Chapter 43: The Future
"Damn it Trunks..." Lime muttered under her breath as she stared down at the badly beaten child in the hospital bed. "It isn't supposed to be like this." She said a little louder.
Goku had left to try and find either Dende or Cargo, whichever one thought they had enough left in them to help, while the others found out which hospital Trunks had been taken to, but if he didn't return soon the doctors were going to insist beginning surgery in a desperate attempt to save the child's life.
"What isn't supposed to be this way?" Chi Chi asked from behind Lime, suddenly more suspicious of the girl's motives.
"Everything." Lime replied a look of helplessness on her face. "I wasn't even supposed to be the one to come back, I can't do anything right." She continued as tears welled up in her eyes as she thought back to her long list of failures.
"What do you mean you weren't the one supposed to come back?" Krillin asked. "I mean you seem to be doing a good job helping us so far. We have the medicine for Goku, and you've warned us about the androids." The bald monk continued trying to cheer the girl up and hopefully keep her from crying.
Lime gave him a bitter smile. "Thanks, but believe me I'm probably the last person the Generals wanted to send back. I mean I couldn't even keep Tru- I mean him safe." Lime face flushed at her near mistake hoping no one would notice her near slip.
They did, at least most of them did, they also recognized that there wasn't any point asking what the mystery child's name was at the moment though; there were more important things to discuss.
"Who were they going to send back instead? I thought everyone else in the future was dead." Tien bluntly asked.
Lime looked even more upset after the question had been asked but started to answer anyway. "The strongest fighter we have in the future, besides the surviving Generals that is, and my best friend...Captain Videl Satan." Lime said looking right at the shocked ravened haired girl, with a sad smile.
Shocked echoed across the room as everyone looked to the stunned, silent little girl.
Lime immediately mentally chastised herself for adding the best friend part and making things awkward, but the guilt she felt over how she had left things had been eating her alive.
"Miss Lime…" Videl asked, tugging on Lime's shirt sleeve after a moment breaking the silence that had befallen the room. "What happened to me in the future?" Videl tentatively asked not really understanding the ramifications of her question.
All eyes turned back to Lime, though most present could suspect what had happened based on how the Future Warrior was acting.
Lime quickly tried to make her mind work, and give a child appropriate answer to the pint-sized version of her best friend, but the more she thought about it the more she began to lose control over her emotions as tears built up in her eyes, "I…" Her voice cracked, "I don't know...the last time I saw you, you went out trying to save Trunks' life..." Lime had to pause for a moment, she didn't even notice that she had slipped up and revealed Trunk's name as she fought to force herself to continue. "You-" Lime was cut off as Goku suddenly returned to the room carrying a still weary looking Cargo.
"Hey guys! Cargo said he can try to at least heal the major stuff!" Goku cheerily announced completely missing the somewhat gloomier tone the room had taken in the few minutes he had been gone.
Cargo though picked up on the mood instantly and without saying another word got to work using the last of his magic power to heal the boy he assumed was the cause of the depressed vibe engulfing the entire room. After a few seconds Cargo collapsed to one knee panting. "There...he's not critical anymore...he'll probably...still be out...for a while..." He panted his magical ability still exhausted from the sheer effort he and his brother had exerted since the fight.
The young Namekian was met with several thanks but the mood didn't improve in the slightest as all eyes returned to Lime.
"What's the matter?" Goku finally asked noticing the awkward silence that was still hanging over the room since he had arrived.
"Here, I'll try to explain everything..." Lime finally said taking a deep breath and summoning her strength. "The last couple days went like this-"
(Year 774)
A distant beeping sound filled the room as Lime felt ever muscle in her body contract with shock, her eyes flashing open in panic and her Ki level involuntarily rising with her adrenaline level. It wasn't until she was fully out of her bed that she realized the source of the alarm was just her clock, and not the android sirens that were occasionally tested in the distance.
Lime closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. All these years later alarms still reminded her of that day, the day her whole world started to fall apart. Quickly she shook herself off and started getting ready for her day; she had to get to the gravity chambers early if she wanted to get any training in before Trunks woke up.
Within a few minutes she was out the door and into the sparsely lit metal corridor that served as the main artery of the underground barracks.
Jogging through the sparsely populated, early morning halls Lime managed to be the second person to arrive at the training facility.
Lime didn't even have to guess who had beat her to it, only one person would be crazy enough to be up earlier than she had gotten up when not on duty. "Morning Videl." Lime greeted her usual training partner with her best early morning smile.
"Lime! Late as always." Videl teased as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"It's not my fault you don't sleep." Lime countered back as she started warming up, before losing her balance and falling onto her backside.
Videl and Lime looked at each other for a moment before breaking down laughing eventually causing Videl to join her on the ground.
After another moment the laugher sputtered out and the pair got to work on their training.
Nearly 2 hours later the pair were done; both panting heavily as they changed into their uniforms and exited the gravity chamber.
"Great job today Lime, you almost had me there for a minute." Videl said with a sincere smile. "If you keep this up the council is going to have no choice but to let you start going on some missions." Videl continued as Lime's face lit up with hope.
"You think so?" Lime asked as the pair finished changing and exited the gravity chamber.
"I know so. That's how they did it for me at least. You just have to keep trying till it is impossible for them to say no." Videl voice was more solemn at the end of her response.
Lime's smile faltered some. "You're a special case though. General Chi Chi told me herself. Besides I'm a lot stronger than you were when they let you go on your first mission." Lime's voice held just a tinge of bitterness in it as the duo continued along their path an awkward silence falling between them all the way until they separated and said their normal goodbyes. Videl going to her morning briefing on the Androids current locations, and Lime towards the Brief's wing of the facility.
