DISCLAIMER: Neither DBZ or Sailor Moon are owned by me. Any characters in this story are the property of their original creators. (Example... Akira Toriyama owns Trunks, Naoko Takeuchi owns Ami, and I own Rosemary, Angelica, or Chamomile, though I'd be willing to trade. XD)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to Love In A Ruined World, my Mirai Trunks/Ami romance fic from last year. (The Trunks in this fanfic is Mirai Trunks, and the Bulma in this fic is from Mirai Trunks' future timeline.) If you haven't read Love In A Ruined World, you can still read this, but you might be confused, so if you want to read the first fic in the series, it's in my profile. In the continuity of both series, this fic takes place after Mirai Trunks goes back to the future after the Cell Saga, and after the SuperS season in the Sailor Moon continuum.
Reviewer Thanks-
Zyppora: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter... The battles aren't over yet! Still some very good action prepared for this chapter!
Sonar de Suenos: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter!
MWD: It looks like it... that doesn't mean that's the way it's going to be, though.
GracedAngel1854: Trunks is in quite a fix, isn't he? Hope you like this chapter....
---
Trunks could feel his strength slipping away as he struggled to stand. He could sense the cold, contempt-filled glare from Pandemonium's eyes, could smell the blood and sweat pouring from his bruised and beaten form, and for a second, he could even see his life flashing before his eyes. Conjuring up all the strength he could muster, Trunks stood tall and clenched his fists, pulled back his arms and flared up his energy aura.
"This isn't over," Trunks said. "Not by a long shot."
Trunks flew at Pandemonium and began throwing a series of punches at his head. For Pandemonium, it seemed like Trunks' punches were in slow-motion, and he was easily able to dodge each and every single one with a minimal amount of effort. Finally, a punch came in that Pandemonium didn't block. Instead, he grabbed Trunks' wrist and began tightly constricting his grip, putting an immense strain on the fragile bones. Almost immediately, Trunks let out a cry of pain and nearly lost his balance, falling halfway to one knee. He regained his composure quickly, but just as he began to try and break loose from Pandemonium's grip, Pandemonium released Trunks' wrist and kicked him in the face, causing Trunks to fly back for a great distance before finally coming to a stop, using his feet to skid across the ground until he was able to steady himself.
Trunks knew that the physical approach would no longer work, so he pointed his arms at Pandemonium and fired a flurry of ki blasts. As the blasts came in, Pandemonium stood still, not moving an inch or even firing his own magical blasts to counter. Instead, he simply smacked away the blasts as they flew by, knocking them into the back wall of the room, each one making impact against the wall with a loud, fiery explosion. With a cry of frustration, Trunks flared up his aura and flew at Pandemonium, trying to tackle him to the ground. Before Trunks got even halfway there, however, Pandemonium leapt into the air and somersaulted all the way behind Trunks, blasting him in the back with a magical energy blasts and causing Trunks to fall face first onto the floor, skidding several dozen feet before finally coming to a rest in the center of the room.
"I can't... I can't even hit him anymore!" Trunks thought as frustration slowly began to sink in. "This... this isn't fair! It's not fair at all!"
"What's the matter, Trunks?" Pandemonium asked, standing several feet behind the still-downed half-Saiyan as he lay prostrate on the ground. "Have you finally lost your will to fight?"
As Trunks tried to stand, he gave an agonized groan, as every single movement of his muscles had become terribly painful. Suddenly, he could feel Pandemonium's foot pressing into his back, and then he was back to square one, pressed flat on the ground yet again. The bottom of Pandemonium's boot continued to press harder into Trunks' back, and Trunks began to scream yet again.
"Get up!" Pandemonium shouted, his voice filling with violent anger. "Get up, if you've got the strength! Oh, wait... you don't have the strength, do you, Trunks?"
Pandemonium kicked Trunks hard in the side, rolling him onto his back. With a smirk on his face, Pandemonium kicked Trunks in the side again, twice as hard. A sickening crack could be heard as Pandemonium's foot made contact with Trunks' ribs, and again Trunks let out a scream of pain.
"Dammit... there go two of my ribs," Trunks thought, knowing immediately the damage Pandemonium's kick had caused. "I have to get up! I have to..."
Trunks gasped, and his eyes opened wide. As Pandemonium began to kick Trunks again, he stopped in mid-kick and glanced down at Trunks with a look of curiosity.
"What is it now, Trunks?" Pandemonium asked. "Did you leave the oven on at home or something?"
Suddenly, Trunks' entire body lit up with golden energy. Without a word, he climbed to his feet, electricity pulsating all about him. Pandemonium stepped back slightly, and a surprised expression appeared on his face.
"What in the-"
"Now I know why I've been losing," Trunks said. "I've been fighting you at the same level of power with which I defeated Frieza, which was about half of my full power. I hold back because I'm worried that my full power might have an adverse effect on my body. But now I know that holding back my power will have a worse effect than unleashing my true strength could ever have."With a loud scream, Trunks pulled in his arms close to his chest and began gathering a huge amount of ki energy. Within seconds, Trunks had finished powering up, and was ready to resume the fight.
"I'm insulted that you held back, Trunks..." said Pandemonium angrily, staring at Trunks with hatred in his eyes. "I'm stronger than you could ever be!"With that, Pandemonium flew at Trunks. Trunks held his ground, ready for Pandemonium's attack.
"Trying to fight Pandemonium at half-power... THAT was my mistake... I just hope 75% is good enough...."
