Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or have any rights to it.
Trunks approached Tapion as he sat in an abandoned building. "Um…excuse me sir."
Tapion growled and turned to Trunks with an angry expression. "I told you to stay away from me."
"I know…" Trunks held out a plate with food on it. "Just thought you might be hungry." Trunks cautiously set the plate down near Tapion. "Okay then…I guess I'll…be going now…"
Tapion watched Trunks with a curious expression as the boy walked out. Why has he been treating me so nicely? Every time I try to push him away, he comes back and gives me food. He reminds me of my little brother, Minosha.
Tapion cringed in pain as he felt the monster inside him trying to break free.
Darn you Hirudegarn…If only they hadn't released me from the box.
"So what happened?" asked Neo as he spoke to Gohan at a party they were at.
"That Tapion guy became angry when we set him free. I'm not sure why though."
"Did that short guy even tell you what the threat was?"
Gohan chuckled lightly. "No…but I couldn't just allow the earth to fall into danger again. Besides, nobody deserves to be locked up like that forever."
Neo nodded in agreement. He then saw Trunks coming in with a disappointed look.
"He wasn't hungry," he said in a disappointed tone. "But I left the food there so he could eat it later."
"That guy has some serious problems," said Videl in a slightly annoyed tone. "He could've just told us what we did wrong instead of sulking off by himself. Maybe we could fix it."
Just then, they heard a loud noise that sounded like a crumbling building.
"So that guy wasn't lying after all," said Gohan as he ran outside. "There is a threat."
Gohan, Videl, turned into their Saiyaman outfits and took off, followed by Neo and Trunks.
When they reached the heart of West city, they saw buildings up in flames. Some of the buildings where starting to crumble, while most had all of their windows shattered.
"Look! Over there!" Neo pointed at a large figure in the dust. It looked like some sort of giant monster with a long tail, but it was only a lower body half. The upper half of its body was missing.
"What is it?" asked Videl.
"I don't know," said Gohan, "but whatever it is, we have to stop it!" Gohan flew towards the creature and struck it in the leg with a kick.
The creature made a strange wailing noise, before phasing behind Gohan.
"Gohan look out!" Neo's cry came too late as Gohan was sent crashing through several buildings by the creature's tail.
The creature let out a low growl as it prepared to strike the other members of the group. However, before it could strike, it was stunned by a nearby sound.
As the group listened, they realized that it was music. They all gasped as they saw the creature vanish into thin air.
Neo looked into the dust cloud and made out a figure. "Hey, who's that?"
Trunks looked and recognized the figure immediately. "It's Tapion! Hey Tapion, over here!"
Tapion paid no head and vanished into the ruins of the city.
"That was strange," said Gohan as he joined the others. "But I guess this proves he's somewhat on our side."
"I know," said Neo, "but he seems reluctant to join us. Maybe that creature is connected to him in some way, and he doesn't want anyone to get hurt because of it."
"That must be it," said Trunks. "He's too cool to be evil."
Videl looked around and saw people struggling. "I think we should think about helping these people right now."
"Right." Gohan nodded in agreement and joined Videl in helping the survivors.
Neo watched his father and his father's girlfriend as they worked. He had come to accept Videl, but felt uneasy whenever Gohan had questioned him about how he felt about her. It was kind of awkward seeing his father with a woman other than his mother, but he could deal with it and still be happy.
The situation had become tricky though, when Gohan had asked if Videl was his mother. Neo had given him a definite no, but hoped that his answer wouldn't coerce Gohan into ending it with her.
"Hey Neo," said Trunks.
"What's up kid?" asked Neo.
"Just wondering if you're related to Gohan."
Neo was caught off guard by the question. "I…I don't know…I never knew my father."
"But you knew your mother right?"
Neo nodded.
"Then can you tell me who she is?"
Neo shook his head. "Sorry Trunks, but if people knew, it might cause problems."
"What happened here?" Everyone looked up and saw Piccolo hovering in the air. "I saw the city burning, all the way from the lookout."
"I'll tell you what happened," said Trunks. Trunks told Piccolo the story about Tapion and the stranger named Hoy who insisted that they free him. He also told Piccolo about the giant monster and how Tapion had stopped it, only to disappear.
"So this Tapion…is he somehow connected to this monster you guys fought?"
"I don't know," said Trunks, "but Neo says that he might be. Tapion might be keeping the monster trapped or something. That's why he didn't want to be set free."
