Yes, I am stupid enough to start a new fic when I haven't finished even one of my older ones. Hopefully, I can update them all regularly about once a month so that they'll eventually be finished.
FYI, I've never tried to write angst before, so I can't guarantee this will be able to rival something like 'Point Of No Return' or 'Cold World'. The primary subject of this fic is, I think, family and friendship. And, of course, adventure.
Ep.1. Life-changing event
A lightly tanned teenager with pale lavender hair that was cut neatly to halfway his ears and sky blue eyes that hid pain and suffering no-one should have had to endure was the saviour of a war-torn world. Trunks Vegeta Briefs was laying on a small patch of half-dead grass on the lawn of Capsule Corp. Or what once upon a time was the home of the world-famous Briefs family, anyway. It was now just ruins like everywhere else, but still a place to live in.
Trunks was looking up at the gray sky with his hands clasped behind his head and one knee propped up. He was wearing a black T-shirt with 'CC' written on it in pale blue and dark grey jeans. The boy – no, man – was frowning, making him look much like his deceased father.
"What am I supposed to do, Mother? Without you here and everyone else dead, I don't even have a reason to live. The world is starting to heal. Am I supposed to stay here on my own and aid with that, even when there doesn't seem to be any point?"
Of course, no answer came. Trunks sighed, wishing his mother Bulma Briefs hadn't died from stroke about a month ago. It wasn't all that surprising considering the hell she had endured all the while raising her son and not losing hope that the monsters who had terrorized Earth would be stopped. Still, that didn't mean Trunks couldn't feel sad and lonely about it.
He sighed again, sitting up with one arm on his knee. "Some birthday..." the Saiyan/human hybrid muttered, and chuckled without humour. "I wish I could see everyone again... Oh well, I've been almost alone all my life 'till now; what difference does being completely alone make? ... Hn, I think I'm going insane, talking to myself like this. Heh, wouldn't be the first one."
Trunks stood up and walked inside his home. He went down some hidden stairs at the back of the ruined compound, to a large bunker where he, his late mother and his deceased mentor Son Gohan had lived. Trunks went through a small hallway to his bedroom and closed the door.
With one more sigh, the demi-Saiyan squatted down on the floor next to his bed and picked up some metallic things. He then returned to the lawn and spread out the two or three device-like objects on the ground, sitting down before them.
He took a capsule case out from his jeans' pocket and opened it, taking out the capsule that was his time machine. With a puff of smoke, the wheel-less vehicle that could travel through space and time appeared beside him. Trunks let a small smile form by his lips, as his one comfort these days was looking at the machine that truly lived up to its name 'Hope!'.
Trunks started tinkering with his metal objects, not really sure what he was even making but deciding he could find out later. He had gotten the idea to build a cross-dimensional communicator for his 18th birthday. He might not be able to travel to the alternate timeline he had created without the risk of unstablising the space-time continuum completely, but he could at least talk to the friends he had made there.
After half an hour of tinkering, Trunks felt his first ever invention would work. To make sure no-one else could use it, he had placed a drop of his blood onto a tiny sample disk that he then had placed inside the space-time communicator, or as he liked to call it STC.
"Well, here goes nothing," Trunks stated to no-one, pressing the red button on the left upper corner of his hexagon-shaped invention. The small screen in the middle lit up to life but only showed static. "Damn..."
Disappointed, Trunks felt tempted to throw the thing into the nearest rubbish pile. But he decided to be sensible and think what could have gone wrong. The demi-Saiyan suddenly snapped his fingers. "Of course! Man, I'm a complete idiot! I forgot to hook it up with the time machine!"
Trunks right away opened the top of the time machine, took some wires and connected his STC and time machine to each other with them. At once small sparks started to fly when he again pushed the red button.
"Wait, is this supposed to happen?" Trunks wondered out loud when both inventions started glowing and gave off more and more sparks that were getting bigger. He tried to remove the wires, but got a small electric shock. "Ouch. Okay, that's it! I'm turning it off."
However, before he could do that, Trunks's vision went blurry and he fainted in his position halfway inside the time machine. Then, the whole machine along with STC exploded!
Trunks's unconscious body got flung back along with bits and pieces of the machine. But unlike the rubber and metal pieces, the flesh and blood suddenly vanished from existence!
