Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball V: A World Both Familiar and Foreign ❯ Nothing Else Matters ( Chapter 34 )

DragonBall V: A World both Familiar and Foreign

Author's Note: Another chapter coming at you. Some replies to reviews… Iceman: Yes I've seen the end of DBZ since writing that AN. But thanks anyway. Regus12: Peasa won't end up with Hercule. That's a fate worse than death! But she will end up with one of the Z warriors. That romance will play out after the Cell Saga, somewhat coinciding with the early stages of the Gohan/Videl romance. I won't say who she ends up with though. Death Knight's Crowbar: This chapter should quell your Gohan complaints a bit. And… hmm yaio… Trunks and Tien sounds like a good pairing… lol just kidding. Darkside: I didn't hook up Peasa and Trunks because Peasa sees them as brother and sister. Trunks only saw her as a potential mate because he's too lame to go out and meet other women. Haha He didn't exactly know many from his future, after all. Plus, I intended her to end up with someone else, so she couldn't end up with Trunks. I do so enjoy teasing you all though. To all: I'm glad you're all enjoying the story. I'm having a good time writing it. And I know the chapters aren't coming out like every other day anymore, but I have life stuff going on and I'm also writing two other stories right now. What's worse, is there are several OTHER stories rattling around in my brain that wanna get written, including a Resident Evil fanfic or two, another DBZ one (and possibly even an AU fic to THIS story as well!). But those will wait till I at least finish the NG: Eva fic which is shorter than this one. So, not to worry. I can handle it. This one woulda been finished yesterday but I got sleepy right in the middle of the middle. Haha Anyway, here it is, chapter 34!

Required Disclaimer: I don't own the DB franchise, I've never worked for them, I'm not making any money off this, and I'm dead sexxy baby! Read and enjoy.

Chapter 34: Nothing Else Matters

The door to the Room of Spirit and Time opened and out came Trunks and Peasa, both looking around and momentarily letting relief brighten their faces when they saw the rest of the Z warriors awaiting them, but the grim expressions on the faces that greeted them made their smiles drop. "Cell?" Trunks asked apprehensively.

"Still alive. We failed at keeping him from Android 18. He's reached his final form." Piccolo explained gruffly.

"But the good news is," Goku added with a hopeful smile on his face, "He's given us two weeks to train so we can give him a challenge."

Peasa scowled and glanced at Trunks. "I'll go fight him now then. If I die, then someone else can try." She was about to take off when Krillin stopped her.

"Hey! Now you have obviously spent way too much time with Vegeta! We have 13 more days to train. Don't let your father's sacrifice be in vain." He pleaded.

The Saiyan princess scowled. "It already is. You let him get the girl." Without waiting for a reply, she took off and away.

Goku blinked. "Well, she's fast. I'll give her that much. Reminds me of Vegeta. Someone should go after her, huh?"

Piccolo shook his head. "She's not heading for Cell. Give her some time alone. Trunks? How did the training go in there?"

The lavender-haired boy coughed nervously. "Uh… I was successful at reaching the next level. Peasa wasn't though. I'm a lot more powerful than she is now." Pride fairly radiated out of his voice.

Goku's eyes widened in interest. "Really?! Show me!"

"Hey Goku, maybe he's even stronger than you now!" Yamcha teased, nudging the eldest living Saiyan with the tip of his elbow.

Trunks smiled sheepishly and clenched his fists, taking a deep breath as he stokes the fires of his power. With a cry of elation, his aura burst around him in golden light. After several moments, his muscle mass literally doubled in size, then tripled. He went from looking somewhat scrawny to a build that body builders would find impressive in mere moments. "There." He cast a smile towards the others, most of whom stared at him in wide-eyed awe.

"His power… it's unbelievable!" Krillin commented.

"Amazing…" Yamcha added, feeling suddenly self-conscious of his own power.

"Useless." Piccolo scoffed.

"What!?" Nearly everyone else demanded, looking at the Namek as if he were crazy. Everyone except Goku.

"You sense it too? I could have reached this level as well, but it's worthless. Trunks, your power has increased, but you're too massive now. You couldn't even hit Cell, you'd be too slow. I imagine Peasa came to the same realization, which is why she didn't surpass you." Goku explained.

Embarrassment and disbelief darkened the demi-Saiyan's face. "No, you're wrong! I can beat Cell! I could beat all of you!"

"Trunks, I think you should listen to my dad." Gohan offered.

