I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.

Chapter 97: Alternate Reality

Trunks knew something was up long before he got home with Gohan and Goten. He had waited until early evening before sunset to even consider flying back with Goten tagging along for the ride. They had met up with Gohan near Satan City once classes were done for the day. Gohan had elected to come along, mostly to ask Vegeta if he had heard anything new about Verto since he hadn't at the time. That, and he wanted to avoid his house at the moment since the combined forces of his mother's wedding fever and Bulla's constant crying were driving him nuts. Before long though, he sensed something wrong in the air and Trunks indirectly confirmed it. They were within a hundred miles of West City when Trunks suddenly picked up the pace by turning Super Saiyan. Gohan and Goten glanced at each other before catching up with Trunks' sudden urgency.

"What's wrong Trunks?" Gohan asked first.

Trunks sweated a bit as he kept his eyes forward, "I can't sense my father's energy." Gohan scanned ahead, picking up very low power signals in place of what he would normally expect to find.

"That's strange, I've never known Vegeta to even try to keep his power suppressed this much. There's only been a few times I've even felt it this low and that's been when…" Gohan paused in realization before taking the lead in flight as they approached the city limits.

Goten remained confused, "What is it big brother?"

"I don't know, but it's something bad. I can't feel Dad's energy anywhere on the whole planet. That can't be a coincidence either," Gohan replied.

"But, he can keep his energy really low too can't he? I can't feel it from far away unless he's powered up," Goten pointed out.

"Except I can sense things much further away than you can Goten. Also, I can pick up the Psi energy of anyone on the planet that can't control it, and I don't sense Dad at all. Before we panic, let's see what is what here first. It's possible that Kibito or King Kai called him away suddenly," Gohan said. All three landed at Capsule Corp a moment later, and Trunks rushed inside. Nothing was out of the ordinary at first, but he heard plenty of commotion from both his parents upstairs. Gohan eyed the distant battle damage at the far end as Trunks bolted towards his parents. He found his mother attempting to bandage his father as he sat in bed, bleeding slightly from the head.

"Damn that demon! I'm going to rip him apart!" Vegeta roared.

"The only thing you're going to be able to rip is this bandage is you don't sit still!" Bulma shouted in his ear. Vegeta grumbled a bit before glaring at the door just as his son turned the corner.

"What's going on? What happened Dad?" Trunks asked.

"I thought I told you not to be around for the rest of the day?" Vegeta growled in a truly threatening tone.

"The sun just went down Dad," Trunks said. Vegeta scowled and cursed under his breath, which increased once Gohan pushed past his son a second later.

"Tell us what happened Vegeta," Gohan said sternly.

Vegeta gave him a hard glare, "Vang happened. You remember the demon that possessed the immortal human we fought not long ago? Well it's back."

Gohan was more than a little taken aback, "What? How? Piccolo trapped that thing in that magical jar that nothing can get out of!"

"I don't know how, but he appears to be inside your father's body this time, and has been for quite some time. I should have seen it sooner…" Vegeta admitted before Gohan's full blown panic struck.

"How can that be? I haven't noticed anything strange from Dad at all!" he claimed.

Vegeta closed his eyes for a moment, "Vang played us for fools, simple as that. It may not actually be your father's body though so you may take solace in that. Add to that the stupid little ghost imp he sicked on us!"

Gohan paused, "Ghost imp?"

"I'm confused," Goten added. Vegeta bit his lip and didn't answer directly as he realized he had slipped in a detail he didn't wish to share. The next question didn't help matters, even though it was somewhat related.

"Where's Lenz?" Trunks asked.

Bulma sighed heavily once Vegeta went silent, "She went with Vang, to that place I told you about before, Gohan."

Gohan bit his lip nervously, "You mean where the Over…I mean Chemical Z comes from?"

"It's alright to say it, Vegeta knows about it now. I think though that we need to fully explain this from when the ghost that you asked about showed up," Bulma suggested.

"It wasn't a ghost, that thing is gone and it's none of their concern," Vegeta grumbled.

Bulma's eyes filled with fury, "Vegeta, set all your damn pride aside for one minute and shut the hell up for once!"

"How dare you?"

"Or I could have one of them knock you out right now. Shouldn't be too difficult," Bulma added.

"Fine." Bulma then told the three boys everything regarding what went on with the demon Wentha, Vang's sudden appearance, and Lenz's departure with him. Trunks was able to fill in some of the memory gaps regarding Wentha's possession of her. The rest of which was provided via security cameras, leading up to when Vang and Lenz had left. Once all the explanations were finished, Trunks looked eager to go.

