A/N: Have no fear! Gater is here!

Across Time: Eternal Hope

"What…what happened?" Sixteen inquired, confusingly, his head throbbing as he was unable to recall the events that had just taken place.

Seventeen, who heard his fellow Android's query, raised a brow. "We should be asking you that. One moment you were determined to kill Goku, then you said 'abort mission' or whatever before seemingly changing your mind again." The blond man walked up to the confused Android, giving his a friendly pat on his back. "Everything alright there buddy?"

Sixteen said nothing, but his jaded eyes did briefly widened before returning to normal, a tinted hint of sadness glistening within them as the memory of a woman's pained scream reverberated through his ears. The sickening snap, crack and crunching sound of breaking bones followed by a define image of crimson substance leaking from damage flesh caused him to shut his eyes, squeezing tightly as a means to get rid of the disturbing visuals that flashed before him.

And at the end of it all, was Doctor Gero's taunting laughing face, almost as if he had personally witnessed the whole event unfold.

"Do you…want to talk about it? Maybe we should just go back to the city and possibility find a therapist. No wait! We should just take their office and-"

"Oh knock it off Seventeen." Eighteen hissed out, obviously annoyed at her brother's inability to take almost anything seriously. Scratch that, he doesn't take anything seriously…like ever. "Let's get out of here. Goku's not here anymore and we don't even know where he went." She finished, crossing her arms under her bosom.

"Yeah…but-" Seventeen's attention switched to his foes, his lips twitching slightly with amusement as he saw that they immediately became tense. "Maybe they know?" he said, as he causally made his way to the Z-Warriors.

"Or we could just forget it for now and do something else. Honestly, we didn't just gain our freedom to waste it carrying out the old man's desires." Eighteen looked to the distance, focusing on the sky and smiling brightly, (almost making a certain bald man faint). "I want to explore the world and see how things have changed!"

"Sis… you sound like Sixteen now." Her brother said, rolling his eyes.

Eighteen's face wrinkled with irritation, her mood now dampened. "So…maybe Sixteen is on to something! It actually feels-"

"So, are one of you guys going to speak and tell us where Goku went off to?" Seventeen said, waving off his sister's seemingly moment of enlightenment, causing her to frown.

Piccolo instantly responded. "I know where, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you."

Seventeen chuckled. "Oh really? Do I really have to make you?"

Piccolo smirked confidently. "You're welcome to try." If I could just get the Androids to face me one at a time, I may be able to them all down.

"Heh, do you really want to go there? It didn't go too well for you last time so what's going to be so different this time?"

"I think you're in for a surprise…but I just ask for two favors. One, that we take it out of the city and two, that I fight one of you at a time."

Seventeen scowled, not liking that the Namek seemed to be insinuating that he'd need help to defeat him. "Oh they won't be interfering. I'm game."

The blond Android took flight, gesturing to his sister and Sixteen to join him before turning to Piccolo, silently telling him to lead the way.

After Piccolo handed the unconscious Gohan to Yamcha, he jumped into the air before taking off, Seventeen following behind shortly, however as his sister mimicked his actions, she paused when she saw that the large Android wasn't moving. With the Namek and her brother well ahead of her, she turned around touched the Earth soil once more.

"Sixteen, let's go. I don't know what you're going through, but put it behind for now okay?" She said, gently, placing her hand on his giant forearm in a friendly matter, finally gaining his attention.

Sixteen sighed in defeat, clearly tired of worrying about his dilemma as the chestnut haired Android raised to the air, looking at him expectantly. He nodded, causing Eighteen to smile warmly before hurrying off to catch up with Piccolo and her brother.

The large Android paused for a second, as the next words he uttered most certainly surprised the Z-Fighters.

"If you see Goku again, tell him I apologize for what I did…and also for what I might do the next time I see him. "And then he was gone.

There was then a long moment of silence, the group of hero's trying to register what just occurred…well except the Saiyan Prince, who was still fuming over his rival's comment regarding his daughter.

"You guys…" Yamcha started, gaining the others attention. "I'm starting to think that Krillin was onto something…they really don't seem like bad guys. Well, I don't know about the blond one. He seems like a real jerk!"

