Remnants

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Dragon Ball Z

A/N: Epic lateness! I'm sorry I had to write that author's note but if I had done it here, it would have annoyed too many people, taken away from the story, and would have been too late. I didn't want a million people telling me the same thing. Also, I'm sorry I lied... I didn't update when I said I would... my job's got me working weird hours and I come home too exhausted to update D: but since then I kinda fell out of interest in this fic, though that doesn't mean I've abandoned it! Now to celebrate getting a new keyboard after several years of having my old one, here's an update! Shout-Outs at the bottom. Enjoy!

The night was still, the smell of fear and anger held heavily in the air where Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta stood. The men had just successfully infiltrated the enemy camp of the scout force of the invading remnant army and witnessed yet another ascension by the youngest of the three. The three men found the ship the scouts had left a short distance away. The ship was guarded by two large Saiyans, both looking worried and tense, no doubt having heard the awful commotion from the enemy camp and wondering what was going on. While Gohan scanned the area for more stragglers, Vegeta took out the guards quickly and silently. Gohan stared at the unconscious men by his feet, wondering what they would do with them now. "What're we going to do with these guys?" he asked, tensing when one of them groaned, as if answering him and breathed a sigh of relief when he no longer stirred.

Vegeta walked over to him and studied the ship."A ship of that size has a small holding cell, we'll pack them in it," he answered, grabbing two of the Saiyans by the back of their armor and dragging them toward the ship. They gathered all the men up, including the men who had went on the rampage, and were about to head inside when they felt a familiar Ki signature flying toward them.

"Trunks?" Gohan questioned, turning to see said young man flying over.

"Hey guys!" The men watched as Trunks landed by them.

"Hey Trunks! What are you doing here?" Gohan asked, surprised to see his pupil. It must have taken him a while to fly from where he had been.

"Well, I felt that something was wrong. I felt the weird power-levels from space and I felt you power up, even from the other side of the world! Something really bad must have happened, what's going on?" he asked in concerned curiosity.

"Some bad news, that's what. There's an army of brain-washed Saiyans in a few ships orbiting the Earth. They sent some scouts down but they've been taken care of," Gohan answered. "We were on our way to face the invaders with this ship."

"I'm coming with you"

"I don't think that's-"

"You know I'm capable of keeping up with all of you!" Trunks retorted before Gohan could finish. Silence fell for a moment, both men giving each other challenging stares.

"You can come, boy," Vegeta suddenly said, surprising the three other men. "No son of mine is going to stand around and twiddle his thumbs while there is a battle to be done!" Vegeta stated vehemently. "And if you don't agree, Gohan, you can kiss my ass! He's coming!"

"Fair enough!" Gohan responded, his hands up and eyes wide. This was the first time Vegeta had willfully acknowledged Trunks as his son, not to mention defended him. The look of awe in Trunks' face didn't leave him for a while, even as they boarded the ship silently. They first took stock of where everything on the ship was in case of an emergency. Space-suits and the like. And, after securing the unconscious scouts to the brig, they made their way to the bridge.

"I think this armor is defective," Trunks muttered to himself, pulling at the shoulder armor to adjust them better.

"That type of armor is an old design, it takes a bit to get used to it," Vegeta said with a scoff.

"Right," Trunks settled in his seat. After they had boarded the ship and stowed away the soldiers, they found the armory where Trunks could don on a disguise of his own. It was now going to be trickier to blend in with everyone else, three unknown faces was bad enough, but with another... they just hoped the presence of Vegeta would deter their questions.

"Who is going to fly this thing?" Goku asked, looking over to Vegeta.

"Don't look at me! This hunk of junk is older than my dead father would have been if he was still alive!" Vegeta growled.

"I don't see why it'd be that difficult to figure out," Gohan said, walking over to the pilot's seat and sitting down. "I think I understand, these controls are pretty basic, did you even look at them, Vegeta?"

Insulted, the proud Saiyan crossed his arms and glared. "I am a Prince, not a pilot!" Vegeta snapped.

"Alright, alright," Gohan sighed and started the ship up. Before they knew it, they were hurtling out of the last layer of Earth's atmosphere.

"That's the lead ship, let's head there," Vegeta pointed to what looked like a mix between the ship Freeza had landed on Namek in and a carrier. Gohan shrugged and headed there but suddenly there was a loud beeping in the controls.

"I think they're trying to communicate with us," Trunks said.

"Yeah, they probably want to know why their scout ship returned so early," Gohan agreed. "Should I answer it?" he felt fear making the hairs on his neck and arm stand up. It wasn't that he was afraid of his safety or the safety of the others with him, he was afraid that the slightest trigger would set the invasion off and they wouldn't be able to stop them before millions dying on Earth.

"They might fire on us if we don't – I dunno about you guys but I can't breathe well in open space..." Goku responded seriously.

"Right, I guess we'll have to lie then," Gohan hesitated a second before flipping a switch next to what he supposed was a transmitter device. Immediately after opening a channel, a male voice began questioning them.