"We're going after them now, right?" he asked.

"We don't even know where to start Trunks," Gohan reminded him.

"The smart choice is to regroup. For all we know, that wasn't the real Kakarot I saw, at least not the one we know. While I don't believe much of what that demon said, it isn't that unbelievable," Vegeta said.

"That's right. You said that Vang told you himself that you were as strong as your counterpart. That means there's a good chance that he actually possessed the other Goku's body. So then, where's our Goku?" Bulma pondered.

"Well he can't be dead, otherwise we would have known by now. So he's either too weakened like Vegeta to contact us, or…" Gohan started to say.

"Watch it boy. Be mindful of who you're calling weak," Vegeta snapped back at him.

Gohan ignored him after a moment though, "Or he's also in that other dimension, as a captive."

"I'm still confused," Goten said. Everyone glanced at the smallest boy in the room, and most of them realized that this was still beyond him.

Gohan sighed and dropped down to his knees, "It's like this Goten: You remember how we fought the Zerg? Well in this other place, other versions of us did that too. There was another Goku just like our Dad, there was another Vegeta, another me, another you. But when they fought the Zerg, things didn't go as well as they did here, they didn't win so easily."

"What happened then?" Goten asked.

"We don't exactly know. I think they still beat the Zerg, but their Earth is in bad shape. A very evil demon went into that place and took our Dad's body, or rather the other Dad. You remember when that happened to me not long ago right? It's the same thing. But this time, he took our Dad with him and then took his place. Then he attacked Vegeta and convinced Lenz to go with him to that place where Earth is in bad shape. Do you understand now?" Gohan asked his younger brother.

Goten didn't look like he did, but nodded anyway, "I think so, shouldn't we go after him now?"

Gohan closed his eyes and stood up, "Goten, we don't know how to get there yet. And if we don't know how to get there, it does us no good to leave yet."

"We might be able to gain assistance from Leira, however we need Verto back here first," a voice said from behind. All of them turned to see Piccolo stepping in, his cape billowing through the hallway.

"Namek, are you telling me that we have to rely on that wretched woman again?" Vegeta said with clear irritation.

"I'm not telling you anything you don't already know," Piccolo replied.

"I take it she hasn't returned yet?" Gohan interjected.

"No, but I calculate that she will reappear in the next several hours. Gohan, please go wait at the lookout. I know you want to search for your father, but as you said, we have no idea where to look," Piccolo said.

Gohan nodded grimly, "Alright. I'll be back as quickly as possible."

Piccolo nodded back, "I hope so." Gohan then vanished just as he pressed two fingers to his head and teleported away.

"So we just sit around and wait?" Trunks asked.

"We don't have any other choice Trunks. Your father is crippled, Goku is missing and for all intents and purposes Lenz has betrayed us. With Gohan and Verto needed elsewhere, the only two Saiyans left to defend the Earth are you and Goten. Frost could attack at anytime, so we cannot take any chances. I'm sure that Vegeta agrees with me," Piccolo pointed out.

Vegeta bared his teeth, "Since when have you been in charge?"

"Since you underestimated your opponent and were poisoned."

Vegeta's fists shook, "Just you wait Namek."

There was a short pause before Trunks thought of something, "Can't we use the Dragon Balls to wish them right back here? Or take us there?"

Piccolo grimaced slightly, "It's not that it's a bad idea, but it carries a risk. We don't know what condition Goku or Lenz are in now. And if we go straight to them, it might be an ambush. Remember, we were utterly helpless against Vang last time because we didn't know what to expect. We were only able to get by with Verto's hidden powers. There is no reason to believe that he hasn't prepared for us more thoroughly this time. And now he has a stronger body to work with." Trunks sighed but nodded and remained quiet for the moment.

"But you do bring up a good point Trunks. We should gather the balls just in case," Piccolo added.

"Well, there's only one left to find. But we haven't been able to pick it up on the Dragon Radar," Trunks said.

"It might be stuck under something that is jamming or confusing the signal. I doubt an animal could have kept it down for this long. You may have to fly around some and try to get closer to wherever it might be," Bulma suggested.

"But that could be anywhere Mom!" Trunks argued.

"Shut up brat. It'll give you something to do while we wait for the others to return. In the meantime, you two will fly back to Kakarot's house and bring my daughter back here. And I suppose you'll need to inform the harpy of the situation," Vegeta said with annoyance.

Piccolo watched them go before turning around himself, "I'll pass the word to Krillin and Videl. Hopefully Gohan and Verto will return quickly, but they'll have a difficult fight on their hands either way."

