Here's a 100 Review Special for all you wonderful people! I hope you enjoy!
I do not own Dragon Ball Z.
Two Halves of a Soul
Review Special: The End of a Future
Trunks watches from the shadows in silence as Gohan, his friend and sensei, fights Android #17. The fight is not going well for the black haired demi Saiya-jin, and even though Trunks' blood boils with the need to help his friend he follows his sensei's command and stays out of the fight. Gohan and Trunks are so caught up in the fight with #17 that they do not notice Android #18 preparing and energy blast until it is almost upon its intended target. Gohan tries to dodge the deadly orb but his injuries slow him down and, as Trunks watches in silent horror, Gohan's left arm is burned away by the energy ball.
• • •
Worry lines crease the youthful face of a beautiful black haired woman while she watches her young daughter play in a small sandbox. Suddenly, pain floods a black haired woman's mind causing her to grab her head. The young child, barely a year old, looks up at her before going back to digging in the sand. And slowly, the pain fades to level tolerable level.
• • •
"Look what you did to our plaything Sis. Now he can't fight back."
"Good. Now maybe you can actually beat him." 18 replies with a smirk.
"Ver…" 17 starts when a large ki blast hits him, sending him flying back into one of the few buildings left standing.
"I'm not…your…play thing!" Gohan pants out.
"Looks like he can fight back just fine to me."
"Yeah. But I don't like broken toys so I think it's time to get rid of him. Do you want to do the honors?"
"No thanks. You're the one who likes to play with the humans."
"Hmm…your loss." 17 says as he seems to absentmindedly toss an energy ball at Gohan.
Trunks watches as his sensei tries to dodge the deadly ball, but it seems to track him and with his energy nearly exhausted there is nothing he can do to deflect to block the blast.
::Good bye Videl. My love. I'm sorry.:: Gohan tells his mate just before the blast consumes him and vaporizes five city blocks.
Trunks powers up just in time to escape the area before the ball explodes. Tears streaming down his face from the loss of his teacher, a man who has been like a brother and father to him.
• • •
::Good bye Videl. My love. I'm sorry.:: The black haired woman hears in her head just as a shrill cry escapes her lips and tears flood down her cheeks while the pain in her head returns with a vengeance, spreading throughout her body, and causing her to fall off the low bench she is sitting on.
The young girl looks up at her mother with concern, this time she knows that something is wrong since she can hear her mother sobbing. "Momma?" She asks. But it goes unnoticed by Videl.
Agony. Total and complete agony. That is the only way she can describe the feeling. The pain seems to burn every nerve in her body. The pain seems cleave her heart in two. And the pain seems to compress her skull as though someone stuck her head in a vice.
Gingerly making her way out of the sandbox and to her mother, the young girl taps her on the arm. "Momma?" She asks again, and this time Videl looks at her, her eyes red from the tears flowing from them.
"Panny…" Videl says so softly that even Pan's sensitive hearing barely picks it up as she pulls the child into her arms. "Goha…daddy…he's…de…" She tries to say, but only chokes on the words. "He's gone away for a while." She manages to say.
But in the little girl's mind she knows, and can feel on some level, what her mother is trying to say. And she too cries even though she does not entirely understand why she and her mother are upset.
• • •
A blue haired woman, Bulma Briefs, still beautiful despite her age and the hardships of almost twenty years, pauses in her work on a time machine when the sound of breaking glass fills the remains of the Capsule Corp. building. Setting her tools aside she gingerly walks to the kitchen to see her son picking up the shattered pieces of a plate. "What's wrong Trunks?" She asks upon seeing the deep sorrow on her son's face.
"The androids…they k-killed him. To them it was fun…"
"Killed who honey?"
"G-Gohan."
Bulma gasps as tears fill her eyes for Gohan has been like a son to her since his parents died. And, even though for the last couple of years she has seen little of her best friend's son, he is still thought of as family.
