Happy New Years! And late Christmas... and- oh you know the stuff.
First update of 2019. Yeah, I know it's been a bit of a longer wait than normal, sorry about that, but I've been neglecting my other active story, so I needed to set aside the time to churn something out for it, and then this part wouldn't write itself.
That being said, we're back. I have one quick announcement to make, however.
As this chapter marks the point in the story where both the present, Kid Trunks, and Future Trunks appear commonly, and together, I will be setting up a poll on my profile, for just a small detail. To differentiate between the two of them, I want to know whether you want me to call present Trunks 'Kid Trunks', or to call Future Trunks… well, 'Future Trunks'. The other would be just referred to as Trunks, of course
The choice would only be applicable for when the two are in the same scene together. If there's a moment between Future Trunks and Gohan, for example, he will just be referred to as Trunks, as long as present Trunks isn't… present. For this chapter, I'll be doing enough so that it's easy to tell the difference, but depending on poll results, I'll edit future usage from the next chapter onwards.
I know a number of stories have referred to Future Trunks as Mirai or Mirai Trunks, but introducing Japanese terms and honorifics has always been something that… well, it's not too bad, but I find it unnecessary. So, no Mirai for my story. Either Kid Trunks or Future Trunks will be used as a way to identify the two when the appear simultaneously.
Anyways, that's all for now. You ready to read?
Chapter 16 - Tall Tales
After sweeping the area to make sure no one was around, Gohan dropped like a stone, slowing himself as he neared the ground so he landed lightly on the lawns of Capsule Corporation. A light breeze rolled across the expansive lawn, rustling the grass.
It was a welcome change to the inside of his room that had been all he had seen for the past while, more so than the city had been. Bulma may be a technical genius and inventor of the mechanical variety, but even she made sure she had some nature nearby.
Gohan strolled across the lawn towards the living quarters where Bulma's family lived. He was already running a little late after his encounter with Videl back in Satan City. Even if his mom had told him to take all the time he needed, and Videl had let him go long before he thought she would, he was still delayed from when he had planned to be there earlier.
He was about twenty feet away when it happened. Something flickered around the edge of his senses. His body tensed, and in his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of light on either side of him. Two blasts, closing in on him.
His aura sparked to life as he shot a hand out to either side of him. "KYAH!" he roared, his aura pouring into each hand before rocketing out as a powerful kiai. The waves of force slammed through either attack effortlessly, dispersing them. He stayed on guard, sensing two energies in the area, but relaxing as he recognized one of them. "Alright Trunks, come on out now."
"You see?! I told you he was super strong!" Trunks said as he bounded out from behind the bush he was hiding in. His hair was raised and glowing in typical Super Saiyan fashion.
"I never said I doubted you, you know" a new voice said from his other side. Gohan turned around, and nearly lost his composure when he saw who was standing across from him.
"T-Trunks?" Gohan stuttered.
"Hey Gohan, it's been a long time" the Trunks from the future said as he crossed the lawn.
Gohan blinked, getting over his shock before a large smile formed on his face. "I'll say it's been!" he agreed. He reached out and clasped Trunks' hand as he drew near. "It's been a good seven years by this point."
"Gooohaaaaan! The future me is so cool!" the younger Trunks exclaimed. "He's super strong and he has a cool sword!"
The Trunks standing nearest to Gohan laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, the little me hasn't exactly left me alone" he said.
"He's excitable that way, you should see the disaster that happens when he gets together with Goten…" Gohan chuckled. "Oh, wait, you don't know about Goten, he-"
"Actually, Father told me" the elder Trunks said. "I was pretty surprised, I didn't figure that you'd have a little brother."
"I think he surprised Mom too" Gohan said. "Speaking of, I assume you're the reason she wanted me to come over."
"Yeah, Mother and Chi-Chi wanted to surprise you" he nodded. "But they didn't want you over right away because you were hurt. What exactly…"
"It's a long story. Tell you what, I'll trade you mine for how things have been going back home for you" Gohan offered, not expecting Trunks' face to fall as it did.
