Clinging to the Past (a DBZ fanfic)

Ch. 3 - Explaining the New Threats

'Mirai' lead Piccolo to an area away from the others so they wouldn't hear all the information that she would tell Piccolo. She had decided on leaving Trunks with the others, as she felt she could handle the explanations alone and thought he could maybe try to get to know Vegeta a bit more, even though the thought was quite far fetched.

"I'm sure you've got a bunch of questions. Why not start with that, hm?" 'Mirai' started, leaning onto a rock in the area while bringing her soda to her lips to drink.

"I suppose that'll do, there is something I've been wondering," Piccolo placed his water bottle onto a rock near himself before crossing his arms over his chest. He then looked to 'Mirai' with narrowed eyes, "You're Gonan, aren't you?"

Hearing this first question, 'Mirai' looked up at him from her drink, soon setting down the can next to her as a small, yet saddened smile made it's way to her face. "I should've known you'd be smart enough to figure out I'm Gonan."

"Well, I've trained you since you were a kid," the giant Namekian replied with a grin, "Which means, I also know that you're pretty much inseparable from your brother. That leads me to my next questions. Just where is Gohan? There's two of you here, so there must be another Gohan around, right?"

Almost immediately after Piccolo's next question, the small smile 'Mirai' had vanished, making Piccolo's grin falter at this small reaction. He watched as his student from the future turned her head to face the ground.

"That..." 'Mirai' tried to begin, but stopped with a sigh as she thought of what to say. "I suppose I should explain everything else. Well, for starters, me and that boy over with the others come from twenty years in the future. Obviously, we came for a reason." She let her eye drift to where she knew the others were. "And that reason... Well, three years from now, on May 12th around 10AM, two androids will appear on an island 9km Southwest of South City. Those monsters have power beyond your imagination. Beyond our strength even as Super Saiyans..."

"What?! Two beings even stronger than two Super Saiyans?!" Piccolo could hardly contain his shock. That lavender haired boy completely demolished Frieza and his father, and these two beings were even stronger than that boy and 'Mirai' combined? How could such beings exist?

"Yes, as hard as it is to believe..." 'Mirai' stated as she faced Piccolo once more, "What's even more surprising is that they're basically cyborgs made here on Earth by the chief scientist for the former Red Ribbon army, Dr. Gero. Her survived after dad destroyed the army all those years ago, and continued his research."

"What would Dr. Gero want with two incredibly strong cyborgs?" Piccolo questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm honestly not too sure. Maybe World conquest again? It wouldn't be the first time I suppose. All I really know is that he created ultimate killings machines, 'Mechanical Men numbers 19 and 20', and they killed him. Now all that's left are androids designed to enjoy slaughter and destruction."

"Well, that answers why you and that boy are here..." Piccolo started, letting his eyes wander to the ground as he processed the information he had just been given. "But that didn't answer my question about Gohan. And what about myself and the others, as well as your father? Wouldn't we be helping out, too?"

"About that..." 'Mirai' looked back at the ground as she remembered what had happened to each individual fighter. "Trunks, the boy I came with, and I are the only two left who can fight them. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chaozu, Vegeta, and yourself... you'll all be killed in the first initial battle three years from now. Gohan and I will escape just barely, and we began to train Trunks to fight, but..." her hands clenched into fists as her body began to shake at the last memory she had of her brother.