Chapter 24: Resolution

"L-l-lord Trunks?"

Said the weird-looking teal male demon, getting on one knee and bowing to me.

I was absolutely baffled. These two were the same people that overthrew all governments on the planet and killed innocent people without a second thought crossing their minds. They had the nerve to be bowing to me right now? This was absolutely ridiculous.

"What did you just call me?"

I uttered, raising a speculatory brow that caused the man to flench.

"It really is him…He's exactly how he described him. Tail and all." Said the long-haired woman.

"Lord Trunks. We surrender. We have no intention of raising our hands against you." Then, she bowed on a knee as well.

My intention from the beginning was to take Bojack's head. Next, I planned to beat the remainder of his crew to death with my bare hand for all the damage they caused. I figured that it was a good way to let off steam… But now, I was just confused.

"Just what in the actual fuck are you doing right now?"

Flinching at my words, the two glanced at one another and remained silent which was the last thing they should have done.

"I asked you a question. Answer it."

I spoke, creating two Ki daggers in my hands which caused the two to begin sweating profusely.

The moment I took one step forward, they started breathing heavily as if they were having asthma attacks.

"Please, Lord Trunks. Spare us. We wish to worship you and only you." The man said in a panic, shutting his eyes as tightly as he could.

The two didn't appear to have any fight in them… And from the looks of it, they lacked integrity as well.

"Lord Trunks, please listen to him. We serve no allegiance to the man you just killed. Up to this point, we've only been following orders. If we didn't do what he said, Bojack would have killed us just like he did our other two comrades." pleaded the woman.

I recognized the two, sure, but that was only because I saw them in my previous life. But they weren't even memorable enough to store their names in my memory bank, yet, my name was mentioned not once, but four times as if they knew me.

I was confused… absolutely lost. I just killed their boss, yet here his subordinates were, pledging their allegiances to me on a knee. Was it even possible to lack this much integrity?

"I'm gonna ask you one time. Tell me who you are, then tell me how you know of me, because you damn sure don't know me." Raising her head, the woman began to stumble over her words.

"M-my name is Zangya, and this is the last member of my clan, Koga. The reason we know you is because we were told of a prophecy of your arrival."

"Prophecy? What kind of bull shit is this? You really want me to believe that? First of all, who in the hell told you about this proficiency?"

"If we tell you, will you spare us? If you do, I promise that we can be of value to you."

"Ha…Hahahaha! You really think that I'm gonna…" I then stopped myself, realizing that the two were on the verge of shitting themselves.

"I'll tell you what. If you don't tell me, I can guarantee you that this'll be the last time you see my face… Or any faces ever again for that matter, so I suggest you get to talking."

"His name was Slug!" Zangya cracked under pressure.

"... What?"

"She's right. His name was Lord Slug. He said he was your follower. He told us that one day, you would return to this planet. To paraphrase, he said that you were the god that all of us should be worshiping… He said that you would come to us in our time of need and grant us a home." At his words, my eyes widened with shock.

"... You gotta be shitting me," I mumbled, resting my fingers on the bridge of my nose.

"That's right. He said that you were the leader that we needed after he overheard us talking about how our previous one that you killed. He also said that you were a god. Admittedly, neither of us believed him… That is until now." Zangya added.

"And just why in the fuck would I be the leader to two fuckin pirates." I glared with frustration while my mind tried to wrap my head around what I just heard.

From the looks of things… For some reason, Slug apparently now worshiped me as his god when just a year ago, he tried to take over the universe.

I did recall giving him a real good beating. I was a lot stronger than him… but I didn't think that I was capable of beating Stockholm syndrome into anyone. Just how much had changed in the short span of a year and a half. What kind of horrid shit did Slug do in my name?

"We are not pirates!" Zangya shouted to which I felt the corner of my mouth curl, taking note of her boldness.

Before she could finish, I sped behind her, placing my hand around her throat.

"Raise your voice at me one more time, and I'll rip your fuckin vocal cords out."

With that statement, they both froze. To them, it looked as if I teleported, but in reality, I moved so fast that they weren't able to process it.

"..."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," mumbled Zangya.

"L-lord Trunks… Do you mind if I speak?" Asked a terrified Koga who stared at the ground.

"What?" I bluntly replied.

"Lord Slug said something similar to what you said just now, replacing the word "Pirate," with "Bandit." But you see, the thing is, we weren't always vagrants. Zangya and I… Were demons from a clan of nobility. Bojack was something akin to our King… His words were law for us. If we disobeyed them, we'd die without a question." Koga stated as stiff as a board.

