(A/N: Filler Chapter, Don't worry, Escallion will also go off on his own after they secure Goku.)
Krillin gasped, coughing up dust as consciousness slowly clawed its way back. The world around him was a blurred, smoking nightmare, the highway shattered into canyon-sized fissures, and the bodies of his friends lay scattered and motionless in the scorched dirt.
His body burned with agony. Every rib felt fractured, his vision swam, and his limbs felt like lead weights. But as his blurred gaze swept across the crater and landed on the motionless frames of Piccolo, Trunks, Vegeta, and Escallion, terror sparked a desperate surge of adrenaline.
With a ragged, agonizing breath, Krillin dragged himself forward on his stomach. He dug his fingernails into the dirt, inch by painful inch, wincing as every movement sent sharp shocks of pain through his torso. Blood dripped from his chin onto the cracked earth beneath him, but he kept crawling, his eyes locked onto the small leather pouch lying just a few feet away, miraculously unburnt near a pile of rubble.
Reaching out with a trembling hand, his fingers finally brushed the leather strap.
Krillin hauled the pouch to his chest, unfastened the drawstring with shaking hands, and tipped a single, small green bean into his palm. With trembling fingers, he raised the Senzu bean to his lips, slipped it inside his mouth, and bit down hard.
A loud, distinct CRUNCH echoed through his jaw.
Instantly, a warm, overwhelming wave of energy surged from his stomach through every vessel in his body. The agonizing pain vanished in a split second; his cracked ribs snapped back into alignment, his stamina flooded back to full capacity, and his vision snapped into crystal-clear focus.
Krillin scrambled straight to his feet, breathing heavily as he looked down at the remaining beans in his hand, his eyes wide with urgency as he turned toward the fallen Z-Fighters.
Krillin didn't waste a second. Clutching the pouch, he sprinted straight for Escallion first, kneeling beside the fallen Saiyan. He pried Escallion's jaw open, dropped a Senzu bean onto his tongue, and massaged his throat until he swallowed.
CRUNCH.
Escallion's eyes snapped open—the yellow-and-black rings flashing for a brief second before settling into his natural color. He gasped, his chest heaving as the fatal internal damage evaporated, his strength flooding back in an instant.
"Stay down for a sec, I've gotta get the others!" Krillin barked over his shoulder, already darting toward Trunks.
He slipped a bean into Trunks' mouth. The half-Saiyan groaned, his broken spine snapping back into alignment as he sat up abruptly, clutching his chest in disbelief.
Krillin scrambled across the rubble to Piccolo, tossing a bean into the Namekian's mouth. Piccolo chewed, his severed pride and battered body restoring instantly as he pushed himself up onto one knee, his eyes narrowing sharply toward the horizon.
Finally, Krillin rushed over to Vegeta, whose right arm hung limp and mangled at a sickening angle. Krillin forced a bean past the Prince's clenched teeth.
CRUNCH.
Vegeta's eyes flew open, burning with pure, unadulterated fury. The bone in his forearm snapped cleanly back into place with a sickening pop, his skin knitting together instantly. He surged to his feet, a golden aura bursting around him for a split second in sheer rage as he glared around the empty, ruined canyon.
"Where are they?!" Vegeta roared, his knuckles turning white as he slammed his fist into his palm. "Where did those Android freaks go?!"
"They're gone, Vegeta," Escallion said quietly, standing up beside the rest of the fully restored Z-Fighters, his eyes fixed on the distant trail of dust left behind by the fleeing androids.
Krillin rushed over to Tien, who was lying motionless near the fractured cliffside, and slipped a bean into his mouth.
CRUNCH.
Tien's eyes snapped open, his stamina surging back instantly as he sat up, rubbing his neck where 17 had choked him out. He looked around at the destroyed valley, his expression darkening as he stood up to join the group.
"Why didn't they finish us off?" Tien asked, his voice dripping with frustration and genuine confusion. "They had us completely helpless. They could have squashed us like flies and walked away."
He turned his sharp glare toward the far side of the road, where Vegeta stood several yards away from the group, arms tightly crossed over his chest, facing away from them in a cold, silent brood as he stared into the mountains.
"This is all his fault," Tien gritted out, pointing a finger toward the Saiyan Prince. "He drove us right into this because of his damn ego, acting like he was completely untouchable."
"It's not just on him, Tien," Escallion interjected smoothly, stepping between Tien and the distant Prince. His voice was calm, carrying the heavy weight of reality. "We all underestimated their strength. Every single one of us thought we knew what we were walking into, and we were wrong."
Escallion looked over at Trunks and Piccolo, who remained silent.
