So we officially live in a timeline where Broly is canon, huh? Well, never thought I'd see THAT happen. Talk about your fanfics!

Sorry for the wait, laptop had to go in for repairs, but here it is.

Chapter 13 - Blast from the Past

Bulma stepped back from her work, wiping her furrowed brow. "Damnit, Vegeta, can we go one month without this happening?" she huffed. Looking up and around, she could tell that she had a lot of work to go. While the robots were capable of clearing debris and putting the larger units and panels back into place, the smaller, finer work, like the complicated wiring were left to her.

Not that said wiring was actually complicated to her, but there was a lot of it, and it was very time consuming to be climbing into the ceiling to put it back together. After all, she wasn't her husband or son with instinctual energy control, she didn't have the super strength or flying capabilities that they had.

Speaking of…

"MOM!" Trunks shouted, running into the ruined gravity chamber.

Bulma sighed. "One moment, Trunks" she grunted, climbing down out of the ceiling slowly. Carefully setting herself down, she turned to face her son. "Yeah, what's up?"

Trunks held out his hands, a phone sat in them. "It's Dad" he said quickly. "He said he needed to talk to you right away!"

Bulma arched an eyebrow. "Vegeta?" she asked. "That's strange, Vegeta never calls, he's never once used the communicator I gave him. He either doesn't bother or waits until he's home."

She took the phone from the young boy and brought it up. "Yeah Vegeta?" she asked.

"Woman, ready two healing pods!" Vegeta shouted through the speaker.

Bulma hissed at his volume and brought the phone away from her ear. "Kami, would it kill you to keep it down or ask nicely for a chance?" she growled into the receiver. "What's going on, anyways? Why's there so much static?"

"I'm flying, as fast as I can right now, woman, and it's imperative that you have those healing pods ready on my arrival!" Vegeta shouted back.

Bulma huffed. "Fine, Vegeta, but I'm gonna ready one more, because when I'm through with you you're gonna need one of your own!" she shouted back before ending the call. "Here" she said, tossing the phone to her son, who caught it deftly. She took a breath, brow furrowed. "I swear, either his highness is going to be the end of me or the opposite is gonna happen."

Trunks frowned thoughtfully at the phone. "Mom, didn't Dad sound a bit… I dunno, weird?" he asked.

"Define weird when it comes to your father" Bulma said exasperatedly.

"I mean, he almost sounded like he was really stressed about the pods" he said. "Dad never really sounds stressed like that, does he?"

Running a hand through her frayed hair, Bulma sighed. "You've got a point there, Trunks. I'm sure that whatever his reason, and whatever his delivery, he has a need for them."

Trunks' eyebrow twitched, and he looked sideways, seemingly at the wall. "He's coming in fast, geez, I think he might be going Super right now" he said. He scrunched his eyebrows. "And… I think somebody's with him. Maybe that's why he needed the pods?"

"Yeah, but who would have Vegeta that desperate for help?" Bulma asked.

Satan City

POP

Swiping the now capsulized vehicle out of the air and jamming it in her pocket, Videl turned around just in time for a blonde-haired object to slam into her. Yelping slightly as she fought to maintain her balance, she pried Erasa off of her, carefully as to not hurt her friend.

"Geez, Erasa, you know I'm fine, so why are you so ecstatic to see me?" she asked as she began to regain the breath that was squeezed out of her. She shrunk a bit, however, when she got a closer look at her friend.

With reddened and puffy eyes, and tear-streaked cheeks, Erasa locked eyes with Videl. "I-I'm just glad that a-a-at least you got b-b-back alright…" she hiccuped.

"At least I got back…" Videl began to think, before mentally facepalming. "Of course, she doesn't know about Gohan yet! Videl, you freaking moron…"

She raised her hands and pulled her friend back into a hug. "Sharpner doesn't seem to be here yet" she noted as the blonde cried into her shoulders. "So even if he planned to talk to her, she hasn't heard yet. Well, I've got more than a couple of revelations coming at them…"

As if responding to her mind, a clear voice rang across the street. "Hey, Videl, Erasa!"

Pulling away from Erasa slightly, Videl turned to face the other blonde running towards them. Maneuvering around some debris left in the street, Sharpner bounded towards them, coming to a stop. He backed up a bit when Erasa detached from Videl and threw herself at him. Not knowing what to do, he held her awkwardly, and looked up at Videl, and mouthed 'you haven't told her?'

Videl shook her head. Releasing Erasa a moment later, Sharpner gave her a significant look. "So, uh, Erasa, we… We have some news."

Erasa hiccuped and looked between the two of them. "W-what kind of news?" she asked.

Videl pulled one of her ponytails around and toyed with it a bit. She didn't know how Erasa would react, but it would be cruel to hold it off for long. "Well, we were in the city, and we saw… a lot of things there."

"And one of them was kind of, er… surprising, to say the least" Sharpner said.

"Okay, if this keeps going, we're just gonna beat around the bush until there's no bush left to beat" Videl realized. "The point is, while we were in the city, we, ah… Saw Gohan… Alive."

The moment that followed seemed like it took an eternity to pass. An incomprehensible number of emotions flashed across Erasa's face in quick succession, not unlike how Videl guessed they had looked after seeing him for themselves. Her legs wobbled, and Videl took in a sharp breath. "Sharpner!" she barked.

Reacting as fast as he could, Sharpner caught Erasa as her legs collapsed beneath her. She hadn't fainted, which was a plus, but the news was something hard to swallow. "A-alive?!" she croaked, coughing to clear her throat. "How-"

"Yeah, that's the other thing…" Sharpner said, chuckling softly. "Brains is kinda, sorta… Saiyaman."

"A bit more than that…" Videl thought dejectedly, remembering her part of the news, but that would come out in due time. For now, she had to worry about Erasa's reaction.

Erasa looked a little dumbstruck, and she stumbled a little more, Sharpner shifting to keep her from hitting the ground. "Gohan is…"

"Yup, the caped dork is the class geek" Videl said. "And that explosion that hit the school didn't… well, you know… kill him. Last we saw him, he was doing pretty well."