• • •
(3 days after Gohan's death)
A few days have passed since Videl lost Gohan, her bondmate, to the androids. And now, in the meager home deep in the mountains that Gohan built for them, she is slowly packing up what she will need for her and Pan on their trip to find her husband's student while Pan plays quietly on the floor. As she is moves one of the bags off of the bed so that she can stark to pack Pan's things, she knocks a picture off of the bedside table. Her tears, which she managed to stop for a while, rush down her cheeks once again upon seeing the photograph. It is of her and Gohan not long after they first met, a picture capturing a brief moment of happiness in their lives. The only other times she can recall being just as happy was when she found out that she was pregnant, and then when she held Pan in her arms for the first time. A small smile tugs at her lips as she brushes some dust from the glass while remembering how, before she met Gohan, she had felt that she did not need anyone in her life. That having someone would only make life harder for her. And she remembers how she had resented him at first when he had rescued her from a collapsing building while she herself had been trying to save several people. But within a week it seemed as though neither could stand to be apart. It surprised and scared her at how close she had become in such a short time. But now, looking back, she would not have had it any other way for in the insane and cruel world they live in there is no time to take things slow since each day may be their last. 'Gohan…you were so good to me…too good. I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you in my life.' Videl thinks as she sits the picture back on the bedside table, but she picks it back up and tucks it safely into the bag on the floor before turning back to packing Pan's clothes and a few toys.
With a sigh Videl grabs to two small capsules, containing their clothes and few sentimental items, slings her bag over her shoulder, and picks up Pan. Closing the door behind her, a door to a small humble structure that was more of a home to her then anyplace else she had lived, and sets off for West Capitol in search of the lavender haired boy and his mother.
• • •
"I'm done! I've finished the time machine!" Bulma says excitedly as she bursts into the kitchen where Trunks is eating lunch.
A look that is a strange mixture of happiness and sadness comes to Trunks' face upon hearing this. "Then I'm going." He says solemnly.
"What? Where are you going?"
"I'm taking the time machine back in time. I'm going to warn everyone so that the androids might be defeated."
"No Trunks. You can't. I won…"
"I have to go Mom. I can't stop the androids now, but I might be able to in the past.
"But what if you get hurt? Or killed? I don't know what I would do."
"It's ok Mom. I have to do this…for Gohan…for everyone that's died needlessly."
"Fine…you can go. But only because I know you won't listen to me anyway."
"Thank you Mom!" Trunks says happily as he hugs her.
"You're welcome. But you're not leaving until tomorrow. Is that clear?" Bulma asks coolly while glaring at her son.
"Y-yes Mom."
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to run some final checks on the time machine. If you're going to use it then I want to make sure it's perfect."
• • •
Pan held securely in Videl's arms while darkness falls around them as they fly just above the tops of the trees on their way to West Capitol.
"Cod Momma." Pan says as she rests in her mother's arms.
"Ok Panny. I'll make a small fire." Videl answers back as she lands and sits Pan down before gathering some wood. Then, with a small ki blast, she ignites it. Videl walks back over to Pan and picks her up again, causing a small sigh escapes the child's lips as she snuggles into her mother's arms again.
A restless sleep envelops Videl as she lies down in the dim light of the fire while Pan sleeps in peace beside her.
• • •
(4 days after Gohan's death)
The door to Bulma's lab opens to reveal a lavender haired boy with a sword slung over his shoulder. He can see his mother asleep at her workbench. The sight brings a small smile to his face. 'She works just as hard as ever.' Trunks thinks as he walks over and wakes her up.
"Huh? Wha? Oh Trunks. What do you need honey?" Bulma asks with a yawn.
"It's time for me to go."
"What? Already? It's only…"
"10:00 o'clock in the morning. You slept in a bit."
"Damn it…"
"So is the time machine ready to go?" He asks while looking over the yellow contraption. On one of the legs he sees a single word. Hope.
"Yep. It's already to go." Bulma says as tears come to her eyes while giving her son a hug. "Good luck and…be careful."
"I will Mom. Don't worry."
"Wait! You'll need this!" Bulma calls as she tosses Trunks a bottle just before he closes the hatch.
"What's this?"
"It's the cure for the heart virus Goku caught…uhh…I mean will catch."
"Ok. Bye Mom." Trunks says as the hatch closes and the time machine disappears.
• • •
On the horizon Videl can see thin tendrils of smoke reaching into the sky from the chimneys of a few small homes. With a sigh she lands in the trees just outside the small village so as not to draw to much attention to herself. As she and Pan walk down the single dirt street Videl hears a scream from the building they are in front of. Videl tells Pan to stay put then she quickly runs to the building and looks inside to see a group of five men robbing a mother and her children. With a grunt she kicks the door in, instantly knocking out one of the men who was unlucky enough to be standing too close to it. The remaining four turn to her and look on in shock as they see another of their group be knocked out by a punch to the face from a woman how does not appear that strong. Two of the men charge at her, only to feel her elbows slam into the backs of their heads before hitting the floor. The fifth man is standing on the far side of the room from her and has time to draw a gun just as Videl charges at him, her fist pulled back ready to knock him out. A single shot rings out and Videl can hear the bullet whiz past her head, barely missing her, before her fist impacts with the man's skull.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The woman says gratefully as the five men lay on the floor, unconscious.
