The Rise of a Protector

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Wracked with guilt over Goku's death and blessed with a new power from the god of dragons, read as Gohan struggles with life, love, puberty, fulfilling his destiny, and above all, protecting the people he loves and his world. Please read each chapter until the very end and check for authors notes. Gohan x Kagome, OC x Erasa.

28. Two Returns, One Old, One New

Trunks watched as Frost was teaching several students about being able to fly and sense other Ki signatures 'He's a natural when it comes to teaching others, I guess I shouldn't have been so quick to judge even if he is a member of the same race as Frieza.'

"Want one?"

Trunks looked and saw Tarble holding out a cup of coffee "Thanks." he looked down and stared at the contents 'It's been 3 months since Tarble and Frost both joined, and I've gotta say things are looking way up. Frost was right, ever since those two joined the students have been growing in leaps and bounds, and Toga almost beat me in a fight no matter if I wasn't even using 1% of my base form's power. Tarble went into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a good long while and now he's almost ¼ of my base form's full power. Father, Gohan, Goku, it looks like I really am forming my own generation of Z fighters.' then his head snapped up "Tarble."

"You feel it too?"

"Yeah, a powerful energy is approaching the planet at high speeds, but it isn't as powerful as Aka was and it feels kind of familiar. I haven't felt it before but it just has a sort of familiar feel to it."

"Yeah, you're right." then Tarble's eyes lit up "Wait, I recognize that energy. Come on, let's hurry." and he took off.

"Tarble, wait!" Trunks followed after him.

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Tarble led Trunks to the sight of a crash "I'm still not very good with detecting power levels without a scouter Trunks, can you sense it?"

"Let's see…" Trunks looked around the remains of the ship, seeing how the thing had been ripped apart by the crash "There!" he went over and pulled out a Namekian with blue skin who looked seriously injured "We've gotta get him back to my mom, she'll have the stuff we need to heal him."

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"So let me get this straight." Bulma said slowly, looking over the unconscious Namekian placed on a bed in one on of the Capsule Corp medical units "You're telling me that in the past three months, you've allowed your father's brother and a blue good version of Frieza to become teachers at your dojo, and now you've brought some random blue Namekian that you've never even met into your home?"

Trunks grimaced rather sheepishly "That's about it, yeah."

"...You're exactly like Gohan."

"I can only hope to be." then he looked down "He's waking up."

Sure enough, the Namekian slowly came to "Where… Where am I?"

"You're on Earth. You're among friends."

"Earth? I see… I made it… excellent." then he looked at Bulma "You are the Earth female known as Bulma if I'm not mistaken…"

Bulma nodded "Yeah, I remember seeing you with all of the other Namekians after Goku's fight with Frieza. You were the only one who gave Vegeta a good fight, I'm surprised someone at your level couldn't take on Frieza."

"Indeed, my name is Saonel. My comrade Pilima and I had been off planet training when Frieza's forces arrived on our world, and we didn't return until after that battle began and the planet began collapsing after its core was destroyed. The next thing we knew, we were on this world with the rest of our people and you and your comrades." then his face fell "We also heard from King Kai of the northern galaxy about the tragedy that has fallen upon your world for the past several years, and how all of the great warriors who saved us have all perished at the hands of those vile beings. You have our deepest condolences."

"Thank you, but I do have to ask. Why have you come to Earth?" she noticed the mood darken considerably.

"...New Namek is under attack by a sort of metal monstrosity. It latched onto the surface of our planet and began digging into its core, and several mechanical soldiers have been capturing every Namekian they come across. Pilina held them off long enough for me to escape and come here seeking assistance." he bowed his head "Please, is there anything you can do to help us face this foe?"

"I'll go." Trunks offered "My comrades and I will be more than happy to help you."

"But I was told that the last of your warriors, including Gohan, had been slain."

"I know all about how Gohan helped your people, he was my master after all."

Saonel seemed much more trusting after hearing that "I see, so he was the one who trained you in the ways of the warrior." he bowed his head "You have my deepest thanks."

"Come on, we've already got a ship ready. We'll pick up my comrades and inform them of the situation, then we'll get some Senzu Beans and then we'll head to New Namek."

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After losing their home planet as a result of the titanic battle between Goku and Frieza, the people of the Namekian race were forced to find a new world on which to continue their peaceful existence.

However, several years after Frieza's demise at Goku's hands, an invader of titanic proportions has descended upon New Namek, leaving the entire Namekian race once again in danger of extinction.

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A few days passed as Trunks' group made their way through space on their way to New Namek to resolve the crisis.

"Alright then." Trunks started snacking on some rice balls and held some out to the rest "Dig in guys, we've got a lot of work ahead of us when we get there. I have a bad feeling I know who or what going doing this to New Namek."