---
Back in Nihimo Town, the fight had been taken up to the rooftops, where Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus were engaging a group of fighters who had attacked a family earlier. The Senshi had prevented any harm to the family, and they had driven the attackers all the way to a rooftop about fifteen feet above the city streets.
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
The flames rushed toward the lead attacker in a bright, glowing stream. As they drew near, the fighter put up his hand to block the attack.
"Is he insane?" Sailor Venus shouted. "He'll have his hand burned off!"But when the flames hit the attacker's hand, they didn't burn it at all. Instead, it seemed as if the flames were stopped up against it, like they'd run into a wall. Sailor Mars gasped in shock.
"Hey, that's not-"
Suddenly, several blasts from the fighters' guns hit Sailor Mars all at once, causing a large concussion blast that knocked her off her feet. The other two Senshi immediately rushed to her side."Sailor Mars, are you alright?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Yeah," Sailor Mars groaned as she slowly began to stand up. "Just... just hurry! Go defeat them before they get away!"
Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus turned back toward the fighters, ready to make their own attacks. Suddenly, all eight fighters drew their weapons and blasted the two Senshi. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus stood their ground, raising their hands and firing two small blasts of magical energy. The magical energy blasts disintegrated the blasts from the fighters' weapons, barreling right through them and smashing into the squad with immense force. There was a large explosion, and all eight of them were knocked off of the room to the ground below. A small hole in the roof of the building indicated the damage caused by the blast. Sailor Venus ran over to the hole and poked her head down into the building to check and see if anyone had been hurt. The family hadn't returned yet, so the only serious damage inside the house was a few broken plates, shattered when plaster from the ceiling had fallen onto them.
"We're not... gonna have to replace those, are we?" Sailor Venus asked, a bright blush on her face.
---
"Patrick, that was incredible!" Cammy said, looking out at a group of about twenty or thirty armed fighters who had been frozen solid by one of Patrick's ice blasts. "I was kinda worried when they had us backed into a corner..."
"Why were you worried?" Patrick asked, turning to Cammy with a serious look on his face. "I thought you were tougher than that. I mean, you're almost as tough as me."
"Almost as tough?" Cammy shouted indignantly. "Look here, Patrick... I defeated you in battle and saved your life. I'm much tougher than you are!"
"Then why did I have to take those guys out?" Patrick asked, not looking at Cammy as he sidestepped the frozen fighters and began walking out of the alley. "You coming, or not?"
"Mm-hmm," Cammy said, slowly following Patrick as he walked into the main street. As she walked with him, she began to notice something, about Patrick and about herself. "He seems... a lot more peaceful than he normally is... he's definitely not in the same mindset that he was in when he... when he... he seems a lot different now, like someone I've known for a long time... someone I've been fighting with, and not against... almost like... a friend? Am I already that close to forgetting what happened?"
As Patrick entered the street, he looked first to his left, and then to his right. None of the terrible fighters were visible, and it was clear that they were mostly gone from Nihimo Town.
"Looks like we've just about cleared them out, Cammy..." Patrick said, turning to her. "You did... you did really well.""You did too, Patrick!" Cammy said, a smile appearing on her face. "You beat way more of those guys than I did!"
"You were just... a little nervous is all... I'm sure you could have... you could have..."
As Patrick saw the friendly, gentle smile on Cammy's face, his lip began to quiver. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out of his mouth except for a quiet, almost sob-like squeak. Cammy's face softened, and for a brief instant, she reached out to Patrick, her fingers extending toward his own body.
"Cammy, I... I just... I haven't said this, and I think I should..."
Patrick knew that though he'd told Cammy he regretted what he did to her, he never once apologized, fearing that his apology would never be sincere enough to be truly genuine, and he didn't want to do that to Cammy, or to himself. But now he knew, as he saw the smile on Cammy's face and the caring expression in her eyes... now he knew he was sorry, and he had to tell her... before it was too late.
"I... Cammy, I...."
"What is it, Patrick?" Cammy asked softly, walking over to him. "Don't worry about beating all of those guys, I needed a rest anyway, and if we see anymore, I'll handle them, okay?"
"That's not it, Cammy..." Patrick said, beginning to bow his head to the ground when he realized he could no longer look into Cammy's eyes without being overcome by regret and shame. "Cammy... I... I..."
And that was when Patrick began to sob. His hand flew up to his face, and he collapsed to the ground on one knee. Immediately, Cammy was upon him, her gentle hand raising up his head so that he was looking right at her. He turned his head away, but Cammy gently but firmly turned his head back toward her own, looking at him with a gaze that reflected nothing but the most caring and concern expression.
"It's... it's me, isn't it?" Cammy asked. "Patrick, I-"
"I'm so sorry...." Patrick gasped, as tears began falling down the sides of his face. "Cammy, I never should have... I hurt you, and I'm so, so very sorry..."
"Patrick..."
---
As soon as Pandemonium's fist took its first swing at Trunks' face, Trunks was ready, catching the quick-moving fist in his hand and holding it back almost effortlessly. Pandemonium groaned, but the expression on his face never changed. Whether he was surprised or not, Trunks couldn't tell.
