Disclaimer: I own nothing except the pic I used, though I do not own the characters in the pic.
Surviving History
AN: Ok, first off, I realize this theme has been abused and overused, but I've never actually finished reading any fics with this theme. Also, the cover art will be changing periodically, but every piece of art will also be posted on my DA account.(Murasameliger100)
Rating Note: Despite this story being rated T, it is going to be a clean fic. Basically, if you're old enough to watch the DBZ anime, then you're old enough to read this. There will be some violent themes (but nothing too gory). As for romance, there will be no sexual themes, just fluffy interaction and mild suggestions. (Again, I believe the anime surpasses me in these regards.)
Foreword: This is set roughly three years after Goku leaves with Shenron. My DBZ/GT history is a bit rusty, so if I make some mistakes, by all means point them out, but please don't bark at me. :) Most important though, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter One – Cookies and Buttons
The smell of oil and charred metal wafted passed Pan's nose as she approached the dubious looking machine in Bulma's workshop. The raven haired girl of nineteen years idly munched on a cookie in her right hand and greedily eyed the one in her left. Sadly, the second morsel was for Trunks, but if she couldn't find him in the next five minutes she was eating it herself.
"Trunks?" she called out rather quietly, if one was comparing her tone with her usual demanding volume, that is. She frowned when she heard him grumble something incoherent and muffled from inside the large, oval machine. The metal contraption shared a likeness to the Capsule Corp. spaceships but it was considerably smaller than the monstrous, octopus shaped vessels. Pan leaned toward the open doorway and peered inside as she finished off her delicious cookie and proceeded to wiped the crumbs away. "You in there Trunks?"
"Yeah," the man called back but there was a sudden clang followed by a string of expletives and irritable growling. Pan snickered as she imagined him hitting his head on an overhanging console. "That you Pan?" Now she could imagine him rubbing his sore head in frustration. "I'm kinda busy."
Stifling her laughter and doing her best to remove her amused expression, Pan climbed through the doorway and was in the machine's cockpit before she realized it. She looked down at the floor to see Trunks lying on his back, but only his legs were visible, the rest of him was under a console, just like the one she had guessed he hit his head on. "I brought you a cookie. You're grandma just made em' and they're amazing."
Trunks pulled himself out from under the console and gave the girl a dry look. He had a maintenance uniform on, consisting of a black undershirt, a jacket and cargo pants in black and blue hues, all of which sported numerous oil stains. His lavender bangs draped over his blue eyes as he studied her carefully "Did you really come out here just to give me a cookie?"
"Yep!" Pan chirped exuberantly in an attempt to avoid pouting, but she had never really been good at hiding her emotions. To be fair though, he had a point. It was getting pretty pathetic really, the excuses she would come up with just to see or talk to him. Lately it seemed like more and more Trunks was avoiding her, though he never said why and she hadn't had the courage to ask him. She wasn't sure she could bear to hear his answer. They used to be so close, before her Grandpa Goku left with Shenron...
Trunks eyed the treat in her hand with a raised brow but turned his eyes back to meet hers with a suspicious scrutiny. "Shouldn't you be in class?"
"Oh please," the teen scoffed and waved a bothered hand. "I'm only pretending to go to college to appease my mom and grandma. I intend to open up my own dojo like my Grandpa Satan."
Trunks sighed and shook his head in defeat before crawling back under the console, his voice ringing out in a metallic echo. "That doesn't surprise me at all."
"Hey," Pan whined, hand on her hip as she nudged his shoe with her own in annoyance. "What's that mean?"
"It means a dojo would suit you, Pan," he answered simply, once again sounding rather irritable. "Now if you don't mind, I'm kinda busy..."
Pan huffed and brandished the cookie as though she might chuck it at him like a throwing star, but quickly retracted the thought. "You don't want it then?"
"No Pan, I don't want the cookie," Trunks grumbled tersely and hissed in pain when he apparently connected the wrong wires, resulting in a sizzling sound and a few choice expletives.
Pan snickered again and finally shrugged. She brought the treat to her mouth as she made to exit the metal pod, but before the sweet fibers could touch her teeth she was suddenly distracted by a very large, very red button on the console.
Slowly, the cookie was lowered and she cast devious glances between the conspicuous button and Trunks, who was still half engulfed under the console. She didn't know what this machine did, but she couldn't help but think maybe if she pushed the button something interesting would happen and she'd finally have his attention for more than two seconds. She felt a huge, devilish grin spread across her features. "Say, Trunks?"
"Hm?" His tone was still annoyed and he probably wasn't really listening.
"What's this button do?"
He continued to work unhindered for a few seconds but he suddenly grew very still and when he spoke, he spoke very carefully. "What button?"
Pan's grin grew wider. He was listening now. "Oh, you know. This big red one."
"No Pan! Don't touch-" Trunks bolted out of his work space but Pan already had her hand firmly planted on the button and for a few seconds all he could do was stutter incoherently. "But you- It isn't- Pan, do you realize-?" The pod gave a violent shutter, causing both of them to stagger in surprise. "No-no-no-no-no!" Scrambling over to the console he had been working on, the half-Saiyan loomed over it to read the display and desperately began tapping various keys.
A robotic voice sounded overhead in response. "Override procedure denied. User interface incomplete."
"Crap!" Trunks barked at the screen and turned to Pan, panic in his azure eyes.
Pan wondered what he was suddenly so afraid of, but before she could ask, the doorway slammed shut and the pod shook much more violently, throwing them both askew in the tiny cockpit.
She realized she must have been knocked unconscious because the next time she opened her eyes she was lying on her back, her vision was blurry and her mind was foggy. She was also aware of a distant voice gradually getting louder. "-an. Hey, Pan. You ok?" Trunks was looming over her, his face etched with concern as he held up one hand with two fingers extended. "How many do you see?"
Pan chuckled at him as though he were being silly. "Two, of course."
"Good, no concussion then." He sounded genuinely relieved but when she moved to sit up he rightly cuffed her above the ear. "What were you thinking!? You should know by now not to go around punching random buttons! Especially not when it involves a Capsule Corp. machine!"
Pan flinched and cupped her abused head, but to be fair, she probably deserved it. "In my defense, that button was just asking to be pushed."
Trunks growled in a mix of frustration and irritation, his hands held palm up with fingers curled to further his aggravation. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Pan scratched her head with a frown. Trunks had a habit of overreacting, but wasn't he taking this a bit far? She finally shrugged and offered an innocent grin. "Isn't this just a new theme park ride for Capsule Park?"
"Th-Theme park ride?" the man asked, his voice suddenly very high pitched, and was he contracting an eye twitch there? "You thought this was a theme park ride!?"
Pan scooted away from him a bit in apprehension. "It isn't?"
Trunks let out a highly restrained howl, which ended up just sounding like a strangled whine and finally bottomed out as a pent up sigh of defeat. "No. No it's not."
He was quiet for a long moment, his eyes dazed and unfocused until Pan inched closer with a curious though wary prompt. "...Then, what is it?"
His answer came quick yet dull. "Time machine."
Pan blinked at him. "Time machine?"
"Yep."
"Oh."
"Yep."
At this point, Pan knew she was in the deepest pile of dung she had ever stepped into. She was afraid to ask where- correction, when they were, so instead she raised her left hand and offered the crumbled treat that had somehow managed to remain in her reach after all the chaos. "Now do you want the cookie?"