"Right." Tarble started scarfing some down.

"Saonel, aren't you going to have any?"

Saonel shook his head "Thank you, but Namekians don't ingest solid foods. All we need to survive is water."

"Oh yeah, I think Gohan and my mother may have mentioned something like that to me when I was little. Hey that reminds me, what's New Namek like?"

"It's almost identical to the original planet Namek, except it holds a greater number of Ajisa trees."

"I see."

"Hey guys?" Tarble got their attention "I can't say for sure, but I think we're close to reaching what I hope is New Namek."

"What do you mean?" then Trunks looked and saw what was attached to the planet "Oh, that's what you mean?"

"Are you sure that's New Namek?" asked Frost.

"I don't know, I've never really seen what this looks like in the other timeline."

"This is the monstrosity I told you about before." Saonel told them "It's digging further and further into the planet's core with each passing moment until the planet itself is completely devoured."

"Well if that's the case then we have to stop it, plain and simple."

"Yes." then he noticed something "What's that?"

"What?" then Trunks looked and saw a pod quickly hurtling downwards towards the surface of New Namek 'That looks like the pods Abo and Cado used, is it another one of Frieza's men? No, I don't feel any evil intent from them. It actually feels familiar, yet somehow different.' then a thought struck him 'Don't tell me… is it…?'

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Namekians were being captured one by one all over the planet by an army of robotic guards and taken prisoner.

One of them, another blue Namekian by the name of Pilina, finally had enough of his people being treated like wild animals to be caged like pets "That's it, enough of this!" he broke free of his restraints and charged the guards, managing to power through a good 5 of them, only for his fist to not even crack the armor of the last one.

That guard grabbed him by the face and pinned him to the ground, then prepared to finish him off, only for a black haired figure with a blue shirt and silver and yellow armor to deflect it into a mountain.

Moori stared in awe "My word, could it be?"

"Yes it can and it is." the figure wrapped his tail around his waist like a belt, symbolizing his Saiyan blood "I'm going to give you one warning, leave this planet and never return."

"Oh Cabba it is you, thank goodness you've come."

"My master had wronged you all back when he was still alive, it's only right that I try to make amends now that he's perished, even if he had been trying to redeem himself." then he looked back to the robotic guards "The people of the Namekian race are not yours to conquer and they never will be."

The guard was joined by the rest of the army.

"So they've all come."

"Cabba!"

Hearing a voice, Cabba looked back to see Saonel, Tarble and Frost approach "You're all here."

"It's been a long time hasn't it?"

"I'm afraid that will have to wait, we've got other business to deal with at the moment." he then turned to the robotic guards "I'm going to give you this one chance to let the Namekians go and leave in peace, I don't want to have to settle this incident with violence if it can be avoided. But you must understand, if you stay then my allies and I will be left with no choice but to destroy you."

"Spare me the sentiments." a metallic voice thundered "You've made your demands perfectly clear." then a familiar metallic figure emerged "It's a shame that my Cyclopian Guards are unable to answer. But then again, even if they were what were you really expecting them to say to that?"

Cabba's eyes hardened "I shouldn't be surprised, I never did think I finished you off back on the planet Arlia… Cooler."

"Oh believe me, you did far more damage to my body than I could possibly forget."

"I slammed you into the Arlian sun with a Galick Cannon, if it were anyone else then they would never have survived."

"Yes by all accounts I should in fact be dead, incinerated in the fires of the Arlian sun by your last attack. But thanks to the power of the Big Gete Star I have been reborn both stronger and sleeker, new and improved as your kind might say."

"I wouldn't go that far, but does that mean that this Big Gete Star as you call it is the horrible monstrosity that's devouring this planet?"

"I would bother to explain but you won't live long enough to care Saiyan filth, I let my guard down once and you defeated me because of that, but I will make sure to correct that mistake and wipe your kind from existence. I'd finish off your friends just to spite you, but I still have a debt to collect with you and it's only right that I do it in person." he sent his guards forward to apprehend the others.

"Spread out!" Saonel and Frost quickly scattered across the battlefield.

Tarble, however, was quickly backhanded into a mountain "Ow…"

"Tarble, stay on your guard!" Frost fired a Chaos Cannon and sent a guard tumbling back, but quickly found himself on the defensive.

Saonel himself was fighting off 6 at once 'Dammit, I can't break through their armor with physical attacks alone! We'll just have to hold them off until Trunks gets back. I understand that he wanted to find any other Namekians that hadn't been captured, but wouldn't it make more sense to help Cabba first?'

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Cooler stood in front of Cabba and smirked "Now then, I believe we have some unfinished business."

Cabba was unfazed and merely took on a Saiyan combat stance "Yes, you mentioned a debt of some sort."

"So I did."