"Hmm… So you're saying that all your actions were because of him? Are you implying that because you were following orders that you shouldn't be the ones to take accountability?"

"No-no. That's not what I'm saying at all, Lord Trunks." Koga stuttered.

"Good… Because I'm pretty sure that those people out there who were forced to be laborers and sex slaves would have something different to say… Enlighten me. What were you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that Bojack already got two of the 5 remaining members of our species killed. He had no problem with eradicating the rest of our clan because we were viewed as extendable to him. And we couldn't do anything about it because he was that much more powerful than us… We couldn't escape that kind of power. If we fought, he would have killed us. If we ran, he would have found us. I know because there used to be more than 5 of us."

"So, what?"

"..."

"You expect me to feel pity for you? Is that it?"

"..."

"You expect me to say all is forgiven, just because you had a screwed-up past?"

"No…"

"Then what? What do you expect me to do?"

"...I don't know." Spoke Zangya.

"Then, let me just give you two a hypothetical situation, then maybe, you'll have some point of reference of what my current thought process is right now." I spat.

"So, Imagine this. You leave your planet for a year and a half, then find out that some random bugs who you can squish with your fingertips, land on your planet. But they don't just land, oh no. They get comfortable in your absence. So comfortable that they start to enslave your people. Not only that, but they go above and beyond. They kill all of your friends and cripple a family member of yours." At that statement, their heads shot up in surprise. They knew exactly who I was talking about.

"That's right. They cripple your father. Then, one day, you make your return and kill their leader… Leaving two of them remaining. Two… Pathetic… Groveling… Bugs. Bugs that also were about to just go along with selling your planet to an even more evil tyrant. Zangya? Koga? What would you do?"

"I'd… I'd kill them." Koga voiced, anguished at the dreadful situation he and his comrade were now in.

"Hmmmm. That sounds very logical. I agree. Matter of fact, I think that people who killed my people deserve a fate worse than death. What do you think, Zangya?"

I asked with a coy mask on my face.

"Speaking from experience, I'd probably do the same… " She said, scrunching her face in remorse.

"Ahhh… people enslaved your planet too? Looks like we have more than I thought in common. What a coincidence."

"..."

"So all 3 of us can agree. I should kill you all, right here, and now. I guess it's for the best then." I said, slowly forming two purple Ki orbs aimed at both of their faces.

They tightly closed their eyes, understanding what was coming next. Ever since I arrived, the two before me had lost all of their fighting spirits which angered me even further. From the moment that I sliced off Bojack's head, they understood the kind of situation they were in.

As soon as my Ki orbs grew as large as their heads, I was ready to end their lives… But that was when I sensed a familiar energy from behind me.

"Jesus fuckin Christ… Slug! Stop watching by the door and get in here, you hedonist fucking mollusk!"

*step-step-step-step*

Turning around, I saw a menacing framed 6 foot 8 Super Namekian stepping out of the shadows. As he approached, he had a smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear.

Falling to his knees and slamming his head on the floor, he greeted me.

"Oh, how I've longed for your return, Lord Trunks. Your humble Shepherd greets you. Welcome home. It is an honor to be in your eminence."

"What the hell do you want? And why are you here?"

His power level… It has almost tripled since the last time I saw him, but unlike last time, his aura was far different.

When I met him in the Arctic, he had a disgusting evil permeating off his body. But now… It was relatively natural. It was like he was a completely different person from a person… But how? Was I the cause of this?

"My Lord, I am here because I have come with a proposal. A proposal that I am content with you either declining or accepting."

Just listening to the words that were coming out of his mouth was giving me a headache. My Lord this, my lord that. I was just a buff eighteen-year-old for crying out loud! Why was everyone worshiping me like I was a deity?

Sensing that asking him his reasoning behind calling me the honorific was only gonna cause me more stress, I just ignored it, going with the flow of the conversation.

"What is it?" I muttered, washing my hand over my face.

"I believe that it would be in your best interest to allow the two before you to continue living."

"Slug… Get your head off of the ground and look at me in my eyes when I'm speaking to you like a normal…fucking… Person."

"You would allow this humble servant to make eye contact with you, my Liege?" He said with his forehead still touching the floor. He even started to shake with excitement as if I was giving a dog a treat.

'What the hell did I do to this man?' I thought with sunken eyes.

