A/N: This was a long time coming! Thanks to NNP (yes, exactly! Your musings will be coming into play more in this chapter, and Trunks will not forget those remarks), Beaucoup riant (the gang's all here! Hopefully Bulma pops up living pretty soon and Trunks is able to stay good-I think that's a safe bet lol), Electramithos (thank you so much! I totally agree about Vegeta haha... but hopefully, he'll continue to entertain you, even if you can't root for him right now. This is a very Trunks-heavy chapter, with some Goku and gang), lmamc (thank you! Hope you enjoy this one!), teslanikhai (Here you go! Sorry it took so long!), Guest (thank you for the encouragement, very appreciated!).
Chapter 19:
"Hey there!" Goku called out, waving his arms frantically. "Hey!"
The blue man must have caught Goku's gestures through the window, or perhaps he was confused by the appearance of a ship, because he halted and looked warily at them.
"I think if we land, he'll wait," Goku told Gohan.
"I don't know, Goku… his power-level isn't any slouch," Krillin said, giggling nervously. "Maybe we should just find Trunks?"
"But that guy definitely ran into some trouble, guys!" Goku insisted. "At least if we talk to him, we can get a handle on the situation here! What do you say, Gohan?"
Gohan was already assessing the situation. Now that they were closer, Gohan could sense that the guy had a really high power-level, maybe high enough to take on all three of them. But if they attacked all at once, it would be hard for the other guy to win, by Gohan's estimation. And he liked the idea of finding Trunks once they already had some information.
But like Krillin, he wasn't positive that they wouldn't be looking for trouble here. There wasn't a very great chance that this guy was the peaceful type, and he didn't look any nicer up close!
But his father's determination would not be ignored, so he did as his dad wanted and landed the ship. Goku fairly bounded out of the door, leaving Gohan and Krillin to hurry after him without giving mind to their reservations.
"Hey, buddy! Did something happen to you? Your friend doesn't look too good!"
"He dead, you fucking moron!" the blue alien snarled impatiently. "What is going on with this planet? There are only supposed to be those green, peace-loving fools! I'm not in the mood for this shit!"
Goku blinked at the venom in the stranger's voice, before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt. We just got here and we saw you, and it looks like things are dangerous here." He gestured with one hand towards the bloody, white-haired alien. "It's just that we're looking for a friend, and we're hoping he hasn't run into trouble… have you seen any purple-haired kids?"
The guy reacted immediately, his face curling into a look of fury. "That's your friend, then?"
"Sure is!"
Krillin face-palmed. "Ah geez…"
Gohan gulped. "Uhhhh Dad? Maybe we should—"
The red-skinned body hit the ground with a wet thud. "Well, I guess I'll be collecting the debt from you."
"What debt?" Goku was still confused, but his smile had faded at the whiff of killing intent coming off this alien.
"That little bastard killed my partner. And now I'm going to kill you!"
VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB
Nappa was watching this scene with growing curiosity. To be clear, the older Elite Saiyan still did not believe that all of this crap was going to happen. But he had to admit …the more he roamed around this planet, the more that it seemed that these green freaks certainly believed that these balls could raise the dead…
How the hell did the Earth woman even discover such a thing existed, and on a planet she had never visited?! But no matter how she came by the knowledge, this huge mass of a Namek was speaking of things that went beyond his planet, with a knowledge of the Saiyan race that was unprecedented in a being not of their kind.
It unnerved Nappa. But he wasn't assigned to thinkabout pointless things, he was to do his duty.
"Transformation does not come simply from desire. It is borne of need, young warrior. And in its greatest and most powerful form, it is not fueled by your own need. That is why you were the first, and why you will call upon it countless times again."
Nappa huffed, trying to sift through the words that the big green blob was speaking to Trunks. The brat's eyes were intent on it, listening with more attention that he had given any single thing other than his mission to revive the Woman.
The boy pushed back on this. "Well, if I needed it before, then I should have been able to save her. I didn't. I was too late," he almost choked on the words again and Nappa felt that wave of bewilderment he always felt when the brat talked about his mother. His attachment to her was unseemly. "That transformation was too late to do anything."
It meant nothing to the brat then, but look what that attachment to his mother had done for Trunks in terms of power… for once, he was finally grasping why the former-Prince-now-King Vegeta had this deep interest in the half-blood boy. There was something to this strange strength-out-of-weakness thing… at least for the halfling from Earth…
Still, it was one thing for Nappa to acknowledge that Trunks was something powerful and strange.