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Tarble found himself on the run from several guards "Are you guys really sure we can't talk about this?" so he charged at them and landed several punches and kicks, only for them to hurt his own hands and feet instead.

Frost found the same problem as he landed a continuous barrage of attacks, eventually being thrown to the ground right beside Tarble "Dammit. So how are you hanging in there against these guys?"

"I could be better, their armor isn't easy to break through. But I don't see why you don't just go straight into your final form and end this so we can go help Cabba."

"Don't be foolish, you know exactly why that is. Unlike people with Frieza's blood coursing through their veins, I find that controlling my power in my final form happens to be exceedingly difficult so it's best if I only use it to destroy. Because of that I've only had to use it against one enemy, and after what happened that fateful day I vowed to keep it locked away and only bring it out as a last resort. Don't tell me you've forgotten that."

"Of course I haven't, I just can't see any other way to deal with this."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Saonel dropped to the ground in front of them "I might have found a way to pierce their armor, if you focus and concentrate as much energy as you can into the point of your attack then that should have a great effect. Observe." he then demonstrated his theory by concentrating and forming a Ki saber in his hand, then stabbed one guard in the optic lense, causing to explode.

'It's worth a try I suppose.' Frost quickly punched one guard out, revealing the technique to be extremely effective, then did the same with several guards following.

"Well if they can do it…" Tarble charged at one of the guards, only to be immediately elbowed in the face "Nope, didn't think so… Ow…" he quickly recovered and charged at one, ripping off its arm "Yeah!" then he got bonked on the head "Ow…"

Saonel blitzed through one guard after another with little to no difficulty, even when they started ganging up on him.

Despite his resistant struggles, Tarble ended up being captured and hauled off.

Frost put up a good fight, but he was captured as well "Saonel!"

"I'm coming!" Saonel was about to rush off to help them, but then found himself caught by one of the guards by his arm "Nice try, but I'm not going to just let the likes of you pull me away like-" then he was forced to guard against a barrage of bullets to the face "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" then a thought struck him "Hold on they're just bullets, they can't-"

Then they brought out cannons.

'Oh great, cannons. Those will hurt.'

They began firing.

'And they do. A lot. OW OW OW OW OW!'

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Cooler caught Cabba's fist with eace "Pitiful Saiyan trash, do you really think the likes of you can defeat me?"

Cabba took their clash to the New Namek skies "Why don't you just leave it alone already Cooler?!"

"Not until the humiliation dealt to my family has been repaid 1,000 times over!"

Cabba caught Cooler by the tail and flung him down towards the ground.

Cooler stopped himself and charged upwards.

Cabba retreated backwards, then charged forwards and landed a full force fist to Cooler's metallic chest.

Cooler was completely unfazed and promptly grabbed Cabba by the head "Let me take a wild guess, you're beginning to wonder how you ever beat me before." he kneed Cabba in the face, punched him in the gut and slugged him, sending him spiralling downwards and promptly crashing to the ground, then charged a Supernova and fired it just as Cabba got back up, hitting him dead on and engulfing him in the ensuing explosion "Very nice, I didn't think there would be enough time for you to dodge. That was quite a clever trick."

Cabba appeared behind Cooler "You like that one do you? That's straight from the people of the planet Yardrat, it's called Instant Transmission."

"I know what it is, it happens to be one of my favorite techniques."

"I know right- Wait, what?"

Sure enough, Cooler blitzed in front of Cabba and slugged him straight across the face.

"Well this changes just about everything about this battle."

Cooler blitzed over and kicked Cabba from behind, resulting in a blitz clash, each one blitzing using Instant Transmission and failing, ending when Cooler caught Cabba by the leg in the Instant Transmission hyperspace and slammed him down through a plateau.

Cabba quickly recovered and retreated into the air.

Cooler charged at Cabba and aimed a knee at his face.

Cabba managed to catch the knee, but just barely, a golden aura slowly flaring into life around his entire body.

Cooler broke away and smirked "So the Super Saiyan has finally decided to show himself, well I believe it's only fitting don't you? You see this is the way that I remember you best Saiyan, so this is how it should be when you die."

"If that's what you choose to believe then so be it, but I won't be the one who will die in this fight."

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The blast subsided after several minutes.

Saonel finally lowered his defences "Are you finished?!" then he let out a Super Explosive wave with a mighty roar, destroying every last robotic guard and scarring the surface of New Namek itself "I think that got the point across." he promptly shook off the remaining claw of the guard that grabbed him and looked at the Big Gete Star in the distance "I think it's about time I paid a visit to the Big Gete Star." and he flew off to rescue his friends and comrades.

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The clash continued, with Cabba now going on the offensive.

Cooler found an opening and sent Cabba flying.

Cabba was quick to recover "Come on, let's end this!" he then unleashed one final charge and took one of Cooler's arms clean off 'Yes, I did it! Now to fire up a Galick Cannon and end this battle!'

