A Wonderful Life

By: SomeRandomPerson648

Chapter 52: Painful Memories

A/N: Hey Guys! So I may have tried to tie one too many loose ends and although I tried my best to give every moment it's time to shine it made the chapter a lot bigger. Anyway, enjoy Chapter 52!


The following morning after the revelation of a new threat was very eventful, but most especially for our time displaced hero, Gohan, who struggled to adjust to this new yet familiar landscape


When the warrior awoke he managed to surprise himself when he saw the familiar room in a new light. Even though he was aware that this was another version of his old room, the resemblance was very uncanny

"It's like I went back in time..." He thought, which was true in a different sense

Future Gohan eventually rose from his futon, cleaned it, and stored it in a closet before heading down to the kitchen

As he did so Gohan couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with nostalgia, the feel of the polished floor under his feet, the smell of bacon and the sights of the intact house amazed him to no end. It was exactly as he remembered his mornings when he was a kid, before the Android attack...before the death of his father


Gohan remembered speed walking down the stairwell, the feel of the broken run down floor, the odd smell of burning food and the dark and dim lights made Gohan feel very uneasy, more so than when he would fight the Androids on a regular basis

"Mom? Are you alright?" Gohan shouted, he earlier sensed Chi-Chi's ki faltering and thought for a second that maybe Cell or the Androids managed to attack her, but the house was still intact. Not to mention that he personally killed all three of them and destroyed Gero's lab, but you never know

The Hybrid Saiyan eventually went down the stairs to see a horrific sight. The kitchen was on the verge of burning down after what seemed to be knocked over food was set on fire

But the most concerning part was the sight of his mother, leaning against a chair with her left side while her right hand clenched her heart, she struggled to breathe as she tried to fight off the her sudden ailment, but to no avail


Future Gohan pulled away from his thoughts as he realized a small tear beginning to form

"I should distract myself." Gohan thought as he continued to walk down the staircase, he wasn't going to start thinking about such things at a time like this

When he walked into the kitchen he was met by the familiar sight of his mother cooking an entire buffet for just five people, behind her was his present self, who had a green sweater, khaki pants and glasses that made him look older than he really was (including himself)

"Hm? Oh Gohan just in time! Why don't you go tell Goten and your father that breakfast is ready!" Chi-Chi asked kindly

"S-sure!" He said, still taken aback by the nostalgia and the memories

When he walked outside he was met by the sight of Goku and Goten sparring, both wearing their orange Gis and both in Super Saiyan


Gohan remembered too well as he sparred with his father. He tried his best against his dad but he was too much, the older Saiyan was just more experienced than he was and because of it Gohan made the most mistakes

The young boy tried to throw a punch aimed at Goku's face, only for the man to sidestep out of the way and punch him in the gut, causing the boy to double over in pain

"Ehe, sorry Gohan! I just thought you would see it coming!" The man exclaimed innocently

"You're just...too strong..." Gohan gasped for air as Goku helped him to his feet

"Hey don't sweat it! You'll be just as strong as me one day I'm sure of it!"


"Guess by now I've left you behind dad." He thought, now being many times stronger than a normal Super Saiyan, though the sentiment left a bitter taste in his mouth

Just as the two Super Saiyans clashed on ground level, Future Gohan waved for their attention

"Hey, it's time to eat!" He called out, to which the two jumped at the information

"Wow, I thought I was young when I reached Super Saiyan."


Much later, after the four Saiyans devoured their food like vacuums the family sat at the table in silence, pleased with the meal

"Thank Kami! I was starting to get hungry!" Goten exclaimed with joy as he pat his stomach

"And Gohan, er, the Future one. Did you like the food?" Chi-Chi questioned

"Of course I did! It's just as good as I remember! Kami it's been decades since I had food this good!"

"He he, almost forgot you're a lot older than you look, it's pretty hard to tell since you look so young." Goku commented offhandedly

"You're right, I'm pretty sure you're twice my age!" Present Gohan added

"Yeah, guess Saiyan biology is pretty handy, don't have to worry about getting old." Future Gohan said

"Alright, now its about time that I go see Videl." Present Gohan said as he put his large stack of plates in the dishwasher

"And Goten and I should get back to planting more seeds for the next harvest!" Goku stated as both he and Goten went for a change of cloths

"Take care!" Chi-Chi said as her husband and her son left the room too

This simply left Chi-Chi and her son from the future. While it was strange to see a near identical copy of her son, it was just nice to see that he was all the same

"And you? Do you have something to do?"

"Yeah, Trunks said that he was going to pass by so I guess I'm just waiting for him." He responded kindly, though a little awkwardly

Truth be told it was very strange to see Chi-Chi in this calm and collected demeanor, it was far different from the Chi-Chi that he knew all too well, nagging him half of the time and telling him that he shouldn't fight world ending threats at 12 years old. Which was a good point, but that didn't make anything better or more bearable (in fact it did the near opposite)

It was odd, whatever may have happened between now and then must've been a real eye opener for his mother in this timeline, almost made him question just what that change was

"So, how have you been liking your stay?"

"Honestly everything about it feels like a blast from the past, it's kinda shocking that I get to experience this again." Gohan answered. The answer left a small question for Chi-Chi, one that she couldn't help but ask

"Right...I'm sorry if I sound out of line but I just need to know something." Chi-Chi confessed before turning to face Gohan seriously. "What happened? Just...I need to know..."

The question was on her mind the moment her son arrived. Sure she'd heard snippets from Trunks or maybe even Goku, who heard from Trunks, but otherwise she wanted to know what happened that made things so...awful

"No no, it's alright, I get it." He said before taking a breath and closing his eyes, recalling the times when he was just a young boy

"Guess there's no reason not to tell her."

"Everything that happened in this timeline is almost exactly like in mine. But in my timeline dad died to a heart virus and couldn't be brought back." He began. "The house was really quiet for a while but once the Androids attacked things changed. At first it was just a normal threat, the whole team and I went to confront it and even Vegeta came to help, at least back when we were on uncertain terms."

