A/N: Thank you for the reviews, faves and follows.
For Master Roshi, watching the female aerobics show on TV was one of the reasons he got up in the morning. You could say it was a passion of his…if he didn't watch it for perverted reasons. So when the daily programming was suddenly interrupted by news broadcasting, he was understandably upset…until he saw the 'breaking news' tag and he went from wounded to serious in a split second. The reporting was taking place in West City, which was under attack by an 'unknown force of similar ability to the Androids'. Master Roshi frowned as he witnessed buildings crumbling and people screaming on the broadcasting, his heart racing in panic.
"Oh dear, this is not good," the old master fretted. "No good at all."
-X-
Lazuli and Zangya continued to trade blows high above the World Tournament arena, neither one overcoming the other yet – until the Android drilled the Hera with a kick to the gut. She floated back with a smirk, leaving Zangya to try and regain her breath.
"My, my…" Zangya gasped. "Someone has…been training…hard. Trunks not occupying…your time enough?"
"Oh, plenty," Lazuli smirked. "There's a fine line between training and play and it gets blurred quite a lot; in the end, it produces the same result."
"I bet it does."
Zangya fired her Psycho Threads, only to distract her opponent since Lazuli had proven her immunity to them. The tactic worked and when the Android dodged the move, the Hera nailed her face with an elbow. As the fight raged on, Zangya was seriously considering using her Super form to win the match; she wasn't supposed to and she had agreed to the promise, but she needed to win. She had no interest in money, but she knew it was important for her son to have some kind of financial support when he grew older. That, and she really wanted a win against Lazuli and finally prove to be the better of the two.
It was definitely a far cry from her days as a space pirate, slaughtering civilisations for fun alongside Bojack and while Zangya didn't consider herself to be wholly good either nowadays, she figured her mellowness was due to a lack of a leader to look up and a cause to live for. That had changed when Minotia was born and now her son was the only thing that mattered to the Hera and kept her going.
Trunks was so enthralled in the fight, admiring Lazuli's skill and strength, that he didn't even notice Ocarin tense beside him.
"Something's wrong," the Namekian announced quietly.
"Huh?" Trunks asked, unwilling to tear his eyes away from his wife and when he did, he caught the frown on Ocarin's face. "What's the matter?"
"I can hear people screaming," the Namekian replied and he turned his head slightly to the left and right, trying to fine-tune their location. "They're coming from West City."
"Dammit. Can't I have a nice day out with my family?" Trunks muttered. Five years of peace and it had gone too quickly, in his opinion. "I can't sense anything. We better go."
"Do you need help?" Tapion asked.
"No, you stay here and look after the children," the half-Saiyan replied. "Hopefully, this isn't a major problem and we can handle it."
"Very well. Take care."
Trunks and Ocarin left the barracks and the hybrid decided to make a quick stop at the grandstand; if it took longer than expected, then he wanted his mother and daughter to know where he was. "Mom, Azure. Ocarin and I need to go?"
"Is something wrong?" Bulma inquired.
"There is, but I hope it's nothing major," he replied. "We'll be back soon."
"Honey, your father said the same thing to me once and he never returned. Please, I know you are quite strong, but please take care of yourself."
"Don't worry, I will, Mom."
"Can I come with you?" Azure asked, her eyes wide in pleading.
"No, sweetheart, you have to stay here and look after your grandmother," Trunks said as he knelt down to her level. "I will be back; you can count on it. Stay here and be strong for me, okay? Can you do that?"
"I can," the child replied with a nod.
"Good girl," he kissed her atop her head. "I love you."
"Love you too, Papa."
Trunks ruffled her hair, kissed his mother on the cheek and took to the sky with Ocarin beside him. Lazuli saw the pair fly away and the distraction caused her to receive a powerful blow from Zangya. The Android quickly held up her hand, stopping another strike from the Hera.
"Something wrong?" Zangya asked, wary for any sneak attacks.
"Must be; Trunks and Ocarin are leaving," Lazuli responded. "I'm going to see what's going on. You can have this win."
"What? No!" the Hera cried, but her opponent had already flown away. "This is so unfair! I wanted to beat you, not win by forfeit!"
"It appears Lazuli has abandoned the match," the announcer called out. "In that case, Zangya automatically wins by forfeit and will advance to the next round."
