A week after the fight in the gravity room, Mirai lay back and closed his eyes. Many people liked to lie down in the middle of the day to relax. Not many of them, however, did so at an altitude of twelve thousand feet.
He took a deep breath, and inhaled some of the mist of the cloud that surrounded him. As it filled his lungs, it set him at peace as it always did. Sometimes he needed this peaceful, quiet solitude. He had needed it after he'd defeated the Androids in his timeline. After finally avenging the uncountable numbers that the two wicked cyborgs had killed, he'd given his mother the news, and then flown up to the clouds. He had hardly been there ten seconds when someone spoke to him.
"A fine job, lad. You have done an excellent job saving two Earths."
Mirai laughed to himself as he remembered what his reaction had been at the time. In less than a second, he had opened his eyes, positioned himself upright, gone Super Saiyan, and had begun to search for the mysterious voice. There was no one in sight.
The voice spoke again, sounding rather amused. "You won't find me, and in any case I'm not a foe. I am Kaio-sama, the lord of worlds, and I am speaking to you telepathically."
"Kaio-sama? I've heard of you! Please, accept my apologies my lord," Mirai had said, returning to normal.
"No need to apologize. I was simply congratulating you on your defeat of the Androids, and on your role in saving that other universe. My counterpart from that timeline contacted me and filled me in."
"You can do such things? You can speak across realities?"
"Of course." Kaio-sama's voice had chuckled inside his head. "I can speak to anyone. And I have someone with me who wishes to speak to you."
The young man had had only a moment to ponder, before another's voice spoke to his mind. "Hi!"
"Is that you...Goku?"
"Yep! Just wanted to say thank you for what you did. I only wish I had been able to help you fight. I wasted the day back to life I had earned by defeating Freeza."
"Now, Goku," Kaio-sama had interrupted, "You had to say goodbye to your wife and son. You had no way of knowing that the Androids would come."
"I know, but still...well, it's all behind us now. I'd better run, Trunks, there's a bit of a line behind me. Congratulations again!"
Mirai had blinked, but it wasn't long before he realized what Goku had meant. Many of the other fallen warriors were using Kaio-sama to telepathically thank him. After several minutes, the last of them spoke.
"Hello Trunks."
"GOHAN?!"
"Yes, it's me," his former master had said. "You did a fine job."
"But it took so many years, so many people killed...and it was all my fault."
Gohan's voice had grown stern. "Don't you dare blame yourself. You simply needed time to reach the level of power necessary. That is in no way your fault."
There was silence for a moment, then he had spoken again. "Well, I'm sure you don't want me bothering you. I'll go now. But I have to say this...you've made me proud."
"You've made us all proud, son," Kaio-sama had said. "If you ever need to talk to me, just reach out with your thoughts and I'll be there. Farewell."
And then Mirai had been left again, alone in the clouds, with only his tears for company.
***
He came out of his memories as he realized that the cloud he had been nestled in was starting to break up. He began to search for another one, taking care not to exert himself too much, as the air was thin this high up.
He found a suitable cloud and took up position in it. He leaned back and closed his eyes again, as he remembered the worst days of his life...
***
For two straight days, he had neither eaten, drunk, nor slept. He had simply flown through the skies, screaming until his throat grew sore, waiting until it felt better, and then screaming some more. It didn't matter what anyone thought of this display, because they were all dead.
The wizard Babidi and the demon Darbura had come to earth, seeking to revive the magical creature Majin Buu and use it to conquer the universe. However, to do so they had to kill other beings and drain their life powers. They had killed hundreds already by the time Mirai discovered it. He had confronted them in battle, only to be easily defeated by Darbura.
He had been thought killed, but he had survived. Unfortunately, by the time he had recovered, it was too late. The villainous duo had taken the rest of humanity. Thanks to the Androids, there hadn't been many for them to attack. There was only one holdout left; the rest of the planet felt, to his ki senses, black and empty, and this person's life force had stood out like a candle. It was also familiar.