"No problem, just glad I could help." Videl says as several people appear in the doorway.
"What happened" One of them asks.
"These men came in to rob the place Poppa. And this nice lady stopped them." A young boy, one of the woman's children, says with a smile.
"Thank you Miss?"
'"Mrs. Son. And it was a no problem. If you'll excuse me, I need to get going. My daughter and I have a long trip ahead of us."
"At least let us repay you for helping my family." The man who spoke before says.
"No thank you. I'm just glad I could help." Videl says as she goes back outside and gets Pan before leaving the village.
• • •
(5 days after Gohan's death)
Several hours pass as Bulma waits for her son's return, but nothing happens. Her concern for her son keeps Bulma awake through the night until early the next morning she can not keep her eyes open. It seems like only a few seconds later that she feels someone gently shaking her. As this dawns on her she bolts upright in her chair only to see Trunks looking down at her. "Trunks! You're back!" She yells happily, instantly awake, as she embraces him.
Trunks looks at her in confusion as to why she is acting like she has not seen him in weeks when he was gone for less then a day. "Yeah Mom, I'm back." He finally says.
"So did you warn them about the androids?"
"Yeah , I did."
"Good, you can tell me all about it over breakfast." Bulma says as she busies herself with making Trunks a decent meal.
• • •
In the circle of dim light provided by the small fire Videl watches Pan sleep peacefully in the distance she can hear a wolf howl at the night sky. It is the only sound on the gently breeze besides the light crackling of the fire. As she watches her daughter Videl realizes that she was almost killed today in that small village. The thought of her dying and some stranger finding and raising Pan to never know her true mother frightens her. And a feeling deep inside her tells Videl that her dying before she can tell anyone is a possibility far greater then she would like. So, to solve this, Videl gets out several pieces of paper and a pen and begins to write. Words flow onto the paper as she tells who ever might read the letter about who she and the little girl are. And she tells about her husband. This causes tears to fall from her eyes and smear the ink. By the time Videl falls asleep she the letter is almost one page long with just an explanation of who she and the young girl are, and what they are doing.
• • •
(6 days after Gohan's death)
The next morning Bulma walks by Trunks' room on her way to the kitchen and sees him getting ready to leave again. "Where are you going?" She asks as Trunks grabs his sword.
"I'm going to go back in time again. I want to see how they're doing."
"Do you think that's really necessary?"
"Yeah. My going back may have changed things, and I want to see how they changed."
"Alright. Just be careful."
"I will Mom. I'll see you later." Trunks says as he leaves the room and goes to the time machine.
• • •
The sound of footsteps on gravel awaken Videl from her restless sleep. Not far off she can see two people walking through the ruins of a city. Panic fills her as she realizes that they set up camp on the outskirts of a demolished city and that the two people are none other then the androids numbers 17 and 18, the two most feared beings on the Earth and the murderers of Gohan.
Luckily they do not seem to have noticed Videl and Pan. As they lazy walk through the destruction they caused. Quietly, Videl picks up Pan and slowly moves towards the trees a few feet away. But just as she is safely within the shadows of the trees a stick snaps under Videl's foot. The sound catches the attention of the two androids as Videl freezes in place, the early morning sun is still low on the horizon causing the area Videl and Pan are in to be almost completely hidden in darkness.
When the androids appear to lose interest in the noise Videl begins to slowly move deeper into the forest, but 17 sees her movements and fires a energy blast at her. Again luck is on her side, but this time only partially, as the blast hits the ground near her instead of directly hitting her. But the resulting blast sends her flying towards a tree. She is able to turn so that she is between the tree and Pan, but the impact seems to break a rib or to for there is a great pain in her side and lower back.
The androids seem satisfied that they killed whoever, or whatever, was hiding in the forest and take off to find something to do.
Videl pushes herself up as pain shoots through her lower back and side to find that Pan is still asleep. 'Just like your father.' She thinks. 'The world could explode around you and you wouldn't wake up unless your hungry or you…well your no where near old enough for that.'
