Author's Notes- Hey guys, so this will be the first substantial chapter. I hope you can all enjoy it!

I don't own any of the characters or anything, except for my OCs.

The Persecution Saga

Ugly Loser

"You've been up here for quite a while, Goku. Don't you think you should go home and visit your family?" Whis asked.

"I want to, but Gohan and Chi Chi are both acting really strange. Gohan's really mad at me for some reason, and Chi Chi… I don't even know what's going on with her." Goku told him.

"Perhaps you should try talking to them and getting to the root of the problem, Goku. To be honest, listening hasn't always been your strong suit." Whis said.

"But neither of them will even listen to me or let me get a word in! How am I supposed to get through to them?" Goku argued.

"I agree, it's quite strange. It seems not even two weeks ago you were fine, and now you're no longer on speaking terms." Whis admitted.

Goku had been training on Lord Beerus's world for the last two weeks. Gohan had completely shut him out, and Chi Chi started calling him horrible names for no reason. Gohan wouldn't talk to Chi Chi either. The only one in Goku's family that would talk to him was Goten, and for some reason, he didn't want to be around his mother. He begged Goku to take him training with him, but Goku knew that he wasn't ready for it. But maybe Goku could go visit with him, if Chi Chi let Goku see him. Lately she hadn't been letting him.

"I guess I'll go visit Goten." Goku said.

"And while you're there, tell Bulma to bring me some more food. She's been ignoring both of us!" Beerus yelled.

"Actually, Bulma hasn't been talking to me either. Nor has Vegeta. And come to think of it, I haven't seen Krillin or Yamcha in a while." Goku said. "Anyway, maybe Goten can help me out. Later!"

"Goku! You have to help me get some more Earth delicacies!" Beerus yelled, but Goku had already used instant transmission to vanish. He looked over at his servant. "Say Whis, don't you think you should have told Goku what's really going on down there? We both know it isn't what it seems like."

"Goku truly does have much to learn in the ways of family." Whis responded. "But besides that, this can serve as another part of his training. Goku should be able to use his mind and senses to deduce the situation at hand. I'm afraid you storming up to Bulma to demand food would jeopardize that."

"Well he'd better figure it out soon!" Beerus demanded.

Whis raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. That's strange."

"What is?" Beerus asked, intrigued.

"It seems we have a time traveler in our midst." Whis explained, his staff glowing and a hologram projecting to show the time traveler.

"Manipulating time is strictly forbidden. We should deal with him at once." Beerus declared.

"On the contrary, I'm curious to see why he's here." Whis said. "Leave him be for a bit."

"Oh, fine." Beerus conceded. "I'm ready for my bath, Whis."

"I will fix it up right away, my Lord." Whis said. The two made their way towards the bathroom.

…

Gohan was out trying a meditation technique that Piccolo had taught him. He was in an area of plains a few minutes' flight from the city where he lived. He was just starting to get the hang of it-

"Hi Gohan!" Goku's voice cut through his concentration.

"What do you want, Goku?" Gohan spat, feeling frustration rise.

"I was hoping we could talk." Goku said.

"I have nothing to say to you." Gohan told him.

"Son, why are you so angry with me?" Goku pleaded.

"Don't call me 'son'!" Gohan roared. "You abandoned me for seven years! And you constantly run off to go train while Chi Chi treats me and Goten like complete crap! And now all of a sudden you want to be a good father? Go away!"

"But Gohan-" Goku started.

"I said GO!" Gohan screamed, launching an energy wave at his father.

Gohan then took the opportunity to fly away. Thank Kami. Gohan was really angry with his parents. Chi Chi wanted to control every aspect of his and Goten's lives, and Goku was too busy training to care. They were honestly the last two people Gohan wanted to see right now. Hopefully Goku wouldn't be able to catch up to him.

He found a small cave during his flight, so he descended to the ground and entered it. As he progressed deeper into the cave, he spotted a glowing light coming from it. Somehow, he found himself drawn to the warmth from the light. When he made his way up to it, he saw that it was a glowing sphere of light, about the size of a person.

"Gohan." A female voice suddenly sounded from the sphere.

Gohan was startled and took an immediate step back. "Who are you?"

"Do not fear. I am only here to help. As it happens, fate has brought us together." The voice said.

Gohan watched as the sphere receded and revealed the figure of a woman. The woman wore what could only be described as a white and gold lingerie suit. Somehow the outfit made her look divine, or perhaps that was due to the wings adorned on her back. Her eyes were blue, and her hair was long and brown. She was glowing with light.