"Vegeta stepped up first, but let's not pretend any of us were going to just sit back and let those androids march straight to Kakarot," Escallion continued, his eyes narrowing slightly toward the horizon. "We had to try to stop them from killing Kakarot. That was the mission, regardless of who threw the first punch."
A heavy silence settled over the ruined canyon. A few yards away, Vegeta's jaw clenched tight, but he didn't utter a single word.
A low, threatening growl erupted from Vegeta's throat, vibrating through the canyon before a blinding burst of Super Saiyan Ki detonated around him. Without offering a single word or backward glance, the Saiyan Prince launched into the sky, his golden aura trailing behind him like a meteor as he rocketed toward the horizon at breakneck speed.
Trunks instinctively stepped forward, his own golden aura flaring as he reached toward the sky. "Wait! Father!"
Trunks bent his knees, preparing to power up and give chase, but a heavy hand clamped firmly onto his shoulder.
"Leave him be, Trunks," Piccolo commanded, his voice cold and even.
Trunks spun around, his eyes wide with desperate panic. "But he's unstable! He's going to-"
"He needs space," Escallion added, stepping up beside the Namekian with his hands resting casually on his hips. His sharp, level gaze remained fixed on the vanishing streak of light in the distance. "His pride was just shattered in front of everyone he considers beneath him. If you chase after him right now, he'll turn that fury on you."
Trunks gritted his teeth, his jaw trembling as he looked back up at the empty, quiet sky. With a heavy, defeated exhale, his Super Saiyan aura faded away, leaving the young warrior looking contemplatively at the sky.
Krillin stared down at his trembling, blood-stained palms, his shoulders slumping under a crushing wave of guilt. "Dammit..." he muttered, his voice cracking with self-loathing. "I just stood there. If I'd acted faster, if I'd gotten the Senzu beans out earlier, none of you would have taken that kind of beating. I was completely useless out here."
Piccolo crossed his heavy arms, letting out a short, scoffing grunt. "Don't sweat it, Krillin. Look around you." The Namekian gestured toward the cracked canyon walls. "Escallion and Trunks were both Super Saiyan, and they still got taken down. You throwing yourself into the meat grinder earlier wouldn't have saved anyone. It just would've gotten you killed."
Tien wiped a smear of dirt from his forehead, his expression grim as he stared at the scorched earth. "If only Goku were here... If he were healthy and fighting alongside us, things would be different."
"No, they wouldn't," Escallion interjected sharply, his tone dropping into a cold, realistic edge that made everyone turn.
Escallion looked Tien dead in the eye, his gaze unwavering. "Even if Kakarot were here right now, fully healthy, it wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference. In fact, it would've made the androids' job easier."
"Goku is their primary target," Escallion folds his arms over his chest, stepping forward. "Right now, they're playing around because they're bored. But if Kakarot showed up on this battlefield, their programming would trigger completely. They wouldn't fight us in shifts or toy with their food; they would synchronize instantly and go straight for the kill. They have infinite stamina, no energy signature to track, and zero hesitation. Dropping Kakarot into this mess today would have just given them their trophy on a silver platter."
Trunks stared at his trembling hands, the horrifying realization finally washing over him completely.
"It's not just that..." Trunks stammered, his voice laced with growing dread as he looked from Escallion to Piccolo. "There are four of them now. In my time, Android 16 and Android 21 didn't even exist! It was only 17 and 18!"
He took a sharp breath, shaking his head in utter disbelief as he looked out over the shattered gorge.
"And it's not just that there are more of them... 17 and 18 are vastly stronger than the ones in my future," Trunks continued, his breath coming faster. "In my timeline, I could at least hold my ground for a short while against one of them on my own. But here? These two fought with a level of power, speed, and precision that makes the ones I know look like children playing games. The history I knew... the timeline... it's completely wrong."
Piccolo stared down at the scorched earth, his sharp features locked in deep, calculated thought. "Listen to me," Piccolo said, his voice dropping into a stern, commanding tone that immediately cut through the group's panic.
"All four of you need to get back to Kame House immediately. Pack up Goku and move him someplace safe where those machines can't trace his location."
Krillin blinked, taken aback by the Namekian's sudden shift in direction. "Wait, Piccolo, what about you? Where are you going?"
"I have something I need to attend to," Piccolo replied coldly. Before Escallion, Trunks, Tien, or Krillin could utter another word or demand an explanation, Piccolo crouched low. A fierce white aura exploded around his frame, and with a deafening sonic boom, he launched himself straight into the sky, streaking like a comet toward Kami's Lookout.
Trunks reached out, watching the Namekian disappear into the clouds. "Where is he going in such a hurry?"
"He's going to unify," Escallion said quietly, his sharp, black eyes watching Piccolo vanish. "He realizes raw Saiyan power isn't enough anymore. He's going to make himself whole again."