"But when things got dicey Piccolo helped me escape just as they started to get overwhelmed. Luckily I made it but the rest...the rest didn't." He continued, horrifying Chi-Chi. "After I managed to escape the world went under, the Androids eventually started to tear down city after city. I tried my best to fight back for years but nothing ever worked."

"As for you we never really saw eye to eye after dad died, more especially when I started coming home every day with gashes and scars from my fights. You always did your best to keep me from leaving, but it was hard to come home everyday and...hear your lectures. So I eventually left on my own once I was old enough." Gohan tried his best to sugarcoat, but Chi-Chi knew well enough what he really meant

"Further down the line I tried to train Trunks so that we had more people fighting back, protecting people..." He said before a tear rolled down his eye, something about this next part hurt him the most

"But then one day we tried to fight them again, I thought that Trunks would at least get the hang of Super Saiyan at the time. This time...this time we were confident that we would win but instead we lost. And because of that...Trunks...Trunks..."


An energy blast shot from far away in the cloudy sky strong enough to decimate various buildings. The gravely injured Gohan was unable to escape the attack as he braced for impact, the Teenage Trunks doing the same as well

When the blast finally hit Gohan was knocked unconscious, and when he awoke he was covered head to toe in rubble, though the pouring rain from the dark clouds above washed him off

"Trunks?!" He yelled for his student, he couldn't sense his energy anywhere. But finally, once he gained his bearings he saw the most horrific sight he could've ever come across

There in front of him laid Trunks, limp and unresponsive

There he saw his student, someone that he loved like a little brother dead at his feet


The memory wormed their way into Gohan, the image of Trunks forced a short gasp from Gohan

The middle aged man tried to spit out the rest but was interrupted by Chi-Chi, who moved in to hug her son from another time. Chi-Chi immediately regret asking the question after seeing how in pain he was

"My baby boy..."

"I'm so sorry...for everything..." Was the most she could say before she started to ramble in between her sobs, mostly of flaws or improvements that she could've made as if she could change what had already happened

"Please mom, you don't need to be, trust me it's alright." He lied to comfort her as they pulled away from each other allowing him to continue at a slower pace

"Once I lost Trunks to the Androids I didn't know what to do afterwards. After a few years Bulma was able to make the Time Machine, and I guess you've heard the rest by now." Gohan finished while wiping away a few tears

"I-I don't know what to say..."

"Sorry about that, I uh, don't know what got over me." Gohan tried to chuckle, but instead it came out forced

"No no no, I'm glad you told me. I didn't know that you suffered so much before I just...didn't know what you had to go through." She confessed

But this confession ran a little deeper for Chi-Chi realized something once again, something that she realized many years ago. After all of Gohan's suffering not once was she able to properly support her son the way that he needed to be. This realization hit her after she watched her son fight the biggest threat to the world, after she watched him explode with unnatural rage to the death of 16. In that moment all she could do was pass out in shock and awe, but through the practically permanent loss of her husband she thought of the cold realization

Her family risked their lives to save the world more times than she could count, and what did she do? What was her contribution to their efforts? How was she repaying them with their pain? She shunned them for risking their lives out of her own selfishness. And though she's learned from her mistake, hearing from the other side of the story made things much more unbearable

Thinking about how her actions really affected Gohan she couldn't help but to lean in for another tight hug, this time not for just for her son but for herself as well

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She repeated over and over again

Gohan on the other hand was very taken aback by this reaction. This whole situation just...it wasn't something that he could've ever imagined. His mom was so...out of character... he imagined that she would've nagged him to become a scholar, or subtly insinuated that fighting was bad for him as she had done millions of times before

Instead he felt relieved rather than anxious or concerned. His mom supported him this time around, before she was bitter or full of hate but now she was different, she was full of regret for something that she once did

"But *sniff* if you ever have to talk some more...you know I'm here for you now, okay?" She said caringly, to which Gohan smiled

Even if the words sounded a tad strange from someone he knew as strict and punishing, it was...nice to finally hear those words. Although they didn't come from his real mom the effect remained the same

"If only my real mom ever said them." Future Gohan thought but interrupted himself, not trying to bring down his mood further

"Thank you, thank you so much." He said as the two continued to hug

But as they hugged there was a knock at the door, followed by it opening to reveal Future Trunks wearing his old purple jacket as well as the rest of his old outfit that he used to wear back when he fought the Androids. Although the jacket was a tighter fight now that his biceps grew, not to mention his hair was a lot longer and some of it was tied in a small bun on the back of his head

"Hey um, is this a bad time or..?" Future Trunks questioned, seeing as how the two were hugging a second ago

"Not at all, we were just catching up." Future Gohan said as he stood from his chair and walked to the door

"Take care ok!" Chi-Chi yelled as the door closed behind them

The feelings of love and support that Gohan felt continued to bubble within him, he was glad that of all people, he could talk to his mother as he always wanted to

"You alright?" Future Trunks asked as Future Gohan took a moment to wipe a tear away

"Yeah, just a little sentimental is all." He responded before the two flew away


In a secluded wasteland there trained the same four beings as usual, the two Majins, the Saiyan and the Bio-Android

Sadly tensions were raised again after Cell's evil outburst from the day prior, however, none of it seemed to affect Cell himself. In fact he was a lot chipper now more than usual, which none of the other 'students' understood, Chocolata merely chalked it up to his sudden change of face that he tended to do

Except Prestina, who understood just why he was as happy as he was, but it still didn't help relieve any of the tension within her

"Why was he there that night? Why was he so...happy?" She continued to think, it just didn't make sense, unless he just enjoyed conflict like he did years ago, but in that case why was he still here? Being all friendly and encouraging? Even if Cell tended to change face at the drop of a hat it still bothered her that she couldn't get used to it

Suddenly, Prestina was punched in the gut forcing her out of her thoughts as she struggled to regain her breath again

"Don't get distracted!" Cell lectured as he grabbed her flailing arm and tossed her away yet again. Cell turned around to meet Broly's fist with his own punch, locking the two in place