"What do you know about it!? You don't even train, you little shit!" Trunks exploded, growling at the boy. He choked off his verbal assault when he suddenly found a green hand closing off his windpipe. "Erk!"

"Leave the boy alone. Your own incompetence is what made you think you had ascended. If you don't believe us that you're too slow, spar me or Goku. We'll show you just how wrong you are." The Namek growled out. It was always a mistake to pick on Gohan when Piccolo was around, and Trunks had learned that very quickly. Trunks took a swing at Piccolo, intending to prove him wrong by knocking him flat on his green ass, but was surprised when the Namek simply vanished. "Believe me now?" Piccolo inquired from behind him.

"I am not weak!" Trunks screamed, throwing punches and kicks at the green man as fast as he could throw them. They floated up into the air and the demi-Saiyan was getting frustrated as he found Piccolo easily dodging his blows. "Damn it, how did you get so fast, you freak!?"

Finally growing tired of dodging the pathetically slow attacks, the Namek drove his knee deep into the boy's gut, then slammed his elbow down on the back of his neck, knocking him down into the Lookout. He landed a few meters away and approached slowly, watching for signs that there was still fight in the angry young man. "Cell is faster than me. And not as merciful." He stated. Without waiting for a reply, he straightened up and looked at the Room of Spirit and Time. "Ok, who's next to use the hyperbolic time chamber?"

"Tien and I would like to take our turn, if you all don't mind? We figured since we have enough days before the fight with Cell, we'd go ahead and just do both days at once. If that's all right with the rest of you?" Yamcha asked, looking around at the other Z warriors.

"Works for me." Goku replied with a smile. He looked in the direction that Peasa had flown off in. "I think when you guys get out, I'll see about going in there with Peasa. It's always good to fight against different opponents, and I've never sparred with her. I think we could learn a lot from each other."

Trunks straightened up and saw Krillin leaning over and looking at him, or more specifically his neck. "What are you looking at, shrimp?"

"Just checking to see if you were all right." The monk responded, half-lying. He turned to the others and asked, "So, Goku and Peasa for their second days. Yamcha and Tien are taking both of theirs now. Who am I going in with?"

"You could go in with Trunks if you want. I want to train by myself for my second year." Piccolo answered.

"Fine. I'm going to check on Mother." Trunks took off without waiting for a response.

Krillin chuckled. "Peasa isn't the only one that took after Vegeta."

Yamcha and Tien shrugged and walked into the hyperbolic time chamber, determined looks on their faces.

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"And now the latest breaking news. The reformed Red Ribbon Army took over the port city of Shell City this morning, with a record number of both military and civilian casualties being reported. At this rate, we may all be pledging our allegiance to the Red Ribbon flag. Witnesses on site said tha-" The news reporter was cut as the television was turned off.

"I'm trying to work here, Dad. I'd appreciate you not putting the TV on!" Bulma complained, scowling at her addle-brained father. "Can you check the measurements on that emitter, please?"

Dr. Briefs scratched his head and let out a silly sounding laugh. "Yes yes… of course."

After being reported the readings, the widow of Vegeta scowled. "That's still too low. Maybe if I reroute the energy through amplifier crystals? That might work… I'll have to make sure to get the size and shapes exactly right…" She sighed and tapped at her computer, tuning out the rest of the world until her son from an alternate future entered the lab.

"Heya mom, how's your latest invention working?" The lavender-haired youth inquired.

Bulma leaned back and turned to face the boy and gave him an encouraging smile. "I think it'll be ready within a week. How'd your training go?"

Trunks scowled at the thought and leaned against the wall. "It was basically worthless. All I ended up doing was making a fool of myself and becoming a worse fighter than I was to begin with." His head lowered and a tear slid down his cheek, mostly obscured by the lavender locks that had fallen over his eyes.

But it did not go unnoticed by his blue-haired mother. "Hey, Trunks. Don't sweat it kiddo. The others can take care of it. One thing I've learned is to never count Goku out." She walked over to him and put her arms around him, despite his attempt to wave her off. "It'll be ok."

"I've been worried about my own mother. I mean… the Bulma from the future. You know what I mean." He coughed nervously and scuffed the tip of his shoe against the floor.

"You miss her. I understand. I know she misses you too. If there were a way to send you back to her…" She started.