However, Cooler then proceeded to surprise him by easily regenerating his arm "Perhaps I should have explained this to you earlier. My body is monitored constantly by the main computer of the Big Gete Star, any injury I suffer is instantly detected and repaired and whatever flaws in my design that allow the injury are corrected. It's really quite remarkable, of course in simple terms this means that you can't win this battle."

"Well then I'll just have to try even harder."

"By all means go ahead and try." Cooler suddenly blitzed forward and slugged Cabba in the gut, then grabbed him by the ankle and flung him away.

"Big Bang Cannon!" Cabba quickly recovered and fired off his own version of Vegeta's Big Bang Attack.

Cooler emerged from the blast unfazed and fired a rapid barrage of Ki blasts from the tip of his finger.

Cabba deflected them all and aimed a punch straight at Cooler's chest.

Cooler was completely unfazed and promptly grabbed Cabba by the neck, keeping him in a chokehold "The moment I've dreamt of for so long is finally at hand, at last you will pay for your crimes against my family!"

Cabban tried to punch and kick his way free, to no avail.

Cooler merely tightened his grip and began slowly choking the life out of Cabba "Goodbye Super Saiyan, student of the prince, filthy primate." he tightened his grip even further, fully intent on finishing it.

That is, before Trunks suddenly showed up and kicked Cooler in the side of the head, knocking him away, allowing Cabba a brief moment to recover "You won't be spilling any sort of blood today." then he flashed into Super Saiyan.

"What's this?"

"Thank you…" Cabba rasped out in an attempt to catch his breath.

"A second Super Saiyan?"

Trunks remained unfazed "It doesn't matter if I'm second or not, your fight is with me now." he shot a look back at Cabba "Take a minute and recover, I'll deal with him."

"Super Saiyans yes but monkeys all the same, no matter how many of you show up you'll still be all show and no substance."

"We'll see about that!" Trunks charged forward, only to be knocked away, then charged once more and attempted to kick Cooler in the side.

Cooler caught Trunks by the leg and slammed it against the ground, crushing it.

'Dammit, he's even stronger than the one in Gohan's time!'

"You want to know what death tastes like?" Cooler grabbed Trunks by the mouth and prepared a Ki blast, intending to kill him at point blank range.

"Get away from him!" Cabba charged in and kicked Cooler away.

Cooler threw him off of him, then used Instant Transmission in an attempt to smash Trunks from above.

"No you don't!" Cabba quickly blitzed over and pinned Cooler to the ground "Hurry, fire a blast and finish him off while I keep it in place!"

"Right! Finish Buster!" Trunks quickly charged a Finish Buster and fired it at the downed Cooler, engulfing him an explosion as Cabba blitzed away with Instant Transmission.

Cooler suddenly appeared from the blast unharmed and kicked Trunks directly in the nether region, causing him to squeal in pain, then promptly slugged him in the gut and sent him flying away.

Cabba promptly caught him, only to see Cooler preparing an attack 'One thing is clear, this is going to be very very painful.'

Cooler hit them both dead on with a Lock on Buster."

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Within the Big Gete Star, Pilina, Tarble, Frost and the rest of the Namekians captured by Cooler's army of Cycopian guards were about to be dissected so their life energy would be used to power the Big Gete Star.

Tarble had been adamant about not letting that happen to him.

Unfortunately, that led them to decide to start with him.

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Saonel had been making his way through the Big Gete Star to try and find everyone, only to meet a problem of his own "You, what are you doing here?!"

Said problem hit him dead on with a Ki blast.

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Cabba emerged from the rubble, very battered after the last attack "Dammit… I can't even pick myself up and we haven't even put a dent in him…"

Trunks was preoccupied with his own issue "He always keeps kicking me in the dick… why… Why does he always keep kicking me in the dick? In every single timeline… why?"

"Hey… can you still fight?"

"Well I'm still conscious… Does that answer your question?"

"Listen, at this rate we're not gonna make it much longer. There's only one way for us to win, we have to combine both of our powers and hit him with a simultaneous combination attack." then he looked ahead "He's coming, let's go."

"I'll go first, you back me up. I've fought this kind of thing before, so let me take the lead!" then Trunks charged forward, with Cabba right behind him, both of them combining their auras and slamming straight into Cooler, ripping his body apart.

Cooler quickly started to reassemble his body.

"No you don't! Galick Gun!" Trunks fired a full power Galick Gun.

"Galick Cannon!" Cabba fired his own version of Vegeta's Galick Gun, both blasts then combining into one even greater attack, before he collapsed and powered down "It's over…"

"Yeah…" Trunks followed his lead "I've gotta admit, you're pretty strong."

