Chapter 01
The sun was setting just beautifully at 7 in the evening. Perhaps, as Gohan looked on, the only beautiful sunset he had ever seen. The light, dreamy colours of purple and light pink hues sprawled lazily across the clouds as if a painter was painting this in his sleep. A slight breeze caused Gohan’s hair to sway to the left a bit and the scent of a chicken pie drifted to his nostrils, making his stomach growl fiercely in protest of the lack of food. However, he wasn’t concerned about that as his thoughts consisted mainly of the man who had changed everything from that morning.
“If you go now to the city, then you will be killed,” was Trunks’ blunt reply to Gohan’s questions and confusing expression. Gohan’s mouth literally dropped down to his chest, agaped at the disbelief of the unexpected and horrifying revelation. How did he know about the future? Unless he really was Trunks, there was no way this man could have preordained his future. The son of Goku straightened and set his jaw straight to look at the man standing before him right in the eyes, to see if he was telling the truth. The determination in the blue shades of the eyes was unshakable and his hair smelled of his friend’s, Trunks. Exactly. There was also the ki, which felt so familiar, so distinct that if he had been a little bit younger than he was now, then it could have been Trunks himself. This man was telling him the truth. Yes, there was no question about that, now that he investigated and deducted the possibilities that it couldn’t have been him.
Trunks’ hard glare softened and he offered his hand, saying gently, “Let’s go and find some shelter. It would be raining soon.”
Gohan nodded but did not accept the offered hand as it was just his way of moving his hands whenever he would speak to someone. Gohan followed the lavender-haired saiyan to a dilapidated warehouse on the corner of Jorka Street. The city itself was rotting away, abandoned by its usual inhabitants due to the horrible reign of the androids, 17 and 18, who, or rather, which, both loved wreaking havoc and destruction on the already weakened planet. When they arrived there, Trunks’ eyes suddenly shone as if he’s having a case of an eye disease, belladonna, just now. Without warning though, there was a blast that distracted both men and a cackle echoed around them.
“Androids, again…” moaned Gohan, whose feelings of just having one moment of rest were broken. A slim, blonde-haired young lady whose beauty belied her strength and cruelty, peered at them the way an eagle peers at its prey. Another figure was standing beside her, arms crossed over his black sweatshirt with a scarf around his slender neck, also stared at the two saiyans with that hungry, predator glare in his eyes.
“18, looks like we broke up their little gathering,” that figure said, chuckling softly but deadly. 18 reappeared at Trunks’ side, touching the clothes of him and his face contemptuously yet also with a hint of wanting him at the same time.
“He has better clothes this time.”
“Good,” Trunks said suddenly. He took 18’s arm and swung her hard. The action caught her completely off guard and her body was flung harmlessly into the sky. 17, instantly sensing a fighting spirit within the purple-haired teen, rushed to Trunks and grabbed his throat. Gohan let out a desperate cry and swung a leg at the android. A dull thud was heard and a scornful voice replied, “Is that the best you can do?” before there was an energy blast and a scream of pain becoming more faint with more distance. Trunks’ eyes showed fear and 17 assumed that it was because of his fate in 17’s hands, not about Gohan.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” the male android whispered in Trunks’ ear, grabbing the man’s crotch. With disgust, Trunks flared up to a super-saiyan and knocked 17 out with a rapid blow to the neck. Losing no time, he flew up and shouted, “final flare!!” A concentration of yellow energy travelled to the focused spot in Trunks’ hands and with a war cry, he let go, letting it destroy the android before he could even perceive what was going on. Before the energy blast reached the android, Trunks teleported to wherever Gohan was and picked the unconscious figure off the ground near one of those skyscrapers that were reduced to a pathetic heap of rubble. 18 was there in time to see the whole place go up in bits and pieces. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she knew that 17 was gone. That feeling in her heart and system vanished forever. Those bastards! They’ll pay for this!! She thought with a vengeance. Then she thought of something. That guy, the purple-haired one and Gohan, they seemed pretty close. Maybe I could target one of them to get the other. Then it’s killing two birds with one stone.
She flew at top speed to go looking for one of them. Yet she found both of them on a ledge nearby, one of them apparently trying to revive the other. Yes, this is perfect, she said to herself mentally. She stood still in the sky and concentrated on building her energy. But before she could release, Trunks was in front of her, holding something in his calloused hand, rough from the years of hard training both here and in the past. She grunted and spat out black blood. She vainly tried to put her hand on his chest so she could blast the hell out of him but the sword had plunged right through her main source of power. She was blacking out and felt no pain when Trunks blasted her to bits.
Gohan remembered the way Trunks told the story of his timeline to him after he went back to the way of consciousness. The twin sets of pearly tears running down his cheeks when he said those words that struck his heart most effectively, “You were dead and the only thing that kept me alive was this, the hope of seeing you again. Maybe not in my time but perhaps in another.”
