Twin Hope
Chapter 2:
Mirai Pan led Mirai Trunks to a cliff that overlooked the violent seas; the storm was still in full swing and if anything it was getting even worse. "What is such a secret that you had to take me all the way out here?" he asked as they touched down. She walked around him and found a seat on the soaked log, both were soaked to the bone anyway, so it didn't really make that much of a difference where they sat.
"It's not that big of a secret. It's just that I didn't think you'd want your father hearing about what you're about to do." She stated sadly. He crossed his arms and impatiently waited for her to continue. "In my timeline, which is this reality's future, you came and brought a flea with you."
"A flea?" he questioned. "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Fleas are what we called those aliens." She informed. "You should know that the entity they most likely resemble is a blood sucking flea. They suck your ki until you're too weak to live, they kill everything and everyone until the world is barren, then they attack the ozone layer."
Mirai Trunks sighed as he took a seat in front of her on the ground, getting even muddier than before. "So if what you're saying is true, then I brought a flea with me and it caused your world's destruction, but why couldn't you tell me this at Capsule Corp.?" he questioned.
"I could've told you there." She stated. "But that's not why we're here." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "See, it wasn't entirely your fault. Despite the fact that you brought an early attack by the fleas to Earth from your world, their master or leader should I say, will be arriving on Earth in about a year." She said grimly.
"Leader? I didn't know of a leader."
"I know." She sighed. "Apparently he didn't take interest in your world for some reason and stayed out of sight while his fleas went to work killing everyone you loved."
Mirai Trunks hung his head at remembering his last conversation with his mother.
~Flashback~
"Trunks, I know you're hurting because you lost your wife, but please don't do this! Don't shut me out of your life completely! I need you! You're the only thing I have left in this world!" She yelled passionately as tears rolled her cheeks freely.
"Just leave me alone!" Trunks yelled back angrily as he slammed his door.
~End Flashback~
"What did I do?" he asked suddenly.
"You killed yourself." She said in a sad whisper. "After you realized what you did, I guess you couldn't handle the pressure and in one months time from today, Bulma would've found your dead body on your bathroom floor." After a long pause from both of them, she decided that this was coming as a rather large shock to him. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."
"Why?" he asked. "Why do you care what becomes of me?"
"Because I know you're not a coward." She said as she sat on the ground with him. "I may have not known you for very long, but you were my friend for that short period of time you were in my life."
"But if what you're saying is correct, then this world is damned anyway. There's no stopping it."
"That's where you're wrong." She said cheering up a bit. "Bulma invented these contraptions that'll allow us to kill the fleas. As for the flea that got away, we don't have to worry about that just at this moment, okay." After a long silence, she shifted uncomfortably. "I'm cold, lets head back."
"Yeah." He agreed as he stood up.
~@ Capsule Corp.~
Gohan paced around the room nervously while Vegeta took his usual spot on the wall. Pan was reflecting on the possibilities of having an older version of her around while Bura grimaced in fear. Trunks had his arm around Kittie while he explained the entire situation to her; she knew about the Trunks' family sayain heritage and all the past battles.
"Gohan!" Videl yelled from the couch, "Sit and calm down! You're developing a twitch."
"I can't. First it's Mirai Trunks, then there's a Mirai Pan?! Since when is there a Mirai Pan? I thought Mirai Gohan didn't have a daughter! What the hell is going on?!" Gohan asked as he stopped pacing to look out the window.
"Why don't you ask them?" Vegeta mused. "They're almost here."
After a few tense moments, Mirai Trunks and Mirai Pan entered through the front door to be met by everyone's stares. Mirai Pan shifted uncomfortably. "See, I told you I'd bring him home in one piece." She smirked.
"Well you two look like hell." Bulma giggled as she handed them both a towel.
Mirai Trunks stepped off the doormat, "You didn't wipe your feet." Mirai Pan said.
"Is this how it's going to be?" Mirai Trunks asked slightly annoyed. "Are you always going to be here to point out every single thing I've done wrong?"
Mirai Pan groaned as she wiped her feet and dried off her hair. "Only ones that ruins floors and lives." She stated.