"So are you, but I didn't think there were any surviving Saiyans left in the universe. To be honest, if it wasn't for you turning Super Saiyan then I would never have guess that you were one. I mean, a Saiyan with blue hair? What's next, a Namekian with blue skin?"

"...No comment."

"Bad example, I know."

"I thought there weren't any full blooded Saiyans left in existence either, how come I never knew?"

"...I was on a remote world when Planet Vegeta was destroyed, of course I didn't buy that lie about the meteor destroying it for a second. I knew the second I heard that it was really Frieza who did it but I knew that I didn't have a ghost of a chance of avenging my race. So I faked my death and began travelling across the universe training, being driven by the single goal of destroying Frieza and avenging my family." a lone tear spilled from his eye "But about 28 years after Planet Vegeta's destruction, my master found me and told me that a Saiyan named Kakarot, or more commonly known as Son Goku, had killed both Frieza and his father. He understood my burning desire for revenge and told me that Frieza's older brother Cooler was still alive, and since he had fathered a child he couldn't just go off in search of Cooler himself so he trained me in the Saiyan arts of battle and taught me various techniques he knew. Then I heard from the Namekians that he had been killed."

"So this master of yours, who was he?"

"...His name was Vegeta, the Saiyan prince." he looked away "I wouldn't blame you for thinking less of me for learning from him after all of the horrible things he's done."

"Well if I did then I would be thinking less of myself too, you see Vegeta was actually my father."

Cabba's eyes shot wide "Really?"

"Yeah, he died when I was a baby though so I never actually got to meet him. All I know about him is what my mother told me. But a little while ago I met his younger brother and a good member of Frieza's race. They're both teachers at my academy now."

"I see. So then I guess that makes us siblings in a way, the son and student ."

"I guess that's one way you could look at it." then Trunks noticed something and paled "Hey, we beat him right?"

"Yeah, he turned into smoke?"

"Then one question. Who's that guy?"

Sure enough, another Cooler appeared on top of the cliff in front of them, soon being joined by several hundred others of himself.

"What the… What's going on?"

"Don't look so stunned." Cooler's voice echoed "As I said before, the Big Gete Star corrects any flaws to my body's design, even if the flaw is that I have only one body. Now I wonder, if only a single Metal Cooler gave you so much trouble then how will the two of you fare against 1,000?"

Cabba got back to his feet as the army of Metal Coolers advanced "Well I guess we don't have any other choice but to try right?"

Trunks then stood as well "And just like last time, I can't feel my legs."

"Okay then Trunks, how about this… You take the 500 on the right… I'll take the 500 on the left…"

"The hell with that, I'll take 501."

"That's the spirit… Let's go get our asses kicked." and Cabba flashed back into Super Saiyan, with Trunks following as they charged forward and collided with the Metal Cooler army in a blinding golden light.

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Cabba slowly opened his eyes and quickly realized that both him and Trunks were bound by some sort of metallic wires in an unfamiliar location "What happened? The last thing I remember is every single Metal Cooler in that army kicking Trunks in the dick."

Trunks let out a high pitched whining noise.

"So… where are we anyway?"

"Welcome to the Big Gete Star." a metallic voice echoed.

"Cooler… show yourself, where are you?"

"A difficult question to answer. In one sense I am everywhere around you, but I suppose what you are looking for is right here in front of your eyes."

"What?"

Sure enough, in front of them sat Cooler's cyborg head "The story is thus. Somewhere forgotten deep in space, there existed a single sentient computer chip. It floated for eons amongst a graveyard of abandoned spaceships and satellites, until one day this consciousness devised a means of a propagating itself and began to absorb mass and energy from its surroundings until it had grown from a single chip into a giant machine. At some point, what was left of my body after our last battle, as well as my very brain, had also been absorbed. My consciousness was merged with that of the main computer. I ended up taking control, so in a sense I am the Big Gete Star. And using the new advanced technology I now had at my disposal, I was able to create a new metal body for myself. A Metal Cooler if you will, I think you know the one very well."

"So then what exactly are you planning to do with the two of us now?"

"Let's just say that I've decided to extract my revenge." he then began using the metallic wires attached to Trunks and Cabba to extract the Super Saiyan energy from within their bodies, causing them to scream in pain "What delicious irony, to think that your energy is going to fuel the destruction of the very planet you were trying to save."

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Saonel had been badly beaten down by a Metal Cooler and was now about to be killed "Go ahead, finish it already."

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"Wonderful, what exquisite agony." Cooler soon finished draining the energy out of Trunks and Cabba, leaving them to lay there motionless "It seems what they say is true, all good things really must come to an end. But to think that the Super Saiyans were capable of generating this much energy, any more and it would very well have begun to exceed my capacity." then there was a surge, causing explosions to erupt all over the place "What? What was that? How could I still be drawing power?" more power began flowing in "STOP! The circuit is supposed to be closed, why does it keep flowing in?!"