"Oh… uh, sure, I need to tell you anyways" he said rather sullenly.
Cocking his head to the side, Gohan had a sense of foreboding. "Is everything…"
"No, not really" Trunks said. "Let's just say I'm here to stay for now. I'll tell you in a bit." He shook off whatever he was feeling and put on a weak smile. "Come on, I'm sure your mom will want to see you before too long. She's been here for a week and if she's half of how she was before, then I know she'll be dying to see you."
Satan City - Later
"I'm not sure if… I'll think about it."
"I wonder why he was so hesitant to answer" Videl wondered.
Videl was flying her jetcopter, sweeping the city really fast on one more patrol before she went to meet with Sharpner and Erasa. Though so far, she had been right in her assumption. After Saiya- Gohan, had made an appearance earlier to stop that armored truck, anyone who had anything malicious in mind seemed to be lying low for the time being. Which made sense, given what they believed.
Flashback
"What do you mean you didn't stop it?!"
The crowd was in an uproar as Hercule appeared on stage, in front of the camera. He still exuded a sense of bravado as always, but someone who knew him could detect the slight bit of unease within him.
"I mean exactly what I said" Hercule said stoically. "I am afraid that the attack caught me off guard as much as anyone else, and I found myself wounded before I could retaliate."
He motioned to his leg, which the camera panned in on, and indeed, there were bandages wrapped around his leg.
"Come to think of it, he didn't get up the entire time while I was home, or when I tried to leave" Videl had thought, realizing that the injury probably wasn't falsified.
"I do not know who they were, or what reasons the terrorists had for attacking our city" Hercule continued. "But this time, I wasn't the hero who saved you all."
"Then who did?!" someone in the audience yelled out, the question rapidly being repeated by more of them.
Hercule raised a hand, silencing the room quickly. "I cannot take the credit, but I know who was responsible for saving you all, and myself." He cleared his throat. "On the day of the attack, the one who goes by 'The Great Saiyaman' here was the one to repel the attackers."
The interview had gone on for some time following the revelation, but that was the big piece of news on everyone's mind. Their indomitable Champion hadn't even played a role in saving the city. Rather, it was the goofy, controversial vigilante who had repelled an entire 'terrorist attack' by himself.
Having given him the credit that, trick or not, he was able to use his abilities to drive out the villains (couldn't shake calling those powers of his 'a trick,' though she was able to see the necessity behind it now), and admitting to his own weakness in the time, went surprisingly well for him. Made him appear more humble and honest in the eyes of his followers and the people of the city, that he was willing to admit to a weak moment and not taking the credit for something everyone had assumed he had accomplished (ironic).
The news spread like wildfire. Even if he was a 'trickster', Gohan had used his powers to fight off an entire terrorist attack (or so they believed, Videl knew that what he had dealt with was leagues above a simple terrorist attack). Him showing up today would be enough to scare most of the more criminally minded population of the city shitless for at least the rest of the day, if not a few more following.
And for once, she didn't mind the existence of Saiyaman taking some of the workload off of her plate.
She landed in front of Sharpner's house (Erasa was able to come over, since some time had passed and she hadn't left her family to worry as she went off for a 24 hour adventure) and went through the process of shutting down her transportation. Pocketing the now capsulated vehicle, she went up and rapped on the door. Standing around for a few moments, she soon heard the distant call of "Coming!" and the thump of footsteps. The door was opened moments later by a familiar blonde haired individual. "Oh, hey Videl" Sharpner said. "Didn't expect you to get here so soon."
Videl shrugged. "There's not exactly much air traffic around here, you know."
Another head of blonde hair appeared behind him. "Videl!" Erasa squeaked, rushing over and trapping her best friend in a hug, which was lightly returned. "Oh, how have you been? How has Gohan been? You saw him, right? Was he okay? Was he-"
"Kami, I can't answer questions that fast, Erasa!" Videl exclaimed, raising her hands placatingly.
Sharpner beckoned her in. "Come on, let's head up to my room. You did say something about Gohan, right?"