It was his mother. Flying at a speed he had never reached before, he arrived at Capsule Corporation just in time to see her collapse to the ground as Babidi and Darbura flew away.
"MOM!" he'd screamed out at the top of his lungs as he landed next to her.
"Trunks..." she'd said weakly.
"I'm here. Don't try to talk."
"Don't tell your mother what to do, boy," she had said, smiling faintly. "Just go get those two bastards, OK?
"I will."
"Good."
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Trunks." And then she'd closed her eyes, breathed out, and moved on. Mirai rose to his feet. Tears began to pour from his eyes. All the rage he felt he let out in a monstrous roar of anger. And he tapped into a hidden reserve of power, just as Gohan had done in the other universe to defeat Cell. He'd reached what was known as Super Saiyan 2.
Still screaming, he'd blazed a path to Babidi's spaceship. He destroyed the whole thing, and when the smoke cleared, only Babidi, Darbura, and the sphere that contained the essence of Majin Buu were intact. As the two evil ones looked at him in astonishment, he'd swooped down. One punch was sufficient to tear Darbura's head from his shoulders. He then advanced on Babidi, raised a foot, and lowered it with such force that it plunged straight through the sorcerer's skull, covering his boot in blood and other, even grislier materials.
Then, leaving behind the sphere, he'd begun to fly. And he'd done so for two days.
Finally, he went down to the ground. He collapsed and began to weep, punching the ground with such force that cliffs several miles away crumbled.
"My poor, poor boy. No one deserves this much tragedy, least of all one so young."
It was Kaio-sama's voice, but it sounded different. Raising his head, he saw the reason. Kaio-sama was standing before him in person, head bowed and hands behind his back. He was accompanied by a purple individual with a white mohawk, and a large red man.
"My lord," Mirai had said as he fought to keep himself under control, "Who are these two?"
"I am the Kaioshin," said the purple one, "supreme overseer of this reality. This is my servant Kibit. We wished to apologize."
"For what?"
"We should have detected the wizard's arrival on your planet," Kibit had replied in his deep voice. "Unfortunately, other matters distracted us from it when it happened. I am ashamed that I missed it. We could have saved your people."
"It's not your fault. Is there a way we can bring them back? The other set of Dragonballs on Namek...?" A note of hope crept into his voice, but the Kaioshin had shaken his head.
"I'm sorry, but they attacked Namek before they came to Earth, to try and get some life energy in advance."
Nodding, Mirai rose to his feet. "I see. Well, pardon my rudeness, my lords, but I really must be going."
"Where are you going?" Kaio-sama had asked.
"To join my mother."
"You can't. I understand that you must be overwhelmed by grief, but you can't simply kill yourself. You must warn the others."
"Others...you mean the other timeline?! Of course! I've got to let them know! I think the time machine can hold up for one more trip!"
"Yes. And then you should stay there."
"What? You mean, live the rest of my life with them?"
The Kaioshin nodded. "That's exactly what we mean. You may find there the happiness that has been so cruelly denied you here."
"But...in that case, I'll never be able to see my mother again..."
"Yes you will. The dimensional walls are weaker in the afterlives. Once you pass on, visits to this one from that one can easily be faciliated, trust me."
"All right then. I guess that's what I'll do."
***
And that's what he had done. He had come to this timeline, only to find that they had already fought and defeated Babidi, Darbura, and Majin Buu. He'd taken up residence at Capsule Corp.
And he'd met Jennifer.
He smiled as he thought of her. They'd been on several dates, and he thought he might be falling in love with her. That was something that never could have happened back in his original reality...
***
"BROTHER! Hey, wake up!"
He jerked his head up with a start and realized that he'd fallen asleep while thinking of Jennifer. His younger counterpart of this timeline was floating in front of him. They liked to think of themselves as brothers.
"Oh, hey Trunks. Is something wrong?"
"You bet something's wrong! You've been asleep for about a day and you're missing our birthday party!"
