25 Chapter 25: News Flash

Digging into his pocket, Father pulled out two capsules and detonated them with a click of his thumb. Out of them came two chairs which Dad promptly sat on one.

"Sit, boy. Father-son bonding time now."

"Alright then," I mumbled under my breath.

Leaning back in my chair, I began to half focus on the ongoing fight.

From what I could tell, Gohan and Trunks still hadn't noticed that I had arrived. They both were leaps and bounds ahead of what they were last year. Trunks had gotten so powerful that I was certain that he could take on the androids of his time without a problem while the now 7-year-old Gohan had somehow managed to keep at his pace.

Trunks wore a black Saiyan armor similar to Father's and had my swords strapped to his back which made me believe that no one had taught him telekinesis. Either that or he was just using them as weights as I once did. On the other hand, Gohan wore Goku's old Gi which looked quite fitting for him and had thick wild hair almost like Goku's.

Both of them looked like porcupines in desperate need of quill clipping, but then again, I wasn't one to talk. I had hair that went down to my knees. In my Prime form, I looked like a barbarian from either a video game or a comic book.

"*Boom-Boom-Boom*"

As they collided, I could see the shockwaves riveting through the air. In a strange way, the aggression in their brawling brought back memories of when I was training with Gohan. On the surface, It looked like they had intentions of killing each other, but both parties were safe.

"So… when did Gohan unlock Super Saiyan."

I asked, leaning forward and focusing on the fight.

For a moment, Dad went silent as if contemplating something.

"The potential of you halflings defies all logic. It's disgusting." He said, intensely watching the ongoing brawl.

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is, you few are genetic freaks. Kakarot's bastard over there is proof. All he needed to achieve that form was a bit of tough love. Now, he's strong enough to take on Frieza."

"Love's a strong word. I didn't know you were capable of it?" I jested, attempting to break the tension.

"Shut it, you dolt. If that were the case, the miniature version of you wouldn't be suckling on your mother's teat upstairs… Anyway, It's just an expression. I couldn't care less for the boy. What I meant by the aforementioned tough love was that the hellspawn over there only needed a slight psychological push to go Super Saiyan."

"How'd he get pushed there?" I asked with suspicion.

"You should know. Losing all your loved ones will do that to a person."

"Right…"

"That in addition to making fun of him for being an Orphan really pushed the boy to be the threat that he is today."

"You… You did what?"

"Don't act like you didn't hear me. I verbalized exactly what I meant." He crossed his arms.

"So… You verbally bullied him?"

"Not just verbally… You think I'm a pansy who does things half-heartedly because the answer to that would be a hard no."

"What did you-"

"I Physically bullied him too. It works wonders on you, half-breeds, for some reason." He gave a malicious smirk.

"... You are an awful person." I shook my head.

"Your point?" He glared.

"No point. Just a fact I felt like had to be verbalized."

"*sigh*"

"Redundant statement aside, after you and Kakarot disappeared, as you know, a few months later, Bojack arrived and took away my favorite arm and leg. A little bit after that, the boy's mother and grandfather died. After that, I found him training in the mountains alone and decided that I wanted to test his limitations. So we fought. And while we did, I quickly realized that he had grown beyond my expectations… But I sensed that was withholding his full capabilities. After some taunting, his hair turned golden and the brat ended up knocking one of my teeth out."

"You let him knock one of your teeth out?"

"Watch that tone of yours… He caught me by surprise."

"I bet… Gohan in any timeline isn't a joke. How did you react after he did that?" I asked, feeling drawn into his story.

"I beat him until he was unconscious like any rational person would have."

"Dad. He was 6 last year."

"Your point?" He said, raising a brow.

"..."

"Moving on, after I beat him, I brought him here so that I could further hone his abilities. And before you ask why, I felt pity for the brat. I lost my parents and planet at around his age. Knowing that he had a hidden power inside of him, I wanted to harness it. At the time, Crybaby was in desperate need of a training partner as well." He then began to rub his metallic prosthetic leg.