"Remember to think!" He lectured as Broly nodded, that was before the two suddenly began to throw punches at each other, both trying to avoid the other's attacks. Luckily for Cell, Broly was able to learn from his lessons by keeping a cool head at times, but there was always the risk of going berserk when there's too much pressure

Eventually Broly was able to land a stunning punch to Cell's extended forearm, opening his whole back to Broly's spare arm. But Cell was able to avoid the oncoming punch by suddenly spinning in place and landing a strong kick to Broly's chin, launching him far away

"Come on I haven't even had a proper warm up yet!" He boasted with a strange amount of confidence that he only rarely showed

He was met by Chocolata who dashed in from the front to try and land a quick assault of blows, none of which were effective in the slightest. Just as she finished her assault Prestina was able to flank Cell to try and land her own punch, however Cell was fully aware of this, sidestepping out of the way to grab her arm and slam her body against her approaching sister

"I was expecting more, I thought that being sisters meant that you were in synch with one another." Cell taunted

"The hell is his problem?!" Chocolata thought to herself, trying to quickly formulate a plan, although the constant taunting didn't help

That was until Broly was able to fly in once again to try and attack Cell, giving the two enough of an opening to attack. Broly cocked his right fist as if to go for a punch, only to trick Cell and spin in place to backhand Cell in the face

"He's learning, I'll give him that!" He thought as he tried to retaliate, only for Broly to grab him by the face and toss him towards the Majin sisters

"Now's our chance!" They thought quickly as they began their plan of attack

Chocolata took the opportunity to use Cell's momentum and kick him in the back with both her legs, making a resonating crack as his unusually large wings broke off. This didn't deter them though as they kept going. Prestina was able to follow up by kicking him in the gut and suspending him in the air followed by various jabs and kicks from both the front and the back

"Broly here!" Chocolata yelled as the two sisters simultaneously punched the top of Cell's head to launch him straight down to the ground. When Cell landed he was immediately assaulted by the large Saiyan, who had slammed both of his feet down and began stomping onto his gut, painfully cracking the exoskeleton in many places and spilling some blood

Cell was debating to himself on whether or not he should end it by raising his power, but swatted away the idea once he realized the unfair advantage he had

"If I were to teleport without restraint then they wouldn't even land a punch! Not to mention the other tricks I have yet to use, honestly it's unfair that I have this much power over them!!" He assured himself, not taking into account the bleeding exoskeleton that also had multiple boot prints

Eventually Broly jumped up into the sky and prepared a green ball of energy on one hand, though he struggled to contain it properly, trying his best not to overload with rage and fill it with all his might. Prestina and Chocolata jumped in at his sides, both with beams prepped and at the ready to fire

"This should be good!" Cell thought as rather than stand and heal he simply laid in the floor and raised his power level

"Kamehameha!/Majin Canon!/Hraagh!" They yelled in unison as they each fired their attacks towards the downed Cell, enveloping him in a radiance that burned his exoskeleton

After many seconds the three disengaged, they could sense that Cell was still alive but not too sure if they overdid the attack

When the dust settled the haggard body of Cell was revealed, a bloodied mess with a missing forearm and a broken crown, but otherwise his bleeding face didn't seem to mind the damage, strangely enough. The three winced at the sight of their 'teacher.' Sure they knew that he could regenerate from impossible wounds and he always bled while fighting, but they had to draw the line at missing limbs and pools of blood

With no worry on his face Cell jumped up from the crater and dashed up in the air to meet the trio, using enough speed that the air wiped away the blood that covered him

"A-are you okay?" Prestina asked, unsure if they went too far

"Yes yes I'm alright, nothing that I can't handle." Cell said as he then regenerated his missing limbs, feeling the strong sting that followed."Haven't done that in a while."

"I'm very impressed with your teamwork, I suppose I should expect nothing less from my students." Cell complimented, even though 2/3 of them were still visibly uncomfortable

"Thanks..." Chocolata responded awkwardly

"And I suppose as well that getting comfortable with a world ending threat takes more than a few months." Cell thought to himself. He was always aware of this after all, it's just a shame that this happened to people he liked, who weren't the Z team

"The Dragon team...I wonder how things will change with Vegeta's secret out of the bag..." Cell thought evilly, remembering the pain that coursed through Bulma upon learning the truth

As much as he understood Vegeta, it didn't stop him from irrationally hating the man (though the word 'irrational' was used incredibly loosely). The way that he was accepted with open arms after various genocides and conquests sickened him. And to think all it took were a few scuffles with the emperor of the universe and a few Androids, while he had yet to be accepted by the team at all. Sure Vegeta got his revenge, but it was at the cost of Cell himself

Unwilling to keep the train of thought going he decided to end training there, he still had to take more time to develop a better training regimen since these three were fully developed. Maybe he'll teach them more moves, or maybe even Instant Transmission, though it'll be a lot slower than with 21, and twice as slow with Broly

Still, however long it may take Cell was certain that he'd teach them the technique. It'd be pretty fun to have more fighters that could use the move


Within the inside of Capsule Corp headquarters was the great Vegeta...eating his mountain of breakfast alone. Since Trunks went out with friends, Prestina and Chocolata went to train and Mirai Trunks left with Gohan from the future this left the Saiyan alone with his thoughts as he ate his fill. The guest room with nothing but a plain bed and an empty cloths drawer was decent for a night's rest, but Vegeta was unable to wake up well after what had happened the night before

"Bulma...This shouldn't've happened." He thought while he ate from his chicken, as tasty as it was it left a bitter taste in his mouth for some reason

Deep down the Saiyan understood that the truth would be spoken eventually, it was only a matter of time. Still, it didn't stop him from trying to prevent it, to continue appearing as the family man that he's become in recent years. But in lying about his past he's made things far worse, but what was he to do then? Tell her while he walked on thin ice?

When he looked back he regretted his actions towards Cell more than anything else he's ever done, but at the same time he could recall the crude sensation he would get from beating Cell to near death. It was...intoxicating, he could just feel the decades of held grudges and hardships melt away, he could feel the POWER that he held over the helpless soul

But when looking at it with a clear head, he hated himself for enjoying any of it. Those actions were a reminder of his old self, so welled up with pride and glory, he used to be feared by everyone! He used to revel in the power that he held over the weak, and that damned classing system that Frieza himself created was something that he held like a badge of honor, another example of pride!

