AN: These first few chapters are coming out fast since they're just edited versions of the old ones so don't expect this speed the whole way through the story except maybe when I'm on break. Anyway no gasbagging let's get right into this.
Chapter 4: Back to space!
As the ship full of Saiyans entered Namek's atmosphere it slowed down, seemingly far too large to land anywhere near them with the ship's sheer size. It lowered to about half a mile from the ground and those on the ground watched as just under a dozen black dots dashed out the side of the ship and sped their way to their hosts. Mirai sensed Gohan among those coming down to the ground with several others he didn't recognize in the slightest.
Mirai personally already knew that he had come with Saiyans. Well, more like had a strong hunch. On their second day on Namek, Mirai used his time machine to travel to the future in which Jazuka was about to try and form an alliance, as per the plan he formed with the Kai of Time. However everyone else was yet to know of this and instead wondered who Gohan could possibly have come across with a ship THAT big. Chi-Chi immediately shoved her way past everyone to get to where Gohan was seemingly about to land, fully prepared to give him a hug and an earful for going off like Goku used to, and was the first to see the people Gohan was with, and even more shockingly, that Gohan was dressed just like one.
The glare of the sun up until now had been shining behind the figures and so it was impossible to see more than their silhouettes, but as they drifted below the direct light of the sun details could be made out. Gohan touched down in his full set of Saiyan armor, surrounded by multiple other Saiyans all with serious expressions on their faces. Gohan smiled lightly at seeing everyone okay, though it was impossible to miss that Gohan's eyes now remained less rounded and narrower and his features seemed sharper, as if he was already a Super Saiyan.
"Hey guys, what's up?" He asked smoothly and lightly, however his eyes and mouth widened slightly into an expression of surprise when he sensed an angry Ki right beside him. Out of reflex Gohan leaned his head back and watched as a familiar frying pan whooshed past where his head would have been. As soon as the pan had passed by he moved his head back and turned to his mother and gave a sad smile. "Hey mom, I'm really sorry about this I know you must-" but Gohan was cut off when the woman jumped forward and wrapped her arms around her son.
"Gohan it's okay honey I know why you have to do it, I just hate that it always has to be my family" she explained, letting go of him and standing back looking over him, "Look at you, are you taller? You like slightly taller, and broader too, have you been training a lot? And your face you look so much more mature then when I last saw you!" she fretted over him as Gohan smiled at his mother's antics, "Oh and what happened to your clothes baby? You're dressed like one of those delinquents!" she huffed, and all of the Saiyans behind Gohan stepped back nervously at that. Jinto thought that this woman was quite overbearing personally, more so than even some Saiyan women.
"Yeah I'd like to hear about these delinquents! Are those SAIYANS?!" Yamcha asked, unable to believe his own eyes. The look on the other's faces said that they were all silently asking the same question.
Gohan nodded with another light smile at his friends, "You bet'cha, remember when Jazuka told us about these guys right before he left?" Gohan hinted, attempting and succeeding to jog his friends memories and their eyes widened collectively. "Yep, I just extended my Ki, found that I had a chance of getting to their ship in time and blasted off, I didn't quite make it, I passed out not far from the ship but Jinto here saw me and saved me" Gohan recounted, gesturing at the Saiyan who had saved his life.
"THAT GUY LOOKS JUST LIKE JAZ-" Krillin began shouting before being elbowed in the side by Mirai who merely gave him a pointed look that Krillin thought looked an awful lot like a, "This-is-Jazuka's-ancestor-and-if-you-give-anything-away-he-might-never-exist-in-this-timeline face""Oh" he muttered and luckily the Saiyan named Jinto hadn't noticed his outburst.
"So, these are all Saiyans huh? They seem nice enough" Chiaotzu said, floating over to them with Tien in tow. The miniscule emperor approached the alien race with confidence and optimism and moved right to the Saiyan designated as Jinto and offered his hand for a handshake. Jinto looked at his hand confused before having a flash of recognition.