"Seeing as I was ¾ the man I used to be, I had no other choice but to channel my vengeance through those two. Or at least, until I was able to wish myself whole with the Dragon Balls. But everyone knows how that ordeal turned out." He snared.

"What did Mom think about you taking in Gohan?"

"Bulma jumped at the chance to take him into her custody. Shortly after, upon my request, she and her father built this training facility. Once they did, Gohan, the other version of you, and I trained on a regular basis, preparing ourselves to kill that insufferable Blue scantily clad pirate and the remainder of his men. And if that plan failed, we intended on waiting for the 'GOLDEN' child." He spat with irritation.

"I'm guessing I'm the golden child, huh?" I chuckled half-heartedly, but only just to poke at him. I still wasn't 100% myself. The planet was safe currently, but my spirits were still down after seeing all the chaos that had transpired all over the planet.

"Your mother's words, not mine."

"I guessed as much… But I didn't think that you were capable of being a team player."

"What else was I supposed to do with this broken body? Find my missing leg and beat him with it?"

"Honestly… I wouldn't put that past you."

"And you'd be right… The only reason I didn't was that I couldn't find it." He smirked.

"Smart."

"Correction… Tactical. I would have definitely died with my severed arm in hand attempting to fight all 3 of those bastards and went out like a warrior if I had it my way. But I didn't. I couldn't really consider that act intelligent, but at least I would have had an ounce of pride remaining." He retorted.

"By the way, aren't you the last person who should be deeming a person's actions smart? You're the one who's responsible for destroying an entire societal infrastructure?" He said, expressionless.

"..."

"Oh, lighten up, Scar." He then smiled.

"Do you really think that I give a damn about this planet or its people, aside from the ones in this building?"

"*Sigh*"

"Thanks, Dad…Not totally sure if that makes me feel better or not, but you definitely tried."

"I could smell your guilty conscience the moment you teleported in." He said, shaking his head.

"That bad, Huh?"

"Yeah… When I first met you, you had an annoying little arrogant glint in your eyes… It's no longer there, which tells me that you've been humbled recently. For that, all I have to say is, don't let it get to your head."

"Don't let what get-" Before I could ask, he was already replying.

"The deaths of those weaklings. You come from Saiyan royalty. Carry yourself as such. Sometimes people die. Sometimes you accidentally kill a few billion people…speaking from experience, I've personally killed a few trillions while under the employment of Frieza. But that does not defy who I am presently. Focus on the now. Don't look back. Make do with the present. That's all you can control."

"Honestly, I get the message that you were trying to convey, but I don't know how to feel about that overall pep talk."

"Feel good." He growled.

"Ha… Alright… wait, did you say you killed a trillion people? Like, Trillion with a T?"

"Use your ears. I said Trillions, with an S." With his statement, my eyes widened in shock. I could feel a phantom sweat droplet falling down my face.

"H-how do you even kill that many people, you psychopath?!"

"*tsk*"

"We've been over this last year. A psychopath doesn't have a conscience, I do. At worst, I'm a sociopath. At best, I'm misunderstood. But I'm reformed from my old ways now. Get over it already."

"… Trillions. How?"

"*sigh*"

"If you must know, I did it with my bare fist mostly." He said, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

"Dad…You are an awful person."

"Are we just gonna keep stating the obvious about the man I used to be, or are we gonna move on like adults? Anyway, your mother would argue on my behalf. But that's neither here nor there." I genuinely couldn't tell if he was joking or not. But just like with Slug earlier today, I had no intention of digging deeper.

"*sigh*"

"Anyway, do you feel better now?" He asked with irritation.

"In a strange way… yeah."

How could I not? My dad was like a fusion of one million Adolf Hitlers. In the greater scheme of things, my death toll was child's play to him.

"Then don't you think a simple thank you would be warranted? Did you all of a sudden forget simple etiquette during the duration you were gone?"

"Ha… Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome… also, quick question, when you teleported away with Kakarot, did that Namekian go along with you?"

"Uh… no."

