Chapter 28: Trunks Empire

"Huh?" Muttering Slug as he turned around, only to see his young master before his very eyes, floating a few feet above his head.

"L-Lord Trunks?! W-when did you arrive here?" He voiced in reverence as the two next to him widened their eyes in shock.

"Is-Is it really him? The Legendary Super Saiyan, Lord Trunks?" Paragus stuttered, rather unsettled. Although he hadn't yet grasped the concept of sensing another's energy, Paragus' primal instincts sensed that Trunks was a monster in humanoid skin.

"Yes… it is." Slug whispered with a shaken voice and a surprised look on his face. At his words, all 3 individuals began to bow on one knee, not daring to look Trunks in his eyes.

'Although my newly upgraded scouter isn't on hand, I'd have to be blind to not recognize his power.'

For a moment, Paragus began to ponder in confusion at his predicament.

'Lord Trunks… from a glance, he's very peculiar. I can tell from his physical foundation that he's a Saiyan, but it's fairly obvious that there's more to him. For starters, his hair and eye color. He's unlike any Saiyan that I've ever encountered. In addition, his tail looks slightly longer in comparison to my own. Unlike the brown fur that all of our people share, his tail is the same color as the hair on his scalp… odd. Could he perhaps be of mixed descent? If that were the case, then is it even possible for him to achieve the legendary form of our people with a diluted bloodline?'

More and more questions manifested in Paragus' mind as his hyper-analytical personality trait began to dig further into the man Lord Slug had indoctrinated him into believing was a god. Of course, none of his questions would be vocalized. Paragus understood Slug's ideologue nature far too well.

Paragus knew that there was a very high chance that he would be vaporized the moment he voiced his blasphemous line of questioning. What also kept the Saiyan General in line was his ego.

To find out that he had been worshiping a false deity for several years would have been a tremendous blow to his pride. He was a Saiyan. Pride was more than confidence or self-esteem to a Saiyan. Pride was their people's philosophy.

Instead of deciding to harvest more ridicule towards Trunks, Paragus dismissed his doubtful thoughts and decided to put his trust in his new faith… his savior.

As Trunks landed atop the castle, he remained silent and stared at the 3 with sunken eyes, carefully selecting his words.

"What… is all of this?" He asked.

"…"

To his question, silence was the response, while below, amongst the surprisingly large masses below, many civilians and even soldiers began to whisper amongst themself.

Desperately feeling the need to break the awkward atmosphere, Trunks Clenched his fist and took a breath of the purified atmosphere created by the scientific minds of the Trunks empire.

"Don't ignore me, Slug. Look me in my eyes and explain why all these people are here. Better yet, explain the castle. Wait, Nevermind the castle, explain all of it. All of this!" He grumbled, gesturing to the far-off lands once desolate, now renovated, uncertain whether he should be angry in his predicament or embarrassed at the sheer absurdity of the scene splayed before him.

"I-ignore you? I would never, Lord Trunks. That's not it at all, My Lord. The reason for me averting eye contact is for your sake alone, not out of spite, I assure you. I just do not dare to raise my head without your permission in the presence of the other followers as the intimate act is unbecoming of your benevolence."

Closing his eyes as tightly as he could, Trunks took a long deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves.

"*sigh*"

'How… Why?' Trunks thought, washing his hand down his face.

'Alright… I'll deal with this after I finish this side mission.' As he straightened his spine, he glided towards the Namekian child.

"Little Green… You're Cargo, right?" He asked, placing his palm on his shoulder.

Cargo then shot his head up and tried his hardest to maintain his composure which was quite the difficult task for the young Namekin.

"Lord Trunks? If I may, how do you know about my postage?"

Slowly turning his head to Slug, Trunks raised his brow with a vein popping out his neck.

"You're what?" Trunks muttered through gritted teeth.

"You Cargo… He's my protege. He snuck on my ship when I visited my homeworld due to his curious and youthful nature. I took him under my wing and showed him the ways of the galaxy. He's relatively new to this planet, but I've shown him ways to integrate himself into our new home world."

While Slug spoke, Cargo was too mesmerized by Trunks to pay attention to his mentor's words.

From his perspective, Trunks was a being beyond his comprehension. His energy was untraceable, yet Cargo could sense an indomitable power oozing from the Saiyan which led Cargo to believe that the being in front of them was an existence beyond his grasp.

