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Trunks' eyes quivered as he stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him.
Though just a baby, he already knew what was coming.
Son Gohan had survived, yes, but only because he had been away, searching for the Dragon Balls. He wasn't present when the slaughter began. His survival was a matter of pure fate, nothing more.
But the Dragon Balls Gohan had collected would soon turn to stone… all because Piccolo had fallen.
(No… I have to stop Piccolo Ojisan from dying!)
(If he's killed, it's truly over; there'll be no bringing anyone back!)
Trunks wanted to rewrite fate, to break this cycle of death and ruin. But right now, he was just a powerless infant with no strength and no voice.
His tiny body filled with a crushing sense of helplessness.
All he could do was pray for some miracle, however slim. He clung to the desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, the Dragon Balls Son Gohan found wouldn't become inert.
As if hearing that silent plea, something unexpected happened.
While Son Gohan soared across the sky, blazing through the air like a comet, he suddenly stopped, frozen mid-flight, as if struck by a petrification spell cast from the heavens.
His body floated motionless in the wind, his eyes wide and distant, trembling as if overcome by an invisible force.
Tears spilled from his eyes, falling freely and landing with weight upon the Dragon Radar clutched tightly in his hands.
The screen, which had been alive with the pulsing energy signals of the Dragon Balls, dimmed. One by one, the signals blinked out.
Until… they were gone.
Every last one.
It meant only one thing: the seven Dragon Balls, once kept alive by Piccolo's existence, had perished along with him.
"Piccolo… Ojisan's Ki is gone too…" Son Gohan whispered, his voice thick with anguish, choked by sorrow.
"Piccolo Ojisan!!!" A heartrending scream tore through the sky, raw and explosive, shaking the very clouds.
The cry, saturated with grief and fury, echoed through the air like thunder from a broken soul. Gohan's face was streaked with tears, and the flame of hope in his heart had been utterly devoured by despair.
…
Elsewhere, Vegeta had already touched down, his boots crushing the scorched earth beneath him.
"Heh… another Ki signature gone. Looks like the Namekian bit the dust, too. All those weaklings… snuffed out like flies. Well then… time for Super Vegeta to take the stage."
Clenching his fists with anticipation, his eyes blazed with unshakable pride.
And in that very moment, Trunks, still helpless and cradled in his carriage, saw him.
(Thank goodness… Dad is still alive! There's still hope!)
Vegeta turned, casting a glance toward Trunks, and the corner of his mouth curled upward in a faint, cocky grin.
In his eyes, he alone possessed the strength to crush the Androids.
Vegeta suddenly flared his aura, golden energy pulsing around him like a roaring inferno, and Trunks felt a tremor of unease ripple through his small body.
This was bad.
Vegeta was never one to wait. Now that he had ascended to Super Saiyan, he wouldn't sit still; he'd fly off at once to face the Androids head-on.
(It's over! Knowing Dad… he'll go straight after them! But he's not ready, he can't defeat them as he is! No! I have to stop him somehow!)
Panicked, Trunks began waving his little arms wildly and suddenly burst into loud sobs, hoping to catch his father's attention in any way he could.
(Don't go! Dad, please!)
More and more emotions poured into Vegeta's mind, an overwhelming tide of thoughts and feelings pressing against his battle-hardened soul.
His brows furrowed tightly. His fists trembled.
And then, in the next heartbeat, his sharp gaze locked onto Trunks, eyes blazing, his fury evident.
His golden aura surged, and for a moment, it looked like he was about to transform again, pushing his power even further.
Seeing this, Trunks cried even louder, wailing with all the strength his little lungs could muster.
(Dad's made up his mind… Piccolo Ojisan is gone, and the Dragon Balls are lost…)
(If Dad leaves now… if he falls too… then no one can be revived. It'll be permanent.)
(Is history repeating itself? Will the future fall to ruin all over again?)
(In the end, will it be just me and Mom, clinging to each other in the ashes of the world?)
(I'll survive somehow…)
(But Mom… Mom will carry that heartbreak for the rest of her life… won't she?)
Vegeta's pupils suddenly contracted as if struck by some unseen force and then… his tense expression began to loosen. His rigid brow softened.
Slowly, Vegeta turned his head, and his gaze fell upon Bulma. His eyes trembled. She was the only one who had ever truly shown him affection, from his earliest memories to the present day. During all his years on Earth, it was Bulma who taught him what tenderness and warmth felt like.
Yet the proud blood of the Saiyan royal line burning within him would never allow him to retreat.
