The blue sky gave birth to a column of light that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Within seconds, the familiar Yellow Time Machine materialized, landing gently to the vast backyard of Capsule Corp. Trunks smiled widely at the sight of Capsule Corp's familiar dome glinting under the bright afternoon sun.
"Five minutes!" It took Lady Chronoa a bit of convincing but he finally managed to allow him to take a detour on one of his Time Patrol errands to visit this time line and see what the others are up to.
Meeting the Supreme Kai of Time and explaining to why they made the Time Machine has got to be one of the most mortifying moments Trunks had the 'pleasure' to experience. He can't remember much except profusely apologizing to the three-foot tall woman (three and half, he imagined her yelling) with a pink hair and blazing dark eyes. Before he knew it, he found himself agreeing to work under her in one of the closely-guarded realms in the Universe, the Time Nest.
It had been months (maybe, years) now since he and Mai served as close attendants for the Supreme Kai of Time. They spent most of the time searching across the galaxy, confiscating designs or prototypes of Time Machines and bringing it to the headquarters. The inventors are also brought with their inventions and they have to serve the operations in the Time Nest for an indefinite period of time due to their 'sins' of trying to alter time (Trunks had gotten an earful too. He guessed everyone in the Time Nest must have been guilty in Time-related crimes somehow.)
Upon hearing about Trunks' Time Machine (aka The Earth Protoype), Lady Choronoa insisted of bringing his mother here so she can 'keep an eye on her'. This is the only task he turned down, much to her chagrin. If Choronoa remains adamant in bringing his mother here, her present or Future version, he vows to always bring her back to Capsule Corp, for how long as it takes. The Supreme Kai must have realized he's being serious about it and decided to not bring up the matter anymore.
Being under Lady Chronoa's service allowed him to travel across the Universe and time lines using the Time Machine Lady Chronoa personally designed not to cause the 'Branching out' from the original Time. He and Mai had been busy with lots of things that the thought of paying a visit to the Time Line where Goku-san and the others are still alive didn't cross his mind, until he brought the matter to Chronoa who isn't keen in the idea at first, understandably. Trunks made a deal he's gonna represent her in the Grand Kai Convention this year, an event she is not fond of attending due to other Kais insulting her height and child-like looks, (not to mention, she finds it painfully boring) and she accepted his offer begrudgingly.
Trunks hid his machine inside a capsule and begins looking around, sensing the energy of his father or present counterpart while suppressing his own Ki at the same time. He quickly detected his father's energy inside, humming rhythmically in slow pulsing spike as if he's asleep, but the energy of his present version is far from here. However, he detected a slightly powerful Ki near him, near the man-made lake that nearly compasses the compound's 'backyard', and wondered if it's Goten-kun or even Pan-chan. He couldn't wait to see how strong they must have grown, now that Goku-san and Gohan-san are around to train them.
He walked around the pagoda and as it turns out, he's the one who isn't prepared for the sight waiting for him.
Crouched beside the lake is a blue-haired little girl looking down the water, clutching tightly a stuffed toy cat on one arm. She is eagerly throwing crumbs on the lake, her soft giggles over feeding the fishes sending warm flutters on his stomach.
Sensing her presence, she looked up at him with a smile. Trunks froze and he can't tear his gaze off this little girl, the spitting image of his mother.
Could she be…?
"Brother!" She leapt to her feet and dashed towards him. "You're back! Did you buy the things Mama needs for her new invention? How about the cheesecake you promised you'll take home, huh?" She tried to peek around him to see if he's hiding the cake behind his back.
Trunks knelt to her eye level, unable to fight the smile splitting his face. "I forgot something so I came back. What are you doing?"
"Feeding the fishies," She wrinkled her nose at him, looking at his Time Patrol attire, "What's with your clothes? Mama won't like it if he sees you all dirty like that."
"I guess she won't," He said, laughing a little. "Is Mama here?"
"She's still in the lab making stuff explode," She raised her hands in an emphasis of something blowing up. "Papa still sleeping cos he was up training late last night and she wants me and Pan to play outside so we won't wake him up."
As if on cue, Pan landed from the sky behind him, her shoulder-length hair wild and frizzly because of the tremendous speed of her flight. "Bulla-chan, I circled the world again!" She declared excitedly to her friend. "Told you I can do it in five minutes," And proudly held out five grubby fingers.
She noticed Trunks standing nearby and a confused expression crossed her face. She must have figured out that he isn't the Trunks she knew. Her being adept in sensing Ki at such an early age didn't surprise him. Back when he last met her, she had been a precocious baby with extraordinary potential.
"Uh, hello," she greeted him a little uncertainly, eyes shifting.
"Hello, Pan. I can't believe you're all grown up," he smiled down at her, "The last time I saw you, you were just a baby pulling my hair. How old are you now? Have you started training already?"
Pan smiled a little shyly, sensing he's no threat. "I'm six and Grandpa says I'm old enough to train with him in King Kai's planet!"