Bulma cleared her throat as if making a point for them to stop whatever argument they were about to start. "Listen, I don't know how you two know each other or if you're even from the same reality. All I know is that you're both future forms of two people I hold close to me. And right now you two are soaking wet and muddy." She said. "Trunks, take him up to your room and get him some clean clothes. I'll take Mirai Pan to my room and get her some clothes and show her to a shower."
"No." Vegeta started. "We still don't know if she's a threat or not."
"She's not a threat. She's here to help." Mirai Trunks pointed out. Trunks motioned him to follow. "Sorry I ruined your life." He apologized as he followed Trunks up the stairs.
"Are you really my future self? Are you from this future or his future?" Pan asked as she walked up to Mirai Pan.
"Yes, I am and I wasn't even born in his reality." She answered.
"So you're like what I'd be in the future. I'll be exactly like you?" Pan questioned.
"I hope not." Mirai Pan replied. "You don't want to be anything like me."
"Alright, that's enough questions for now, I'm sure she's freezing in those soaked clothes." Bulma ordered. Mirai Pan instinctively pulled her bomber jacket tighter around her, making sure her bra didn't show through her soaked white shirt. "Come on." Bulma coaxed as she started up the stairs, Mirai Pan followed her.
"Cool a future Pan!" Bura said gleefully. "I wonder if you ever married." She said to Pan before bolting up the stairs.
"Oh shit! I won't let you near her! She knows all my secrets!" Pan hollered as she ran after Bura.
"She seemed old enough to bare children…I wonder if I was grandmother…." Videl started.
"Great grandchildren?!" Chichi shrieked. "Oh! Come on Videl! I want to know!"
"Oh no you guys don't." Gohan started. "You really shouldn't be asking those kinds of questions." Just then Pan and Bura came tumbling down the stairs.
"Get off me you psycho!" Bura yelled.
"No!"
"I promise I won't go near her." Bura said forcefully. Pan got off her and Bura ran back up the stairs.
"NO!" Pan screamed as she chased after her again.
"I guess we'll just have to wait. I doubt we'll be able to get upstairs anyway." Chichi stated as if offended in most personal way possible as Pan and Bura fell down the stairs once more.
"Yes, we'll all be asking questions." Vegeta stated.
~Upstairs~
"How long are you staying for?" Bulma asked.
"I'm not sure. See, I have nowhere to go. My world is just as barren as Mirai Trunks' is." She answered.
"Mirai Trunks' world is barren?" Bulma questioned. "No wonder he didn't feel like talking during lunch."
"I think it'll be easier if all the questions were answered at one time when everyone's around. It'll be a lot quicker that way." The younger woman stated.
"Yeah." Bulma sighed. She tossed her some dry clothes and brought her to the bathroom. "You do stink, you should have enough time before dinner to wash up. Towels are in the cupboard below the sink and there's shampoo, conditioner, body wash and bath oils by the tub." She pointed everything out.
"Thank you."
~Trunks' room~
"What was that all about, with Mirai Pan? She seemed like a bitch." Trunks said as he threw his future/younger self some clothes. He crossed the room and started fiddling with one of his mother's inventions.
"I guess she did seem like a bitch." Mirai Trunks chuckled. "But I think she's just more concerned than anything else."
"Concerned?" Trunks smirked. "She had your life in her hands earlier, you call that concerned?"
Mirai Trunks just shook his head before entering Trunks' bathroom to take a quick shower and change out of his wet clothes. 'He doesn't understand.' He thought.
~Bulma's Bathroom~
Mirai Pan sunk all the way to the bottom of the tub while running her fingers through the thick blanket of bubbles. "I wonder if Trunks is still going to announce his engagement with Kittie tonight?" she wondered to herself.
~Flashback~
Everyone sat around the dining room chatting happily to one another, Mirai Trunks was feeling more at home by this point of the day and was starting to lighted up a little. Pan sat poking at her lima beans, cursing her father for making her take such a large serving. Then, when she least expected it, Trunks stood up with Kittie and requested everyone attention.