The brown haired teenager made it just in time as Bulma was walking out her door. "Good morning Lime, training extra with Videl again?" Bulma asked trying to sound cheery but coming off more weary than anything.
"Yeah, sorry I'm late, me and Videl lost track of time again." Lime responded, embarrassed.
"Its fine, Trunks is still finishing up breakfast. Anyway I have to go, see you this evening." Bulma said before turning and leaving at a brisk pace, her mind already lost in the massive pool of projects that demanded her attention.
Lime just shook her head not even wanting to imagine having a workload like Bulma's. She then turned and entered the Brief's apartment before Trunks could have time to get into any mischief.
She got in just in the nick of time as Trunks already had half of the screws out of one of the air vents. "Trunks! Get over here right now!" Lime ordered as the half-blooded Saiyan's eyes went wide.
"Uhh...hey Lime...I was just fixing the air vent and uhhh..." The rest of his lie was cut off as Lime grabbed him by the ear.
"That's it I'm going to make sure Mr. Shu gives you an extra quiz today before training." Lime threatened as she dragged the demi-Saiyan right back to his room so he could finish getting ready for the day.
15 minutes later they were done, and Trunks was left to rub his now sore ear. "You know you didn't have to drag me by my ear that whole time...besides I was just trying to get some extra time in the gravity chamber, since I'm the big last hope and all." Trunks muttered with his arms crossed waiting for his harpy of a teacher to arrive. He still couldn't believe his mother had actually accepted General Chi Chi's recommendation on this guy.
Trunk immediately regretted the last part of his sentence as Lime's fist came down on bopped him on the head before transitioning into a nuggie. "Yeah sure you are genius everyone is just sitting around waiting for you, the kid that can't even stop my super nuggie." Lime said her voice thick with sarcasm.
"Hey knock it off!" Trunks called as he squirmed to try and break his babysitter's iron grasp.
Suddenly the door to the apartment opened and both of the struggling pair immediately returned to their seats at attention.
"Good morning students, I hope you have completed my assigned homework." The afroed teacher said as he cracked his whip, still in denial that it would have little effect on either of his 'special' students.
Inwardly both Trunks and Lime sighed; it was going to be a long day.
To say Videl was irritated would be an understatement. Two days ago, after 13 and his band of misfits razed three towns, in the relatively safer territory, normally claimed by Androids 17 and 18, the entire group had simply disappeared from the global tracking system. If the Androids had found some way to hide themselves from even the satellites then the already ridiculous death toll would skyrocket even higher without an early warning system.
Shoving her way into the barrack's the raven haired teenager made an announcement. "Gold team you're with me, we're going on patrol." She wasn't about to let the Android's already sizable upper hand grow anymore.
"Wait Captain! We have a new target on the sensors, and it is moving fast!" One of the techs called over the radio knowing Videl would leave charging right into danger if he didn't get the message to her.
"I want visuals by the time I get up there!" Videl yelled back as she slammed her fist on the table. Something bad was about to happen, she just knew it.
"Hey 17, you don't think we were too hard on 13 and his pets do you?" Android 18 asked looking otherwise disinterested as she watched the ground fly by beneath her.
"No way, they broke the rules and had to pay the price. I mean we were pretty nice to give them half the planet to begin with." 17 said with a chuckle as he unleashed a few small blasts at abandoned buildings beneath them.
"It just kinda feels wrong destroying 14 and 15 thinking back on it, besides 13 can't repair himself." 18 countered uncomfortable killing the closest thing, besides each other, that they had to family.
"What do you have a thing for rednecks or something?" 17 replied with a playful smirk.
"No way I-" 18 started to reply before a massive blue arm suddenly closed-lined her out of the sky.
17 was unable to move for a second his mind still trying to comprehend the fact that someone had been bold enough to try a sneak attack on his sister. "Wow there ugly, you just bought yourself a one way ticket to hell." 17 taunted as 18 roared back into the sky ready for a fight.
The blue being floated still for a moment before a sinister smile crossed his face. Without warning he launched back on the attack, the entire sky filling with the rumblings of titans clashing.
Videl lost track of everything as she watched the fight, not even noticing the numbing feeling of real fear washing through her body as she washed the monster battle the androids at a level she could never dream of.
Most of the other soldiers were talking in the background excited that some sort of monster could actually save them all from the android's wrath. Videl could see this...thing for what it really was though, another threat, another possible means by which the Earth, and everything in it that she held dear would be annihilated.
Finally after what felt like an eternity the battle had come to an end, a massive explosion completely leveling the few remaining structures of the small, abandoned town the final leg of the melee had taken part in. The blue beast streaking off towards the few remaining sky-scrappers of North City in the distance.
"Sergeant alert the Generals, they need to see that video and we need a plan now! Put the base on defcon 5, and let north command know about their incoming immediately." Videl ordered as everyone rushed to fulfil Videl's commands. Videl just continued to watch the radar as a lone dot made its way towards North City.
"Now then Lime what would you get if-" Mr. Shu started to say before being cut off by an alarm, as all the color drained from the tutor, turned teacher's, face.
Lime immediately jumped to her feet, it had been nearly 5 years since the Androids had attacked Central City if the sirens meant they were finally returning Lime certainly wouldn't waste her chance for revenge. "Trunks stay with Mr. Shu. I'll be right back." She ordered as she sprinted out of the room heading straight to the armory.
Along the way she ran into Videl who was on her way to the armory herself. "Videl what's happening?" Lime called to her friend as she caught up to her.