Slug… I knew that if I didn't keep a close eye on him for a prolonged period of time, there was a chance that he would bring me enough problems to cause my physical body to go through a physical metamorphosis as extreme as Super Saiyan 3. I planned on eventually going out of my way to see what kind of accolades he was up to… but just, right now… I needed a few days. 3 days of peace was all I needed to recuperate and adapt to everything.

"Hmm… I don't like that little bit of hesitation just then, but I don't care to pry. I was just curious considering the fact that the Dragon Balls converted him into an immortal being. But considering he hasn't made his presence known for such a lengthy amount of time, I guess it's safe to assume that his intention isn't world domination."

Dad asserted.

"Yeah… Probably." I uttered as I leaned into Gohan and Trunks' fight.

All of a sudden, Gohan had vanished away from his original position and was behind Trunks, preparing a sledgehammer attack aimed at his opponent's head.

As he struck down, Trunks, without any concern on his face, vanished, only leaving an afterimage behind.

Then, to Gohan's surprise, Trunks' real body appeared from the sky, aiming to dive-kick the boy's collarbone.

Sensing Trunks just moments too late, Gohan pivoted his body 90 degrees, closing his eyes and protecting his upper body with his forearms above his head, waiting to be impacted by the weight of 3 high-speed mountain ranges… Only, nothing hit him, putting him in a state of confusion.

With trepidation, the boy pried his eyes open and was shocked to see that his adversary had disappeared once more and had been replaced by yet another afterimage.

"Behind you." Trunks stated while squatting in the air at Gohan's eye level.

Gohan was surprised at his new position, but could react fast enough. Trunks was already winding his leg backward.

Trunks swept Gohan's shin with so much overwhelming strength that Gohan's back was parallel to the ground.

With worry written all over his face, Gohan tried to roll into a ball, flipping backward with the excess moment from the kick, but Trunks had no intentions of allowing him to escape.

In less than a fraction of a second, Trunks' elbow was crashing down on Gohan's stomach.

As Trunks was about to land his blow, unexpectedly, Gohan's face shifted from one of concern to one of confidence.

Trunks was faster than Gohan by quite a large margin, so it was hard for Gohan to land a direct blow. That's why, from the beginning of their clash, Gohan intentionally suppressed his speed, making himself appear much slower than what he was capable of.

Although he lacked in speed, Gohan was deceptively strong for someone of his frame. I could tell that the boy was very much aware of this fact.

He understood that Trunks had longer limbs than himself making it almost impossible to close the distance. That's why he purposely made it appear as if his guard had fallen.

With a burst of unexpected velocity, Gohan wrapped his tiny arms around Trunks', using his Ki to spin the both of them 720 degrees in the air, launching Trunks to the ground like a meteorite.

"*Boom*"

To Gohan's surprise, Trunks ended up landing on his feet like a feral cat. A cat that still had all 9 of his lives.

Standing up straight, Trunks looked up at Gohan who now had an expression of apprehension… But even though the boy was anxious, He was smiling as if he had more tricks up his sleeve.

"Nice one, Gohan. You almost had me there. If I had taken even a second longer to recover, there would have been a me-sized hole in the ground. "

Trunks remarked with a smirk, dusting himself off.

"Hahaha. Thanks. I learned that one from Mr. Vegeta." He let out, bruising his finger under his nose. With his statement, I looked at my Dad, smirking.

"I didn't know you took him in as your student."

"What?! What do you mean by student? I would never take the spawn of a low-class warrior under my wing. What do I look like to you?" He snarled, snapping his head at me.

Although with Ki, one was capable of gaining enhanced senses, a person had to consciously focus their energy on a specific sense in order to enhance it. Since all that was necessary to focus this battle was one's eyes, Dad was only focusing on the moments of the two before us.

Due to my unique genetic makeup, my baseline senses were so enhanced that I didn't need Ki to see or hear from far distances.

"Woah-woah-woah. No need to get loud about it. Why so offended? You're the one who adopted him. And it's not like I'm judging you for it. Gohan's your best friend's child, after all. It would only make sense that you trained and taught him a few things."

"..."