Tien nodded in agreement. "I know, maybe they are really different from Trunks' timeline. Also, it seemed that something took control of the big guy. Weird…"

Krillin, can you hear me?

Krillin's eyes widen upon hearing a familiar gruff voice. "Piccolo?" the utterance of the Namek's name caused him to be the center of attention.

Yeah…it's me. Listen, Goku took Bra to Korin's tower to see if they are any Senzu Beans left to heal her with. But here is what I want you to do, ask Bulma to explain to everyone what we learned upon our encountered with Cell, the creature you most likely felt that had the energy signatures of all of us.

So Cell… that's the things name huh. So I take it you merged with Kami? Because there is no way you could take on the Androids if-

Piccolo grunted, not likely that this was turning into some kind of a social call. Don't worry about the Androids, just do as I say! He hollered, causing Krillin to wince at the volume of his allies' voice, proceeding to then cut off the connection.

"Sheesh, you'd think that merging with the kind hearted Kami would lessen his grumpiness…" He murmured as he then went to do as he was told.

Hyperbolic Time Chamber

Once Piccolo felt that he was a good amount of distance away civilization, he dropped to the ground, landing in a rocky plains area, Seventeen doing the same though he stood several feet away from the Namek. As Piccolo tossed his heavy weight materials to the terrain, the gear cracking it upon impact, the blond Android rolled up his slaves, wearing his ever present arrogant smirk.

Once Eighteen and Sixteen arrived not moments later, making sure to steer clear from danger, Seventeen spoke. "So you're serious about this huh? Why don't you just do yourself a favor and just tell us where Goku is? Why do you even care about him? According to the Doctor's data files you both weren't exactly friends."

"That's the funny thing about time, things tend to change." The Namek replied, spreading his legs apart, his muscles budging as he tightened his fists, preparing to unleash his power. "Enough talking, let's get this started!"

Seventeen shrugged as he slid into a fighting stance. "Okay, you're funer-"

Piccolo's sudden roaring aura of power silenced the young man, the Android's blond hair whipping madly from the violent gusts of wind slamming into him. His sister, who was sitting on an elevating smooth rock, one leg crossed over the other, covered her face with her right arm in an attempt to stop the debris from striking her face. Sixteen didn't even flinch from the powerful currents, remaining stoic. However that changed when his internal scanner went off though the roof upon sensing the power that the Namek was releasing.

"Seventeen, my scanners says that Piccolo is now as strong as you are!" Sixteen warned, hollering through the wild wind.

Seventeen snorted as Piccolo finished powering up, his blueish aura now pulsing radiantly. "Yeah right, there is no way he could have gotten that strong in such a short amount of time. So relax I got th-"

The blond man's jaded eyes widened, nearly shooting out of his eye sockets when he suddenly felt the wind knocked out of him. As he looked down, he gawked in shock at the Namek's green fist buried deep within his stomach. With a teasing smirk Piccolo quickly reared back, giving the Android a roundhouse kick to his temple, sending him skidding roughly against the ground. Piccolo shot forward again, aiming to take him out as fast as possible, knowing that he still had two other Androids to take care of. Unfortunately, Seventeen was prepared this time as he sprung off the ground, gaining some air before diving down to his foe, who was heading towards him at breakneck speed. A thunderclap ripped through the air as both the fighters met, their hands gripping each other in a powerful struggle of strength. Seventeen broke away as he swayed to the side nimbly, quickly giving his enemy a double ax handle to his exposed back, sending the Namek spiraling down at an incredible rate. Luckily, Piccolo was able to regain his baring seconds before landing, crashing down on the ground with his feet instead of his back, the speed at which he traveled having caused the terrain to shatter. Not letting up, the blond man rushed off to the Namek, only to have him hurl a ki blast to his face, temporally blinding him much to the Android's dismay. As he tried to blink off his fogged sight, Piccolo delivered a heavily fist forward, catching him in the face, making the disorientated Seventeen stagger backwards. Piccolo continued to take advantage of the dizzied Android by giving him rapid punches and kicks at his stomach, chest and head, blood beginning to escape his lips.