"It's... not so easy now, is it?" Trunks asked, squeezing down on Pandemonium's fist with as much force as he could muster. Pandemonium raised his other hand to Trunks' face and blasted him with a burst of magical energy. Trunks was stunned, but never released his grip on Pandemonium's hand. The smoke cleared, revealing that the blast had done no noticeable damage to Pandemonium. Trunks now took his turn to attack. He raised his fist and swung it at Pandemonium, who raised up his own hand and caught Trunks' fist. The two warriors now stood joined, jockeying for position with a firm grip on one of the other's fists. They pushed as hard as they could, but neither could gain any ground. As Trunks pushed Pandemonium back, he could feel a great, lingering pain, obviously caused by the many prominent cuts and bruises on his body. He began to clench his teeth as the pain grew stronger and stronger. Suddenly, with a great burst of magical energy, Pandemonium broke free from Trunks and leapt back so that he was standing the same distance from Trunks as he had stood just moments earlier, right after Trunks had powered up. Pandemonium's magical energy aura was glowing stronger than ever, and as Trunks gazed at it, he knew that he'd still have a long way to go to win the fight. His broken ribs still pained him greatly, and they grew more and more painful with every move that Trunks made, from the quickest flight to the tiniest twitch of a muscle. For a brief split-second, Trunks could see Pandemonium's eyes flash toward Trunks' ribs before looking back up to gaze into the half-Saiyan's eyes once again.
"Ready to do this?" Pandemonium asked, his fists clenched tightly. "Why don't you come at me this time?"
Trunks smiled, and then shook his head.
"I'm not afraid of you," said Trunks, "but I'd like to avoid flying into an obvious trap."
"Suit yourself," Pandemonium said, lifting off of the ground and taking flight toward Trunks once more. This time, Trunks extended his arms outward, obviously ready to fire another powerful ki blast. He clenched his teeth and began gathering as much ki energy as he could.
"This has to work," Trunks thought, even as Pandemonium drew nearer and nearer. He could feel his prominent golden aura swelling up as his energies all converged into a singular point, right out in front of the rapidly flying Pandemonium. "FINAL FLASH!"
A single gigantic burst of energy exploded right in front of Pandemonium's face, showering him in brilliant white light. The explosion filled the entire room, engulfing Trunks as well as Pandemonium, who was caught hopelessly in the epicenter of the blast. Not stopping for a single moment, Trunks flew into the blast, determined to finish of Pandemonium while he still had the chance. He knew that while his Final Flash was extremely powerful, it would probably leave Pandemonium alive, but very injured and very stunned. He flew into the vast expanse of solid light, and soon saw Pandemonium floating in the air, his eyes tightly closed. His clothes were torn in numerous places, and his body was covered in cuts and burns, most of them caused by the incredible blast. Trunks readied his fists to deliver a flurry of punches, but just as he reached Pandemonium, the powerful warrior seemed to disappear, right before his eyes. For a second, Trunks scanned the white haze as it slowly dimmed and faded, wondering if Pandemonium had simply backed off into the flash.
"He's gotta be here somewhere... he just floated back a little ways, I know it!" Trunks thought, not knowing nearly how wrong he was. As he turned around, he could hear a brief swoosh of air that lasted only thousandths of a second. That was immediately followed by a burning, agonizing pain that ripped through Trunks' midsection and filled his entire body, causing him to immediately fall to his knees. Pandemonium's mighty kick had slammed right into Trunks' fractured ribs, and the pain was unbearable, even for the powerful half-Saiyan. He tried to scream, but could only muster a weak gasp as he futilely tried to crawl about the ground. The white flash faded completely, and Trunks looked up, only to receive another brutal kick, this time in the middle of his face. The kick knocked Trunks back across the ground, his nose shattered by the force of Pandemonium's kick. He skidded along the ground, and for the first time, he could issue forth a scream that sounded more animal than human, a scream of intense pain that felt like the fires of hell were burning Trunks alive. A thin stream of blood began to trickle from his lips, while a much thicker stream gushed down his nose. He climbed back up onto all fours in order to let the blood fall to the ground, collecting in a large pool under his body as he slowly climbed back onto his two feet. As soon as he'd reached a vertical base, Pandemonium brought Trunks back down again with an incredible punch to the stomach. Trunks doubled over and collapsed yet again, gasping and then vomiting a large amount of blood onto the ground, into the pool that had already collected under his badly beaten body. It was then that Trunks realized his fatal mistake, something that should have been elementary to him, even before he powered up to 75% of his full power. His body was too badly injured to fight, even with the incredible strength that Trunks had acquired, now vastly escaping his body yet again.
"I... I waited too long... my body's too injured... no amount of power can help me now..." Trunks thought as he knelt down on the ground and vomited another stream of blood, now more helpless then he had ever been. He couldn't move an inch without feeling the same incredible pain from his severe injuries, his body ravaged by the battle that he'd clearly lost. Pandemonium stood over Trunks for several seconds, watching him with a victorious, sadistic smile. Then, in a gesture of pure hatred and rage, Pandemonium kicked Trunks in the spine, knocking him face down on the ground again. A gasp, and then a scream as even more pain ripped through Trunks' body, marked with gashes that crossed his chest, arms, legs, face, and back, and crippled by terribly fractured bones and horrific bruises. As he lay gasping for breath on the ground, his eyes blinked open and closed in a desperate attempt to stay conscious.
"Ami was right... it was too dangerous to come here... to fight... oh, Ami... I'm so sorry... I yelled at you when... when I should have stayed... I have to see you again, Ami! I... I... I have to win!"
Mustering all the strength he could, Trunks made an agonizing effort to stand, crawling to his knees and then pulling his body up, even as brutal pain punished Trunks for every minute effort he made to move his badly-beaten form. Pandemonium walked around to the front of Trunks just as he stood up completely, his eyes gazing into Pandemonium's yet again. He pointed his arm at Pandemonium and fired a small, weak ki blast that Pandemonium easily knocked away, over Trunks' head and back into the far wall. He stopped smiling, and his face curled with rage. A snarl appeared on his lips.