"Yeah, but he was also surrounded by monsters, wasn't he?"

"Shut up, me."

Erasa let out a breath, and though she was obviously still a victim of the day's stress, the faintest smile graced her face. "Gohan was Saiyaman… well, I guess all those bathroom breaks make sense now, heh heh…"

"You shoulda seen him out there" Sharpner said. "He was, just so fast. I don't know how he did it, but he was fighting a bunch of monsters at once and just batting them around. It was wicked!"

"Yeah, he's really fast and really powerful" Videl said. "Inhumanly so."

"Speaking of human speed and power…" Sharpner said. "Where did your dad say he was… at…"

He faltered as the expression on the black haired girl grew downright thunderous. "I guess that's as good of a segway as any…" Videl muttered, glancing up and down the street. Most people were inside, embracing their homes still being intact, but she didn't want to take any chances. "Guys, come with me" she said, pulling her recently pocketed jet copter back out and tossing it back down.

She crawled into the pilot's seat, with Erasa hopping into the passenger seat and Sharpner squeezing into the back seat behind them. She flipped a few switches, and they took to the air, slowly rising over the rooftops. She glanced back. "Sharpner, when we were on our way back into the city, did you catch a glimpse of it from above?"

"N-No…" Sharpner said, a bashful tone to his voice. "I was kinda, not looking around."

Videl took that to mean that he had his eyes closed and was hanging onto that Krillin guy for dear life during the flight. "Guys, what I'm about to tell you, you can't share with anyone else" she said seriously. "But first, you guys need to see this."

Depressing the gas further, they shot higher into the air, soaring above the surrounding buildings. Videl turned the copter slowly in the air, until she had it directed just where she wanted. Erasa let out a small shriek, and Sharpner inhaled sharply himself. She couldn't blame them, the destruction of central Satan City hit her like a blow to the gut too, and she had already seen it.

"How…" Erasa whispered.

"What the hell happened there?!" Sharpner exclaimed.

Videl sighed. "Listen, I don't know all the details, but I learned a few things today, and pieced together a few others" she said slowly. She set the vehicle to hover in place, after all, up here, there was no risk of being overheard.

"What we saw earlier gave me suspicions, the two we met in the city earlier, Krillin and 18 supported it, and… my father confirmed it" Videl said. "You know all those tricks that the old fighters in the Cell Games and old martial arts tournaments?"

"You mean those explosions and stuff?" Erasa asked.

Erasa wasn't so much of a fighter as Videl and Sharpner, but hanging around with them, she at least had a basic knowledge. Videl nodded, and with a glance to the back seat, she could see the apprehension in Sharpner's face. "He knows where this is going" she realized.

"Well, they aren't tricks."

That was the bombshell. Of course, in her present company, it didn't have as big of an explosion. Erasa didn't realize the significance, and Sharpner had his own growing suspicions from earlier. Of course, defying her opinion of his mental capacity, Sharpner very quickly pieced something together.

"But wait. If they aren't tricks, then how did you dad beat Cell?" he asked. "I mean, if they aren't tricks, like you said, then that means what Cell was doing was real. How did he-"

"He didn't" Videl cut him off.

Now that one hit much harder. Both of them looked absolutely shocked. Dumbstruck, Erasa was the one to find her words first that time. "But… isn't he the world savior?" she asked. "I… this city is literally named after him, isn't it?"

"He didn't beat Cell" Videl said again. "He just took the credit for Cell's downfall."

"But how was Cell defeated then?" Sharpner asked, very fast.

Videl sighed. "My dad told me…" she paused, steeling her nerves to continue. "He told me, that he took the credit for Cell's defeat… at Gohan's hand."

THUD

Videl and Erasa started as Sharpner stood up rapidly, forgetting about the confined space and smacking his head on the ceiling. Bouncing off of it, he fell back into his seat, clutching his head, but his eyes couldn't have been more focused as he looked back. "Wh-What?!" he yelped. "You're saying BRAINS defeated Cell?!"

"G-Gohan is… He's…" Erasa seemed to have trouble finding her words.

Videl pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself" she thought. "Listen, we saw Gohan with some real power out in the city, so we already know he's stronger than he looks." Sharpner nodded in confirmation as Videl took another breath. "My father confirmed it, but, even besides that, don't you remember what we overheard?"

Sharpner looked confused for a moment, before recognition dawned on his face. "He… He said he wanted revenge, on Gohan, for killing him" he recalled.

"I wasn't sure what to make of it before" Videl said. "But all it does is support what my dad said about it. I mean, what reason would Cell have for saying Gohan killed him, and taking revenge on a highschool kid, if he didn't have that reason for it? Besides being a monster, I can't-"

"Wait" Erasa said, cutting her train of thought off abruptly. "What are you talking about, Cell said that?" she asked. "I mean, whoever killed him, they killed him, didn't they?"

Videl was struck silent by that piece of seemingly obvious insight. "She has a point" she realized. "Cell would have been terrorizing the planet if he was just left defeated. My dad claimed he was no more, and didn't say Gohan accomplished otherwise."

Sharper and Erasa chanced a look at each other before looking back to the raven-haired crime fighter. "Uh, Videl?" Erasa tried. When no reaction was given, she reached over and shook her friend's shoulder. "Videl?" she tried again.

Videl started and looked back up. "Sorry, yeah…" she said. "I'm not sure about that. Actually, I guess there's a few things I'm still in the dark about."

Sharpner rubbed his head where he hit the ceiling and leaned back. "Kami… what are we really even getting into? I mean, just now, I can see some sort of worldwide conspiracy, who knows what else?"

Videl blinked. "I know who" she said suddenly, leaning over and working the computer installed into the cockpit, beginning to input information. Sliding a finger across the screen, she stood back as she had pulled up what she wanted. "If he's still alive, he seems to be the center of all this, right? I'm sure he can fill us in."

On screen before their eyes, was all the information listed in the police database, for one Son Gohan.

Capsule Corp.