Trunks was stronger than he was in the past. Perhaps the strongest person who ever stood foot on the planet Earth, but he was no God.

Even though he was virtually untraceable and only select individuals who had a supreme understanding of Ki could sense his being. One of those individuals being King Kai who only had a rough grasp of his power. Which is why the God underestimated the Saiyan's strength.

"I'm not even gonna comment on what you just said. Just talking to you gives me a migraine. Cargo?" He beckoned, bringing his attention back to the child.

"Y-yes, Lord Trunks. M-my name is Cargo. I'm a member of the-"

"That's all I needed to know. I'm taking you home. Your family misses you and they're worried sick about you." Trunks interrupted, placing his hand on the child's shoulder.

"W-wait please Lord Trunks! I want to-" Before the boy could plead for his occupancy, they were both transported instantaneously.

"*pop*"

***

[Planet Namek]

"Stay a bit longer." Cargo Finished. As those words slipped out of his mouth, He realized that he was in an entirely new location. One very familiar to him.

"Uh… I'm back?" Cargo stuttered.

The place where Trunks had teleported was none other than the inside of Moori's home he had vanished from only minutes ago.

"Trunks?" Moori uttered in surprise while his fellow Namekins' jaw dropped in shock. But the man was even more shocked when he looked down and realized that there was another person next to him. The person that he and his brethren had been searching for all this time.

"Cargo?!" He exclaimed with excitement while the other Namekians stared at the two in awe.

Excited, Moori ran up to his younger brother, binding him in his arms with a hug.

"I thought the worst… I can't describe in words how worried I was, little one. I've missed you greatly. We all have." Moori affirmed emotion-filled.

"Moori? How did I-" Cargo questioned, confused and nervous.

Trunks, breaking the tension, decided to step forward.

"I found your lost kid. He's safe. From the looks of it, not a single antenna on his head was harmed." Trunks spoke, turning around, ready to teleport back to Earth once more. But before he could leave, Moori quickly rose from his crouched position and rushed to Trunks' side, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Wait, Trunks! Why are you leaving so suddenly? You've only just arrived. We got our young brother back in one piece. Now is the time for celebration! Also, you requested to meet Dende. Wouldn't you like to meet him?" For a moment, Trunks paused and contemplated.

So badly he wanted to ignore what was happening on Earth. He was now all of a sudden King of an entire society. He never asked for that kind of obligation. But now, all those people were on Earth, literally building statues in his name. Whether he liked it or not, they were now his new obligation.

"I do wanna meet Dende, but I have to take care of something first back home. I'm pretty sure that Dende won't mind catching up with Cargo for a bit before he comes to Earth."

"Ah… yes. One's homeworld should always come first. I understand firsthand how crucial it is to take care of one's people. " Moori solemnly stated, taking a bow. But at his bow, Trunks flinched.

"Too soon." He mumbled.

"Huh?" Moori tilted his head in confusion.

"Nothing. It was an earth phrase. Don't think about it."

"Ah… Very well then." He nodded.

"Alright. I'll be back in about an hour… if things go my way and I don't have to crash here for a couple of months because my planet exploded." Trunks stated rather nonchalantly considering the ramifications of his words.

Moori's eyes widened in shock.

"Um… what?"

"Don't worry about it. See ya in a few, you guys. Pleasure, as always." Trunks stated with a smirk that appeared nonessential taking account of his situation. Something that he himself internally took note of.

'That came out weird… Why am I so calm? There's still a probability that I have to fight Broly.' He thought, but yet, no fear resided in his heart.

"*pop*"

Before Moori could voice his concern, Trunks had once again teleported away.

***

****

*****

******

[The Trunks Empire]

Teleporting back to the last position I once was, I stood in front of Slug and Paragus who jumped up in surprise at my arrival. Like before, They dropped down to one knee.

"Welcome back, Lord Trunks."

They uttered simultaneously with their hands over their hearts.

"Thanks…" I voiced the begrudgingly.

Although I wanted to pounce on him, beating him to a pulp, Slug didn't have any malicious intentions. I was good at sensing Ki. Goku even taught me how to read minds with it while King Kai taught me how to be more in tune with my emotions. If Slug had any intentions of backstabbing me, I would have been able to sniff out like a bloodhound on amphetamines… But I didn't feel any negativity whatsoever even though I basically tortured the guy a year ago.

No… When I looked deep into the precipice of his soul, I sensed… Love?