"What's the problem?" Lazuli asked as she joined Trunks and Ocarin. "You leave without saying goodbye."
"Lazuli, geez!" Trunks cried in surprise, having not expected her to sneak up on him. "Ocarin can hear an attack happening in West City; you should head back to the arena."
"No way, I'm coming with you."
"Laz…" the half-Saiyan trailed off and the Android sighed.
"I get what you're getting at. What if it's bad and neither of us come back, leaving Azure as an orphan? That's why I'm going with you, to make sure that doesn't happen. I haven't left you so far and I don't intend to do it now. Nothing could stand against the two of us."
Ocarin cleared his throat. "There's actually three of us."
"Oh, right, I guess you could help too."
The Namekian glowered at the Android. Some things would never change. The trio approached West City, as an explosion ripped through the metropolitan, wiping out several blocks. Trunks gasped as he saw the fires raging, corpses littering the street and he felt a sick dread in his stomach. Beside him, Lazuli inhaled deeply as she witnessed the carnage and her past flashed in her mind, triggering old memories of sadistic pleasure. She shook her head; she was not that Android anymore.
Another explosion, screaming filled the air and Trunks burst in that direction. He could hear gunshots, no doubt valiant efforts from the police force and when he arrived on the scene, dark ki blasts tore through the officers and their vehicles like they were paper.
"No!" the hybrid cried and he powered up to Super Saiyan 2, looking for the perpetrator.
Smoke swirled at the location of the energy blasts and he could detect dark, sinister energy within the cloud, but nothing more. A pair of red eyes flashed in the smoke and suddenly a black and gold energy ball flew at Trunks. He narrowly dodged it, but he felt the power and his heart raced with anxiety. Ocarin unleashed an energy beam with both hands and the shadow – or whatever it was – dashed, moving the smoke with it and avoided the beam. A second black and gold energy ball shot out and slammed Ocarin in the chest – he crashed into the ground and didn't move.
"No way!" Trunks thought despairingly. "Ocarin got taken out in one hit? How strong is this…whatever it is?"
He fired the Masenko and the density of the smoke increased, filling the streets as Red Eyes dodged the beam. Lazuli unleashed her Power Blitz and again, Red Eyes dodged the twin blasts. The smoke seemed to stretch into the sky, as Red Eyes moved at Lazuli at immense speed and Trunks heard the crack. Several buildings collapsed from Lazuli's body, the Android buried under a pile of rubble, out cold to the world. Cold sweat collected on Trunks' nape, as fear and rage built up inside him.
His wife, his powerful wife, down from one hit, just like Ocarin.
"What is this thing? What am I up against?" he internally panicked as Red Eyes turned towards him. "It took out Ocarin and Lazuli like they were toys. Whatever it is, I will stop it!"
He shouted, using his rage as his driving force and his lightning-blitzed aura burst up around him. The shadow hung menacingly within the smoke and Trunks held out his hand, palm facing up as he gathered his power into a ball of energy.
"Big…Bang…Attack!"
The blast hurtled towards Red Eyes and appeared to strike the shadow. However, the Big Bang Attack was suddenly reflected back by a black and gold energy blast and the pair struck the hybrid. Trunks cried out as he was blasted across the sky by his own attack before it detonated and he smashed into the ground, reverting to his base form. His body ached and protested as he struggled to get to his feet.
"I have to get up…for Azure…for Lazuli…I can't quit now."
Trunks fell to his knees, panted heavily three times and dropped unconscious.
-X-
Something was definitely wrong. It was easy to tell when a sudden announcement rang out that the Tournament was now effectively cancelled and everyone was to immediately and safely return home. As the audience proceeded to do that in a mild panic, confused over the abrupt turn of events. To make matters worse (and increase the intensity of the rumours spreading about), the sky darkened with thick clouds, as if a terrible thunderstorm was rolling in.
"Has anyone heard from Trunks yet?" Pan inquired as she flew her mother away from the crowd, landing in one of the nearby streets.
"I cannot detect him or Ocarin," 16 stated. "It would mean they are unconscious or-"
"Don't say it," Bulma cut in. "My son is not dead."
"Grandma, are Papa and Mommy okay?" Azure asked.
The scientist looked into her granddaughter's innocent eyes and gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "They're fine, Azure. You have anything to worry about."
