Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ And We Shall Be Victorious ❯ Chapter 1 - Visitors ( Chapter 1 )

And We Shall Be Victorious

Author: Ceryce

Chapter I

~Visitors~

There was no noise.

That was the first impression the Z fighters from the past felt when they first set foot on the future earth. There was no sound, no noise, no nothing. It was as if they entered a gigantic graveyard the size of the earth.

The second thing that hit their senses was the ki, or more specifically, the small amount of it, and the reason why rapidly dawned on the shocked warriors: less than two percent of the earth's population was still alive.

Then there was the sight that greeted them. The view almost hurt their eyes with the sheer absence of anything alive. Their eyes, used to assessing the sightless movement, were struggling to catch sight of anything living.

Theirfive senses, perfectly honed by years of training, were forced into strained stillness by the nothingness of their future home.

It was terrible, it was shocking, and it was just the beginning.

Krillin just didn't know what to think. "By Kami! What happened here? It's as if there is no one alive! Are we on the right planet?" The wrong planet: that was the only reason he could come up with to explain what was going on here.

"I calculated the coordinates exactly like Bulma told me. I have gone over them, and I am positive that we are in Trunks' timeline," Gohan was horrified at was he was seeing. Yet, he knew he didn't make any mistake, not with Vegeta looking over at his every move.

Standing in front of the time machine, they looked around them, trying to find an explanation to what they saw, or better yet, did not see. As far as Krillin was concerned, they had set down on the wrong planet. After all, mistakes happen, they were all human here…err…whatever, they all make mistakes. Looking around, he shook his head. "Maybe you should verify again, Gohan. Just to be sure. You could have made some mistakes. I mean, something is sooo not right here."

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"I suppose something could have slipped by me, but you're right, there is something going on." At that, Gohan went inside the ship.

After Gohan left, they returned to their vigil. For Piccolo, there was no error at all. They were on the right planet. He could feel it. There were two things: they were in the wrong timeline, or things had gone way downhill for Trunks. Frowning slightly, he looked around carefully, noting the sort of destruction that had marred the earth. This was not exactly natural. A new enemy? Or… "Maybe the androids caused this," said Piccolo, more to himself than the others, but Goku didn't notice.

"The androids were strong Piccolo, but he should have killed them very fast. When he went back to his timeline to defeat the androids and Cell, he was much stronger than them. He even told us that the androids in our timeline were much stronger than in his own time. Besides, enough time has passed since the last time he went back to his time that the people had the time to rebuild." He was truly confused.

Vegeta winced at the wording; talk about limited vocabulary.

"I know that." Piccolo sighed and explained to Goku what he meant as if he was a backward child, "What I meant, was that maybe the androids did this before he went to the past to warn you and bring you the medicine. I don't recall him telling any of you what his world was like. He only told us the strict minimum."

Goku's eyes went large. "You mean that it was always like that. Damn!" Looking around, he tried to see Trunks living here, but his mind couldn't grasp the idea. "That - That's just awful! To think that Trunks lived in this kind of world all along. Poor kid! That must have been rough."

Vegeta snorted.

"And that is an understatement if I ever heard one," muttered Piccolo, too low for anyone to hear. And he was right. Even with the sickening blue sky and white fluffy clouds, the place was breathing decay and suffering. Although they were supposed to have landed near a forest, the land that they were staring at was bare and empty; they couldn't see a green leaf, or anything alive, for that matter, as far as they could look. Well, if one didn't count the crows and the vultures, that is. It was a true infestation. But even they were oddly silent.

Rocks and sand were the only things in sight for miles on end and they had the strong feeling it was like that everywhere. A very strong feeling.

"I have checked and rechecked the coordinates. And it is Trunks's timeline." Gohan was looking upset while coming out of the ship to take a look at the view, as if during the brief time he spend inside, it would have changed to a somewhat more pleasant place.

However, Piccolo just frowned at that comment. "Is it Trunks'stimeline, or are we in the timeline Bulma programmed?"

"Huh, I guess you're right Piccolo," said Gohan, blushing slightly. Vegeta just snarled at that. Feeling flustered he added, "We will only know for sure if this is the right timeline when we can sense Trunks's ki."

Piccolo just shook his head. "We should have sensed him as soon as we landed. He is probably the strongest being in the galaxy right now. Well, in this galaxy anyway."

"But it is the right timeline," Goku was thinking aloud, but with such conviction that it earned some raised eyebrows. "Maybe he lowered his ki and he's hiding."

"But why hide? It's not as if anyone in this time would be able to read his ki. Least of all someone who could hurt him," said Krillin, utterly puzzled by all of this. At that comment, Vegeta sharply turned his eye on him.

