Chapter 39

PICCOLO

The phone rang.

I was sitting in a corner of Master Roshi's living room. With my arms and legs crossed and my eyes closed, I was trying not to think about Lettie. At least my weighted shoulder pads and turban weren't giving me headaches anymore.

"Hello?" Krillin answered the phone. "Oh, hi, Bulma."

Bulma? If she was calling, it meant news about my fiancée.

Yamcha, Master Roshi, and a weird anthropomorphic pig named Oolong, all sitting around a coffee table in front of the TV, turned to Krillin.

"You're asking if Lettie, Gohan, and Trunks are back?" he asked on the phone. "No, not yet. Why?" He paused for a few seconds. "Huh? Turn on the TV to channel 872? Okay, okay! No need to yell!"

"Krillin," I said, straightening up, trying to hide my anxiety, "what's going on?"

"Bulma wants us to turn on the TV." Krillin stretched to switch it on. "Yamcha, can you put it on channel 872, please?"

Yamcha grabbed the remote from the table and did as asked. Master Roshi, puffing on a cheap, smelly cigarette, asked, "Why would she want us to watch TV right now?"

"Coming from Bulma," said the pig, "she's probably on some show and wants us to watch her!"

The three of them laughed at the table, but I didn't find it funny at all. I stood up, and my towering frame cast a shadow over them that quickly shut them up. I'm pretty sure they didn't like me. I don't blame them.

I stood beside Krillin to watch the news bulletin. On the screen, a serious-looking man in a suit stared directly at the camera, holding a stack of papers.

"Attention!" he said to the viewers. "About an hour ago, we received reports that all the inhabitants of Ginger Town have disappeared. The area is completely deserted for reasons still unknown. Authorities are investigating the cause of this unexpected event. Our news team is on-site, and according to them, the only thing left behind by the missing people were their clothes."

Everyone in the room gasped. What the heck was going on?

An entire city's population vanishing? Clothes left behind at the scene?

"Let's hear more from our field reporter," said the anchor.

The studio cut to a live feed of Ginger Town's buildings, where a reporter wearing an orange windbreaker and holding a microphone stared into the camera with a deeply troubled expression.

"Hello, everyone," he began. "Here in Ginger Town, fifteen thousand people lived—but all of them have vanished without a trace."

Fifteen thousand??? How could that many people simply… vanish?

"We've discovered new clues at one of the locations," the reporter continued. "As you can see, there are hundreds of pieces of clothing scattered all over the ground." The camera zoomed in on a vast lawn where countless clothes lay abandoned, as if their owners had simply evaporated. The reporter continued, "Our theory is that their bodies may have been dissolved by some kind of substance. We also found firearms near some of the clothing—including a rifle—which seems to suggest some residents attempted to fight against someone."

"How horrible!" Master Roshi exclaimed.

"I'm sure it was those Androids!" Krillin growled through gritted teeth, still holding the phone. "They've finally started their rampage!" He paused to listen to Bulma on the other end. "What? You don't think it was the Androids? I see… uh-huh… So, this incident might be related to that other time machine you found? Okay… Right… When they come back, we'll ask for all the details. Got it… Take care, bye."

Krillin hung up the phone. We barely had a chance to exchange troubled looks when we heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the second floor of the house. It was Chi-Chi.

"Goku is sleeping," she announced. "I think he's doing a bit better."

We didn't have time to respond, because we sensed the Ki of Lettie, Gohan, and Trunks approaching, and we quickly turned toward the door.

"We're back, everyone!" Gohan opened it and stepped inside.

"Lettie!" I immediately went to greet her. My fiancée clearly wasn't doing well; anxiety filled her expression, and her feelings radiated deep worry. "What happened? Did you find anything out about the old time machine?"

"It's a long story, Mr. Piccolo…" Trunks said, stepping in behind her and closing the door.

"Before you guys say anything else," Krillin said, "I want you to watch the news."

I quickly explained the disappearance of fifteen thousand people in Ginger Town to the newcomers, which left them stunned, and then we all turned our attention back to the TV.

Suddenly, screams erupted from the speakers. Desperate cries for help.

"What's happening?" The reporter turned around, visibly confused. "Dear viewers, I can hear panicked screams coming from nearby. I'm sure you can hear them as well."

Then, gunshots rang out. Lettie grabbed my arm tightly.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

On the TV, the reporter tried to pinpoint where the gunshots were coming from. "It appears that the investigation team or the police have taken action!" he reported.

The screams and gunfire intensified. Everyone in the room was terrified, as though we were watching a horror film.