"It's our birthday? I can't believe I forgot that tomorrow--I mean, today is our birthday."
"I can't believe you forgot either," said Trunks, rolling his eyes. "I'm twelve! How about you?"
"With all this time travel and spending a couple of years in the Room of Spirit and Time, it gets kinda complicated...let's just go with twenty-six."
"Cool! Well, come on!" With that, Trunks grabbed his older counterpart's hand and dived down towards Earth.
***
Everyone at Capsule Corporation had shown up. Goten, of course, had also attended; he'd be eleven in just a few months. Jennifer was there as well, surprising Mirai by giving him a large kiss when he opened the door.
The party was quite interesting. Trunks was blindfolded and allowed to swing at a pinata, which he utterly destroyed in one hit. Two birthday cakes were brought out, and with so many super-hungry Saiyans around, they didn't last long. And then it was time for presents.
Trunks got the usual stack of presents that was taller than Nappa. There were toys from Bulma, Iroke, Goten, Yamcha, and Pu'ar. Vegeta had given him a set of training weights. Mrs. Briefs had baked him a tin full of cookies, and Dr. Briefs had constructed a new kind of Capsule bike just for him. Juunanagou--Android Seventeen--had whittled him a flute out of wood. The other full-blooded Saiyans had simply gotten him candy. Mirai had gotten him his own sword, though this one was, to Trunks's disappointment, plastic. Goku and Chi-Chi (mostly Chi-Chi) had baked him a couple of roasts. Gohan and Videl had managed to piece together a smaller Great Saiyaman outfit.
Then it was Mirai's turn. All of his presents appeared to be the size of videos, which didn't surprise him. He'd told everyone how he loved movies. After he'd defeated the Androids and started to help rebuild his world, movies were the only luxury he allowed himself, in order to escape the hell that was reality.
The first present he opened was from Bulma. Inside were two light romantic comedies. Next was Vegeta's present, which turned out to be a box set of the entire "Death Attack" series of bloody action movies. Dr. and Mrs. Briefs had bought him some old slapstick films. Juunanagou had gotten him some nature documentaries. Iroke had also gotten him romances. The present from Yamcha and Pu'ar was full of straight-up comedies. Goku and Chi-Chi (mostly Goku) had purchased videotapes of the previous Tenkaichi Budokai's. Gohan and Videl had given him some sci-fi films.
He opened the one from Trunks and Goten. It contained some cartoons.
"Thanks guys," he said, and ruffled their hair. All that was left was the present from Jennifer. "You know you didn't have to get me anything," he told the pretty redhead lawyer.
"Come now," she said. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't get you something for your birthday? Now go ahead and open it."
As he ripped open the wrapping paper, he wondered what it could be. Maybe some tense legal thrillers? Then he got to the movies. They definitely weren't legal thrillers. In fact, he wondered if they were even legal. He began to turn a deep shade of red.
Bulma looked at them and began to snicker. "Better not let Goten and Trunks see those." As the others wandered over to see what they were, they also began to chuckle. When the two boys came over, he hid the movies back in the wrapping paper. He looked over at Jennifer, who winked at him. He turned even redder.
"I think she just wanted to see your reaction," Bulma said.
"Or, brat, she could be trying to drop a hint," growled Vegeta. Mirai was so shy that sometimes Vegeta despaired of having grandchildren until Trunks got older.
***
Later that night, in his room, Mirai closed his eyes and shuffled the movies into one big stack. He'd start with the one on the top, and view his way down.
He opened his eyes. One of Jennifer's movies was on top.
He sighed. He wondered about his luck sometimes. Before he could push play, however, he heard a creaking sound outside his door.
He was there in a flash, opening the door to reveal Trunks, who had been trying to watch through the the space between door and floor.
"Uh...hi big brother."
"Hi Trunks. Isn't it past your bedtime?"
His counterpart's shoulders sagged. "Yeah."
"Then go to bed. Have a nice night."
