Chapter Seventy-seven

Goku Returns! An Omen from the Future!

Everyone stared at Goku in open-mouthed astonishment for a moment and she stared back at them. "What's everyone looking–whoa!" Goku's question was interrupted as Gohan and Suno dove down into the crater and tackled her into the dirt.

"Goku!" Suno cried happily as she hugged Goku as tightly as she could.

"Mom!" Gohan exclaimed, burying his face in her stomach. The three hugged and laughed happily as Goku stood back up as effortlessly as if Gohan and Suno weighed nothing at all. She hopped out of the crater and hugged Yamcha, Launch, and Krillin as well. Ten and Chaozu shook Goku's hand eagerly while Chi-Chi and Piccolo gave her polite nods. Only Vegeta and Trunks stayed away from the welcoming party. Once Gohan and Suno finally untangled themselves from Goku, Launch gave Goku a quick punch on the arm.

"Jeez," she teased, "You cut it close, huh?" Goku looked at her curiously as Launch rubbed her knuckles.

"Whaddaya mean?" Goku asked. Bulma pointed over Goku's shoulder to the burning wreckage of Freeza's ship behind her.

"You just missed Freeza and his father, King Cold," Vegeta explained. "You and your stupid mercy almost killed all your friends." As he spoke, Goku turned around to look at the ship, then turned back around and shrugged.

"Huh," she muttered casually, "So that's what I sensed. I was gonna take care of it but, as soon as I noticed it, their ki vanished. Who took out Freeza and his dad? Was it Vegeta or Piccolo?" Then she gasped exuberantly and clapped her hands. "Gohan," she asked excitedly, "Did you turn into a Super Saiyan?"

"No," Gohan admitted awkwardly as he turned back to gesture at Trunks, "He did." Goku looked at Trunks and cocked her head to one side.

"...Who the heck are you?" she asked. Everyone except for Trunks face-faulted, which made Goku laugh and made Trunks smile bashfully.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Yamcha said as Chi-Chi helped him to his feet, "Since he seemed to know you. He knew your name and that you'd show up here today." Goku grinned and walked over to Trunks to shake his hand enthusiastically.

"Hiya there," she greeted excitedly. "So you turned into a Super Saiyan?"

"Y-y-y-yes," Trunks stammered out, his whole body shaking from how eagerly Goku was shaking his hand.

"Neat!" Goku exclaimed. "I didn't know there were any other Saiyans beside me and Vegeta." Suno put her hand on Goku's shoulder to get her to stop shaking Trunk's hand and Trunk's eyes rattled around in his head once she let go.

"There aren't," Vegeta growled. "Except for my brother and another dumb cow but they're at opposite ends of the galaxy. Which is why I want to know what in the nine Hells he is." Trunks shook his head to clear it and blinked a few times to finally clear his vision and focus on Goku again.

"I'll explain everything," Trunks told her, "But first I'd like to speak to you in private."

"What's so secr–" Krillin began to ask before Goku immediately cut him off.

"Okay!" Everyone rolled their eyes and shrugged as Trunks flew off with Goku following behind him. Goku was, if nothing else, usually pretty trusting.

"What the heck is she wearing?" Bulma muttered as they watched the pair fly off.

OoOoOoO

"So what'd you want to–" Goku started to say once they landed before Trunks let out a roar as he immediately transformed into a Super Saiyan and attacked. His sword shone brightly in the sun as he swung it in a lethal arc that bore straight down toward Goku's skull. Goku transformed effortlessly and stopped Trunks' attack with a single finger. Trunks continued his assault undeterred, striking from every angle, moving so fast that he seemed to be everywhere at once. He filled the air with a silvery haze as he struck swiftly and precisely, a whirlwind of destruction and razor-sharp beauty.

Goku, by contrast, never moved from that spot and, in fact, didn't move any part of her body except her right arm. Trunks grabbed his sword in a two-hand grip and swung for Goku's neck with all his might. Goku extended a second finger and caught Trunks' sword mid-swing between her fingertips and effortlessly yanked it from Trunk's hands before casting it aside to stab into the dirt, quivering as it buried nearly to the handle. Trunks stared in bewilderment from his empty hands, to where the sword was, to Goku and back. Her fingers were unharmed. He hadn't even managed to damage her sleeve.