However, any responses they could have given Krillin on his observations were interrupted by what sounded like explosions that rocked the very core of the earth. Three of the mountains in the distance sank into the ground right in front of their shocked eyes. That is, shocked eyes for everyone except Goku, who was looking closely at Vegeta. He hadn't uttered a word since they had arrived, contenting himself with scanning the bleak horizon and snorting at suggestions that he judged stupid. Vegeta's eyes met Goku's. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Vegeta turned his head and calmly entered the ship in front of the startled Z Fighters.

"What in the world does he think he's doing?" Krillin said, annoyed, but took care to keep his voice down. No use upsetting the volatile prince.

"We better do like Vegeta, Krillin, and go inside the ship. We will probably be safer inside." After giving a reassuring smile to his older son, Goku came inside after Vegeta. But his smile vanished as soon as he had his back turned to them because of what he found in Vegeta's eyes. Or more accurately, because what was in Vegeta's eyes mirrored exactly what he was feeling right this moment. What he found in Vegeta's eyes was concern. Something was not right. He could feel it in every bone of his body. Krillin had touched a very good point: why hide his ki in a world where there were less than two thousand human beings? That was without considering what Bulma had found before they left…

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"You weakling! If I'm stuck here because of you, I am going to be very upset!" Vegeta's scathing remark at seeing Gohan playing with the central computer shot through the air, startling everyone nearly to death.

"Vegeta! We are not on earth for one hour and you are already spurting death threats!"

"What can I say, Kakarotto? I hate wasting time" said Vegeta with his usual smirk.

Piccolo sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Theywere already in the ship for two hours and the racket outside was getting louder by the minute, if that were even possible. After nearly dying three times - two times when the ship felt like breaking into pieces by the quaking, and one time by Vegeta's own hand - Krillin was feeling restless. Of course, since the fatal day when he lost everything, that feeling of restlessness was a recurring feeling for him, but now it was caused by something other than loneliness. Something was bothering him and he was not going to keep quiet about it any longer.

"Hey! Gohan! Come here." Krillin spoke very lowly to prevent any of the other people (and a Saiyan prince in particular) from hearing him.

"What is it, Krillin?" Gohan was a little curious, and felt some sadness and pity toward the little warrior. Goku had to practically beg Krillin to come on this trip to the future to have a change of mind until they could resurrect his wife and daughter with the dragon balls. Since their deaths, he was moping and crying all day long and this little trip was the only thing Goku could find to keep the young monk occupied. And let's not forget that Vegeta had been rather … 'difficult,' for lack of better word, lately and it seemed as if he decided to take it out on Krillin.

Bringing Gohan into is room, he half closed the door, so that they could keep an eye on everyone.

"Why are they here?" Krillin whispered in his ear, still keeping his eye on the other warriors.

Gohan raised his eyebrows, his eyes darting into the control room. There was no question that the one he was talking about was there, but apart form that he was in the dark. "Who are…" Catching Krillin's glare, he lowered his voice, "Who are where?"

"Why are Vegeta and Piccolo here?"

"What do you mean?" Gohan was a little bit confused now. Of course they would be on this trip; they were the strongest fighters in the universe, and the other people on earth didn't want to be left on the same planet as them without him or his father around. Not since the 'friendly match' they went into five years ago.

"Something is obviously making the earth shake, and I really doubt it's natural. And Vegeta is where? Outside trying to found what making the entire earth shake? Kicking some serious ass while totally humiliating us? Nooooo, mister!" he said, shaking his head to make his point. "Instead, he's inside the ship with the rest of us 'weaklings' waiting for it to pass!"

Gohan just looked at Krillin for a while before looking at Piccolo and Vegeta, and sure enough, they both were there, standing and glaring each other to death over his father's oblivious head. "I guest you'reright. It seems strange. It's not as if whatever is out there can hurt us, but Dad made it clear he doesn't want us outside."

"But why is Vegeta still there? In fact, he should be the first one whining about going out to find out what is causing all this. Vegeta is not usually known for listening to your father and..." Krillin lowered is voice more so as not to be heard by the Namek and Saiyans considering their sharp hearing. "He has been acting strangely recently."

Gohan came closer to Krillin "Vegeta? I…"

"I'm going out!" said Vegeta in a no-argument tone of voice.

"Vegeta, wait!" When he saw Vegeta stop, Goku continued speaking, "We should wait it out. This new enemy sound…"

"New enemy!!! What do you mean by enemy?!" Krillin was flat-out scared now. But the only response he got was a snort from Vegeta. Before Krillin could say something about Vegeta's way of communicating, the shaking stopped.

The silence was earsplitting. However, while everyone was petrified by the silence, Vegeta was undeterred and he moved, or more correctly flew, out of the ship so fast one could swear that all of Cell's children were after him. Even then, he would have been running the other way…

"Vegeta! Wait for me, I'm coming too!" The two eager Saiyans were at the door before anyone could get their wits together.

"…!"

"…?"

"What are you all looking at anyw-" Gohan couldn't finish his word when he saw what was outside.