"You pathetic, sniveling little half-breed," Pandemonium said, with far more contempt than amusement. His own body had been badly injured by Trunks' attacks, and though he wasn't in nearly as much pain as Trunks, he was still in a great deal of pain as he stood facing his defeated foe. He pointed his hands downward at Trunks' knees and blasted them with magical energy blasts. The blasts were the last straw for Trunks, as he let out another pained scream and collapsed onto his knees, which had been greatly burned and damaged by the blasts, causing Trunks to let out a gasp of pain as he landed on them. With a brief smile of approval, Pandemonium kicked Trunks in the face, knocking him back to the ground, flat on his back. Trunks' energy aura was now small enough to be nearly non-existent, and the electricity that had once been crackling so mightily and prominently around his body was now reduced to a faint spark every two or three seconds. Trunks twitched on the ground as Pandemonium slowly but deliberately walked toward him, and could do nothing to stop Pandemonium as entire body began shining brightly with a lavender glow, his magical energy aura now more intense than ever. Though Trunks didn't show it on the outside, his insides were trembling in fear, as he realized that his agony had only begun. A singular tear made its way to his right eye, but didn't escape down his face, even as Pandemonium stood over him, ready to begin the final phase of Trunks' subduction.
"Ami... forgive me..."
---
Ami, still transformed into Sailor Mercury, was still in the office of the fallen mayor, comforting his now-orphaned daughter. She had no idea of the horrible events that had befallen Trunks high above Earth in the enemy space station, but something had begun nagging at the back of her head, a persistent worry that had entered her mind at the exact moment Trunks had fallen to Pandemonium. She couldn't get that worry out of her head, and became more anxious by the second as she talked to the girl who was now standing over her father's body.
"I... I still can't help but think that this is all my fault," sobbed the girl, tears still running down her cheeks. Sailor Mercury reached up and brushed some of the tears away, her gentle touch bringing immediate comfort to the sobbing teen.
"It's not, even though you're probably thinking that it is," Sailor Mercury replied with a level of truth that could only come from experience. "Sometimes, when the ones we love get hurt, that's all we can think about... that somehow, someway, we did something to hurt them ourselves. But... you can't let yourself think that, because it's the quickest way to despair."
The girl nodded, but retained a look of great sadness on her face.
"How would... how would you know?" asked the girl with a hint of doubt. "How would you know about something like this? Is it because your Senshi friends have been in situations like this before?"
"Actually..." said Sailor Mercury, who began to recall Trunks' battle to rescue her from Frieza so very long ago, "...it was Trunks who was put in danger coming to rescue me."
"Really?" asked the girl, now curious to hear what Sailor Mercury had to say. "You mean... you mean Trunks was hurt because-""I thought it was because of me, I thought it was all my fault at the time..." Sailor Mercury said sadly. "I thought that... that maybe he thought I hated him for putting him through so much, for being taken so easily... for..."
The feeling of worry inside Ami's mind had became almost too much to bear, and for a second, she turned away from the girl, trying as best as she could to compose her thoughts. The girl simply looked on, now understanding that she and Sailor Mercury had a common experience, something they could both relate to... in this girl, she had found perhaps a lifelong friend.
"I'm alright, it's just hard to think back on that sometimes," Sailor Mercury said, though she was far more distressed about what might be Trunks' current situation than what had happened to the both of them eight months ago. "Are you feeling a bit better? Do you understand now that sometimes, these things happen because there are evil creatures in the world that want to harm innocent people, and that your father died because of that and not because of you?"
"I... I think so," said the girl, wrapping her arms around Sailor Mercury. "Thank you... Sailor Mercury..."
"Call me Ami," Mercury replied, knowing that people learning her identity in this world would have no ill bearing on her home dimension."And my name is Minori," said the girl, a smile appearing on her face for the first time since her father had been killed. "Thank you... so very much, Ami..."
Sailor Mercury nodded. Now that Minori was feeling better, she could go and help her friends fight the rest of the fiends in the town.
"Are you going to be okay if I leave to help my friends fight the rest of the bad guys?" Sailor Mercury asked. Minori nodded again, and after one last hug, Sailor Mercury left the room and headed downstairs to the lobby. There, in a large pile, were dozens of unconscious and half-frozen fighters, the ones whom Sailor Mercury had attacked earlier. Knowing that if they woke up, Minori might be in danger, Sailor Mercury used some of her magical energy to re-freeze the fighters, which would put them out of action for several more hours. By then, the fighting would be over, and Sailor Mercury would be able to come back for Minori. Though she had made a new friend, Sailor Mercury couldn't shake the one thought that had become ever-present in her mind over the last several minutes. Trunks was in danger, she knew that for a fact, and if she didn't help him soon, it might be too late to save him.
"Please, Trunks... I beg of you, please be alright..."
---
But Trunks was far from alright as Pandemonium paced around him, angrily staring down at the battered Ascended Saiyan with a look of anger and contempt on his face.
"You're pathetic," Pandemonium spat, stomping on Trunks' leg with tremendous force and eliciting another ear-splitting scream from its embattled owner. "You can't beat me to save your life, and I bet you can't beat me to save Ami's, either."
The mere mention of his beloved's name brought a new, intense wave of pain to Trunks' body that he'd never anticipated. It wasn't a physical pain, but an intense emotional wound that dug all the way down to the depths of his very soul. If Ami knew what had befallen Trunks, it would literally tear her apart, and he knew it, just like it had so brutally crushed him when Ami was being tortured by Frieza. The next thought that entered Trunks' head was the thought that he'd never see Ami again... he would never hear her lovely voice, gaze into her sapphire eyes, run his fingers through her soft, silky hair, or kiss her soft, beautiful lips ever again... his last words to her were words of anger, he'd literally shunned her, demanding that she use her own powers to help him get his revenge on Pandemonium... and look where it had gotten him. Trunks deserved this, he thought, he deserved it for being arrogant, just like his father...