"Hmph, fool..." He chastised himself, though he knew that there was no real changing the past, changing years of hereditary instinct and teachings from both Nappa and his own father. To be Saiyan!

What was done was done, and all that was left to do was move on, to adapt from past mistakes as he always had. Though he regretted his actions towards Cell that doesn't at all excuse what he's returned tenfold, the murder of his wife was a line that NO ONE would cross!

As Vegeta contemplated his actions, Bulma appeared in the kitchen with nearly unnoticeable bags under her eyes and her usual lab coat that she used for hands-on work at the lab

Though Vegeta was surprised by her appearance Bulma was stoic, which was very rare for her. She was oddly emotionless, not to mention her eyes and checks were a little red, obvious signs of crying

There was an awkward pause between the two, neither of which knew what to do or say, nor did they know what the other was going to say

Eventually, Bulma took a deep and cleansing breath before starting. "We need to talk" she declared before sitting down in the seat in front of him, she didn't care whether or not it was a bad time, she just wanted to get what was needed to be said out of the way. Still, Vegeta listened with all ears

"I've done a lot of thinking recently and...I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say this..." She began before shaking her head, be damned with proper formalities

"We need a break."

"...what?" Vegeta said in a confused manner, a break?

"I don't want to be with you anymore, and that's final. After everything that you've done...I think that this was the final straw." She declared again

"What but-how?" He asked, which actually set her off

"How? How?! Well I'll tell you how!! I discover that my husband had been torturing one of my best projects, no, a person behind my back for years without me knowing!! You've been lying to me about it ever since! When were you going to tell me about this?! When were you going to tell me that it was your mistake that killed our son not mine!!" Bulma yelled with a burning hot temper, which in turn set Vegeta off as well

"It's not my fault that Trunks died! It was that damned Cell's fault for killing him all because he FELT LIKE IT!! I've told you before I have no intention of doing it again, I don't need to explain myself!!!" Vegeta exploded to match his wife's tone

"Oh it is your fault, it's always been your fault from the very beginning! When you left for a year after Trunks was born just to train!! When you spared the other Cell just for a better fight!!! When you traumatized Cell for years to boost your damned ego!!"

"You're lying! Even if I wasn't fit before I've tried my hardest to become the father that our boys need!! I've done my best for years!!!"

"Oh I'm sure you were doing a great job when you TORTURED SOMEONE!!!" Bulma yelled back, which made Vegeta stutter for a second

"I still can't believe it...I thought that you changed. I thought that what happened before could be swept under the rug, that maybe I could ignore the time that you abandoned me or when you let a threat to the universe spiral out of control, but this just proves that you haven't changed from that egomaniac from before!!!"

"I have changed!!! I'm not the same fool who hurt for fun, nor do I invade planets for sport anymore! I've become a father to OUR children for nearly ten years!!!" He lashed out again

"Then why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" She said, which stopped Vegeta in his tracks

"I-I didn't want to hurt you too, or Trunks either..." He response, which made Bulma laugh

"But what about Cell? Did you stop to think about him? Did you ever realize that what you did to him caused him to kill our boys twice!?!" Bulma lashed out, but Vegeta didn't have a proper answer to that

"...It's never been about us...it was always about you, the Prince of all Saiyans! Your pride was so important that you never stopped to consider what you did to others, to me...I've lived for so long thinking that it was my fault that Cell turned on us, but instead it was just you, fixing your ego..." Bulma concluded in a calmer tone

Vegeta was left stunned, unsure of how to retaliate against this assault of an argument. He had changed! He's been a changed man for years now! Everything that Bulma said couldn't be more wrong! But how could he tell her? How could he express that he's not the same as before, because now she doesn't believe a word that he says

And yet her argument wasn't all false, in fact some of the things she said were things that he himself had thought before. How could he torture Cell? It was easy, yet not unbelievable, he knew himself well enough to know that if he could do it all again...he would have

There was a long moment of tense silence. Everything that wasn't said before was said now, and the result could not have been more chaotic

"I'm moving you to a small house, near the outskirts of the city. Everything has been paid for and I will send people to cook and clean for you every day...you can even come by to use the Gravity Chamber too, you know, cause I'm not a selfish egomaniac." Bulma declared sternly while jabbing at Vegeta yet again. She didn't want to outright abandon him, not like he had before. Because in doing that she herself would become a hypocrite

"But whatever you do...I don't want to see your face. You can get your clothes from the room once you finish eating." Bulma said before storming out of the kitchen without another word

Vegeta was left stunned. He was kicked out of his own house...and now he can't see his wife again? What about their daughter? Will he be able to see her? Will he get to see her being born?

While Vegeta sat in silence Bulma tried her best to remain composed while walking down the hallway but failed as more tears burst from her eyes. Both inwardly and outwardly she tried to appear tough, she tried to hold her ground and continue with her plan, to rip out the bandaid all at once in a sense

But it hurt

To isolate the man that she loved away from herself and her baby wasn't something that anyone could do without question, but it needed to be done. She just didn't trust Vegeta anymore, how many other things was he hiding from her? Was he acting all along? Was his love for her fake? Sure she could forgive him for having left her for a while, or after sparing Cell. But after lying under her nose for years, this wasn't something that she felt she could forgive

Walking next to her were her loyal Androids 13 and 16, both trying their best to keep her calm and collected but failing as well


While flying over the intense blue ocean Future Gohan and Future Trunks made light conversation while traveling to their destination. The two talked about small things, mainly the differences in their original timelines. So far they realized that they've been practically identical, aside from maybe the death of the other in their own timeline

"So I was missing an arm in your timeline?" Gohan asked, trying to lighten the mood a little

"Yeah, at one point we had to hide from the Androids. You did your best to protect me at the cost of, well your arm. You even had to learn everything you knew from scratch because of it." Trunks responded, remembering the day that it happened, though he tried not to think too much about it

