A/N: What started as a one-shot has evolved into a multi-chaptered, rather experimental story that deals with time and emotions. What do you do when all hope is lost? How much of your sanity will you be able to retain? I'm experimenting especially with the writing style and chaptering; so you might just return to the story one day and see how the layout and build of it has completely changed.

The story has some mature things (i.e. death and sanity), so I gave it an R-rating. And of course I don't own any of the characters, I just love playing with them.

I hope you readers will take the time to review! ~Lanfir Leah

Silver Terror

A man can't avoid what he is meant to do

when he's meant to do it

even if he doesn't really want to.

~ System of a Down, 'Soil'

Chapter One: Aftermath

Trunks was sitting quietly, his chin leaning on his chest, lavender bangs partly covering his face. He had his sword on his knees. The well-kept blade shimmered in the light of the little campfire. Was he sleeping? He looked so peaceful…

Marron could not stop looking at him. He was so beautiful like this. She shifted her weight a little in her sitting position and saw Trunks stir. No, he was not sleeping – he was meditating, taking in every sound of the night carefully. He was probably more aware of what was happening around them than she was.

She was getting stiff. Irritably she jumped up, away from the little campfire. Treacherous light – why had she been staring at it? It could cause night blindness, she knew, and they could be found… but she had been so cold, and here, under the foliage of the trees, Trunks had judged that it was safe to build a little fire just to get warm and to eat some meat that had been actually roistered. She climbed in one of the nearby trees and watched out over the forest. Trunks was still sitting in their little camp, unmoving, breathing shallowly. The meditation was probably the only thing that kept him from going insane after the horror he had witnessed. What they had witnessed.

Within half an hour, Trunks had seen his whole family die before his eyes. His mother and his little sister had been among the first victims. Vegeta, teamed up with Goku, had put up an amazing fight, leveling all of Capsule Corp and its surroundings during the battle. The amount of ki that had been thrown around had shocked the living daylights out of Marron and Trunks, who had been one of their happy roadtrips to nowhere. It had changed everything. Marron had made a sharp turn with the capsule car to turn back, but Trunks had bolted out, insisting he'd fly on his own. Marron had given him one look and had abandoned her car to speed after him. They had arrived only minutes too late, when an all-consuming explosion had colored the horizon in front of them an eerie mixture of black and orange. They had known already that they were too late. When they arrived at Capsule Corp, all that was left of it was a crater with charred, almost molten ground. Not even the faintest trace of Goku's or Vegeta's ki… and the enemy had departed already.

Too late…

Marron sighed and felt the wetness of her tears chill her face again. She shivered. Yes, it was a cold night. She doubted if she'd ever be warm again.

Three days after that fateful battle, she and Trunks were the only survivors. Earth did not have that much people left, she gathered. She felt for ki around her, but if anyone should be around here, they were either regular human beings, or people hiding their ki. Or corpses, for that matter.

All of the Z-senshi were dead anyway.

She had seen or sensed all of their deaths. No one had stood a chance. "Mom… Dad… Goten…" she sobbed quietly. Her parents had gone down like any other human, as if their ki levels did not matter. They had been overpowered as if they were insects or bugs, only existing to be squashed. Their death has come as swift as anyone elses on the planet. Goten had done what he could, fusing with Trunks. Yet Gotenks had been no match for them either. Goten and Trunks knew it would be hopeless, because Goku and Vegeta had been beaten in their Super Saiya-jin 4 form, and Gohan had been crushed with his mystic powers mere minutes ago, but they had tried anyway. It had been a last-ditch effort to buy Marron some time to gather the Dragonballs and revive everyone. She had sped to Kami's Lookout, only finding that Dende had been the very first to perish. No Dragonballs, no Kami. And everyone was dead. Things had never looked this bleak before… until she came back and found the bloody mess that had been her best friends. Goten was dead, and Trunks was dying. That last sensu bean she had found in Korin's tower she had given to Trunks, to save his life.

The first thing Trunks had said when he regained consciousness had been: "Why didn't you let me die?"

She felt the same way right now. Why had she kept herself out of sight? Why had she had pressed her ki level down to less than a human ki? It had made her sick, but she had not been caught… yet. She and Trunks were still here.

Repressing a ki down to one or zero was not healthy, it lessened the vital functions and made reactions a lot slower, but on the other hand, not doing it so was even unhealthier.

So they were on the run, hiding, keeping themselves weak, cowering in fear. They were desperately trying to come up with a master plan that would save this world and their lives. Until now, they had been failing miserably. Marron was starting to lose faith that it ever would be the way it was before. She just did not see any way out of this.

The worst of it was that she just didn't know what this was all about. The closest thing this all looked like was one of the planet purgings Trunks had talked about; the ones Vegeta had been doing when he was still working for Freeza.

The people that attacked them were humanoid, but that was about all they knew. They did not talk. Their armor covered all of their bodies and faces. It was silvery, from an unknown substance, impenetrable. They were like faceless killing machines dressed in silver. Their attacks were so powerful… they did not seem to have any weakness at all.

She did not even know where they came from, or who 'they' were, or what they wanted… besides the demise of every living creature on Earth.

It was so damn frustrating! Marron wanted to scream and kick and blow things up, and had a hard time restraining herself. She felt as if she was going crazy with the sheer insanity of it all. The world was dying and she didn't even know why. It was so unfair!

They had not talked, when Gohan had pleaded with them. She had heard him talk as she sneaked away to take off for Kami's Lookout. They had not answered any question up until the point where Marron had wondered if they even understood human speech. Or cared to listen to it. It was probably a combination of the both of them. What's the point to try and understand vermin you're going to crush within mere heartbeats? It made a terrible kind of sense, if she thought about it.

I guess nothing is meant to last forever, Marron thought, wiping the tears from her face. I just want… I want… No, it does not matter what I want anymore. I thought of Goku, Vegeta and the demi Saiya-jins as half-Gods, but if even their power doesn't even matter… who am I to make demands?

It was a lesson in humility that ached in Marrons heart almost as much as her recent losses. She had grown up with the notion that her mummy, daddy and their friends were the protectors of the world. She remembered Buu probably more clearly than anyone would have thought she would. It was one of her first memories; sitting with her mother and some others in a capsule aircraft while Vegeta had made his sacrifice. She had felt the fear and the sadness radiating from Trunks' mother, and the explosion. The memories were fragmentary, but she definitely remembered.

One of her next memories was of waking up crying from a nightmare, and that her father had assured her that the evil monster Buu was gone now, that daddy and his friends had chased him away forever. That daddy would protect her forever and ever, that that she didn't have to be afraid, because daddy loved his little girl…

Marron began to sob again as if her heart was breaking.

"You're not much of a night watch, are you?" A soft voice said behind her.

Marron almost screamed when warm arms wrapped themselves around her and hugged her tightly. "Silly girl," Trunks said warmly.

"I'm sorry; I just can't seem to stop crying…" 

"You're not the only one," he said, laying his head on her shoulder, seeking support. Suddenly she realized her shirt was getting wet with his tears, too.

"You're crying too…" She touched his cheek, awed. This she had not expected, not in a million years. Not Trunks, the one she regarded as her big brother, her great idol, her secret crush. He was eighteen years old, he shouldn't cry. He was so strong! She turned around on the branch and hugged him clumsily. "We still have each other," she said, swallowing her tears. She decided that if Trunks was losing it, she had to be the strong one for a bit. They could support each other, right? At least they still had each other.

***

The morning dawned crisp and clear in a cloudless sky. Marron could not stop shivering. Her too-low ki level did not do much to warm her either, and most of what she had been wearing that fateful day when she went out with Trunks had been either torn or too cold for weather like this. She had no idea the night could be so cold… They were still sitting in their tree, Trunks had fallen asleep against her. His body warmth had been too comfortable to leave, and it had comforted her greatly. She had slept a little, an hour or two at most, but she did not feel very tired. Just cold.

"Trunks?" she ventured, softly. She did not want to scare him into waking, because then there was no chance what could happen. He was too much on edge to risk anything like that.

"Hm?" His clear blue eyes were instantly open and alert. "What is it?"

"Could we go and try to find a city? We might find some clothes and equipment there… Kami knows we need it. Maybe we can meet up with survivors?"

"Do you think its safe enough?" he asked her, looking troubled.

"I don't know…" She was surprised he asked her opinion, but she did not complain. It made her feel as if he considered her an equal, and she liked that idea. "We just have to do something; otherwise… otherwise… there would be no point, right?"

He avoided her gaze. "I understand. I don't want to sit and hide forever, either… you could have just wasted that last sensu bean if we would. It wouldn't have been worth it."

***

The next night they camped in a half collapsed barn at the east side of a totally ruined village. "I now know what Future Trunks must have gone through," Trunks muttered softly. He buried his face in his hands and made no sound for a long time.

Marron just waited, pulling her warm coat more snugly around her. They had found indeed lots of things. Clothes, food, and things she did not want to think about. If she could use her ki, she would torch the little village and give them a decent funeral pyre. Already the stench of death was horrible in some places, and it had been only four days in a cold environment. This village would be a breeding herd for diseases. Despite her warm clothes, she shivered. There would be no one to bury these dead people… it was so sad.

She was so deep in thought that she did not even hear at first that Trunks was talking to her. Warm, sleepy, and rather depressed she had locked herself up in her own mind – something she had been doing most of the time since this happened. It was probably the only thing that kept her from going insane at the spot.

"We should try to go and find some of my mother's research centers," Trunks said, staring at the cracked floor tiles. "If I'm not mistaken, she kept some experimental stuff hidden in one of the centers south from here. Just in case CC would burn down, she joked." He laughed, but it was soft and mirthless. "Maybe something is still there. Maybe it's something we can use. That's the only thing I can think of to do, Marron."

"At least it's something… I could not think of anything that could help us. My thoughts are going around in circles, ending at the same point every time: our doom."

"Mine too, girlie," Trunks said softly. His lavender hair, usually so shiny and velvet-like, hung pale and lifeless in his face. His eyes seemed too bright and too sad for his face, and they were featured with dark circles. Trunks was only eighteen years old, but he looked old, very old. She wondered what she herself looked like. Probably just as bad.

Marron offered him the last of the instant meal they had dug up in one of the houses nearby. They had heated it on a small fire. It had been the first real meal they had in days, besides some hunting prey Trunks had provided them with.

He smiled at her and took it, eating hungrily. Marron relaxed a little – at least he would eat again. Yesterday had been his first meal, and she had had to bully him into chewing and swallowing. Maybe he had a little hope restored by this new idea? Maybe yes, maybe no…

Tomorrow they would go and hike to the southern research center and explore what was left of it, Trunks explained. From what he knew, most of it was underground, so it should still be standing there mostly. He was wondering aloud what they could find there. A ki-amplifier? An artificial set of Dragonballs? A regen tank? Ki-guns? Bulma had invented and created some pretty exotic stuff over the years, everyone knew that. For a few happy moments, they allowed their imagination to run wild.

"A time machine?" Marron ventured then.

She was not prepared for the sudden shock in his eyes. A flare of hope, but he regained his senses quickly. "I do not think so. It took Future Bulma years to build one, and she had a reason to do it. My mother did not have any reason save curiosity to try and build a time machine. If she would want to, it would be on her low priority list. Don't get your hopes up, Marron, there won't be a time machine to escape our reality in."

Marron shrunk back as if he had hit her. Of course she had hoped it, if only a little. It would have been beautiful if they could leave this reality together this way. There was nothing left for them here, only death. They both knew that.  Trunks was now destroying his own hope, projecting his words at her, as if she had come up with the idea of excavating that research center. For some reason it hurt her. A lot.

"Let's just go to sleep," she said softly. "Who takes first watch?"

"I will." He offered. "Sleep well, Marron." He paused for a bit before he added: "And wake up."

***

When they finally reached the Research Center, it was as they had feared: they were not the first to come here. The building was in bad shape. It was barely standing; it seemed as if even the slightest breeze would make the walls collapse. When Marron noted this out loud, Trunks shrugged. "My mother builds her companies stronger than that. I think this building could withstand an earthquake and still be standing proud and tall." His eyes wandered over the domed building. Some of the uncracked windows reflected the light of the dying sun. The glass shimmered as if it was on fire, and the white stone colored faintly golden. For some reason the desolation and the destruction of the place made it look unearthly beautiful. Trunks couldn't stop gazing at it in awe. He stood there for an undisclosed period of time, until the blond girl tugged his coat and asked with a tiny voice: "Trunks? Don't you feel those ki's nearby?"

He nodded faintly and pointed to the east. "They are in South City, ravaging what is left of it. If we're careful they'll never even know we were here. We're safe enough." He smiled at her, and saw her eyes light up a little. Of course he was aware of her hero-worshipping. He was just as fond of her. She was four years younger than he was, but she was brave and intelligent as any other of his own age. She could deal with the present situation as well, if not better, than he did, and he loved her for it. He was immensely grateful that she had been spared from the onslaught. If he had been alone, he would have definitely given up on all this. Not only that, but she was a wonderful girl with a beautiful personality. He loved her as a sister and his friend. Maybe even more. Ever since that fateful day, he felt very closely connected to her.

"Come on, girlie, let's explore the Center."

"While it's still standing," said Marron, a little playful smile around her lips.

He chuckled softly and led the way into the Center. They should be glad that the building was one floor only; otherwise not much of it would have been left. It was a dusty mess, with the crumbled walls and all, but it was still in fairly good shape. The Center looked certainly better from the inside than on the outside. It didn't look as if the Silver Terror had put their heart in destroying this building especially. Of course, it was in the far outskirts of South City, maybe a few low level kibeams had been all they had spent on it. Laziness from their Silver Terror? That seemed unlikely somehow… it would make them almost human.

He shook his head to get rid of the idea, trying to focus on other thoughts. He opened a closet with capsules and read their descriptions - they were mostly things like bikes and capsule houses. Those could be useful later on, he judged. He stuffed them in his pockets and continued his scavenger hunt.

"Hey Trunks!" Marron called from the west wing of the building. "Come over here, will you?"

"Be right there!" He put the last two capsules in his pocket and zipped it off, before trotting over to the west wing. The west wing had suffered the worst damage, he saw: some of the supporting pillars had crashed down, which made the whole room look downright unstable. It would be dangerous to linger here. "It's dangerous here," he told Marron. He sneezed; the air seemed misty with dust particles.

Marron, her furry coat and her hair whitened by dust, was on the other side of the room. "I know," she said almost enthusiastically, "but take a look at this!"

He climbed over a pile of debris and discovered that this part of the wing had been covered by a wall - there probably had been some secret entrance to here. He looked around, but he couldn't really see any traces of it in the mess.

The door had a security lock on it. It needed some code to open, one probably thought up by his mother herself. Trunks thought for a moment and tried to recall her swift fingers dancing over a keyboard. She had used a lot of codes to enter encrypted files, but the one she had used most frequently was… he typed in his mother's birthday. Access denied. Then he tried their wedding day and Bra's birthday. Irritably, he clacked his tongue and tried his last option: his own birthday. If this wouldn't work, it was probably one of those locks that changed codes daily… if that would be true, it would be impossible to get in.

To his surprise, a soft ping sounded to grant them access.

"You got in!" Marron cheered happily, pushing the heavy door open. She looked over her shoulder at Trunks, her blue eyes twinkling with genuine happiness, for the first time in days. She looked beautiful like this, but…

"-Marron!!" he screamed, flaring his ki abruptly to prevent the ceiling from crashing down upon them. Marron screamed too, crying to cover herself from the concrete and mortar raining upon them. When the rumbling was over, they stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to regain their breath. His heart was racing to beat horses, as he kept the ceiling up.

Instantly he knew that he had done something terribly wrong with this action. They would have survived the crashing ceiling, strong as they were. He could have protected her… but now he had sealed their doom. There was a good chance that the Enemy had felt him. A very good chance. If they stayed here, they'd be sitting ducks.

But while they were supporting the roof, something familiar tugged at the back of his mind. It had been something he had seen in this room, from the corner of his eye…

Marron saw him wonder and looked over her shoulder. Her blue eyes widened with recognition. "Trunks, isn't that…?"

Trunks nodded slowly. It was covered in dust and debris, and the design was somewhat more futuristic and slick, but it was something he remembered from old photographs showing a boy with his face… standing next to this machine. When he opened his mouth to talk, he almost choked in it. His voice was shaky and filled with wonder. "Yes, it's a time machine. It seems like my mother built one after all."