'Oh… now that's just gross.'

When I looked at Paragus, I could sense that he was just as confused as me. There was no hatred in him either, which told me that he didn't know that Vegeta was my Dad. That led me to believe that this not-so-little society they had created was a relatively secluded one. If that wasn't the case, my dad would have probably had a halo over his head about now.

Without saying a word, I sat down on the railing that overlooked the entirety of this… City? State? Independent country? Well, whatever it was, it was huge. There were shops in the distance with signs written in a weird language that I had never seen before.

Weird robots were roaming the streets, cleaning up litter and watering plants. There were parked cars, Houses, and lakes that I could only see due to my enhanced vision. This futuristic place… was shockingly civilized. For some reason, the air smelled fresher here, as if I was in a forest or something… well, considering all the gigantic Namekian trees and other types of plant life in the area, I guess calling this place a forest wouldn't have been a stretch.

The thing that really stood out was the strangely accurate statutes of me everywhere. From what I could tell, I was like some sort of idol to these people.

Some civilians had T-shirts of me while the soldiers wore armor that matched the color scheme of my dark purple hair and yellow eyes.

When I focused my eyes on the people below, I couldn't help but let my jaw slack slightly.

There were hundreds of thousands of Ki Signatures all gathered in one place.

Before today, I rarely even socialized with people. I was an introvert who all of a sudden became a celebrity, and I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

That was when I finally noticed it. They were little robots, the size of baseballs surrounding me, recording.

My image is being projected on the castle walls.

When I looked down, there were dozens of other balconies where armed soldiers stood with strange-looking rifles resting on their shoulders.

The crowd had long since gone silent, watching my every move. The people… I didn't notice it at first, but they had all gotten on one knee just like Slug and Paragus a few moments ago.

They were waiting in anticipation for me to speak.

"Oh boy…"

Needless to say, I was nervous. From the people, and the fact that there were so many high power levels in the crowd; Broly being one of them.

Well, to be fair to the others, Broly wasn't that strong. But I knew very well how his mutated biology worked. He could catch up to me in a matter of minutes if we were to fight and I didn't kill him instantly.

"Lord Trunks, may I voice my thoughts on the present matter?" Asked Paragus.

"…" I didn't know how to respond. I was in my own head, simulating scenarios where I pressed the Broly button. In my mind, the man in front of me was still the power-hungry and abusive anime character that I watched in the movie theater. But with me being in the Dragon Ball multiverse for so long, I knew that there was more than what lied on the surface when it came to "characters".

I only nodded to Paragus wordlessly, hiding the unwarranted disdain I felt toward him.

"The people here… They are your people. We've waited for your return. And due to the gravitational time dilation in space, some of us have even waited for your arrival for decades. To us, you are our God. In our minds, you are the only reason that we are able to live in this utopia. Your people would like to hear your words of wisdom."

'What on god's green earth… Are all the villains gonna start deifying me?' I thought, trying to resist the urge to smack myself in the face so that I could wake up out of this fever dream.

"You gotta be shitting me," I mumbled.

"I don't smell anything. And I can assure you that I didn't defecate in your presence, my lord."

Paragus retorted sternly.

"*sigh*"

"It's an earth expression. Don't look too deep into it."

"Ah… I see. My apologies for my ignorance." Paragus nodded.

Just what the hell was this situation? This wasn't the Dragon Ball world that I knew growing up. This was some strange Game of Thrones amalgamation where I was now some type of King. This wasn't something I ever wanted. How could one ass whopping lead to this?

Realistically speaking, I was in over my head. How the hell was I supposed to be a King in a futuristic society? What did Kings do? Was I just supposed to make up rules or something? Was I supposed to behead anyone who didn't follow the law? This, by no means, was what I envisioned when I thought of power fantasies in Dragon Ball.

"Okay…" Paragus' words snapped me back to the reality of the situation at hand.

Hopping off the railing, I floated in the air, ready to give a half-assed speech about something I knew nothing about.

But before I could do that, I needed to understand just who exactly these people were. Some of them were earth-born species, but the vast majority weren't. I had no idea what their background was, or where they came from.

"Slug, fly up next to me."I mouthed.

The Namekian looked relatively down in terms of spirit, but the moment I called his name, his expression changed to one of excitement.

"Yes, my lord! To stand by your side is the greatest honor that one can conceive!" The weirdo announced, jumping with joy. Once he floated up to me, I spoke what was on my mind.