He gave me a silent death glare while a vein popped out of his head and neck as if he had just been corrupted by a Majin mark.

"Why are you looking at me like that? He's living with you, Right? On top of that, you did imply that you fought with him at least twice. I just heard him from over here. Didn't you teach him that grapple?"

"Scar…"

"Yeah?"

He then placed his hand on my shoulder, turning Super Saiyan in a flash.

"*whoosh*"

Ambient dust in our area was instantly vaporized as Dad's Golden aura irradiated.

"Don't think that just because you're now considered an adult by societal norms that you can't still be aborted. Keep taunting me and I'll kill you… then that boy out of sheer spite."

"*snort*"

Sure, Dad had become strong. While missing his limbs, he was just a little weaker than the current Goku. But even with that being the case, I couldn't help myself but chuckle.

The reason for that was, he wasn't actually angry. He was embarrassed and as bright red as a tomato. I didn't need to be a mind reader to tell that he genuinely meant what he said earlier about caring for the people in this building.

"What the hell are you laughing for, bastard!?"

"Alright. My bad. I see I crossed a line I shouldn't have. Won't happen again."I said, raising my hands up defensively.

"It better not, you mutant bastard." He said, crossing his arms once more, releasing his transformation.

Surprised by the sudden burst of energy, Trunks and Gohan stopped battling, Surprised by a new visitor. At first, they were alarmed. It wasn't hard to understand why.

I looked completely different from when they first met me. Coupled with the fact that all of a sudden, they sensed Dad turning Super Saiyan, they were prepared for a life-or-death battle. But they seemed to ease themselves once they realized the situation was under control and went back to their base forms.

Landing side by side, Trunks and Gohan looked at me apprehensively while Dad stood up from his seat. Out of respect, I did the same.

Slightly bowing their heads to Father, Gohan and Trunks turned to me and did the same.

Taking initiative, Trunks Greeted.

"Sorry for the sudden interruption, but my friend and I wanted to come over here to introduce ourselves. My name Is Trunks." He said with another bow.

"And my name is Gohan." Mimicked the boy.

"My father didn't tell me we'd be having visitors today, so we didn't quite catch yours. Do you mind telling us?" Trunks asked.

"Uh…We've met before."

I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Huh?" Trunks uttered with confusion. That was when Dad started to walk in the direction where Gohan and Trunks once were.

"Hey, where are you going?" Trunks asked which stopped Dad in his tracks.

"To get ready for my fight next while you two… Or should I say you 3, are finished with your little reunion."

"Reunion? But I don't think I ever met this person in my life." Trunks argued. That was when Dad turned his head and smiled.

"Crybaby. Don't you think those facial features look remarkably familiar?"

"Huh?"

"Here's a little hint. Does that scar on his eye ring any bells for you?"

"Scar? Wait. You promised me that you would call me that until…" Trunks then trailed off then his eyes slowly began to widen with surprise while Dad walked off.

"Holy crap…" He muttered.

"Trunks? I'm a little confused. Do you know this person?" Gohan asked, looking up at the both of us.

"How you liking the swords?" I asked as my tail swayed.

Ignoring my comment, Trunks' jaw was still agape from surprise.

"What happened to you and why do you look so different now?" He asked.

"Well… I guess you can say I went through a second puberty." I smiled, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Last time I checked, people don't just grow tails when they hit puberty. Also, why the hell is it purple?" He asked in astonishment.

"Wait… That's not what's important right now. The real question is where the hell have you been this past year and a half? Dad and I were worried about you." He asked with concern.

"In a coma… I woke up a few months ago. Did Dad not tell you?" I asked with surprise. Shaking his head, Trunks took a deep breath and sighed.

"Actually, no. To tell you the truth, when you up and vanished, all Dad told us was that you were in Otherworld and that you'd come back eventually. Every time I tried to get more information out of him, all he'd say was that I should be focused on my training or I'd end up either getting crippled like him, or killed by Bojack. Keeping his condition and everyone else's in mind… I realized that I didn't want either route for myself. While you've been gone, I tried to remember everything about swordsmanship that you taught me."