"Excuse me, but Kittie and I have an announcement to make." Trunks said happily. Everyone stared at them knowingly; Bulma grabbed hold of Vegeta's arm in anticipation with the look of pure happiness all over her face.
Pan's eyes started to water, she tried so hard to not let it show, but it wasn't working. No matter, no one was looking at her anyway.
"Kittie and I are getting married!" Trunks announced happily as Kittie showed everyone her ring while blushing profusely.
That's when it happened, the tears that threatened the corner of her eyes freed themselves and her face flushed with anger. Her ki rose dangerously high as she ran out of the room.
~End Flashback~
"Geese, I never lived that one down." Mirai Pan smirked at herself. "I could not believe how much Goten made fun of me for that!" she laughed a little as she continued to get the weeks worth of grime, dirt and grease out of her hair and off her skin. Her tail swayed slightly behind her, making the water swirl around her. Her tail grew back after, what Vegeta called, the sayain mating cycle began, in other words, she was in heat for the first time.
She quickly finished bathing after deciding that she was in the tub for a little over an hour and got dressed in the clothes that Bulma provided for her; a pair of flairs, a black tank top and a heather-grey zip up hoody that she left open. She walked out into the hall and down the stairs, where everyone including Mirai Trunks was waiting for her.
"Sorry I took so long, it's been awhile since I've been able to take a bubble bath." She stated as she pulled back her silky raven hair that fell almost to her butt. "So, when should we start this interrogation?" she grinned as she stood against the wall that her younger form was using earlier before lunch.
"So if you're really me, then where are your palm gloves?" Pan asked suspiciously.
"Saw too many battles, plus I kind of out grew them." Mirai Pan shrugged.
"How old are you?" Bura shouted out.
"24." She replied simply.
"You seem awfully calm for someone who just had their world taken away from them." Vegeta stated.
"Would you rather see me in hysterics?" Mirai Pan asked.
"It would be kind of funny…" Trunks said under his breath.
"First lets get one thing straight." Bulma started. "Is the Earth in some sort of immediate danger?" she asked Mirai Trunks.
"I don't know, ask her." He replied.
"Okay, Mirai Pan."
After a moment of contemplation, she answered carefully. "Well, I weakened that flea that took the form of a rat earlier, slowing its reproductive capabilities. I would say we have about six months before the first wave of flea attacks. Then after that…"
"Wait, what are these fleas?" Gohan asked.
"Fleas, well, there's two kinds of fleas, unformed and formed. The difference between the two is that an unformed flea looks a lot like a plate of blue and green JELL-O, but it can fly through walls and it is not jell-o-y if you know what I mean. Now the formed fleas are a bit harder to locate. Once they have obtained enough ki, they can transform into anything they see. Kind of like Oolong and Puar only they're more like scouts, bringing information and the ki back to their leader." Mirai Pan informed. "We guessed that a formed flea took the shape of a button on Mirai Trunks' time machine's control console, that's why he ended up here."
"This leader. I've never met him before. How powerful is he?" Mirai Trunks asked.
"In my reality, he obtained the ki of everyone, grandfather, Vegeta…everyone. This made him extremely lethal. Although, he's not due here for another year." She said.
"Okay, then why'd you choose today to show up?" Vegeta asked hoarsely.
"Because, I had some business that had to be dealt with." She said almost regretfully. Mirai Trunks looked down in shame, almost as if he had been contemplating suicide for a while now.
"So, what do we do? Train and get stronger or not train at all and get weaker?" Goku asked seriously.
"That's up to you." Mirai Pan answered truthfully. "Although, I think it wise for younger Pan here to train as much as she can."
"Why?" Gohan asked suspiciously.
This time it was Mirai Pan's turn to look at the floor in shame; Mirai Trunks caught this and started to wonder why that was. "You met him, personally didn't you?" he asked quietly.
"Enough about me. Some weather you guys are having, eh?" Mirai Pan asked quickly changing the subject.
"Yeah, some weather." Goku said happily. "I guess it could get a little confusing with two Trunks and two Pans running around, wouldn't you say? Maybe if we called you two something else, like Mirai Trunks Tru."