More explosions began erupting all over the Big Gete Star.

"Stop! It's overheating, I'm at my limit! Stop! STOP"

Trunks and Cabba both forcefully grabbed onto the metallic wires, pouring in more of their Ki, causing the Big Gete Star to begin shutting down and the Metal Cooler clones outside to begin self destructing.

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Once he and Frost had managed to free Tarble and the other captive Namekians after destroying the guide bot, Pilina tried to lead the group to safety "Come on everyone, this way!" then he found an army of Metal Cooler clones in front of them "You have to be kidding me!"

Then they suddenly exploded, and Saonel emerged from the smoke "Come on, don't just stand there."

"Saonel!"

"Good to see you too my friend, but I'm afraid we don't have time to talk. We have to hurry, this place is falling apart and it's getting worse every second."

"Right."

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The Big Gete Star began lifting itself from the surface of New Namek, which had been badly scarred as a result.

"The controls aren't responding! I can't maintain my hold on the planet! It would seem that I have underestimated the amount of energy you Super Saiyans are capable of."

Cabba lifted his head off of the ground "That's the same mistake you made last time if I'm not mistaken, you think you would've learned by now."

Trunks smirked "Yeah… hey Cabba, you wanna finish this one?"

"Well of course, I was the one who started it after all."

"Well then take this." Trunks held out Sounga to him "You see that black thing glowing in his head? Use that sword to stab it. Trust me, this is important."

"Trunks! Cabba!" that was when Pilina, Saonel, Tarble, Frost and the rest of the Namekians showed up.

"All of you get out of here as fast as you possibly can, Cabba and I will follow you as soon as we take care of things here!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, now hurry up and go!"

They all took off, despite a little bit of hesitation, and they quickly made their way outside.

"Oh please, in the shape the two of you are in what exactly do you plan to take care of?"

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Once back outside, everyone watched as the Big Gete Star removed itself from the surface of the planet.

Frost seemed rather anxious while he was waiting for Trunks and Cabba to emerge 'Trunks, Cabba, you shouldn't be taking this long now hurry up and take him out already.'

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Cabba slowly staggered to his feet "You can laugh if you want but it's not like you're in any sort of position to defend yourself, after all I don't see any of your Metal Coolers coming to help you this time."

"I'm not nearly as defenseless as you think Saiyan, but do you know what the real pity about this is? As soon as you figure that out, who will be left to stop me from devouring this entire planet?"

"I learn from my mistakes Cooler, and I know very well now that there's only one true way to deal with people like you." Cabba flashed into Super Saiyan as he braced the Sounga.

"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!" Cooler suddenly formed a gigantic hulking mechanical humanoid form that then trapped Cabba within the metallic wires, his grip tightening even further and causing Cabba to scream in pain.

"LET HIM GO!" Trunks charged in, a glowing sword in his hand 'I have to be sure to thank my past father for teaching me how to do this. When my sword was destroyed by 18 I was just gonna throw it away, but he stopped me and showed me how I could channel my Ki into it and use that energy to create an entirely new blade, so I just chipped off the rest of the metal on the original blade and kept the hilt itself.' then he used his Ki sword and slashed at Cooler, cutting his right arm off and freeing Cabba in the process "And that's… the last time… you'll underestimate… the power… of a Saiyan…" then he collapsed, the Ki blade disappearing.

"This is it Cooler!" Cabba flared his Super Saiyan aura as he rose the blade of Sounga "Dragon Twister Strike!" he contained the power of the Dragon Twister within the blade and stabbed Cooler directly in the gem on his head, cracking it and resulting in an explosion.

Cooler was destroyed and incinerated almost immediately by the ensuing explosion.

Not noticing as a dark purple light flowed from Cooler into the orb on Sounga's hilt, Cabba was barely able to grab Trunks in the ensuing chaos as he struggled to find enough energy to use his Instant Transmission.

That was when the Big Gete Star was finally destroyed in a massive explosion.

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Tarble and the rest stared up at the New Namek sky after the blast had subsided "Trunks… Cabba…"

Pilina was the first one to notice it "Everyone look, there they are!"

Sure enough, Trunks could be seen falling from the sky with Cabba right by his side, two pained and exhausted yet still triumphant grins plastered across their face.

Tarble breathed a sigh of relief "Trunks… Cabba…" he prepared to catch them, along with Frost, Saonel, Pilina and the rest of the Namekians.

That is, before Trunks and Cabba both rammed straight into the ground directly behind them, their legs sticking out of the craters they made.

5 minutes of force feeding them Senzu Beans later…

Trunks tossed the bag of Senzu Beans back to Frost "See guys, I told you going to Korin and getting a bag of Senzu Beans before we left was a good idea. But anyway, it looks like everything worked out okay in the end."

