Trunks stood on the cliff overlooking the battle below. He knew that he needed to help his friends, but the spell that had been placed on him prevented him from doing so. ~Think! There must be a way to break past this accursed spell! If only I hadn't been so stupid, I wouldn't have let it hit me.~

He had been next to Krillin, powering up for an attack when the spell had hit him. The jolt of energy had thrown him completely off of his feet. The spell had to have been from one of the enemies that they were battling, but which one? He hadn't noticed anyone with enough power to have sent an attack like that. Of course, they COULD have been hiding their power level, but Trunks was pretty adept at reading power levels. Now he stood on the cliff, watching his friends put themselves in potential danger, and there was nothing he could do about it. All this was because the spell wouldn't let him within 70 meters of the battle.

The violet-haired teen paced agitatedly. If he could get down to the battle and help, the odds in their favour would be much better. His sword was in the scabbard on his back, as drawing it would do no good at the moment. He kicked a stone off the edge of the cliff, and watched it's tumbling descent.

Trunks looked down at the melee below. There were some pretty bad injuries on both sides of the battle, but the sheer amount of enemies that his side faced was sure to overwhelm them soon. ~What can I do? Somehow I _HAVE_ to get down there and help them. Maybe if I power up enough...?~ He decided to try again. His power surged and he took off flying straight toward the battle scene. He was now 100 meters from the battle, and he let his power level rise even higher. ~90, 80, 75 meters...~ At 75 meters his power level rose to it's maximum and he rushed forward with all his might. *ZAP!* He was again stopped by the invisible barrier. Her beat at the air with his fists, willing them to shatter the strange wall that kept him separated from his friends. His efforts were in vain, for nothing he did broke the divider between himself and the battle.

With an angry sigh he went back to the cliff. His mind was whirling, trying to come up with a way to get past the barrier. He had tried blasting it, he had tried physical attacks, and he had even tried throwing things at it. Nothing seemed to work. Whatever it was, the barrier was very well designed for the purpose that it was meant for; to keep him from helping in the battle.

Suddenly a scream broke through the other sounds of battle, diverting Trunk's attention away from the barrier. Krillin had taken a bad blow, and blood rushed from the angry red wound in his side. Trunks rushed forward, only to slam into the barrier once more. He beat at the barrier, but it did no good. He hovered in the air, helpless to do anything but watch as his friend's life slowly slipped away. He felt Krillin's power dropping steadily until, finally, the sense of death invaded his senses.

"No! Krillin…" He sank against the barrier, ignoring the pain that coursed through his body from contact with it.

Now things were really looking bad. With one less ally, his other friends were in even more danger than they were before. If only this blasted wall wasn't in his way! He unsheathed his sword and held it aloft. ~Maybe if I hit it with something that isn't actually a part of me…~ he thought. He flew straight at the barrier, then swung downward, using a slicing motion when he reached the barrier. The sword passed right through as if it were nothing but air, but as soon as his hand touched it he felt the searing pain that contact with the wall always brought him.

He looked out over the battle scene presented before him. Wait…where was Gohan? Frantically he scoured the area with his gaze, searching for the young warrior. There! He was cornered by two enemies, both of which looked quit capable of eradicating Gohan. "GOHAN!" he screamed, "GOKU! GOHAN IS IN TROUBLE!" His voice echoed across the canyon, picking up volume as it bounced off the rocks.

Goku turned and sped toward his son, leaving his former opponent behind. "Gohan!" His aqua eyes were filled with fear, and he traveled so swiftly that all that could be seen was a streak of light. With a single blow, Goku killed one of the enemies, but while he did so, the other managed to send a dagger straight into Gohan's stomach. Goku sent a beam of energy through the creature, but it was too late; his son had been hit badly.

Gohan's eyes widened and he started to fall forward. Goku caught him before he hit the ground, being careful not to drive the blade in any deeper. He could sense the life force flowing out of his son, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Daddy…" Gohan said weakly, "Daddy…I'm…sorry.."

Goku's eyes filled with tears as he held his dying son, "Shh…you did a great job, Gohan." His voice kept breaking as he fought back sobs.

"N-no…I should not have let…them corner…me…" The boy was very pale and sweat was pouring down his face.

Trunks turned away, unable to watch. He was a battle-hardened warrior, but he still had a heart. This was just too much for him.

Gohan's eyes went blank and his entire body went limp. Goku stared in disbelief, and the tears finally fell. The Saiyan couldn't even see straight, so blinded by grief was he. "NOOOOOOO!" he screamed. "You can't do this to me!"

Trunks turned back, just in time to see one of the creatures preparing to fire a powerful energy beam at Goku. "GOKU!" he yelled in warning, but his cry wasn't swift enough.

The beam hit Goku, going through his chest and out his back, destroying his internal organs. His energy left him swiftly, and all it left was a corpse. Steam rose up from the still-warm body, clashing with the cool air as if to mock the battle.

Trunks nearly choked on his own grief. Now the strongest of his allies was gone. What hope did they have? All that was left to fight was Piccolo, the Namek, and Vegeta, his father. Everyone else was dead, and he was stuck behind an invisible wall. He spat out a curse, swearing to get vengence for the death of his friends.

Piccolo was engrossed in the battle, fighting like a madman. He was very tough, and his regeneration skills had helped him stay alive thus far. Would those two things be enough, now that there were only two of them left? ~I doubt it…~

He was right. Just minutes after that thought, Piccolo took a direct hit to the head and was stunned for a moment. That moment was all his adversary needed to deliver the killing blow. The Namek fell backward, dead before he even hit the ground.

Now it was all up to his father, Vegeta. It was hopeless. Trunks clenched his fists tightly, his nail digging into his palms until they drew blood. The small pain in his hands went unnoticed as it paled in comparison to the pain in his heart.

Surrounded by enemies, Vegeta fought like a wild dog. He sent several beasts flying, killing many, but they swarmed him like ants. Trunks watched helplessly as his father was covered by masses of creatures. Vegeta didn't scream, or even make a sound. He just continued struggling until his last breath. The fiends chattered excitedly, then tore into the flesh of their prey. They knew they were victorious. All about them lay tattered bodies; fresh meat.

Trunks' eyes flashed with rage. He lost all control, grief and anger being the only things he felt. He raced toward the barrier and hurtled through it. It peeled away at his flesh, but he didn't feel it, so blinded by emotions was he. With his sword drawn, he descended upon the creatures like an enraged dragon, screaming in fury. His blade flashed in the sunlight for a few minutes before it was too slick with blood to shine anymore, and still he fought.

Finally, only one enemy remained. It faced him, hissing." Ssso…you managed to get passt the barrier. I'm impressed."

Trunks threw himself at the beast, intending to slice the hated being in two. Instead, the creature stepped aside at the last second and disembowled the teen with one swipe of its massive claws. Trunks fell to the ground, gasping.

"Pathetic," was all the being said. It turned and started to leave the carnage.

Trunks couldn't even talk, much less stand up, but he wasn't done yet. Drawing on every last bit of strength he had left, he formed a ball of energy.

The beast turned back around. "Oh, how quaint. The little boy sstill wants to play." It laughed, more a hiss than a proper laugh. That was its last sound for the ball of energy ripped through it, killing it in an instant.

Trunks' eyes went dim. The last warrior had died.