"I think North City is about to be attacked by something that just took Androids 17 and 18 out." Videl hastily explained as she and Lime entered the armory that Lime was technically not cleared to be in.
Both warriors immediately changed into Bulma's variation on Saiyan Armor, it was the most protective thing the Earth Defense Forces had found in their decade long struggle. It consisted of the same material as the Saiyan armor sowed in between two layers of Kevlar making a traditional looking military uniform, camouflage and all.
"Make sure to keep a close eye on Trunks and Bulma for me while my squad is out there." Videl asked her friend as she finished changing and started on her way out of the room.
"Sure thing." Lime replied with less actual enthusiasm than it sounded like there was in her voice.
The rest of Videl's squad was waiting for her outside the barracks and immediately saluted before following their commander towards the exit.
"Captain Videl, report in." A voice suddenly sounded on Videl's scouter like radio. It was unmistakably General Caspin.
After a brief conversation quieter than Lime could hear Videl turned back around to face Lime, an exasperated look on her face. "Go get Trunks; the Generals want a meeting with both of us." She ordered before turning and heading towards the command center, her men left looking confused about what they were supposed to do.
Lime shifted uncomfortably outside the command center doors as she waited for the meeting to end.
Finally it apparently ended as Videl stormed out of the room clearly furious about something.
Lime didn't even get a chance to ask what had happened before her longtime friend had already rounded the corner seemingly going back to her bunk.
When Trunks emerged from the cavernous room his demeanor was nearly the opposite of Videl's. An excited light shown in the child's eyes as he thought back to what was said in the secret meeting.
"Well you sure look happy." Lime said when Trunks got close hoping the child would spill the beans on what was going on.
"Yup." Was all Trunks said in reply with a mischievous smile, he knew better than to repeat anything from a 'secret' meeting.
Lime just sighed and began to walk the still excited child back to his family's apartment.
Chi Chi's fists were shaking with rage as she listened to the reports coming in from the base in North City, already a third of the city had been destroyed; the local garrison had been completely overwhelmed and exterminated by this new monster. But there was nothing she could do at the moment; they had a plan to finally turn the tide against the monsters that had plagued her home for so many years and she couldn't let anything derail it, even her duty to the citizens of this world.
Finally she turned away from the radio, unable to take it any longer; she needed to train to get her mind off of things.
The next day flew by like a whirlwind for the entirety of the Earth Defense Force, as the mysterious new threat destroyed city after city as if its only mission was the complete and utter annihilation of everything.
The main base of the Defense forces seemingly refused to act to reinforce the scattered bases as they prepared for a mission of their own more important than any they had undertaken in nearly a decade.
Most of the low level soldiers had no clue what was actually happening, but Videl was one of the few allowed to know everything, and with every city attacked she felt more and more disgusted with herself for going along with the Generals' plans. She could practically hear the screams of every civilian she failed to save; the only thing that was keeping her sane was the fact that if her mission was success all of it would be undone, the horror caused by the androids would vanish without a trace. 'One more hour and this nightmare can finally be over with.' She thought to herself as she rose from her seat a look of utmost determination on her face as she began to make her way to Bulma's laboratory.
Trunk's day had gone the same as most, though he was getting more impatient by the second. He had been chosen for a mission, not just any mission though, he had been chosen for a mission to save the entire planet...with Videl even. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of getting to go on a great adventure with the coolest fighter in the entire EDF.
It only made things better knowing how badly Lime wanted to know what the meeting was about. She always found a way to ruin his fun, but not today, today he would get to go on an actual important mission before Lime could even go on a recon mission. He was so excited for how his big adventure he didn't even mind as Lime dragged him through the same boring routine she seemingly did every day.
"Alright Trunks here we go, I have orders to go easy on you today but don't get cocky." Lime said as she and Trunks took their stances in the gravity chamber ready for what would be their final bout of training in the base.
"Whatever as if I needed you to go easy on me." Trunks confidently dismissed his caretaker as he casually stretched his arms still in his stance.
Just as they were about to begin their sparring though a distant explosion shook the underground chamber and a voice sounded over the loudspeaker. "Attention Lime Lao and Trunks Briefs, you are to report to Lab HQ on the double. All other personnel are to report to battle stations. This is not a drill."
"What the-...Are the Androids attacking?" Lime asked out loud as another explosion detonated closer to the base, this time powerful enough that a crack appeared on the roof of the gravity chamber.
"Trunks let's get mov-" Lime started to say before a third explosion rocked the entire base as the roof above their heads collapsed.
As the last rocks began to settle, a small figure suddenly burst from the debris a few cuts on his face. "Lime where are you?" He yelled, as he flared his aura to clear the dust from his immediate view.
"Down here." Lime's muffled voice rang out. "If you can get out of the room do so. I'm about to get out." Lime suddenly said as Trunks felt her Ki begin to rise. He immediately did was he was told blasting a hole in the wall big enough for him to squeeze through.
As soon as he was outside the rubble filled room Trunks could hear screams in the distance. As he felt Lime's power continue to rise as she attempted to blast the rubble off of her in a controlled way, Trunks decided it was time to get a head start on his babysitter and show the Androids just who they were messing with.
In a flash the Saiyan hybrid had made his way down the tunnel towards the source of the yells. He had crossed almost a quarter mile in a less than a second when he suddenly came to a massive opening in the tunnel system. Trunks could see all the way to the surface through the crater. Somewhere above he could still hear the yells of a ferocious battle going on, something he just couldn't resist.