"Scout-Ship One, report status – is the mission complete?" it asked.

"Um," Gohan cleared his throat. "No sir, not yet?" he answered uneasily.

"Then why have you returned? Is something wrong?" the person questioning them had suspicion in his tone.

Gohan glanced over at his companions but they were just as clueless about this situation as he was. "...Everything's fine, the Commander just sent us here to – uh... - retrieve more supplies? There was a mix-up and too little was packed..." Gohan lied, flinching at the lame excuse and shrugging at his companions who gave him weird looks.

"Ugh..." Vegeta snorted in annoyance.

"That idiot, he's always making that mistake! Alright, lock weapons and proceed to dock two," the voice commanded.

"Copy," Gohan flicked the radio off. "I can't believe he fell for that!" He grinned, receiving nods of agreement from Goku and Trunks and an eye-roll from the Saiyan Prince. He proceeded to lock down the weapons and steer the small craft toward the appropriately labeled docking door. The door opened and the group held their breath as they massed scanners – no doubt to check if the weapons were indeed off and how much damage the ship had taken. When the ship was directed to land in a certain spot, and they touched down, they relaxed. They had made it in and now it was time for a little more espionage before dealing with the leaders.

"I can't believe how easy that was..." Trunks muttered, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Hey, Trunks, settle down, don't look too excited... we're still under cover, we have to blend in with them," Goku warned.

"Right, right, okay, sorry," Trunks nodded and forced himself to settle. He had been in countless battles and strange situations, but never anything like this. Sure, he was tense and worried about the success of the mission, but he had to admit it was also kind of exciting.

"Follow my lead..." Vegeta whispered and snuck the group around. They alternated between blending in with a crowd and slipping down hallways quietly and swiftly. The ship was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside.

"You have experience sneaking around?" Gohan questioned with a raised eyebrow, amusement clearly in his eyes.

"It is not sneaking around! A Prince would never stoop so low! It is merely secretly getting from one point to the next!" Vegeta argued.

"In other words, sneaking around," Trunks grinned. His smile fled his face when the older Saiyan glared daggers at him.

"Remember you guys, do not kill, understand?" Goku reminded them sternly.

"Yeah yeah whatever," Vegeta rolled his eyes once more. "We're almost to the bridge, one more level and-"

"Hey!" Trunks fell the floor and glared up at another large, muscular Saiyan. He had been walking passed a door when it suddenly slid opened and the man stepped out, pushing Trunks aside, catching the young half-Saiyan off guard. "Watch where you're going, chunky!" Trunks barked as he hopped back onto his feet and glared at the older male.

"Or what?" the other Saiyan smirked.

"Or I'll break your jaw!" Trunks snapped.

"You're just a weak, pathetic little runt! Get outta my face, whelp, you're not worth my time!" the fat Saiyan grunted, trying to move passed Trunks.

Goku had to literally hold both Vegeta and Gohan back from pummeling the other Saiyan. "Cool it you two, let Trunks handle this one," he whispered to them, getting them to still themselves. While he wasn't surprised Gohan would try to beat the man up, he was still surprised it affected Vegeta just as much. Perhaps Bra really was softening the older Saiyan up a bit? It was a pleasing turn of events, that was for sure.

"I demand you apologize to me, fatso!" Trunks growled, earning a glare from his opponent.

"You've got spunk, kid, I'll give ya that. But you wouldn't last a minute against me," the man chuckled.

"Why don't you prove it? How about you let me hit you if you're so sure?" Trunks challenged with a smirk of his own.

"Alright, kid, I'll humor you, just cuz I've got my own shit to get to, but I doubt you-" the older Saiyan couldn't finish his sentence. At that moment, Trunks' fist was firmly planted against the man's stomach, forcing him to bend over in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain from the sudden punch. The man wheezed and felt his eyes bug out.

"You were saying?" Trunks asked in a cool, collected tone. The man groaned in agony and fell to his knees. Trunks pulled away and crossed his arms, then, with his foot, tipped the man over, who promptly folded himself up into a fetal position. "Next time, I won't go so easy on you, and I expect an apology next time as well!" Trunks declared before joining his three satisfied looking companions. While that moment felt good, it stirred trouble quicker than the four had anticipated. They were discovered to be strangers and intruders and soon they had half the ship after them. They worked quickly to knock out the hundreds of men stationed on that ship and made their way quickly to the bridge. When the door slid opened, a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man with short, cropped black hair and a chiseled, but scarred face greeted them, his cape handing loosely off his wide shoulders and his head titled down in a glare. No doubt this was the leader of the group.

"So you're the intruders I was made aware of? You're lucky I didn't order the invasion of this pathetic, backwater planet to begin. I was curious who had the gall to attack my ship. Now I see it's nothing but-" The man stopped when his eyes landed on Vegeta. An array of emotions crossed his rugged face before astonishment and realization settled as the main emotions. "King Vegeta?" he asked in a hushed tone. "I thought you died?" Gohan stepped back from his position as leader of his group and let Vegeta take the reigns on this one, it was his right after all.