OoOoOoO

The others had been watching all of this with stunned astonishment. Those that had been to Namek were the only ones with even a hope of actually following anything while everyone else saw a pair of golden blurs.

"And that Trunks kid took out Freeza like he was nothing," Launch reminded them, her eyes as big as dinner plates. The others nodded.

"Guess Goku's been training," Krillin remarked, "Wherever she's been." Vegeta watched silently and ground his back teeth.

OoOoOoO

"Are ya done?" Goku asked. Trunks slowly nodded and closed his mouth before he picked his sword back up. He tossed it onto the air and tilted his head slightly to the left as it flipped end over end nearly half a dozen times and slid smoothly back into its sheath. "Hey," she added as she pointed at Trunks' hair, "Does mine do that, too?"

"Y-yes," Trunks stammered out, clearly not expecting that question. Goku grinned and ran a hand through her spiky golden hair.

"Neat!" She powered down and Trunks did the same. "So how do you know my name? And what's yours, anyway?"

"My name is Trunks," Trunks began, "And I know you you are because… I'm from the future." He waited to see Goku's reaction, no doubt expecting some level of skepticism or disbelief.

"Neat," Goku repeated, which made Trunks laugh. His mother had certainly painted an accurate picture of Goku's personality. "So if that movie with the robot from the future Suno liked gives me anything to go by, you're here because something in the future went bad. What happened?" Trunks blinked and stared at Goku for a moment. Between Goku and Gohan, Trunks had clearly underestimated how receptive popular culture had made the concept of time travel. Then he shrugged and started talking.

"I come from twenty years in the future," Trunks explained. "Over the course of the next three years, a series of androids created by Dr. Gero, formerly of the Red Ribbon Army, will be unleashed." Goku frowned at that but didn't say anything out loud because she didn't want to interrupt. Still, she was disappointed to hear that the Red Ribbon Army came back. "After the first five are defeated, Gero attempted to use the Cyborgs 17 and 18, who we called Lapis and Lazuli, to attack us. Thankfully, a confrontation was avoided and we were able to get them on our side. Well, I say 'we' but I was only about a year old at the time."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Goku told him. "So what happened?"

"I'm getting to that," Trunks told her. "These androids aren't the real danger. They're a distraction. The real enemy is a bioandroid named Cell, composed of the genetic material of all those who fought the day of the Saiyan attack, as well as Freeza and his father Cold."

"So it's… like our kid?" Goku asked as she scratched the back of her head, clearly struggling somewhat with the concept.

"That's one way to look at it," Trunks supposed before continuing. "Cell absorbs whole cities before anyone notices, growing stronger with every person it absorbs. It's hard to tell exactly when and where it started but my mother thinks its first attack was in Gingertown. Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Ten, Launch, and Krillin try to fight Cell but it absorbs them, growing stronger still. Eventually, Cell finds Lapis and absorbs him as well, causing a transformation that it called 'Semi-perfect'." Trunks watched Goku's fists tighten with every friend that will die and, already dreading what she will do next, forces himself to press on. "Cell will continue to absorb people, nearly wiping out the human race, before it finds Lazuli at your home, with Suno. It… it absorbs them both."

"And where am I?!" Goku demanded angrily with her fists clenched so fiercely that she could feel nails digging into the flesh of her palms. "How could I allow Cell to do all this? To absorb my friends, my wife? How does this happen?!" Trunks sighed and ran a hand through his blue hair. This was the awkward part.

"Because by the time Cell arrives, you're already dead," he explained. Goku's anger faded slightly and she looked at Trunks in confusion. He knew what she was thinking. 'What could kill me?' "In two years, you'll die of a heart virus that my mother theorizes you contracted from constant exposure to chemicals in the Yardrat atmosphere that are harmful to your biology."