"Gohan did the same thing upon first meeting me on our ship, I assume it is an Earth greeting. Could you show me how?" Jinto asked politely, rather than try to show him how to do theirs. After all it's as they say, when in Rome…
After all the formalities were done with and the various species had all broken off. Saiyan mingled with Namekians, Humans with Saiyans, Namekians with Humans and even all three in some groups. It was warming to see the way that the races could unite. Gohan was especially impressed with the way the Humans were taking this. He thought they'd have been more close-minded but instead here they were, asking questions of the Saiyans and Namekians. They were conversing with them, laughing with them. It inspired a sense of hope in Gohan and brought a gentle smile to his face, a smile that did not go unnoticed by Videl.
The Raven-haired girl had waited long enough and upon seeing Gohan's smile, figured he was relaxed and had had enough space. She stomped on over to Gohan, mind set on giving that boy a piece of her mind. Gohan saw her approaching and his brow raised in surprise and amusement for a moment before it dropped into another one of his gentle smiles that melted the frosty armor she was trying to put on for intimidation. "Damn him and his perfect smile!"
She stood before him shaking with a mixture of anger and another emotion she couldn't describe and watched as his eyes softened even more. "Hey Videl" he said softly and warmly to his friend and she, rather than respond in kind, began to chastise him.
"You stay behind on a dying planet, make me think you're dead, come back with a race of aliens, make mecome find youand then all you have to say to me is hello!?" she asked incredulously, "Do you have any idea how much I-ugh-we worried about you!" she continued trying to cover her blunder but Gohan had caught it and he smiled even wider which served to infuriate her more, "You're so stupid!" she claimed, throwing a punch with her teary eyes closed that she didn't really expect to land.
As expected Gohan merely leaned his head in the opposite direction of the punch so that she didn't hurt her fist on his face before pulling the sobbing girl to his chest and rubbing her back soothingly, causing the dam to burst forth and she let out all her pent up emotion she had been holding onto since that moment she left him in front of that damned army. After a few moments Gohan chose to speak to her, "I'm sorry Videl" he apologised genuinely, causing her to cry harder and clutch tighter, "I promise to always do my very best to come back to you" he said without really thinking. Videl heard this loud and clear and pulled her head away from his chest to angle her tear-stained face so she could look him in the eye, silently asking if he really just said that. Gohan immediately realised what he said and his cheeks took on a pink hue and he attempted to recorrect, "To all of you that it, my family and friends alike."
Mirai apparently decided that now as the best time to interrupt, and bail his friend out of this predicament. Videl seemingly opened her mouth to say something to Gohan but the time traveller quickly stepped forward, "Gohan, I'm sorry for interrupting and I know you just got back but we need to talk"
Gohan turned with a smile to his friend but that quickly turned into a concerned stare at the look on Trunks' face. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, suddenly getting serious. Mirai nodded simply before turning to Videl.
"Sorry, I'm gonna need Gohan for a bit, you can interrogate him later" at that the time patroller turned on his heel and walked away, not even bothering to check if Gohan was following. The two walked a few feet away before Trunks blasted off into the distance.
Gohan turned to Videl with an apologetic smile, "Sorry Videl, I'll be back later" he gave her a two-fingered salute before blasting off after his friend, leaving Videl standing there slightly worried and extremely curious as to what this was. After the planet getting blown up and meeting two alien races things couldn't get much crazier could they? She certainly hoped not silently as she watched the dots that were Gohan and Mirai disappear into the distance.
Meanwhile : With Gohan and Trunks
"So Trunks, what's the situation" Gohan asked seriously, his eyes set on the back of his friend's head, despite being battered in the face by the wind that rushed by him, his hair flying behind him. The lavender-haired Saiyan turned his head ever so slightly in Gohan's direction.
"We have a big problem and we need you. Due to the fact that Goku and my father are…out of the picture-" Gohan noticed the way the boy from another timeling hesitated at that part and felt his friend's pain equally in his chest. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that his father was dead and they might not be able to get him back this time. "-You and I are the universes best chances" he continued, seemingly oblivious to Gohan's train of thought. "This may be hard to come to grips with Gohan but we are currently the strongest there is. We're the ones everyone will be counting on, so we have to be the strongest" the boy told his friend somberly. "This time there's no Goku to hope for if we fail, we're the last line of defense." He finished, throwing a glance Gohan's way to see him processing this information.