"You're… beautiful..." Gohan stammered. Not that he thought of her that way. He was married and had a daughter.

"Thank you. My name is Staratos. As I mentioned, fate has brought us together. I can sense your frustration with your father and your desire to be away from him. And I can help you with that." She said.

"You can help me stay away from Goku?" Gohan asked.

"Yes. My aura can hide your energy if you are near me. This way, your father cannot sense you." Staratos explained. "I cannot imagine what circumstances would cause a child to hate their father so, but I suppose they must be dire."

"Why are you helping me?" Gohan asked.

"Fate has chosen me to be your protector. I suppose you might call it 'your guardian angel' in your terms." She said.

"Well, do you want to come to my place? You can meet my wife and my daughter and we can have lunch." Gohan offered. But Staratos shook her head.

"I cannot. For the time being, I must not be seen by most humans. I can only come to your side when you are alone." She explained.

"I see." Gohan said slowly.

…..

Goten crouched behind the tree and hid, hoping his mother would not find him. She had gotten so mean lately. His legs were still sore from when she had punished him earlier that day. He had managed to stop crying, but the tears still stained the young boy's cheeks.

"Hey Goten!" A voice said.

"Wah!" Goten screamed, jumped up, and turned towards the voice, fearing that it was his mother. Instead he found his father.

"Daddy!" Goten said, running up to hug his father. Goku smiled and patted his head.

"Hey, little guy. I came for a visit." Goku said.

"Daddy, please take me training with you." Goten begged.

"But Goten, it's too dangerous up there. How about I stay on Earth with you for a bit?" Goku suggested.

"That would be awesome, Dad!" Goten exclaimed.

Goku scooped his son up and got a good look at him. That's when he saw the tear stains. "Goten, what's wrong?"

"Mommy's been really, really mean. She hits me and everything and I can never get away from her, even if I fly and turn Super Saiyan." Goten wailed.

Goku noticed a bruise on Goten's face and could tell the boy wasn't lying. But how was this possible? Chi Chi shouldn't have been nearly strong enough to do this. Had she really gotten that much stronger in just two weeks?

"How long has this been going on, Goten?" Goku asked.

"It started like two weeks ago. Mommy's been really mean to you, me, and Gohan. The only one she's nice to is her friend Dippy." Goten explained. Goku realized it started right around the time Gohan started being angry too.

"Dippy, huh? Is he a nice guy?" Goku asked.

"Dippy's a lady, silly." Goten chuckled. "I don't spend too much time with Dippy. Mommy's always around her and she gets really mean."

Goku realized needed to think as he put Goten down. Goten's living situation obviously wasn't ideal. He'd have to worry about why Chi Chi was acting like this later. For now, he needed to make sure Goten had somewhere safe to stay.

"How about we go over to Bulma's? Can you stay with her?" Goku asked.

"I tried to ask her one day while I was playing with Trunks, but she said I had to stay with Mommy, even after I told her how mean Mommy had been. Now she won't even let me come over to play with Trunks anymore." Goten said sadly.

"What about Krillin?" Goku asked.

"No one knows where Uncle Krillin is. Gohan says he's not our friend anymore. Uncle Krillin and Number Eighteen had a big fight and they're not married anymore. Gohan, Bulma, Number Eighteen, and Marron said it was all Uncle Krillin's fault." Goten explained. "It's so weird, I could never imaging them having a fight like that."

"Yeah. The two of them seemed so happy together." Goku agreed. "What about Piccolo?"

"Piccolo said he wanted to take care of me, but he's been training and thought I might get hurt if I was with him." Goten said.

"Maybe we can take you to the Lookout to stay with Dende and Mr. Popo?" Goku offered.

"Yay!" Goten exclaimed.

"Just give me a minute to locate Dende's energy." Goku said putting two fingers to his forehead. "Got it! Okay, grab onto me, Goten."

Goten grabbed onto Goku, and the two vanished to the Lookout.

….

You can do this.

A young girl tried to reassure herself as she made her way through the woods, keeping her eyes open for the log cabin that was her destination. She knew how to fly, of course, but her target was known to be highly observant. She'd be spotted from a mile away. So she stuck to the shadows of the forest, using her small body and the large trees to her advantage.

"Geez, how much further?" She asked herself aloud. She hoped she wasn't going the wrong way. But Lugana had given her the location she was heading to, so it had to be correct. She couldn't afford to start doubting Lugana's guidance now.