"You too."
Shaking his head, he closed the door, and after making sure Trunks was really gone, pushed play.
He took a deep breath, and inhaled some of the mist of the cloud that surrounded him. As it filled his lungs, it set him at peace as it always did. Sometimes he needed this peaceful, quiet solitude. He had needed it after he'd defeated the Androids in his timeline. After finally avenging the uncountable numbers that the two wicked cyborgs had killed, he'd given his mother the news, and then flown up to the clouds. He had hardly been there ten seconds when someone spoke to him.
"A fine job, lad. You have done an excellent job saving two Earths."
Mirai laughed to himself as he remembered what his reaction had been at the time. In less than a second, he had opened his eyes, positioned himself upright, gone Super Saiyan, and had begun to search for the mysterious voice. There was no one in sight.
The voice spoke again, sounding rather amused. "You won't find me, and in any case I'm not a foe. I am Kaio-sama, the lord of worlds, and I am speaking to you telepathically."
"Kaio-sama? I've heard of you! Please, accept my apologies my lord," Mirai had said, returning to normal.
"No need to apologize. I was simply congratulating you on your defeat of the Androids, and on your role in saving that other universe. My counterpart from that timeline contacted me and filled me in."
"You can do such things? You can speak across realities?"
"Of course." Kaio-sama's voice had chuckled inside his head. "I can speak to anyone. And I have someone with me who wishes to speak to you."
The young man had had only a moment to ponder, before another's voice spoke to his mind. "Hi!"
"Is that you...Goku?"
"Yep! Just wanted to say thank you for what you did. I only wish I had been able to help you fight. I wasted the day back to life I had earned by defeating Freeza."
"Now, Goku," Kaio-sama had interrupted, "You had to say goodbye to your wife and son. You had no way of knowing that the Androids would come."
"I know, but still...well, it's all behind us now. I'd better run, Trunks, there's a bit of a line behind me. Congratulations again!"
Mirai had blinked, but it wasn't long before he realized what Goku had meant. Many of the other fallen warriors were using Kaio-sama to telepathically thank him. After several minutes, the last of them spoke.
"Hello Trunks."
"GOHAN?!"
"Yes, it's me," his former master had said. "You did a fine job."
"But it took so many years, so many people killed...and it was all my fault."
Gohan's voice had grown stern. "Don't you dare blame yourself. You simply needed time to reach the level of power necessary. That is in no way your fault."
There was silence for a moment, then he had spoken again. "Well, I'm sure you don't want me bothering you. I'll go now. But I have to say this...you've made me proud."
"You've made us all proud, son," Kaio-sama had said. "If you ever need to talk to me, just reach out with your thoughts and I'll be there. Farewell."
And then Mirai had been left again, alone in the clouds, with only his tears for company.
***
He came out of his memories as he realized that the cloud he had been nestled in was starting to break up. He began to search for another one, taking care not to exert himself too much, as the air was thin this high up.
He found a suitable cloud and took up position in it. He leaned back and closed his eyes again, as he remembered the worst days of his life...
***
For two straight days, he had neither eaten, drunk, nor slept. He had simply flown through the skies, screaming until his throat grew sore, waiting until it felt better, and then screaming some more. It didn't matter what anyone thought of this display, because they were all dead.
The wizard Babidi and the demon Darbura had come to earth, seeking to revive the magical creature Majin Buu and use it to conquer the universe. However, to do so they had to kill other beings and drain their life powers. They had killed hundreds already by the time Mirai discovered it. He had confronted them in battle, only to be easily defeated by Darbura.
He had been thought killed, but he had survived. Unfortunately, by the time he had recovered, it was too late. The villainous duo had taken the rest of humanity. Thanks to the Androids, there hadn't been many for them to attack. There was only one holdout left; the rest of the planet felt, to his ki senses, black and empty, and this person's life force had stood out like a candle. It was also familiar.
