About Time

by DoraMouse

Part 16: Epilogues

780 A.D.

The landscape was dotted with heaps of rubble and scattered plumes of smoke were rising into an already darkened sky. The harsh crackles of ever-burning fires intermingled with an assortment of haunting creaks that eminated from torn buildings as their damaged structures succumbed to the elements and crumbled further.

Softly, with a barely audible patter, the rain began. It fell in a nearly silent glistening curtain of water that only gained color once it had impacted the ground. The scattered puddles on the remains of an asphalt road were mostly black and grey reflections of the sky but here and there, a puddle was red. Fading to pink as the rain steadily diluted the blood and washed it away.

Corpses left in the open were not an uncommon sight on this world anymore. The sidewalks and ruined buildings of the Earths cities were virtually littered with bodies in various stages of decay. It was often impossible to tell from the physical remains whether the creatures had been human once. But this crumpled form, alone in the road, had quite clearly belonged to a young man. His death had come recently for although he was no longer breathing, his injuries still bled. A faint orange blur hovered beside the scene.

Damn. Gohan, age 23, berated himself. Though not overly surprised by his current condition, he didn't feel ready to be dead. There was too much left to do. He replayed his last battle in his mind and picked it apart. If he had been a little faster, if he had used a different approach...

The arm. It was definately his left arm - or rather, the lack of his left arm - that had doomed his recent battle from the start. Gohan had always launched his ki attacks through his hands so to have one hand missing had greatly impaired his fighting style. And he'd only had this problem for the past year so he'd never quite gotten used to fighting without the limb.

Being a ghost, Gohan was now intact. He scowled a bit at his left arm and wished that he'd had it earlier.

REGRETS WILL ONLY HOLD YOU BACK.

The figure of a smiling white cat stood in the rain without getting wet. Gohan was quite startled to know that he wasn't alone, even moreso when he finally recognized the cat. He'd seen Korin on and off all his life - Gohan had always been perceptive enough to catch glimpses of the cat each time that he'd seen someone die. But he'd never mentioned this. He'd often been too overwhelmed by everything else that was going on to give any thought to such details as the cats consistant presence.

Now though, it was starting to make sense to him. "You can see me." A statement, not a question and Gohan didn't like what was implied by its truth. He spoke in a tone of increasing urgency. "Look, I'm sorry but I can't leave..."

Korin chuckled and indicated the corpse. YOU HAVE ALREADY LEFT.

"Only physically!" Gohan protested, trying not to think of how strange that sounded. A flood of thoughts rushed through him. His mother was still alive and his Grandfather Ox as well, they would need comfort and protection. Trunks, now barely age 14, had only been training for the past year - he would still need guidance. The evil androids were still out there and so the people of the world still needed him. That was all there was to it. In the past thirteen years Gohan had become so accustomed to such burdens that he couldn't quite conceive of existing without them.

"I may not be able to do much," Gohan admitted, "but I have to at least try."

Still smiling, Korin shook his head. YOU HAVE DONE WHAT YOU COULD. IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON.

"But..." Gohan faced the direction where his home was and fumbled for the words. "Will they be okay?"

THAT IS UP TO THEM. Korin turned and padded away, limping. COME. THERE ARE MANY SPIRITS WAITING TO SEE YOU.

This remark was a metaphoric shot in the arm. Gohan had spent most of his life trying not to think about all the dead people he knew. He had gotten so caught up in the affairs of Earth that he had started to forget there was anything beyond his own devestated world. But... The afterlife... And all the friends and relatives that he would be reunited with there... The weight in Gohans soul lifted as these realizations came. He couldn't keep from smiling now. Gohan was 23 and hadn't felt this happy since age 8, back when his father had still been alive and healthy.

Happiness was fleeting. The past thirteen years had taken their toll. Gohan remained outwardly calm and subdued as he followed Korin, refusing to celebrate until there was more reason to. Guilt and anxiety clouded his thoughts. What if his deceased friends were upset with him? Obviously, he hadn't managed to save them...

He wasn't quite sure where the question came from but suddenly Gohan asked. "Why are you called Korin anyway?"