"Okay but…what exactly is this threat Trunks? Should we be really worried?" As he finished his sentence Gohan sensed something…strange over at where Earth used to be. A pretty powerful Ki signature was floating in space there. Not nearly as powerful as he but definitely not an ordinary human and the Ki felt too peaceful to be a threat. Then however, just as suddenly as it came it disappeared entirely. Gohan tried to locate it again but try as he might the signature had disappeared. "Weird…that Ki felt familiar, like…I've sensed It multiple times before but never concentrated on it, how can that be?"Gohan thought back and at each and every point in his memory that he could recall that Ki was always present on Earth out in the middle nowhere, seemingly surrounded by no other significant human Ki. Gohan had always reasoned from childhood that it must just be a big dinosaur or big fish somewhere because no-one else ever brought it up.
Just then Gohan realised that Trunks had been talking to him the whole time and he had been too deep in thought to hear a single word. "Are you okay Gohan? You spaced out." Mirai queried with concern. Gohan just smiled gently and shook his head.
"Nothing sorry, I just thought I sensed something" he lied so as not to worry Trunks, "I probably imagined it anyway" he reasoned to himself. In time Gohan would almost completely forget about this Ki he sensed and would not be forced to recall such a memory for a while.
"Well anyway, as I was saying, the problem we are facing won't actually exist for a few hundred years." He told the other Saiyan, who only looked at him with greater concern.
"So this is a time travel thing huh?" Gohan asked, already having a pretty bad conception of future timelines thanks to the very half-breed, or rather full Saiyan now like himself Gohan remembered, he was currently talking to. Immediately his mind was on high alert and he listened to his friend very closely.
"To explain this I have to start from the beginning. While we were here on Namek and you were out in Space, I went to Jazuka's timeline. In the future I'm known as the "Time Patroller", a title given to me for obvious reasons. I never told any of you this but time travel is against Intergalactic Law and I was almost exiled from Earth for breaking such a law, even unknowingly. My case was reviewed with the Supreme Kai of time, who took pity on my situation and knew I did what I did thinking it was the right thing, so rather than be exiled I was made part of a group called the Time patrol. A group of powerful warriors that work for the Supreme Kai of time by finding breaches in the fabric of space and time and righting wrongs with the timeline." Trunks explained his recent past.
"But if time travel is illegal, then Jazuka-" Gohan started, taking in this information like a sponge, thankful for his good mind.
"Jazuka was also accused of breaking Intergalactic law, they were going to exile him from his people but I wanted to help him. Gohan, do you remember Dr Rayga?" Trunks asked, jogging Gohan's memory of the android army stint at the hands of the crazed doctor a while back. Gohan nodded at Trunks.
"Yeah I remember the guy, a crazy Tuffle scientist who built the android threat we fought not too long ago" Gohan replied, confirming he did indeed remember the incident.
"Yeah well apparently the entire Tuffle race was somehow revived, along with a planet, by some external force, and is building an army to wage war against the Saiyans, despite the Saiyans' attempts to strike a peace treaty with them. Spying on them confirmed for me that an insanely powerful force was responsible for their revival. That means that because of someone messing with the timeline, the Tuffles were revived and hence Dr Rayga existed to create those androids. Meaning that Jazuka never would have broken Intergalactic law in the original timeline, so it isn't his fault." Mirai paused here to make sure Gohan was following and to give him an opportunity to digest this onslaught of information being thrown at him out of the blue. One he was sure Gohan was keeping up with it all he continued.
"So I got Jazuka out of exile and instead got him and his sister on the Time patrol and he used his influence as the new King of Saiyans to form an alliance with the Intergalactic Protection Force. Along with a few other races, including the Namekians and Earthlings he managed to form a huge alliance to combat the army of Tuffles and their various allies." Trunks explicated and Gohan, being the genius he was, had already worked out the rest of Mirai's plan.
"And while they fight the army and put all their efforts into fighting our army, we go in for the kill against whoever is responsible for this right?" Gohan asked, pre-empting Trunks intentions. He received a nod from the other boy and began thinking about this. "Are we the only two going to fight this opponent?" Gohan asked his friend, this time receiving a nod from the man with the plan.