"Oh," Goku muttered as her hands opened again and rested slack at her sides. It wasn't that dying scared her or anything. She'd done that already. It wasn't even being told that she was going to die. People told her that all the time, although usually it was more of a threat. It was more the idea that there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't have anyone to fight or beat up or anything. It wasn't like she could punch a virus. Her fists were way too big! More than that, though, now that she knew what this 'Cell' would do, she hated the idea of leaving everyone to face it themselves and the idea of losing Suno.

"The good news," Trunks went on, "Is that it's only transmittable via fluids and only affects Saiyans. Otherwise everyone here would have caught it from you." Goku didn't seem too impressed by that so Trunks fished in his pants pocket for something. "And the better news," he added as he produced a small bottle of purple liquid, "Is that my mother synthesized a vaccine to combat the virus. If you take it, you shouldn't get sick." Goku grinned immediately and took it eagerly from Trunks' hand.

"Awesome," she declared excitedly. "Man, your mom must be really smart! Who is she?" Trunks smiled bashfully and looked back toward the group.

"She's someone you know very well," Trunks told her. "My mother is–"

OoOoOoO

"What do you think they're talking about?" Chi-Chi asked as they all continued to stare. She wasn't sure how she felt about hanging around like this. She felt like some kind of eavesdropper or a snooping neighbor. Like Gladys, always peeking over their hedge wall to try and steal her turnips. One of these days she was going to catch her and–

"I dunno," Krillin muttered with a shrug, "Super Saiyan stuff." Then he turned to Vegeta and smirked. "Any idea what that kinda stuff might be, 'Bad Man'?" Vegeta growled and a vein twitched in his forehead. The only thing keeping Krillin alive at that moment was the knowledge that Vegeta knew he would never be able to strangle him before Goku got back.

"That Trunks kid looks really familiar," Suno muttered as she scratched her chin, "But I don't know why. Bulma, you got any ideas?" Bulma shook her head.

"We only give those Capsule Corp jackets to employees," she told Suno, "But I have a feeling I'd know if someone like that worked for me." She grinned and bit her lip while Piccolo chuckled to himself and his ears twitched. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing," Piccolo told her dismissively. "Just remembered a joke Moori taught me for some reason." Vegeta drowned them all out and fixed his steely gaze on Kakarot and the strange brat, his ire growing with every second.

OoOoOoO

"Bulma's your mother?!" Goku repeated in astonishment. Trunks nodded, wearing a slightly softer and more amused version of Vegeta's same steely expression. "Wait…" Goku muttered as the gears started to turn in her head. "So I can't be your dad… do any other Saiyans show up in the next couple years?" Trunks shook his head. "And Gohan's way too young. So… so that means that your dad is… is…"

"Yes," Trunks finished for her, "Vegeta is my father." Off in the distance, Piccolo laughed uproariously.

"Jeez," Goku remarked as she rubbed at her chin, "I never really saw Vegeta as the dad type but… eh." She shrugged. "Should I go tell 'em the good news?"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Trunks snapped in the most emotion he'd shown since he'd arrived. He even yelled like Bulma, so forcefully that it blew Goku's hair back. Trunks immediately collected himself and cleared his throat. "I just mean… that's not a good idea. That could irreparably damage the timeline. I might not exist in this time."

Goku nodded. "Okay," she said, "I got it, fair enough." Then she added, "Man, we kinda got off-track there. So what happens after Cell absorbs Lazuli?"

"As you might have guessed from the name," Trunks said, "After it absorbs Lazuli, Cell becomes Perfect. Gohan tries to fight it but, even as a Super Saiyan, neither he nor my father could really damage Cell." That worried Goku more than she thought it would. Being a Super Saiyan seemed like it was the most powerful she would ever be. If two Super Saiyans couldn't defeat this Cell, how strong was it? "While Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta train in hiding, Cell wipes out most of the planet's population and starts replacing it with Cell Jr's, bioandroids like itself. I was about five years old when this started happening. Once they were strong enough, they tried to fight Cell again. All three of them failed. Piccolo and Vegeta were absorbed and Gohan was forced to retreat."

