Be scared of me
Behind my power
I will hide all my
fears
It is fierce and it moves slow
~The Gathering, 'Locked Away'
Be Scared Of Me
"The things we do for love…" Trunks whispered, looking at the sky for what seemed the last time. The sky was starting to tint a tender lavender color in places – the color of early twilight. He would end this. For Marron. The shreds of his sanity seemed a small price to pay for her life… all of their lives.
Trunks placed the silver mask on his face, immersing himself into the silver, holding nothing back. He gave himself to the armor, allowed it all to be swallowed into the silver. There was a sensation of rolling and dripping, like mercury.
(cold)
(so cold)
The silver encased him now, protecting him like a precious jewel. It dulled his senses and his pain… never mind that he was so cold inside. At least it did not hurt as much anymore.
Did it?
(i)
(am)
(so)
(cold)
He tried to touch around in his mind, to probe and sense, but all he could feel was the silver surrounding him. He felt claustrophobic at once – was this how it was not to be telepathic? To be stuck in your own mind, with your thoughts, alone and trapped?
He tried to gasp and found he could not breathe. Yet he was still functioning. He was still standing and looking around at a dull overcast world that seemed devoid of color – and while he could not detect the beating of his heart or the heaving of his lungs, he was still alive. Alive in the most practical sense of the world, that was.
He was not sure if he wanted to be.
When the worst feelings of entrapment and claustrophobia began to subside, Trunks became aware of his duty again. Gotenks. His silver adversary. The fight. The battle. Revenge.
He had nothing to be afraid of anymore.
All at once, he exploded into the peak of his power, and found that he could reach much, much higher. He let out a delighted scream that no living soul would ever hear (it echoed in his own mind, but that was enough for now – it even created a sense of intimacy) and took off into the lavender sky. He spiraled with delight, indulging in his newfound power. This should be enough. With this he could have his (sweet, wonderful, glorious, sweet, sweetsweetsweet) revenge. The Terror would pay.
He felt another mind brush his shields, but he brutally pushed it away. He did not need this. It was not relevant. He needed to… he needed to fight. To hurt. And he would be all alone in his battle. It would be all his. He would shine, and he would make his enemy bleed.
***
Behind him/them, Gotenks felt power spiking. Unbelievable, incredible power. That had to be Future Trunks, he decided. It could not be anything else – the ki was too familiar. Too much like part of his own ki, but older, wiser, sadder… and more ruthless. Future Trunks' ki felt tainted somehow, and there was something odd about it. Gotenks could not focus on it; it felt as if his battle instinct was being deflected: like touching a mirror.
Actually, it was much like trying to reach out to the Silver Terror he was trying to beat senseless. Aside from the blinding headache, of course. He had lost part of his vision in his right eye, and he was too numb to feel where he was bleeding. He did not doubt that it was from various places. Future Trunks was right on time; Gotenks was not sure if he could hold out much longer. Pain exploded in his stomach when he failed to defend from a nasty punch in the stomach. Blood-flecked spit sparkled in the last sunrays for a moment as he doubled over in pain. A kick against his head immediately followed. He knew it had been coming, but he had been unable to dodge.
Oh well, at least I got a few good hits in before I went down, he thought hazily while the wind whistled in his ears. When he landed, all of the air was hit out of his lungs. Gasping for breath and fighting for his consciousness, the last thing Gotenks saw was sunlight gleaming on the two silver figures hovering above him/them.
It's all in your hands now, Future Trunks. I did what I could…
***
Gritting her teeth, Bulma dragged the two unconscious youths in her aircar. It wasn't as if they were that heavy, but she had to be careful with them, as they were bleeding from numerous cuts and lacerations. The constant shuddering and moaning of the earth under her boots did not make it any easier. Dende kneeled next to them to assess their physical situation. They looked even worse for wear now, Bulma thought, chewing on her lip as she climbed in as well. She glanced one more time over her shoulder at the people in the back. "Are you all comfortable there?" she asked Dende. He was the only one awake. Piccolo was still in that strange state of coma, and Bra was far, far away.
The Guardian of Earth nodded. "We are alright. Please, we have to leave now; there is no time to waste."
"Okay." Bulma nodded and turned the key for ignition. Ignoring the glaring kiblasts above her, she hit the gas and they sped away. She wanted to get as much distance between them and the two combatants as soon as possible; there was too much ki being thrown around here. Staying would be simply too dangerous, even though her heart yearned to see her future son fight the battle of his life.
Besides, they had to use the dragonballs, and it was too perilous to summon the Eternal Dragon in the middle of a battlefield. They needed space, safety, time… and if she were wishing anyway, then they needed a lot of luck, too.
***
Yesyesyes, come to me-
He was drinking in the energy – all he could muster and more.
Drinking and drowning and indulging…
(and fighting, don't forget the fighting)
Fighting was almost an afterthought. He was overflowing with energy – throwing something in the general direction of his opponent was the easiest thing in the world. It would have been boring if he had not felt so good.
He felt so good…
It was razor-sharp, white-hot and mercury and blood-red, but it felt deliriously good. Because it was him that was the energy. The energy was all his to bathe and to indulge in. The energy was everything; never mind that it was tainted by hate.
He was everything.
***
Dende had almost finished healing Goten, when a choked sound next to him made him look up. He locked eyes with a very distraught looking Bra. "What is it, Bra?" he asked.