"Did you?" I asked.

"Yeah… I did." He smiled.

"Uh… Trunks? I'm guessing this is the other timeline version of you, right?" Gohan asked, poking other Trunks' leg.

"Oh, Right. Sorry, Gohan. I didn't mean to exclude you from our little chat. The answer to your question is yeah. It's Scar." Trunks replied.

"Right…" Gohan let out.

"Then, Mr. Scar, it's nice to see you again. You came at just the right time… There's so much that's happened since we lost the others… But now that you're here, everything should be able to go back to normal. I remember how strong you were when you beat Frieza. With your help, all four of us should be able to take down Bojack." Gohan said with a burning and passionate fire in his eyes. In that passion, glimpsed at a surprising amount of Yūki.

With just one single gesture, I understood what my father meant about Gohan's potential. In his spar with Trunks, his energy output was smaller than Trunks' by a large margin. But the moment he genuinely expressed the emotions he had been harboring towards Bojack, I was able to get a glimpse of what my father was talking about.

In the brief moment that Gohan flared his Ki, I could tell in terms of power level, he was the second most powerful in the room. Although that was the case, his energy output quickly went back to normal, falling all the way to last place. But at the end of the day, he was still 7. If given more time to master his emotions, the boy would turn into a beast.

"Actually… Bojack's already dead."

"..."

"..."

Gohan and Trunks stared at me in shock, as if the words that had come out of my mouth were something they couldn't comprehend.

"W-what?"

Trunks stuttered.

"Mr. Scar… Are you actually telling the truth?"

Gohan asked with anxiety while Trunks only stared in disbelief.

"Yeah… He's dead. I cut his head off about 25 minutes ago."

"So-so does that mean that Mr. Piccolo and Kami are okay? Did you manage to really save them?" Gohan asked with newfound excitement. All the resentment I felt eroding off of him had vanished in an instant.

"Yeah… After I killed Bojack, I made sure the first thing I did was to release them. They were in terrible condition when I found them, but… They're okay now."

Gohan's eyes began to water. Then, he grappled onto my leg as tears began to fall down his face.

"*sniff*"

"Thank you, Scar. If what you said was true, then that means that we can actually use the Dragon Balls now. We can wish everyone who died back to life. My Mom and Dad. Even my grandpa." He said, struggling to keep himself composed. Feeling slightly awkward, I pat the boy's head a couple of times before he let go. After all, I was the one who killed his dad.

"It was the least I could do," I replied. Wiping his nose, the boy smiled, nodded, then began to walk upstairs.

"Wait, Gohan. Where are you going?" Asked an uncertain-looking Trunks.

"Well, I wanted to go find Mr. Piccolo. I haven't seen him in a long time. I wanna make sure that everything is alright with him." Gohan answered back.

"But aren't you forgetting-" Before Trunks could continue his comment, I cut him off, resting my index finger on my lips and shaking my head.

"Were you about to say something, Trunks?" Gohan questioned.

"I was… But I guess it can wait. I think Scar has something to say to me." Trunks added. Nodding his head, Gohan made his way outside in hopes to reunite with his master.

After a few moments, it was just Trunks and I.

"You defeated them too… Didn't you?" He asked with a depressed look in his eyes.

"Well… Not exactly. The other two… Let's just say, gave up after I killed Bojack. Now, we don't have to worry about them anymore."

Trunks then took a long heavy sigh, washing his hand over his face.

"Damn it." He uttered.

"What's wrong?" I asked with worry.

"It's nothing… It's just… I'm realizing how worthless I am."

"... Explain," I remarked with a slight frown. Not because I was angry at him, but because I resonated with what he was saying.

"Scar… while you and Goku were gone, I started training religiously. When I saw you easily defeat Frieza in your base form, It made me realize just how much I was lacking… you inspired me to get stronger."

"But… isn't that a good thing?" I questioned.