Lime was frantic, she had blasted off the rubble around her in under a minute, being mindful to not damage the sensitive room any further than it already had, Bulma was going to have a hard enough time repairing it without her making matters worse. As soon as she exited the debris filled room she noticed her error in judgement. Letting Trunks out of her sight was never a good idea. "Damn it..." She cursed under her breath as she sprinted down the hall hopelessly trying to pick up Trunk's Ki signature in the chaos that had enveloped the base. "Damn it you better be at your mom's lab when I get there." she continued to mumble as she picked up speed.
Chi Chi rose from her half kneeling position and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and let out a frustrated growl. They had been so close another 20 minutes and it wouldn't have mattered if the beast came to Central city instead she was staring down her likely executioner. To her left lay the body of Master Roshi, and off to her right King Chappa was laboring to breath with a tree trunk sized hole in his stomach, not even Bulma's healing tanks could save him at this point. To complicate matters General Meditrain had already fallen defending North City yesterday, a point she and the other Generals had purposefully hid from their subordinates to avoid panic. If she and Caspin didn't figure out a way to stall the beast for a while longer everything they had worked for these last few years would be gone.
Her fists tightened as she prepared to ignite her Kaioken once more, "Hey ugly over here!"
Lime didn't break her sprint even for an instant as he rushed into Bulma's lab.
"Oh thank Kami, you made it alright, now we can… Lime where's Trunks?" Bulma asked his voice turning frantic and her face suddenly pale.
"I...uh...We got separated. I thought he would be here, so I came as fast as I-" Lime stuttered as she tried to explain herself.
"No...no, no no no… Videl…" Bulma said her knees going weak for a second.
"Don't worry I'll get him." Videl replied with a determined look. "Lime you stay here in case I don't make it back in time. Keep Bulma safe at all costs." She ordered before blasting off at full speed a look of equal parts pity and irritation on her face.
"Bulma just what's happening?" Lime asked confused and guilty for making Videl clean up her mess yet again.
"I'm going to have to explain everything to you in case they don't make it back in time." Bulma attempted to keep her voice controlled and even but Lime could hear the trembling of fear and even anger at Lime for not bringing her son back to her safely. "This mission has the fate of the world at stake so listen closely."
It was all over, Chi Chi's vision was rapidly going dark as he life drained from her body, not even pushing herself up to a Kaioken times 30 had been able to stall the monster. The only thing she could hope for now was that the rest of the soldiers wouldn't abandon their posts and buy at least a few more precious seconds with their sacrifices. 'Goku...I'm finally coming to join you...I'm sorry I never got a chance...to find Gohan...' She thought to herself as everything continued to get more and more distant. With any luck this entire world would disappear within a few minutes, replaced with a world where they were able to beat the Androids at the beginning when there was still hope. A world where they had been able to save Goku's life, and find her son. A single tear fell from her eye as she could picture the wonderful life they could've had.
"Hey take this Android scum!" A distant, familiar voice suddenly shouted causing Chi Chi's already cooling blood to lose the last of its heat. 'Trunks no!' Chi Chi didn't have the strength to move but she knew she had to do something, anything, it was more than Trunks' survival increasing the odds of the mission to defeat the androids being successful; he was like family. Forcing the last of her strength into her arms Chi Chi began to rise determined not to lose the boy who was like a nephew to her. Her arms failed almost immediately as the last of the life finally left her body.
Trunk's boot connected with the strange, blue monster's head with a resounding thud, but he didn't even manage to move the beast's head. "What the-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the Mystery being's hand already grabbed his outstretched leg and launched him and supersonic speed through the nearest building.
"Owwww." Trunks moaned as he pushed off a large slab of concrete and wiped some blood trickling down his forehead, not even fully sure what had happened. He just knew he had never been hit that hard in his entire life.
The creature wasn't done yet and immediately charged up a blast ready to vaporize him.
Trunks had no chance to move before the monster fired it. "Trunks down!" Videl called out as she intercepted the attack at the last second. The entire planet seemingly shook with the detonation.
Trunks slowly opened his eyes to see Videl standing in front of him; her outer uniform mostly blasted away leaving just her heavily damaged training shirt beneath. Her body involuntarily shaking as pain wrecked its way through her nervous system.
"Videl...are you ok?" Trunks asked suddenly very worried about the situation he found himself in.
"Trunks, when I count to three we need to book it to your mom's laboratory ok? I need you to not look back no matter what you hear. I'll be right behind you." Videl's voice was shaky as the smoke continued to fade, in just a few seconds the monster would realize it had failed to kill Trunks and be on the offensive once more. She couldn't help but let a bitter smile cross her lips as she realized that this was the same trick her father had done to her more than 6 years ago.
"Ok, gotcha." Trunks answered trying to sound brave, but he couldn't keep his voice from wavering as he noticed the massive burns covering Videl's arms.
"1...2...3...go! Solar flare! Videl counted down, then shouted. Trunks flared his aura and shot straight towards the tunnels at his maximum speed not wanting to slow Videl down.
The Legendary Captain of the EDF had another plan in mind though as she launched herself straight at the mysterious creature who had somehow defeated both 17 and 18 the day prior. 'You better not look back kid.' She thought to herself as he fist was intercepted by a massive blue forearm.
Lime just stared at the ground, the mission Trunks and Videl were about to embark on was more important than she had ever thought. 'And because I couldn't keep my eye on Trunks the whole thing could be ruined.' She thought to herself. Bulma was thinking along similar lines as she nervously fidgeted.
A few seconds later both women let out a sigh of relief as Trunks came rushing through the door of the lab, blood dripping from his forehead, but otherwise seeming unharmed.