The grass beneath her feet was damp with dew. She looked down at it and noticed her shoe strings had come loose. With a sigh, the girl bent down and tied a bow. She wasn't too good at tying her shoes, and it probably wouldn't be long before they came loose again, but it was the best she could do. Lugana had scolded her for it a few times before, but she had yet to learn how to properly tie her shoes. She was very young after all, and with her chocolate brown hair done in a single pigtail on the right side of her head, her big blue eyes, and the baby blue shirt she sported, it was obvious she was a mere child. More capable than many inhabitants of the planet in most ways, but still a child.

After what seemed like forever, the girl finally noticed the cabin slowly coming into view behind the trees. She felt her fear grow. From what she was told, this was a dangerous man she was hoping to expose. But she had to do this. The world would not be safe as long as he was here. Often he would not be home, he'd be out, but Lugana made sure to send her here at a time when he was home. They needed to observe him, she was told.

Soon there was just a few feet of clearing standing between her and a window that she could gaze into. Her heart rate picked up as she eased those last few steps and sidled against the wall of the cabin next to the window.

The girl carefully leaned her head in front of the window and her eyes finally beheld her target, his jet black hair and blue eyes looking the same as they did in every picture she saw of him. What had changed was his attire. Rather than the black shirt and orange bandanna she was used to seeing him with, he had on a green and white park ranger outfit that had the letters "MIR" on the front. He was quite handsome, but the girl was no fool. This was the one and only Android Seventeen, and he was as evil as they come. He had run off after the Cell games, and while he obviously had not tried to take over Earth or anything, he was surely up to no good. The girl's mission was to find him, then alert the Z-fighters to his location, and have one of them kill him.

She gazed into the window at him as he tended to a bird, unaware of her presence just outside. For a second, she wondered what he was doing tending to a bird's wound the way he was.

Maybe he's not that bad after all…

The girl shook her head. She couldn't start doubting herself now. She began to wonder which of Earth's warriors could do this. Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta were all out of the question. Goten and Trunks, maybe? She may need to talk with Lugana about this when she returned.

She cautiously took a step to get a better view through the window, she felt a tug at her foot. Something kept her from stepping the way she planned. Panic arose within her as she was unable to stop herself from crashing into the window with a thud, after which she slid to the ground. She looked to her foot for the culprit, and she found it. Her shoe had come loose again. She had accidentally stepped on her own shoe laces while she tried to move.

Before she could think any more, she heard the window open, and when she looked up, Seventeen was peering down at her with a puzzled expression on his face. His eyes then narrowed.

"Well, what have we here?" He said with a stern look.

The girl gulped. This was NOT good.

….

Eighteen strolled through the southern district streets of West City with Bulma at her side. She had left Marron with Mrs. Briefs back at Capsule Corporation. The city was bustling with life, with large beautiful buildings decorating it. Gigantic monitors lined many of the building walls.

"So, what kind of sales do they have at the clothing store today, Bulma?" Eighteen asked.

"Some pretty decent ones, actually." Bulma answered. "I'm not even sure where to go to first."

"Well, it's not like there's any rush." Eighteen replied. She looked over and noticed that Bulma had become silent. "What is it, Bulma?"

"Krillin came to Capsule Corp. again yesterday." Bulma said softly.

"Ugh. Again?" Eighteen said, disgusted.

"Yeah. I've told him a million times that none of us want to see him ever again, but he just won't quit." Bulma complained.

"That little bastard! Why won't he just leave me alone!?" Eighteen screamed, frustrated.

"I know, Eighteen. He's a class A stalker. I've tried getting him removed from the police force already, but so far no luck. No one there can believe he's anything besides a stand up guy." Bulma told her.

"He has everyone fooled. I thought he was a good guy too until I saw how he really was. I've tried so hard to keep him away from me and Marron." Eighteen sighed. "Even after I gave him a good pounding, he won't stop."

"I can't believe I used to be friends with that bastard!" Bulma shouted, enraged.

"He treated me horribly, Bulma. He's shouted at me, belittled me, called me a useless machine, and was just horrible all around. And recently, he threatened to hurt our daughter. How could a man be so evil?" Eighteen said, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Look, let's not think about him right now. This trip is to have fun, Eighteen. Okay?" Bulma said, smiling sympathetically. "You deserve better than that loser anyway."