The cat grinned broadly. WHAT SORT OF PERSON INVESTIGATES DEATH?

After a moment of confused thought Gohan shrugged. "I was just asking." Then he realized that Korins question had been a riddle and the answer came to him. "Oh. A coroner. Eheh. Good word pun."

Gohan looked up and saw that Korin was gone. Earth was also gone. He was inside a large mostly-empty office with an intimidating wooden desk that he had to stand on his tiptoes to see the top of. "Err..."

"What's a good word pun?" Said the blue deity that was now standing beside Gohan. It was humanoid blue blob that had pointy ears, several short whiskers and a pair of thin antenna. It wore dark robes and dark sunglasses. It smiled. "I love word puns!

"Uh..." Gohan gathered his wits, "Excuse me, I'm a bit confused. Is this judgement?"

"Used to be, few years ago." King Kai nodded. "We got rid of judgement though. Too much paperwork."

"... so... how does someone get to heaven?"

"Can't. We got rid of heaven too. And hell." said King Kai. "Good riddence, I say. Damned oppressive places - both of 'em. It's like I've been telling Dai Kaio for millenia - life is plenty hard enough on its own, no need to have the afterlife political as well. Isn't that right Bubbles?"

From somewhere above, there was an affirmative squeal. A small brown monkey scampered across the surface of what had once been Lord Enmas desk.

"One of these days," Gohan sighed, "something normal is gonna happen to me."

King Kai erupted into a fit of laughter. "Oh, that's a good one!" He giggled. "You mortals are priceless!" After taking a few moments to recover his composure, the blue god straightened up and beamed. "Well kid, you've made me laugh so now I can show you the way in. Welcome to the afterlife!"

He opened a door and something orange instantly blurred through it. The orange blur was followed a few moments later by several other streaks of energy that slowed down and took more definite forms as they entered the office.

"Hey Goku," Krillen teased, "leave something of 'em in existence for the rest of us to hug would ya!"

783 A.D.

Sleep was a rare luxury and Trunks - age 17 - couldn't afford it. He knew that he shouldn't be up already, not with his injuries, but he was too nervous.

What Trunks was nervous about was the time machine. Gohan had been meant to pilot it. People in the past would have recognized Gohan, they would have trusted him. But Gohan had been killed three years ago and Trunks was left to take his senseis place. It had to be a warrior that went, just in case.

The time machine was almost done now and Trunks had reluctantly accepted the mission to pilot it. He would make the journey to the past, he would warn the people that he'd outlived. The warriors in the past wouldn't recognize him and they might not trust him but Trunks knew that he had to find a way to make them believe his warnings. He was prepared to join their battles, to fight alongside them and earn their respect. He had to initiate the change. Because he couldn't keep living like this - nobody could.

Less than a week ago, he'd battled the androids. Again. He'd put everything he had into that fight. But all his energy, all his anger, four years of intense training and Super Saiyan - it hadn't been enough. Trunks had almost been killed. No, it had been more than that. By all rights, he should have been killed. He could remember losing consciousness towards the end of the battle. There had been a flash of dazzling white light...

And yet he'd woken up at home, safe and sound. Apparently his mother had found him on the doorstep. Trunks hadn't been able to make sense of this turn of events but he sincerely doubted that the androids had decided to spare him. So he mentally thanked whatever gods had kept him alive.

Trunks, of course, had no way of knowing that the god responsible was nearby and that his thought made Civilization pause and smile. He also had no way of knowing that the time machine had been reprogrammed slightly by a flying carpet.

He had only recently found out that his mother and grandparents had agreed that it made more sense to send him to the year 764 A.D. So instead of fighting the androids in 767 A.D., his visit would just give the other warriors more time to prepare. His family was protective of him in that way. They weren't going to send Trunks into a battle because they wanted him to come back.

Trunks paced his room and wondered if he would remember the journey at all. Would the past change the future - his future - so much that he forgot about the time machine? Would the time machine cease existing? Would he end up being a completely different person in the new future or would he come back and meet a version of himself that had never needed to travel time? How could he change the timeline without also being changed by it? What if he made things worse?