It was another to support his King's obsession with a fully-human woman.
It was far past the point of no return for that, Nappa knew. He had tried to warn him all those years ago, but the young Prince had fallen victim to his chemical attraction to that woman before Nappa had even realized the extent. Truthfully, the King's fixation on her was anomalous—it wasn't something that Elites and the Royal lines fell prey to… at least not to Nappa's knowledge. This was the first time it might have happened in centuries, if it ever had. Low-class was another story, but their power levels weren't worth mentioning, so it wasn't discussed.
No, Nappa wasn't clear on the reason behind the bizarre unfolding of events, but as he stood on this foreign planet with a half-Saiyan too strong, there was history at work. He could sense it.
It didn't mean Nappa had to like it!
The giant, green thing smiled kindly at Trunks again, not dissuaded by the boy's argument. "It is this feeling that is inhibiting you, and it is understandable. But here is the truth: you have a greater purpose in this power, and it wasn't brought on to saveyour mother from that death. It was to save her later, and many others, long after.
"But you could not understand the stakes without this trial, young warrior. You must release your anger at yourself to own this transformation already in your possession. It was not your fault that your mother experienced this. It simply had to be."
What a load of bullshit.
That tall green one, Nail (stupid name), gave Nappa a look, and the Saiyan didn't trouble to hide the sneer on his face. But there would be no confrontation between them then, because the wrinkled mass they called "Guru" turned his attention to Nappa.
"Please, older Saiyan warrior, come forth."
If the creature could read his thoughts, he didn't care about Nappa's insulting ones. That slight, wise smile never left his face. At first, Nappa wanted to refuse to approach, but he didn't want trouble with the brat's wrath. Better to just get this over with…
Trunks might not have noticed anyway, the boy was shaking slightly as he backed out of the center. Nappa decided to settle on treating this whole thing like it was annoyance and folded his arms before the Guru.
"You are one who will not be reached by my words, so I will make no speeches. But you are loyal to your King and you must aid this boy. So I will unlock your 'hidden power'."
Nappa could at least appreciate that this guy was going to cut the flowery speeches. He also clamped down on his natural suspicion: whatever happened to Trunks before when this thing laid hands on him, he hadn't been harmed in any way…
"Well, get on with it then," Nappa grumbled, and it obligingly lowered his palm to the top of Nappa's bald head.
The effect was immediate; something soared up within Nappa like an almighty wave of force and rushed to his limbs. Power, like he had never felt before. His eyes almost slipped closed, he felt chills erupt on his arms, but then warmth overtook it. It was fantastic.
Guru pulled back his arm and the feeling only slightly abated. Something hadbeen unlocked, then… the power beyond him was still there.
"Not beyond you," Guru said. "All that you have."
Trunks glanced sideways at Nappa, eyeing him speculatively. "You'll be more useful now." He seemed to his overcome his shakiness during Nappa's turn and he looked back to Guru. "What do I have to do to collect the Dragonballs, with your blessing?"
"You have it, child warrior," Guru replied. "I will tell you the secrets of the Namekian Dragonballs, and ask that in return, you save my people from the invaders that you have met. There are four of them still roaming."
"I will," Trunks vowed. "So what do I need to do?" He sounded more resolute than ever. Even with this new charge of power, Nappa wanted to puke at this kid's do-gooder attitude. The brat was being awfully blasé about the bloody Ginyu Force, and had no idea what he was signing them up for! Nappa was condemned to follow orders regardless…
All he could say was that the brat had better turn that power switch 'on' again, or things wouldn't be so easy…
"The Dragonballs are dispersed among the villages. There is also one here, which I will allow you to take with you."
We have two Dragonballs already! Trunks appeared near-rejoicing, and hopeful. After the recent events on Vegeta-sei, it looked almost foreign on him.
"I will send with you Dende, to help you on your quest. I would send Nail as well, but I feel that it will not be necessary..."
Nail looked especially relieved by that, and despite the Grand Elder's apparent faith, there was still a detectable suspicion of the Saiyans in his eyes and visible distaste when Guru spoke of handing over the Dragonballs.
"Me, Guru?" Dende asked timidly. "What could I do? Can't I stay with you?"
