Ripple Effect Chapter 13: The Calm in the Middle of the Storm
Tien stirred slightly. He couldn't hear very much because of the beating he had received, all he heard were some slightly dull noises and a constant ringing. He felt a bit of weight on his stomach, moving his arms up he lifted Krillin off his torso. His middle eye was the first to open. As usual the world was darker than normal and he could see nothing but ki running through bodies. Then his left eye opened.
His normal vision came back just in time to see the Ox King's body hit the ground and Gohan scream before losing consciousness. Tien's first instinct was to jump up and try to assist the young half Sayian, though his body would not respond to the impulse. These androids were unbelievable, Future Gohan could not have emphasized it enough. Though they had all pushed to their limits training for the most part, they still paled in comparison to these monsters. Yamcha, Krillin and now Gohan lay sprawled across the ground, scattered and beaten. There was no doubt in his mind that this is where Tien would die. He thought about Chaotzu, his best friend would have to survive without him from now on.
Just as he had accepted his fate, Tien saw his salvation, a man suddenly appeared in front of him, clad in an orange gi, with messy black hair.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Gohan flew through the air at an incredible speed, his injuries were burning but he paid them no heed. This was a nightmare, this was his nightmare. The androids were here and soon his present would become this time's future. He could not let this happen, he would fight it until his dying breath. The future son of Goku was dead set on ripping the androids apart with his bare hands. It didn't matter that he was bleeding from a large cut across his chest, or that his skin burned from the blasts it had taken, they would be no more. His eyes slammed shut suddenly.
No! Not now! His body was betraying him, it was giving up. This would not stand, he had not come this far to stop now. His purpose was too important, his burden too great. He wasn't just fighting for himself, he was fighting for all those he had lost.
He felt himself losing altitude, there was no stopping it. No matter how much he wanted to keep fighting, Gohan began to lower towards the ground.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Kami peered over the side of his lookout. Just a few moments ago Son Goku's family had come and left the Saiyan and his wife under his care. Then Gohan and Krillin left back to the Son house in the East district. He could feel Piccolo, Vegeta and the other Gohan's ki signatures diminishing rapidly, then they plateaued at their lowest points, dangerously close to being nonexistent. The androids would have to be stopped, eventually they would reach the lookout, he was sure of it. Soon afterwords he felt the young Gohan's ki depleting, along with Tien, Yamcha and Krillin's. This was chaos, there was nothing on the planet that could stop them at this point. Well, nothing except for the man laying in his spare room on his deathbed.
With horror Kami felt all of the last defenders of Earth nearly perish. A smaller ki snuffed out just as Kami felt something else, this time in his own building. The cavalry had arrived, like clockwork. He felt then ki slightly rev up and then completely disappear and reappear on the battlefield.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
"So, you must be the androids, huh?"
17 and 18 whipped around to see their sole objective standing and gazing at them. They tensed up, anticipating a battle. Goku turned his head and surveyed the damage his opponents had done. His face turned into an expression of rage.
"What you have done here is unforgivable!" He yelled as he put his fingers up to his forehead. In an instant he was standing next to his son, putting his free hand on the unconcious kid's shoulder. He disappeared again and reappeared next to Tien, Yamcha and Krillin. "I will give you both two days, that's it. You have two days to repent and give up your disastrous ways. After that you will have to answer to me."
"What are you talking about? We could kill you right now!" Before 17 finished his sentence Goku was gone once again, this time he was out of sight.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Back at the lookout the greatest of Earth's defender's appeared once again, this time with all of those that had been injured at his residence. Tien looked up at his old friend. "Goku, that was amazing! No way that we can lose now!"
Goku finally broke his stern expression and met the three eyed fighter's gaze. His face cracked into an awkward smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I'm not quite better y-blaaaggghh." Goku was cut off as he keeled over and threw up on the floor of the lookout. "Oh no! Popo is going to kill me with his mystical powers!"
"He's delusional, somebody help me carry him back to his bed!" Tien yelled as he propped Goku up on one of his shoulders.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
17 and 18 stared at one another. The sole reason for their existence was just in front of them, and then just as soon as he had appeared, he was gone. "What, the hell, just happened?"
"You heard what he said brother, we have two days." 17's blonde sister replied.
"Don't tell me you're afraid, 18?"
"No way! I'm saying we have two days to raise some hell!"
"That sounds like a good idea, where do you think we should start?" 18 questioned.
"There's no hurry, how about we steal a car or something and take our time?"
"Sounds like a plan, brother."
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Gohan's eyes fluttered open as he regained consciousness. After a few seconds his memories of the moments before he passed out rushed into his head. His grandfather was dead. That was the first memory to come back into his mind. He looked up from his bed and saw an orange and blue clad fighter sitting on the edge. Without another thought he buried his head in the man's shoulder and began to cry.