"But you can't!" Trunks shouted suddenly, pushing her away. Luckily for her, he did it gently or she would have been thrown through the wall. "You're not even my mother from the past. You're not my mother. You're no better than a stranger when it all comes down to it. And Vegeta… I never knew him. But that Vegeta… he wasn't my father. And Peasa damn sure isn't my sister, no matter what she fucking says." He took off, anger and grief burning bright in his eyes.

Bulma sighed and shook her head, watching him until he was too far away to be seen. "I know you've been handed a tough break kiddo. We all have. I won't hold it against you." She glanced at her father, who pretended to be too busy fiddling with one of the parts to the weapon that Bulma was building. "Aren't you glad I never gave you that much trouble, Dad?"

"Erm… yes… of course sweetie. Daddy loves you very very much." He coughed and continued working.

"WELL I DIDN'T!" She screamed. She huffed and returned to her work, ignoring the sweat forming on Dr. Briefs' forehead.

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Videl sat at the top of Korin's tower, meditating in the manner that Gohan had taught her during the last Budoukai. Sweat still glistened on her skin from spending half the day trying to grab Korin with her blindfold on. She had barely touched him several times but he was still too fast for her and it had become obvious that he was going easy on her when she was trying to get the sacred water. She had learned all she could from it after all, and it was time to progress the training. "Can you feel them?" Korin asked in a gentle voice, watching her meditate.

"No… well… maybe. I can sense energy but I can't tell where one ends and the other begins." She complained. <And this blindfold is getting itchy.>

"Focus on one energy source in particular. Expand your mind to take in the scope of their power and reach out to sample that power and see if it is familiar to you." The cat instructed, pacing slowly.

The daughter of Hercule Satan gasped suddenly and grabbed the ground to steady herself, overwhelmed by the power she was sensing. "Who… who is that?! It's the strongest I feel."

Korin approached and put his hand on her shoulder, tapping into her awareness. "Can you sense the direction?" He felt her mind's awareness shift slightly in one direction than the other as if triangulating the power source.

"That way. Somewhat close but not very. Kami… it's just… enormous! But… I get a sense of peace from it. Is it… Goku? No… it can't be. It doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like Gohan either, but it's similar." The blue-eyed girl frowned in concentration. "I don't recognize… wait! That girl! The one that came to Roshi's island with Goku and Gohan! What was her name… Peasa! Wow… she's the strongest fighter out there."

"Second strongest." Korin corrected her.

Videl frowned and reached out with her senses again but couldn't feel anyone with a more intense aura than the Saiyan girl. "Are you sure? I don't sense anyone stronger… maybe I'm doing it wrong." Frustration thickening her voice, she shook her head.

Korin glanced around then gently turned her head in a certain direction. "That way. And it won't be pleasant so brace yourself."

Videl's searching mind finally latched onto the power that Korin was speaking of. It was hard to pinpoint, but once done… "Oh Kami…oh shit!" She cried, not caring how rude it was to curse given the circumstances. It was so much more intense than she thought possible and worse, it seemed to scream of thousands of deaths and promised certain misery and destruction. She tore the blindfold off her head and cried out, clutching her head. "It's horrible! Make it stop!" She pleaded, tears streaming out of her sparkling blue eyes.

"Focus. Shift your awareness away from Cell, don't get swallowed up in the emptiness of his soul." Korin instructed, a touch of urgency in his voice.

She opened her eyes again and Korin had to stifle a gasp, seeing that the blue of her eyes was slowly being replaced by red. She was shaking and breathing hard and the tears had dried up and she seemed angry for a few moments. "That bastard… killing so many…" In her mind she was seeing many things. All the deaths that Cell had caused as those trapped in the depths of Cell's soul cried out in their suffering, but also she saw her mother's death and her defeat at the hands of Gohan at the last Budoukai. She saw her father refusing to train her, calling her his sweet little girl and saying she had no reason to fight with him around to protect her. She saw Gohan and Peasa scowling down at her with their superior powers seeming to laugh at her. Rage boiled in her heart as her aura burst into the visible light range, tinged a bloody red in color. She screamed in defiance at the creature that caused so much suffering in the world, but it was short-lived as she over-extended her power and fell to the ground unconscious.

Korin wiped sweat off his brow and glanced up at Kami's Lookout, floating above his tower. He knew the warriors up there had sensed the girl's violent and sudden increase in power and realized they would probably be as worried over it as he was.

A while later, Videl awoke to the tickling sensation of a water droplet sliding down her cheek. It took her a moment to realize that Korin had just applied a cool wet cloth to her forehead and she seemed to be in a rather small but comfortable bed. "What… what happened?" She croaked out, realizing suddenly that her throat was dry and scratchy like she hadn't had any water in over a day.