"No not just us, Piccolo, the Supreme Kai of time and most of the generals will be coming to help, including Jazuka and Kagome, I fear they won't be able to do much but whatever they can do, will weaken him for us if that's what it comes to."
"Kami…" Gohan breathed, "That powerful? I mean I'm assuming the generals of your army are quite powerful" Gohan added on and Trunks thought for a moment.
"Yeah they're all rather powerful. Jazuka is possibly the strongest with his power now not too far behind us, but then, neither of us have fought at maximum for a long time have we Gohan?" Mirai asked knowingly.
"No" Gohan admitted, "We haven't" he finished, pursing his lips at the memory of the power he attained that time he fought Chan3 on Earth. It was like all the power he had as a SSJ2 and more but with a huge boost from his Oozaru form. It was a strange sensation and judging by what Trunks just said, the other boy was also aware of that deep well of power that rested in him.
Gohan was well aware that there was a level beyond SSJ2 but Gohan could not achieve it due to him not knowing what the trigger for it was. Gohan though could tell it would take too much from his body to be worth the huge boost in Ki and power. It would take someone with a special body to withstand the force, this however was also another level of Super Saiyan besides that, an attainable one as long as Gohan was in possession of his tail. Gohan knew that this power however came with a worse attitude change than SSJ2 and so knew that for now he would have to leave it and focus on increasing his base and Super Saiyan strength. SSJ2 was a very valuable transformation but the change it had on his mental state frightened him and he preferred not to use it.
"Gohan, I know you're afraid of using your Ascended Super Saiyan power, I am too, but the power of that second transformation may be the difference between saving everyone or the end of the universe" Trunks said, causing Gohan to snap to attention to Trunks, his eyes widening dramatically. "Trust me, I'm with you on not having to use that Oozaru related transformation though. That time I fought you and Piccolo out on the mountains before dad went missing I could feel the power and its influence on me without even tapping into it. It would be a huge asset in the upcoming fight but we all need to be on top of our game in all aspects of this fight, not just power." Mirai elaborated on what he was talking about.
Suddenly Mirai stopped flying and Gohan did so as well. "For that exact reason we ALL need to be training. Even the other Z-warriors will help in the war effort. We'll need to train a lot too Gohan, me and you will be sparring together since we're the only ones even on our level of power." The Son of Vegeta told the young of Goku.
"So is that why you brought us all the way out here? Trunks we can't train for real even at this distance we'll destroy the planet" Gohan reminded his friend who only smirked.
"Ah but with a portable, new-and-improved GR, the people on the other side of the planet will only feel slight shockwaves and tiny tremors from over here" Trunks said with his nose in the air, obviously proud of his thinking and pulling out a capsule.
"Wow way to go Trunks!" Gohan congratulated, "Alright so should we start now, I'm curious to know how we match up, it's been a while since we've fought" Gohan chatted excitedly. Beginning to do stretches, "Sweet I'm already in my training armor too so I won't wreck any of my Gi's or proper armors." Gohan remembered happily. Gohan looked his friend up and down, "Where's your training armor? I assume you'll have some of that armor Bulma made back before Cell" Gohan said, making an educated guess.
"It's in the GR capsule, I'll just change into it once we get down there" Trunks face lit up with the prospect of a good fight with his friend, the first time they'd fight both in complete control of their minds and actions. "This'll be good" Mirai muttered quietly to himself as they lowered to the ground in the middle of the canyon.
5 minutes later: With the others
Krillin felt the ground shaking from where he was training with Tien on the other side of Namek, "Well I guess that Trunks must have told Gohan what's going on, they're training already and it's intense!" the ex-monk commented, momentarily stopping his fight to look into the distance.
"Yeah! All that raw power! Those two are incredible!" Yamcha gulped, the Namekian and Saiyan he was training with also stopping and looking off at where the energy was coming from in total shock. There was a silence before Yamcha focused, steeling his resolve, "And so if we want to be any help at all we have to train harder than them!" he shouted out to affirm his ideal. Krillin and Tien nodded in agreement and jumped back into combat even faster than before, fighting to their maximum potential.