"Oh thank Kami." Bulma said with a sigh as she quickly wrapped her arms around Trunks.
"Hey Trunks where's Videl?" Lime suddenly asked as the child realized his rescuer wasn't with him.
"She was right behind me...wait the monster must've grabbed her I have to-" He started to say, pushing his mother's arms off of him, before being cut off.
"Wait Trunks, Videl is smart she'll get away and be here any second I am sure. But you and her need to get going immediately so please get into the Time Machine with Lime for now while we wait so you can go as soon as she gets here." Bulma almost begged her son.
"Uh...oh right…" Trunks replied believing that his friend and hero would be able to escape the monster, if not beat it.
"Bye mom." Trunks said with a wave as he rushed over to the machine, his excitement for his mission rushing back, before being caught and given a goodbye kiss by Bulma.
"Be safe Trunks." She muttered quietly as she opened the hatch for Trunks
Lime looked shocked for a moment but stayed silent as she followed Trunks into the machine. No sooner had the door closed though then Bulma had a remote out and in her hand a sad smile on her face as she waved goodbye.
"Mom? Mom!" Trunks shouted as Lime suddenly grabbed Trunks realizing what Bulma was doing as the machine rose into the air.
Just as the Time Machine reached its altitude to go back to the past the entire room was swallowed by a wall of flame as Bulma was swallowed by a massive explosion.
"MOOOOMMM!" Trunks shouted as everything disappeared around them, reappearing in the desert, presumably in the past.
(Back in the present)
"That's about it…" Lime concluded still not realizing just how many important details she had accidentally included.
Everyone was too shocked to speak a moment as they struggled to understand everything that happened. Finally it was Goku who broke the silence, "Wait so this is Bulma's son?" He asked as that fact suddenly hit everyone in the room.
"Wait...really…?" Bulma asked Lime still having trouble believing what she had said.
Lime's eyes were wide with shock; she couldn't believe that she had just done that, 'Trunks might not be born now! Gotta fix this!' She frantically thought "No, no, no" She quickly said waving her hands in front of her. "You've got it all wrong, how'd you even get that from what I said." She quickly lied hoping she could fool Bulma, the person who somehow always knew when she was lying.
Bulma was unconvinced as she weighed all the evidence, Lime sure was acting strange. Before she could make up her mind one way or another though the final piece of the puzzle fell into place as a weak voice called out from behind them all. "Mom…?"
All eyes turned to the teary eyed child in the bed whose eyes were locked onto Bulma.
"Mom!" The child suddenly jumped from his bed wrapping his arms tightly around the Blue haired scientist before anyone could even move. "I had an awful dream, you and everyone else were killed by this monster...and…" He paused for a moment as he looked into Bulma's eyes which were still wide with shock.
Neither could move or speak for a moment as it dawned on Trunks that the horrors he had seen were not just a dream, his legs buckled beneath him as he collapsed to the ground sobbing uncontrollably.
It had taken several hours to calm the distraught boy down. Finally even Lime decided it would be best to let him have some time to himself. Leaving the room with just a simple "Let me know if you need anything." Because she didn't know what else she could say.
In the hallway though conversations had already taken a serious turn.
"Ok so it's decided then, small groups will work best, grouped by strength that way we don't hold anyone back." Krillin confirmed, receiving head nods by all present.
"How about it Piccolo? You and me?" Goku suddenly asked hoping to get his chance to fight his suddenly massively more powerful rival.
"Sure, works for me." Piccolo said with a smirk, he too had waited a long time for a chance for a rematch against Goku.
The conversation died off as Lime approached, "Hey how's the little guy doing?" Yamcha asked unable to shake the possibility that that was his son in there so shaken up, but he knew right now wasn't the time to ask.
"He'll be fine in a while I think, he's still pretty shaken up." Lime replied. "Hey by the way have you guys decided on a plan to start preparing yet?" She asked unsure of what point of the conversation she had joined at.
"Yeah we were thinking with Trunks probably needing time to adjust to his new life at Capsule Corp. You could join in with Me, Krillin and Yamcha and some of the other fighters our level. Bulma's son can join us too." Tien suggested interested in seeing what this fighter from the future was made of and hoping they might have some suggestions on how best to deal with the androids.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea...I mean I'm sure you're training is going to more than tough enough for me, but it might not be tough enough for Trunks." She finally said his name realizing there was no point keeping it hidden anymore. "Besides I don't think it'll be a good idea to have Trunks around Capsule Corps for a while." She admitted with a slight blush.
All eyes turned back to the boy still sitting curled up on his bed in the room behind them.
"Just how strong is he?" Tien asked suddenly much more interested in Trunks.
"Not strong enough, all I can say is he is special, and has a lot better chance to help fight the Androids than I ever could." Lime admitted reluctantly. "Bulma...the one from the future was actually hoping he could train with Goku." Lime said looking expectantly to the Saiyan warrior.
"Well I've never trained anyone before, but sure why not, if he is as promising as you say he is I'll do my best to make sure he is ready." Goku said with a bright smile much to Lime's relief.
"Thank you." Lime said with a slight bow.
Another small voice suddenly spoke up right afterwards. "Mr. Goku?" Videl asked tugging on the Earth's greatest hero's Gi pants.
"Oh hey Videl what's up?" The Saiyan asked squatting down to the small girl's level.
"Please train me too. I want to be strong so I can help everyone and so I can protect my daddy when he comes back." Videl pleaded she saw how strong Goku and Piccolo both were, they were her best hope for becoming stronger.
Goku was surprised by how popular he was, he also didn't want to turn the girl down but the power gap was too great at the moment.