"You passed out yesterday after sensing Cell's power. You've been running a fever since then." Korin explained.

"We were worried about you." Gohan added, stepping into her view and smiling down at her.

"Go… Gohan?" She gasped out. <What is he doing here? Oh yeah… he was up on that structure that is floating above the tower.> "Who else is here?" She sat up and winced, feeling as if she had been electrocuted. She was surprised to see Goku, Peasa, and even Piccolo standing around the room with concerned looks on their faces. "Um… hello."

"Gohan, get her some water." Piccolo ordered gruffly. He knelt down and looked the girl in the eyes. He glanced around and nodded at the others, who immediately looked relieved. "Whatever it was, it's gone. I think the evil in Cell just overwhelmed her."

Videl blinked. "What? I don't understand what happened." She smiled in thanks at Gohan as he sheepishly handed her a cool glass of water and immediately drained it and sighed as her throat was soothed by the cool liquid.

"I know I got a little sick but why is everyone acting so weird?" She inquired.

"Well… two reasons actually." Peasa started. She glanced around and scowled when she saw the others weren't jumping to continue. "First is that your power jumped to amazing levels after you sensed Cell. And I mean… amazing. For a human anyway."

"Hey!" Krillin scowled at his one-time lover who grinned teasingly at him.

"How amazing?" Videl inquired, growing more interested.

"Enough to make you the second most powerful human on the planet." Goku replied, tapping a finger against his cheek thoughtfully.

"Not stronger than Yamcha." Peasa corrected him.

"Maybe not now, but certainly before he went into the hyperbolic time chamber." The elder Saiyan argued, to which Peasa only shrugged.

"But… why?" Videl asked, scratching her head.

"Unknown, but what is more interesting is the second reason why we are concerned. Your aura… turned red." Saiyan girl pointed out, sitting on the edge of the bed and regarding the girl with obvious curiosity.

"So?" The human girl shrugged, not understanding the significance of that statement.

"Human auras are white. Saiyans' auras normally have a bit of a blue tint and then are bright gold when they go Super Saiyan. Yours was red." Krillin explained, scratching at his hair, a nervous habit he had developed since growing it.

The blue-eyed girl blinked for a few moments then frowned in thought. "Are you insinuating that I'm not human?"

"Not at all. I thoroughly examined you. You're 100% human. I even examined your DNA." Peasa informed her.

Videl tried to not make it apparent that her hand was checking her body under the covers and it confirmed her suspicions. All she was wearing was the oversized shirt she was practicing in earlier. With a blush of embarrassment she laid her arms down at her sides over the covers as if to guard them from blowing off and leaving her bare butt in view. "So… what does it mean then?"

"I asked King Kai about it." Goku responded with a goofy grin on his face. "He said it was because you took your power to a dark place. The evil in Cell overwhelmed you and you reacted to it. He's under the impression you're manifesting psychic powers."

"Psychic… powers?" Videl whispered, overwhelmed.

"You're going to need training. When you feel you've learned everything you can from Roshi, seek me out. Assuming I survive the battle against Cell. I can help train you." The Namek looked over at the young demi-Saiyan and smirked. "And Gohan can be your training partner."

Gohan blinked and looked at his sensei and opened his mouth to protest then thought better of it. <It would be rude to refuse. Maybe it would be a good idea… Mom will just have to understand. I'll just have to be careful not to lose control again.> "Sure, sounds good." <Oh man… did I just say that?>

"YES! Piccolo, you are the man!" Goku exclaimed, slapping the Namek on the back so hard the green man lost his balance for a moment. "Way to go, Piccolo!"

The Namek coughed and scowled at the Saiyan, trying not to let it show how much his back hurt. "Sure…"

"You all aren't saying I turned evil, are you?" Videl asked, changing the subject. She became worried when they didn't answer right away.

"No, just that you reacted to the evil you sensed." Gohan explained lamely. He smiled and that seemed to reassure her.

"Strange. Hey… I can sense all your powers, but I can't sense my father's!" Satan's daughter was reaching out with her senses again, but purposely avoided Cell. "He's not… dead… is he?"

Gohan frowned and reached out with his own senses, closing his eyes to concentrate. "No… there he is. Here, take my hand. Focus on me and my awareness."