"Oh...and what about your tail? Did you never lose it or something?" Gohan pointed out

Future Trunks unwrapped his tail from his waist, realizing that it was relatively new after they wished it back. Although it was uncomfortable to have for the first weeks it soon became natural to have the fluffy tail wrapped around his waist, even the people at work don't notice it wrapped around his waist

"Or maybe they have and just want to keep quiet, after all I am the son of the most powerful woman in the world." He thought as he held the small purple tail in his hands

"Nope, in fact some time ago we used the Dragonballs to restore our tails after we found out that we can become more powerful with them." He explained

"Ah...but doesn't that just mean you transform into the Great Ape?" Gohan asked

"Not necessarily. See we found out about a legend of a form that's higher than a Super Saiyan 3 that was called Super Saiyan 4, or the Primal Saiyan. After mastering Super Saiyan 3 we can turn into Great Apes that are fused with the power of a Super Saiyan 3, and after that we get a new form." Trunks explained in detail, though he seemed to miss a certain detail

"Hold on, Super Saiyan 3?! I thought Super Saiyan 2 was the highest and now there are two more?!" Gohan said in a shocked tone

"Er, you didn't know? Right! The last time you came to the past you discovered Super Saiyan 2!!"

"And how many people can control these new forms?"

"Hm...Well father is the only Primal Saiyan. Goku has the power of Super Saiyan God, which is a whole different story, Gohan from this timeline and I can use the 3rd form, and we're still trying to learn the Primal one now that we have our tails. Goten and Teen me are trying to learn the 2nd one too since they know the first already." Trunks explained as well, surprising Gohan

"Wow, it's a Super Saiyan Bargain Sale!!" He thought, he remembered when only his father, himself and Vegeta knew the forms. Now there were twice as many Super Saiyans

"And you? What's your strongest form?" Trunks asked with intrigue, though his former master now seemed to be flustered at the question

"I er umm...Super Saiyan...Grade 2?" He posed as more of a question than a response

Trunks had to dig deep into his memories. Super Saiyan Grade 2? Where did he-ah! It was the evolved form of Super Saiyan that they discovered in the chamber way back when they fought the Androids!! But then that would mean...no it couldn't be!

He was stronger than Gohan now?

"Wait...you never learned anything else after that? Then how did you defeat Dabura and Babidi?" Future Trunks questioned as Gohan was still flustered

"I-I mean I was able to access the form once to defeat him, but ever since then I haven't been able to get there again...and now there are two levels higher than that...no wonder I can't beat Black..."

Trunks immediately panicked as he saw the familiar face of grief his mentor wore and rapidly began to think of new subjects to talk about. That was when they suddenly reached their destination, a large island in the middle of nowhere. It was teaming with life, various trees as well as a few dinosaurs could be seen from far above

"What is this place?"

"This is Android 17's island. He lives here and works to protect it from danger." Trunk informed him, which visibly shocked the man

"Yeah, It's pretty shocking. I guessed that it would've been right to introduce you to the Androids here, since I'm pretty sure the only ones you know are the evil ones." Trunks explained after seeing his former master's expression

Even though he spared the Androids in his timeline, or more accurately the timeline that he traveled to instead of Trunks, he never imagined that one of them would seclude themselves to an island and protect wildlife, it just didn't seem like something they would do

"Then again anything is possible with time travel."

Gohan stared at the island with a mix of worry and curiosity in his mind. He was interested to see how 17 had changed in this timeline, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he could handle that information at the moment. All these circulating feelings and new information just seemed...confusing, like he was in some sorta dream of what could've happened

"This is so unreal." Gohan thought to himself, this place was just so perfect compared to his timeline

"Soo...you coming or what?" Trunks asked, snapping Gohan out of his trance, he had already flown ahead without realizing that Gohan was staying still

"Yeah...let's go..." He responded

"Just calm down Gohan..." He told himself as the two Hybrids flew down towards the island

"Maybe this was a mistake...no, he of all people needs to know this, I'm sure of it." Trunks' reaffirmed himself

Once the two Hybrids landed on the island they were mesmerized by the landscape of the area, it was just dense jungle with various hanging vines that came from all over the place

"Huh, I kinda forgot where his house was...wait a minute...he never told me!" Trunks realized, seeing as how 17 never really mentioned anything aside from his island duties. Thinking back on it, he was lucky that he even heard where the island was located at all

"Should we just look around?" Gohan asked, though he didn't know where to begin with all this forest

"Hey wait, maybe Cell can...why are there-" Trunks asked before he suddenly disappeared

"Why would Cell help us? Trunks? Trunks?" The older man asked until he realized what happened

"What the-" Gohan asked himself before he was suddenly kicked in the face by a small foot

The time traveler was able to quickly recover, but the figure had suddenly vanished the second he looked at it as if it was trying to hide

Gohan immediately became a Super Saiyan tried to sense for ki. It seemed that Trunks got pretty far away, although it looks like he's also on guard

But when Gohan sensed the energies that surrounded him, he couldn't help but feel confused

"Cell? Why is he here? And why are there seven of them?"

It was then that he felt a disturbance followed immediately by a speedy flash of movement. Using his quick reaction speed he was able to turn around and block an oncoming kick to the back, allowing him to see his opponent in clear view

There floated Cell...Jr. The small, blue child of Cell still looked as mischievous as before, grinning from ear to ear as he saw Gohan's face

"A Jr.? In 17's island? How did this-" Gohan thought but was interrupted by a ki blast to the back, stunning him and allowing a third to jump in and slam his fist into Gohan's face, sending him crashing through a tree and splintering it

"They're strong! No, that just means I'm too weak...Focus damnit! Where's Trunks?" Gohan thought to himself as he struggled to stand back up, his back cutting straight through a tree caught him off guard for a moment, but now he had to get serious

It seemed as though Trunks was being attacked by four of the Jr.s as his power skyrocketed as well, and there were even one or two explosions visible in the distance

Reacting with a speed faster than light Gohan jumped from the floor, avoiding a small foot that came crashing from the side, followed by another that was aimed at his gut, though he was able to grab the foot and launch the Jr. to the ground