Videl was being trained with Chi-Chi and one of the Namekians and hearing Yamcha's speech she decided she needed to be stronger, strong enough to keep her honor and respect from the other humans after the way most of them learned to despise her father for his lies over the years. Videl once again reached deep inside herself, looking for that well of Ki that she had already unlocked and now simply had to relocate. A few loose rocks began to levitate slowly into the air and her hair began to defy gravity as her need to prove herself pushed her to her breaking point.
Meanwhile: With Gohan and Trunks
The two were already going at it. Gohan ducked a side kick from his opponent before crossing his arm, bent at the elbow, across his chest so that his arm stopped the incoming gut punch where his forearm and bicep met. Using this contact he pushed off and away from Trunks, letting off a Ki blast with his free hand at the already advancing Trunks that was skillfully avoided at the last second when the Lavender haired boy craned his neck away from the blast and followed it with his eyes just long enough to make sure it had passed him by before turning his eyes back to Gohan only to see nothing. He stopped his advance with a burst of Ki to stop his momentum and found Gohan's Ki just too late to stop the axe-kick on the back of his neck. The time-travelers form made to smash into the ground in the high gravity but at the last second Trunks put his hands forward to break his fall, allowing his body to go into a roll across his shoulder right into a kneeling position. Trunks snapped his head back to where Gohan was and just in time to see the knee approaching his face. He leaned his head backwards away from the passing knee, grabbing Gohan's passing leg and doing a 180 turn on his knee, letting go of Gohan causing him to fly front first at a wall.
Gohan extended his legs for the wall and upon making contact, bent his legs at the knee so that his legs wouldn't absorb the force before launching himself back off the wall at Trunks, leaving an outgoing dent from the force that would have crumbled brick wall to dust. Gohan leaned back and put his feet out heel first so that his body slowed down to a near stop by the time he reached Trunks before letting loose a punch carrying all the force by throwing his body weight into the haymaker. Trunks panicked slightly and just barely managed to evade a bone-crippling blow by twisting his body and lifting his arm, catching Gohan's arm under his arm-pit before countering with his own haymaker. Gohan imitated Trunks and caught the blow under his arm and the two merely stood there. The planet shook from their raised Ki's and sweat dripped down either's brow as they tried to pull their offending appendage free whilst keeping the other's trapped. It was obvious that in terms of physical strength they were at a stalemate.
Thinking fast Trunks threw a knee at Gohan's exposed abdomen hoping to wind him and gain an advantage. Gohan however apparently had the same idea and their knees collided between them both, creating a shockwave that tousled the hair of each fighter. Gohan had an idea and bent his arm at the elbow and pulled his body in closer to Trunks, smashing the bridge of Trunks' nose with the part of his skull just above the hairline. This move dazed Trunks and allowed Gohan to get his arm free but before he could press his advantage Trunks threw out a blind kick that managed to strike Gohan between his ribs unexpectedly, leaving Gohan winded just long enough for Trunks to regain his bearing and follow up with an uppercut to Gohan's jaw.
Gohan's head rolled back from the painful blow but he was able to stabilize himself just in time to sense the shift in air pressure to the right of his head. Gohan lifted his left hand and brought it across his body and up to catch the punch just before it made contact with his cheek. Gohan then curled his right arm in and threw his elbow into Trunks' liver. Gohan, still holding Trunks' fist, pulled it fast his face and across his body, pulling the stupefied fighter closer allowing Gohan to kick the heel of his boot across Trunks chest and up into his chin. Trunks though felt the breeze on his chest from the speed the limb was moving at and twisted his head just in time for the kick to pass right by where his head was, the heel grazing his cheek as it continued. Trunks pulled his feet up and pushed off against Gohan's side to get some distance from the other demi.
"Hmph, you haven't quite caught up to me in raw power but it's obvious your talent and ingenuity for combat and strategizing under pressure have been giving you an edge so far. I'd like to say I'm not surprised but it's been a long time since a fight hasn't been about the most powerful one. It's refreshing to be honest." The lavender-haired boy admitted with a smirk stretching his lips. "However, I'm not about to lose this fight that easy" he added, falling deeper into an offensive stance.