It was his mother. Flying at a speed he had never reached before, he arrived at Capsule Corporation just in time to see her collapse to the ground as Babidi and Darbura flew away.
"MOM!" he'd screamed out at the top of his lungs as he landed next to her.
"Trunks..." she'd said weakly.
"I'm here. Don't try to talk."
"Don't tell your mother what to do, boy," she had said, smiling faintly. "Just go get those two bastards, OK?
"I will."
"Good."
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Trunks." And then she'd closed her eyes, breathed out, and moved on. Mirai rose to his feet. Tears began to pour from his eyes. All the rage he felt he let out in a monstrous roar of anger. And he tapped into a hidden reserve of power, just as Gohan had done in the other universe to defeat Cell. He'd reached what was known as Super Saiyan 2.
Still screaming, he'd blazed a path to Babidi's spaceship. He destroyed the whole thing, and when the smoke cleared, only Babidi, Darbura, and the sphere that contained the essence of Majin Buu were intact. As the two evil ones looked at him in astonishment, he'd swooped down. One punch was sufficient to tear Darbura's head from his shoulders. He then advanced on Babidi, raised a foot, and lowered it with such force that it plunged straight through the sorcerer's skull, covering his boot in blood and other, even grislier materials.
Then, leaving behind the sphere, he'd begun to fly. And he'd done so for two days.
Finally, he went down to the ground. He collapsed and began to weep, punching the ground with such force that cliffs several miles away crumbled.
"My poor, poor boy. No one deserves this much tragedy, least of all one so young."
It was Kaio-sama's voice, but it sounded different. Raising his head, he saw the reason. Kaio-sama was standing before him in person, head bowed and hands behind his back. He was accompanied by a purple individual with a white mohawk, and a large red man.
"My lord," Mirai had said as he fought to keep himself under control, "Who are these two?"
"I am the Kaioshin," said the purple one, "supreme overseer of this reality. This is my servant Kibit. We wished to apologize."
"For what?"
"We should have detected the wizard's arrival on your planet," Kibit had replied in his deep voice. "Unfortunately, other matters distracted us from it when it happened. I am ashamed that I missed it. We could have saved your people."
"It's not your fault. Is there a way we can bring them back? The other set of Dragonballs on Namek...?" A note of hope crept into his voice, but the Kaioshin had shaken his head.
"I'm sorry, but they attacked Namek before they came to Earth, to try and get some life energy in advance."
Nodding, Mirai rose to his feet. "I see. Well, pardon my rudeness, my lords, but I really must be going."
"Where are you going?" Kaio-sama had asked.
"To join my mother."
"You can't. I understand that you must be overwhelmed by grief, but you can't simply kill yourself. You must warn the others."
"Others...you mean the other timeline?! Of course! I've got to let them know! I think the time machine can hold up for one more trip!"
"Yes. And then you should stay there."
"What? You mean, live the rest of my life with them?"
The Kaioshin nodded. "That's exactly what we mean. You may find there the happiness that has been so cruelly denied you here."
"But...in that case, I'll never be able to see my mother again..."
"Yes you will. The dimensional walls are weaker in the afterlives. Once you pass on, visits to this one from that one can easily be faciliated, trust me."
"All right then. I guess that's what I'll do."
***
And that's what he had done. He had come to this timeline, only to find that they had already fought and defeated Babidi, Darbura, and Majin Buu. He'd taken up residence at Capsule Corp.
And he'd met Jennifer.
He smiled as he thought of her. They'd been on several dates, and he thought he might be falling in love with her. That was something that never could have happened back in his original reality...
***
"BROTHER! Hey, wake up!"
He jerked his head up with a start and realized that he'd fallen asleep while thinking of Jennifer. His younger counterpart of this timeline was floating in front of him. They liked to think of themselves as brothers.
"Oh, hey Trunks. Is something wrong?"
"You bet something's wrong! You've been asleep for about a day and you're missing our birthday party!"
"It's our birthday? I can't believe I forgot that tomorrow--I mean, today is our birthday."