As the sun rises higher into the sky, Videl can begin to make out some of the burned and abandoned structures and sees that she is in a fairly big city. On the horizon she can see the shapes of skyscrapers that once stood proud, but are now falling down. While Videl is looking at the once great structures on the horizon, one of them catches her eye. It is a large dome, or at least part of a large dome. 'Capsule Corp.' Videl thinks as she shifts to a more comfortable position to try and ease the pain. "We're almost there Panny. I think we'll wait until dark and then go there. It's too dangerous during the day with the androids around." She says softly to the still sleeping girl in her arms.
• • •
"Mom! I'm back!" Trunks calls as he walks into Capsule Corp.
"Thank Kami." Bulma says as she looks up from her cup of coffee. "So how did things work out?"
"Well…it turns out that there were six androids. Two of them were already destroyed when I got there, then 17 and 18 showed up along with this other android 16." Trunks says while getting a glass of water.
"That's five. What about the sixth one?"
"The sixth was this thing called Cell. He was incredibly strong and, get this, Gohan beat him by attaining a new level of super Saiya-jin! It was wild."
"I'm sure it was."
"Yeah. And while I was there I did some training with Dad, now that was an experience." Trunks said excitedly, not noticing the sorrow in his mother's eyes upon hearing him talk about Vegeta. "And now I'm strong enough to defeat the androids here in this time."
"What? Really?"
"Yep. Which is what I'm going to go do now."
"No, rest a while. I'm sure you need to after all you've been through."
"Nope. I'm fine. The androids won't even be able to touch me. Bye Mom!" He yells as he runs out of the building in search of the evil creations.
• • •
Videl watches Pan play quietly with a few of the toys she had packed for her when two large explosions appear on the horizon. Seconds later the shock wave and roar of the explosions rockets past them as two columns of dust and smoke billow into the sky. Pan starts to cry at the loud noise but Videl quickly calms the girl as she watches the horizon. She looks on in sadness for Videl thinks that the androids found some people to obliterate from the face of the Earth. But in truth, those two columns of smoke mark the places where the two androids last existed on the planet.
Several minutes later a third explosion appears on the horizon marking the death of Cell, a being unknown to all but Trunks and Bulma.
After the smoke from the third explosion clears, Videl takes out the letter she has been writing and continues to add to it.
• • •
Trunks runs into his home while shouting about how he has finally stopped the androids. The news is something that Bulma has been waiting many years to hear, and in celebration she sets about fixing a feast for her son and herself. While Bulma is cooking, Trunks puts on some music and cranks the volume up high. All the noise draws the attention of some of the other survivors in the area and the come to see what is going on. The news of the androids destruction spreads like wildfire, and soon a full-blown party is taking place at Capsule Corp. with people laughing, dancing, eating, and just having a good time. But as darkness falls over the city people return to their homes and shelters for the night. After the last guest leaves, Trunks and Bulma go to bed, leaving the mess for later.
• • •
By the time the sun is low on the horizon the letter is several pages long, and practically contains everything that has happened since she met Gohan. Just before she puts the letter away Videl is wracked by a coughing fit. And in the dim light she does not notice the red on her hand and on the letter as she tucks it away in her backpack. When the sky is black Videl takes to the air and flies towards Capsule Corp. She can see that the large dome is lit up as she gets closer to it. The pain in her side worsens and makes the flight unsteady as she flies through the night air with Pan held tightly in her arms. Once over the outskirts of the city Videl lands, no longer able to fly due to the pain in her abdomen. She slowly walks through the ruble, being careful not to trip and fall. When they are only a few blocks from Capsule Corp. Videl sits down to rest. While she sits with her back against a burned out building she lays Pan beside her and takes the letter out of her pack. And just before blackness consumes her she adds one final line.
• • •
(7 days after Gohan's death)
As the sunlight streams into Trunks' bedroom it awakens the sleeping demi Saiya-jin. With a yawn Trunks stretches and gets dressed while deciding to, for the first time in his life, go and run. No, not to run for his life or to try and escape something, but just run for the fun of it. Just to feel the wind against his face. Silently he slips out of his home and starts jogging down the street, but his run is cut short when he sees a young girl crying while shaking a woman. As he nears her he can begin to make out what the girl is saying in-between sobs.
"Wak ep Momma! Wak ep!" The little girl cries while shaking the woman.
Trunks' jog slows to a walk as a sinking feeling fills the pit of his stomach upon seeing the ashen complexion of the woman.
The young girl sees Trunks slowly walking towards her. "Hep Momma?" She asks as her tear filled eyes fall on Trunks.
Bending down next to the black haired woman, he checks for her pulse. And, like he thought, there isn't one. Looking the woman over, he can see a thin trail of blood coming from the woman's mouth and, a nasty looking bruise covering her side where her shirt has ridden up, and a letter clutched tightly in her hand. "Come on. We'll go get help for your mother." He says to the young girl.
