And did I ever see
Life is about to go on
In a minute
Life never goes on
Those are empty words
~ The Gathering – 'Bad Movie Scene'
One More Minute
A strange feeling of déjà-vu gave Marron goosebumps as she saw Trunks checking out the time machine. She had seen a scene almost exactly like this before, on pictures her father had taken of Future Trunks. The resemblance was unsettling.
Some of the circumstances were different, but the dark blue coat he was wearing, his clothes, and his hair, were almost exactly the same as that boy from the future. On second thought, this was not so strange; Future Trunks had been of the same age as the boy that was climbing into the machine right now. They had experienced the same pain, and they shared their genes. Seeing Trunks here standing next to the Time Machine made her feel a little uneasy, until she decided that the future version of her friend had turned out fine in the end. Things had to be alright in the end, they just had to. They would find a way to make things right again… in the worst case they would stay in the past and help prepare for a dark future. There was no way they could come back here, ever. It would certainly mean their doom. And to be honest, all Marron wished for was leaving this place. It meant so many bad memories, so many wounds on her soul, that even getting in the near vicinity of her inner pain would break her down into a sniveling heap again.
So she walked over to Trunks and looked what he was doing. "We have to hurry," he said, his voice ragged. "They must have felt me – there has to be a way to get out of here…" He was sitting in the machine, his fingers flying over the keys. "My mother designed it for normal people to use. It's not hard to set up a destination," he said, answering her questioning look. He didn't even meet her eyes, just kept uploading data and coordinates.
Marron looked at the design of the machine and felt her stomach clench. Did he realize? "…Trunks?" she began.
"What?"
"I think there's only room for one person."
His fingers floated above the keyboard, as if they were frozen. He didn't move at all, his face stricken with terror. It only lasted but a few heartbeats, then his expression changed into something that looked like resolve or determination. "You should go, Marron."
"No!" She took a few steps backwards, her heart in her throat. "I can't do that, Trunks. I can't leave you alone out here!" Desperation crashed over her. She did not want to leave him, never. He was her friend, her god, her everything. She loved him. How could he ask her to do anything like that?
"I'll be fine Marron," he said urgently, but the pain in his eyes clearly telling he was lying. "I want you to get out of here, alright?"
"No, no, NO!" She was suddenly aware of tears streaming down her face. When had she started crying? "Don't let me do this, damn you! I'll just sit on your lap or something, there has to be something we can do! I won't leave you alone! I'd rather die! Why don't YOU go?"
He turned his face away, and she heard just the barest of whispers: "Because I value your life too much."
The whole world went silent for a moment. "What?"
And then it happened. He began to cry. "I love you, Marron. I want you to live…"
"…Wwwhat?" Her whole life she had waited for him to say those words, and now the moment was there and she could only stammer like an idiot. It took a few moments before her senses kicked in again, and she finally had the guts to kiss him.
**
Their tears mingled as their lips found each other. Trunks pulled her close, savoring this last intense moment together. They were standing just in front of the time machine, locked in a tight embrace. It was almost as if the world was spinning around him. He had just realized that he really loved her – he had to do this.
And so, while they were kissing, one arm loosened his grip around her. Déjà-vu reigned supreme as he remembered his father doing something similar to him, so long ago. So this is how you must have felt, father, he thought incoherently, dizzy with the sweet taste of her lips. I'm so sorry, Marron…
A short, violent hit in her neck, and her body went limp in his arms. For a moment he stood there, savoring her warmth, before he scooped her up and turned to the Time Machine.
They are coming, I feel them.
He laid her down on the floor for a few moments, quickly typing in last of the coordinates. Transpiration made his fingers slippery and his eyes pricked. He felt himself near to the point of hyperventilating with sheer terror. This time not only for his own life, but for Marron's. He could save her and go down in that blaze of glory his father would be proud of. He'd go down like a true Saiya-jin. He would be alright. He wouldn't mind dying, if he could only save Marron…
Please Kami, give me one minute. One more minute is all I need… One last minute…
Yet one minute proved to be too much…
Just as his finger stroke the last key and he stepped out of the Time Machine, heat and pressure and pain exploded around him. "NO!" He screamed, and powered instantly up to Super Saiya-jin 2, a level he had achieved during his first encounter with their Silver Terror. He blinked a few times and found himself standing among the debris of the Research Center, directly opposite to a silver-clad figure. "Go away!" he screamed, over the edge of despair. One of his last coherent thoughts was to lead the Terror away from Marron and the Time Machine, before he exploded into battle.