Urgh, my head... What happened? ... Wait, why is everything black? Am I dead? ... Weird, last time I died it was nothing like this. I shouldn't be able to feel pain, I think.
"Trunks, wake up!" a vaguely familiar woman's voice said.
Huh? Wait a minute, I know that voice. It's Grandma! That proves it; I'm dead. But why is she telling me to wake up? Did I fall asleep in line? Oh well, at least since I'm dead I can see Mum and Gohan again...
"Trunks, honey? I have a surprise!" the voice continued.
Surprise? Wait, the last time I heard that was on my birthday exactly ten years ago. My 8th birthday... Could it be that King Yemma's letting me relive my few happier memories while I'm waiting? It could be a reward for killing the Androids and Cell. Okay, I'm gonna open my eyes now.
Trunks's eyelids fluttered open and he saw a woman with short-cropped curly blond hair that was piled on top of her head. "Good morning, Trunks! Happy birthday! I've made a special breakfast for you!"
The demi-Saiyan just stared at her, surprised at the fairly youthful appearance of his grandmother. Then again, if it weren't for the loss of her husband to the heart virus she probably wouldn't have gained the grief wrinkles which were strangely absent right now.
"Morning..." Trunks murmured awkwardly. He wasn't sure he liked reliving any of his memories. Going straight to see his mother and Gohan would be much more appealing.
Trunks got out of bed, still wearing pyjamas, and followed his grandmother to the kitchen. Okay, something's not right, he thought, And it's not just how weird it is to see her again or how everything looks bigger when you're small. Why is this place so big? And how come I woke up in an actual kid's bedroom instead of my bunker bedroom?
They entered the kitchen, where someone was already sitting at the table reading a newspaper. "Happy 8th birthday, ma boy. It seems like only yesterday you were just a little baby," a voice Trunks had practically forgotten said. He stared wide-eyed at his grandfather's face when the old man put the newspaper down for a moment before continuing reading it.
"Have a seat. I hope you like the special breakfast; it has all your favourites in it," Mrs Briefs said, pulling up a chair for her grandson and another for herself. They sat down, Trunks forcing himself to remain calm.
A toddler who couldn't be more than three years old maximum was sitting on a high chair. With her light blue hair and sky blue eyes, she looked like a miniature version of Trunks's mother.
Okay, this proves it. What the hell is going on? This is definitely NOT a memory! Did I fall unconscious and get kidnapped by crazy scientists? Or abducted by aliens who are messing with my mind to see how it works? Trunks pinched himself, and yelped when it hurt. Well, at least I know I'm not dreaming.
"Is something wrong, honey?" Mrs Briefs asked, pausing feeding the toddler small pieces of food.
"No, I'm good," Trunks fibbed, plastering a smile that probably looked as fake as it felt on his face. Thankfully, she bought it.
Someone who looked just like a young version of his mother came running into the kitchen. She was wearing a beige women's business suit and her light blue hair was cropped to a bowl-cut similar to Trunks's style. "Happy 8th birthday, Trunks. I'm sorry that I have an important meeting to go to right now, but I'll be back before dinner time, okay?" She grabbed a peanut-butter-and-jam sandwich from one of the piles of food that were on the table before rushing out of the room.
"O-kay..." Trunks murmured, not sure what just happened. His headache had gotten worse.
One more person came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. If it weren't for the unique very dark brown (it looked black) hair that spikily stuck straight up like a flame and the widow's peak, Trunks could have sworn the person was just trying to pretend to be someone they weren't. But the way he ate, his most distinguishable features and his ki all proved who he was.
The tanned man paused in his eating and looked at Trunks with his onyx eyes. "Is there something on my face, brat?" he asked, the voice bringing back memories of a white void-like place known as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
No doubt about it. This was his father, Vegeta the Prince of All Saiyans.
To be continued...
Whatcha think? I had the idea that it'd be REALLY cool if Mirai Trunks and Chibi Trunks or Mirai Gohan and Chibi Gohan switch places unintentionally. I decided to go with Trunks since there doesn't seem to be any completed fics about this with him.
Is this good? Bad? Discontinue until other fics are done? R&R!
PS. I'm including Bulla since it makes sense for her to have been born during that 7 years gap.