But the third was able to sneak by and kick the back of Gohan's head, dazing him and leaving him open to a few punches and a few kicks to the back, although, when Gohan recovered he found himself being jumped by the three Cell Jr.s. By their power levels it seemed that they were practically as strong as him, though there being three of them proved to be a real trouble

"Hrah!" He yelled, exploding his ki to release more of his full power, if these guys had the same capabilities as Cell himself then he was in real trouble

Gohan was able to immediately avoid the oncoming assault of attacks through sheer speed, dodging punches and kicks with a new ease seeing as how the Jr.s forms were sloppy and unfocused

The Half breed was able to side step a punch and counter with a flip, kicking the Jr. in the chin and sending him crashing through another tree, followed by blocking another strike and retaliating with his own punch

Just as the heat of battle continued, a stray energy blast shot past Gohan and straight towards the remaining two Jr.s, stunning them

"What the, who was that?" Gohan looked around but couldn't find anything. But before he could think a figure suddenly appeared behind the two Jr.s and grabbed them by the base of their heads before slamming their heads together. The culprit was none other than 17 himself, wearing his ranger uniform

"Why do you two have to be such bothers, you can't just attack everyone that shows up on the island." He seemingly scolded the two as they clutched their heads in pain

Gohan was suddenly struck by immense confusion as he temporarily forgot exactly who he was staring at. He was 17 in name and appearance (for the most part) but the actions and his tone of voice were different from what he knows, less condescending and more...caring in a sense

"He really has changed." Gohan reminded himself as he stared dumbstruck at the carbon copy of his greatest nightmare. 17 looked up and immediately panicked as he dashed after Gohan with no warning causing the war-torn warrior to stance up in response to block the oncoming blow

Instead, 17 avoided Gohan and went past him throwing a fist at a Cell Jr. that managed to sneak up on Gohan. When the surprise attack landed 17 followed up by grabbing the Jr.'s head and digging it into the dirt

Reacting once again 17 shot a ki blast past Gohan and towards the fourth and final Cell Jr., dazing him and allowing 17 to fly at the creature and kick his head, sending him a few feet through the hard dirt

"That's enough from you guys, this man is friendly." 17 explained as he motioned towards Gohan, who was still in his defensive position

"...You should calm down there too, at least try and seem friendly." 17 advised the half Saiyan, who didn't realize he was tense and promptly calmed himself

"Sorry, I just-I um..."

"Don't worry. it." 17 responded, which surprised him

"Trunks was the same way when we met a few times, he couldn't get used to the face I guess." The Android shrugged off

"You've heard his stories?"

"Yeah, Trunks told me and sis the whole story, and I gotta say, you two have it pretty rough." 17 nodded before shaking his head

"Right, I don't think we've met properly. Here, the name's 17, but I guess you could call me Lapis, if it helps." 17 outstretched his hand casually

"Eh? No sorry I didn't mean it that way, 17 is fine. I'm just still getting used to being here." Gohan said as he politely shook his head, he noted how considerate 17 was compared to his version of him

It was then that Trunks landed next to the two closely followed by the remaining four Cell Jr.s, all hanging their heads in shame

"Sorry about the trouble, these guys tend to be jumpy with new people, especially poachers." 17 remarked

"And how did they get here? By what I remember the younger version of me killed them." Future Gohan wondered

"It's pretty strange, but the gist is Gohan, er, younger you didn't kill them too well and they were able to regenerate. Eventually I found them roaming the island and I tamed them." 17 explained simply enough, though it was still a wonder as to how he tamed them

"They're pretty strong too, if I remember correctly they're just as strong as Cell was in his Perfect form." Future Trunks commented as he looked at the childlike creatures

"Yeah they got strong after sis and I used them as training dummies from time to time." 17 began but realized something

"By the way, what brings you two here? Unless you just came to have a little scrap with the Jr.s."

"No, actually we just came here to show Gohan the changes."

"Hm, I get it. Must be weird to see the same faces in different people," 17 commented before turning around, "I guess I could show you two around for a bit, not like I have much else to do aside from chasing the occasional poacher."

"We'll help!" Trunks offered

"Sure, just follow me. I'm pretty sure Sarah is still taking care of the kids." 17 added nonchalantly

"Who's Sarah?" Gohan asked

"My wife."

With that small response Gohan was flabbergasted by 17. By this point it wasn't even about the change in character, nor was it about how different he was

"Can he really say important things like that so casually?" He asked himself, clearly he needed to learn more about him if he wanted to explore the timeline further


Much later in the day an important operation began within the building of Capsule Corp

Inside one of Bulma's private labs were herself and Android 21 in her human form, both working on the Time Machine that Gohan used. Not only was 21 smart in her own right but she's the only scientist other than Bulma's father that she could trust with matters regarding the Z team. Case in point a mystical Time Machine that would require layers upon layers of explanation in order to even begin prodding

So far the two scientists were able to use the notes that were left in the glove box to find the resources they needed for more fuel, and luckily Bulma had everything needed to make the fuel within a day. With help from 21 she was able to reverse engineer most of the ship itself too, though there were definitely a few parts that needed some work

During the operation Bulma sighed to herself as she took a massive sip from her coffee, which struggled to keep her awake and active as her body still felt sluggish in a way, the eye bags were evident of that

"Bulma, isn't that your sixth cup of coffee? If you can't stay awake then I suggest you rest for the time being." 21 observed

"It's my tenth," she corrected but shook her head, "but that doesn't matter. What really matters is that I get this thing fueled and ready so that the team can save the world, again. It's one of the few things I can do to help." Bulma disclosed in a rather pragmatic way, 21 couldn't really argue with her

"Then maybe you could use the Senzu Pills? After all those are meant to restore your body to full capacity." 21 suggested but Bulma waved her off

"I can't, those things don't work for me anymore, I've used them too often."

"Hmm, and what about the newer versions?"