"Can these little floating cameras hear me?"

I whispered.

"No, my lord. Their audio function has been disabled. I don't usually use their microphones because I can project my voice with my internal energy. I can unmute them if you please."

"No… Not yet. Keep them muted for now. I got some questions to ask first." I stated, manifesting a purple Ki dome around Slug and me that blocked off all outside sound.

"My ears are open. I promise to answer said questions as diligently and descriptively as possible."

He nodded.

"Alright… First off, who are these people? Where did you find them?"

"These people? You mean the civilians of the Trunks Empire, my lord?"

"The what?!"

"The Trunks Empire, my lord. I named it after the one true god that I recognize as my savior. Who we recognize as our savior. Is it up to your liking? We can always change the name of our Kingdom, if you so choose, Lord Trunks." He said with concern.

"Jesus Christ."

"Is there a problem my lord? Is the name of our empire not up to standard? Should I change it? Or do you not like the people? If you so will it, I can erase them from history if you see fit."

"W-what?! Chill out. Don't kill the people here. Why do I even have to tell you this? Also, the name of this place doesn't matter. I just need more background information."

"Ah… I see, My lord. I'm glad they are up to your standard as the gathering of forces has been one of my greatest insecurities when it comes to pleasing you." He laughed… But from it, I could tell that he was being genuine when he asked if I wanted the people here dead.

"Moving on… who are the people in the "Trunks Empire?" And where are they from and why are they here?"

"Well, my lord. All of the people either gathered here or currently watching the broadcast from home or work are individuals who've been saved from tragedy." Slug replied.

"Tragedy?"

"Yes, my lord. Many are either refugees seeking a safe haven, or residents of doomed planets. Some are even ex-slaves who seek freedom. All of which you see here today at one point or another sought salvation. In their time of need, The Slug Cornucopia brought upon them deliverance." He declared, puffing his chest out.

"Did you enslave any of them yourself?" I was gonna strangle him depending on his reply… No. Nevermind. This masochistic weirdo would have probably liked that, so the next best bet was throwing him into a star.

"No, my lord. The believers in front of you chose to serve you and recognized your benevolence." he voiced with a lip-splitting smile.

"…"

"Alright… did you brainwash any of them?"

"Only the former warlords who are hidden amongst the crowd. They once wreaked havoc upon innocent planets… But my old ways are behind me now. As per your demands, the practice of forceful conversion has been abolished in the Trunks empire."

"I only made that demand a few hours ago! How many of these people were Ex-warlords that were brainwashed?"

"If I were to give a rough estimate, only about 432, my lord. But I can guarantee that they will not cause trouble going forward. I have dealt them divine punishment. There won't be any transgressions. I can guarantee that with absolute certainty."

He said irradiating confidence.

"… I'm dropping the topic. Let's move on."

"As you wish, my lord. Are there any further questions?" He nodded.

"Yeah. A big one. What do you expect me to say to these people? I don't know a damn thing about ruling a kingdom."

"My lord… you don't have to say a word if you don't deem it necessary. You already have the hearts of the people. I've made sure of it. You are all ready to light. You being here has already answered thousands of prayers."

"Paragus said something like that, but I'm still confused. What does that mean?"

"Lord Trunks… the people of the Trunks Empire have instilled their faith in you. To add to what the general said, that faith goes a long way. If there is ever anything you need, all you have to do is ask it of your people. In return, all they need is the hope your existence provides them. I've already laid the foundation of our society. Now, you choose how to further it. If there is ever a need, you have Me, Paragus, and the counsel to handle the political escapades that we will undoubtedly face in the future."

'There's a fucking counsel now?' I thought with wide eyes.

I guess it was to be expected. How else was a person supposed to rule a society?

"Lord Trunks may do as he pleases. It is written in the scripture."

Religion… Politics…Culture. This place had it all. And it was based on me.

"*Sigh*"

"Alright… I'm guessing Paragus is right under you in terms of command over these people, Right?"

"Indeed, my lord."

Nodding, I released the Ki dome.

"Paragus. You come here too. I'm about to give my speech. After that, You and I are gonna have a talk." I uttered.

"Of course, My lord."

Flying to my left, Paragus floated on my left while Slug stayed on my right.

"Slug. Unmute the cameras."

With a nod of affirmation, Slug signaled to the Cameras in a strange hand gesture, presumably doing what I asked.