"You know that after you, she's next, don't you?" Pandemonium said coldly, and Trunks immediately lifted his head, despite the great deal of pain that it caused him. "We're going down to the planet to finish what my men started... if she's not already dead, that is. Of course, I'll make her death quick and painless... the penalty for sadism is death by vengeance, and I fear yours. I believe I'm wise to do so... had Frieza killed you and then killed Ami, he'd be ruling this sector of space, and we'd be dissecting him right now. We watched that fight, you know, watched it from afar... we have eyes everywhere, Trunks."
"You're not.... you're not killing Ami, or any of the people I love!" Trunks shouted, standing up with renewed confidence in his voice. His body was filled with pain, but he knew that defeating Pandemonium was the only chance he had to save the lives of the people back on his home world... his mother, and Ami."I... I have to power up to full strength, or at least try... it's the only way!"
"Look who got a second wind," said Pandemonium, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Damn, I should learn when to shut my big mouth, shouldn't I?"
But as Trunks raised his hand to attack, a long, red energy strand encircled both of Trunks' wrists, binding them tightly together and pulling them above Trunks' head. Standing behind Trunks was Nikashi, her red energy whip tightly binding his arms and pulling them back. Trunks screamed in agony, but was pulled tightly into a standing position by the force of the whip's pull, cutting into his wrists and putting an excruciating amount of stress on his arms. In Trunks' severely weakened state, he couldn't hope to break free, and was now completely mobilized and at Pandemonium's mercy.
"Aw, I was going to beat him up!" Nikashi squealed, though her anger was more playful than genuine. "At least I get to have a little bit of fun..."
"Nikashi, I thought you were going down to the planet to destroy the Senshi and that pathetic provincial village," Pandemonium said. "This is between me and Trunks."
Suddenly, a smile crossed Pandemonium's face, and he gave a grin that filled Trunks with dread. As sweat and blood poured down the terrified half-Saiyan's face, Pandemonium began to speak again.
"The battle is between me and Trunks... but it looks to me like the battle's over," said Pandemonium, his hand roughly wiping some of the blood from Trunks' face. "Now the fun begins."
Pandemonium drew back and punched Trunks in the gut, immediately knocking the wind from Trunks' body. He instinctively tried to clinch his stomach in, but found that he couldn't due to Nikashi's whip holding him in place. A stream of blood spewed from his mouth, some of it landing on Pandemonium's face and chest. With an angry growl, Pandemonium leapt up and kicked Trunks in the chest, breaking yet another one of Trunks' ribs and eliciting a loud scream."How DARE you spray your filthy Saiyan blood on my flawless body!" Pandemonium shouted. He struck Trunks hard across the face with the back of his hand, causing Trunks' head to slump downward, as if he was unconscious. Several more blows rained down on Trunks' head, some from Pandemonium's fists and some from his legs, each blow creating a large bruise or opening a gash on Trunks' face. When Pandemonium was done, he began repeatedly punching Trunks in the stomach, nearly a dozen times before he finally stopped. Every breath was now an immense labor of pain for Trunks, who remained conscious throughout the beating, being able to stand only because he was being forced to his feet by Nikashi's whip, keeping his wrists firmly bound above his head. Two large streams of blood were now trickling down Trunks' arms as the whip's tight hold cut deep, bleeding gashes in the half-Saiyan's flesh.
"You know..." gasped Trunks, choking up blood as he spoke. "I... I'm not... at my... at my full power... please... please let me-"
"You're STILL holding back?" Pandemonium shouted, striking Trunks in the stomach. "It's too late now... you should have given it your all from the very start! You foolish Saiyan!"
"This is wonderful!" Nikashi shrieked, her hand eagerly grasping the whip as she giggled every time Pandemonium struck Trunks. "But if we're going to capture him, don't you think we should-"
"Screw capturing him," said Pandemonium, his hand pointed directly at Trunks' face. "I'm going to kill him."
Nikashi screamed as Pandemonium began to charge a large, powerful ki blast, designed to be fatal to Trunks as soon as it hit. Trunks looked up at the blast with wide eyes, his only thought being that of his beloved Ami.
"Ami... I'M SO SORRY!!!"
But just before Pandemonium could fire the blast, a loud voice quickly brought him back to his senses.
"You kill him and I don't think our master would appreciate it very much," came the voice, who Pandemonium immediately recognized as Sunzeki's. "And I'd be forced to kill you."Pandemonium turned around, a pleading look in his eyes.
"But... but he's the legendary Ascended Super Saiyan! Vanquisher of Frieza and the androids! I have him completely at my mercy!" Pandemonium shouted. "I defeated him!"
"And now we're going to capture him, as per the original plan," said Sunzeki. "I'm sure that when our master is all done with this fool, he'll let you finish him off. We're not keeping him alive forever, you know."
"Yeah, Pandemonium," Nikashi huffed, still holding the whip around Trunks' wrists. "I get to have fun with him first!"
"Actually, you're not allowed anywhere near him," said Sunzeki, pointing directly at Nikashi. "I know what you've got in mind for him, and it gives me nightmares just thinking about it. Pandemonium, you'll be in charge of imprisoning Trunks... keep him alive. I don't care how badly he's injured, as long as he's alive and in... relatively good condition."