These were the main concerns Trunks had. And it was kind of scary because nobody could give him straight answers. This was Capsule Corps first time machine. He would be the test pilot. The only way to find out what would happen was to go ahead and do it. There were just so many things that could go wrong.

Story of my life. Trunks thought, Maybe it wouldn't hurt to forget...

Later in 783 A.D.

Two figures stood on the astral plane. Their gleaming physical bodies lay at their feet. Each had a hole punched clean through the midsection - yet their bodies did not bleed.

"Sister..." Android 17 began, in a tone of utter confusion that he had very rarely used while alive. "What has happened to us?"

Android 18 shared his uneasiness. "I don't know."

The situation didn't compute. Robots couldn't die. Robots were just turned off, deactivated. Death was something that happened to non-robots. And this felt too much like life to be death anyway. Death - or deactivation - was final. That was the extent of the androids knowledge on the subject. No one had ever told them about an afterlife. The word 'ghost' was not part of their vocabulary.

"Perhaps this odd vision is the result of internal errors." Android 18 reasoned, referring to the fact that all of the androids computer chips and mechanical parts were at least sixteen years old now and well worn from use. "Perhaps we are in need of an upgrade."

"I bet it's that brats fault." Android 17 agreed with his sisters logic. "He must have managed to knock something loose. We'll have to punish him."

Their last clear memories were of an enraged demi-saiyan with hair that had been purple before it had turned gold. But neither android could believe that the brat posed any real danger to them because he'd never posed a threat before. No Super Saiyan had ever posed a threat to them before. And as far as the androids knew, there wasn't anything beyond Super Saiyan. They had been programmed to believe that the only thing on Earth stronger than a Super Saiyan was an android.

"If we take him hostage," Android 18 was thinking aloud, "his family may be capable of providing us with an upgrade. We would, of course, supervise."

A sadistic smirk crept into Android 17s features. If there was anything better than outright killing the worthless humans, it was exploiting them. "Of course."

AH, MY ASSISTANTS. Korin smiled wistfully. I HAVE RECOVERED FULLY. YOUR SERVICES ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED.

The cats appearance caused both androids to jump, startled. They had no idea who Korin was or what he was doing there. However his presence was causing them to doubt their theory that this was just a strange vision caused by repairable internal errors.

"CAT!" Android 17 had retained his feline phobia over the years and quickly hid behind his sister.

"Assistants!" Android 18 stammered, her confidence shaken. "Our... SERVICES!"

"Ironic, isn't it?" Said a young woman who was see-through but who otherwise looked like a human punk, complete with tattoos and multiple piercings. She stared at Android 18 with an intensely disapproving air then stepped past the baffled androids. "You think you're in control and then this happens."

Korin had brought a pair of earth-bound ghosts with him. He smiled and watched.

"Fascinating." The second ghost seemed rather more normal. He was a lanky young man - also see-through - in casual street clothes who peered at the androids curiously. "No resemblence whatsoever."

Android 18 had zero tolerance for humans who peered at her. She grabbed the human by his throat and growled more than spoke. "What are you babbling on about?"

The young man glanced to the female punk then back at Android 18. "Maybe some resemblence." He amended.

"Welcome to death row." The lady punk snorted. "If you're lucky, you just die and go to the afterlife. If you're not then some idiotic mad scientists dig up your corpse and turn it into a glorified barbie doll."

Stunned silence. The androids didn't like what they were figuring out. It didn't compute, this couldn't be happening - but it was.

I CAN TELL THAT YOU FOUR ARE GOING TO NEED SOME TIME TO TALK. Korin laughed. I'LL COME BACK LATER.

Authors Footnote

I hope that you have enjoyed this story. A lot of research went into the writing. Many of the ideas - the sentient schools, the backwards evolution from mythical animals, the various associations of characters to elements and ideas - were inspired by a combination of fictional novels and actual myths. If you would like to know which myths specifically, then please visit: geocites . com / cheshirekatz / fanfic / dbtn . html which will take you straight to the notes for this story which are hosted at my own site. Please remove the spaces from the address to make it work. I regret the inconvenience but does not allow authors notes to be posted as a separate chapter nor do they permit a direct link from the story text.