"Are you sure?"
Kami, she was inquisitive. Not much got past her. "I'm sure."
"I'm going to check on them," Tapion announced, having handed his son to Zangya. "There's a…sinister energy…I can't really describe it…I can't even get a feel on it, but it's in West City."
"I will go with you," 16 decided.
"Me too," Pan added.
"No!" Videl cried sharply and the pair took their chance to leave. "You are staying with me. I'm not having you run off and risk your life. Let Tapion and 16 handle it."
"I can handle myself, Mom."
"No, and that's final."
Pan side-eyed her mother. "You've never complained before-"
"I did, but you never listened."
"So, why are you worried now all of a sudden?"
Videl hesitated. "Something doesn't feel right. It almost feels like…the Androids again."
Pan was about to reply when Bulma cut her off. "Wait, did you say West City?" she asked Tapion and he nodded. "The Dragonballs are there. If the city is under attack, then we need to get the Dragonballs out of there."
"I'll get them," Zangya offered.
"No, they're in my laboratory and you don't have the codes to access it," Bulma sighed and turned to her granddaughter. "Azure, sweetie, we've got to go home, but under the radar, okay?"
"O-kay…" the child said, not completely understanding.
"That means you have to conceal your power while flying," Pan explained and she shot a quick glare at her own mother. "I'd go with you, but…I'm not allowed."
Minotia started squalling, sensing the tension that permeated the city and Zangya attempted to calm him down. Pan took her mother's hand and led her away, possibly to the nearest police station to understand the situation, the Hera decided to take her son home and Azure gently gripped her grandmother under her arms and took to the sky. As they flew towards West City, Bulma couldn't help but feel a heavy lead weight of uncertainty clench around her heart.
-X-
"Trunks? Trunks. Trunks, wake up!"
The half-blood groaned as he slowly came into consciousness, his head ringing in protest. All he could see at first was fire and that snapped his mind out of the catalepsy.
"T-Tapion?" he queried as everything came into focus and he noticed 16 as well. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Looking for you," 16 answered. "We lost track of you."
"Where's Azure? Mom?"
"They're fine," Tapion reassured him, taking note of the city burning around them. "What happened? Where's Lazuli and Ocarin?"
Trunks groaned. "I…I don't know…whatever it was…it was fast and it was strong. It took them both out in one each. Never saw its face." Perhaps it was the hybrid's imagination, but Tapion looked paler than normal. "We have to find them."
"No need." Trunks felt a huge surge of relief when Lazuli painfully approached them, Ocarin hanging off her side.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm pissed off and I want a rematch with that freak."
"You are injured," 16 declared. "That is probably most unwise. All three of you require medical attention."
"He's right," Trunks winced. "Hopefully home is still intact and we can recoup."
"And grab the Dragonballs," Lazuli added.
The hybrid nodded and looked at the sky. Thick, dark clouds blanketed the city and initially, he wondered how long he'd been out for, but a quick check of his watch told him it was still daytime. Had a thunderstorm arrived? There was no rain forecasted for the day…what was going on? Where was the creature responsible? Could it track his energy?
Once it was agreed upon to return to Capsule Corporation, the group slowly made their way towards their destination, keeping their energies low at Trunks' suggestion in case Red Eyes was still around, lest it tracked them down and finish what it started.
As they headed towards home, Trunks couldn't help but feel the eerie parallels to the Androids' rampage and he looked at Lazuli and she returned it, no doubt thinking the same as him.
-X-
The thick smoke rising from the flames of West City and meeting with the thunderous clouds above as lightning flashed was an ominous sight as Bulma approached, aided by Azure, and the destruction reminded her of the Androids all over again. She forced the horrible memories out of her mind, given that it had eventually resulted in her beautiful granddaughter, who Bulma adored above all.
"What happened?" Azure asked, her eyes wide in shock and horror as the city she'd grown up in burned around her.
Bulma felt her heart clench for the girl; she should never have to witness anything like this in her life if the scientist could help it, but the universe obviously had other ideas. "I don't know, dear. Be careful…we don't know what could be waiting for us."