With an angry yell, Pandemonium turned around and kicked Trunks in the ribs, as hard as he could. Trunks gave one last, gasping scream. His eyes closed, and his golden energy aura faded completely, along with the weak sparks of electricity. His hair returned to its normal purple color and became straight again, falling in long, blood-soaked strands over his face. Nikashi pulled back her whip, allowing the unconscious Trunks to fall unceremoniously to the ground."That's a good boy," said Sunzeki, with a condescending tone that Pandemonium had come to resent. "I'll inform headquarters and return for the Saiyan in a few days. Until then, you have my sincerest gratitude."
And with that, Sunzeki left the room. Pandemonium looked down at Trunks, whose battered and nearly dead body was lying in the center of the room in a pool of blood. Nikashi knelt down and kissed Trunks once on the lips before leaving the room, her whip dragging on the floor behind her.
"I can't kill you..." said Pandemonium, "but I can make your life a living hell, Saiyan... and rest assured, I will."
---
As Patrick knelt down in the street with tears streaming down his face, Cammy walked over to him and loosely looped her arms around his chest, giving him a light hug before helping him back to his feet.
"Why are you... hugging me?" Patrick asked, turning to her as she wiped a tear from his eye. "I... I..."
"I thought you already knew that by now," said Cammy. "You said it yourself... remember?"
"You mean... how wonderful you are?" Patrick asked. "That's why... that's why-"
"That's why you feel so badly, I know," said Cammy, with a soft, understanding tone. "It's alright, Patrick... it's over now, and I've forgiven you... c'mon, we've got more bad guys to fight, okay?"With a quick nod, Cammy and Patrick ran down the street, searching for any more fighters that might still be lurking about.
"I feel... so much better, now that I've forgiven him..." thought Cammy, taking a quick glance at Patrick as the two turned the corner into another street. "I'm not even surprised that it was so quick anymore... I think a fresh new start is what we've both needed..."
---
"And that's the last of them!" Rose shouted, blasting a group of fighters who had gathered in the middle of a family's kitchen. The family, who had huddled up in the corner, got up and ran over to thank Rose just as Sailor Moon ran into the room, tired and winded, evidently from having just destroyed some bad guys of her own.
"Rose, are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Of course I am!" Rose said, nodding her head and pointing to the family she'd just rescued. "All in a day's work, you know."
"We owe you our lives," said the father of the family, pulling his wife and his three young children close to him. "We don't know what we would've done without you..."
"Hey!" shouted a little girl, a little sister to the two other children, both older boys. "You're that girl I played basketball with a few days ago! You and your friend came and played basketball with us, remember?"
"I told you I'd come back," Rose said, giggling as she patted the girl on the head. "My friend's here too, fighting even more bad guys!"
"Really?" asked the girl, her eyes opened as wide as saucers. "Wow!"
"Maybe tomorrow after this town's cleaned up, we can play basketball again, okay?" asked the girl eagerly. "And kick those boys' butts!""Whose butt are you gonna kick, squirt?" asked one of the boys, looking down at his little sister. "There's no way we're going to lose to a bunch of girls!"
"Oh, really?" Rose asked, smiling at the two boys. "Well, if you two are man enough, come down to the court tomorrow and we'll take you all on!"
"I think we should come outside first," said Sailor Moon, taking Rose by the arm and dragging her toward the door. "We've got to find out if the other Senshi are alright... and your sisters as well."
"Oh yeah!" Rose said, waving at the family as Sailor Moon pulled her out the door. "Bye! And remember, tomorrow at the basketball court, alright?"
"She was hot," said the younger of the two boys after the door closed. "The redhead, I mean."
"You kidding me?" asked the older boy. "The blonde chick's boobs were much bigger!"
"Hell no, the redhead's boobs were twice as big as the blonde chick's boobs! You need your eyes checked," said the younger boy.
"What did we tell you about using that kind of language?" scolded their mother. "Thinking about girls like that... you're setting a terrible example for your sister!"---
Sailor Moon and Rose walked all the way to the middle of the town, where Angela, Cammy, and Patrick were standing, as well as the Senshi, minus Sailor Mercury.
"Did you guys check the rest of the houses?" asked Sailor Mars as Rose and Sailor Moon ran up to the group. They nodded, pointing at the group of houses they'd cleaned out.
"I think that's the last of them," said Rose, looking all around her. She could see lots of people outside tending to the injured, but no more of the deadly uniformed fighters. "We've beaten them all!"
"And I don't think anyone's been killed, either," said Sailor Jupiter. "At least not in the houses I checked..."
"No dead in the houses I checked," said Rose. "Not many injured, either... seems like I was able to make it just in the nick of time!"
Sailor Moon gulped, knowing that there was one particularly important death she hadn't mentioned.
"What's the matter, Sailor Moon?" Rose asked. "Did something happen while you were fighting?"
"Guys, I think maybe someone was seriously hurt," said Angela, turning to Sailor Moon with a worried look on her face. Sailor Moon nodded.
"Guys.... the mayor, he was-"
"Hey look, over there, it's Sailor Mercury!" Cammy shouted eagerly, pointing to the road that lead to the town hall. Sailor Mercury was walking down the road towards the group, with a solemn expression on her face. As Sailor Moon ran over and embraced the Senshi of Water, she returned her princess' hug with slightly less eagerness, deeply troubled by her thoughts of Trunks in danger.
"You two went off together, right?" asked Angela, looking over as Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury returned to the group. "So, what happened to the mayor?"
"The mayor was killed," said Sailor Mercury, and immediately, almost everyone in the group, including Patrick, gasped.