From the first blow on that connected he knew he was losing, as they climbed their way up into the air. Every blow he received made his head spin and his teeth rattle. Every blow he received made him lose his focus a little more, and every blow he received increased his pain. He coughed up blood every time a silver-clad fist connected with his stomach. Yes, he was losing. But he had to keep it up, he had to bring Marron into safety, he had to…
Very few of his own blows even connected. The Terror just kept dodging – no expression on the mask. There was absolutely no way how he could read what his opponent would do next, no way to see any weakness. Just plain cold silver. Deadly silver. It's speed never faltered, and Trunks could hear no ragged breathing but his own.
"Fuck you!" He cried, swinging his fists in fury, powering up just a little more. It was all he could do to prevent from dying in frustration alone. How could he stall? How could he see only a glimpse of hope in this utterly hopeless situation?
***
Down below, Marron felt her body shiver as she fought her way out of the fogginess in her head. She had to sneeze because of all the dust and there was a pressure on her body… Alarmed, she opened her eyes, only to find that she was three feet down under in the collapsed research center. What had happened?
It didn't take long for her mind to connect to the present again as she felt two enormous ki's battling very close.
TRUNKS!
She worked her way out of the ceiling upon her and found that next to her, if she'd glide down this heap of debris and concrete, the Time Machine was still accessible. It was dented and even more dusted, but it should still work.
She looked up into the sunset-colored sky and had to squint her eyes against the bright energy of Trunks' powerful ki. The armor of the Terror gleamed almost golden in the light of the dying sun. Funny, how she could feel the ki, but didn't see anything resembling a ki aura around the Terror. Maybe his armor took care of that?
"That doesn't matter!" she muttered to herself, glancing at the Time Machine. "Trunks would want…" He would want her to escape. He would let her escape and warn their loved ones in the past, leaving this accursed place forever. Yet, she could not. She just couldn't bear to get up and hit that button that would take her away. She couldn't leave Trunks to die here… she would hate herself for all eternity.
"I can't do it… Kami help me…" Marron felt fresh tears making trails in the dust on her cheeks as she tried to make a decision.
***
Trunks did not know where it came from. He felt his awareness dancing on a razor edge – the feeling of sweat vaporizing in the air, the soft breeze caressing his skin, the pricking and burning of his wounds. He was bleeding, and his guts were so clenched he could not make out if he was bleeding internally or if he was just tensed to the maximum.
He tried to anticipate every blow, every attack. Most of the time he failed horribly, but his concentration had saved him from much worse. The Terror was only playing with him, he knew that. He tried to feel and understand his opponent, reaching out and trying to touch his opponent's soul. Vegeta had told him once that Saiya-jin had a sense of rudimentary telepathy, although some Saiya-jin were better at it than others. Trunks had always heavily relied on that sense while sparring or fighting. Yet for the past ten years he had trained with people he knew and understood. The dead end he felt when reaching out for the Terror was as frustrating as its superior strength. He felt as if he were fighting deaf and blind.
Yet this awareness came so suddenly that it totally blew his mind. For a moment he was so stunned that he registered something from his opponent that he did not realize what the feeling was. What was it?
Awareness, curiosity.
Awareness?
The Silver Terror turned its gaze from Trunks and looked down.
Awareness?
His heart heavy, Trunks followed its gaze.
Curiosity?
He could not move, as he saw his greatest nightmare occur before his eyes.
One finger, one beam. Straight down.
It was like it happened in slow motion. As he opened his mouth to scream in denial, it just happened. Here, right before his eyes. That beam. That direction.
Marron never had the time to react. Her chest exploded in a red mist before she had even time to cry out. She fell down like a rag doll, all life drained from her in a heartbeat.
Dead. Her beautiful girlish body, limp between concrete and wood, blood slowly coloring the white dust red. It was probably a very small hole, he could not see it from this distance, but it had very much hit home. It had pierced her heart as if it were nothing.
Marron…
Marron was dead.
The last thing he loved in this world…
Oh no, this can't be happening… no… Marron….this is not true, this can't be true… someone wake me up please…NO…Marron get up!! Please Kami, whatever deity is out there and watching us, put this right because this can't be true, this is not happening to us not happening no its not she is going to live and escape she is not dead not her not her too no no no nononononono
"MARRON!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
His screams pierced the evening sky.