"Indeed it did." then Moori stepped forward and smiled "My people and I cannot begin to thank you enough for coming to our aid in our time of need, especially after all of the suffering your world has endured for the past several years."

"Wait, you and your people know all about the androids and the hell they unleashed on Earth for all that time."

"We learned the specifics from King Kai of the northern galaxy, to think that you lost your greatest warrior in the blink of an eye and then all of your other champions in one fell swoop, only for your last defender Gohan to fall after putting up such a valiant struggle for as long as he did, and with your guardian slain your Earth's Dragon Balls had disappeared with him."

"Yes." Trunks put Sounga back in its sheath on his back "Which actually brings us to a request I have. I was hoping one of you would be willing to return to Earth with us to become our new guardian, seeing how only the guardian can restore the Dragon Balls on Earth and we'll need them in case of any emergencies." then he bowed "If any of you would be willing to volunteer then we'd be greatly indebted to you, so please."

Several of the Namekians shared skeptical looks "Leave for Earth?"

"I humbly beg of you."

Moori smiled "Very well, if that's what you need then I know of one Namekian perfectly suited for the job."

"Really?"

"Yes. And don't worry about being indebted, this is us returning the service done to us by your people." then he looked back "Say Dende, come over here my boy!"

"Me? Yes sir." then Dende rushed over.

"Meet Dende, he was a good friend of your master Gohan and he also enjoyed your mother and Krillin's company as well. He's been talking about Earth every day since we left and was absolutely devastated when he heard about the tragedies that had befallen your planet."

Trunks nodded "I see. But the question is, does he know how to make Dragon Balls?"

"Indeed he can and indeed he will. Don't let his youth or diminutive size cause you any concern, Dende will make you a first rate guardian."

"I'll take your word for it then." Trunks held out his hand "Alright then Dende, you're officially hired."

Dende shook his hand "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Okay then, I guess we should head back to Earth."

"Wait, you mean right now?"

"We've been gone for more than a week, it wouldn't feel right if we were gone from the planet longer than we had to be."

Moori nodded in understanding "We understand, with everything that has happened to your world it only makes sense you would wish to return as soon as possible."

"Actually Grand Elder, we would like to go with him."

Moori looked back to see the two blue Namekians standing away from the ground "Saonel and Pilina? Well we shall miss you brothers, but may I ask why you wish to accompany them to Earth as well?"

"These warriors came from Earth." Saonel pointed out "They hold strange gifts and have interesting values and technology, and I feel that our growth as warriors will be greatly enhanced if we train with them to refine our skills. Perhaps one day, once our training is complete we shall be better able to protect this world."

"I see. Very well then, we shall respect your wishes."

"Everyone." Trunks got their attention "It's time, we really should hurry and get back as soon as possible."

"So long everyone." Dende waved, while Saonel and Pilina just bowed.

"We're counting on all three of you." Moori told them "Farewell, and all of you be sure to make us proud."

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Within a week, the warriors had returned to Earth and met up on Kami's Lookout, or now just known as the Lookout.

Popo was surprised to see them "I wasn't expecting all of you to come here."

"Well we're here on business." Trunks told him "We've got 2 new warriors to defend the Earth and one to act as our new guardian." he gestured to Saonel and Pilina for the first one and to Dende for the second one."

"That boy, do you mean that he is our new guardian?"

"That's right, the Grand Elder of the Namekians spoke very highly of his abilities. So Dende, you can make a new set of Dragon Balls right?"

"Oh yes, I think I can have the new Dragon Balls completed in about 30 Earth days or so."

"Well that's not so bad, the one in the other timeline would have taken about 100 days."

"Well if this was back then that's how long I would have needed but my skills have greatly improved since then, so do you have any requests regarding the new ones?"

"Let's see…" Trunks pondered for a moment before a thought struck him "Can you make them grant three wishes like the ones on New Namek?"

"Yes."

"Can you make it so they can bring people back more than once?"

"Yes."

"Can you make it so they can bring people back even if they've died of natural causes?"

"No."

"Damn. Okay how about this one, can you negate the condition of them having to have died within a year?"

"Oh yes, that much I can do."

"This is great!"

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30 days passed, and everything was almost ready.

Trunks arrived on the Lookout with Bulma "Alright guys, is everyone here?"

"They arrived before you did." Dende told him "I had to carve a new model of your Eternal Dragon or I wouldn't have been able to fulfill your requests."

"No problem. Here goes." Dende held out his hands and did the Namekian incantation, to which the dragon model was enveloped in a golden light, which then divided into seven beams of light that promptly dove downwards towards the stone orbs that had been gathered a mere few days prior, restoring the Dragon Balls to their glory once more after several years "If everything went as planned then the Dragon Balls should be working again. Good thing I asked Saonel and Pilina to go and find them before I did it."

