Like a whisper

 she was gone

Like an angel,

and angels fall

~ Apocalyptica – 'Hope'

Angels fall

There are some advantages to being presumed dead. The good thing about it, for example, is that no one takes you in account, which is very useful when you want to move stealthily.

Goten found this out while he was wriggling himself out of the mountain. He kept his kilevel deliberately lower than the average human and built a wall around his mind, so he could not be detected by anyone. His heart was beating in his throat while he ran to the place where he knew Dende would be hiding. He had to rest rather frequently, because his surpressed ki-level robbed him from his energy. He was battling dizziness and the pain from his injuries, and it was frustrating him to no end. Time was precious now: he was currently too weak to take on anyone, he had no sensu beans on him, and Trunks was dying.

The Terror had left his friend to die, and Goten was absolutely terrified by that particular idea. He climbed the hill as fast as he could to the secluded range of boulders where the others would be. Trunks needed Dende's healing powers, and he needed them quickly. It was too late for his brother, but Goten would rather slit his wrists than let his friend die as well. He could still feel Vegeta battling nearby: a little too close for comfort, really. It seemed like explosions were occurring all around him. His nerves were fraying and he was about to reach the end of his rope when he almost stumbled over Bulma and Bra.

Two identical pairs of shocked blue eyes locked on him, not seeming to believe what they were seeing. Where were the others?

"Where's Dende?" he inquired. "Quick, there isn't much time."

"He's with Piccolo," Bulma responded. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm not, but Trunks almost is. Where the hell is Piccolo?"

"He's a little downhill, on the east side," Bra said. She looked sad, tired, and very, very young. Goten had to resist the urge to hug her and tell her it would be alright. "I'll tell him that you're coming."

"No need," Goten said flatly. "I can find him myself. They can't know I'm alive. Not until I've been healed and Trunks is helped. Until then, I'm dead meat. I want them to know that." And with that, he departed, almost tumbling down the hill in his hurry to get to the Namekians.

*

What do you do when you see your loved ones fall all over again to the hands of your worst nemesis? What do you do when you see the nightmare of three years ago occur all over again?

Future Trunks did not know the answer to that. Bra's grief exploded in his head before his own could, and for a few heartbeats he was too busy fighting off her pain to do anything else. She retreated quickly to her own mind, and that's when his own anguish hit him.

So what are you supposed to feel if a thing like this happens?

Anger? Pain? Despair? All of them?

Trunks just responded in the only way a Saiya-jin prince could: he roared in anger and used his pain to fuel his strength and sharpen his mind. It was all he could do.

The Silver Terror would pay for this. Dearly.

Screaming, Trunks took flight to where Gohan had fallen.

His father would have been proud of him.

*

Young Trunks was blurring in and out of consciousness. Fragments of thoughts, dreams and conversations were playing through his head, until he did not know anymore whether he was awake or not. There was a taste of blood and dirt in his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but failed. An attempt to open his eyes failed just as horribly. The light was too bright, and silver migraine spots were dancing through his vision.

I am dying. This is really it, he thought weakly. What a sucky way to go. There's so much I still want to do.

"You're not dying, Trunks," Marron told him. Her voice was sweet and gentle.

"Yes I am," he protested. Did he say it out loud, or was it all in his mind? "It's a pity really. I haven't even gotten around to kiss you yet."

She laughed. "Don't worry, we'll get to that later."

He really had heard it. It was real! Trunks opened his eyes and squinted at his surroundings. Most of the world was black and silver, but he did see Marrons blue eyes. She looked worried. "Dende's here, Trunks. He's going to heal you."

"Where?" He touched around blindly, pain shooting through his whole body. He winced.

"Don't move, Trunks, I'm right here," The young guardian of Earth told him solemnly. "I am here, I will heal you." He did not feel the warmth at first, because his body was too confused to recognize it as a good feeling instead of pain. But gradually, the warm feeling took over and replaced the pain. He felt his energy returning.

Eventually, he was able to breathe again. Trunks opened his eyes and smiled weakly at the worried faces above him. "Dende, that's a nifty trick you have. Let's get you out of here before they find out what you've done."