Videl sighed. "Yeah, I managed to corner him earlier" she said. "We talked, and he said I could tell you guys."
"Well what are we waiting for!? Let's go!" Erasa exclaimed, rushing back into the house, much to the surprise of the raven haired Satan.
"She's… energetic" she commented.
"She's also been worried out of her mind, since she hasn't seen Gohan" Sharpner said. "With the school shut down for repairs for the next few weeks he hasn't exactly had reason to show up either..." he paused, looking uncomfortable. "Was Gohan…"
"Gohan seemed fine" Videl assured him. "If not how I expected."
Sharpner seemed satisfied enough with that. "Well, come on in. I want to hear what else you learned about him… Man, I feel like a real dick for treating him like a common nerd now."
"We all thought that's all he was" Videl shrugged as she stepped past him. "And that was how he wanted to be seen."
"Why would anyone want to be just that?"
"I'll tell you two when we're together."
Capsule Corp
"Wow, I'm… I'm sorry, Trunks."
Trunks sighed. "It's fine, Gohan, wasn't your fault anyhow."
Gohan stood up. "Maybe not, but you saved our timeline, we should have at least had a chance to save yours in return" he argued.
Shaking his head, Trunks sank back. "I don't think any of you could have defeated this monster. We had every advantage we could come up with, and he still crushed us. Even with how strong Father said you guys have become, I doubt it would have done much but get you killed as well."
Gohan gritted his teeth. "I still wish you had at least asked us. After all, you haven't seen what we've become capable of."
"Father showed me-"
"Trunks, I don't mean any disrespect, but I far outclass Vegeta right now" Gohan pressed.
"I heard that, brat!" Vegeta's distant roar echoed from the gravity chamber.
"YOU WERE MEANT TO!" Gohan shouted back, before sighing. "Sorry Trunks…"
"No, I get it" Trunks said tiredly. "You still got that will to fight. To save people. I'm… really glad that you still do, Gohan."
Gohan lowered his hands. "You say that like you don't… Trunks?"
Trunks buried his face in his hands. "That's just it" he said, in possibly the most defeated tone Gohan had ever heard. "I wouldn't be here if I had held onto that will."
"Trunks…"
"That monster… nothing we could do had any effect on it. No matter how hard we fought, no matter what advantage of ours we exploited over it, we never got anything that could even slow him down" Trunks said. "Days it went on… and every time we failed, someone died. Usually a lot of people. If I had kept that drive, whether my mom wanted it or not, I would have never ran away like I did…"
Satan City
"The p-p-p-p-p…"
"That's what he said" Videl said, sighing. "Knowing Gohan, and what I saw of him, I'm not doubting it either."
"This ki stuff is real, and Cell was able to wipe out an entire military force in an instant" Sharpner said, laying back. "Gohan's stronger than Cell… but, the planet? Gohan? Brains?"
"I have a feeling that's only the tip of the iceberg" Videl said. "After all, he said it would be 'effortless' if he wanted to do it."
The deployed bomb had its desired effect of striking everyone in the room dead silent. "He said that he wouldn't, if not for his actually liking the planet and being a good person, he couldn't do it without killing himself in the process" she said, remembering how he had defused her reaction. "From the sound of it, he only made himself this powerful for the purpose of protecting the planet, so I don't think he'll be responsible for destroying it any time soon."
Sharpner leaned back, Erasa didn't seem to be reacting at all and appeared to be shocked still. "Okay, this is kinda heavy…" Sharpner muttered. "I knew Brains was strong, but… that? I thought that kind of stuff was for the movies, not real life!"
"My dad's just lucky that they knew how to brush things off…" Videl huffed. "The way he went on and on, degrading them and their accomplishments… they could have murdered him in broad daylight and gotten away with it clean if they wanted."
Yes, there was no doubt in her mind that Gohan, or probably anyone in his group (he most definitely didn't show up alone at the Cell Games) could leave her father nothing but a scorch mark on the ground if they desired it. There was so much she didn't understand about the type of group Gohan was in. Even the most calm and level headed individual would sure try to get some sort of payback after seven years of having your name spit on. Sure, they had their reasons for staying hidden and under the radar, but all the same, she knew that they could have done something. They had all the means in the world to do so, and even if they still wanted to remain off the grid, they likely had the intelligence to do it without ever getting caught.