"Hey Videl." Lime suddenly said breaking up the puppy-dog eye stare down Videl was using against Goku. "How about I train you while I keep an eye on Trunks." She offered hoping the child version of her best friend would take her offer and not risk slowing down Goku and the other's training.
Videl thought about it quietly for a minute before asking "Are you strong?"
"Well you trained me yourself and thought I was doing ok." Lime said with a slight chuckle at the irony of the situation. "I'll even teach you your future self's favorite move."
That got Videl's attention. Her future self sounded really cool from Lime's story. "Deal!"
"Alright then it's settled." Goku said with a bright smile of anticipation for the next three years. For a brief moment his mind drifted away from his lost son and instead to what would likely be the three most exciting years of training ever. "We'll get some things laid out at the house and see you bright and early tomorrow." Goku declared while Chi Chi just numbly nodded, unsure if she could handle having 2 children in her house with her son still lost in space.
Over the next hour most of the fighters went their separate ways to make the necessary preparations to begin their training.
Only three people remained besides Trunks who was refusing to leave his bed, Bulma, Yamcha and Lime.
"Hey is there any reason why you were trying to hide that he's my son from me?" Bulma asked slightly irritated at the attempted deceit.
"I was just trying to make sure he'd be born." Lime reluctantly replied, it was too late to try the approach the Bulma she knew had recommended, instead she needed to go with her gut, and her gut was telling to her make sure Trunks is born no matter what.
"Hey don't worry; Bulma and I will make sure the little guy gets born." Yamcha said with a slight blush, getting more convinced by the second that he was the child's father.
"Uh...I don't really know how to say this but…You're not the father Yamcha…" Lime immediately looked away.
"Wait! What?" Both Yamcha and Bulma asked in unison.
"I...uh don't really know the detail just that Trunks is a half Saiyan is all." Lime muttered quietly, "Which is why he is so important, he was our last chance in the future to have a Super Saiyan to hopefully beat the Androids." She finished as the shocked expressions on both Bulma and Yamcha's faces became more extreme.
"Wait! What?" Both Yamcha and Bulma asked again in unison again.
"How...but why...who?" Yamcha's mouth was moving much more than what would be needed to say the broken sentences but most of the words wouldn't come out.
"I...don't really know the details...just that Bulma and Vegeta get-" Lime was cut off immediately.
"Wait...wait...wait Vegeta! The guy that tried to kill us all" Yamcha was incredulous as he looked back and forth between Bulma and Lime. "Just how long have you had a thing for that psychopath?" He shouted looking like he was about to snap. "I've got to get some air." He practically snarled before storming out of the hospital before Bulma could even respond.
"What just happened?" Bulma stuttered still not entirely sure what was happening. "Why would you tell him that?"
"I'm sorry; I just didn't want to get his hopes up." Lime said quietly. "You really do end up with Vegeta, at least for a little while after you dump Yamcha for something. Videl told me one time it was because he cheated on you, but you'd never really speak about it." Lime quickly explained feeling very guilty again.
Bulma just stared into space, 'I have a kid... with Vegeta...how in the world did that work...' She thought to herself still not convinced she wasn't in some sort of twisted dream.
"Do you really think we can wait 3 whole years to keep looking for Gohan?" Chi Chi asked her entire body shaking. "He could be anywhere out there with that monster." She continued.
"I know...I don't want to wait that long either, but it might actually be safer for him out there." Goku reluctantly admitted; he wanted to believe he was strong enough to protect his family, but he really didn't want to risk getting his son hurt worse needlessly.
Chi Chi was stunned silent for a moment, trying to think of a response, but the only thing she could think of was what Lime had told her, that in the future they still didn't know where Gohan was, which could only mean he was still alive. Her heart constricted at the thought, 'Is he really safer out there?' She wanted to not believe it, to wish her son back to her as soon as the Dragon Balls were reactivated, but she couldn't knowing put him in the kind of danger Lime had described. "Are you sure…?" She asked him not sure if she wanted to be convinced.
"I don't know...I want Gohan to be here, but I don't want to risk him being killed by those monsters if something goes wrong." Goku admitted sitting down on their bed and looking at the ground seemingly thoroughly defeated.
Chi Chi was shocked, she didn't like seeing Goku this way. "Hey it's ok." She comforted rubbing his back. "We'll beat the Androids then we'll get Gohan back. I'm sure he'll be fine…" Chi Chi lied, she didn't know he'd be fine but right now she knew he wasn't going to be fine on Earth so as painful as it was she would let him stay wherever he was until she was sure the Earth was safe enough to call him back.
"Are you sure?" Goku echoed back the question she had just asked her, confused he had never thought he would hear Chi Chi say something like that.
"Hey, that's enough for now...the only thing we need to focus on is making sure things will be safe for when we get Gohan back, we are getting him back Goku." She explained a sad smile. "But right now, let's at least celebrate your return." She whispered into Goku's ear desperate for something to distract her from the decision she had made, and hopefully distract Goku from it as well.
"Lord Cooler, I have just received disturbing news." Salza shouted as he rushed into the throne room and immediately dropped into a low bow.
The dark purple Frost Demon slowly turned to face his second in command a look of expectation on his face. "Continue." He ordered his curiosity piqued.
"It appears that Cold planet 1 has lost contact with both your brother...and your father." Salza finished unsure how his master would react to the news.
"Send a scout ship to my father's last coordinates see if you can locate him. In the meantime tell the captain to set a course home. If my father has met his untimely end, it will be up to me to make sure everything we've worked for doesn't turn to rubble." Although Cooler's tone was dignified like a statesmen reluctantly accepting a chance to rule, he couldn't help but smile, it appeared his time may have finally come, decades ahead of schedule.