"I guess that'll work." Tru answered.
"What about you?" Bulma asked referring to Mirai Pan.
"I guess we could deprive the letters out of Mirai and call me Mai…I kind of like that name." She said sheepishly showing off the famous son smile.
"Yup, no doubts about it, she's a son." Videl joked.
"Did I get any great grandchildren?!" Chichi shot out before anyone could stop her.
"Chichi!" Bulma shouted in disbelief.
Mai started getting all teary-eyed, "Excuse me." She said a little misty as she excused herself from the room. Chichi looked down at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, Gohan looked at the spot where his Mirai daughter once stood in awe.
Videl couldn't help but crack a smile. "So I do get grandchildren one of these days!" She said happily as she hugged the younger Pan.
"Mom! I'm not the one who popped out a kid, go hug her! Please, you're embarrassing me!" Pan tried, muffled by her mother's shirt.
"I'm sorry, it's just that, you actually…have children!" she sobbed as she hugged Pan even tighter.
Mai returned to see the scene play out in front of her and couldn't help but fall into hysterical laughter. "Poor, poor younger me…" she said as she tried to stifle her laughs. "This is priceless, where's a camera when you need one?" she asked herself once Pan started to try to ducked out of her mother's embraced but found it impossible.
"I swear to you Mai, once I get out of this, I'm going to kill you! You hear me?" Pan tried to shout but was muffled by Videl's sobs.
"Dinner!" Someone shouted. A stamped of people hurried into the dining room, leaving Tru, Pan and Mai alone in the living room. Pan stood in front Mai with her arms crossed and a glare that could kill a thousand men, but Mai only smiled at the younger version of herself in response. Pan then gave into a smile too before leaving for the kitchen.
"Sorry about placing the blame all on you." Mai apologized.
Tru stood up from his place on the floor and looked at her emotionlessly. "I'm sorry that you lost everything."
"Don't be, you lost a lot too. You had no idea; it's not your fault. Everyone understands and accepts that. Don't lose any sleep over it."
"Yeah, but I'm sor…"
"Shut up." Mai smirked. "And I'm serious, if you need anyone to talk to, I'm your girl. Besides, I may need someone to talk to too, and the only other person here that I can identify with is Vegeta and he's not all that much of a conversationalist; if you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I spent a year with him in the Room of Spirit and Time." Tru chuckled as they headed into the dining room.
"Ah, the sound of progress." Mai joked upon hearing him chuckle. They sat down next to each other at the table, because those were the only seats left. Pan was on the other side of Mai and Trunks and Kittie were directly in front of them.
"You know, I may have not said this before, but you two really do clean up nicely." Goten stated between bits of his food.
"Hmmm…thanks." Mai said with her mouth full.
"When was the last time you ate, girl? You're table manners are horrible!" Videl giggled.
Mai took the question seriously and started to count the days off her fingers. "About five." She replied before shoving an egg roll in her mouth.
"That proves it! She's an imposter!" Vegeta bellowed.
"Oh shut up!" Bulma yelled at him. "She is not! And she'll be staying here! I'm sure Gohan and Videl don't have enough room in their cottage for another person and we have more than enough room."
"I'll be keeping my eye on you girl." Vegeta threatened in a menacing voice.
"Fine by me, I could use a good sparring partner." Mai shrugged.
Kittie nudged Trunks in his side and he abruptly stood up, followed her Kittie. 'This is it.' Mai thought to herself. She took hold of Pan's hand, who looked confusedly from Trunks to Kittie and back to Mai. Mai grabbed the bottle Tabasco sauce and unscrewed the top before letting go of Pan's hand. "Trust me." She whispered into Pan's ear before acting natural again.
"Excuse me, but Kittie and I have an announcement to make." Trunks said happily. Everyone stared at them knowingly; Bulma grabbed hold of Vegeta's arm in anticipation with the look of pure happiness all over her face.
Pan's eyes started to water, she tried so hard to not let it show, but it wasn't working. No matter, no one was looking at her anyway.
"Kittie and I are getting married!" Trunks announced happily as Kittie showed everyone her ring while blushing profusely.
