Prologue
Trunks was perched on top of the building known as BLACK tower like a gargoyle, the air so cold he could see his own breaths, and his body covered with goosebumps that might as well have been frozen sweat. He tugged his hood further down until it completely covered his face, not because anyone saw him or sensed him yet, but just out of habit. It had been such a long time since he'd gone outside without a cloak that he played with the hood like it was his hair, a little too used to it. He peered down at the massive building that had the words CAPSULE CORP written in letters so bold God could probably see it without squinting. Trunks clenched his fists, tightened it, hardened it, until it hurt, like he was crushing his own hand. Piece of shit, he thought. He never cared all that much for Capsule Corp, or the name, or what it stood for, even though Mom insisted he wore the symbol on his jacket at all times. For what? He'd always think. Was she trying to still advertise and market that damn company to the Androids who tried to kill him? To Cell? To Black?
But to see Black take what his family built, and pervert it, and corrupt it, and turn it against humanity like a gun he was aiming at the entire world, it made his heart scream. Trunks grabbed at his chest, gritted his teeth, and had to keep himself from powering up. He wasn't here for a fight, he was here to get at least one point over that bastard Black. And even if that point would've just been Trunks-1, Black-1,000, Trunks was determined to make that 1 count.
Black was smart, though. He had BOTH Yardrat and Namekian soldiers guarding Capsule Corp. The Namekians weren't normally a problem, but rumor had it that Black had taught some of the soldiers the Kaioken technique, plus their telepathy had improved, so if Trunks got caught, they'd alert Black on the spot. The Yardrats were just a pain in the ass with their instant transmission technique. They could attack Trunks, teleport away just to contact Black, then attack Trunks again in the time it took Trunks to finish a breath.
His frown sunk further into his face when he thought about Goku telling him about the Instant Transmission technique back in the past. Back then, Trunks was impressed, now he realized Goku was just rubbing that annoying technique in his face.
Trunks touched the earpiece.
"Mom, I'm on Black tower. Are you guys good to go?"
There was a pause. Radio silence. Trunks bit his teeth, chewed it like it was gum. He thought he even tasted blood. Did Black get her? He was always afraid Black got her. Then he heard,
"We're good to go," Mom said. Trunks let out a breath so big it looked he felt lighter afterwards. "I've taken down the security system in the vault. The rebels are about to set the explosion off now. Be ready in two seconds."
Trunks cleared his throat. Here we...
Before he could finish the sentence, there was a loud pop. It almost sounded like the entire planet fell on its ass, rocking the entire city. Trunks turned his head.
Mom said be ready in two seconds, but the explosion went off in one.
The rebels did it! They did it! One of Black's monuments was engulfed in flames, fire and smoke and ash shooting up to the sky, rising like a phoenix. Like his hopes. Trunks could feel the heat all the way from here, inside him, canceling out the cold. And it was glorious.
He looked down again. As expected, the Namekians powered up and flew over to Black's destroyed monument. A couple of Yardrats used instant transmission. The idiots left two, lone Nameks to guard the back of the Capsule Corp building. Hell, if they were gonna' make things that easy for Trunks, they might as well have knocked the Namekians unconscious and handed the material to Trunks himself. With a bow on top of it.
"Mom, it worked," Trunks said. "Namek and Yardrat soldiers are leaving the scene. I'm going in."
"Good luck, Trunks. Come back alive!"
"Always do," Trunks said
A shame that his timeline was still so screwed up that they used the phrase 'Come back alive' as common as people in the past said, 'See you later!' He was supposed to be done with this with the Androids. Why did God hate him so much?
Trunks took a deep breath, thought of Gohan, then floated down. He pulled out his sword, the metal squealing in excitement as it slithered out the sheathe. By the time the Nameks looked up, Trunks cut them down to size. They were corpses on the ground before Trunks even landed.
He honored the Namekian soldiers with a brief moment of silence, and took solace the way he always did when he killed Black's soldiers; considering they were better off dead than alive. Death was the only way they'd be free from Black's rule.
Trunks sheathed his sword back and fired a ki blast, the door turned into rubble. Good. No alarm. Mom really did hack into the systems.
He rushed into the building, pulling out a short map that one of their spies drew of the inside. Trunks jetted through the hall, burst through the door leading to a staircase, ran down the steps, hoping, praying that no innocent scientist decided to work an overnight shift, knowing full well they'd have to die if they crossed paths. Trunks went all the way down, zig zagging through the building, until finally he came across the vault.
"Trunks, you have to hurry. The soldiers are killing our men faster than we thought they would. My androids are holding them off, but they won't for long!"
"I'm already at the vault. They just need to hold on a little longer."
Except for the Androids. The Androids could have died for all he cared. Trunks didn't know why Mom relied on those soulless torturing machines so much.
Trunks fired another ki blast at the vault, then he went inside.
Shit!
An alarm went off!
The lights turned red!
"Mom! What the hell? I set something off?" Trunks shouted.