Immediately Salza left the throne room leaving his master alone with his thoughts as a dark chuckle filled the chamber.
Hey everyone thank you for your patience I did really well on my general GRE and will be taking my physics GRE in a couple of weeks so I'm about halfway through what will hopefully be the worst part for awhile.
I'm sorry if this isn't the best chapter, I'm a little of out of my groove writing to make matters worse it was sort of a difficult chapter to write just in what it is based on. I have the entire dark world that is the future as clear in my mind as I do the story and I'm not sure I did justice to the world I've envisioned, I hope it is still a chapter that you all enjoy enough that it was worth the wait.
Reviews:
anonymous- Well this update made my day :D
So many more androids by the nefarious gero, I guess since he knows about his demise at the hands of the androids it will take him longer to complete them to be extra sure or so
Also yeah goku is the only one weaker than canon cause of not being able to train but well he could rectify that and maybe now that he knows of the threat of androids he can ask king kai for location of namek and wish his son bavk as he cannot use up more timr what with the threat to the world and all people dying
One thing though new namek was so so far away that he needed coordinates from king kai but once he got that he could easily go there, why could he not do the same with earth? Also IF he wishes gohan back(or even asks for his location so he could go and get him back on his own) I do not think he will put the burden of fighting cell or androids(if it comes to it) on gohan seeing how traumatic his childhood was
Well yeah a few plotholes here and there in dbs but better than gt certainly till now
Update soon
Hey there, glad the last chapter made your day and I hope this one does too. Dr. Gero just knows that he dies in the future, no one alive in the future actually say Dr. Gero die so no one knows how he died, just that his body was laid out on the battlefield afterwards.
Asking for the location of new Namek won't do any good right now because all the Namekians are still stuck on Earth because Lord Slug killed the elder who had been given the responsibility of being Porunga's new master after making his wish. So they have to wait until Shenron comes back in order to make a wish to bring the elder back and then they can find a new home.
Goku was able to jump straight from King Kai's to Earth because if I remember right he went to otherworld first which acted as a short cut, in the story Goku just sort of panicked when he heard Frieza was almost to Earth and instead of trying something so out of the box as using otherworld as a short cut he just tried to book it there as fast as he could.
Goku will probably still want to train Gohan more so he can be safe, but Chi Chi is going to have a melt down trying to get him caught on his studies if he came back right now.
RKF22- Excellent work well done as always
Glad you enjoyed it, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter too :)
SSJ God 2 Goku - You made Vegeta say Goku instead of Kakarot.
Thanks I always try to double check that but sometimes I do miss it, thank you so much for letting me know early on it. The mistake has been corrected :)
Jhotenko - In Cannon Trunks is sent back with the mission of: Save Goku's life and pray things turn out better. It was never part of the plan for him to be trained in the past to protect the future. Here you have Trunks sent back specifically for that training. I like it, should lead to a nicely powered up Trunks.
That ale sounds like cheating. Well maybe not, but Turles is all about the shortcuts isn't he? On a side note, I'm pretty certain if I had access to a drink like that in my younger days I never would have made it out of my early twenties. Regular booze helped me do some pretty idiotic things as it was.
I'm glad my previous comment made you laugh. Good luck with college and all that nasty real world stuff. Your story is worth waiting for, so update when you can. I'd rather wait a month to get a quality update than get a rushed sub-par one.
Yes that was always something that bugged me in the show, if Trunks had stayed and trained he would've been so much more powerful and could've helped a lot more against the Androids at the beginning. I mean he would've at least been on par with Goku and Goku would've been stronger since he'd have another Super Saiyan to train with. Alas Trunks is not a Super Saiyan yet in Culture Shock so the benefit won't be there.
You hit the nail on the head about Turles and his 'cheats'. The Tarisian ale would've at least helped you not make those mistakes, mostly because you would't be conscious long enough to make them lol :).
Thanks for the good luck, it definitely helped with the first half of the challenge (Way exceeded my expectations on the General GRE) I just have to make it through the Physics GRE now and then I can let out a sigh of relief. I hope this chapter was worth the wait :).
super mystic gohan - wicked chapter so trunks basely coming back when he 7 or 9? and why did he wanna go back to the future and who was this powerful warrior who died along with piccolo in the future ? and what androids killed him. you have to do a special off lime future because gero knows now so this is a different game changer! and she must off known the 3 people who attacked king cold. damn so many twists and turns this will be epic like how you still develop every character must be hard keep up the great work.. until next time
Yeah Trunks is younger, right now he is right around 9 years old, so a couple years older than Gohan is at this point. The powerful warrior who died alongside Piccolo will be revealed within the next 5-10 chapters, I doubt anyone will be able to guess who it is at this point, but it is not an OC. I am seriously considering doing a more indepth dive into the future at some point because this chapter doesn't feel sufficient to me to really capture what I had envisioned for the future. Towards the end of the last chapter the 3 characters who were involved in finishing Cold were revealed, Lime doesn't really know too many specifics about what is to come, just what Bulma could quickly tell her at the end. I can't reveal which android(s) kill Piccolo right now because that would spoil things a bit.
I'm glad you are enjoying the twists and turns and the development, it is hard to keep up with but I think I am still doing an ok job :).
Guest - I didn't like time travelling arc in dbz... and I thought the one you wrote is way way worse... after all these wonderful chapters why did you mess this up!