"Those are still under development, but I should have the first batches ready in a day or two." Bulma informed her colleague as she took another sip of coffee while staring at the Time Machine

"It's still pretty hard to synthesize and compound even more of Cell's DNA in such a small capsule. Sure we have enough blood to last us a decade but we can't just toss half of it away to make stronger pills. Then again I could ask for more." Bulma thought to herself before this strange feeling of realization dawned upon her

Bulma did her best throughout the day to avoid thinking of Cell or Vegeta, but she realized that someone as nice and intelligent as 21 was very close to him. Although that didn't mean much before, multiple things suddenly fell into place the more she thought

"Does she know? About Cell?" She asked herself as she eyed the woman, who was busy writing down notes over the exposed paneling beside the machine

Bulma was hoping to avoid this line of thought after her argument with Vegeta but now that she realized this she couldn't help but continue to think about Cell. How did he feel? Was Vegeta the only reason why he acts the way he does? How can he live with that pain?

"And what did you tell 21?" Bulma finished the line of thought in a form of morbid curiosity. She couldn't help but wonder these things about Cell in a much different light than before, it was like his actions were far more clear yet not at the same time

And yet, how does someone like 21 manage to befriend someone as evil as Cell? That much was uncertain, and clearly she too saw what happened yesterday

"Hey um, 21?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"You're close with Cell right?" Bulma asked in order to see 21's reaction

21 on the other hand looked a little confused, but nodded her head anyway

"How...did you befriend him?" She tried to word it in a less suspicious way, but she did a poor job at it

"Hm...Well there isn't much to it, he helped me and I decided to travel with him, to keep him company. He agreed and...here we are." 21 explained, not seeing much to it

"Huh, I didn't know it was that simple. Before he met you he was very...quiet."

"Really? All I had to do was talk to him, he's treated me with nothing but kindness nice I met him. Though maybe it's because I do my best to be nice to him in return." 21 explained, which cleared up a few things for Bulma

"We never tried talking to him did we?" Bulma thought. Sure there were one or two attempts, but Cell was just so closed off that everyone gave up in trying to talk to him

"And...has he talked to you about his past?" She asked the oddly specific question

"He doesn't like to talk about it, although after hearing about it a few times I can't say I want to know more." She responded, which made a pit form within Bulma's stomach, aside from the one that was already there. "Why? Did something come up?"

"Oh no nothing, I was just wondering is all! Ha ha!!" She tried to swat away the question with as much subtlety as a woman with ten coffees in her veins could have

"Why would she ask this all of a sudden?" 21 thought, clearly noting the oddly suspicious questions, the soul inside of her did the same

"I was under the impression that she wasn't aware of the truth, that everything to her was normal. So then, what would prompt her to-" 21 thought to herself before realizing, it was the fight between Cell and Black!

The fight wasn't necessarily a fight rather a brutal beatdown that was jarring to watch. Even if she fully understood what compelled Cell to act in such a horrific manner it didn't remove the things that he put that person through

But what did matter were the things that were said. Everything Cell had said was so on point that if one didn't know what was he was alluding to they would think he was insane, which is a reasonable conclusion even if they did know the truth

"If she figured it out then that could explain the ten coffees and the questions, but then what is she looking for."

Perhaps she wanted to get an idea of what Cell would tell someone that was close to him, which was reasonable enough given how she's practically Cell's only friend, aside from the soul within and Giru. In that case then maybe she felt guilty? Did she confront Vegeta about it? That would also explain her strange lack of motivation compared to any other day, not to mention that she hasn't seen Vegeta at all, though that last part wasn't out of normal

Whatever the case it wouldn't hurt to ask would it? But with the evidence on hand it looked like Bulma was going through a rough patch with Vegeta, would it be right for her to intervene? And even then what would she say?

"Has she talked to anyone about this?" She thought, to which the soul responded with what seemed to be a no

"...I should talk to her, maybe she needs to talk to someone." 21 argued

The soul, however, was opposed to the idea, surely Bulma wouldn't want them to butt in on her business would she?

"Perhaps, but if we can help then we should. It would be wrong to just leave her be wouldn't it?" 21 argued, the soul reluctantly agreed

"Hey Bulma, is everything okay?" 21 asked suddenly, shocking and surprising Bulma

"Eh? No I'm fine as can be!"

"Damnit, did she catch on?" Bulma berated herself for being too obvious, she wanted to avoid these needless conversations

"It's just, I was wondering how you were holding up after what happened recently. It's pretty hard to fathom another Gohan coming from the future and another Cell who isn't really Cell." 21 played it safe

"Hm? Oh right that, I guess you get used to crazy things like that after the first few times. I've seen demons, aliens, time travelers AND gods!" Bulma played it off

"I suppose so, but what really worries me is what happened to Gohan, all that suffering that he's gone through. Poor guy can't catch a break can he?"

"No, just like my poor Trunks, in fact the two lived practically the same lives."

"Oh really? I guess he did live through his fair share of pain, just like Cell as well..." 21 implied

"Yeah...exactly like Cell..." Bulma stated as she felt her heart pang with guilt

"Oh? So he's told you too? About his past?" 21 asked, having now received her confirmation. Bulma's stuttering and loss of words only helped further cement this

"Damnit!" Bulma lectured herself, she knew all along! But even then, the sudden flood of thoughts back to Vegeta, Cell, those many years of peace, the death of her kids...

Bulma felt her knees buckle a little, very overwhelmed by the flood of conflicting emotions that seemed to race back into her head like a broken damn, all she could do was fall into a chair behind her and feel as the tears forced their way out again

21 and the soul panicked, not realizing that this would've been a reaction to her harmless prodding. It was like watching a house of cards fall in front of her face after some poking

"I shouldn't have done that!" 21 lectured herself as she rushed to Bulma's side to try and comfort her, though it was of no use

"Sorry...I'm so so sorry but...I just can't take it anymore! That lying son of a bitch..! I love him so much but I just can't trust him anymore..." Bulma began to vent her frustrations while furiously wiping away tears as 21 tried to console her

"Oh I er-um, I uh..." 21 panicked, unsure of how to react to someone who just mentally broke down in front of her

"Where did I go wrong? Why did he have to do something like that behind my back? Why couldn't he have the decency to tell me the truth?" Bulma questioned herself

21 had no real response to this behavior, she had nothing to say, no encouraging words of advice nor any way of effectively helping this woman. She could try to understand her, but it was not her place to try and solve what felt like Bulma's personal battles, her problems were only something that she could understand

Instead, 21 pulled up a chair and sat next to the crying woman and rubbed her back as caringly as she could without seeming intrusive

"Just...let it all out." 21 said as the woman continued crying as she asked herself one lingering question over and over again

Where did it all go wrong?