"Damn it!" she screamed. He heard her bang something hard, "I didn't give Black that much credit! He must have installed a backup security system I couldn't reach! Trunks, you need to get the material and get out of there!"
Trunks groaned and sprinted into the vault. Oh, come on! The inside was full of materials. Some of them in boxes, some of them out in the open, all of them in shelves.
Black better have not been on this planet right now.
"Mom, you have to set off the bomb in the Androids! This is gonna' take me some time!" Trunks said, already rifling through the boxes, tossing items out, breaking some of them in a fit of rage.
"It's too late," Mom said, defeat in her voice. "They've killed them..."
Trunks couldn't even hear the rest of Mom's sentence, not when he could practically hear every individual thought in his head celebrating, and his heart clapping in his chest. He pulled the material they needed out of the box, stared at it, hugged it like it was his child.
"Mom! I got it! I'm heading back..."
No! Not now! Trunks sensed a presence. Someone was here already?
He turned around, then saw the point of a knife running towards his face. Trunks moved his head out the way, then locked eyes with the Yardrat that was attacking him.
I really, REALLY HATE Instant Transmission!
Trunks fired a ki blast, the damn Yardrat used Instant Transmission again, then tried to stab him. Thanks to Trunks' training, his hand blocked the attack on instinct. And instinct was the only way you could fight these pink bastards, since they moved faster than thought.
Trunks powered up, so if he did get hit by the Yardrat, he wouldn't be hurt, even if powering up meant alerting more of Black's soldiers to his whereabouts.
The Yardrat tried to stab him again. This time, Trunks blocked it with his arm. The blade shattered, and he moved just quick enough to blast the Yardrat to pieces. Trunks pocketed the material, then flew up to the ceiling, only to feel something grabbing his leg.
God damn it! Another Yardrat.
"Lord Goku," The Yardrat was saying, holding onto Trunks like he was trying to tear off his leg. "The fugitive is..."
Trunks blasted him before the Yardrat could finish his sentence, then burst through the ceiling and soared through the sky. He grunted. Depending on how busy Black was, he'd either show up at any minute, or Trunks still had time to get to the base.
He sensed more feint power levels closing in on him, surrounding him. Please, just go away. I don't want to kill anymore people today.
Of course, the Namekians didn't. They charged at Trunks from his right, tried to grab him. Trunks dodged them, stabbed them. Suddenly, there was a gang of Namekians and Yardrats flying towards them. Probably a whole country's worth. He wanted, so badly, just to knock them all out. Just to make them sleep for a little while so they could live and fight another day. But it was faster to kill them, especially since Black might have been on his way right now. He could never risk facing him.
Trunks flew up and fired several ki blasts at the Nameks and Yardrats, killing them all one by one. He tucked his tears back, and it almost made him miss the days fighting the Androids. Almost. At least when he fought them, he wasn't forced to kill slaves.
There was only one Namekian left, but then he sensed another power. It was feint, like it was weak, but it was far too deep to belong to a true weakling.
"Mom, Black's..."
Before Trunks could finish the sentence, he felt the wind shift behind him. A big, red ball of ki spiraled towards him, like an exploding star fell in his direction. He charged up to Super Saiyan, then Super Saiyan 2, the lightning crackling inside of him, turning his heart into a battery. Trunks blocked the blast with his arms and crashed hard into the ground. Dust and debris covered him, and a sharp pain shot up into his back as he stood up.
He dusted himself off.
The debris cleared.
Trunks wished it didn't.
Black flew above him, sporting pants and boots like the kind Goku would wear, except pitch dark. Dark armor covered his upper body with an insignia or symbol on it that Trunks still didn't know the meaning of engraved on the right chest plate, and underneath the armor he wore a dark sleeve shirt with a matching colored turtle neck. A long, dark cape dropped from his back, flapping in the wind like a flag. Hence why Trunks and everyone else who fought him called him Black. He refused to call him Goku. He refused to believe that was Goku.
But then there was his face. Black had the same face that used to fuel his hopes and ignite his passion and taught him how to smile again, a face that used to bring him joy whenever he'd picture it in his dreams.
It was Goku's. It looked exactly like Goku. Exactly like him. He claimed he was Goku. Trunks had been fighting Black for close to five years now, and he still couldn't get used to the sight.
The frown on Black's face deepened.
"You interrupted a very important meeting, Trunks," Black said. He raised his hand, then closed it into a fist. "Killing my subordinates, committing acts of terror against international prestigious symbols of my progress."
Black shook his head in disgust. Trunks wanted to respond, but Black wasn't hiding his power anymore. Black charged up, glowing with a white aura. Trunks pulled out his sword. His knees buckled down, his body went stiff. Feeling Black's power was like feeling an implosion inside your body.
"I've gone too easy on you, boy, hoping that you'd eventually come around. Tonight, I won't be going easy on you. Tonight..." In an instant, Black's aura, and hair, went gold. "Tonight, you die."
Before Trunks could even respond, Black's fist was in his face.