And then things changed.

"Android Barrier!"

An electrifying blue force field expanded from Seventeen's form, successfully thrusting the Namek into the air, finally giving the Android some breathing room.

As Piccolo came back down to land, he smirked at the Android's breathless state.

Seventeen wiped the trail of blood that had been tracking down his chin with the back of his hand; he then spoke.

"Okay, I admit, I underestimated you. I don't know how you got this strong so fast, but it doesn't matter."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed as he watched a smug grin spread on his lips.

"I wasn't even trying."

And then he was gone, taking the Namek completely by surprise as he was suddenly met with a fist to his right cheek, followed by another bone crushing fist to his chest, finishing his combo with an uppercut, sending him mid-air. Seventeen jumped pass him and gave him a double drop kick to his stomach, sending him down again, only this time Piccolo was unable to stop himself from slamming onto the ground.

"Power Blitz!"

Seventeen shouted as he shot out a small but very potent blue energy blast to the floored Namekian. Seconds before the attack could strike him, Piccolo hurled an attack of his own, a one-handed Masenko, which saved him from what would have been a fatal injury as both the energy blast exploded on collision, sending shockwaves through the air. As the smoke cleared, Piccolo's eyes widened when he felt himself being yanked off the ground, gasping in shock when he felt Seventeen's keen pressing into his stomach. The Android grinned confidently as he grabbed Piccolo's right arm, proceeding to throw him over his shoulders, slamming him against the ground, his arm still remaining within Seventeen's grasp. He jerked him forwards again, this time releasing him, letting his own momentum send him crashing into a large piece of elevated terrain, going right through it. As Piccolo regained his composure, he grounded himself before pushing off to the Android, who decided to launch his Power Blitz attack. Piccolo powered up his left hand and proceeded to swat the offending attack to the side as he met Seventeen's crossed arms.

The Namek used his free fist to break through the Android's guard, Seventeen's eyes widening as he felt his enemy's knee smash against his chin, causing his head to snap back. Piccolo grabbed him by one of his shoulders, reeling him in, only to have Seventeen use the afterimage technique to evade the attack. The blond man reappeared behind Piccolo, aiming a fist to his back, slamming it onto his spine, causing him to arc forward. Seventeen jumped into the air before landing a scissors to the top of his head, causing him to see stars. The Android then grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into the ground with so much force, that a deep crater was created, web-like cracks spreading miles away. Just as Seventeen was about to crush his head, Piccolo reared his head back, causing it to clash against his opponent forehead. He stumbled back as the Namek spun away, giving him a sideways kick to the temple, proceeding to disappear from view. His attempt to catch the Android off guard failed as Seventeen vanished himself; Piccolo locked on him not moments later, following suit. As both of them come in and out of view, Eighteen and Sixteen could see the fighters hammering rapid punches after punches, occasionally throwing in kicks here and there.

"Well, looks like Piccolo is really giving my brother a hard time. If he wasn't so stubborn, we could have been finished him off together." The brunet said, sighing in aggravation as she had to continuously dust herself off from the relentless debris crashing against her.

"Though Piccolo and Seventeen are even, that will soon change do to the fact we cannot become fatigued."

The silence soon returned as their focus went back to the fight.

DBZDBZDBZDBZxxxxxxxxxDBZDBZDBZDBZ

Tien, Krillin, Yamcha along with Trunks and Gohan, who both had awaken not too long ago, looked on in astonishment at the events being told by Bulma, except for the son of Goku of course since he had been there.

Vegeta, who wasn't interested in hearing events again, stood away from the group, in a deep mediation state in order to figure out how to ascend to the next level, the suppose next level that his daughter from the future was going to tell them about before that 'damned Kakarot' and his inability to stay away from life threatening situation interrupted her. He also still wasn't too happy with his rival's odd claim on his daughter. Why did he say such a thing? What does it all mean? And now that he actually thought about it, his daughter seems to be awfully close to the older Saiyan. For one thing, she was always with him while they stayed here for the past few years, not to mention that when she wasn't around him, she was looking for him. Sometimes he swore that he could see her giving the clown looks and well that just didn't sit well with him. He'd be damned if he'd accept them having some kind of…thing? His eyes widen briefly as a horrifying thought crossed his mind. Could it be? What if-

Before he could think it any further, the subject of the matter suddenly materialized a few feet away from the Prince.