"Which means that there's no Dragon Balls left to wish anyone back," Goku observed sadly. Trunks nodded and continued his tale, although at this point it was clearly getting to the part that was hard for him.

"Gohan started training me while my mother, Bulma, started work on a time machine to try and fix the awful mess that the world had become. The plan was always for Gohan and myself to go back together. That… that didn't work out." Trunks bit his lip and Goku could see his eyes starting to well up. "I… I was stupid and I thought I'd gotten strong enough to fight Cell on my own. I went to one of the last major settlements, Penguin Village, where Cell was attacking. But Gohan knocked me out and went to fight Cell instead, saving my life. When I got there, the village was completely empty and Gohan was… Gohan was…" Trunks thought he'd buried it. The grief, the pain, the loss and the guilt. He thought he had buried it so far down that it couldn't hurt him anymore. But all it took was talking about it one time… "Seeing Gohan caused me to go Super Saiyan," Trunks muttered in a voice thick with sorrow and self-loathing. "If I'd been able to do that before… if I'd been strong enough when he needed me, he might… might st-still be…" Goku put her arms around Trunks and pulled him in for a hug that stunned him into silence. Trunks hugged her back awkwardly, clearly not used to the gesture. He hadn't really ever hugged anyone but his mother. Goku patted his back gently and Trunks' grief subsided.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked softly. Trunks nodded and Goku let him go. "So what're things like in the future now?" she asked gently. Trunks cleared his throat and wiped his eyes before he started speaking again.

"Not good. Myself, my mother, Ocha, and Shouronpo–"

"Wait, who are those last two?"

"Yamcha and Chi-Chi's twins."

"Awww, they had twins? Yay! ...Sorry, keep going."

"We are the only ones left with any chance of defending humanity, or at least what's left of it. I think there are about a thousand people left on the planet, if even that many. So my mother had me go back to the past to see if I could fix the present. Well… my past, your present, my present, your future."

"So if we defeat Cell here," Goku asked, "That means that it won't exist in the future?" Trunks shook his head.

"My mother doesn't think time travel works like that," he explained. "More like by going back in time, I've created a branching path that's separate from my own time."

"So… us beating Cell won't help you?" Goku asked with a clear tint of confusion to her voice.

"No," Trunks admitted, "But there is a way you can help me. Since the principle of time travel will allow me to go back to my own timeline a second after I left it, I was wondering if I could stay here for the time being and maybe train with you, to help you prepare to fight Cell in this timeline and get strong enough to defeat Cell in my own time."

"Sure," Goku told him with an eager grin, "That sounds great! C'mon, let's go tell the others." She flew off with Trunks following quickly behind.

"But don't tell them too much," Trunks reminded her. "I'd like to keep existing, after all."

"Right, right, no problem," Goku assured him. "So… this heart medicine. Is it grape flavored?"

"...Excuse me?"

"I mean, it's purple, right? So it's grape!"

"I… really wouldn't know."

OoOoOoO

Trunks and Goku rejoined the group a few moments later. As soon as Goku opened her mouth, however, Piccolo cut her off.

"Trunks is from the future," he stated matter-of-factly. "He never knew his father. Over the next three years, we're going to be attacked by androids of something called the 'Red Ribbon Army'. Then we're going to fight a bioandroid named Cell and it will kill us all and consume nearly every living thing on this planet. Also, Goku's going to die of a heart virus in less than a year but Trunks gave her some medicine." He looked at Goku and Trunks and smirked. "Did I miss anything?"

"What the… but I… how did… when did you?" Goku stammered out in shock. Trunks made similarly confused almost-sentences and Piccolo chuckled.

"Did you think these were for holding up my turban?" Piccolo asked as he flicked at his big ears. He gave Trunks a knowing look and Trunks was grateful that Piccolo left out the specifics of his parentage. Meanwhile, Suno strode right up to Goku and, despite being shorter than her wife, crossed her arms and gave her best authoritative glare.

"Goku," she told her firmly while tapping her foot, "You're gonna take that medicine right now and you're not getting anything until you do." That particular emphasis let Goku know that Suno wasn't just referring to dinner and she immediately unscrewed the medicine's white cap and chugged its contents. She gagged and shuddered and made a face, even sticking out her tongue.