"I know, it's hard to lose someone." He patted Gohan on his back. The young half Saiyan felt relived in his father's arms before he realized that he was not in the plural of the appendage, and the voice was not quite that of his father's. Looking up he saw a scarred face gazing back at him. "Trust me, I have been in the same situation."
His older self gave him a half hearted smile before standing up. "You can't let those you've lost drag you down."
"So you just want me to forget about my Grandpa?!" Gohan almost screamed, he was shocked at what he was hearing. Future Gohan's expression tensed up.
"No, that isn't what I was saying at all! You have to carry them with you, let them drive you. Not a minute goes by that I don't think of all the people that I have lost. Piccolo, Vegeta, Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Tien, Yamcha, Chaotzu, Krillin," Trunks, "They are the ones that give me the strength to go on. They are the ones that I've lost. Most importantly though, they are the ones that remind me that I must give my best to destroy those that will take more from me."
Gohan looked at the hurt in his elder counterpart's eyes, he had never thought of him in this light before. All he had done in the past few years was look up to how strong he had become, he had never considered what the future him had gone through to get there.
The moment was ruined when a crash was heard in the room. Chi Chi stood behind a door that was knocked off it's hinges. She lunged across the room and scooped her son into her arms.
"Oh Gohan my little baby! Are you hurt? What did they do to you?" She yelled.
"He's fine." Future Gohan said to the disgruntled woman.
"And who are you to say my son is alright? A doctor?!" Chi Chi yelled again as she turned to face the one armed man. Future Gohan gave a smirk.
"Well, you did make me study medicine for a few years."
"What?!" Chi Chi got a look of confusion on her face. She slowly began to put two and two together. He husband had said someone from the future had come to warn them of the androids...
"Hiya Gohan! And, uh, bigger Gohan!" Everyone turned and saw Goku leaning up slightly in his bed. Both Gohans got smiles across their faces. Chi Chi, on the other hand, ran up to the side of his bed and took a huge breath.
"Son Goku how dare you meet out future son and not tell me about it!? I cannot believe you wouldn't mention that the man that warned you of your impending death was our little boy! How did that not come up in three whole years?!" Goku looked down in shame and the smile dissipated from his face.
"I'm sorry Chi Chi, it must have slipped my mind. I was too excited for training I guess." Future Gohan smiled as his parents talked, well, Goku talked, Chi Chi was still yelling essentially. He sincerely missed his parents fighting over dumb things. It had been so long since he had seen either of them in his time, let alone hear them talk to one another. He glanced at the clock on the side of the wall, it was about half an hour since Krillin had gotten up, Yamcha and Tien were up shortly after him. He had been up for almost half a day now, his Saiyan half helped accelerate his recovery, plus his body was used to taking a beating and then getting up for more. Piccolo and Vegeta were both awake before he was, he knew Vegeta was brooding on the side of the lookout, but he had yet to see Piccolo. Finally his younger self brought him back into the present.
"Hey, what should I call you? It's kinda difficult seeing as we are the same person technically."
"Ha, I haven't thought about that! It does make things pretty difficult." Future Gohan replied. Before their conversation could continue they felt a ki vanish and another one increase exponentially. Both changes occurred in the front of the lookout.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Fifteen minutes previously
Kami watched his counterpart lay on the makeshift bed in the Guardian of Earth's chamber. He was close to waking up, the connection between them told him that much. After a few minutes he saw the physical signs of the former demon king stirring. Kami closed his eyes and reached with his conciousness out across the world he was sworn to watch over. He thought of how trivial his title had become over the past few decades. There was a point in time when he was the strongest in the world, after Son Goku had come that had all been thrown to the wind, though. A rustling noise let him know that Piccolo was now awake.
"Why the hell am I in this place?" the once evil Namekian hollered. Neither were thrilled about being near each other, but Piccolo was much more vocal about it.
"You are here because we both know that the androids are monumentally stronger than most of Earth's defenders, and they are not the only threats right now."
"What do you mean? Explain yourself old man!" Piccolo was shocked to hear what his other half had said.
"Soon enough I won't have to." Kami replied bluntly.
"Damnit, tell me what you're talking about!" Piccolo was becoming angrier as the conversation went on.
"Piccolo, when you were first born you were evil incarnate. After all these years though that evil has diminished, I am now comfortable in doing this."
"Do what?"
"I am not going to explain it to you, Piccolo. You will soon know everything that I know."
"You don't mean?" Piccolo's anger turned to shock upon realizing what his 'better' half was saying.
"For the Earth to survive this, we must return to our original form." Kami said finally. Piccolo smirked when he heard it.
"Fine, but when we become one, we use my body."
"Fair enough, your body is stronger, more durable. My wisdom is what will benefit us from my side."
"On Namek, Nail said that if we had combined before then we could have taken on Frieza without a doubt. So you think we'll be strong enough to take on the androids, they are much stronger than Frieza was."
