "But that was in the end. In the beginning Moro had been far less of a threat."

"Right - by what Dad told me, at the start he had not really been more dangerous than for example the Demon Buu," Trunks pointed out. "But over time he became stronger and stronger."

"It for sure didn´t help that your father and Son Goku didn´t know the full extent of Moro´s draining ability and ended up making the enemy stronger instead of stopping him," Bulma argued.

"Moro - simple spoken - was a very powerful immortal wizard," she said in Uub´s direction.

"It had all started when a few members of the Galactic Patrol had broken into Mister Satans Mansion and were kidnapping Buu," Bulma explained. "They had their reasons for that of course."

"Yes - these guys didn´t seem as if they would do something like this without good reason," Cabba said a bit awkwardly.

"Hmm - you are only saying that because you are a cop too." Caulifla scoffed.

"I am part of the Planet Sadalah Defense Force, they are the Galactic Patrol from Universe 7´s North Galaxy," Cabba said.

"That´s the same thing in green," Caulifla retorted smugly. "You are doing the same job. Your organizations are just calling themselves differently."

"And you are just saying that to rile Cabba up Sis," Kale now spoke up.

"That is true. It is really fun after all. You should try fooling around with Cabba too Kale," Caulifla said, now actually sounding more than a bit suggestively.

"It - it sounds really naughty if you say it like that Sis," Kale replied with a slight blush on her face.

"And who says that I have not meant it in exactly that way?" Caulifla whispered to her, but still loud enough for the people around to hear.

Which caused her only to blush even more.

"That is enough you three," Bulma cut in.

"Yes - you can continue flirting later," Goten commented. "We have more important things to deal with now."

"Flirting?" Cabba and Caulifla exclaimed both nearly at the same time.

"Of course - you three sound nearly like me and Marron do sometimes. Only that you are one person more.." He grinned.

"At least it seems you have found a way to shut them up... darling," Marron commented drily. "Where were we with the story?" she asked Bulma.

"So Goku and Vegeta had agreed to temporally join the Galactic Patrol, to go after Moro together. There they were working with Agent Meerus, who was in truth an Angel."

"Yes- we know about him," Goku stated.

"Good - then I don´t have to repeat that part," Bulma said. "Well - after they had been chasing him for a while and a few short confrontations, Goku and Vegeta, along with Buu, were facing him on New Namek with their full power."

xxxx

Flashback

Goku and Vegeta, both currently in their SSB forms, were standing not far from the remains of a Namekian village those entire population had been wiped out and watching the ongoing fight between Moro and Fat Buu - who was being guided by the memories of the old Grand-Kaioshin of Universe 7 that he had accessed, who he had absorbed all those years ago.

What none of them had noticed, the whole time Moro had already been draining energy not only from the planet Namek and it´s inhabitants, but Goku and Vegeta as well.

xxx

A short time later, they were now facing Moro themselves, in their Blue-Kaioken 20 and Ascended SSB forms.

But it was already too late. Not only had Moro grown as powerful that he could fight them in these forms, with his continued energy-draining, it was not long until Vegeta and Vegeta did not longer have the energy left to stay in their God Forms and dropped out of them.

xxxx

Flashback End

"It was like so often before," Bulma said with some bitterness. "Goku and Vegeta fought with great power and courage... and somehow ended up making everything worse," she commented.

Goku admitted she had a point. How many fights could they have ended quicker and easier, with less deaths - even temporally ones? But somehow it just seemed to be in their saiyan nature to make things more `interesting´.

Still, he promised himself he would try to be more careful in the future.

"Moro had used a wish from the Namekian Dragon Balls to free all inmates from the Galactic Patrol´s prison," Bulma continued. "He used them as his personal foot-soldiers and as scouts to find new worlds for him to drain.

After absorbing several more worlds, he finally started an invasion on Earth. While Vegeta and Goku were still finishing their training, everyone else was fighting to hold them back."

xxxx

Flashback

Gohan and Piccolo were right in front of him, barely able to hold themselves on their own legs, drained of most of their energy.

Moro was ready to finish them off.

But in just that moment he was being attacked by 17 and 18. He couldn´t sense them and was taken by surprise.

"Artificial Lifeforms? What an exquisite power," he commented. "Too bad that I can not take it," he said with a smile.

That was exactly the reason why Gohan and Piccolo had especially asked 17 and 18 to join the fight. They were the only ones who were `naturally´ immune to Moro´s Energy Drain.

But it was far too late.

xxxx

Flashback End

"At this point Moro had already absorbed so much power that 17 and 18 had no chance against him anymore," Bulma stated.

"By what I sensed, Moro was even stronger at this point than Broly had been during your fight," Trunks said.

"We probably should have send 17 and 18 to fight him from the beginning instead of Vegeta and you," Bulma commented. "But when have we ever actually thought things through?"

"You should not worry about that now Bulma," Goku said. "That was years ago, wasn´t it? And things turned out alright in the end, right?"

"Yes. Barely," she responded. "You and Vegeta returned from your training and were able to overpower Moro - finally. But then..."

"What...?" Goku asked.

"Moro pulled a trick that nearly ruined everything," Bulma said.

xxxxxxx

Present Timeline - New Namek

Moro - along with his helper, the escaped inmate Cranberry - was standing in the middle of a Namekian village.

It was however completely deserted. Nobody was here.

Nobody except for a single low energy that Moro had been sensing since they approached the place.

A power that was now suddenly drastically increasing, literally exploding... and coming from a short-sized black haired man, who had obviously been waiting for him. And who was definitely not a Namekian.

"And now - who are you?" Moro asked.

To both his and Cranberry´s surprise, a second person came out from one of the obviously abandoned buildings.

This one was a young woman with shoulder long blonde hair and light blue eyes.

"My name is Vegeta. I am the warrior who will kill you - Moro," the man declared. Then he gestured to the woman.

"This is 18. She is the warrior who will kill you should I mess up despite expectations."

For a split-second, Moro was silenced by the bold declaration.

"You know who I am? and make still statements like this?" he said.

"Yes I know," Vegeta responded. "And honestly, right now both me and her are much stronger than you."

"18 you say? I see - an Artificial Lifeform. And one with great power, going by your attitude. Toor bad that I can not take it for myself," Moro remarked.

"Too bad for you - asshole," Eighteen replied.

"Yours however." Moro turned to Vegeta with a grin and started to drain his power with full force.

But in return Vegeta only smiled back at him.

I have finally finished the new chapter. It had taken me longer, since I had in the last time much to do with changes in my job.

As suggested here, something like the original Moro Arc - or at least events very similar to it - had happened in this story during the New Future Timeline instead of the present one.

Marron´s and Goten´s travel to the past was it then what changed everything and replaced the original Moro Arc with the current events.

Some events of the latest Arc, like Goku giving a dangerous enemy a senzu bean (again: meaning he had learned absolutely nothing from Cell) - Both he and Vegeta not finishing Moro off when they had several chances -

Piccolo stating Gohan is the strongest fighter left on Earth (meaning he should be stronger than 17), but just a couple chapters later 17 easily beating 73 who had Gohan´s powers copied -

the same 73 later being revealed to have Moro´s power copied and not bother to use them when 17 nearly killed him - etc. -

Lets say I prefer to say all that never happened.