"That's... that's terrible," Patrick said, with a sincerity that was distinct from the sarcasm he usually displayed. Cammy could immediately tell that even Patrick had been saddened by the news.
"He really has changed..." she thought. "The mayor? Oh no!"
"The fighters that attacked took his daughter hostage," said Sailor Moon, continuing Sailor Mercury's story. "She was able to get herself free, but when one of the men tried to attack her, her father pushed her out of the way and was hit by the beam himself. He died... pretty quickly after that."
Sailor Mercury nodded.
"His daughter's alright now, but we should probably go to her sometime later to help her move her father's body somewhere else," said Sailor Mercury. "We should probably help her bury it as well..."
"At least no one else was killed," said Sailor Venus, "but even one person dying is one person too many."
The Senshi, the sisters, and Patrick all nodded in agreement.
"Right now, Trunks is... Trunks is trying as best as he can to fight those vicious fiends that caused all this," said Sailor Mercury, tears starting to come to her eyes. "Wherever you are, Trunks... please, please be safe..."
Suddenly, Sailor Mercury collapsed to the ground and began to sob violently, her gloves quickly becoming stained with tears as she placed her hands over her face, not wanting to let the Senshi see her cry. They all rushed to her side, trying to comfort their troubled friend as best as they could.
"Ami, Trunks is going to be fine," said Sailor Moon, wrapping her arms around her friend once more. "He's strong... he's very strong... and right now, he's fighting for all of us... I know he'll come back safe."
"He's going to beat all of them... every single one, and he'll be back before you know it!" Rose said cheerfully. "If Trunks can beat us, he can certainly beat a few grumpy guys up in space!"
"Just take it easy, alright?" asked Sailor Jupiter, gently helping Sailor Mercury to her feet. "We're all going to be here for you... right now, let's try to help out the rest of the villagers... then we'll go back and talk to Mrs. Briefs. Maybe Trunks is back there already!"
Sailor Mercury nodded. She sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes, and then began walking with the Senshi toward a group of people helping out an injured family. She knew her mission, it was to help people and protect the innocent, and right now, the people that mattered were here in this village. But somehow, in the deepest recesses of her mind, she could sense that Trunks needed her help as well... more than all of the people in Nihimo Town combined.
"I know something's happened to Trunks... I can feel it... something terrible..."
---
When Trunks came to, he found himself in a cold, dark, dank room, evidently an old prison room located somewhere deep within the space station. Its door was not computerized, but instead a thick, metallic gray door, barricaded with several locks. When he tried to move his arms, he found them firmly chained to the wall, his left arm chained above his head to the left, and his right arm chained above his head to the right. His legs were also chained, bolted to the wall in a similar fashion to his arms, but unlike his arms, they were bolted together. Not that it would matter. Trunks knew his body was probably too weak to even move at this point. Still, the chains appeared to be made of metal, something Trunks knew he could easily break. He began to struggle against the chains, but found them impossible to budge. Sighing, he ceased his futile attempts and stared down at the floor, noticing the numerous wounds that his chest had sustained during the battle. Some of them were still dripping blood, as Pandemonium hadn't taken the time to treat even the most minor of Trunks' wounds.
"Bastard..." Trunks muttered as he hung helplessly on the wall. "When I get out of here..."
Just then, Trunks could see the locks on the door slowly sliding back, and the door slowly creaking open. Pandemonium walked into the room, a cold, emotionless stare on his face. He was wearing a new outfit, identical in style to his old fighting costume. He had several bandages on his face, covering wounds he'd sustained in the fight.
"I see you're awake, Trunks... a lot sooner than I'd expected," said Pandemonium. "I'm quite surprised at your resiliency, Trunks."
"I've had worse beatings before..." Trunks said, his voice reduced to a near-whisper, though angry, and with great conviction. "I'm... I'm going to get out of here... and when I do...""You're going to get put back in here again," said Pandemonium, a smile appearing on his face. "Face it, Trunks, you'll never beat me. Not even at full power. But even that's something that will never happen... I like you like this, Trunks. Pathetic and weak, a true reflection of the kind of person you really are."
Pandemonium walked up to Trunks and punched him in the stomach, a blow that caused even more blood to trickle down Trunks' lips. Trunks let out a gasp, but didn't scream. He clenched his teeth, not wanting to give Pandemonium the satisfaction of hearing him yell even one more time."You... you're not going to... hurt Ami..." Trunks gasped as soon as he could speak again. "I... I won't let you..."
"I see how it's going to be," said Pandemonium, an angry stare returning to his face. "You fool... your every word, your every breath offends me."
Pandemonium reached into his pocket and pulled out a dirty white rag, then rolled it up and tied it around Trunks' mouth, pushing the middle of the rag inbetween Trunks' teeth. Then, he punched Trunks in the stomach again. Trunks' scream of pain was now muffled by the cloth, which begin to stain red as blood dripped through it onto the floor beneath Trunks' chained form.
"I'll be back," said Pandemonium, striking Trunks in the ribs and then leaving the room. As Trunks groaned in pain, the taste of the foul cloth between his teeth and the metallic bitterness of his own blood pooling inside his mouth made Trunks want to vomit. He held it inside, knowing that if he threw up, it would be just one more terrible taste in his mouth, adding further to his agony. All he could do now was stare down at the floor, trying his best to ignore the intense pain coursing through every inch of his body, and pray that somehow, some way, Bulma, Ami, and the others back on Earth would be safe... because Trunks was nothing now.