"Yes. Get up and stop shaking. It's weird."

"*sniff*"

"Y-yes my lord"

Promptly rising, the man began to tower over me with a smile with tears coming down his face.

"God, stop crying! Wipe those damn tears from your face and tell me what this proposal is."

"Yes, Lord Trunks." He said, clearing his throat.

"*sigh*"

"Tell me why you think I should let these two live?"

"Because I think that they can be of great use to you in our plan?"

"Our plan?" I raised a brow.

"Yes, Lord Trunks. Would you like me to go into detail about it? I came up with it while you were doing your holy quest."

"My what?"

"Your holy quest, sire. Your divine mission of self-discovery."

"…Does it involve killing innocent people?"

I asked.

"Not unless you deem it necessary." Slug retorted.

"Does it involve slavery?"

"Not unless you deem it necessary, my lord."

"Does it involve genocided or hurting people who don't deserve it in any shape or form?"

"About that-"

"Slug! Do not cause genocide or hurt people in my goddamn name!"

"Yes… Understood, sire. Then it shall only involve such upon you deeming it necessary."

"*sigh*"

"Do you want me to give you more details about the grand plan, my lord?"

"No… I don't want to know anything about it. Do your own thing… Wait, no brainwashing people either."

"... What about mass manipulation of a select populace?" Slug asked, rubbing his hand together nervously.

"Why is it necessary for me to have to tell you that I don't want you snatching people's free wills away?"

"*boom*"

He slammed his head on the ground once more.

"I apologize for my insolence, Lord Trunks!"

"Slug! Stand up and stop doing that!"

"Yes, Lord Trunks!" He said, shooting up like a rocket.

"..."

"One more question, my lord. Am I allowed to advertise?"

"...Advertise what?"

"Why, the Gospel, of course."

"...sure. Go for it."

I didn't even have the energy to ask what the word was. Whatever Slug was doing, I didn't want to even acknowledge it. It would've been too much emotional distress for me right now.

"So you asked me not to kill them… But these two have a price to pay for all of the shit they've done."

"That's where I come in, my Lord. Give them to me and they shall receive divine punishment. With my aid, I vow that they will repent for their crimes of angering you. That is a guarantee."

'Divine what? You know what? Don't question it, Trunks. This unhinged psycho will probably take care of it.'

"Alright. Go for it. Make sure they pay. I gotta restore the planet."

"Wait, my Lord. Will you need this?"

Stopping me before I was about teleport, Slug dug in his pocket, rummaging for something. To my surprise, he pulled out a glowing orange orb with 7 stars.

"Where… No. I think the more important question I should be asking is when did you get this?"

"Mmm." Nodding, Slug explained.

"The Dragon Balls, as you know, are one of the most powerful instruments in the universe. Before I left this planet to build your army, I made sure to capture one so that no other being was allowed to use them without your say-so." He said, placing the wishing orb in my hand.

"Smart," I said with surprise. In a strange way, his action of giving me the Dragon Ball gained him a new level of trust. He might have been crazy, but he just proved his usefulness.

'Wait… Did he just say army? No! Leave it alone, Trunks. Don't question it. Save Earth and worry about it later.' I thought.

"Well, they're not stone… Which means that Piccolo and Kami are still alive." I mumbled.

Turning around to Koga and Zangya who were confusedly listening to Slug and my conversation, I asked for the location of the majority of the Dragon Balls. With their lives on the line, they complied, Directing me to Bojack's former bedroom.

Turns out, even though he captured Kami, he didn't manage to get a single one of his wishes granted due to Slug's intervention in the time I was gone.

After gathering all 7 Dragon Balls, Slug took Zangya and Koga to… Well, I didn't care enough to ask. All I knew was that they were in for a treat. My next concern was saving the two Namekians who were locked in a makeshift dungeon.

Walking down flight after flight of stairs while levitating all 7 Dragon Balls Behind me with telekinesis, I finally reached the doors which led to the aforementioned dungeon.

They were colossal in size. A normal human had no chance of opening them. Luckily for me, I wasn't a normal human.

Pushing the doors open, I walked into a room with no light, blasted by a pungent sulfuric and iron smell that made me almost want to vomit.

"Ah… You must be Trunks, correct?"

Asked the voice of a grizzled elderly man who seemed relatively unbothered… But that couldn't have been further from the case.