Eighteen was about to respond when the big monitors on the buildings suddenly turned on, getting her attention. On the big screen was a young man. He had black hair and dark skin (Uub's skin color). His hair was shaved on the sides, but bangs from the top of his head hung down his face. He had on a large purple cape, but Eighteen could not appraise the rest of his attire, as the screen showed him close up and only showed his head and upper body.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, but all of the citizens of West City, if you are in the southern district, you must evacuate it at once. A fight there is eminent, and it could cause a large amount of damage." The man spoke, seemingly with worry for the citizens in his voice.

People looked around confused, but not a lot of people made to evacuate. Seeing this, the man continued.

"I am known to most people as Spinaka. I'm not from around this place or time, but someone evil is lurking in your city. Two weeks ago, a horrible event that I call the Persecution began. The Persecution is a way of destroying the lives of good people who don't deserve it. One of the Persecutors is here. This is a picture of the traitor."

At this point, the screen switched to show Eighteen, her shocked expression at seeing herself on the big screen showing for the entire city to see.

"This is number Eighteen. This person has committed wrongdoings that I can no longer allow to go unanswered, and this person is in the southern district of this city. And Number Eighteen, if you're listening, I am not willing to let you get away with what you've done!"

The monitors all shut off after that, just as they had been only moments ago. Eighteen was shocked and horrified at what she was hearing. Was this some kind of a joke? What wrongdoings had she committed? And who the hell was this guy anyway?

"He's… looking for me?" Eighteen stammered.

Bulma put on a stern face. "He'd better not be if he knows what's good for him. I'll have Vegeta teach him a lesson if he tries to hurt you."

An explosion was heard nearby. Eighteen looked around and saw smoke, but it didn't look like any buildings were collapsing or anything. However, people began scattering in all different directions, seemingly wanting to be as far away from the explosion as possible.

"Eighteen, we should get out of here. We don't know what he's planning." Bulma told her.

Eighteen wasn't sure if she should do that, but she nodded and started to follow Bulma. Just then, the monitors suddenly turned back on, showing the man who identified himself as Spinaka, with an angry look on his face.

"Number Eighteen, I can see you. Are you truly so selfish that you would endanger innocent lives just to save your own sorry skin?!" He berated. "If you run and civilians are near you, they will be hurt in the fight. I'll need to remedy the situation with the Dragon Balls later, but you will be beaten regardless!"

Eighteen froze, unsure of what to do. She felt like she was being hunted. Something about the way this made her feel angered her.

"What do you want?!" She screamed angrily.

"Justice." Spinaka said, apparently he heard her.

Spinaka then phased a good few feet in front of her and Bulma, but now clearly in view. The monitors had turned off again. Eighteen could now see that under the cape he had a black jacket The strange thing was, judging by his expression, he wasn't doing this for entertainment. He looked legitimately angry.

"What did Eighteen ever do to you?" Bulma demanded.

"It's not about me. I'm an old friend of Krillin's." Spinaka responded.

"So that's what this is about? You're terrorizing her like this because she dumped Krillin?" Bulma demanded again.

"It's not about dumping him. It's about ruining his life and turning every friend he had against him. The Lazuli in my timeline would never do something that underhanded and cowardly. You've been friends with him since you guys were kids, right? But somehow she ruined that and you're on her side. It's disgraceful." Spinaka said bitterly.

"He has no one to blame but himself for that-" Bulma started but Spinaka cut her off.

"Everything she said he did was a lie, and you are a backstabber for believing her over him!" The man shouted. "You have other things to answer for too, but right now, you need to move out of the way."

He suddenly phased in front of Bulma and picked her up by the neck, flying upwards to the top of a building. He flew back down without her.

"What did you just do to her?" Eighteen raged.

"Put her out of the way of this fight. Now listen, I know that you lied about Krillin. Saying that he yelled at you and belittled you, those are things Krillin would never do." Spinaka spat. "You, on the other hand, are a selfish hypocrite. He told me about how you were when he first tried to help you. And these past few days I've watched him, and he admitted some of the horrible things you did to him in the past, while talking to one of his real, non traitor friends. I don't know who it was he was on the phone with, but what I heard him refer to you doing made me even more sick than I already was. You beat him up more than once, had your brother beat him up, and falsely accused him of cheating on you with his ex, but somehow you'deserve better' huh? Where was his shoulder to cry on when you did those things?! It was you! You were the abusive one!"

"That's none of your business!" Eighteen roared.

"SHUT UP!" Spinaka roared back. "You were the villain in this relationship, and I can't stand the fact that you pinned all of the trouble on someone as selfless and kindhearted as Krillin!"

At the end of his speech, Spinaka let out a yell, and a familiar yellow aura surrounded him. His previously black hair had now turned blond, and his hazel eyes had become a teal color. Eighteen was all too familiar with this transformation, which could only mean one thing.