"Yes, you have gotten much stronger since planet Namek. Our combined strength will be on par with them."
"Alright then, lets get this over with."
"Place your hand on my chest, I will do the rest." Piccolo complied, lifting his arm up and placing it on the Guardian of Earth's chest. Kami's expression tensed up and he began gathering ki. Piccolo's initial reaction was to take a step back, but resisted the urge. The air around them began to get violent with the ki that was being expelled into it by the old guardian. Kami gradually shifted the ki from all around to the center of his chest, seemingly piled up against Piccolo's hand. The elder Namekian's yelling grew louder and louder as the ki grew.
Finally, Kami's face contorted one last time before he let out a final scream and a blinding light enveloped both Namekians and the entire room.
Mr Popo had heard the yelling and felt ki rising in Kami's throne room, so naturally he ran there as fast as he could. As he reached the door he saw the light coming through the cracks. He flung the door open, fearing the worst and raced inside the room.
When the light cleared he saw Piccolo standing in the center of the room by himself. He seemed somehow different than he usually was.
"Piccolo! What have you done to Kami?!" Popo yelled. Piccolo looked over and smiled.
"I am no longer Piccolo or Kami, I am the Namek that has long since forgotten his name." The Namekian stated, still smiling. "Mr. Popo, Kami thanks you for your years of service. He really did enjoy your company and assistance."
Mr. Popo's eyes began to well with tears.
"Now, there is something that I must attend to if you don't mind."
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Gohan and Future Gohan both ran outside to the front of the lookout. They exited just in time to see their Namekian ally sbout to take off in the air.
"Piccolo! What just happened? Where are you going?" the young Gohan called out. The Namekian turned around to address his friends.
"I merged with Kami, I must take care of something, there is a threat to the Earth that I must attend to."
"Let me come with you, whatever it is we can take it together!" Future Gohan stepped forward.
"No, you are both somewhat injured yet. Gohan, you should stay here and watch over your father. Mirai Gohan, Bulma needs you at the Capsule Corp lab."
"What? How do you know that?" Future Gohan replied, confused. The Namekian smirked and pointed to his ears with his thumb.
"With these I can hear pretty much anything on Earth."
Future Gohan nodded and so did Gohan. The Namekian nodded back before turning around and leaping off the lookout.
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Upon hearing that Goku was awake, Tien and Yamcha rushed in to see him. They were glad to see their friend after him being sick for so long. When they entered the room he was still laying down, Chi chi at his side.
"Hey guys!" He exclaimed as they came towards him.
"Goku!" Both yelled at the same time.
"Are you alright now? Can you join the fight now?" Yamcha continued/ Goku looked at Chi Chi who immediately shook her head.
"Yup! I'll be able to in a few hours I bet!" Chi Chi face palmed. They all turned as the door opened and the young Gohan entered in.
"Hey Gohan!" Goku hollered, then he got a more serious expression on his face. "I have some favors to ask of all of you."
"Yeah, what can we do?" Tien inquired.
"I need you and Yamcha to go to the Kame House and bring Roshi back up to the lookout. He'll be much safer here, and then we can figure out where to go from there."
"Alright, we'll get right on it!" Yamcha replied. Both him and Tien turned to leave the room.
"Be careful guys." Gohan said as they passed by him. Both fighters nodded. Once they were out of the room Goku continued.
"Gohan, could you fly down to Korin's place and grab some senzu beans? He should have a couple on him hopefully."
"Yeah dad, no problem!"
"Alright! Soon we'll all be geared up to fight the androids again!"
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Piccolo landed on the ground at the entrance of Gingertown. This was where Kami had felt a massive disturbance, he needed to track this thing down and finish it off. He took a few steps in and found the place apparently deserted. More curiously, clothes were strewn about the streets and sidewalks. A strange smell filled the air, almost a cross between death and ripe fruit. He continued his walk through the street, looking at the strange sights. Some houses were missing large chunks, as if a wrecking ball smashed through them, or ki blasts. He noticed when looking closer that the clothes were in the correct order to be worn, first was the shirt, then the pants and finally the pair of shoes, every single set. It appeared as though the people that had previously worn the clothing had just vanished. He rounded a corner and saw something odd about fifty yards away.
A man lay on the ground, stomach down. On top of him stood some insectoid creature. With a quick movement the creature revealed that he had a tail with a long needle at the end of it. Without wasting a second the tail jabbed downward and plunged into the man's back. Piccolo watched in horror as the man's very substance seemed to drain away into the monster.
"Why hello there Piccolo, what can I do for you?"