"Just another thing to ask him about, I guess" she thought. "It's bound to have crossed his mind at one point or another."
"Before he left, I asked if he could train me" Videl lead on. "But he got really weird and fidgety when I asked him."
"Hold up" Sharpner said, shaking his head. "You're asking someone else, to train you?!"
"Yeah, and?" Videl asked warningly.
"...Nothing" Sharpner said. "But why do you think he was weird when you asked him?"
Videl rubbed her head. "Honestly, I don't know. I thought he had trained his friend, that Lime girl. I'm not entirely sure why he'd hesitate with me." Hurt wasn't the right word, but it was the closest she could figure how to explain her feelings.
"Nowadays, a lot of people are more disbelieving, and mostly just look out for themselves, not just the villains either..."
"Imagine if Ki was something widespread. That same person who wanted to take their bad day out on somebody level a city block, or at least an entire building, people and all."
"Does… does he really think I'll abuse that power if I learned it?"
Capsule Corp.
"You know in my time, my worries usually extended to which city the Androids planned to slaughter next. Not whether a normal girl was going to call me out on something" Trunks said, a trace of a smile playing across his face.
Gohan scowled. "Come on, Trunks, it may not be life or death, but it could have been bad for my life" he argued. "And mom, and Goten, and all our friends."
"I'm just teasing, Gohan" Trunks said. "Although after what I've been through, it's a little harder to take it as seriously."
"That's… completely fair" Gohan sighed.
The two had gone for a walk across the Capsule Corporation lawn. The Gravity Chamber wasn't situated very far away from the living room, and it was rather annoying to be barked at from Vegeta whenever he felt like interjecting (Gohan's senses were higher than he assumed most human's senses were, but it must have been even more extreme for pure Saiyans like Vegeta for him to be picking up on what they were saying).
Trunks crossed his hands behind his head and looked up as they walked. "So this girl is the daughter of that overconfident guy from the Cell Games that took your credit?" he asked.
Gohan nodded. "Yeah, Videl Satan, Hercule's daughter" he affirmed. "She's a pretty good fighter in her own right, for someone who doesn't know how to harness their energy. She's even a bit stronger than her father by now."
"That's a low hurdle to jump" Trunks mumbled, remembering the guy from seven years back. "Though I suppose not for a normal human."
"She has a streak for justice on her" Gohan continued. "I'm not sure if it's just because she was raised thinking she was the daughter of a hero and had shoes to fill, but either way, even now that she knows that her father didn't beat Cell, she hasn't let up. She, uh, doesn't like being lied to either… she singled me out the day I showed up at school."
Trunks huffed. "Well, you're sort of too honest to tell that believable of a lie" he pointed out.
"What?! That's not true, I can totally tell a lie!" Gohan argued.
"Watch" Trunks said simply.
"Watch what?" Gohan asked.
Trunks shook his head. "No, watch" he said. "My dad told me you tried to cover the Dragon Radar as a watch when you all were on Namek."
Gohan blushed as he recalled that, calling the device almost the size of his head a timepiece. "How did Vegeta even remember that?"
"He bought it for a moment, then figured it out within the next couple hours, as he told me" Trunks continued. "Judging by the sound of it, your abilities to tell a lie haven't improved that much."
Huffing, Gohan looked down. "Fine, I guess you're right" he muttered.
Trunks took a sideways glance at Gohan's pout before chuckling, drawing the dark haired demi-Saiyan's attention. "What is it?"
"Nothing, I just…" Trunks trailed off. "You're so much different from my master in so many ways, and yet in some ways, you're exactly the same" he said. "I wonder if you would have been like this in my time if the androids hadn't shown up, if our world had turned out more like this one..."
There really wasn't any way to respond to what was being said, as the two continued their walk in silence for some time. Besides a slight breeze and the distant rumble and honking of cars in the distance, it was mostly silent out.