The child nodded and swooped closer towards the streets as she navigated towards Capsule Corporation. When they finally reached home and found it intact, Bulma breathed out a sigh of relief. With the Dragonballs, they had a chance in correcting whatever happened here, although she still felt the worry in her heart at the thought of Trunks and Lazuli. She still hadn't heard from them and the devastation that had been wrought upon the city didn't abate her fears either. She hoped nothing terrible had happened to them and a small part of her mind huffed in irony that she was concerned over the fate of an Android, a far cry from her younger days when she wanted them destroyed.
A lot had changed since then.
"Azure, can you fetch the senzu beans and bring them down to the lab?" Bulma asked.
"Sure."
The young girl raced off and the grandmother sucked in a deep breath before she made her way to her laboratory. Entering the codes, Bulma entered the lab and started her search for the Dragonballs. They had gathered them recently, keeping them together at the compound just in case something terrible happened and they couldn't afford the time to search for the magical artefacts. It had been Lazuli's idea at the time and while Bulma wouldn't normally agree with it, she allowed it mostly for Azure's sake, as the child had wanted to track down the mystical objects for fun.
"Come on, where did I put them?" she muttered to herself. Sometimes it amazed her that for all her intellectual brilliance, she could be a scatterbrain. "They've gotta be – oh, that's right!"
She located the safe and withdrew the bag that contained the Dragonballs, just as Azure appeared before her with a smile as she brandished the bag of senzu beans. She also had her father's sword strapped to her back, although it looked awkward on her.
"Oh my, you almost gave me a heart attack," Bulma stated. "How many are in there?"
Azure giggled briefly at her grandmother's exclamation. "There's…six beans in here."
"We'll have to go-" Bulma started when an explosion rocked the compound. Her blood ran cold as a second explosion hit the house and Azure stared upwards warily.
"Grandma?" the child asked. "What was that?"
"I…I don't know," the scientist replied, as her computer screen suddenly flashed with an intruder alert. The sensors had been tripped, which meant someone was inside. Someone who shouldn't be. And if they were inside…Bulma shivered. They needed to get out.
She checked the security cameras, trying to find the intruder, but one by one, the cameras were destroyed. It was almost as if the intruder knew their locations and fear rolled down her spine at the implications. Bulma activated the defence mechanisms, then grabbed Azure's hand, prepared to take her to the emergency escape tunnel when the elevator was blasted open. The force threw Bulma and Azure off their feet, as thick smoke filled the laboratory, flames licking the walls and casting a menacing glow upon the room. Bulma groaned as she pushed herself up, gasping when sinister red eyes flashed within the smoke.
"Azure, get up," she rushed her granddaughter and the child winced. "Come on, Azure, get up!"
Azure slowly stood and spotted the red eyes, a gasp escaping her. "What is that?"
"I don't know, but you have to get out of here!" Bulma cried, shoving the bag of Dragonballs into the child's hand. "Run, Azure, run now!"
"Not without you," Azure cried, pulling her grandmother to her feet, as a hand materialised within the smoke, preparing a black and gold energy ball.
Seeing the attack, Azure panicked and she tried to rush towards the escape tunnel when the blast was released and half the laboratory was destroyed in an instant. The child cried out in pain when her body was forcefully slammed against the wall. She gritted her teeth, fighting against the pain as she grabbed the dropped bags and she looked for her grandmother – red eyes glared from the shadow in the obscure smoke, one arm outstretched – and Bulma was in the creature's grip!
"Let her go!" Azure snarled.
"Azure, run now!" Bulma cried, her heart thudding in peril, her life dangling precariously, but all that mattered to her right now was her granddaughter's survival. And if that meant her life had to end so Azure could escape, then Bulma could accept that. Perhaps she could be reunited with Vegeta. "Run now!"
Azure wanted to refuse, wanted to save her grandmother, but this shadow…this creature…raised its other hand, ready to blast the child. Quick as she could, Azure flew towards the escape tunnel, as Red Eyes released the blast and annihilated the laboratory. As her life was vaporised by the blast, the smoke flickered and Bulma caught a glimpse of her killer's face.
"No, it can't be…" were the words that died upon her horrified lips as her life was extinguished.
Azure burst out of the tunnel and into the open air, tears stinging her eyes as she clutched the bags as tight to her body as possible. She didn't want to believe it; she didn't want to acknowledge it and the hurt and agony that swelled up inside her tiny body, grasping her heart and squeezing it tight. She battled to breathe, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to deal with the loss of her beloved grandmother. Her young mind couldn't quite comprehend it, but she knew in her heart that her grandmother was gone and as she sobbed, her anguish slowly turned into rage.