"Hello everybody. My name is Trunks Briefs, and I'm a Saiyan born on this planet. I can tell that a lot of you have been anticipating this day. I'm here now, and I have a few things to say."

"..."

It was so silent that the only thing I really heard was a few coughs in the crowd and a few cars honking their horns in the far-off distance.

"The first is, if you guys want to keep living on this planet peacefully, then all you need to do is live peaceful lives. Don't hurt the people on this planet, and don't disobey any of its rules. If you all can do that, then we can all get along."

"..."

"The second thing… for those of you who grew up on this planet and those who were at one point terrorized by Bojack, you don't have to worry about him anymore. I know that there's kids in the crowd right now, so I won't be explicit. All you need to know is that the threat has been taken care of."

When those words escaped my mouth, I could feel that the majority of the crowd was relieved while it seemed like others didn't even understand what I was talking about. Some started getting emotional, while others couldn't help but cheer.

"Third… I want you all to know that if you have had loved ones that were lost to either Bojack or the natural disaster that happened almost 2 years ago, they have been brought back to life. It's not important how I did it, but I did."

The reason I was intentionally being vague was because I obviously didn't want these people to know about the Dragon Balls.

"YEAHHHHHHH!!!!"

The earthlings started to clap and cheer. Of course, with my last statement, many became skeptical. But the majority were ecstatic, crying with joy. I caused a lot of turmoil… but I had to let them know that I fixed what I had destroyed.

"And that is all I have to say… After today, Everyone can continue living like normal. If you have loved ones outside, you should go visit them. If not, you guys can do whatever it is that you want. I'm not stopping you. Just remember what I said. Then we won't have problems. If someone dangerous shows up on this planet, I'll take care of it. You won't have to worry about losing your loved ones again while I'm around."

I then turned to Slug and motioned to him with my hands to cut off the broadcast. Nodding, He did just that while the crowd burst in chant so loud that it could be heard from hundreds of miles away.

"LORD TRUNKS!"

"LORD TRUNKS!"

"LORD TRUNKS!"

"LORD TRUNKS!"

While that was happening, I then turned to Paragus who I noticed looked very confused.

"What's wrong?"

I asked.

"Lord Trunks… that was an amazing announcement. It's just the things you've just stated. We're they True? Can you really bring the dead back to life? If so, doesn't that mean that you can bring back the Saiyan Race?"

"No…" I panicked internally.

It wasn't that I couldn't. With the Dragon Balls, anything was possible. But common sense told me that it was unwise to bring back a race of planet-enslaving monkey people. Things could have gotten out of hand, quick.

Slug knew of the Dragon Balls and their capabilities. He knew that even if the Earth ones wouldn't do the job, the Namekian ones would, but he still kept his silence.

"Ah… how unfortunate. I guess even your power has limitations."

"Yep. I'm limited alright."

"Then, can I ask you another question?"

"Go for it."

"Well, before I ask it, I realize that most of the citizens of the Trunks empire were ecstatic to hear that you've gotten rid of this, Bojack. But frankly, I have no idea who he was. Many others from different planets probably feel the same way. Can you perhaps describe him to me? Since the creation of the country, many, including myself, haven't left its borders." He clarified.

"You… You guys managed to stay here this entire time?"

I said with surprise.

"Yes. There was no reason for us to leave… Or at least, Lord Slug told us not to and no one would dare defy him."

"Is this True?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity to Slug.

"Of course, it is, my lord. This is your planet. I didn't want anyone within our ranks to go around doing misdeeds in your name, so as a means to prevent anything sacrilegious, the civilians have been heavily monitored. For those who were born on this planet and immigrated to our lands, it was a prerequisite for them to leave all attachment they had to their outside lives. But since you permitted them to leave just now, that is no longer in effect."

"Right," I mumbled with a skewed brow.

"Anyway. Long story short, Bojack was a tyrant that tried to take over the outside world. I killed him this morning."

"As you should… This is your world after all."

"Right… Anyway, Paragus, you mind if I talk to you in private?" I asked.

"Huh? But of course. Is there any topic in particular that needs to be discussed?"

"Yeah. There's a few personal things I need to talk to you about. But it's gonna take a while… Do you mind telling your son that you'll be back in a few?"

"My son? Why?" He questioned.

"Just do it," I replied.

Nodding, Paragus glided down the castle, coming face to face with Broly.