Then suddenly, silence.

"They've stopped shooting, and people have stopped screaming!" The reporter turned to look directly at the camera. "I'll do my best to get closer and see what's happening and—"

He went pale. His mouth opened in an expression of pure terror as he stared at something beyond the camera. His eyes widened, and he let out a desperate scream—then the camera abruptly cut out.

Now there was nothing but gray static on the screen.

Lettie and I exchanged a glance. She was trembling. I was trembling. What was going on?!

"Krillin, change the channel, quick!" Yamcha urged.

Krillin quickly switched to another news channel. The camera was lying on the ground, the fuzzy static blurring the image, but we could still make out another network's microphone lying on the asphalt beside more abandoned clothes.

There was no sound. Yamcha turned the volume up, but all we heard was the whistling of the wind rustling through the leaves of a tree in the corner of the screen.

The truth was, no one was there anymore. What had happened to all those people?

"That's enough!" Lettie exclaimed. "Trunks, Gohan—tell them what we saw!"

Everyone turned toward the three of them, confused and curious. Trunks then described the investigation that he, Lettie, Gohan, and Bulma had conducted regarding the old time machine found by locals, as well as the strange egg and the mysterious animal husk they'd discovered nearby.

When he finished speaking, a dreadful silence filled the room.

"Then there's only one answer!" Krillin pounded his fist. "All this chaos on TV must be the fault of that... MONSTER that came out of that carcass, right?!"

"Yes, Krillin," Trunks confirmed. "It's very likely that this monster—or creature, or whatever it is—caused this. After all, the locations are close to each other."

Silence again.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" Chi-Chi spoke up. "Goku still hasn't recovered yet, and apparently, this monster is already causing trouble."

She had a point. We had to do something, but what?

"This is just the beginning," my Enemy threatened. "There's still so much more to come."

I pressed my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut tightly. Focus, Piccolo. You can do this. If Goku wasn't ready, we'd have to find another way to manage. As the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers.

Besides, I had fused with Kami AND gotten engaged to the woman I loved. What greater motivation could I possibly need?

"I'll go check this out on my own," I announced.

Everyone stared at me. Lettie, who had been biting her nails, turned pale.

"Have you lost your mind?!" She approached me quickly.

"No, no, Mrs. Lettie," Trunks said, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "Mr. Piccolo's right. I believe he's the one among us who has the best chance of confronting that monster."

"B-But..." she stammered, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Don't worry," Trunks touched her shoulder gently. "I'll go with him. After all, I can become a Super Saiyan, and I'll be able to help if we run into the Androids."

"Then wouldn't it be better if everyone went?!" Lettie countered. Poor thing—she was desperate.

"I don't think so," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder as well. "It's important that you all stay here to protect the house and Goku."

My fiancée kept opening and closing her mouth, trying to find another argument to prevent us from separating, especially since I was about to face a monster that had just wiped out fifteen thousand people.

But the decision had been made. Trunks and I would investigate this new creature while the others remained at Master Roshi's house.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Trunks and I walked to the shoreline to take flight. But then Lettie suddenly came running from the house, with Gohan following closely behind.

She jumped onto me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"No matter what happens," she whispered into my ear, "don't you dare die. I'll be waiting for you. We're going to get married. I love you."

Lettie then pulled me into a long, gentle peck kiss. At first, doing something so intimate in front of Trunks and Gohan made my face burn all the way up to my ears. But then I quickly realized life was too short for my usual awkwardness. In response, I held the back of my fiancée's head and returned her kiss.

"I'll be back soon," I said, smiling at her. "I love you too."

We stepped apart, and then I turned toward Gohan. He stared down at the sandy ground, clearly fighting back tears. Lettie, Trunks, and I exchanged amused glances. Gohan might've been nearly ten years old, but something deep inside his spirit still radiated a strong childlike need for affection.

I knelt down to his level. "What is it, kiddo?"

"U-Uncle Piccolo…" He sniffled. "Promise me you won't get hurt?"

"Hmm…" I rubbed my chin, pretending to consider. "I don't know if I can promise that, but…" I raised a finger. "I have regenerative powers. Though, admittedly, I sometimes pretend to forget just so Aunt Lettie will take care of me, don't I?"

Everyone laughed. Gohan wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Please be careful, Uncle."

"You too. Take good care of your father."

I pulled him into a tight hug. It felt wonderful to do this freely, knowing he was now officially my family. When we separated and I stood back up, Trunks cleared his throat with a smile. "Well, I know I've received plenty of hugs since arriving in this timeline, but I don't think there's any harm in getting another one, right?"