Gohan let his mind wander, before settling on a specific point. "Oh, I need to thank you" he said suddenly.
Trunks let his head go and stopped to look at Gohan. "Thank me? For what?"
"That bit of sword fighting you taught me" Gohan said. "It probably saved my life the other day."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, one of my arms was shot, but I got a sword away from one of the guys who were attacking me" Gohan explained. "If I didn't know how to use a sword in a fight like that, I might have lost that one."
Trunks raised his eyebrows. "Oh, well I'm glad it was useful for you" he said. "Who was it you were fighting?"
"Right then, it was Bojack and one of his crew. I'm not sure who it was, I don't remember any of them having a sword before" Gohan said.
Trunks' eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, Kogu" he said.
"Kogu?"
"He was the one that was matched up with me in that tournament back then" Trunks said. "He tried using his sword on me before I took him out. Bojack blindsided me after I defeated him, but that's probably why you didn't recognize him. You never saw him."
"Oh" Gohan said. "That makes sense, I guess."
Trunks nodded. "Anyways, back to what you were saying before, before we got sidetracked that is. You were talking about having a problem with this girl?"
Gohan slumped. "Oh, right" he said. "Well, she found out a lot about me, a lot I told her, but…"
"But what?" Trunks pushed.
"Well, she asked me to train her" Gohan said. "To use her ki and become a warrior, like us."
"Okay, and…" Trunks said, egging him on.
"That's the problem" Gohan said. "I'm not sure if I should train her."
"Problem? I don't see a problem with that" Trunks said, confused. "You said she's got a sense of justice, you don't think she'd abuse her power, right?"
"No, that's not it" Gohan denied. "No, it's… it's complicated."
"The main reason is, well, you know that old saying? 'With great power comes great responsibility'? Well, that actually tends to apply to us. Every time a threat has come to the planet, basically anyone with power gets dragged into it. No matter what, how strong they are, any of that. When the Androids showed up, all of us went to the fight, when only about three of us had the power to do anything. Against Cell, even when I was the only one left with enough power to stop Cell, after he killed you, everyone attacked Cell, and he blew them away like it was nothing. Even when Buu showed up, Krillin and Tien both had to try to take him on on their own, just because they were the only ones capable of doing anything in that moment, no matter how little."
"Videl… she charges right into entire mobs of criminals armed to their teeth with guns, with nothing but her fists on her. If I brought her into our world, I feel like she'd come into situations where she'd have to charge into something that would kill her. Even if it wasn't something that she would have to do as a warrior of the planet, I know she'd do it anyways, because she'd have the means to attempt something."
"And you know, the enemies we're facing aren't exactly getting any weaker. I don't know what it is, but every enemy to come to Earth has been stronger than the last. Frieza was much more dangerous than your father was, then the Androids made him look tame, and Cell made the Androids appear like nothing. Dabura was at least as strong as Cell, if not stronger, and Buu came along with the power to destroy the universe. No enemy that comes our way is going to be something she can reasonably take on if this keeps up, and I don't know if I'll always be there to save her."
Gohan caught his breath as he finished off his rant of worries. The two had stopped moving for the moment, and Trunks let everything Gohan had spewn out sink in. "I see where you're coming from, Gohan" Trunks said. "But I also see something else."
"What is it?" Gohan asked.
"Whenever this next threat comes to Earth, Videl is aware of your world and what whatever threat it is will mean. Do you think, if she's as passionate about this as you say, that her not having any power at all is going to change whether or not she tries something?"
Gohan's eyes widened, but Trunks wasn't done yet. "If she wasn't able to do anything, she'd just be completely defenseless, right? The way I see it, now that she's aware of the life you lead, there's no real point in not teaching her, because this way, when that next threat comes, she'll at least have some measure of defending herself, right?"
"I…" Gohan said, trailing off. "I didn't think about it that way…" he admitted.
"Different life, different outlook" Trunks shrugged.
Gohan nodded. "Yeah, you're… you're completely right Trunks. I didn't look at the situation that way before… I guess that settles it."