"I can't believe you forgot either," said Trunks, rolling his eyes. "I'm twelve! How about you?"
"With all this time travel and spending a couple of years in the Room of Spirit and Time, it gets kinda complicated...let's just go with twenty-six."
"Cool! Well, come on!" With that, Trunks grabbed his older counterpart's hand and dived down towards Earth.
***
Everyone at Capsule Corporation had shown up. Goten, of course, had also attended; he'd be eleven in just a few months. Jennifer was there as well, surprising Mirai by giving him a large kiss when he opened the door.
The party was quite interesting. Trunks was blindfolded and allowed to swing at a pinata, which he utterly destroyed in one hit. Two birthday cakes were brought out, and with so many super-hungry Saiyans around, they didn't last long. And then it was time for presents.
Trunks got the usual stack of presents that was taller than Nappa. There were toys from Bulma, Iroke, Goten, Yamcha, and Pu'ar. Vegeta had given him a set of training weights. Mrs. Briefs had baked him a tin full of cookies, and Dr. Briefs had constructed a new kind of Capsule bike just for him. Juunanagou--Android Seventeen--had whittled him a flute out of wood. The other full-blooded Saiyans had simply gotten him candy. Mirai had gotten him his own sword, though this one was, to Trunks's disappointment, plastic. Goku and Chi-Chi (mostly Chi-Chi) had baked him a couple of roasts. Gohan and Videl had managed to piece together a smaller Great Saiyaman outfit.
Then it was Mirai's turn. All of his presents appeared to be the size of videos, which didn't surprise him. He'd told everyone how he loved movies. After he'd defeated the Androids and started to help rebuild his world, movies were the only luxury he allowed himself, in order to escape the hell that was reality.
The first present he opened was from Bulma. Inside were two light romantic comedies. Next was Vegeta's present, which turned out to be a box set of the entire "Death Attack" series of bloody action movies. Dr. and Mrs. Briefs had bought him some old slapstick films. Juunanagou had gotten him some nature documentaries. Iroke had also gotten him romances. The present from Yamcha and Pu'ar was full of straight-up comedies. Goku and Chi-Chi (mostly Goku) had purchased videotapes of the previous Tenkaichi Budokai's. Gohan and Videl had given him some sci-fi films.
He opened the one from Trunks and Goten. It contained some cartoons.
"Thanks guys," he said, and ruffled their hair. All that was left was the present from Jennifer. "You know you didn't have to get me anything," he told the pretty redhead lawyer.
"Come now," she said. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't get you something for your birthday? Now go ahead and open it."
As he ripped open the wrapping paper, he wondered what it could be. Maybe some tense legal thrillers? Then he got to the movies. They definitely weren't legal thrillers. In fact, he wondered if they were even legal. He began to turn a deep shade of red.
Bulma looked at them and began to snicker. "Better not let Goten and Trunks see those." As the others wandered over to see what they were, they also began to chuckle. When the two boys came over, he hid the movies back in the wrapping paper. He looked over at Jennifer, who winked at him. He turned even redder.
"I think she just wanted to see your reaction," Bulma said.
"Or, brat, she could be trying to drop a hint," growled Vegeta. Mirai was so shy that sometimes Vegeta despaired of having grandchildren until Trunks got older.
***
Later that night, in his room, Mirai closed his eyes and shuffled the movies into one big stack. He'd start with the one on the top, and view his way down.
He opened his eyes. One of Jennifer's movies was on top.
He sighed. He wondered about his luck sometimes. Before he could push play, however, he heard a creaking sound outside his door.
He was there in a flash, opening the door to reveal Trunks, who had been trying to watch through the the space between door and floor.
"Uh...hi big brother."
"Hi Trunks. Isn't it past your bedtime?"
His counterpart's shoulders sagged. "Yeah."
"Then go to bed. Have a nice night."
"You too."
Shaking his head, he closed the door, and after making sure Trunks was really gone, pushed play.