After I made my wish to Porunga, all of my genetic code had been optimized to the tenth degree. Without the use of Ki, I could smell better. I could hear better… Unfortunately, I could also see better. And I was sickened by what I saw.

Kami… The kind-hearted guardian of Earth who made Goku the man he was today was hanging from the ceiling by his ankles as if he was livestock.

His antennas, they had been plucked from his head while his eyeballs had been gouged out. He was withered with scars all over his body. His arms… They were removed and looked like they hadn't regenerated for a prolonged period of time.

Linking that detail together with the fact that he looked so thin and frail, I realized that he had been intentionally dehydrated, starved of his only food source which was water for his species.

Judging from his condition and his gradually decreasing Ki, he didn't have much longer to live.

"Well, it's about damn time."

This time, the voice came from Piccolo who looked to be in just as bad a condition. He was chained to a wall with only stumps where his legs once were. He was skinnier than what I thought possible for him.

Like Kami, his antenna and eyes were both non-existing with scars all over his body. The only difference was that Piccolo's Ki appeared more lively in comparison to his counterpart.

"Shit…" I couldn't help but let the word out of my mouth.

Bojack… I wanted to go back and kill him all over again. He was a sadistic monster.

"Ha… We must look bad if a person as ugly as you is reacting like that." Piccolo spat.

"You don't look that much different actually… Kami, on the other hand, is another story." I answered back.

"Screw you, kid." Piccolo slightly smirked, coughing up blood. Although he was smiling, I could sense all of his anguish and fatigue. He was hurting. They both were.

Charging two fingers with Ki, I shot Kami down, making sure to catch him as gently as I could.

"Thank you, Trunks. Your kindness will not be forgotten."

Kami said as I gently placed him next to the soon-to-be-freed Piccolo.

Summoning a bright yellow Ki dagger with a purple outline like I had done earlier with my great sword, I gently sawed away at the chains that were holding the man captive.

Finally free of his restraints, Piccolo took a deep breath in relief.

Normally, the chains would have been easy for either of them to break free with a slight flex of their muscles…but in their current state of malnutrition, they weren't able to do much of anything. I even doubted that they had the capability to drink on their own due to their condition.

"Thanks." Piccolo dryly voiced.

"No problem," I replied.

"Trunks?" Uttered Kami.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to be aware that Piccolo and I heard everything that happened upstairs. And although I strongly discourage acts of violence in my home, I can't stress the levels of gratitude I feel towards you at the present moment. I only wish that our eyes could meet for our first and final formal introduction."

"Finale? Is it that bad?"

" To answer your question, My vitality will fade in just a few days. Even now, I'm currently fading in and out of consciousness." He voiced sadly.

"But what does that mean for Earth? You're our guardian. Don't we need you?"

At my question, he sighed in frustration.

"Trunks… I've lived on this planet for over 200 years. Throughout that time, I've witnessed war after war, famine after famine, and world disaster after another. Within that time frame, I've grown to realize just how ineffective I am as a god." For a moment, he paused as a bloody tear slid down his cheek.

"Within this year alone, I've witnessed more atrocities than one can even fathom… every night before your arrival, I and Piccolo were forced to listen to the cries of help from the children upstairs; he and I, both helpless because we lacked the means to free ourselves of our imprisonment." To his words, Piccolo remained silent, biting his lip so intensely that he began to bleed.

"The harsh truth is… I am weak and unfit for this role. As time passes and new evils reveal themselves, I am reliant on other warriors to save the planet… And it is because of my weakness that every time I attempt to slumber, I am haunted by the memory of my lifelong friend being torn to pieces before my very eyes. This planet… it doesn't need a guardian as weak as me… it needs warriors. And that's why after today, Piccolo and I will reunite, becoming one once more."

"Kami… isn't your role important? Doesn't the earth need a guardian? You're a god. Common sense tells me that a planet that's lacking in one wouldn't be able to operate correctly." I replied.

"Trunks… It isn't just the people who've been residing on the lookout that's made me arrive at this conclusion."

"What… what do you mean?"

"I heard them all… The people of the planet. The dead, and the living… all of their prayers channel back to me, but I've been unable to answer any of them. The amount of powerlessness one feels when faced with pleas for freedom can't be put into words. I no longer want to passively watch the planet I've grown to love go through turmoil and despair!"

"Kami… the earth needs you."

It wasn't that I cared for him all that much. It was more that I wasn't sure what would happen if a planet lacked a guardian.