Trunks obeyed his father's wishes for the time being, but it wasn't long before he decided to act. He still wasn't completely sure what was going on, nor what had been discussed, but he had the general idea. He brought Bulla home as ordered, to which his mother was extremely thankful. She gave him the Dragon Radar for the next day, but he didn't intend to wait that long. As soon as he sensed his parents were asleep, he packed a small bag of essentials and set out. He wasn't sure where to go exactly except that Doctor Wheelo had been in North City which was very near where the first battle with Vang had ended. He figured he'd start his search there and see what he could find. He was within a few miles of North City's outskirts when he heard a loud beep go off in his pocket. He immediately pulled out the Dragon Radar, spotting that the signaled area was just up ahead. Right as he passed over it though, the signal died out and there was nothing. Trunks held steady in the air as he stared at the blank screen in confusion. He turned around and flew the other way, and the radar beeped again. The signal was very weak and coming from below his position, which was over a tall and rocky plateau. Trunks flew backwards a bit more before dropping to the ground for a closer look, spotting a small cave nearby. The Dragon Radar was signaling that the last ball was inside, but very deep. Trunks dug out a flashlight from his travel bag and headed inside. At first it seemed like a standard cave with random stalagmites scattered about the ceiling. That changed once he saw a dug out tunnel to his right that led elsewhere in the hillside.

The radar signal got stronger at that intersection, so Trunks followed it instead. The tunnel sloped downward into a slightly steep ramp that slowly curved around in a broad spiral. As he got further in, a strong and familiar smell filled the air. Trunks didn't quite recognize it at first, but he knew he had smelled it before. It was an odd combination of both rich plant life, blood, and decomposition, though more of the latter was present. The smell got stronger as the tunnel flatted out into a straight corridor. As it did, Trunks could see a dim blue light filling the cave ahead. He walked into the room carefully and confirmed the source of the light. It was a bright blue and slightly green rectangular swirl that extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Trunks couldn't see anything through it, but his radar confirmed that the Dragon Ball was just on the other side of it. Trunks dared to stick out his arm to touch this strange light, feeling almost nothing except cold air. He took a deep breath and stepped in completely. His body was forcibly yanked forward as his vision exploded into a bright tunnel of randomly changing colors. He felt faint as his brain tried to process what all was going on at once. The light tunnel seemed to pull and twist Trunks in every way possible before he felt his feet touch ground again. He found himself staring at the room entrance again, with his back to the blue-green portal. Nothing seemed too terribly off base, except that the foul smell was stronger than ever. The Dragon Radar was going ballistic, showing Trunks that he was right next to the acquired signal. He glanced down and grinned as the seven-star ball winked back at him with its glow despite being buried under some rubble.

"Finally found you!" Trunks exclaimed. As he bent down to pick it up, he sensed something strange nearby. It didn't quite feel like it was in the cave with him, but further ahead. Trunks tucked the Dragon Ball away in his bag and slowly stepped forward to investigate. He made one right turn and saw outside light pouring in ahead. The stench rolling in was almost enough to make him sick at this point, and he settled for holding his nose as he continued onward. As he neared the exit, he sensed some sort of life forms ahead, but it was unclear what they could be. To him, the ki signals seemed distorted and scattered, as if they were only partially alive and yet not at all. Trunks felt a nervous shiver go up his back as he approached the cave exit. Once outside, he found himself on a barren cliff edge with no path leading up to it. Below however was the source of what he was smelling and sensing. Large, organic structures littered the ground, which was covered in thick, purple slime. Many creatures were moving around, collecting items such as dead trees, animals and the like. Vicious dog-like critters were running about with much larger snake-like monsters with huge talons moving with them. In the skies there were even more strange creatures flying in a semi-circle around the area. Some were large, slow beasts with antennae and drooping tendrils. Others were smaller, yet much faster and almost dragon-like in shape. Trunks didn't have to wonder what he was seeing though, as it had only been a year since he had seen them last. The Zerg, they're back!

Trunks immediately suppressed his energy as low as he could in order to hide his presence. He knew there was a chance that he'd been noticed already, but that chance was far lower if he wasn't putting out any power. The hive cluster below seemed to ignore him, but the always wary Overlords above kept him on edge. There were a few different Zerg strains running around below that he didn't recognize, as well as a few in the air. He took what appeared to be a safe moment and tried to scan the area for any sign of Lenz and Goku. He couldn't feel anything besides what he knew to be Zerg for miles. Between each hive cluster he sensed absolutely nothing, as if the land was so dead that the Zerg wouldn't even nest on it. Once he finally picked something up, he couldn't believe how far away it was. It was far enough that he could have literally chosen any direction to go and would have been right. Trunks then found himself in a dilemma. He could easily go back through the portal and report to his father with the Dragon Ball and be done with it. The other choice was to disobey and attempt to find Lenz and Goku on his own. The latter pretty much guaranteed a run-in with Vang and now the Zerg. Tipping the scales however was the fact that he had personally witnessed what the Zerg could do to any world they came to. It had happened once, and with the portal right there, it could happen again.