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Future Gohan landed outside Capsule Corp. minutes after his discussion with Piccolo. It was great to see it in one piece, he wasn't used to it being that way. In his time it was nearly decimated with only a small amount of the structure still standing. He stepped forward a few feet and considered what he would find inside. He had not seen Bulma's parents in quite some time, they both had essentially perished in the initial onslaught of the androids. Dr. Briefs hadn't quite died, but he never woke up from the coma and eventually Bulma decided to pull the plug, it was hard on her, but the electricity had to be used for the rest of the survivors. After that Gohan had taken care of the old man's cat that was always on his person, but it too passed away. He was most excited to see Trunks though, his old student and closest friend, it had been far too long. He pushed the door open and took a look around.
It was a very open rectangular room with plants growing in pots in each of the corners. On the right hand side was a desk and behind it was a decent looking secretary. She looked at the one armed man bewildered for a few seconds before shaking her head and looking down at a clipboard.
"Are you Mister Mirai Gohan?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah!" Gohan was shocked that she knew who he was.
"Ms. Briefs left a note to tell you that they are in the laboratory shop and that you should meet with them as soon as you came."
"Alright, thanks!" He knew his way around the ground floor of the ruins from his time in the ruins of 'his' Capsule Corp. so getting there was no problem. He rounded the last corner and the doors to the shop flew open.
He almost ran into Bulma as she exited the room, if it weren't for his quick reflexes she would have been on the floor. "Oh hey Mirai Gohan! I was just going to get you!" She said.
"Yeah I know, Piccolo told me. Did you just call me Mirai Gohan?" the demi-Saiyan replied.
"Uh huh, figured it would be easier to tell between you and the Gohan of our time if we called you something else, plus it sounds cooler than Future Gohan or Older Gohan. How did Piccolo know that I wanted to meet with you?"
"That's a long story, I'm sure you'll hear it soon enough. So what did you need me for?" Mirai Gohan responded. Bulma smirked before she replied.
"I've been cooking something up that I think you'll really appreciate," Bulma turned around and continued as she motioned for him to follow her, "What do you think was you're biggest handicap is?" It wasn't hard for him to come up with the answer for that one. What was she getting at?
"My lack of a left arm holds me back sometimes, why?"
"I have something great to show you that might even out the playing field."
( ( ( ( ( (((O))) ) ) ) ) )
Hey everybody! Not too much action going on this chapter, but quite a bit of build up! Next chapter is gonna be epic! Sorry for the long delay between chapters, I've been fairly busy lately with some personal stuff.
So, I've been throwing around whether or not to continue this story after the Cell Saga or not and I think I've decided to carry it into the fight against Buu and end it then! I'm kind of excited for some of the things I have planned, so stay tuned! At the rate I've been going though the Cell Saga will end sometime in 2017 haha!
Now for reviews, since I didn't do them last chapter it'll be slightly longer than normal.
JadedMom - thanks for the review! I think the last two chapters answered your questions hopefully and we'll find out more about the androids next chapter and where they're going to be!
Drak - Thanks for the review man!
Ness - Vegeta can pretty much sum it up from what he knows about Yamcha and the fact that Bulma is no longer dating him. I think that was my thought process whilst writing it! I really liked writing that fight as well, Future Gohan is awesome! Sorry about the line breaks in the last chapter, I think I've solved the problem now!
ShadowLDrago - thanks for the reviews! I hope you continue reading! And the head mounting was supposed to be an Easter Egg for BoD, which is a fic I really like! Yes, as this chapter revealed, the Ox King has passed away :(
Egxo - thanks for the correction on Krillin's deaths, but I'm gonna disagree on power levels, but I'll get to that later!
Peter1398 - Thanks for the Review! Yeah I think you'll thoroughly enjoy this fic if you like Future Gohan! Hope you keep reading!
Cyanbilbo - thanks for the review! Future Gohan rocks! Thanks for saying the fic is awesome as well! :D
Son Omar - thanks for the reviews! You were most certainly correct and I have updated sir! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Hellsmaji - Thanks for the reviews! I'll get to the power levels now!
My first thoughts when I just began writing this fic was that I was going to bring the power levels down a bit than what most people have them at. I did this because it made them more manageable and because midway through the Frieza saga no one used their scouters anymore and power levels were mostly described or hearsay. The last official power level reading is Future Trunks at a level of 5. That was to show the unreliability of scouters and power levels.
So, from now on I will not be showing power levels, instead, if asked, I will just show a comparison of who could theoretically beat who if they are at full current power.
Here it is, after this chapter, the power rankings -
Yamcha - 1
Son Gohan - 1.5
Krillin - 1.5
Goku (current state) - .75
Mirai Gohan - 4
Android 17 - 3.75
Android 18 - 3.75
Kamicolo (Piccolo) - 3.75
Vegeta - 3
Tien - 1.5
Gero (just for funsies) - 2.75
Next chapter the action blows up! Stay tuned and shoot me a review with helpful comments, constructive criticism, or tips on how to kill a vampire!
Cya next time!