That was Mai's cue, she 'accidentally' splashed Pan's face with the Tabasco sauce, making sure she didn't get any her eyes with out making it look intentional. "Oh my Kami! Pan! I'm so sorry! Did I get it in your eyes?" Mai asked hurriedly.
"It burns!" Pan faked, somehow knowing Mai's plan. She knocked her chair over as she backed against the wall. Mai set the Tabasco sauce on the table and gave a sheepish look.
"Oops, clumsy me." She said as she grabbed Pan's arm. "Come on, let's get you taken care of."
"Oh, wash her eyes out with water! Here let me help." Chichi fused.
"It's okay grandmother." Pan said through bloodshot watering eyes. "I can take care of it myself." She said hurriedly and she and Mai left the room.
They walked up the stairs and sat in the bathroom, Mai passed her a towel and sighed. "You know you really have to get over him." She stated sympathetically. Pan looked up at her and smiled weakly. "One day, you'll meet the man of your dreams that isn't Trunks. And you'll be ten times happier than any fantasy you had with him."
"Really?" Pan asked.
"Yeah. I know so." Mai said gleefully.
"Who?"
"I can't tell you that." She stated. "But I can tell you that he's been under your nose for a while now." The look on Pan's face said that she didn't believe a word she had just said. "Listen." She said as she pulled off a silver ring with a green gem off her finger. "Krillin gave this to me after my husband died as way to remind me and help me cope. I want you to have it." She said as she placed the ring in the younger girl's hand.
"Why? Don't you need it?" She asked.
"Not anymore. Besides, I know right now is difficult for you. Use this as a reminder that someday you'll meet a man that'll sweep you off your feet and more importantly won't run away when he learns about your abnormal strength." Mai smirked.
"Guys are going to run away from me?"
"Yeah, you and Bura. You're teenage dating lives are going to be practically non-existent." She joked. Pan laughed.
"Thank you." Pan said weakly as she shed the last of her tears.
"Is everything alright in there?" Videl asked through the closed door.
"Yeah, everything is fine, the burning stopped a little." Pan answered.
Mai smiled at her younger self while thinking, 'I wish I had a Mirai Me when I was going through this.' "Come on, lets go finish dinner." She said as she helped Pan off the bathroom floor.
All three of them walked back into the dining room together, Mai and Pan smiling uncontrollably as they sat back down. Mai picked up the Tabasco sauce and handed it to her father, "I don't think I should handle this anymore." She said with a grin.
"Are you okay Panny?" Gohan asked.
"Just fine!" Pan answered happily while twirling the ring on her finger under the table. She was still smiling even when she chewed her food.
"Congratulations Trunks, Kittie." Mai said happily. "You two will be very happy together."
"Well I'll take that as a good omen any day!" Kittie giggled.
Goku looked at his two granddaughters knowingly, he saw that the Tabasco sauce didn't even go anywhere near Pan's eyes. He smiled and returned his attention back to his food. 'Thanks Mai.' He thought.
"This calls for a celebration!" Bulma exclaimed when she noticed that everyone had finished off the last of his or her food. "Why don't we all go into the rec. room and have a few drinks." She said. "Hell, even Bura and Pan can have a glass of wine!"
~Two minutes later~
Everyone filed into the large rec. room; it had about three sofas, an assortment of big comfy chairs, a stereo system, a big screen TV, DVD player, Fuse Ball table, a variety of arcade games, a pool table, air hockey table and a few computers with internet access. Mai grabbed a beer and stood in the corner while Vegeta stood against the wall a few feet away from her. Tru did the same and stood next to Mai, much to his father's dismay.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, it's just I really don't know everybody in a buddy-buddy kind of way."
"Don't worry about it." Mai smirked. "You want the dirt on the people here?"
"Always." Tru grinned.
"Okay." Mai took a swig off her beer. "See how Marron is only drinking water. No one knows this, but she's pregnant. But that's not the shocker. Goten found out that Paris cheated on him with her coworker so he went to Marron for comfort and I guess things happened."
"Really." Tru said looking at the two oddly. "I guess they make a good couple."