Satan City - Later
The day had been trying, to say the least, but at least it was about over.
She had spent hours over at Sharpner's place with the two of them, going over what they had learned about their resident enigma. She still got the feeling that it hadn't quite sank in, and quite honestly, it hadn't sank in for her either. The extent of the iceberg she had uncovered that was Son Gohan's secret identity was too big for her to comprehend right now.
Landing outside the hotel she was staying at, she capsulized her jet copter and walked inside, still in a bit of a daze, her mind never ceasing in working a mile a minute. She had a feeling she was going to have trouble sleeping that night.
She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she almost didn't notice the concierge flagging her down. "Miss Satan!" broke through her murky head, jarring her out of her thoughts and bringing her back to the present.
"What is it?" she asked a bit more snappishly than she intended to.
The young man ran up to her. "My apologies, Miss Satan, but I have a note for you."
"A note?" she asked.
The man nodded, fishing a small slip of paper out of his pocket. "Right here, madame" he said, handing it to her. "A young man came by earlier and dropped it off for you."
Videl blinked, perplexed. "Oh, uh, thank you" she said.
"No problem, Miss Satan, please enjoy your evening" the concierge said, retreating back to the office.
When he was gone, Videl resumed making her way towards the elevator, which opened right away when she pressed the button. Stepping inside, she hit the button for her floor, letting the doors close behind her as she began moving up.
Her curiosity grew as she turned the note in her hands. It was only a small piece of paper, folded in two. As the ride up began, she unfolded it and brought it up to eye level. It was short, as she had predicted, and the handwriting was very familiar.
"Gohan" she thought, shocked. She wasn't even sure how he knew where she was, it's not like she had told him. Deciding to ponder that later, she read the contents.
"Sorry about earlier, Videl, I had some things I had to think about, but a friend helped me sort them out. If you're still interested in training, I'd be happy to do my best and help teach you.
Sincerely, Gohan"
Videl read the note over two or three times, only stopping when the doors opened in front of her. Clutching the note in her hand, she felt a warm feeling bubble in her chest, and a smile spread across her face.
"I had some things to think about"
She definitely planned to ask him what things. She hoped that it wasn't trust issues like she had worried, but right now, those thoughts were the furthest from her mind.
All she could think about was learning from Gohan. Learning the super strength, the laser blasts, and perhaps the most exciting part…
"I'm going to be able to fly."
Aaaaaaaalright, sorry about that folks, that did take a little longer than I had intended for it it. Holidays were… well, they were hectic to say the least, and my free time didn't exactly help me, considering this chapter didn't want to be written.
Speaking of the chapter, I'm sorry that you had to wait this long for this shorter bit. This was meant to be a filler chapter, but I was hoping for it to be a bit longer. Sadly, there just wasn't the content for it.
On the bright side, we're going into one of the parts I'm most excited to right. The Training Arc (good lord I sound like a damn anime writer… wait a minute…). Remember how Videl's training lasted a couple episodes in the anime? Well, I have some huge expansions I'm excited to try out. This isn't going to be the same old training sequence you're used to (I hope!).
Anyways, the usual, before I go. Hopefully the next few chapters are going to be worth some more reviews, I know these last couple must have been a bit boring.
Iwik - I try to break the stereotypes of these characters. Chi-chi is overbearing, but really she just wants the best for her kids. The fact that in this story, Gohan's pure purpose for going to school is making friends, it only made sense.
inFamousSlyMonkey - you pretty much hit the nail on the head, as I showed by Gohan's little vent session. I will say that I'm going to… let's say not go overboard with how strong Videl gets, though.
Fkanything - It's got a purpose, sorry if it's not to your liking, but I didn't just bring it back for shits and giggles, trust me
SheliaShalia - All in due time, sorry that this chapter wasn't quite as long as the last ones
Anyways, that's about all for now. I will be getting a job quite soon her, so I may have less time than usual to work, but hopefully I can manage some form of consistency for updates in the future as well.
With that, I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope that our upcoming arc will be to your liking!