"Goku/Dad!"

His appearance obvious caused the group to stop there intense conversation, Krillin and Gohan dive bombing into him, literally causing them all to tumble straight through the wall of Capsule Corp, much to Bulma's dismay. However she couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her lips at the heart warming scene, always loving to see the great relationship the Saiyan had with not only his son, but the bald monk as well. Vegeta snorted in disgust at the three 'idiots' laughing like 'fools', the 'clown' every now and then wincing in pain since his arm, which was in a sling, was still very much broken.

Bulma's smile soon dropped as she saw that her daughter was nowhere to be seen, dread quickly seeping into her as she already expected the worse. She hurriedly rushed to Goku, grabbing his good arm and shaking it urgently.

"Where is Bra? Is she okay? Please tell me she's okay!?" Bulma rambled out.

"Hey, Hey! Calm down!" Goku said, gently removing his friend's hand away from him before squeezing it reassuringly, which of course the Prince didn't like. "She's fine! Really! I was able to get her a Senzu Bean! I just left her at the Lookout."

Bulma sighed in relief upon hearing the good news as she then took note of the Saiyan's injured arm. "Goku? There wasn't another one for you?"

He shook his head with a sad smile. "Unfortunately no."

"You know, you could have just given her half of it while you took the other. I'm sure her injury would have stabilized enough for her to natural heal within a day or so, given how fast Saiyan's are able to heal."

Goku laughed, rubbing the back of his head while smiling comically. "Yeah, Bra had told me something similar!" His expression then sobered up. "But to me, she was in pretty critical condition. She needed it more than me anyways; my arm should be all fixed up in a few days or so."

"Uh Goku, if you haven't noticed, Piccolo's energy signature has flared up, since he went out to face the Androids while you were away, not to mention that that creature Cell is out there most likely killing people and getting stronger with that energy absorbing ability! We don't have time for you to heal!"

Despite the dire situation, Goku smiled. "Cell? That's the things name? Looks like you're going to have to fill me and Bra in, since there was a point that she was unconscious and I was pretty sure she missed some important stuff because of that. And about not having enough time, sure we do! What if I told you that there is a place that we can get a year's worth of training in just one whole day?"

This perked the Prince's interest, though he was inwardly glad that his daughter was okay.

"Really? How?" Gohan asked eagerly.

"Well at the Lookout, there is a special room called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber that runs in different times or something, do to some kind of magic I think! Ugh look, let's all just go to the Lookout and Mr. Popo will explain it loads better than I ever could! So come on, one of you grab onto my hand and then the rest of you can link hands with each other so I can Instant Transmission all of us together!" Goku said, grasping his son's hand as Krillin quickly walked around his best friend and then grabbed Gohan's free one. The rest followed suit except for Vegeta and Bulma, the latter stating that she wanted to go grab baby Trunks along with a few supplies. The Prince just didn't want to be in contact with any of the others, preferring to just go there by his lonesome. Besides, he has never had any help from the clown and he wasn't going to start now.

Moments later, Bulma returned with her baby in hand, the strap of a satchel bag slung over her free shoulder.

As Bulma walked beside Tien, who was at the end of the line, the triclop placed his hand on her shoulder do to her arm being occupied with baby Trunks and all. That's when she noticed the distance Vegeta.

"Vegeta? Aren't you coming?"

The Prince snorted. "I'll go there myself. I don't want to hold hands like a fool!" He replied, stubbornly.

This caused Bulma to become annoyed. "Oh come on Vegeta! Don't be like that! Just take my hand okay?"

"No thanks." He said firmly, as he turned away, preparing to leave.

Bulma put a stop to that as she growled angrily, literally causing the group of hand clasped fighters to shiver fearfully; she stomped her way to the Prince, forcefully grabbing his hand before forcefully yanking the ever stubborn Vegeta to the group. This of course pissed him off.

"Unhand me woman! I said I'll go myself!"

Bulma simply glared nastily and to the group's amazement, the Prince stopped his attempt in breaking her hold and stayed put…and is that a small pout on his lips?

Resisting the urge to giggle, Goku asked everyone if they were ready, in which they nodded, however, before the Saiyan could use the Instant Transmission, Trunks spoke.

"Wait! Goku! Do you even know if this will work and if it's… safe?"

The Saiyan shrugged. "I don't know, we're about to find out!"

Before anyone could protest, they were gone from sight.

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An ivory and purple beetle-like creature licked his lips hungrily as he used his long stinger to pierce into a screaming victim's back, chuckling maliciously as the man's shouts of pain began to dissolve just as his body was, leaving nothing but his clothes on the now empty city streets. Cell had at this point wiped out five cities and well he was nowhere near full. His hungry for power will continue until he has reached his goal of perfection. During his venture from city to city, he oddly enough found quite a few of them empty, having clothes scattered around almost as if he had been there. He at times thought that he had maybe already purged the city, but then he would remember that he was just confusing it with his original timeline's areas, since he had pretty much visited the same places he had there. No, there was something wrong here and he will be sure to keep an eye out for whatever it was that appeared to be mimicking him. His eyes widened in realization. It has something to do with that second cocoon I saw earlier doesn't it?

Before he could ponder the mystery any further, his thoughtful expression morphed into one of excitement.

"Ahh! Piccolo's power sure has gone through the roof, which means he is probably fighting the Androids! Fool! He has just sealed everyone's fate!" He laughed wickedly as he ran off to where the Namek's energy signature was located.

"Perfection, here I come!" He hollowed madly, leaving a trail of laughter behind as he increased his speed, wanting to get there as soon as possible.

It was unfortunate that he didn't notice the bulky green figure that had been hiding in the shadows discreetly, his bright-blue eyes shimmering with as much as excitement as his counterpart's.

A/N: Surprise! Yay! I know I took forever! Just hard to balance school and stuff. Let me see if I could whip out at least one or two more chapter before I disappear yet again. The major reason why this chapter wasn't finished earlier was become my writers block was pretty persistent...the evil bastard it is =( I feel like this chapter doesn't really give you guys much and had wanted to extend it, but I didn't want to keep you all waiting any longer. Doesn't help that fighting scenes have always be a bitch to write, but eh I do have my moments. The next chapter will finish the rest of the Seventeen and Piccolo fight as well as have Bra in it of course, since she wasn't in this one! Fun fact, Krillin originally had said the only line Trunks had in this chapter. I felt bad for having him say nothing so I gave it to him!

Anyways! Whoa! 99 reviews! 1 away from 100! That will be my first every one-hundred review! Thanks guys for all the views, adds, follows! Much love!

And lol at you guys liking of my cracked story, "She's So Devious" XD I honestly didn't expect it to do so well...good! My other short, "Shattered" is doing pretty good as well! My only wish is to be able to get many others on board the Bra/Goku Shipping Train XD I hope to be able to convert many others before the end of this whole thing =)

And as for Goku being OOC in the previous chapter umm I don't know about that. He has emotionally changed these pass few years and well he has never dealt with such problems before. Sure he has always had issues with Chi-Chi, but never like this. Remember he never understood the real relationship he had with Chi-Chi, well as far as this story goes by. He now knows that he never actually loved her but that doesn't mean that he all of a sudden loves Bra as she does him. He feels something but he doesn't exactly get it completely, so sorry if I gave anyone the impression that he already does. I often thought of going back and changing it up, but since it was done, I push the thought aside.

Well thanks again for reading! Until next time!

Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! SEE YA'LL IN 2015! =)

(Edited: 1/2/15 - Minor tweak with the Cell part in the end. I had totally forgotten that Cell knew of there possibly being another version of him roaming around. Sorry about that. I also realized other small mistakes but I'll make sure to correct them as the story moves forwards.)

(Posted: 12-31-14, Wednesday, Midnight)

~Gater~