On another side of the world, Future Gohan and Trunks wrapped up their meeting, which somehow took up a large portion of the day

For the most part the conversations revolved around 17's life (that he claims to be boring, but for the sake of Gohan he disclosed one or two things to the battle scarred warrior)

As for Sarah and 17's two children, they didn't seem out of the ordinary. By what the two Hybrids could tell the two adults mirrored the same personality of being generally calm and underwhelmed by everything (most importantly their relationship milestones). Their children on the other hand were fairly energetic and active, as normal children are. But for some reason it was incredibly hard to find anything special about them. Why would 17 sparsely speak of them? Why would he hide the loves of his life?

In reality the two Hybrids were simply reading too deeply into it. They knew so incredibly little about 17 that the only thing the meeting revealed were the faces and names of his family members

Otherwise, the meeting worked wonders for Gohan, who got to know 17 much better. He was too used to the original 17 that finding out more about this newer, much nicer 17 helped him settle with the idea of the Androids being good

Eventually, the Time Travelers said their goodbyes and 17 saw them out the door, along with a few of the Cell Jr.s

"Hey thanks for introducing us! I'm just glad I got to know you and your family a little bit more!" Gohan exclaimed cheerfully. Although it was one thing to hear about and allude to changes, it was nice to see that 17 truly was a different person from what he remembered

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind." 17 remarked

"Um, but why haven't we heard anything about them?" Trunks asked

"I told you, it's pretty boring to talk about my family, and Sarah likes to keep quiet too. Everyone usually has something more interesting to say anyways, so why bother." 17 explained, though the reasoning was still a little strange for the two hybrid Saiyans

"R-right, well we should get going now! It was nice knowing your family!" Gohan exclaimed as he and Trunks soon flew away, leaving 17 out by the door

As the lone Android leaned against the doorframe he couldn't help but think about their visit. The meeting was strange for 17, although it didn't hurt to talk about his family something just felt...off. He enjoyed his family as any other would but for some reason...he enjoyed the prospect of a quiet life. Something about it just appealed to 17

Perhaps it was due to his rough past as an orphan? Or maybe this deep seeded want to enjoy things in private? Or perhaps wanted to appear normal?

Within himself 17 knew the answer, but he would never tell anyone outside of his family. Not because it was a malicious reason or because he was embarrassed to admit it...but he simply didn't feel like telling anyone. Why would he? How would he explain these feelings of joy he felt behind closed doors to people who had vastly different lives?

"I got nothing to prove, so what's the point?"

"Daddy can we play games with the Jr.s!!" The voice of a small child said behind 17, hidden behind the young looking man

The Android smirked and nodded as he closed the door behind him, once again enclosing him into his safe, private space


As the team ended the day with introductions, meetings and revelations, the greater threat continued to loom over them...


In a land far detached from the normal timeline was another, similar timeline. But inside of it was the ever growing threat of the fallen God...Cell Black

He had taken to it to grow and expand his power by fighting many mortals across space and time, but this time around he understood something, something that he couldn't grasp before until his second meeting with Cell

"You wanted to have the greatest body in the world. Well there it is. A body that can come back from the brink of death stronger than before, can survive the impossible and is made of the greatest fighters any universe has ever known...now work for it."

Black hated the fact that he was so humiliated by that filth! But he couldn't deny that he had given him great advice...advice that he would be able to use against him...

"This body of yours has suffered greatly Cell...and the more I suffer the stronger I become..." Cell Black talked to himself while observing the body he possessed

So far he's learned how to manipulate his cells to do his bidding, like smaller versions of himself that could adapt as well as the greater part of them. It was like trillions upon trillions of himself banded together to form the body he inhabited

But even better...he learned to origins of Cell's power, the revelation that opened his mind to a greater potential!

"This power is not mine...nor is it his..." He alluded out loud with a smirk. He was going to learn how to control this power...one way or another...


A/N: Hey again guys! So I guess I should properly explain a few things, and no nothing too serious or game breaking

Firstly, the reason I had taken so long to post this new chapter (aside from the several loose ends I wanted to tie properly) was due to high school starting again, giving me far less time to myself, not to mention I usually get distracted with Video Games and stuff

Secondly, I also spent a good chunk of time reading a much more popular fanfiction (Check out Talking with a Monster by RoxaShadow it's a phenomenal read) and reading a much better work made me realize that I definitely have things to work out in mine

For the most part the overarching story itself is good (in my opinion) and the only problem is how I go about telling the story, more especially during the beginning where I sorta missed a lot of the proper foreshadowing and contextualization elements. In fact I also have so many grammar errors it's hard to read my own work without busting out the original document to update the chapter

But, all of this is one long winded way of saying that I'm going to be spending lots of time rewriting my work silently. No I won't absolutely change the structure of my story but I'll just spend a month or two rethinking ways to frame the story better. To you guys it will just be a few different dialogues here and there and some context that I may have missed originally, and it'll go as far as changing specific character actions to create a better, more defined personality and character traits (Especially Prestina, I honestly feel like I've been slacking on her character up to now, but maybe that's cause she's new and I have to add extra effort to flash her out)

Anyway, for the next while I will be updating all of the current 52 chapters and taking time to brainstorm the ways I want to tell the story as well as other, smaller details like character arcs, events and such

Sorry if this means it'll take a few months before I get my original update schedule back but I swear this will be worth it in the long run!

Until then, leave a review! It really helps to read your opinions to see where I mess up and what elements I should erase

Welp, that's my time, and I'll see you later!