---
Several hours later, the Senshi, Rose, Angela, Cammy, and Patrick returned to Bulma's house, after having tended to some of the injured in the village, as well as making sure everyone there would be alright. The unconscious fighters had been placed inside a magical prison created by the Senshi, about ten miles outside the town. Stripped of their weapons, the fighters wouldn't be able to escape the prison, a glowing dome of magical energy that would hold them all until the Senshi figured out what to do with them.
"Are you alright?" Bulma asked as the nine weary heroes entered her living room and sat down on the floor. Bulma walked over and sat inbetween Serena and Ami, who had detransformed since leaving the village. The Senshi had used their Sailor Teleport to get back to Bulma's house, since Trunks was no longer there and obviously unable to fly them back. After receiving nods from everyone, confirming that they were mostly unharmed, Bulma walked into the kitchen and brought out a large tray of sandwiches.
"Thank you, Mrs. Briefs," Serena said, taking one of the sandwiches and eating it in only a few seconds. "We ran into a little trouble in town, though..."
"It was attacked by a bunch of bad guys!" Mina said. Bulma put her hand to her lips and began shaking her head.
"Oh, dear..." Bulma said. "I was wondering why you guys came in all tired... wait, where's Trunks?"
Ami sighed. So much for Trunks being back at his house...
"He... he had us teleport him away to the space station... after he saw the village being attacked, he became determined to fight the ones causing it, so... so we..."
Ami began to get choked up, and Bulma quickly interrupted her.
"So he's up there... out in space... fighting bad guys," Bulma said, shaking her head even further. "I see..."
"We told Ami he'll be alright," said Serena, looking around to the rest of her friends. "Trunks is really tough... he's beaten up hundreds of bad guys before, and these can't be any different!"
"That's right," said Cammy, curling up her fists and throwing a few mock punches. "If anyone can get the job done, it's Trunks! Pow pow! Pow!"
Ami stood up and sniffled, wiping at her eyes as if she was about to cry.
"May I... may I please be excused?" Ami asked. Before anyone could answer, Ami ran to the basement door and hurried down the steps in the dark, turning on the light switch at the bottom of the steps.
"Is she still worried about Trunks?" Rei asked, slowly standing up.
"Of course she is," said Mina. "She loves him, and she's worried about him being up there... all alone.... fighting against the most ruthless band of miscreants in the galaxy..."
"I'm going to go see what Ami's up to, alright?" Bulma asked, walking over to the basement door. "Please, all of you... stay here, okay?"
"Mrs. Briefs, may I..." said Serena, standing up and tapping Bulma on the shoulder. "May I come down with you?"
Bulma smiled, politely shaking her head.
"I need to talk to her alone right now, okay?" Bulma said softly. "I'm worried about Trunks too...."
"But Ami's my best friend!" Serena protested loudly. "Anything that's bugging her is bugging me too, and if she's hurting, I'll fell really bad if I don't go to her, okay? Please..."
"I'm sorry, Serena," Bulma said, starting to walk down the stairs. "Please... stay with the others."
Bulma closed the door behind her and began the slow descent down to her basement. As she walked down the steps, she could hear several loud clanging noises and thuds, as if various items were being thrown carelessly around the room. Mixed in with the loud thuds were occasional sobs, which Bulma could hear quite audibly as she reached the bottom of the steps and saw Ami frantically searching through every cabinet and closet she could.
"Ami... what are you looking for?" Bulma asked. Ami turned around, and almost immediately Bulma could see the sadness and fear in her expression. Streams of tears were coming down the sides of her face, and her eyes were beginning to get red and puffy, as if she had been crying for quite some time. "Oh my goodness, Ami..."
"Mrs. Briefs... Bulma... I... something horrible has happened to Trunks, I just know it!" Ami shouted, pouring several Dynocaps out of a drawer that had been completely pulled out of its desk. "I'm trying to find something... some way to get to him..."
"Ami... you said you teleported Trunks to the space station, right?" Bulma asked. Ami nodded, and Bulma began to speak again. "So... why don't you guys just teleport there?"
"We only have enough magical energy to take one person," said Ami, shaking her head. "I'd go myself, but...."
"You wouldn't want to put your friends through the same thing you're going through now," Bulma said in a calm and understanding tone. "Ami... I hate to say it, but... that Capsule ship was the only one I had. The rest of this stuff is just useless old appliances... most of these Dynocaps don't even work anymore...""Oh... I... I understand..."
With a loud, screaming sob, Ami collapsed into Bulma's chest, her tears staining Bulma's shirt as Bulma held the hysterical girl tightly in her arms. Bulma knew what Ami was going through... she'd been having the same feelings for the past several hours, but only now did she realize the seriousness of what they meant. She wanted to cry herself, but held back her tears in order to be a pillar of strength for the girl whom she was now desperately trying to console. Suddenly, she had an idea... one that was certain to work, and one that she was surprised Ami hadn't thought of earlier... but in Ami's distress, the idea was easy to overlook. Bulma had almost let it slip her own mind...
"Ami, we could use the teleportation wand... I still have it in the kitchen... if you guys go back to your world first, you can then use it to warp right to the space station in this world, as long as you can visualize it in your mind. You can do that, right?"
Ami gasped and looked up at Bulma.
"Of course!" Ami thought, her worry and sadness slowly fading, replaced with the renewed hope Bulma had given her. "I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier... hang on, Trunks... I'm coming!"
---
So Ami and her friends are going to go save Trunks! Bit of a change from the last ficcy, isn't it? Well, that's all part of the excitement of the story! (and my court settlement with those women's lib groups... Spanish guy from SNL I'm just kidding! rimshot) So if you want more excitement, please review and tell me so!