"Bleh," she groaned, "It's not grape! It tastes awful!"

"Is it worse than dying?" Suno asked.

"No…." Goku admitted reluctantly.

"Wait, sorry, hang on," Krillin interjected, "Back up for a second. Let's get back to the part where this Cell thing kills us all. How do we make that not happen?"

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem," Trunks assured him as he reached into one of the pockets of his jacket. "As long as Cell doesn't absorb Lapis and Lazuli, it won't be strong enough that Goku and m-Vegeta working together won't be able to defeat it if they train." He handed a picture to Krillin and the others crowded around it.

It was a picture of the group, although a few things were different. Goku wasn't there, Gohan was a few inches taller, and there was a pair of black-haired toddlers, presumably Ocha and Shouronpo. Shockingly, Vegeta was in the picture, albeit as far in the background as possible and apparently there under protest, judging by his sour expression. Also there was a young man and woman in the center of the group who looked to be about Trunks' age. The young man was dressed in a black polo shirt with khaki slacks, with an orange bandana around his neck, and green socks just visible between the hem of his his pant legs and his brown wingtip shoes. The young woman was wearing a blue dress, black leggings, a pearl necklace, and a pair of black ballet flats with yellow socks. The pair had almost identical faces, the same icy-blue eyes, the same easy smiles and the same haircuts. Although where his was jet black, hers was an almost platinum blonde.

"I'm guessing that's them?" Tenshinhan asked, tapping the teens in the center of the picture.

"Yes," Trunks told them with a nod. "I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of the androids but they were all destroyed before I was born or when I was very small and I never exactly got any chance to take a picture of Cell."

"Can you give us a description?" Chaozu asked.

"I know its face easily enough," Trunks assured him, "I see it whenever I close my eyes. A green nightmare with wings so black they don't even shine. They just drink up all the light in the world. Pink eyes that catalog every facet of your existence and despise it all. An unstoppable demon with the face of death…" Trunks trailed off when he realized that everyone had taken a step or two away from him and blushed, embarrassed. "S-sorry," he stammered, "I just… it's a serious topic, I guess."

"No worries," Launch assured him with a grin, "We'll just keep an eye out for any green monsters." She gave Piccolo a sidelong glance and smirked. "Present company excluded." Piccolo just rolled his eyes.

"Wait," Chi-Chi interjected, "I'm sorry, I'm confused. If this all hasn't happened yet and this Gero person hasn't actually created these androids, why don't you all fly over and beat him up now?"

"And deny myself a challenge?" Vegeta asked with a scoff. "You are as dense as your husband." Chi-Chi and Yamcha bristled at the shared insult.

"Besides," Gohan added, "We don't even know where this Gero guy is."

"I do," Bulma said. "My dad used to know him. I think he said something about visiting Gero once or twice in some creepy-ass lab out in the mountains near North City. You guys could just fly over there and blow up the whole mountain range."

"I dunno," Goku sighed, "I just don't think I'd feel okay killing a guy who hasn't actually done anything yet."

"Call it a crazy hunch," Suno muttered bitterly, "But if he was working for the Red Ribbon Army, I doubt he's been working in soup kitchens and puppy shelters. Add me to team 'Kill him now'."

"On the other hand," Krillin put in, "Having someone else to kill will at least keep Vegeta from going after us."

"I'd advise you not to put too much faith in that idea, bald one," Vegeta warned him icily. Krillin took several steps away from him to the point where he was hiding behind Goku. In the end, a vote was held, with everyone but Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Suno voting in favor of training for three years and fighting Cell then.

"Kakarot," Vegeta asked once that was taken care of, "How did you escape Namek? And what did you mean earlier when you said were going to 'take care' of Freeza and Cold?"

"Getting off Namek was easy," Goku explained, "I used one of the Ginyu's pods. It took me to a planet called Yardrat where they healed me and gave me these neat clothes!" She gestured to them and the indifferent mumblings did nothing to dissuade Goku of their neatness. "They also taught me how to do this!" Goku pressed two fingers to her forehead, concentrated for a moment, and vanished. She appeared a moment later with a witch's hat sitting cockeyed on her head.