Bulma stepped back as the greenish blue liquid began to fill the pristine which machines. One other machine in the room was less than pristine, rather, it was smeared with the blood of a certain moody Saiyan royal, but luckily, there were a dozen pods at ready. She liked to be prepared, after all. She was no warrior with planet shattering attacks like the rest of them, but at least she had the tech smarts to provide support. And it was nice to be able to at least help them recover after they get beaten an inch from death by living bubblegum or whatever threat comes next.

She had them filling not a moment too soon. The tanks were nearing half full when a dull rumble shook the compound, the tables rattling and Bulma stumbling a bit to regain his footing. "Do I need to install a parachute in his suit to make him slow down when he's landing?" she griped. "Honestly, at this rate, he's going to shift the Earth so much he makes this a fault line!"

As the machines continued to fill, the floor began rattling again, much less than before, but still noticeable. Bulma sighed as she stood to the side, making sure to clear the door and the filling pods. After all, she didn't want Vegeta's tunnel vision to go right through her.

She was acutely aware of a yellow glow shimmering against the metallic walls, growing ever more visible by the instant, a telltale sign of the approaching prince. She saw the dart of movement appear around the corner, and she let out a breath. "Well Vegeta, are you finally ready to fill… me… in…" the words died in her mouth.

Vegeta had two figures slung over his shoulder, his spiked hair a glowing blonde, and breathing hard. One of them, Bulma thought looked vaguely familiar, a rather young woman in navy clothing and black hair. She couldn't quite place the memory.

Her heart stuck in her throat at the other one, however. She'd recognize that unruly mop of silvery lavender hair anywhere. Dressed in an extremely weathered and damaged blue jacket, she saw-

"T-Trunks?!" she exclaimed.

Vegeta showed no sign of acknowledging her as he rushed forward. Kicking the tops off of each pod, he laid his future son down on the ground. Reaching down inside the first pod, he grabbed the breathing mask and wrapped it around the young woman's face before stuffing her inside the pod and shutting it. Reaching down, he grabbed Trunks and repeated the process, until he was safely floating in the fluid within.

Once the second pod was shut, Vegeta stepped back. He let out a low grunt as his hair darkened and his body shrunk. There was a light sound of feet hitting the floor, and Bulma realized that he had been floating the entire time. As he hit the ground, he let out a grunt of pain, favoring his left leg, which had a clean hole pierced through it, the surrounding fabric slightly bloodied. He glanced over. "Woman" he acknowledged.

Bulma was still gaping at the figures within the tank. "V-Vegeta… How…"

Vegeta sighed. "I don't know myself and I don't have the time to figure it out right now" he said, sounding slightly agitated. "There's a wreck out where I found them, and I have to go try and salvage it."

"A wreck?" Bulma asked.

"The contraption he used to get here before" Vegeta said. "That damned time machine crashed pretty badly, but I couldn't carry both of them back here and do anything about it. I'll be back soon."

Bulma blinked as Vegeta turned around. "W-Wait, Vegeta, I-" she as silenced as Vegeta grabbed her and pulled her in a deep, quick kiss, essentially muffling her.

He pulled away with a smirk. "I'll be back in a while. Trust me, with this thing, I don't want to be out long" he said, gesturing at his leg. "Trust me, we should be safe for the rest of the day at least."

He floated back into the air and took off back out the door without another word, leaving it swinging on its hinges in its wake.

"Are you sure you can't come?" Videl asked.

Erasa smiled sadly. "As much as I'd like to go, just to see him with my own eyes, I was lucky I was allowed outside just to talk with you" she said. "My parents are kind of… overprotective. Especially after today, they don't want me out of their sight."

Sharpner crossed his arms. "I guess it means they're really looking out for you. My parents love me and all, but they don't keep much of an eye on me. As long as I check in every now and then, I could probably leave for a couple weeks and they'd be fine with me watching myself." He shrugged. "Sorry, Erasa."

"It's no problem, I'm really just glad that you guys know he's okay" Erasa said. "Just let me know what's going on when you get back, alright?"

Videl gave the blonde a thumbs up. "Of course, you know we will" she affirmed. "We'll see you soon, just stay safe until everything's more stable around here."

"Don't worry, when I see trouble, I don't run headlong into it like you" Erasa said teasingly as she turned towards her house. "See ya guys later" she waved.

"Yeah, later Erasa" Sharpner said back.

As the door shut, Videl's face dropped. "Well, you ready to head out out, Sharpner?"

"Yeah. How far out is Gohan's place again?" he asked.

"According the database, his place is a good two hundred and fifty miles out. It would be a good three hours into the mountains on ground, but since we're going as the crow flies, we could probably make it there in a little over two, as long as there's no heavy winds." She paused as she looked up. The sky was heavily clouded, but it wasn't quite storming. Not yet, anyways. She glanced at her watch. "It's about one right now, so we can probably get there sometime nearing three thirty. Spend a couple hours looking for Gohan's house and talking to him, and we can make it back before dark completely falls."

Sharpner looked at her, eyebrows raised. "What?" she snapped.

"Uh, nothing, it's just, you've really thought this through, and we only came up with it a few minutes ago. You're really, about this?" he asked.

Videl huffed. "My father lied to me and so did Gohan. He made his way into our group with so many secrets he was keeping, some of them directly affecting us! I mean, how could he just waltz in like that knowing that-"

"Uh, Videl?" Sharpner asked, flinching as her eyes narrowed.

"What?" she asked, the annoyance evident in her voice.

"Uh, well, this may not be the right time to say it" he started. "But really, it only directly affected you, not the rest of us, didn't it? I mean, beyond the shock about your father, you know, that, you were really the only one this really affects that bad."

"So you're saying it was alright for him to keep secrets that large from us?" Videl asked.

"I mean, keeping secrets isn't good, but look at it from his perspective. I mean, if Brains has all these powers normal people don't have, then wouldn't he be worried about being called a freak or whatever because of them?"

Videl huffed as she started up the jet copter. As the rose into the air, she looked back over. "If he really considered us friends, he would have told us" she reasoned.

Sharpner blinked before laying back. "Videl, I'm not exactly the smartest one in the group, am I?" he asked.

Videl snorted. "Your point?"