Videl shifted her awareness then seemed to ride the flow of Gohan's mind, finally locating the familiar feel of her father's power. "Kami… he's like a dim bulb next to a sea of bright stars! He's… so pathetically weak! I can't believe it…"

Everyone coughed nervously and shrugged. "He doesn't know how to manipulate ki. If it's any consolation, he's about as strong as you can get without ki manipulation." Goku supplied.

Videl frowned and grew silent, ashamed at her own father's weakness. Her eyes widened when she unintentionally sensed Cell. But that was impossible unless… "Oh no! Cell is near my father!" Sweat beaded her brow as the others cast worried glanced that way. Even at top speed, they wouldn't be able to reach Cell in enough time to prevent orphaning the girl. They shook their heads sadly and left quietly as the girl stared down at her hands, focused on Cell and her father and tuning everything else out.

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"Glory to the Red Ribbon Army! All hail General Murosake!" A RR Army grunt exclaimed, saluting his commander-in-chief.

"Another great victory, men." The young general congratulated them. He cast a look at Hercule Satan and smiled. The man had become his personal bodyguard, despite the nervousness he seemed to be expressing half the time. But, despite hearing of the mayhem caused by his soldiers, he made no moves or words against the Army and had gained the general's trust. He didn't realize that the only reason the man was still around was because he was too afraid to make a move against the general, but was too paranoid to try to run.

"Yes… uh… good going guys." Mr. Satan added. <Videl, I hope you're ok out there. Daddy's trying hard not to leave ya an orphan. Oh, what a nightmare this has become!>

"All units report." Murosake commanded, looking them over critically.

"Green unit reporting minimal casualties, sir. All missions successful. We even recruited some volunteers!" The captain of the Green unit replied, saluting crisply. "We also… AAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed suddenly but it only lasted a moment as his body was incinerated.

"Holy shit!" Murosake cried out, running for his tent and forgetting all about his bodyguard. A green insectoid creature appeared in front of him and with a casual flick the man's neck was snapped.

"Well, well… my visit seems to have been unexpected." Cell grinned and stalked forward. Soldiers cried out in fear and whipped out their weapons and started hitting the creature with a hail of machine gun bullets, which just bounced off him harmlessly. "Oh, surely you can do better than that? You all have 1 minute. At the end of which, every last one of you will die. Your minute starts now." He smiled and stood still with his arms folded across his chest, watching in amusement as the soldiers shot him, threw grenades, and shook their fists in defiance.

Hercule just stared in wonder. "Gotta be a trick…" He muttered.

"DIE!!!" The soldiers shouted. One even launched a rocket at the creature but after the smoke cleared he was still standing there, looking bored.

"4, 3, 2, 1. Time's up." Cell announced. He lifted his hands and purple energy lashed out and licked across the soldiers. Explosions rocked the camp and the bodies of soldiers turned to dust and crumpled in the wind and were blown away. He looked around then came to stand before Mr. Satan. "What, no offensive from you? Perhaps you're smarter than the others."

"Y-y-y-y-y-you… you're… just a trick… can't be real… those men… oh Kami…" The martial arts master quaked and cringed away from the creature before him.

"You look like you're a fighter. Am I right?" Cell inquired. He already knew, having gained extensive knowledge of the martial arts tournaments in the past 20 years, but he wanted confirmation.

"Uh… yeah! I'm the current reigning martial arts master of the world!" Hercule announced proudly, letting out a boisterous laugh as he indicated himself with his meaty thumb.

"Good. Tell all the martial artists in the world that if they're brave and strong enough to take me on. I'm holding a tournament in ten days, just south of Ryoko (teehee) Mountain. Make sure they know that the fight is to the death, and if I am still undefeated at the end of it, I'll kill everyone on Earth just like I did those soldiers. Got all that?" Cell leaned forward and fixed his pink eyes on Mr. Satan's.

"Uh… yeah. Got it…" He replied. <Please don't wet myself… please don't wet myself…>

Cell grunted and flew off, taking a moment to incinerate the tents and all their contents. All he left was one jeep, so that the man could drive into town. He laughed and wondered how much of a challenge he'd receive from the warriors of Earth. He was eager to test his skills in battle.

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And thus another chapter comes to a close. Yay! Hope it was enjoyable. Let me know whatcha think of it. Next chapter: The Cell Games begin! And Mr. Satan takes credit for the defeat of the Red Ribbon Army (of course!) Hope you're all looking forward to it. Till next time, do svidanya!