"Good thing my mother never bothered to dismantle the Dragon Radar. Now there's only one thing left to do." Trunks stepped up to the glowing Dragon Balls "Come forth Shenron, we summon you to grant our wish."

The balls glowed even brighter, the sky darkened, and then Shenron appeared for the first time in over 20 years "Who has summoned me? Speak your wishes so that I may return to my slumber."

Trunks turned to the others "So we're all in agreement guys, we're gonna use the first wish to bring back the Z fighters who were killed trying to fight the androids before. This should include my father, Gohan and the rest of them.

"Hey, can I offer my two cents on this?"

Trunks froze "That voice… Gohan, is that you?"

"Yeah it's me Trunks, it's great to hear your voice again. You too Bulma, Dende. Trunks, I know you've been through a lot since I was killed by the androids by it looks like you stuck it out and got through it okay. You've become a real warrior, and I'm really proud of you."

"Th-Thank you Gohan."

"Anyway I'm talking to you from Otherworld through King Kai, and your father and the others wanted me to give you a message."

"What kind of message?"

"Well my dad can't be wished back since he died of a heart virus, and as for Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien and the others, well they don't want to be wished back either. Vegeta wants to keep his death as a warrior and his pride, and the others agree and they want to keep training up here with my dad."

"I see… and what about you?"

"Well… I never really thought about it but if it means that I get to see you guys again and keep on protecting the Earth then I'm all for it."

"A-Alright." then Trunks turned back to Shenron "Alright Shenron, I wish for you to bring the warrior known as Son Gohan back to life!"

"Very well, it shall be done." Shenron's eyes glowed deep crimson as he fulfilled a wish for the first time in ages

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Gohan looked up and saw that his halo was gone "Wow, I'm really alive again. I feel kind of tingly for some reason."

"That goes away after awhile." Goku told him "Sorry Gohan, I really wish that I could go back with you but this world is where I belong now. You've really grown son, I'm really sorry I haven't been able to always be there with you."

"It's okay dad, really."

"This is the last time I'll be able to see you face to face like this, until it's really time for you to come over to this world naturally." then he turned to Piccolo "You're up."

"Dad…"

"I know." Piccolo stepped up "Gohan, you've pretty much gone through hell but now you've got another chance. Don't waste it, make me proud to say I was your master."

"...I will." Gohan bowed "Goodbye Piccolo and thank you, for everything you've ever done for me. I give you my word, I'll make both of you proud!" and with that, he suddenly disappeared from the Otherworld.

"I know you will."

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Gohan suddenly appeared back on the Lookout with the classic Son grin "Hey guys."

"Gohan!" Dende rushed up to him.

"It's great to see you again Dende." then he turned to the others "Hey guys."

Trunks and Bulma quickly caught Gohan in a group hug.

"I missed you guys too, I'm sorry I put you guys through so much grief."

"My patience is not infinite! What is your second wish?"

Trunks blinked "Oh right, I forgot about him. To be honest, I hadn't thought of any other wishes before now." then he looked at Gohan and grinned "But now I do. Shenron, for my second wish I want you to restore Gohan's left arm."

Gohan raised an eyebrow "What brought that on?"

"The fact that you've gone about 12 years without an arm, even if you have been dead."

"It shall be done." Shenron's eyes glowed crimson, and Gohan's left arm reappeared.

"Now then, for my final wish…" Trunks drew Sounga from his back "I want you to transport this sword to the heart of the Earth's sun so that the dark demonic power sealed inside of it can never be used for evil purposes again."

"It shall be done." Shenron's eyes glowed crimson, and with a quick white flash Sounga disappeared, never to be seen again.

"Okay, that's a load off my shoulders."

"Why would you get rid of a perfectly good sword?" asked Gohan.

"I've got a lot of stuff to tell you, this is gonna take awhile."

A/N:

For the record, I'm using the names of universe 6 warriors like Cabba, Frost, Saonel and Pilina for Trunks' new comrades from various planets because I'm terrible at coming up with names, and it also emphasizes that I'm not going on to Super and ending this fic with Z.

I was going to do Bojack Unbound next, but honestly I just don't feel like writing that one out so I'm just gonna give that one a brief mention and bring in one new comrade from that crew, and I'm pretty damn sure you all know who it's going to be.

Rant aside, next up will be the last Dragon Ball Z movie, Wrath of the Dragon, and Trunks' last new comrade.

I figured that since they were going to New Namek anyway, it would only be right for them to have Dende come back and be the new guardian and restore the Dragon Balls.

I brought Future Gohan back because, let's be real, after all the shit the androids put him through for all those years, he of all people deserves another chance at being alive.