"First off, ouch" Sharpner said. "Second off, Gohan's been enrolled for like 3 weeks. He's barely a part of the group. I tease him, you're constantly pestering him, Erasa's flirting with him, and he just puts his head down and tries to ignore it." He crossed his arms. "He only kinda knows us and has been hanging out with us for a while. How come I'm able to see that, but you can't?"

"…" Videl stayed silent as they began flying forward.

Sharpner leaned back in his chair and made himself comfortable. It was up to be a long flight, and the supercharged tension in the air told him that if he pushed it any further, Videl might eject him from the aircraft mid flight, something he would prefer to avoid. He kept his mouth shut, wisely, and prepared for a long, boring flight out into the mountai-

WHOOOOOOOOOOSH

Just as they were clearing the city line, a dart of light roared past them. The aircraft spun as the two inhabitants cried out in alarm from the harsh turbulence that struck them. Alarms were blaring in the cockpit, and Videl was cranking hard to right themselves in the air. With a sense of whiplash, they were pulled back into a stable flight, both of their hearts racing.

"What the hell was that?!" Sharpner yelped.

Videl blinked, trying to clear her vision. She jerked her head to what had nearly clipped their wings, but it was already fading in the distance, nothing but a disappearing yellow glow. One flying in the very direction they had been going. "I don't know, just one more thing to ask about, I guess…" she muttered. Pushing down on the gas again, they took off, leaving Satan City behind as they made to fly up into the 439 Mountain Area.

Vegeta glanced back to make sure that humans didn't crash to the ground and die. He didn't get beaten to death and back to make sure the damned Namekian Dragon could revive them just to be the reason some of them died. Satisfied when they leveled out, he continued on his flight.

He was hurting. His pride wouldn't let him admit it aloud, but that fight with the demon had taken a lot out of him, and that injury in his leg wasn't a normal one. It had practically spliced a clean hole through his leg's flesh and bone. But he had suffered worse, and he could rest after he attempted to salvage what was left of the wreck.

Gritting his teeth, an electrical surge of energy buzzed around him, and his speed dramatically increased as he ascended. "The sooner I get this over with, the better" he hissed inside.

He hadn't gone Super Saiyan 2 while he was carrying Trunks and the other woman back to his home. The energy of any ascended forms was rather erratic, as the bolts of energy were indicative of, and he didn't feel like risking damaging them even more in an apparently critical condition. But now?

He arrived at the location in half the time it took him before. The fire was still spreading, and Vegeta swore. He lined himself up with the inferno, extended a hand, and unleashed a wave of force with his energy. The force crashed through the trees, uprooting some of the weaker ones and making the sturdy ones groan, but they stood, and the force of his kiai dispersed the flames. Satisfied, he descended into the woodworks.

It didn't take him long to find the crash site. After all, it left a pretty damn massive crater where it was. The machine itself had seen better days, he noted, as he approached. The glass on the cockpit had shattered, one engine had apparently exploded, as it was nothing but thin scraps of charred metal left, while two others appeared damaged, but salvageable. Various parts of the body were warped by the inferno it had been left in, but it mostly retained its proper shape.

Setting down, he looked down inside. Finding the one object he had been expecting, he reached in and grabbed it by the hilt, retracting the blade. He made to set it to the side, but paused briefly. The sword was quite similar, yet it was a different blade. He ignored it after noticing it, and set it to the side.

Bending back down, he looked deeper inside, and saw a few bags, a couple of which had spilled open and spilled their contents, while the others remained sealed, as well as a rather advanced firearm. After retracting the second weapon, he dragged the sealed bags out before rebagging the spilled contents. There wasn't much, some clothing, first aid supplies, some other basic necessities, a few books and letters, and the last thing was a rather intricately designed ceramic object, it appeared to be some sort of instrument.

Once everything inside was repackaged, he grabbed the machine and dragged it upright. He scoured the surface of it until he found the panel he was looking for. Flipping it open, he tried to remember which one, and hit a button, getting lucky and making the machine disappear in a flash of smoke. When the cloud cleared, the tiny capsule was laying in the dirt, then scooped up.

Stuffing the capsule into one of the bags, he slung the sword and the gun over his shoulders on their straps, and hoisted the bags that had been inside up. Satisfied, he took to the air and began his flight back to his home.

"What are you doing back in this time, Trunks?"

"Why can't you find out what's going on?"

"I dunno, all I know is that mom told me to stay out for now. It seemed like her and Dad were really freaked out about something" Trunks' voice came through.

Goten frowned. "I thought nothing scared your dad, he's too busy scaring other people."

"I know, right" Trunks asked. "Anyways, I can feel two people in there. One of them seems decently strong, the other's barely any stronger than normal people. The first guy actually feels kinda familiar for some reason, but I dunno-"

"GOTEN!"

"Oops, sorry Trunks, my mom's calling me" Goten said. "Talk later."

He hung up before he got a response, after all, he didn't want to keep his mom waiting. He ran towards the sound of his mother's voice, skidding to a stop in the entry hall. "Yeah mommy?" he asked, looking up.

Chi-Chi finished fastening a button on her jacket then looked down at her youngest. "Goten, I'm about to put my trust in you" she said. "Gohan's hurt and needs help right now, okay?"

Goten cocked his head to the side in confusion. "But aren't you helping him?" he asked.

Chi-Chi sighed. "I was, but I just got a call from Bulma. She's in a bit of a panic right now and needs some support" she explained. "As much as I want to take care of Gohan, well, I hate to admit it, but he's strong enough that he doesn't need me. However, I want t make sure he still gets some help in case he needs it, so can I trust you to help your brother out?" she asked.

Goten let it sink in for a moment, then smiled wide and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, sure thing!" he chirped. "I can help Gohan!"

Chi-Chi smiled in relief. "Good, then I don't have to leave him alone. Now, I'm trusting you, so don't let me or Gohan down" she said warningly. Crouching down, she reached out and pulled Goten into a hug. "I'll see you soon, there's dinner on the table and some in the fridge in case I'm there a couple days, just pace yourself so your brother can eat too?"

Goten nodded as his mother released him and stepped towards the door. "Okay, goodbye, Goten" she said.