Alright, I'll just blow up this hive and go back through. I'll be done so quick that they'll never know I was here. I don't think Dad will have a problem with that. Trunks quickly formed a powerful ki blast and aimed for the smallest hive structure, which resembled a tunnel. He recalled that the Zerg could pass through their Nydus Canals very quickly to reinforce their bases. He fired and scored a direct hit, sending a large amount of red blood and various dismembered organs into the air. The reaction from the Zerg was immediate. Every snake-like Hydralisk moved towards the cliff side, threatening to spit their sharp needle spines. Other groundlings lined up with them along the mountain base, lying in wait. The various flyers stopped circling and came over at once, surrounding the mountain in a blockade like formation. Trunks' eyes widened when he saw a large swarm of flyers coming in from elsewhere, all of which were zeroed in on him.

Okay, that was a bad idea. I'll have to try and get them away from here before I go back through. Otherwise they might try to follow me, or worse. A few of the unfamiliar flyers pushed ahead and lined up directly in front of Trunks' position. They resembled worms found in the sand, only they were massive in size and covered in thick, armored skin.

What are those? The new worm flyers hovered in the air, kicking their massive bodies up and down in order to stay afloat. All of a sudden, their mouths opened and large balls of pale green fluid shot out. Given little time and no space, Trunks quickly turned Super Saiyan and dodged by leaping high into the air. Each shot by the flying worms struck the ledge he had been standing on, exploding and splashing the whole area. Trunks realized how lucky he was when the ledge fizzled from the massive load of acid that he just been dumped on it. The ledge broke off and melted completely, falling towards the ground below. Trunks didn't have time to dwell on his luck though as the flying worms shot their acid at him again. He glided aside a bit easier this time, but still didn't have much time to react. After the second volley had left fresh dripping holes in the cliff, no more came. Instead, he saw a vast barrage of needle spines flying at him through the air, courtesy of the hydralisks below. Trunks knew he couldn't sit still and avoid them all, so he flew upwards as fast as he could to clear their impressive range.

He had barely gotten above the top of the plateau when he was nearly picked out of the air by a small Zerg flyer. It curved its flight path and hooked around to come at him again. Trunks recognized this flyer instantly and prepared a blast to deal with it. It was known as a Scourge, a small and weak flyer, yet very fast compared to the rest. It's only attack was suicide, but it did devastating damage to its target when successful. Trunks fired his blast and wiped out the single Scourge sent against him. He turned around and saw dozens more. Trunks flew back and began unleashing rapid-fire ki bolts. The scourge were effectively neutralized, but a few were able to navigate through the torrent of small explosions. Trunks blasted each stray as they came, not missing a beat from his experience before. When the smoke from his barrage cleared, he saw that the other flying Zerg were giving him a rather wide berth. Trunks paused and took a moment to look around, especially behind and below him. He hovered over the large mountain plateau, wondering if he missed anything.

What are they waiting for? His answer came when he sensed several strong ki signals coming towards him. All but one of them felt familiar, and the odd one seemed to completely vanish as it got closer. They arrived in shrouds of white and golden energy, quickly ripping through all of the Zerg flyers like they weren't even there. Anything that survived quickly fell to the ground and died from decapitation. Their blazing energy faded for a moment, enough for Trunks to see they were all wearing Saiyan armor before he could identify them. In the very front was Gohan, sporting the silvery-white hair that Trunks was accustomed to seeing. On his right was Vegeta, looking about as intense as he ever did in his Super Saiyan two form. On Gohan's left was what Trunks thought was Goku at first, but he quickly saw otherwise. This man looked like Goku down to his hair strands, with an old battle scar on his face and sporting a red bandana. Trunks realized that it was actually Goku's father Bardock. Immediately near him was a tall human with three eyes, Tienshinhan. Despite the arrival of these four, Trunks' eyes were locked on the youngest, holding steady near Vegeta. He couldn't sense his ki at all, but it didn't take rocket science to figure out what one's reflection is supposed to look like.

It's me, but older. So this is what Mom, Dad and Gohan were talking about. This is a different timeline, a parallel universe!

A/n: GG.

WDG: Oh dear.

VB: Aw come on, we all love surprise cameos.