Author's Note
Silver Terror has been my second writing project, and if there's something I have learnt throughout all that blood, sweat and tears, then it is that a writer never writes alone.
So I'd like to offer everyone who has supported this story throughout the early stages, the hiatus and its return: a thankyou from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea how much your support has meant to me, during the writing of this story.
As some of you might know, this story started as a one-shot, an image of a post-apocalyptic world. One-shots are my thing, I usually do not write more – I'm a scene-based writer and I do not really have a head for plots (and let's not even talk about the patience to finish writing on such a long story).
It was your encouragement that made me sit down and lay down a plotline, and it was your encouragement that strengthened my courage to pour my own pain and insanity into this story. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm a normal and happy gal, but I think that we all have this dark side buried deeply inside of ourselves. It was just that mine showed itself some more last year when I was having a hard time. Channeling the anger has kept me sane, mostly, and this story has been such a channel.
Music was another. I'd like to extend my thanks to all the bands that have inspired me to write on when I truly thought this story was dead and buried. I'd like to thank especially the band Apocalyptica, who's intense and dark music stirred up all those old feelings again when I had grown over the pain. It didn't hurt anymore, but it didn't have to. Because when I came to the start of the battle; all I needed was intensity, and Apocalyptica provided it to me. It was a beautiful experience to write this story – it was thrilling, chilling, tear-jearking (I've bawled my eyes out a few times) and wonderful.
I've tried to keep true to the series; drawing on the very interesting concept of timelines and parallel universes, I tried to give it a twist by working with the idea that life tries to follow through with its predestined pattern, even if you mess with it. Because Mirai Trunks gave Goku the cure for the heart virus and warned the Z-Senshi in the series, the earth's doom by evil androids/cyborgs was simply postponed once Destiny got its act together again. And so it did; the same threat returned with the Silver Terror. And again Trunks, bound by the same fate that wanted to repeat itself, was caught in a timeloop, found himself traveling to the past, after losing everything and everyone he ever held dear. Rather tragic, really.
I've also tried to keep the story in the flow of the series; you will find that the way the story is built shares a great similarity with the build-up of a saga in the series. This was done intentionally, as homage to the series that has captivated me since the beginning. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with DBZ; it's like a soap opera you can't stop watching. There are a lot of crap episodes where the plot doesn't go anywhere and the characters just sit around doing nothing, but the gems in between like the Vegeta/Goku showdown, the Gohan/Cell showdown or even Goku's ascend to Super Saiya-jin, made my neckhair stand on end. I believe I even cried when Vegeta died. Both times, I have to admit it. The good episodes make the series worth following for over two years.
I've written Silver Terror to honor the series, to show my appreciation. That is also the reason why this story has a happy ending. For the longest time, up until Bulma made her decision to let Trunks put on the Silver Armor, I did not know whether this story would end happily or not. Bulma's decision was my own – I had no idea what to do with the story, with the ending. And when it came to me that it should end the way it did, it all seemed so fucking natural. It felt like a sense of destiny – this story simply *had* to end this way. And so it did.
Finishing a project like this is beautiful, and I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to finish it. Special thanks go out to Sango, for being there for me the whole time, for brainstorming sessions and editing out my grammar mistakes (my English is getting better every day, but it still isn't sufficient) and my younger sister, Callisto, for her encouragement, but truly, I love you all.
Thank you SO much for sharing this experience with me.
Cheers,
Lanfir Leah.