"I am not my father," Vegeta answered, his chin up and arms crossed.

"Prince Vegeta! What! Why? Where? When!" The Saiyan shook his head and dropped to his knees. "My lord!" he said. "Forgive me, I had no idea! If you would have contacted me personally, I would have allowed to unrestricted access!" the man declared.

"Well I'm here now, warrior," Vegeta answered.

"My lord, I was under the impression that you were in another part of the galaxy? What were you doing in this planet?"

"How dare you question your lord!" Vegeta snapped, taking a step forward.

"Forgive me, my lord!" the man grovelled.

"I live on that 'pathetic' planet, warrior," Vegeta answered him all the same.

"Live there, my lord? But sir! This planet is home to the one that destroyed our home world and killed our employer! We are lord Freeza's Saiyan guard. We were tasked specifically in finding the one who destroyed our planet! When we heard of his death by someone called Goku, who inhabited this planet, we set off here."

'So Freeza sent them off on a wild goose chase? Huh, figures the dirty bastard would give them an endless mission to kill them off without getting his hands dirty,' Vegeta frowned, his jaw tightening in anger. "Our planet was destroyed by Freeza himself!" he growled. "That bastard sent you on an endless, fruitless mission to get yourselves killed! Yes, 'Goku' killed Freeza, but he was doing only as a true Saiyan would do!" The three other men with Vegeta were once again stunned by his words. He was just full of surprised that day.

"T-Truly?" The leader of the army gasped. "Unbelievable... all this time..." he shook his head.

"Your name," Vegeta questioned.

"Forgive me, my lord. My name is General Turk, my lord, and my men and myself are at your disposal," Turk bent his head once again. The four other Saiyans visibly relaxed.

"I can accept your error, General, you will not be punished for this," Vegeta stated mercifully.

"Thank you, my lord," Turk lowered himself more.

"But you and your men will have to leave," Vegeta finished.

"Leave? Will you come with us, sir? You are our King now, after all," Turk asked, glancing up cautiously at his sovereign.

"I am aware of that," Vegeta nodded. "But I have made this planet my home now. There is a place you and your men may find more surviving Saiyans though," Vegeta began. He told Turk of a rumor he had heard in space once of a colony of Saiyans, lead by a man called Paragus, that they could establish a new Vegeta there. It was a planet not too far from their original homeworld and would make a suitable location to start over. "I do not know this, Paragus, but by your actions, intelligence, and the feel of your power, I have decided to make you, Duke, over New Vegeta," Vegeta declared. Turk's eyes widened and he bent his head once more.

"You honor me, my lord! I accept this responsibility and promise to rule our people with honor and valor in your stead!" Turk promised.

"Very good, now, allow us a ship and we will be off," Vegeta demanded. After Turk bid them goodbye, and shook Goku's hand when he was told who he was, a small ship was given to them and in short order, the four Saiyans returned to Earth. They sighed in collective relief and split up to head home, relieved when they felt the invaders departing from their orbit around the Earth. None of them bothered to search the area anymore, so they did not notice the small group rebels nearby, tailing Trunks and Vegeta.

End A/N: There ya have it, I hope you're happy... it took entirely too long to force myself to update this chapter, I'm sorry for that. I do NOT know when the next chapter will be up! And I'm afraid to say, the story may be coming to a close soon, not in the next chapter, but soon. As always, if you spot any mistakes, please let me know! Please R&R!

Shout-Outs:

BurningPanther: Thank you for the kind words and the bit of advice. Like I said in the author's note, your suggestion is noted. Also, I'm sorry I had to put you on the spotlight like that!

Shiva the Sarcastic: Officially there are four... then there are like five or six if you go non-canon. Relax, I don't plan there to be any more ascensions, I'm sticking to canon lol.

Alex Garcia: Favorite ever? Wow, I'm flattered! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Dcp1992: Start? Lol, glad you like it!

Fanfiction(dot)net: LOL! Best review EVER!

Dude7: Yeah, sorry about that, I meant to change that but I never got around to it...

Cloud Ex-SOLDIER: Glad you like it! I plan a mini spin-off series with the three of them on crazy adventures, keep an eye out for it!

Xj9: Thank you! Yes! That's what I had in mind! It always frustrated me that they built Gohan up to be this awesome character, then dumbed him down and put Goku back in the spotlight... and Goku's character was just ruined after DBZ. They were all ruined. So I wrote this with my opinion on how it could have turned out if Gohan remained awesome and the main man, you know? Glad you're with me on this!

Swoofie: Ah okay, well I appreciate your input anyway! Maybe if I was writing Gohan from the other "canon" timeline, I would have him relying on others more, but keep in mind Gohan had to rely on himself and had no one to be his hero since he was nine (or so), so naturally, he wouldn't suddenly get that need and would be more inclined to take charge, you know?