The three young warriors nodded at each other and prepared to part ways. Trunks suppressed his kilevel and searched around for Goten. Once they could team up again, they'd have another chance. Oddly enough, he felt a lot better now that he had seen Marron. "Get out of here quickly!" he called after the retreating figures of his saviours.

They did not see the silver face watching them.

*

Vegeta wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth. He was getting very, very ticked off.  "Why won't you just die?" he snarled at his assailant.

Naturally, the Silver Terror did not respond.

Seething with frustration, Vegeta pushed himself back into the air for another round.

Kakarot? What the hell are you doing?

Goku's mind was raw with grief and anger. I am here, he finally answered. His mental voice sounded eerily devoid of emotion. Keep it up, Vegeta, I'll attack his mind. Trunks and Bra managed to destroy one of them this way, we'll take care of the other.

Vegeta smirked, and powered up another Big Bang Attack. That's more like it.

The Silver Terror was too late to dodge or deflect the kiblast, so instead it responded with a kiblast of its own. The energy was raw and silvery. When the two blasts connected, Vegeta felt the shock reverberating through his whole body. He steeled himself, and prepared to push.

You're doing great, Vegeta. Keep pushing. I'll take care of the mental part, Goku's silent voice told him. Glimpses of Goku's mind were shown throughout the struggle while his one-time-rival unleashed a mental attack that would have made Piccolo proud: grief and unyielding anger strengthened both of their powers. They had agreed to fight their own battle so Piccolo and Bra could support Gohan and Future Trunks – and they kept fighting their own battle. They had to. There was no time to check upon their children, even though Goku clearly worried about Goten and Trunks. Vegeta bit on his tongue and tried not to let this distract him. This was more important, this is what it was all about.

They could sort out the rest later.

"Die!" he snarled at his opponent, pouring his very essence into the Big Bang.

*

He was already engaged into the battle when Bra joined him again. Trunks? Are you alright? She asked tentatively. I'm sorry for leaving you.

Trunks did not answer; he was too busy dodging and deflecting the blows from the Silver Terror. No wonder Gohan had such a hard time with this one earlier. Trunks found himself heavily on the defense for the first time today.

Piccolo is okay again. He's going to back up Goten and Young Trunks, although he's not sure whether he can connect with a fused mind, They were in trouble a bit earlier, but Dende has healed them, so they should be fine,  she told him quickly. I'm going to help you.
Whatever you do, do it quickly,
he snapped back at her. His mind felt close to snapping under the heavy concentration and the burden of the fight. Like the last time he had fought the Terror in the other timeline, he was truly struggling to save his own life here.

I will. Bra's focus shifted off his mind. He felt her slide away to another target, and then felt her attacking the mind of the Terror. 

He just hoped it would make any difference, because he had no idea how long he was going to last this way and he was out of sensu beans.

Whatever they did, they indeed had to do it quickly.

*

Close to her, Marron saw Goten burst into power to join his childhood friend in battle once more. Answering the call, Trunks powered up as well. They were flaming in the midday sky, bright and magnificent. She had seen them this way a million times before, but never so ferocious and so determined. It seemed as if the playfulness, that had always seemed to define them, had drained out of them and all that was left was a harsh mercilessness.

"Come, Marron," Dende urged, pulling her sleeve.

Marron nodded, when a silver flash in the corner of her eye startled her. "What was that?" She held her hand above her eyes to shield herself from the bright sunlight. Her eyes scanned the azure blue sky for a moment. A strange feeling of deja-vu overcame her. Didn't someone tell her something about a similar situation?

There. Where Goten and Trunks were going. There was one of the Silver Terror.

Why was it so close by?

…and why was it watching her?

"Shit!" she squealed.

In the end, she had only one second. And to her credit, she used it wisely.

Marron planted her hands in Dende's side, and gave him a fierce shove.

The young Guardian of Earth lost his balance and tumbled down the hill, away from the line of fire. Marron took the blast alone.

The moment the ki pierced her, she recognized the familiarity of the situation.

This was how Future Trunks told her she had fallen in the other timeline. Here she went down again… but at least she had saved the Dragonballs this time.

And then the world went black.

A/N: I officially hate myself now. I'm *so* sorry for doing this, but this scene was just very necessary for the flow of the story. At least we still have the dragonballs..

~ LL