"Goodbye mom!" Goten waved after her as she pulled the door open, a cold burst of air flying in from the heavy winds outside. The gust only lasted a moment before Chi-Chi closed the door behind her, leaving Goten alone inside.

A moment later, the engine of the car started, growing steadily louder until it began to distance itself, the sound rapidly fading as his mother drove off. Remembering what he had said he'd do, he ran back through the hall, arriving at his and Gohan's room. He gently eased the door open and peaked inside. He cocked his head to the side as Gohan's eyes were closed, and his breathing soft. "Big brother?" he loudly whispered, getting no response from the elder of the two.

Leaving his brother to sleep, he eased the door shut again and backed off. "Hmm" he thought, wondering what he was going to do. He began to walk towards the living room with the intention of calling Trunks back, but then remembered what his mom said about having prepared a bunch of food. The drool was pooling in his mouth almost instantly. "I can just have mine right now and leave enough for Gohan" he thought. He nearly sprinted towards the kitchen, visions of the food in his mind, stomach growling, and as always, his mother didn't fail to disappoint. He hadn't eaten that long ago, but the scent always made him hungry.

Dishing up a small amount (a larger plate stacked almost a foot high) he began to get ready to tear into it when a rather loud banging interrupted him. He hopped down and ran to the front door, where he had heard said banging. He reached up and eased the door open a crack. "Hello?" he asked, having to squint slightly as the stronger winds rushed right into this face.

"Goten?" a familiar feminine voice asked. Goten perked up, because while a normal person would have trouble hearing the voice over the gale, his sensitive ears had no issue.

He threw the door open. "Lime!" he chirped happily.

A young woman stood before the door, fair skinned and with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. She returned the young Demi Saiyan's smile. "Yup" Lime said, reaching down and touseling Goten's already messy hair. "What's up, buddy?"

Goten groaned and pulled back, batting Lime's hand away. "C'mon, Lime, why'd you do that?" he pouted.

"Why are you asking? You know how cute you are" Lime teased, relenting. She let out a breath and looked around. "So Goten, is your brother around?"

"Yeah, but he's asleep right now" he said. "He got hurt today so he's resting up right now."

"Oh, I knew it!" Lime exclaimed.

"Knew what?" Goten asked.

Lime sighed. "I knew there was something happening today, and I was worried that Gohan had gotten right in the middle of it."

"Wait, how'd you know?" Goten asked, curious.

Lime huffed. "I'm your brother's best friend, so I know him, and I felt the planet shake and everything felt off. I took a guess and came out here." She looked off down the hall. "How bad is it?" she asked.

"He looked kinda bad when Mister Vegeta brought him back, but Mom helped bandage him and stuff, so he's better" Goten said. "He had a lot of cuts though… It was kinda scary."

Lime looked relieved. "So he got pretty damn banged up but nothing more than he's had before" she summarized. "That's a relief. I was worried he was gonna be in worse shape than he was after that space pirate guy those years ago."

"Nothing can keep my big brother down for long" Goten laughed. "Even Buu wasn't much to him!"

"Aha, I knew you guys would be tangled with Buu too" Lime said triumphantly. "That buffoon took Gohan's credit this time too, eh?" she said less amusedly.

"Daddy was actually the one who beat Buu. He was really awesome about it!"

Lime blinked. "Wasn't your dad… never mind, I'll check with Gohan after he's feeling better, if he's wanting to." She laid a hand on the door knob. "Have your brother call me when he wakes up, alright?"

"Why don't you stay, Lime?" Goten asked. "I mean, Mom says your basically part of the family, right? Do you have to go back right now?"

Lime paused for a moment, before removing her hand from the doorknob. "You know, that would be pretty cool" she said. "Hanging out with my favorite little guy and being able to see Gohan when he wakes up" she said, chuckling as she finished as Goten looked abashed at her 'favorite little guy' comment. "Yeah, sure, I'll hang around for a while. My folks know where I was going, anyways."

"Heh, awesome" Goten said. "Do you want something to eat?"

Vegeta huffed as he dropped the sacks onto the ground, finally allowing his power to fade and his hair to dim to black. He let out a growl as he kicked open another pod and stepped inside of it. Mashing the inner control panel, she dragged a mask onto his face and sat down as the fluid began to fill the tank.

Bulma sighed and walked over. "So, Vegeta, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Vegeta leaned back, hitting the back of the tank as the cool liquid began to wash over him. "To be honest, I don't know much about this" he said, voice echoing through the pipe. "There was some hell demon earlier that me and Kakarot's spawn fought, really nasty creature." He waved towards his leg. "Had some odd attacks that pierced me clean through. Anyways, I dropped the kid back off after the battle had ceased, and felt the boy's arrival one my way back."

"I don't think you can call him a boy anymore" Bulma said, glancing towards her future son's pod. "He's a young man now."

"Tch" Vegeta scoffed. "Whatever you want to call him, I have no knowledge of his reasons for being here. That's something I plan to figure out when he awakens. For now, let me sleep, woman, there's not a lot to do while holes in my flesh and bone refill themselves, after all."

"Jerk" Bulma huffed. "Do you want me to wake you up when Trunks gets up too?"

"If it's no bother, yes" Vegeta said. "...Thank you, Bulma."

Bulma huffed again, but let a smile grace her face. "You're welcome, Vegeta" she said. She stepped away from the pod, falling into a nearby chair. "Certainly not how I expected today to go. Usually we at least have a couple months between potential cataclysmic events. At least this one was over fast." She looked off towards each. "Vegeta, rest up. Trunks, I hope you aren't in any trouble." She still had a feeling that she recognized the last person, the woman that Vegeta brought back alongside Trunks, but she was unable to place it. "Later, I can wait for them to wake up later."

"Uh, Videl, are you sure we're in the right place?" Sharpner asked. "Because I don't see anything but forest and fields anywhere for… ever, around here."

"Trust me, this is the place" Videl affirmed, turning in the air. "We're right in the center of the 439 mountain area. His place should be somewhere around here, I'm 100% sure."

Peering out the window, the two of them scanned the landscape. "He really does live out in the middle of nowhere…" Sharpner muttered.