He was a Saiyan. And he had just gone Super Saiyan. But how? Apparently he had found Krillin and eavesdropped on one of Krillin's phone conversations in the last few days, and that was how he knew all of the stuff he was saying. But when had he met Krillin before? How did he know him?

"H-how did you..." Eighteen trailed off.

"This? You should know what this is, you've seen it many times before. I'm in my Super Saiyan state. Not every Saiyan is able to do this, but for me it's easy. All I have to do is think about how you treated Krillin, all the times people, even his own friends told him and you that you were somehow too good for him after all that, and how his best friends turned against him because of you. Then I feel a horrible pain, which turns into a fiery rage! Something that unfair happening. That's when the dam breaks."

"You sound like one of Krillin's friends back when I was still evil, except that you're demented and delusional." Eighteen told him.

"Yeah well, it was better when you were still being used by Dr. Gero. At least then everyone knew who the real villain was." Spinaka said darkly.

That comment did it for Eighteen. She angrily flew forward, ready to punch his lights out, but just as quickly as she reached him, she felt herself slam backwards onto the ground, a throbbing pain on her right cheek.

"Your actions did this. You don't get to have a tantrum!" Spinaka shouted, firing an energy blast.

Eighteen wasn't quick enough to avoid it, and the blast tore into her. Before she could get back up, Spinaka was right in front of her, and he savagely kicked her in the face, sending her flying. She ended up catching herself in midair and came back at Spinaka, surprising him with a knee to the gut. He responded by backhanding her with a closed fist. She crashed to the ground again. She tried to quickly recover but felt a kick to her face. She fell to the ground, but Spinaka came and pounded her face against the ground with his fist. Then he did it again. And again. And again.

Eighteen could feel his rage with each and every punch. She had never seen such wrath in a person's eyes before. She used a shock wave which blew Spinaka off of her, then she jumped backwards. Spinaka fired a blast volley at her.

"I can't tell you how much I hate it that everyone acts like you were the victim!" He shouted as he charged to attack her again.

Boy, he sure was laying this on thick. She used an Android Barrier to avoid the blasts and prepare for a counterattack. She needed to assess his weaknesses. He may have been a maniac, but he was incredibly strong, and Eighteen could tell he wasn't even using his full power.

He suddenly phased in front of her and hit her with a painful uppercut. She felt another strong punch to her face that sent her sailing into the side of a building. Before she could even get up, Spinaka's hand closed around her throat. She felt herself lifted up and pressed into the side of the building, and the grip on her throat was getting tighter.

Flailing her arms, she tried to break free but he was too strong. But as she felt she'd pass out, his grip loosened. She opened her eyes to see that Spinaka had a conflicted look on his face, like he was struggling or something. Like maybe he was trying not to let his anger take over. She took advantage of that and fired a blast in his face, following with a kick to his gut as she jumped backwards, retreating to try and think of a plan.

"Alright, time to end this. The civilians can get hurt if I drag this out." She heard Spinaka say, regaining his former composure.

Suddenly he rushed over and kicked her into the air. She saw him charge at her at lightning speed, his fist reared back.

"This is for Krillin!" Spinaka declared.

That was when she felt a sharp, painful punch to the side of her face. She thought she heard a sound like glass shattering, but couldn't tell what it was. That sound was the last thing she heard. Her vision went black. The punch knocked her out cold.

Bulma watched in horror as Eighteen's body slammed onto the ground, the madman floating above her with an angry, deranged sort of triumphant look on his face.

Suddenly he was right in front of her.

"There's a special place in hell for traitors like you. This isn't over!" Spinaka shouted, disappearing again.

Bulma took a few minutes to catch her breath. She had to ponder just what kind of connections Krillin had to be able to call someone this powerful.

And where did a Saiyan come from anyway?

She looked around and noticed she was on top of a building, with almost no way to get down. Luckily, her cell phone was on her, and she quickly shot Vegeta a message to pick her up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spinaka carrying Eighteen's unconscious form.

"Hey, what are you doing to her?" Bulma demanded.

"Those who betray their childhood friends don't deserve answers." Spinaka spat. Before Bulma could say any more, he turned and flew away, carrying Eighteen with him.

Sighing, she looked at her phone and saw a reply from Vegeta, saying that he was on his way.

Author's Notes- Well, that's the end of the first chapter. There's a lot going on, I know, but it's necessary, and it does eventually tie together. Thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated!