Title: Trunk's Reprieve
Author: Iris Wood
Rating: This chapter is just G, but next chapter the action starts.
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CH1
Trunks fell to his knees, for he knew defeat like it was an old friend. He turned his glistening eyes to the fiery sky: all around him the stars were blackened out by the orange glow from the nearby burning city.
"No!" his anguished voice echoed through the rubble of what was once Capsule Corp, what was once his home. This city was a beacon of hope where survivors could always find shelter and food. It was where his mother had first told him of his father. Little was left standing among the ruins: his home was clearly identifiable among the rubble, for the Capsule Corp insignia was broken in half.
Trunks had fought Majin Buu and lost. A mere twenty minutes ago Trunks had tried to defend the city, to save the place he knew as home from the pink demon known as Buu. A great ki signal coming from the north had been his only warning, and Trunks had tried to warn the people of the Western Capital to run, to hide. His mother was down there and as the last of the Saiyans, he would fight until his very last breath.
But she didn't survive, no one survived the rampage, no one but him.
Twenty minutes ago
Twenty seven year old Trunks floated high above the city. He could feel the it coming, could feel the massive ki as it got closer and closer. Bulma was below, trying to evacuate who they could from the city, but there had been little warning.
It was dark and the light from the city behind him acted as a constant reminder as to what he fought for. He wore his Saiyan armor for the battle, thinking about his father and the last time he saw him. He is Vegeta's son and a prince among a fallen warrior race. He is a half Saiyan who is the Western Capital's only hope.
Purple straight hair framed his face; he wore it the same way as he had during the Cell Games. Trunks wore two silver studs in his ears from his mother's jewelery as a reminder of what he fought for, of what he was trying to protect. Strapped to his back is his sword: it had seen many battles, twice it had been recast by his own hand.
A light approached from the north, and Trunks knew it was the pink demon. Trunks whispered a battle hymn alternate Vegeta had once taught him and moved into a defensive posture.
End Flashback
"Dead," Trunks screamed, beating his hands into the rubble. At his knees was the hilt of his broken sword. Buu had taken that sword and stabbed Trunks with it, breaking it efficiently, with the tip of it in his side. He could not feel the sword in his side, the rawness of the defeat overpowered what pain he physically felt. Shards of said sword lay scattered around him, and he ignored them as he anguished over his loss. Soon the shards embedded into his skin with such force of each anguished cry. His hands started to bleed, but he ignored it. Nothing could compare to the anguish of his defeat.
"I couldn't do it, father! I wasn't strong enough." He slammed his hands down again. "I never stopped training! I tried to surpass my current level, but I failed. Who is going to protect the world from Buu?" The world was now Buu's, who else could stop him?
Trunks fell back into a sitting position with his knees drawn up close to himself. His armor was slashed to pieces. Blood clotted in his hair. Only now did he look at his bloody hands and felt the tip of the sword in his side. He winced slightly as the wound in his side bleed profusely.
"Blood," Trunks exhaled, barely touching the wound in his side. "Blood of a prince that has no people. The blood of a prince who has failed everything who believed in him," he whispered, his hand coming away glistening with blood.
"Father," he whispered one more time as he closed his eyes and let a built up fatigue take over.
"Trunks!" A voice yelled.
Trunks jumped awake, going into defensive posture immediately. It took a moment for Trunks to realize that he was not amongst the ruined buildings. Whipping his head about, he thought that this must be a dream. The sky was yellow and he appeared to be on a little planet for he could easily see the curvature of the planet. In the distance a little house stood with a road leading up to it.
"Trunks, I'm down here," the voice said.
The purple haired Saiyan followed the voice to this squat creature with antenna and black glasses.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"You may call me Kaio-sama," the little guy said.
"How did I get here?"
"Why am I here?"
"Why do you need to be respected?" The questions flew from Trunks' mouth in rapid succession.
A little muscle crease appeared on Kaio-sama's forehead as he silenced the anxious half Saiyan Prince with a lift of his hand.
"I am the God of the North." Kaio-sama straightened and with his antenna at full length, he grew another four inches. "You are still in the Western Capital. I'm just using an old trick that allows me to talk and interact with you."
Trunks nodded in understanding.
"Trunks, as you well know, you are one of the last remaining people on this planet with the blood of the Saiyans. You are a prince."
Trunks felt a little smile of pride on his lips.
"You are one of the last hopes to save your world. Only if you want to, Trunks-san. I am not going to lie to you, but as of the destruction of the Western Capital, Earth's numbers are dwindling. For fifteen years the Androids rampaged, destroying the Earth's resources and her people. Reconstruction after the Androids was a slow process. So few years have passed between then and now, humanity has not had a chance to recover. Less than a billion lives I can sense. When Majin Buu is done, how many will be left?" Kaio-sama rocked back and forth on his heels, letting Trunks think about the question.
"Now Trunks, I am well aware of your trip into the alternative time line to save Goku. By doing that, nothing changed in this time line because it already existed: you acted as a tether to it." Kaio-sama took a deep breath. "And I see no reason why you can't bring in heavier guns."
Trunks' eyes widened as he mentally toyed with the idea. He nodded.
"By heavier guns, I do mean names like your father and Son Goku," Kaio-sama said, starting to pace in front of the young demi-Sayian.
Trunks lowered his head before speaking again. "I would not want my father to see me in such defeat, wounded and so weak."
Kaio-sama placed a hand onto the shoulder of the half Saiyan in comfort.
"How am I supposed to get there?" He asked while rising to his feet.
"Your mother built another time machine," the God of the North let out a laugh.
"Our house was destroyed. The labs, the surrounding grounds, and the entire city was destroyed," Trunks detailed in confusion.
"She hid it well then."
"My home was burnt down," Trunks could feel that sadness again. "Everything is gone."
"But the basement was protected, as I am sure you will remember if you stretch your mind. The capsule for the time machine was placed near the ceiling on the north side, behind a layer of brick," the God of the North said.
Trunks gave a nod, vaguely remembering his mother building things in the basement, one time, many years ago. "I'll do it, but I have just two questions."
"Yes?" Kaio-sama said, leaning forward to listen to the other man.
"First, what time coordinates should I travel to for the other dimension? Second, do you have any food, I'm hungry." Trunks leaned forward and whispered the second sentence to the Kai.
Kaio-sama facefaulted. "What else did I expect from a Saiyan?" he mumbled.
Ten minutes later Trunks had a full stomach and eaten enough for a squadron. He walked over to where the Kai was hunched over writing something.
"Ready," Trunks declared.
Kaio-sama jumped, nearly knocking his glasses off, but saved them with a push of his finger. He stood to face Trunks. "Can you read this?" He handed a small piece of paper to the young warrior. Trunks gave one swift nod, reading over the coordinates on the sheet.
"Good, then you are on your way. And Trunks, take him with you," the Kai said as Trunks disappeared.
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A/N
I wrote this story back in 2001, back when I first got into anime and DBZ. Got 81 pages of a Composition notebook full of this story.
Hope to get the next chapter posted soon.