A dull boom of thunder roared through the sky, causing him to jump. "Uh, do you think we should still be up-"

"The storm isn't on top of us yet, we still have some time up here" Videl maintained. "We can keep searching, and besides, we have no idea what the area is like down there, I'd rather not take that chance until we have to."

Sharpner looked vaguely uncomfortable. "I… Yeah, that's a good point. But at least we can run from wolves or any animals down there. Kind of hard to outrun a lightning bol-"

An ear-shattering explosion followed the sky lighting up, blinding the inhabitants of the cockpit. The two of them shouted out in shock as the air became supercharged with static, two of their senses temporarily overloaded. "I THINK THAT'S OUR SIGN TO LAND!" Sharpner shouted over his half deaf ears.

Videl didn't waste time with a proper answer, immediately descending as fast as she could manage. Spots dancing in their eyes, Videl growled as the copter jerked and spun, a harsh cracking sound filling the cabin before the entire aircraft was shaken by a rough landing. "HOP OUT!" Videl ordered as she threw her own door open. Her vision was still a little blurry, but she maneuvered around the vehicle and found her control panel. Feeling for the familiar buttons, she jabbed the one she was looking for, and felt the entire thing disappear beneath her hands.

Her vision began to clear just as Sharpner slumped against a nearby tree. "A little… just a little too close for comfort" he panted.

Videl was inclined to agree. The weather had changed rather rapidly as they ascended into the mountains, more than she had realized. All around them, the trees were groaning underneath the force of the gale, and the sky boomed with thunder. She counted her blessings that it hadn't actually started raining yet, that might have been overkill. Not that she couldn't handle it, but she rather wouldn't, given the compounding circumstances.

"Yeah…" Videl agreed, rubbing her eyes to clear the remaining spots. She glanced around, trying to find anything that stood out, but she saw nothing but trees in every direction around them. Pulling out her phone, she found her map of the area, but she didn't have a signal that let her pinpoint where on it she was located.

There were a plethora of words to describe what they were at that moment. Cold? Shooken? Yeah, both of those applied. But without the ability to re-open her jet copter in fear of it quickly becoming a world-class lightning rod, there was one phrase that leapt to the forefront of her mind.

"We're lost."

Otherworld

"C'mon, Yemma, I know you have a lot of paperwork right now, but can't you just take my word on it for the moment and let him come with."

"Goku, you know the rules" Yemma grumbled. "I can't decide to let Piccolo go anywhere, above or below, ESPECIALLY as high as the Grand Kai's world, until I judge him. And quite frankly, I have enough paperwork to file as it is after the incident that just went down. Unless you and Piccolo want to go hang out on Snake Way until everything's resolved, I'm afraid I can't send him up until I'm caught up."

"But Yemma-" Goku complained.

"I AM NOT BUDGING ON THIS, GOKU" Yemma roared frustratedly. "You're just making it take LONGER by bothering me further on the issue."

Goku pouted. "Fine, fine…" he muttered. Breaking away from the gaze of the red giant, Goku strolled back down the hallway, locking onto the energy signatures of the other group waiting for him. Raising his fingers to his forehead, he vanished, and appeared before them instantly.

King Kai jumped. "Jeez, Goku, did you really have to Instant Transmission just that far? You nearly gave me a heart attack, was that necessary?"

Goku cocked his head to the side. "Uh, how could I give you a heart attack if you're already de-"

He was cut off as the pudgy blue god appeared in front of him, frowning. "I wouldn't finish that, Goku" he said annoyedly. "After all, who's fault is it that I'm in this situation?"

Goku rubbed the back of his head abashedly. "Right, sorry King Kai. If it makes you feel any better, I'm close to having enough credits to have Grand Kai get you a new planet! It should only take a few more weeks."

King Kai stepped back and huffed. "I'm still dead you know" he mumbled. His face twitched, and a small grin came upon his face. "That's good news, Goku. You may be kind of a dummy at times, but I'm grateful you spent all this time trying to fix your mistake."

"Mistake?" Piccolo asked.

"Did you never get told?" Pikkon interjected. "Goku came to this world with that cockroach of a biodroid as he was self destructing. It killed the North Kai, the inhabitants of his world, Goku himself, and the Kai's planet in the process."

Goku scratched his head a little harder. "I was just tryna save the Earth, you know, and everyone on it."

"And killing the god who watches your entire quadrant in the process…" King Kai mumbled.

Pikkon looked over to Goku. "Back to the point" he said. "Did Yemma give Piccolo here permission to join us on the Grand Kai's world?"

"Nah, not now, anyways" Goku said as he slowly frowned. "I think he's going to anyways, but he can't allow it until he judges Piccolo officially. He says he's kinda swamped right now."

"I don't envy Yemma's job right now, that's for sure" King Kai grunted in agreement. "Literally all Hell broke loose, it's going to take a while to straighten everything out."

"So training's postponed, I guess" Piccolo grunted.

"Hey, not necessarily" Goku said, traces of a grin creeping onto his face. "I know a way we can pass the time and get some training in until Yemma's ready."

Piccolo looked at Goku expectantly, while Pikkon looked exasperatedly at Goku. "Seriously? You go down to poke the dragon in the eye almost weekly, don't you think that's a little rude, even considering them?"

"Oh come on, they do most of the instigating" Goku laughed. "It's just good training to fight back."

"Care to enlighten me?" Piccolo asked.

With a sigh, Pikkon turned first. "Goku has a habit of diving into Hell for some, rather unfriendly sparring matches with most of the denizens down there. He shows up, they dogpile, and he claps them around for a good hour or so before making his way back up here."

"It's kinda funny to watch, even if it's not politically correct to do" King Kai snorted.

"Fighting the likes of Cell and Frieza? Is that even wise, Goku?" Piccolo asked. "I thought if your spirit body was destroyed, you cease to exist. Isn't that what you told Vegeta?"

"Not entirely true, Piccolo" King Kai stepped in. "That's mostly just the case with a corporeal spirit body, one adjusted to be out in the real world, like what Goku and Vegeta used to fight Buu a while back" he explained. "I mean, I guess Janemba could have destroyed you too, but he was flipping the laws of reality on their head already, that could hardly be considered a normal circumstance."