The young girl looked at him with blue eyes filled with terror, not even aware of the dangerously high speed the aircar she sat in was traveling with. She just looked at Dende in despair. "I can't reach him," she gasped. "I don't know what to do anymore…"
The young Guardian of Earth did not know what to answer her.
***
It was not even a fair battle, but he enjoyed crushing his opponent. The armor was dented now – it did not shine as brightly anymore
(that's because I stole it)
he enjoyed that – he enjoyed the whistle of the wind in his air, the mercury in his blood, the sound his first made when they connected
(like splintering)
He could end it of course.
But why would he?
Absently, he swatted away yet another attempt on intrusion of his mind shields.
***
When they had reached a location that was remote enough for her liking, Bulma hit the brakes abruptly. She found herself on a beach to the east of where the battle was taking place. The sheer amount of energy that was being summoned made her neckhair stand on end even out here. She forced herself not to look at the flashes of color that were discoloring the sunset – it would only make her worry. And there was work to do.
She opened her case of capsules while the others were climbing out of the aircar. Dende was half-carrying Bra out. Her daughter had been crying again, Bulma noticed. Her heart went out to her. Goten and Trunks got out all by themselves. They looked immensely tired and still rather disheveled. "How's your head?" she asked them.
"Achy," Trunks answered shortly. He looked at his childhood friend. "But I can focus again. Can you?"
The youngest Son nodded tentatively. "Yes. But everything aches anyhow. That's because of the healing – I'm all stiff. But we'll be fine. Let's just call the Dragon, Bulma. Don't worry about us."
"Alright."
The capsule opened with its trademark BOOM, revealing seven amber balls that gleamed in the evening sunlight. They all exhaled with relief. The dragonballs were there, they were real, and they would solve everything, like they always had.
"Dende," said Bulma with a voice strained with tension, "would you be so kind to summon the Eternal Dragon for us?"
"Of course," the Namek smiled, and called forth his Dragon.
***
Bra desperately tried to gather her despairing mind. It felt as if she had knocked over a glass of water that contained her thoughts, and as if they were spilling everywhere now. She had problems concentrating, mostly because she was so scared. She was terrified.
I promised him, I can't let him down. Come ON! Trunks please, we have a link… we were connected all that time, why did you shut me out?
She was banging on a wall of silver: a massive mirror, too solid to break through.
It did not feel like Trunks at all. Not like the sweet, pained look in his eyes, every time he looked at her. Not like her saddest biggest brother, no matter what future he came from. He had hugged her and she had given him all the support she could, and he had been there, always, when she needed him, and gratefully taken what she gave him.
She loved him. He was her big brother. A wall of silver shouldn't be able to separate them, right? Trunks! I am here! Please, listen to me Trunks!
(I DON'T NEED YOU) the thought thundered in her mind.
Her breath caught. A jolt of adrenaline made her shudder. Is this my brother? she wondered, touching the impenetrable silver wall. He seemed so… alien. So overpowering. Like a God. Not like her big future brother.
(I AM MORE THAN THAT. NOW GO AWAY)
Bra's mental fingers made the silver ripple. I don't care about that. You are my brother. I have to be with you. I promised.
He did not answer… but Bra did not mind. At some level, some part of him, he was listening. And for now, that was enough. She took a deep breath, and filled her mind with images of the people she knew he loved. He would listen, and that was all she needed. She knew the path to his heart.
And so she sent a mental picture of Marron in sunlight, the way she had been on the party, almost a year ago.
***
"I am summoned," the Eternal Dragon boomed. "What are your wishes?"
Dende looked up at the Dragon in the darkened sky. The dragonballs were his own creation, but it still awed him every time he saw what they could do. "I wish for the resurrection and the restoration to power of my friends that passed away today. Please make it so."
The dragoneyes glowed. "It is done."
"Yes!" Goten cheered, high-fiving his friend.
"What is your second wish?"
Dende hesitated for a moment. "I suppose you can't tell us how we can get Trunks out of his armor?"
"The only one who can do that is himself. I cannot tell you more."
"Thank you, Eternal Dragon. We would like to make our second wish."
The Dragon hovered over them. "Tell me."
"I would like for the ones you just resurrected, to be here with us now. Could you bring them?"
"It will be done. I will go back to sleep now."
Within a heartbeat, the Dragon disappeared. The dragonballs flashed their magical light once more, and then sped off in different directions. It would be a year before they could be used again. But that did not matter, because behind him Piccolo stirred in the aircar, and Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Marron materialized out of thin air.
"Welcome back, warriors," said Dende warmly.
Bulma made a sound deep in her throat and seemed to hesitate for a second before leaping into Vegeta's arms. Reflexively, he caught her and held her for a moment, burying his face in her hair. Their moment was short, but full of warmth, before he let her go and muttered something about embarrassment and public.
"Thank you Dende," Goku answered brightly, wrapping his arms around his two sons. "It is good to be back."
And there was one more reunion, but that one was wordless. Marron had thrown herself around young Trunks and was kissing him passionately. The demi Saiya-jin did not hesitate; he kissed her back joyfully. When their kiss finally ended, she looked at him with twinkling eyes and grinned: "So now we got to kiss at last."
"I do not know why I waited so long," Trunks answered, smiling down on her and hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad to see you."
The Guardian of Earth looked upon the Z Senshi, and felt hopeful inside.
