CHAPTER TWO REWRITE!

All disclaimers, notes, etc. apply. Please read Prologue for details.


Containing Thy Self- Chapter Two

Grassy Fields- 5:39 PM

Swallowing uneasily, Mirai reached up to habitually brush some hair back behind his ear, only to have it fall forward. Quickly glancing at each individual present, the time traveler tried to focus his view elsewhere, off to the side. He cursed to himself for showing himself so openly in front of the wrong people, namely Goten and Trunks.

"Whoa…that guys looks exactly like Trunks!" Goten cried out, pointing at the newcomer, while looking back and forth between the look-alikes. "Trunks, I didn't know you had a twin!"

"I…. don't. He's not my twin." The short-haired teenager replied unusually calm, staring pointedly at his older version.

Bulma stepped forward, biting her bottom lip apprehensively. "Trunks? Trunks, is that you? From… the androids?" Taking another few steps forward so that she could touch his jacket sleeve, she gave it a light tug. "Did something else happen?"

Mirai refused to meet her gaze, jerking his arm out of her grasp, peculiarly rough. "No… I mean, sort of, but… I wasn't supposed to appear at this time." Taking a step back away from the older woman, the long-haired warrior crossed his arms defensively. "There was a mistake made… so that's why I'm here."

"As a mistake, do you mean a malfunction with your machine or something you did?" Vegeta questioned harshly as he eyed the purple-haired man warily.

Trunks glanced at his father skeptically.

The time traveling warrior winced at the tone, holding back a growl. "Both, if you must know. During the process, I was startled, causing me to accidentally hit the switch for the time, so Hope must've immediately registered the information. So, not only did I end up here inadvertently, I believe that the database for Hope needs readjusted due to the abrupt change it had to record right when I entered the space of time."

Bulma tilted her head, seemingly unaffected by Mirai's strange behavior. "So you can't travel back to your intended time or your own timeline?"

"No, I believe that it needs to be recharged as well because I fear that the change forced the machine to use up more energy than necessary at the exact moment I left."

The blue-haired woman frowned, pity showing in her large sapphire orbs. Shrugging, she waved her hands airily. "Well then, it looks like you don't have much of a choice but to stay with us until I check and recharge your machine."

Mirai stared at her incredulously. "No, I-I can't intrude-"

"Trunks! I don't care how old you are and what time you're from, you're my son and my son stays with me when he needs help!" She shouted, shoulders hunching in irritation. "Now don't argue with me, damn it!"

"Y-Yes." The long-haired man held up one arm as protection, ducking his head.

"Um… not that I'm trying to interrupt your moment or anything…" Goten cut in awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "But… did you just call that guy Trunks?"

Bulma gasped, a hand flying up to cover her mouth. "Oh Goten, I'm so sorry! Now this is going to sound weird, but it's all true." Holding out a hand towards Mirai, she beamed. "Yes, this is Trunks, but he's actually from an alternative time period. As you can see, this Trunks is a little older than our Trunks. We first met him a long time ago, about… wow, twenty years ago, when he defeated Frieza!"

Even though nobody saw, Vegeta quite visibly twitched, shifting his gaze elsewhere.

"Umm… Frieza? Oh yeah, Gohan told me stories about that evil lizard. Wow, you must be really old." The black-haired teenager responded dumbly, tilting his head in confusion while Trunks slapped his forehead in the background.

"Uhh…" Mirai blinked, gazing at the boy, noticing the similar features he had compared to Goku. "No, I'm only twenty-two."

"You defeated Frieza when you were two years old!?" The boy yelped, eyes widening in shock.

"W-Wait, what?!" The older man sweatdropped. "No, I was seventeen. I traveled back in time. In my machine… that I traveled in to get here… even though it wasn't deliberate."

"Ahh… yeah, that makes sense." Goten nodded, crossing his arms. "So… whoa, you were my age when you defeated Frieza?!"

"Ah… well, if you're seventeen, then yes, I was your age." Pausing, he scanned the boy head-to-toe. With a slight smirk, the older man let out a chuckle, catching everyone off-guard. "I'm sorry… but I can just really tell that you're Goku's son. Pleased to meet you Goten." Mirai held out a hand, smiling gently.

The black-haired beamed, all thoughts of there being two Trunks escaping his mind, as he returned the gesture. "Yeah, same here!"

"Oh, I suppose I'll tell you my original reason for traveling." Mirai spoke up again, now facing the younger version of his mother. "The androids and Cell have been defeated, so it's over now. I guess it's kind of meaningless at this point-"

"How can you say that's meaningless?!" Bulma, once again, cut him off rudely, slapping his arm. "Trunks, that's wonderful news. This means your future can be rebuilt, right?"

The long-haired warrior was silent, shifting his gaze to the ground. "I… guess so. I mean, the enemies have been defeated…"

"But this doesn't mean you can relax now!" Vegeta called out, taking a few steps forward to enter the group. "You're the sole fighter in your time, so don't even think about slacking off!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Mirai ruthlessly yelled back, causing his past mother to gasp, stumbling back from the force of anger she felt. "I've been training non-stop, every fucking day! Mother even built a gravity chamber for me to use, since there's obviously no one else there!"

Vegeta growled deeply. "Brat-"

"There's no one left?" A soft, girlish voice spoke up nearby, catching Mirai's attention as he faced the speaker, spotting young Pan standing close by.

He blinked, briefly wondering who she was. "Y-Yes, there's no one left."

"Oh." She pouted. "You must be lonely."

"Um… well, you get used to it after awhile."

"W-Well…" Pan spoke up, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "You can always come over here and play with us if you get too lonely!"

He was silent for a moment, and then he felt the corners of his mouth lifting. "Thank you, I will keep that in mind."

Bulma elbowed the younger full-blooded Saiyan in the side, whispering. "Goku, introduce her to him."

"Huh? Oh, right!" Placing his hands on the little girl's shoulder, the man beamed. "Trunks, this is Pan. She is Gohan and Videl's kid. Wait, you don't know Videl, but you'll meet her later, I'm sure. I mean, Gohan is going to want to see you and all." He babbled, lifting a hand, waving it. "Man, wait until you see Gohan and how much older he has gotten since you've seen him. I mean, you probably won't even recognize him right away."

"That's right; Gohan would be… twenty-eight now, huh?" Mirai nodded contemplatively. "It's nice to meet you Pan."

She grinned brightly, making a deep bow. "Yes, pleased to meet you!"

"And last, but most certainly not least…!" Bulma cut in, grabbing Mirai's arm and dragging him towards the two teenagers. "You've met Goten, Goku's second son already." The black-haired boy nodded, smiling. "So now, Trunks… meet our Trunks!"


Haha, I think this chapter is definitely longer than the original. Hope you liked it this one better!