"Even if one of them does you in, you really just… go into oblivion for a bit, then come back after a few minutes" Goku said, shuddering slightly. "It's not the most pleasant thing, it happened to me a few times early on, but it's still good training. Besides, whenever you're done, I can just use Instant Transmission to get us out of there."

Piccolo looked at Goku oddly for a moment, before closing his eyes and letting out a chuckle. "Always the battle jockey, Goku" he remarked. Opening them, he locked eyes with Goku. "Spirit bodies have less strain, right? You said something about Super Saiyan 3 being easier in Otherworld."

"Mmmhmm" Goku nodded. "It's kinda neat, good for kinda learning how those harder things feel."

"Good" Piccolo replied. "That means I won't have to worry as much if I want to begin honing the Kaioken on those creeps."

"Oh, you've been putting my technique to work?" King Kai asked. "How's it been treating you?"

"I've really only used it the once, right before I came here" he replied. "Any fight I could have used it in, like against Frieza, or 17, I couldn't risk it. Buu was too powerful to even bother, the gap was too massive. I never trained myself in it much after leaving, and the power wouldn't have been worth destroying my body if I couldn't finish things." He clenched his fist. "But when I saw all those cretins appear on the Earth, I knew I couldn't hold back if I wanted to make a difference. I caught a bit of why Goku favored it so much in the old days. If I can master it, perhaps I can be more helpful in any future battles."

"Heh, people always underestimate me" King Kai said, a hint of ego shining in his voice. "Just because I'm not that strong myself doesn't mean I can't cook up some real humdingers."

Piccolo nodded to King Kai, then looked to Goku. "Let's do it. It'll be good practice, and I have a feeling smacking a couple of the bastards who killed me around is going to be pretty cathartic right about now."

Capsule Corp

Tap, tap, tap

With a grunt, Vegeta's eyes cracked open. Through the thick greenish-blue liquid, he saw the distorted face of his wife looking down at him. He smacked his fist to the inner side of the chamber, allowing the fluid to begin to drain. As the healing serum lowered past his eyes, his vision cleared, and he was able to see the detail of his wife's face more clearly. His own brow furrowing, he locked eyes with her. "What has you so bothered, woman?" he asked, voice echoing through the pipe.

A distressed Bulma sighed. "Trunks woke up a little bit ago, but he rushed out. I don't know what happened, or where he's going" she said. "Vegeta, you need to find him and figure out what's up. You know I can't-"

Cut off by the sudden flood of healing fluid and the crack as the dome was forced open while it was still locked, the gust of wind and splattering of liquid buffeting her as Vegeta shot out and took off sprinting down the hall.

Minor scrapes were all that remained of his prior injuries, nothing that could begin to impair the Saiyan prince's movement. The new yet familiar energy wasn't as far off as he was led to believe by Bulma's worries. In fact…

Vegeta burst from the hallway, onto the expansive grounds of the Capsule Corporation facilities. Floating through the air, he alighted down near the lake, his arrival sending gentle ripples across the surface. Peering into the water, without glancing…

"Trunks" he grunted.

"F-Father…" the young man kneeling beside him muttered.

Scowling, Vegeta turned and looked down. "Pick yourself up, boy, you're disgracing your heritage in such a position" he barked.

"I'm not worthy of it" Trunks muttered.

His scowl deepened, and he grabbed the back of the youth's jacket. "I told you to get up, no son of mine will lower himself to such desolation. Put aside your emotions, and rise." He released his grip, letting Trunks fall and catch himself on his legs. "Now, what has you down in the dirt?"

The future demi Saiyan tightened a fist at the question, and you wouldn't have to be an energy sensor to detect the power swirling beneath the surface. "Calm yourself, boy" Vegeta said warningly.

"Father, I was too weak" he grunted, falling to the ground and sinking his fist into the mud on the edge of the lake. "I was too weak, and everyone paid for it…"

"Weakness is not something to lament" Vegeta said sharply. "You shouldn't mourn your weakness. You use your weakness as motivation to shed it, nothing more. That's what it means to be of royal blood. You're not weak. You're just not as strong as you can be."

With every word, the chaotic force dwelling within Trunks began to simmer and calm. The shaking receded, and he let out a breath. Pulling himself back up, he rubbed his eyes, before nodding, whilst not quite facing Vegeta. "Thank you, father" he said.

"Hmm" Vegeta grunted. "Now, do you want to fill me in? If not what your emotional breakdown was about, I think knowing why you're back again would be sufficient information to ask for."

Trunks shifted, his hair moving ever so slightly, revealing a rather nasty looking scar beneath the mop, almost directly over his right temple. "Like I said…" he said, voice dejected. "I was too weak to protect my world."

"So you need to grow stronger again, then" Vegeta shot. "You require the strength to defeat this foe as you needed for the Androids in your time."

"No" Trunks said. "I can't… Can't…"

"Can't what, boy?" Vegeta asked. "Spit it out."

"Strength won't help me, not any more" Trunks said as his voice broke slightly. "It won't help me save my world. My world… it's gone."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Gone?"

"A monster attacked my world" Trunks said. "We thought we had time to prepare, but it wasn't enough. It arrived, and obliterated anything. There's nothing left."

Vegeta turned to face his son completely, face betraying surprise. "Then why are you here?" he asked.

"It was the last wish of my mother" Trunks said, coughing slightly as his voice broke again. "She sent me and my partner back to live, while everything… everything burned."

Vegeta grimaced. "We got lucky here. Majin Buu almost did the same to our world-"

"It wasn't Majin Buu" Trunks said.

Vegeta blinked, and blinked again. "What? You defeated Majin Buu?"

Trunks shook his head. "I stopped his resurrection. I was able to keep Dabura and Babidi from going through with their plans, and took them down before they could awaken him."

"Then what monster could have-"

"Please" Trunks said, raising a hand. "I don't want to remember… that thing yet." He shuddered. "I lost everyone and everything I ever knew…" He rubbed his shoulder. "We only got away because, someone who had already lost more than I, gave his life to let us escape."