"Is that… Baba's hat?" Bulma asked. Goku's grin widened.

OoOoOoO

Meanwhile, Roshi was still sitting and still reading his magazines when his telephone rang. "Mmyes?" he asked as he picked it up.

"GOKU STOLE MY HAT!" came the shrieked reply from the other end, nearly startling Roshi off the couch.

OoOoOoO

"That," Tenshinhan muttered in astonishment, "Is some serious speed." He smiled to himself, knowing that his third eye allowed him to copy it.

"Can you teach me that, mom?" Gohan asked. It would sure make going to school and running errands easier. Especially once he got older and got accepted into one of the nicer schools in the big cities. Goku grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Sure!" she told him before she blinked and remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said before turning to Suno. "Trunks is gonna stay with us for a while and train so he can get strong enough to beat Cell in his own timeline. Is that okay?" Suno smiled and gave a little shrug.

"Why not?" she asked. "I always expected that I'd have to start cooking for three Saiyan appetites sooner or later. Just… maybe not this soon and not already this grown-up."

"I don't want to impose," Trunks told her quickly. "If it's too much trouble, maybe I could… see if I could stay at the Capsule Corp building. Or something." Suno shook her head and gave Trunks a dismissive wave.

"Nah," she assured him, "It's fine! Our couch has a fold out mattress." Goku grinned and turned to Vegeta.

"Hey, you wanna train with us, too?" she asked eagerly. Vegeta glowered at her and his face screwed up in disgust.

"I would rather eat both of my arms," he spat. Goku looked at Trunks and shrugged and he just shrugged back.

"So we'll all train for the next three years," Piccolo decided, "And we'll meet back up in the Gingertown area. When these other androids attack, whoever's closest will have to deal with them. Agreed?" Everyone nodded and Vegeta immediately flew off back toward Capsule Corp. Before the Son family plus one could start to head out, however, Suno snickered and flicked a finger at Baba's hat still on Goku's head.

"Don't you think you should put that back?" she asked. The dawning realization on Goku's face made Suno laugh as she realized Goku had completely forgotten about it. One second she was there, then she was gone, then she was back, sans hat. "That's better." With that, the foursome flew off. "Just so you know," Suno called over the wind, "I can't let Gohan stop going to school for three years! He can train all he wants in the summers but you're going to have to make time during the school year! And you have a garden that you need to get back to maintaining, missy!"

While this discussion was going on, Trunks was staring at the grown down below as it rushed past with an almost-childlike look of excitement and wonder. He'd never seen so much… life! The green trees and fields, the clear blue waters, the dinosaurs roaming across it all. He'd inherited a world of fire and cinders but this… was this what the world used to be like? It was beautiful and it filled him with determination. Whatever it took, he'd put the world back the way it used to be. It was a determination that was further compounded later that evening when Trunks and Gohan flew up to Korin Tower. It was Gohan's idea, since he'd said that Goku had been looking at Suno funny since the moment they'd walked into the house.

Trunks didn't know what that entailed and he hadn't wanted to know.

When they got there, Gohan introduced Trunks to Korin and explained his situation. Korin was less surprised by the time traveller than Trunks was by the talking cat.

"Sounds pretty bad," Korin surmised and stroked his whiskers. "Is there anything I can do for ya, future-boy?"

"Actually," Trunks said, "There is. I was wondering if I could have some senzu beans? The senzu plant withered and died in my timeline and I was hoping I could take some back to plant them." Korin's ears twitched thoughtfully and he shrugged.

"Eh," he muttered, "Why not? Be right back." While Korin shuffled off they waited and watched the sun set. The sight of it took Trunks' breath away. He'd never seen the sunset without a sky that was choked by smoke and ash. It was so… beautiful.

'I'll make it right,' Trunks swore to himself as he rubbed a tear from his eye. 'I'll get strong enough and I'll make the world right. For you, Gohan. I promise.'