"Bring it time-traveller" Gohan taunted playfully as he went back on the defensive, Trunks got in close before dropping to the floor and swiping at Gohan's legs. Gohan hopped over his swipe and kicked out at Trunks' face in mid-air. Trunks pulled up his forearm and stopped the kick and pushed his arm forward, throwing Gohan's leg back before he thrust his free hand forth with a blast at point blank. Gohan pushed his hands out and formed a Ki ball the size of a beach ball. Trunks blast hit Gohan's ball of energy and broke, wisps of Trunks' energy beam escaping over the sides, sending broken up little beams of separated energy whizzing past Gohan's body on all sides. Gohan pushed his arms out straight and pushed the Ki blast against Trunks' beam. Trunks fought against the approaching ball of Ki with his blast but it continued getting closer until there was only an inch of Trunks' blast between his hands and the ball. Just then Trunks sensed the Ki signature from the blast spike erratically as if it had suddenly become uncontained and unstable. Trunks knew what that meant and threw his arms up before him, letting go of his blast entirely to defend himself from the impending explosion.
As expected the blast detonated like a car exploded in the center of the room, throwing Trunks back across the GR. He put his feet down and crouched, taking one of his hands to the ground to try and slow himself down as he slid across the floor, leaving only one forearm crossed past his face to protect it from the smoke and superheated air. He failed to slow down his momentum due to the smoothness of the floor and he felt the heel of the foot he put behind himself hit the base of the wall. With his foot against the wall as a pivot point the rest of the momentum threw his body against the wall, winding him just slightly. He never lost concentration though and his eyes scanned the air where Gohan should have been but instead his 6th sense picked up Gohan to his right. He raised his bent leg up just in time to check the kick aimed at his lower abdomen. Trunks pushed through the kick and threw a left hook that was skillfully ducked by his opponent. Trunks followed with a right cross that Gohan parried to the side with his left hand. Gohan countered by taking his left hand up to the back of Trunks' neck and threw a right knee into his solar plexus. Trunks staggered back from the blow, gasping for air. Gohan phased behind Trunks in a burst of speed and went to follow with a haymaker. Trunks jerked and twisted his whole body to the side to avoid the punch. He continued his turn and hit Gohan in the jaw with an up-kick that sent the dark-haired teen careening to the ceiling.
Gohan smacked head first into the roof of the GR and dropped back against the floor with all the force of his bodyweight under 300 times Earth's gravity. Gohan almost blacked out and his already heavy muscles from fighting in such intense conditions screamed for reprieve, but Gohan's Saiyan pride wouldn't allow the fight to end in such a way. He forced his body to respond and he got to his feet. One look at Trunks told Gohan that his friend was in just as bad shape as he was. The two both nodded in unspoken agreement and powered up to Super Saiyan. Feeling slightly rejuvenated and less affected by the gravity, Gohan fell back into his fighting stance and he and Trunks squared off. Everything was still for a moment when both Gohan and Trunks shifted their weight onto their front leg before launching at each other.
Meanwhile: Light Years away
In the dark recesses of a wet, lightless cave something stirred in the darkness. All life in the cave had seemingly evacuated the area many years ago to avoid the steadily growing evil energy that surrounded this place. It had been eons since the creature had even stirred and even now it still wasn't anywhere near as powerful as it needed to be to awaken but even from here the being's acute senses picked up distant energies slowly gaining in strength. The form feared nothing from them at their current level. They would not even stand a chance against him at his full strength and everyday he regained a little of the power he once had. In fact the being was excited to fight these beings, however it feared that by the time it awoke the mortal creatures would be long dead. A slight unfortunate circumstance but really nothing to care about in the grand scheme of things, inevitably someone stronger would come along eventually, though the being wanted to be sure it would be awake in time for something like that and so it reached out with some of its built-up energy to see into the depths of the realm of hell and found a number of fairly powerful, though insignificant in comparison to it, immortal creatures it could easily corrupt to one day speed along his awakening.
The immortal monster of legend found it fitting that he should take these demons and twist them to his needs. He transferred some of his infinite knowledge of the universe and of the power and authority it could grant them should they help him. He felt his evil influence seep into their minds and forfeit their mentalities to his irresistible power.
"Good"it thought to itself smugly, now all that was left was to wait. And wait it would…
AN: Aight that's another chapter out, I see y'all next chapter. That's all for now I think, so till next time, peace out.