"No… the earth needs my successor. And it needs more powerful warriors to defend it." He declared.

"What are you-" Before I could finish, Piccolo interrupted.

"Dende. He's a Namekian child who's part of the Dragon clan. Before I fused with Namekian by the name of Nail, he was on the verge of completing his training. And because Namek already has a guardian, Moori probably doesn't want his potential to be wasted sitting around and planting trees all day. He's young and lacks experience… but he's a good kid. Bringing him here would be the perfect opportunity for him to grow."

"Then… if you two are gonna fuse… What the hell will I do with these?" I said holding the 4-star Dragon Ball.

"May I make a suggestion?" Kami let out.

"Go ahead."

"Well, considering that the new guardian will need as much guidance as possible, I suggest that you wish Mr. Popo back to life. Popo will guide him in the right direction. With him, I'm certain that the earth's future will be secured. After you wish him back, you can travel to Namek. With their Dragon, you can wish things back to normal while also bringing the new guardian here." Kami smiled.

"Alright…" I said with a smile.

"Then I guess this is goodbye."

Kami smiled.

"Yeah."

"It was an honor meeting you, young warrior."

"Likewise."

With my goodbye, Piccolo stretched his arm out, placing his palm on Kami's chest.

Kami's body began to glow a vibrant blue color while his physical body began to slowly fade away. As it did, Piccolo's eye sockets began to glow while his power level began to multiply…. But that wasn't the only unique property of his energy.

Kami… his Ki became intertwined with Piccolo's… no… their souls were becoming one. Piccolo's missing limbs began to sprout along with the antennas that were once brutally torn off. The two had combined into the being they were originally.

"How does it feel?" I asked, looking at the fusion that now had a power level comparable to the rest of the Z-fighters in Otherworld, excluding Goku.

"…"

Piccolo looked at his hands and grasped the new power he felt circulating through his veins.

"It's hard to describe… but if I were to compare my condition to anything, it would be like a hamster discovering that there was a world outside of his bubble."

He was still skinny and wasn't at his maximum capacity, but he was in far better condition than he was just a few moments ago.

"Also… I'm pretty sure that merging with Kami made me hate you less."

"…The fuck did I do?" I asked in surprise.

"Ripped off my arms a year ago. But even then, I'm more pissed at Yamcha."

"So… you know what happened?"

"Yeah. King Kai told me that he was the one who couldn't keep his mouth shut and put the earth in jeopardy. If that pet Namekian of yours didn't take the last Dragon Ball, Bojack would've probably wished for immortality. But at the same time, I got tortured for 142 days straight because of him." He paused, gritting his teeth.

"But moving past that, I think you should leave those Dragon Balls with me. I'll wish Popo back and fill him on in what happens next. While I do that, I think you should see for yourself the destruction that you and Bojack caused as a learning experience. Like it or not, you contributed."

"Yeah… I was gonna do that without you asking me."

I mumbled, dropping the wishing orbs.

"Mmm. Alright then."

With that, the rescue mission had concluded.

"*pop*"

*

*

*

I started teleporting all over the world. Doing so, I witnessed a recurring theme. Oppression. I knew logically that it didn't make sense for just a few individuals to take over a planet. That was something even the androids didn't manage to do.

No… Bojack had strategically turned the people of Earth against themselves. All over the world, there were concentration camps reminiscent of WW2. There were national monuments that had been rendered to dust, while Bojack monuments took their place.

'I can't ever let this happen again.'

I thought.

Traveling all over the world, I began to realize that there was one city that had remained relatively unscathed… my hometown. Westcity.

As I floated over the city, the streets were desolate… but It wasn't like the scene I had experienced in my past. Most of its population and buildings were still safe. The city had turned into a stronghold.

I could tell that the only reason for that was because of the three energy signatures that I sensed.

"*sigh*"

"Here we go," I mumbled under my breath.

"*pop*"

In an instant, I had entered a strange technologically advanced basement of some sort… no. It was large enough to hold 6 football fields.

In the distance, I could see a boy and a teenager fighting their hearts out with their full power, both in the legendary form of Super Saiyan. And in front of me… it was my father with a robotic leg and arm.

"So…it was you who snatched my kill."

Turning around, the short man looked me in the eyes with an irritated smirk.

"Yeah…"

He then smirked and continued on watching the scene before him.

"Hmm… doesn't matter. What matters now is that you're going to face me after those two are done sparring. It's been a year since you left. I need to see the difference between us."