Behind her, the ruins of Capsule Corporation exploded and her despair was immediately replaced by fear. She didn't even think to fly; she just started running, running as far away as she could – until she ran right into someone.
"Whoa," came a familiar voice of surprise. "Azure?"
She looked up, saw it was her father and immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing loudly.
"Azure, what's wrong?" Trunks queried as Lazuli gently stroked their daughter's hair, trying to calm her distress. "Why are you here? Where's your grandmother?"
Azure pulled back to look at him with red-rimmed eyes, her cheeks wet and his heart broke for her. "Grandma's gone," she wailed. "She's gone. It…it killed her."
Trunks' heart plunged into his stomach, his chest felt hollow and ice ran through his veins. It felt like he'd been punched in the gut and he couldn't breathe, shock slamming relentlessly into him. No, not his mother. "Are you sure?"
She nodded feverishly. "It was scary and had red eyes – I…I couldn't save her."
Trunks and Lazuli exchanged looks over their daughter's head, sending each other a silent message as they struggled to deal with their grief. Lazuli crouched to her daughter's level and the child threw her arms around her, sobbing into her neck. The news of Bulma's death hit the Android hard: she had grown fond of her mother-in-law and cherished the friendly woman. To hear that she was gone, killed by the same…beast that had defeated them with ease and in front of Azure, no less…it both broke Lazuli's heart and infuriated her. Beside them, Tapion, Ocarin and 16 all mourned the loss of the older woman who had been welcoming and accommodating to all of them, especially the latter two. Tapion couldn't say he knew Bulma well, but from what he's seen of her, she was a kind and warm (yet fiery) soul and he ached for his friend's loss.
Trunks clenched his fist as he tried to focus his grief and channel it into rage. "Whoever that bastard is, I'm going to make him pay!"
Lightning crackled in the dark sky, drawing everyone's attention. Trunks growled as he felt the unnatural energy. Lightning lashed like furious spears and dark clouds spiralled towards the ground. Thick black smoke swelled and red eyes flashed. Energy blasts were hurled out of the smoke and Trunks leapt into the sky, transforming into a Super Saiyan, as the blasts missed their targets and detonated the surrounding area. Tapion, Ocarin and 16 joined him, as Lazuli remained on the ground, shielding Azure with an energy barrier.
Trunks flew towards Red Eyes, the rage and loss of his mother fuelling him, and he lashed out at the smoke. Red Eyes blocked his punch and swatted him aside like a fly; 16 tried to intervene as Tapion launched a volley of energy blasts. The Android received a punishing kick to the torso that blasted him away and Red Eyes moved with surprising speed to avoid Tapion's attack. Lazuli snarled as she watched the Konatsian get blasted aside and Ocarin tried to put up a fight against Red Eyes, but like the others, he was knocked aside like he was a mere doll.
Red eyes gazed upon Lazuli, but Trunks got to his feet and pulled his hands to the side. "Galick Gun!"
The purple blasted through the smoke, but missed its target as the shadow fired a blast that exploded on impact – Trunks tumbled along the road, smoke rising from his body as he dropped into his normal form. Wind swept the area, extinguishing the surrounding fires, save for one and finally, the smoke washed away from the shadow within, revealing the creature, his visage lit by the remaining fire.
"It's amusing to see that you think you're a match for me, Saiyan, but now it's over for you and I'm going to savour every drop of life I wring out of your body."
Trunks looked up and it was a punch to the heart. The familiar voice, but with a murderous undertone. Those dark eyes, once kind, now sinister. That smile, that was warm and welcoming, now promising of death. The familiar black spiky hair.
The scar that ran over his left eye.
"No, no, it's not possible!" Trunks exclaimed as he sucked in air, unable to comprehend who he was seeing. "G-Gohan?"
A/N: Yeah, not exactly Goku Black. I was going to have him and it was mostly the reason why I started writing this, because I wanted to see what it would be like if it was Trunks and 18 against Black, but halfway through, I decided to change it to Gohan Black, since it would be a huge psychological blow for Trunks and it'd be more emotional for him to have to fight Gohan instead of Goku. What do you reckon?