In the very next instant, Vegeta erupted into a golden blaze, transforming into a Super Saiyan in a flash of crackling light.
"Hmph! What a joke! I am the proud Prince of all Saiyans! Those pathetic Androids? What is there to fear?"
Seeing Vegeta ascend into his gleaming, golden state, Trunks' heart plummeted into his chest.
By now, Bulma had already learned of the devastation, the others had all fallen at the hands of the Androids.
She stood frozen in place, hands covering her face, tears cascading down her cheeks.
Eventually, her eyes lifted, gazing at Vegeta, now wreathed in divine light.
Her voice trembled as she cried out, "Vegeta!"
The sound of her voice brought a flicker of renewed hope to Trunks.
She was his only hope now. Because if anyone could sway Vegeta's heart, it was her. She was his one weakness.
But then, something about the way Bulma looked at him shifted.
Her gaze sharpened, filled with trust- no, filled with belief, as though she'd placed the fate of the world in Vegeta's hands.
"Vegeta! Everyone might still be alive! You have to save them!"
And for a reason even he couldn't explain, Vegeta's body reacted on instinct; he moved without thought.
A reflex born not from combat training but from long nights shared, from years of silent understanding.
Hearing Bulma's plea, seeing her trembling form, made Vegeta's body lean forward with urgency.
Watching this, Trunks' expression grew grim.
(No! Mom doesn't understand! Dad can't win against the Androids right now!)
With each passing thought, Trunks's tiny fists clenched tighter, his knuckles pale from the strain.
"Hmph! Androids, you say? I've already ascended. I've become a Super Saiyan! I'm not like the weaklings on this Earth!"
Though Vegeta seemed to be speaking only to himself, not directly responding to Bulma's cry, his words seemed to lift the weight from her heart.
With eyes shining and tears still clinging to her lashes, Bulma gave him a big thumbs-up because she had witnessed firsthand the might of a Super Saiyan.
She remembered it vividly: when Son Goku had transformed to strike down Frieza, scarring the tyrant with divine power. And when Frieza had returned with his father, Goku had risen again as a Super Saiyan to destroy them both.
Goku was gone now… but Vegeta, her husband, could still tap into that same sacred fury.
Vegeta was the only man left who could shoulder the mantle after Son Goku's passing.
"Then go, Vegeta! I believe in you!" Bulma shouted. "I promise, once this is over… I'll give you a second child!"
Vegeta's cheeks suddenly flushed red, caught off guard.
"Tch! I don't need you to tell me to crush those rust buckets!"
Trunks sighed deeply, his hope flickering out.
(It's over. It's really over… Dad's no match for the Androids, not like this.)
(Even as a Super Saiyan… he can't win.)
In his mind's eye, Trunks saw it, the haunting vision of Vegeta being impaled by an Android's merciless strike.
(He can't win… Not even Dad… Maybe not even Goku Ojisan, if he were alive.)
(But… Goku Ojisan would've remembered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! He'd have figured out a plan! He always does!)
As those thoughts surged through Trunks' heart, they spilled like a flood into Vegeta's consciousness.
And in an instant, Vegeta's face twisted, burning red with fury.
[Again with Kakarrot! He's dead, damn it! I am Vegeta! The most powerful Saiyan alive! Hmph! I'm far beyond what Kakarrot ever was!]
He roared at Trunks, his voice thunderous. "You insolent brat, I am the Prince of all Saiyans!!"
His golden aura erupted like a volcano, wild and unrestrained, pulsing with rage and pride.
With a blinding flash, Vegeta launched himself into the sky like a golden arrow, streaking toward the direction of the Androids' last attack.
Left in the garden courtyard were only two figures, Bulma, burning with desperate hope, and Trunks, cloaked in sorrow.
"Go, Vegeta!" Bulma called out, holding Trunks close, cradling him tightly.
She gently stroked his soft cheek. "Daddy's going to win, right, Trunks?"
But Trunks didn't smile. His face remained stern and shadowed, his thoughts tangled and heavy.
He had hoped Bulma would stop Vegeta, but instead, she'd ignited his pride.
And just now, he had sensed it clearly: Vegeta's energy was erratic, unstable.
That kind of reckless Ki was the greatest weakness of any Super Saiyan.
As Trunks felt that rising unease settle deep into his chest, a terrible certainty bloomed within him: it looked and felt as if the tragedy of the future was about to play out once again.
(End Of This Chapter)
PS-"For every 200 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter!" (Current-3)