Pan only nods her head as Trunks picks her up and heads back to his home.
"Mom? Where are you?" Trunks yells when he gets back to his home.
"In the kitchen dear." Bulma replies while cooking some eggs. 'Where else would I be at this time of the morning.' She thinks when Trunks runs enters the room. "Are you…who's that?"
"I don't know…"
"You don't know? Then why is she with you?"
"Me Pan." The little girl in Trunks' arms says. "Momma hut."
"Trunks, what is she talking about? Who's hurt?"
"I was going to go for a run this morning and I found her." Trunks says while sitting Pan in a chair. "Her mother died." He adds softly after pulling her aside.
"The poor dear." Bulma says as she looks over at Pan who is hungrily eyeing the eggs cooking in he stove. "Are you sure that…you know."
"Yeah, I checked for a pulse." Trunks says solemnly.
"Ok…I'll watch her while you go…bury her mother."
"Alright." Trunks says softly before leaving the room.
Several minutes later Trunks looks around in surprise at the spot where he found the young. The backpack is still leaning against the building and the letter is now under a small rock but the body is gone. There's no signs that someone carried or dragged the body away, nor is there anything to suggest that the woman got up and left. With a shrug, he grabs the backpack and letter and goes back to Capsule Corp. While he is walking back he glances at the letter and stops dead in his tracks. There, clearly written is the name Gohan. Backing up to the beginning he starts to read the letter. Shock spreads across his features as he reads the letter while continuing to walk back home.
"Mom, you're never going to believe this. But the little girl here, Pan, is Gohan's daughter." Trunks says as he walks back into the kitchen.
Bulma looks up in surprise as she feeds Pan. "Gohan had a kid?"
"Yes. And according to the letter, that woman was his wife."
"Well that explains why he hasn't been around here much in the last couple of years."
"Yeah, but that woman, Videl, she knew that she wouldn't make it…and before she died she added one last line to the letter." Trunks says as a few tears come to his eyes.
"What did she say?"
"She wants us to raise Pan. She wants us to make sure she knows who her parents were. And she wanted Pan to grow up not knowing a life lived in terror."
Several tears fall from Bulma's eyes as her voice catches in her throat. "Oh…"
• • •
A couple of days pass at Capsule Corp. as Trunks and Bulma take care of Pan. Several times Pan has asked where her mother is. And each time they just tell her that she had to leave for a while but that she will see her again some day.
Early on the third morning after Trunks found Pan a man comes to their home to ask for Bulma to come with him and help rebuild his city. She agrees and, after packing a few things, goes with him.
A few days later Bulma returns with what appears to be a bad cold. Trunks gets her to allow him to run a few tests just to be safe. And the results sicken him. It is not a cold that his mother has but a genetically engineered virus. After several more tests he is surprised to see that the virus can not be spread by someone who is infected, this makes him feel a bit easier until the results of two other tests come up. One shows the projected mortality rate of the virus. At first he thinks that test results are wrong so he runs them again only to see the same result. The virus is one hundred percent lethal with no indication that a cure is even possible to make. The second test reveals something that makes his blood boil and his mind reel. On each virus cell is the symbol of Dr. Gero. This one man, who managed to single handedly bring death and destruction upon the entire human race in the form of the androids and Cell, apparently had one final back up plan in case his other creations where somehow destroyed.
For two days he takes care of Pan while working to prove the test results wrong and find a cure, all the while watching his mother slowly die in her bed. Early on the third day, before the sun is completely above the horizon, and just after giving her some pain medication, Trunks watches in horror as his mother stops breathing. He tries to reviver her but his attempts fail. While he stands there, tears streaming from his eyes, his mother's body fades away into nothingness.
Slowly he turns and leaves the room to get still sleeping Pan. He vaguely hears a man on the radio talking about hundreds of people dying all over the world from a mysterious illness while he gets the capsule containing the time machine. And, with one final look at the place that has been his home since he was born, he and Pan get into the time machine and leave, never to return.
So did you like? I know it was sad, but I honestly don't know how the Mirai Timeline can be happy, or at least not one that causes Trunks to return to the past to stay.
In case you can't tell, I will be having Mirai Trunks and Mirai Pan returning to the past. But don't bother asking me when that will happen in the fic because I honestly do not know. All I'll tell you is that it will happen before Gohan and Videl are 21 years old.
Please Review.
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