I mean I guess you had to make it different from the original so you added all the lime and android and zero... n since lime isn't a super sayan like trunks people had hard time believing her (that's logical but it dragged on and on)
the whole chapter felt like it was hastily concocted just like it was in dbz (toriyama just quickly thought to add this so he could extend the series)
I mean why did you have to follow this at all? the only thing that's different in your story is gohan gets kidnapped and we keep moving away from the basic premise of the story.
darn this is disappointing
I am sorry the chapter disappointed you. I do the best I can creating a universe that i enjoy and that makes sense to me (trying to fill in plot holes etc). I share it because I hope other people will enjoy it as well. Lime being one of the fighters getting sent back has been in the works for awhile, no it wasn't one of the first arcs I thought of but I've know I was going to do this in one form or another since towards the end of the Namek arc.
I wasn't specifically trying to make this arc different than the cannon arc, more that this is what made sense to me with all of the changes that have happened so far. I admit it did drag on a bit, but I sort of play out each chapter in my mind like the episodes so I try to include the dialogue that would normally exist there too.
Gohan getting kidnapped is the first change, each other change that happens comes from the original change that was Gohan being kidnapped. I try to keep things as realistic as possible for each outcome.
Again I am sorry you are disappointed with this section of the story but unfortunately this is how the story is going to go. I hope you've enjoyed the rest of the chapters and arcs enough that you will continue to follow the story. I don't blame you if you've already stopped following the story or have already decided to stop after this chapter, I've done that to a few stories I really liked too back when I was reading more, usually because they killed off a character for no reason and refused to bring them back... anyway it might be of interest to you that the next 5-10 chapters will be returning to more even split between the Earth arc and Gohan's latest arc.
DBZFinish (chapter 30) - Nice story so far. Probably my favorite dbz fanfic.
I really liked the Great ape Nappa vs Giant Slug fight. It was very creative.
Is Krillin going to be useful in the story now that he has been revived?
I'm really glad you are enjoying the story. The giant fight was something I was excited about as well, though I wish I would've thought of a way to drag it out a bit longer.
Yes Krillin will continue to have a role, I think the arc right after this review is his first chance to shine. I do have plans for the human fighters to at least stay more relevant than they did in canon.
Anyway thanks again for the review, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter as well.
calcu22 - Whao, that did not go how I though it would. Poor Gohan, but at lest Turles was kind enough to alow him to null the pain. Honestly, I'm not even sure what to point out because I'm still thinking about eveything that happened. I will say that I am beyond happy that Trunks is in the past. I was worryed that thing have changed enough that he would exsies anymore or not the Trunks we know, but you twisted thoes worrys into what happed to little Trunks. Can't wait to find out!
Yeah Turles' idea of a present isn't exactly something most kids would want, but hey it's going to work out for the best for Gohan lol. There was a lot that happened that last chapter, I was hoping the suspense would help keep everyone interested throughout this last huge gap. I was hoping I would make everyone just a little nervous that Trunks might not show up, I'm sure everyone has an idea what might've happened to him based on the last chapter, but I doubt anyone will figure it all out lol.
Jredd - Wow, I had not read this story for a while and I had some awesome new chapters to catch up on! It's wonderful to see that this story is still going strong but now I wish there were more chapters left for me to read. Oh well, all in good time eh? Can I just say I love this story? No really, it's fantastic. Keep up the great work :).
Hey I am glad you decided to keep reading the story, i'm sorry the age of the weekly updates had to end, I would've loved to keep it going I just can't keep up that pace with my school load plus my extra tests. I hope this latest chapter was worth the wait for you and you continue to enjoy it in the future :).
D (chapter 30) - Your versions of nappa and raditz are exelent. Many have deemed the former useless and the latest overpowered. Their personality remained consistent as opposed to others s stories. Been looking for a good fanfiction for some time. Thanks keep it up, I ll soon catch up to the latest chapter.
I'm glad you enjoy them, they are two of the more fun characters to write, just because they got so little love in the show, and other fan fictions (Raditz gets more love than Nappa). I'm glad the personalities have remained consistent, that is always something I worry about. I hope you enjoyed the other 12 chapters as well :).
Chi-Chi's FAN - (Since I missed reviewing the previous chapter I'll just make a joint)
Death..."Made him remember the feeling of true joy?" Wow Cold just wow *cough* sicko *cough* phew had me worried you were actually writing a chapter describing their end of a different timeline. Lime?! Geez that's wayyy off on who I thought could possibly be the time traveler.
I really suck at guessing but it's become a second nature to me, unfortunately. Instead of Gohan was it Videl who was the hero left to protect Earth (other then the generals?) If she was then was she killed by the androids? Or was she Lime's best friend? Trunks did travel, but he's a kid? So the events happened earlier then expected? Lol I really need to shut my mind up and just read.
Kinda shows you the apple didn't fall far from the tree in the Cold-Frieza relationship lol. That would be an interesting twist, the hardest part of pulling that off though would be someone actually finding a way to go back in time if the Earth gets destroyed like Cold was aiming for. What would've been easier would've been to kill off all of Earth and make it a Gohan only story, but you don't have to worry about that...this time mwhahaha ;)
That second paragraph had me chuckling I bet the story wouldn't be as interesting if you could guess what happens ;). I can't answer the first question quite yet. She is Lime's best friend though. Yes Trunks did make it back, barely. The future timeline in this story is about 5 or 6 years earlier than it happened in canon for several reasons, Bulma being smarter and having more resources at her disposal and there being more androids to speed up the necessity. Anyway I hope this latest chapter helped answer some of your questions if I didn't get any of them all the way if not just let me know.
Alright everyone I've got to crack the books again, so I will see you in a few weeks (hopefully).