"In any case, standing around in a crater isn't going to fix anything," Escallion said, turning his back on the wreckage and rolling his shoulders. "We need to move. Now."
Nodding in grim agreement, Trunks, Krillin, and Tien powered up alongside him. The four fighters took to the sky in a tight formation, keeping their Ki low as they rocketed across the ocean toward Kame House.
The silence hung heavy over them, broken only by the roaring wind against their faces. Krillin sped up slightly, flying alongside Trunks with a look of anxious dread locked onto his face.
"Hey, Trunks..." Krillin called out, his voice laced with nervous tension. "That antidote you brought from the future... how long does it take actually to cure the heart virus once it kicks in?"
Trunks looked over, his expression solemn as he adjusted his grip in mid-air.
"Ten days," Trunks replied, his voice heavy with the gravity of their situation. "It takes ten full days for the medicine to completely purge the virus from his system and rebuild his heart tissue. Until those ten days are up, Goku can't exert himself, not even a little. If he tries to fight or even power up right now, the stress will kill him before the androids do."
Tien and Krillin exchanged a quick, knowing glance across the airwaves, a shared look of grim determination washing over both of their faces.
"Ten days," Tien repeated, nodding slowly as his three eyes focused on the endless ocean stretching below them. "That's manageable. The world is huge, and those androids don't have Ki-sensing abilities."
"Yeah," Krillin agreed, letting out a small, cautious breath of relief as a faint grin broke through his nervous expression. "If we keep Goku hidden in a remote spot, somewhere completely off the radar, we can easily keep him safe until the medicine finishes its work. We just have to stay smart, keep our heads down, and outrun the clock."
"That's the easy part," Escallion noted from the front of the flight formation, his sharp eyes fixed straight ahead. "The real challenge is what happens on day eleven when Kakarot wakes up and realizes how far behind we all are."
By the time the island finally appeared on the horizon, the sun was beginning to dip beneath the ocean waters, casting a long, amber glow across Kame House.
As the group touched down on the warm sand, Master Roshi, Oolong, and Yamcha rushed out onto the porch, their faces tight with anxiety. But before a flurry of questions could break out, Tien turned to the group, his hands already settling at his waist.
"I'm heading out," Tien announced, his voice firm and unwavering. "I need to find Chiaotzu. We're going to train harder than we ever have. Standing by and watching isn't an option for me anymore."
"Capsule Corporation," Trunks answered, stepping into the ship's doorway. "My mother has a subterranean shelter beneath the main compound. It's fully shielded from energy scans, completely self-sustained, and it's the one place where we can keep him totally comfortable while the medicine does its work."
Before Krillin could reply, the front door of Kame House slammed open. Chi-Chi marched down the wooden steps, hauling a massive, overstuffed duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Her jaw was set in a hard, uncompromising line, her eyes furious yet shining with unshed tears.
"I'm going with him," Chi-Chi declared, her voice leaving zero room for debate as she pushed past Krillin and climbed straight into the rear bay. She dropped the heavy bag onto the cabin floor beside Goku's mattress and immediately dropped to her knees, taking her husband's clammy hand into hers. "Nobody is leaving my Goku in some cold basement without me."
A soft, low hum of displaced air cut through the evening breeze as a small shadow descended onto the grass. Gohan landed without making a sound, his boots settling softly into the sand. His face was pale, his eyes wide with concern as he looked at the ship, then up at Escallion and Trunks.
"I felt everyone's Ki drop earlier..." Gohan said quietly, his voice trembling slightly. "Is Dad going to be okay?"
Chi-Chi's head snapped up at the sound of her son's voice. Abandoning Goku's side for a split second, she lunged out of the cargo bay hatch, her hands flying to Gohan's shoulders as she inspected him frantically for injuries.
"Gohan! Where on earth did you disappear to?!" Chi-Chi cried, her motherly worry instantly overriding her fear. "You dropped your father off at Master Roshi's and then vanished into thin air! Do you have any idea how terrified I was?!"
Gohan winced slightly, looking down at his boots as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry, Mom," Gohan said softly, his voice full of genuine regret. "After we got Dad into bed, I flew straight over to Capsule Corp to check in on Bulma and make sure she and baby Trunks were safe. I wanted to see if she had any news from the front lines."
"Well, you should have said something first!" Chi-Chi scolded, though her grip on his shoulders softened as she let out a long, shuddering sigh. She pulled him into a quick, tight hug before turning him toward the open hatch. "Come on then. Help me keep your father comfortable; we're heading to Bulma's place right now."
Escallion watched the exchange silently, leaning against the hull of the ship with his arms crossed, as he watched the horizon, the engines revving up for takeoff.