"So now, the only thing left to do is find Tapion and ask him about the monster," said Piccolo.
"I'll do it," said Trunks. "I think he's gotten used to me bringing him food. He probably won't mind if I asked him some questions."
"Be careful Trunks," said Neo. "That monster might return again."
Trunks nodded before flying off to find Tapion.
A few minutes later, everyone else dispersed to commence with various activities. Neo found himself wondering the earth, as he had done many times since his arrival in this timeline. He was still amazed by the fact that he could fly openly without fear of being knocked out of the sky.
He landed in the middle of the woods. Even though it was a different timeline, he still recognized it as the forest where he used to live with his mother. He was filled with nostalgic moments as he went on a leisurely walk.
He looked at a familiar forest clearing and an image of a young boy playing tag with his mother came to mind. He then looked at a nearby creek and remembered that same young boy and mother doing laundry together.
Then a thought crossed his mind. Maybe the house we lived in exists in this timeline.
He made his way to the spot where the house would've been and saw a log cabin. It looked exactly like the house he remembered living in. In his timeline it had originally served as the home of his mother and uncle, when they were the ones terrorizing the earth. It had eventually been destroyed, forcing Neo and his mother to move to a different location and rebuild.
Neo walked around the log cabin, examining it thoroughly, it was the same as in his timeline. He was reluctant to go inside though since he didn't know who would be inside.
"Hey you!"
Neo turned around rapidly and saw a man who looked remarkably like his mother. He had black hair, blue eyes, and was only slightly taller than his mother.
"Haven't I seen you before?" asked the man.
Neo recovered from his shock and answered. "I'm not sure, but I know what you mean. You remind me of someone I knew."
The man thought for moment before realization seemed to dawn on him. "Is your name Neo?"
Neo's eyes widened, in shock. "Why yes…yes it is."
"I heard Eighteen talking about you with her husband."
"She talked about me?"
"Yes," said the man with a smile. "She seems to think that you look familiar…like a long lost relative, and frankly, so do I."
Neo raised a confused eyebrow. "How do you know her?"
"I'm her brother, Seventeen." Neo's eyes widened. "As for why you haven't seen me around, I never came out in the open about being revived after the Cell Games. You have heard about the Cell Games, right?" Neo nodded yes. "Good, well anyway, I never came out in the open because everyone thought my sister was good while I was the evil android. I do sometimes fly over where my sister lives to see how she's doing."
"So you've been living here all this time by yourself? It must be lonely."
"I always find a way to get my mind off the loneliness. So, mind telling me who you are Neo. You can't have such a resemblance to me for no reason."
Neo let out a deep sigh. "I suppose I could tell you the whole story, just as long as you don't tell anyone else."
Seventeen smiled. "Don't worry, I can keep your secret. Why don't we talk inside?" They both went inside the cabin, where Neo proceeded to tell his life story to his uncle.
After an hour, Neo had finished, only to find his uncle gaping at him. "Um…uncle?"
"Oh my god!" Seventeen examined Neo closely. "That explains everything! You do look like them!"
"Are you mad?"
Seventeen grinned broadly and shook his head. "No, just shocked. I would never suspect those two to get together…especially after what I heard about this…other future. Still, I can understand why you wouldn't tell anyone who both your parents are. I mean…considering the relationships those two are in, it'll really shake things up."
"That's exactly what crossed my mind. Even if they do accept me, I don't want to close them off to me, they can have other children. I also don't want to think about how their respective significant others would feel."
"I suspect they would be jealous," said Seventeen. "I'll admit I'm surprised by the union, but those two would make quite the pair. Based on you, their children would be awesome."
Neo smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot coming from you. My mother used to tell me stories about how great you were."
Seventeen raised an eyebrow. "How great I was? That doesn't sound like her."
"I know she thought of you as…somewhat childish, but she didn't truly appreciate you until you were gone."
A sad expression crossed Seventeen's face. "I see…poor girl."
Neo then received a mental message from Piccolo.
"Hey Neo, that guy Tapion is here. Trunks convinced him to spill the beans. We're all waiting for you to arrive."
"Don't worry Piccolo. I'll be right over."
Neo got up from his seat and turned to Seventeen. "Sorry to leave on such short notice, but Piccolo just contacted me. Something important is happening at Capsule Corp."
"It's fine, just don't be a stranger okay."
"I won't, and thanks for hearing me out." Neo waved goodbye and left for Capsule Corp.
I hope you like this chapter, it really has been too long since I updated this.