All the mountains in the distance were gone; the air was heavy with dust, and there were dark clouds in the sky, which was a bloody red. But that was nothing. What really perturbed Gohan was the hole. The hole that hadn't been there two hours ago. The hole situated two miles from the ship. The hole that was one mile wide. The hole that, by the look of it, did not have any bottom. What really bothered Gohan was the big, bottomless hole two miles from their time machine.

Piccolo, after reaching the Saiyans and looking at what left them speechless, had just one comment "We have a problem."

Gohan could do nothing more than agree to that.

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In the small central room, everybody bore different expressions ranging from excitement to worry, at least for the human passenger. Krillin was extremely worried, and Piccolo was just leaning on a wall his, expression as blank as always. As for the Saiyans, excitation and expectation was clearly seen in the three older members of the Saiyan race.

Krillin was scared and afraid. He was just supposed to come here to see Trunks again and change his mind, not fight! He knew that it was basically his job, but if something happens… Krillin was not kidding himself. If there was an enemy outside, there was no way the others would just pack their things up and leave. And the truth was, he couldn't do that either…

Although the others were asking questions and demanding answers, Goku's attention was fixed on Vegeta. Since his outburst at Gohan for nearly destroying the main computer, he hadn't uttered a word. And right now, the Saiyan prince seemed in deep concentration.

It took a little while for Goku to realize that Vegeta was trying to sense Trunks' ki. But before he could give it a try, Vegeta stopped him "It's no use, Kakarotto. I didn't sense anything."

"But maybe he came while we were…"

"He didn't react at all."

"How can you be sure, Vegeta?" uttered Krillin, surprised, trying in vain to follow the half-spoken dialogue.

"Because contrary to certain people that will remain nameless," said Vegeta in a caustic tone while pinning Krillin with is his glare, "While this was happening, I was not shrieking like a woman; I was trying to sense Trunks' ki. The explosion should have attracted him over here. But that was not the case."

"Are you referring to me?!" Krillin nearly spat, nearly being the operative word. After all, Vegeta was known for his susceptibility.

"No. Actually, I was referring to the other noseless human on the ship," Vegeta said, looking bored to death.

Since that conversation was going nowhere, Goku, after directing a dark look at Vegeta clearly saying, Leave him alone, he doesn't need that right now (although he knew it had no effect), decided to explain further what had transpired. "When the ground was shaking…" at this, both Piccolo and Vegeta rolled their eyes, "Trunks should have come here. At least just to see if everything was all right. We didn't sense Trunks come near here."

"You mean you were able to confirm that Trunks is there? But why didn't we sense something?" asked Gohan, surprised, as he was also trying to sense Trunk's ki from the start and didn't sense anything.

"It was probably too faint for you to sense it, and Vegeta sensed him through his father-son bond. And it's not all." There, Goku paused, not sure how to continue. However, Vegeta, with his legendary tact, 'saved' him the trouble.

"There is a new enemy and he's stronger than the lot of you," Vegeta said flatly.

Only silence greeted Vegeta's announcement. The kind of silence that comes just before everyone starts screaming and panicking. But there was at least someone who was not panicking and had enough sense to ask precisely, even if it was not appreciated by all (mainly Vegeta, who hated to be questioned, and Krillin, who didn't want to know.)

"How powerful?" asked Piccolo, because he new that if Vegeta himself told you someone was strong, that meant the enemy was pretty close to his own power level, probably one notch or two down from his own. Below that, Vegeta would not even notice it, much less talk about it.

By the murderous glare Vegeta gave him, Piccoloknew that this new enemy was probably one notch higher then his own power level.

"We, have a problem."

"You already said that, Piccolo," said Gohan.

"And it's as true as when I said it the first time," answered Piccolo dryly.

@~~<!>~~@

"So Krillin, de-capsule the ship and put it somewhere safe, inside a mountain or something. We are going to see if we can find Trunks and see what's going on with him, okay?" Goku was smiling widely. You would never have guessed that he was going to look for a young man, probably half dead, in a world terrorized by a powerful monster, most likely stronger than all of them. But he didn't want to worry Krillin. The last thing he needed was that kind of preoccupation.

"Yeah! But hurry up. And remember… don't accept any candy from strangers!" said Krillin, joking to alleviate some of the tension in the air.

"Why?" asked Goku, with a confused expression. Piccolo and Vegeta looked at him, then left, acting as if they hadn't heard Gohan, and Krillin just sweatdropped.

"Heh… Nothing. Goku,just hurry up. I have a really bad feeling about it!" Why did he have the impression that he was not going to see any of them again?

"Oh, okay! Bye! And don't worry, you'll be all right!" said Goku smiling gently.

Waving his hand, Krillin watched as his friend left him. "Be safe, my friend," he whispered softly, "May Kami help you." Since I have the strong feeling that you will need it.

This was the last time they saw Krillin alive.

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