"Well, yeah. It is… when you first started training me, I realized just how much of a difference there was between us. Where're the same person, but yet, we lived two different lives. The way you used your swords… the techniques you used… I was inspired by you to become a better person… Even though realistically speaking, you didn't teach me much, I've been using all the lessons I've learned on a day to day. And because I felt somewhat responsible for this timeline, I decided to stay just in case the androids decided to come a bit earlier than anticipated." He then sat down in Dad's chair and huffed.

"The thing is… they didn't… Instead, Bojack came. An even stronger threat that we all lost to. Most of us even died. The world had gotten enslaved, and I couldn't help but blame myself." He paused, then looked at the ground in shame.

"I know I made a lot of progress… I'd have to be blind not to see that… but at the same time, what does any of that progress actually mean if I can do nothing against the people who wanna cause me or my loved ones harm?" He asked.

"When I started to watch everything crumble, all that I could ask myself was what would other me do? Would you have been strong enough to handle all of this? Would I ever get to a point where I could consider you an equal?"

"…"

"Then I thought to myself… maybe… just maybe. If I was able to defeat Bojack and his crew, then I could truly prove to myself that I had reached your level… but you came back. And on the exact same day, you killed Bojack and got rid of his men. And you did it without any help which only further reminded me that I'm not needed here. It almost makes me believe that maybe… just maybe… the world is better without me. It makes me even start to think that if I hadn't gotten in Gohan's way in my timeline, maybe he would have been alive today."

He said, clenching his fist.

"Trunks… you can't think like that."

I uttered.

"Why? Does my math not add up? Without me, everything would be-"

"Stop that… just stop. Stop beating yourself up. None of this is your fault. Absolutely none of it. If it's anyone's screw-up, it's mine. You've done all you could do. You've gotten a lot stronger since the last time I saw you. You even got enough strength to hold up those swords on your back in your base form." I said pointing to Noir and Owl.

"…"

"Look… Trunks. The future isn't doomed and you aren't your past self. You're way stronger than you used to be because of the hard work and effort you put in through your blood sweat and tears… you aren't weak. When you can literally blow up planets with just a sneeze, that word can't define you anymore… yes. I killed Bojack. Yes, I save the planet. But I'm the one who put it in jeopardy, not you. I'm the fuck up. You did what you were supposed to do."

"*sigh*"

"I can't agree with that, Scar."

"Well, you should, 'cause it's the truth."

"I don't know… I'm just really confused about my placement in the world right now… I think… I think I just need to go for a walk." He stood up, attempting to take Owl and Noir off his back. But before he could, I stopped him.

"Keep them for now," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"But, I was only holding them for you. I still have my old one." He replied. But I only shook my head no, in turn.

"Hold them for me. Go take your walk. Once you cool off a little, we can talk more about this." I said, with a smile.

Hesitantly nodding, Trunks walked upstairs the same way Gohan had left, leaving only me and Dad in the field.

"Are my two daughters done having a tea party? Daddy's ready for his sparring match. Is my little Princess Trunks ready? " Dad yelled from a distance. I couldn't help but squint my eyes at the man in irritation.

"*sigh*"

"*Pop*"

Instantaneously, I popped up a few feet in front of him.

"I'm sorry, but your little voice doesn't travel that far. Mind speaking up, old man?" I uttered, towering over his small frame.

"Ha. Since when is 30 considered old? I'm considered a DILF at this age, don't you know, boy?"

"Gross… Where the hell did you even learn that word?"

"Does it matter? What I said was a fact. Now, let's move on, shall we?" He said, getting into a combative stance.

"Alright… let's see how much you've grown… judging from your outside appearance, not much," I smirked.

"I don't know. Your mother would say that I'm not only a grower, but a shower as well." He smirked, making my jaw almost drop to the floor.

"Who the hell is teaching all this earth terminology?And that's my mom, you goblin-sized monkey!"

"And that's my wife, you overly dramatic diva. What's your point?" He spat with a devilish grin… a grin that made me want to transform on the spot, punching him in the face.

Resisting the urge to vomit, I took a deep breath and launched at him faster than the speed of light.

As I was mere centimeters away from his face, in a fraction of a second, he smirked as his eye color shifted from black to blue and his hair from black to golden.