Flashbacks of his life under Frieza's rule darted through his mind, proving a shudder to run through his own body. "I understand" he grunted. "Take the time you require to tell us about this monster. Hopefully, it's one we've already felled, and we don't have to worry about in the future." Raising an eyebrow, he took a more inspecting look at his alternate timeline son. "Speaking of the future, how come your machine wrecked? I was under the impression that time travelling was decidedly less violent."

"Honestly, I don't know" Trunks admitted. "We were aiming for… well, I hope we're in the right time, anyways. Anyways, once we jumped past our time, we neared here, and there was an anomaly. We made it through, but barely intact, there was something wrong with the universal fabric around here that really made it a challenge."

"Janemba…" he growled.

"Uh…" Trunks looked at his father oddly. "What?"

"Just this morning we got done fighting a demon who was warping reality" Vegeta said. "His presence may very well have been the reason for your crash landing. It was a good thing we obliterated it when we did."

Trunks nodded, before his eyes widened a bit. "Wait, the crash, I need to go back to it. We have-"

"Nonsense, boy, I already recovered your belongings, and the time machine" Vegeta told him. "They were lying in the recovery room, which I assumed you missed as you stormed out."

"Oh…" Trunks simply said, abashedly.

Vegeta jerked his head back towards the compound. "Come now, the woman was fretting over you. Besides, this time, I'm sure our version of you will be old enough to want to meet you. Besides, I assume you'll want to check on the one you brought with you."

Mount Paozu

"Hey, do you smell that?"

Videl shot Sharpner an annoyed glare. "The rainstorm brewing above us, that ozone smell from the lightning, or the overwhelming pine scent?" she asked.

"No, not that" Sharpner shook his head. "I think I smell… smoke?"

"Smoke? It's too stormy out for there to be a forest…" Videl slowed as she realized what he was saying.

"In this area? I don't see a fire, so that must mean-"

"There are people nearby" Videl finished, taking a deep breath of her own, and indeed detecting the faint scent of smoke on the air. She turned about, trying to find which direction it was coming from. "I think it's this way."

Working their way through the natural maze that made up the wild regions of Mt. Paozu, the pair followed the scent of smoke lingering in the air. They were lucky, not encountering any dangerous wildlife, though much of it had likely taken shelter during the fierce windstorm. As the scent grew stronger, the trees grew thinner, and a light shone through them.

"Hey, there's a house there" Videl noticed. The structure was almost spherical in nature, with various offshoots forming a more classic building size. "I think we found him!"

"I don't care if it's his place or someone else's" Sharpner admitted. "I just want to get out of this mess."

Internally forced to agree with Sharpner, the two of them pushed ahead, emerging fully from the trees and walking across the clear plains leading up to the house. Her legs began to feel heavier after their long hike, but she was more than capable of pushing the rest of the way, until they were right before the front door.

Sharpner looked around the frame. "No doorbell" he noticed. "I guess we knock?"

Ahead of her blonde friend, Videl reached out and rapped her knuckles smartly against the wooden door, her sharp knocks ringing out across the empty area. Stepping back, she and Sharpner cleared the doorway, and watched it intently. A moment passed, and nothing changed.

And another moment.

And another…

Sharpner frowned. "Is anyone even in this place?" he asked.

"There's smoke" Videl reminded him.

"I mean, yeah, but maybe they just wanted to keep their place warm. I don't see a car here, maybe they had to go somewhe-"

A creaking noise interrupted him, as light poured over them. "Hello?" a young, squeaky voice asked.

The two looked back to the house, and Videl started. "S-Son Goku?" she asked.

The young boy in the doorway could have won the award for the Son Goku lookalike contest. Save for maybe a slight change in proportions, he was a carbon copy of the younger Son Goku from the history books.

The kid in the doorway shook his head, a goofy, endearing smile adorning his face. "Nope, my name's Goten" he said. "What are you guys doing way out here?"

I can't help but feel I ended that a bit abruptly, but really, that's where I intended to end it all along. Oh well, I tried my hardest to make it a little less abrupt.

So, yeah, Trunks is back! And he has a girl with him, one most of you probably recognize from her brief description. But, I want to make something clear right off the bat. They ain't here because of Black. Nope, there aren't any green body snatching gods screaming about ningens around here. I teased what happened, and while I tried to make it subtle… my attempts at subtlety haven't been the most subtle so far, heh…

Anyways, yeah, laptop repairs and general business postponed this chapter for a while, but it's out now. Hope it was everything you hoped for, and even if it wasn't, I hope it was a serviceable holdover for the future.

Trunkssan776 - your name leads me to believe you have certain interests that made it more obvious to you, but like I said, my subtlety lacks subtlety, heh heh.

Tsukimine12 - not a foe, just a time travelling swordsman, so you know, normal stuff. And I'm not gonna say anything about the voice in Gohan's head for a little while, that has to do with the future.

I'mAAnimeMaster - thanks, I'm glad you appreciate that. I'm not the best at creating massive, sprawling worldscapes, but I try where I can. He's a god, he has to have some abilities over ruling the planet, right?

ILiekFishes - Heh, he just noted that something slipped through the barrier he was trying to hold together. The golden body was the time machine, Trunks was crawling out of it at the end of the chapter. So… I dunno, 2?

inFamousSlyMonkey - I never had major long term plans with Zangya, sorry to say. And don't worry, I've been thinking long and hard about the future of this story. Was it merely worldbuilding? Or was or foreshadowing… insert diabolical laugh here

Anyways, that's all for now. Reviews are my main motivation, so feel free to drop them down for the sake of my future chapters, and I hope you're sticking around if you're just starting out. Holy shit guys, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would land just shy of 1,000 follows, when we're not even close to halfway done yet! You're making me blush, honestly, I didn't think it was THAT good.

We have a little more confrontation coming in the next chapter, and after that, we can start moving forward again. I mean, it's what, some time around noon in the story, for a day that started literally at the end of chapter 7? Half the story ago? Sheesh, sorry for dragging that out, hehe. We'll get moving soon, but you'll have to wait until then.

So for now, all I got to say is, cya guys later!