"Let's see. Everyone knows that Krillin's whipped beyond compare to any sayain marriage, that is old news. Vegeta's and Goku's competition to see who's actually stronger is actually a mask, they're best friends, they just can't admit it."
"That's not true and you know it!" Vegeta yelled. He glared at Mai before stalking off to the bar and grabbed a bottle of liquor.
"Yup, now he's going to get drunk and make a fool of himself." Mai laughed.
"Why are you taking this so lightly?" Tru asked suddenly.
"I've had a lot of time to be myself and reflect on the past." Mai answered. "I was alone for over a few months, now I'm with people, it actually feels good. Don't get me wrong, the pain will always be there, but right now, I'm alive." She noticed his face getting a far away look again. "Come on, I'm gonna beat you a pool." She said as she pulled him to the pool table before Yamcha and Tien could start a game. She set her beer on the side of the table and arranged the balls on the table.
"Why are you like this?" He asked as he picked up one the pool sticks.
"Like what?" She asked oblivious.
"You're so caring. Why?"
"I told you. Cause I care." She simply said as she took off the hooded sweatshirt and set it on the back of the couch.
Master Roshi looked over his shoulder and got a bloody nose. "Holy shit Mai!" Master Roshi yelled, "You're fucking hot!" suddenly the room got extremely quiet and heads turned to look at Mai and Roshi.
"Pervert." She said simply and returned to her game with Tru. Conversation returned to normal after that and Tru let a smirk grace his lips. "What?" she asked innocently.
"He's right." He responded. Mai blushed for the first time in a long while.
"Just keep your balls on the table…I mean keep your eyes on the table." She said starting to get flustered. "Damn it, I need another beer."
"Why, I do believe you're blushing." Tru grinned.
"And I believe that you're flirting." Mai grinned back.
"If I am?" Tru asked.
"Then I'd say get a room!" Vegeta yelled, causing yet again a weird silence to cross the room.
"Is it just me, or is this silence happening a lot lately?" Mai asked, Tru nodded.
Pan and Bura made their way over to Mai and decided to ask questions that they knew that would embarrass her. "So Mai, you still a virgin?"
"What do you think, you first time drunks." Mai said sarcastically as she took her shot and got three of her balls in the pocket. She moved to the other side and concentrated on finding the perfect shot. "What about you Bura, you a virgin?" she asked evilly, not even taking her eyes off the table.
Bura was speechless, 'of course I'm a virgin!' she mentally screamed. Pan laughed hysterically.
"See, I told you that you couldn't embarrass her! She's has that Jedi mind stability shit." Pan laughed while Bura staggered away. "Oh cool you have tattoo!" She said as she touched Mai's arms, causing her to mess up her shot. Her tattoo was in gothic looking black lettering that said "Daddy's Little Girl" with a halo over the 'G.'
Tru laughed as he shot the 8 ball in the pocket. "Looks like I won." He grinned. "Need another beer?" he asked.
"Yes!" She said almost too eagerly. Tru smirked as he walked off. "How you doing?" she asked.
"Pretty good, actually." Pan replied a little tipsy.
"Yeah, I can guess why." Mai grinned as she took the wine glass out of Pan's hands.
Tru stopped at the bar and got two beers, 'Maybe this won't be so bad. She's here and she understands what it's like.' He turned around and made eye contact with her. 'Her eyes are so beautiful, wise beyond their years.'
'What am I doing?' Mai screamed at herself. 'I can't take my eyes off him! He's so much different from my late husband, and he's even hotter than Trunks. His long hair, tan skin, muscl…okay stop it Pan, you are going to start drooling if you are not careful. He's eyes, beautiful blue eyes, wise and sad…'
"Mai!" Pan yelled, making Mai break eye contact bringing her back to reality.
'Damn Pan, leave her be.' Tru thought before coming back to reality himself.
"Hey man, you alright?" Goten asked. Soon enough Tru was surrounded by the guys and Mai was whisked away by the women.
A/N: Alright, that looks like a good place to stop for now. Please review. Constructive Criticism is welcomed!! Just please no pointless flames that only succeed in making you look like a total idiot.