Lettie and Gohan laughed and immediately embraced him, wishing him safety against any monster or Android we might encounter along the way.

"Alright, enough of this mushy stuff!" I said, just to keep up my usual persona. "Come on, Trunks!"

And with that, we took off into the sky, leaving behind those we loved.

***

"Trunks…" I called him, after long minutes of silent flight over the ocean toward Ginger Town. Conversation was tough when two shy introverts got together. "So… is it true that Lettie and I ended up together in your timeline?"

"According to Naíma, yes." He gave me a faint smile. "She doesn't really know the reasons that led you and Mrs. Lettie to get together, but she remembers you fused with Kami, and shortly after that, you two reconciled and got engaged."

"Interesting," I replied. "So, it was pretty similar to this timeline."

"Not that much," Trunks said. "In our timeline, we had no idea about the Androids, so none of the warriors trained specifically to defeat them, or anything like that. We were all completely caught off guard."

I frowned. In my reality, I'd spent the past three years of my life training with Lettie, Gohan, and Goku for the Androids' arrival, in addition to teaching at the Dojo.

What had we been doing in Trunks' timeline? What had Lettie been doing? Did she have a Dojo there as well? Was our relationship as turbulent as it was here? Had my Enemy tormented me enough for Kami to feel compelled to fuse with me, just like he had here?

I didn't have the answer to any of those questions, and perhaps no one ever would, because neither Lettie nor I existed in Trunks' future. We were both dead, and our daughter was orphaned.

Then, to my surprise, Trunks lightly punched my arm and smiled. "Don't lose hope, Mr. Piccolo. It's what Mrs. Lettie always says—in any timeline, right?"

My heart swelled, and I couldn't hold back a smile. "Yes, Trunks. You're absolutely right."

We continued flying until we finally reached Ginger Town. During the journey, we discussed and decided on the strategy of splitting up to search for the so-called "mysterious monster" that had wiped out fifteen thousand people—and that's exactly what we did.

I flew over the city for a while. It was indeed deserted. Cars abandoned, shops overturned, and worst of all, piles of clothing scattered everywhere, just as we'd seen on TV.

What on earth happened here?

I decided to land and walk through the streets. Only the sound of my footsteps and the wind could be heard. It was eerie and chilling—and completely ridiculous.

Come on, I was Piccolo! One of Earth's strongest warriors; I'd just fused with Kami, gained an absurd amount of power, and (I won't tire of emphasizing this) gotten engaged to the woman I love!

I should've been feeling like the most confident man in the world, right?

Apparently not.

The truth was, I was terrified. As I walked through the streets, a sinister sensation enveloped me—eerily similar to when I heard my Enemy's voice. But this time, the feeling was more physical. More palpable. Almost as if I could reach out and touch it.

Before I knew it, my knees were trembling, nearly knocking together as I moved. I found myself hunched, wandering the streets like a lost child desperately searching for his father.

"Father…" I caught myself whispering into the silence.

And what silence it was. Nothing moved. No sound.

But suddenly, a comforting warmth filled my body, and that same Voice—soft and gentle—spoke to my heart: "Be strong and courageous. I am with you."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and steadied myself. The Voice couldn't have come at a better time, because in the very next second, I heard footsteps—and they weren't Trunks's. And it wasn't just footsteps. Something seemed to be… slithering on the ground.

Instantly, I was on high alert. My fists tightened, and I scanned every direction.

Who was there?

Then, I felt it. A presence. A horrifying, macabre presence. When I turned around, I saw it.

Only a few steps ahead of me, an enormous creature emerged from the shadows of a dark alleyway. I had to hold back a gasp because what I was seeing couldn't possibly be real.

The creature was tall and slender, its green skin dotted with black spots and hardened plates, like the carapace of some mutated insect. Its eyes, sunken beneath a forehead elongated by two horn-like structures, glowed with a dull, empty, animalistic orange light. In the center of its forehead, a polished black sphere protruded like a lifeless, expressionless eye, radiating something twisted and unnatural. Its hands, each with four long, clawed fingers, held an unconscious man.

At the end of its long, thick tail was a grotesque, tubular stinger—like the needle of a syringe. The tip appeared stained with… blood? But more than just threatening, the creature emanated something sickening. A sour stench, like rotting flesh mingled with corrupted energy, filled the air around it.

It was not a warrior. It was no ordinary living being.

This thing was… an aberration.

A monstrosity designed to devour, to adapt… and to evolve.