"And I'll be five next summer, right, brother?" Bulla piped in eagerly. "I'm gonna catch up with Pan soon."
Before Trunks can reply, he sensed a presence coming out of the building. Could it be his mother? Should he hide? But what would the girls think? While Pan and Bulla squabble about age and catching up, Trunks debated with himself whether he should meet his parents or not.
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you girls!" Trunks stood up as a pretty golden-haired girl walk towards them, hands on her hips. Her big dark eyes blinked at Trunks. "Uh, Trunks? You're back already? And what's with those clothes?"
Trunks unconsciously scratched his head, remembering the cute, pudgy girl laughing on Krillin's arms. "It's nice to see you again, Marron. You may not remember me much but I fought with your father countless times in the battlefield. We go a long way back."
He also fought against her mother in the future time line but chose not to say it. An awkward laugh escaped from his lips.
Marron's eyes widened. "You're Trunks from the future! Of course, I've heard so much about you from Dad and Uncle Goku."
"Trunks from the Future? Then you're the mister who killed Frieza like this?" Pan made a quick slashing move complete with a sound effect of sword cutting through the air.
Trunks laughed. He can't remember the last time he felt like this. "Yes. You're quite an energetic girl. I can sense you'll be a great fighter in the future. You can even learn to use a sword if you want."
"Trunks, your folks would be thrilled to know you're here," Marron said, getting over from her initial shock with maturity that is rare around her age. "I know Mai-chan will too. She used to say you're the 'dreamiest' guy she ever met, even in front of our Trunks." She laughed a little. "C'mon, let's get inside. Mai-chan prepared a very delicious lunch!"
"Uh-huh! C'mon, Brother from the future," cried Bulla as she tugged his arm, completely disregarding the fact that he isn't the brother she grew up with. "I'm going to show you my pet kittens."
Trunks felt really tempted to do so. He also wants to know what his family and friends are up to in this time line. Heck, he even wants to know if his younger present version is keeping up with his father's training. Sparring with his father in the Gravity Chamber even for just a while seems a really tempting idea too.
But…he is still in the middle of a mission and he promised Chronoa he'd only stay for five minutes. If anything else, he is a man of his word.
"I would love to, but I can't this time," He gently patted Bulla's hair. "I'll come back and I'm gonna play with you guys more, is that okay?"
"Promise?" Pan asked, getting a little upset to see him go.
"Promise," he replied and offered his fist to her. Pan smiled and bumped her own little fist to his.
"We'll take your word on it," Marron said, nodding at him. She shepherded the girls back as Trunks produced a capsule from his jacket and threw it into the air to open the Time Machine. All three gasped in admiration when the Machine materialized in front of them.
Trunks turned to Bulla whose eyes are so big and blue as the vast sky above. "Because of this, I can travel through time and go on many adventures. It's Mama who made this. She made the impossible possible."
"It's becos' Mama's the best. Papa always say so." the girl grinned up at him. "Could you tell Mama from the Future that I say hi?"
He turned to look at the Machine before any of them can notice the tears welling up in his eyes. "I will," he managed to choke out. The door to Time Machine opened and he flew inside. His five minutes are almost up.
"Uncle Trunks from the Future!" Pan called out, hands cupped around her mouth. "When I grow up, will you take me to your adventures too?"
"Sure, but promise me you're gonna train to be stronger, okay?"
"I will! See you, Uncle Trunks from the Future! Be well!"
Says the girl who shares the same pair of eyes brimming with passion and courage as his late master Gohan.
"Be careful out there!"
The girl, the daughter of an enemy he fought in his time line, calls out. An enemy who somehow found peace and happiness with one of his friends, and surely enough, with this child.
"Come back and play with us, okay!"
The blue-haired girl who could have been his baby sister waves happily at him.
Chronoa once told him that the reason why time traveling is a serious crime is that mortal beings are often tempted to change the flow of time according to their foolish desires. As it happens, time is not meant to be controlled by the lesser beings and instead of changing the past, they end up creating another world that cannot be their own, for they belong in a different reality. A world they desire for themselves but cannot have. By trying to change the past, one has to be purely selfless, a trait she admits she rarely finds across the Universe. It took Trunks some time before he realized that she's complimenting him for the sacrifice he did to make this time line a better world to live in.
The ultimate act of heroism, as she said.
He'd been called a hero many times by countless species across multiple Universes, after successfully completing his missions and defeating strong foes. He brushed their compliments and accolades with a smile, for a part of him, in the deep recesses of his mind, keeps on saying that he still failed his original world, his original time line. That no matter how many quests he completed, the lives he saved, he cannot think of himself a hero in the truest sense of the word.
A true hero will not always know that he is one. He remembered Gowasu's parting words, on the day Future Lord Beerus destroyed Zamasu.
Trunks gave one final wave and smiled down at Marron, Pan and Bulla who are still cheering him on. And for the first time since the destruction of Zamasu, after a long, long while, he finally felt as one.