"You will be greatly instrumental in their quest, young one, so I'm afraid that you cannot stay with me." His tone with Dende was tender. "Before that, I will unlock your hidden power and your healing abilities will be at their full height. Do not be afraid of the unknown. And do not be afraid of these Saiyans."
Dende was visibly calmed at those words, and shuffled forward to receive his gift. After it was finished, Guru returned his attention back to Trunks.
"For Porunga, our dragon, the Dragonballs are not the onlyrequirement. There is a password, and all wishes must be spoken in our tongue. Therefore, Dende will speak it for you, after you've collected them."
Huh… so the brat was correct in making friends with the Nameks… there would have been no way for him to accomplish his mission without them, Nappa thought, still buzzing with his newfound power. It had occurred to him that this was the first mission he had ever been sent on where the objective was not to destroy …exactly the opposite, in fact.
"All wishes?" Trunks asked, pin-pointing the slight variation. "The Earth Dragonballs only had one wish."
"And these Dragonballs have three," Guru said. "I know you have one wish already in mind."
"But with three wishes, I could just wish away the Ginyu Force to some planet that's ages from here!" Trunks said jubilantly, or at least it sounded jubilant to Nappa's ears. He couldn't help but interject.
"Heh, right. Just leave them to live so they can come back and try to kill us all, brat. Or better yet, tell Frieza what happened so that he can kill us all!"
Nappa could tell, those words had the kid hesitating, a little shiver at the thought of Frieza coming here, or even Vegeta-sei, where his mother's body was kept. Good, he SHOULD be scared!
"The same thing could happen if we just kill them all," Trunks said finally, with more sobriety in his tone. "We're going out with this plan and if we have to improvise, we'll improvise..."
Nappa grunted, dissatisfied, but he let it be. Chances were, this whole thing wouldn't go smoothly anyway.
"I trust your judgment, young warrior, for whatever your wishes may be. You've brought good to our people and I believe you will do us no harm."
"Let Dende use one of the wishes," Nail said. "Something to right this nightmare."
Dende gulped. "Me, again?"
"Okay," Trunks said, relieved. It was almost as if he didn't want to have the burden of all these wishes! "Then we're set for our wishes. All that's left is to retrieve the Dragonballs." The boy pulled the radar out of his clothes and caught it in one hand. "Let's do this!"
VBVBVBVBVBVBVB
Goku chuckled, lifting up his hands in surrender. "Woahhh, wait… I think you've got the wrong person, here. Trunks is just a kid, he wouldn't—"
"What the hell do you know?! I was there! That purple-haired punk took a cheapshot and then flew away like a coward!" the alien sneered, shifting into a fighting stance. "Now, let's have it!"
If Gohan wasn't sure about the guy's story before, he definitely didn't believe it now. Whatever Trunks was like now, he couldn't imagine his friend casually killing someone and just leaving. The blue alien lunged at Gohan, likely believing him to be the weakest there and Gohan jumped back in surprise. But his father was right there in front of him, his bearing now more serious.
"I think you should leave my son alone and fight me," Goku said. "That's the fairest fight, don't you think?"
"I don't care about 'fair fight'" the creature sneered in response, "I said I wanted you idiots dead and that's what's going to happen!"
"Gohan, back off!" Goku yelled as he shoved himself in the line of attack, forcing their opponent to engage with him. "I'll handle this!"
Krillin yelped and followed that order like it was directed at him, while Gohan cleared far enough out of trouble, but close enough to assist if his dad looked like he needed it. "Bloody and fun" is how Gohan would characterize the beginning of his father's fight with the blue alien. At least, from his father's perspective, it appeared to be fun. For everyone else, not so much.
Krillin hadn't run away, and he was edging back closer as the fight went on. Gohan, on the other hand, was feeling an intense anxiety that left him frozen in place, because if Dad didn't win, then he would be next up! And the last thing that he wanted was to fight this guy! The alien was huge, but had proven to be extremely fast for his size. Goku, who was easily the strongest, was having a hard time keeping up.
All those years training with Bulma and Dr. Briefs' technology were not wasted on Goku, though. Neither was his ability to claw his way up from any odds. Gohan felt admiration and awe for his father sweep through him and Goku took a brutal kick to the side and used the force to speed himself up, flying around the alien and attacking his exposed back. They were moving further and further up and away from Gohan and Krillin.
C'mon Dad! You got this!
VBVBVBVBVBVBVB
Dende had been really quiet since they left Guru's hideaway, and after Trunks had climbed out of his head, he was a little insecure about it. Dende wouldn't make eye contact with him any more than he did with Nappa, and Trunks had to wonder if he had scared the Namekian boy before. For some reason, Trunks felt this niggling desperation for Dende to like him. He didn't really know why, but the feeling was keeping him from thinking about other things.
Maybe Dende being scared of him made him just like any other Saiyan. Should he have done anything different?
Hold fast to your goodness because once lost, it will be difficult to ever win again.
Recalling the words of Guru had an uncomfortable pit open up in Trunks' stomach …guilt, or something like it. It wasn't fair. He didn't ask for any of this! He was doing the best that he could, and he didn't have time to be questioning everything that he did!
Once Mom is back and she's alive, I'll worry about that. Until then…
"Why won't you talk to me anymore?" Trunks asked Dende, deciding that being blunt was better than continuing to wonder about it.
Dende jumped at the sound of his voice, but then fell silent for a moment. "I'm sorry," he finally squeaked. "I just—I'm just not used to all this—this violence and you seem like a nice person, but I …I don't know if I'm cut out for all of this."
"Well, you're not, are you?" Trunks said practically. "You're a healer. You don't have to be used to it."
Trunks had always loved to fight, from the moment he could remember. He never wondered what it would be like to be a different way, like Dende was. The beeping of the Dragonball radar became more urgent and Trunks dipped lower, tracking the movement.
"Yes, but Guru sent me with you. So I can't run away…"
"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," Trunks responded, almost insulted. "I'll keep protecting you until it's over and once it's over, you won't have to worry about anyone attacking you guys ever again."
"I don't know if that's true," Dende said sadly. "They got here once, it might only be a matter of time before someone else does."
"Well, I'll protect you this time, me and my friends!" Trunks wanted Dende to like him, and to understand where he was coming from.
"Yes, that's right," Dende said, sounding slightly uplifted. "That's what warriors are for, right? Because we need someone to protect the innocent." He paused. "But when you hurt Nappa, that wasn't protection..."
"No, that was…" Trunks trailed off, uncertain that he'd be able to explain, considering his act of dominance outside of Guru's dwelling. He realized it was the kind of culture thing that would be lost on Dende. "It was just …what Saiyans do. They don't work like Namekians," Trunks swallowed hard. "Or like my mom's people do. But I don't know if I can make it make sense."
"It's okay," Dende said, and it actually sounded like it was. "This is the only place I've ever been, so it's confusing. But I don't think I ever want to go anywhere else. I hope that doesn't offend you…"
"Why would that offend me?" Trunks asked dully. "I came all this way because I had to. Otherwise…"
Again, he trailed off. The truth was, that he didn't know what he would have done if Mom had never died. All he ever really thought about was protecting her, which meant going where she went. Nappa was flying a little ways behind them with their two Dragonballs shoved under his arms, so Trunks didn't know whether the large Saiyan had been listening in. Either way, he must not have wanted to talk, because he landed next to them and scowled at Trunks, waiting for instructions.
Trunks eyed his intimidating appearance. "You just hang back here with the Dragonballs. Dende and I'll get it…"
Still distracted and looking a little lazy, Nappa grunted. "Whatever, kid. Not much action around here anyway." He flexed an arm. "Hope we run into someone soon so I can test out my new power from that fat, green slab."
"Hey!" Dende exclaimed angrily, but was quelled by one nasty look.
Trunks rolled his eyes, too impatient to say anything about the disrespectful comment. "Just stay here."
With Dende, collecting the Dragonballs in the villages proved to be easy. He explained the situation and they handed it over with some nervous smiles and well-wishes, especially for Dende. Trunks just stood there and tried not to look too threatening. When they rejoined Nappa, Trunks turned to Dende. "We need a place to put them all, because we can't carry them all at once. Can you think of a place?"
Dende pointed them to a cave not too far off. "This seems to be in the middle, so it will be easiest to keep returning here," Dende said. He kept shooting looks at Nappa and so Trunks finally sighed.
"Nappa, you stand guard and Dende and I will get the rest. If you run into trouble, just flare your ki twice."
Nappa snorted. "Please, brat. I'll take care of it myself. I hope the Ginyu Force tries to mess with me!"
Trunks thought that was an extreme overestimation of Nappa's unlocked potential, but Saiyans loved to invite fights they couldn't handle, so he kept those thoughts to himself. When he was about to take off with Dende though, Nappa laid a hand roughly on his shoulder.
"You better not get slaughtered out there without me. I'm not going to fail my mission to the King because you went off on your own and died, got it?"
Trunks shrugged Nappa's hand off of him and smirked. "Careful, you sound like you care."
"Well, I don't!" Nappa said gruffly. "But I won't fail your father again, and that's that!"
"Whatever. Don't stink up the balls." He shot into the air before Nappa could respond in kind.
Dende shook his head at the exchange. "That must be one of those other things from different planets that I don't understand."
"Basically."
They had collected two more Dragonballs and were on the way to a third (making six in total!) when Trunks sensed familiar signatures in the direction where they had originally landed, not too far from the ship.
Goku …is Goku actually here?! In all Trunks' whirlwind thoughts, he had nearly forgotten about his friends. A colossal wave of excitement, peace, and relief flooded every fiber of Trunks' body at the anticipation of seeing his mom's best friend. And Gohan! It made no sense, he hadn't seen them in so long that he was taken aback by just how good it felt to imagine meeting up with them!
"Dende! My friends—the good guys I was telling you about—I just sensed them! We can pick up anything that's nearby, but we should go say 'hi' and get a plan squared up, okay?!"
Dende blinked, clearly surprised at Trunks' sudden enthusiasm. "Sure …shouldn't we tell Nappa?"
"It won't take long!" Trunks said. "The faster we get the Dragonballs, the faster we get the wishes, the faster this whole thing is over!"
"That makes sense," Dende agreed. Trunks may have been rougher around the edges, but he sure had a way of putting things. Of course, Dende should have known that they'd be walking into trouble. What had this whole experience been but one blow after the other?
Trunks pulled up in mid-air and screwed his eyes up straight ahead. "There's a fight," he told Dende. "Oh man…look, can you stay here?"
Dende's heart had started to pound, and he nodded vigorously, knowing that if there was a fight, he'd rather be nowhere near it. Trunks wasted no time in dumping him on the ground. "I'll be back!"
"Good luck," Dende responded, not sure what you really say to someone in this situation, as usual. "I'll be right here."
Trunks took off like a missile in the direction of the ki signatures, recognizing the one he had fought before: Burter, the blue alien.
He hoped Goku was as obsessed with getting stronger as he always had been, because this was his mission and no more people he cared about were going to die! It was a minute later that Trunks saw Gohan looking right at him from his place on the pale grass, having likely sensed his approach. And Krillin a little farther off.
"Trunks!" Gohan cried, waving. "Where have you been?"
Gohan looked older, but not by much. Trunks' father had once told him that Saiyans aged suddenly in their teen years, and Gohan hadn't gone through that process yet, Trunks determined. He squelched on the urge to hug his old friend.
"I was—it's a long story, but I've been collecting the Dragonballs. What's going on? Where have you guys been?!"
"We were about to look for you when we ran into some alien—not a Namekian!—and he picked a fight," Gohan spoke in a rush. "Dad took him on, but he said—he said that you killed his friend!"
Trunks heard Krillin's footsteps as he dropped his eyes, the reminder of what he had done still fresh. What could he say?
"Look, just forget about what he said! Burter—the blue guy? He's strong and he's faster than anyone else I've ever fought except my dad! We need to help Goku."
Krillin clapped Trunks on the back. "Good to see ya, Trunks. Man, you've gotten big and strong! Sorry we had to meet like this." He hadn't heard the exchange, but there was a tenseness in the air. Krillin chuckled awkwardly. "I say it's time we help Goku out! Four against one doesn't seem very fair..."
"Fair enough," Trunks scowled. "He and his friend teamed up on me."
"That's why you killed him?" Gohan asked. Something in his face made Trunks feel so ashamed that he focused on Krillin.
"He's gonna play dirty, if he hasn't already. Where are they?"
Krillin pointed up and to the north. "Goku told us to back off."
"Tough, we don't have time to fool around!" He didn't wait, he didn't ask for their continuing opinions either. Trunks launched into the air and they were left to stay there or follow after him.
A/N: Isn't it nice that I'm giving you guys a break from Nappa? Not much of one, and he DID get some POV here, but at least Trunks has some more outwardly-helpful allies now. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know!