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-
Sonar de Mercury: You're Ami's cheerleader, hmm? Well, okay!
GracedAngel1854: Studying? Uh oh... maybe you should get your schoolwork done before you start reading this chapter. Unless it's already done... I hope!
Zyppora: Yeah, Ami caught his fist, but she's really not all THAT powerful... she just had an adrenaline rush. Who knows, maybe she will beat up Pandemonium and Nikashi...
Sailor Element: Ami can't heal Trunks, but I know some people who can... maybe they'll get to Trunks this chapter!
Erica: Hey now, you're the one who wanted him to get captured. And tortured. And... well, I guess you wanted Ami to save him too. Glad you like the chapter!
---
"You'll never hurt anyone again!" shouted Sailor Moon, pointing at Pandemonium from across the room. "Especially not our friends!"
"That's right, you big jerk!" Rose shouted, a furious look on her face. "What you did to Trunks is unforgivable, and you must be punished!"
"You foolish, pathetic Senshi..." mused Pandemonium, staring at the group of heroes walking slowly toward him, including the Senshi (sans Mercury), Rose, Angela, Cammy, and Patrick, who looked especially nervous to be facing his former master. When Pandemonium and Patrick's eyes met, an angry stare began to form on Pandemonium's face. "And you, you traitor... how dare you betray me!"
The eight heroes and Pandemonium were standing just a few yards apart now, sizing each other up for the skirmish that would soon erupt in this, the room that had played host to so many furious battles over the past few hours. As Patrick continued to stare nervously, Cammy clasped his hand in one of her own, trembling just as much as he was.
"Don't be afraid of him..." Cammy whispered. "You're not working for him anymore... we're going to fight him together, okay?"
"And what's this?" remarked Pandemonium, looking at Cammy and Patrick with contempt in his eyes. "Didn't I see you trembling in Patrick's presence just days earlier? Now the two of you are holding hands, like the best of friends. How do you know he's not deceiving you, Cammy?""Put a sock in it!" Angela barked, her energy aura beginning to flare up. "Cammy and Patrick have reconciled all of their differences, and nothing that anybody says is going to change that! Your former friend has seen the error of his ways, and he's not going to do the terrible things you've commanded him to do anymore!"
"My dear, I didn't tell him to abduct Cammy, that was part of his own perverted agenda, and befriending her now is just a temporary twist," said Pandemonium, curiously gazing back and forth between Cammy and Patrick. "He's using you, Cammy... using your kindness... just waiting to-"
"I said put a sock in it!" Angela shouted, firing a large magical blast directly at Pandemonium's head. Pandemonium smiled, and placed his hand directly in the path of the blast, his palm forming a shield as the blast exploded harmlessly against it, doing no damage whatsoever to Pandemonium. Though it had been ineffective as an attack, the blast had served as an opportunity for the others to charge up their own attacks, and Sailor Moon was first to strike, pointing her henshin stick at Pandemonium and concentrating a large amount of energy at its tip."Moon... Purification..."
A huge beam was released from the end of the henshin stick, but when it reached a point about a foot in front of Pandemonium, he leapt out of the way, avoiding the blast by flying over it and directly at Sailor Moon. The other three Senshi, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, fired blasts of their own at Pandemonium as he flew overhead. He casually smacked all of their blasts away, landing just behind Sailor Moon and striking her in the head with a deadly kick that sent her sprawling to the ground.
Upon seeing their princess hurt, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus flew into a rage, running at Pandemonium and assailing him with a series of magical energy-enhanced punches and kicks, all of which were easily blocked by Pandemonium, using his incredible speed to maneuver his wrists and legs in time to stop every blow. Then, he unleashed a wave of magical energy, blasting all three Senshi away to a distance of about ten feet. Before Pandemonium could rest, Rose, Angela, and Cammy all began blasting Patrick with bursts of magical energy. Because of their battle with Nikashi, their bursts were slightly weakened, but still quite potent. Nonetheless, Pandemonium was easily able to block the blasts with a magical barrier quickly erected in the shape of a dome around his body.
"You're using the same gang-up strategy you used against Nikashi, am I right?" asked Pandemonium as his barrier easily blocked all of the sisters' blasts. "I can tell you fought her first, since you're all so pathetic and weak. Ami was the same way."
"She fought courageously to hold you off until we got here!" shouted Sailor Moon, who had climbed back up to a standing position. "And right now, I bet she's freeing Trunks from your vile captivity!"
"So what if she does free him?" asked Pandemonium. "What good will it do? All I have to do is beat that pathetic half-breed again, if he's not already dead from the first beating I gave him."
"You... you big meanie!" Cammy shouted, stopping her rain of blasts and pointing directly at Pandemonium. "All you care about is hurting others, and it's going to stop right now!"
"Oh, really?" said Pandemonium, walking over to Cammy with a look of amusement on his face. As he drew nearer, Cammy stepped further and further back, getting more and more nervous with every step Pandemonium took that brought him closer to her. Patrick watched Pandemonium and Cammy with disdain for several moments before slowly beginning to walk over to them himself.
"Leave her alone!" shouted Rose, firing another magical blast at Pandemonium. Pandemonium smiled and continued backing down Cammy, letting the blast explode harmlessly against his back. The Senshi began concentrating their energy, preparing to protect Cammy from Pandemonium, who was getting closer and closer to her every second.
"Stay back..." Cammy said, nervously pointing her arms at Pandemonium. "I'm warning you!"
With a loud scream, Cammy fired a large, green energy blast from the palms of her hands. Pandemonium smiled, raising his hand and firing a lavender sphere that not only disintegrated Cammy's blast, but continued on into the girl and hit her hard in the chest, knocking her flat onto the ground. Cammy screamed again as she fell, hitting the ground on her back and watching helplessly as Pandemonium leaned over her, charging up a finishing blast in his right hand.
"You will be the first to die," said Pandemonium, pointing his hand at Cammy's head. "A fitting fate for such a weak, pathetic-
"Leave her alone!" shouted Patrick, leaping inbetween Cammy and Pandemonium, his body shining brightly with a light blue glow. "And take this!"
Immediately, Patrick blasted a cold, stinging mist of pure ice energy into Pandemonium's face, trying to blind him by freezing his eyes shut. Though he could feel some cold from the attack, Pandemonium completely avoided damage by briefly flaring up his magical energy aura, letting the mist float harmlessly past him. When the mist had disappeared, Pandemonium looked down to see Patrick kneeling over Cammy, checking on her condition."Patrick..." Cammy gasped, looking up into the eyes of her unlikely savior. "Thank you... thank you so much...""It was nothing..." Patrick replied, shaking his head. "I should still probably be the one thanking you..."
Suddenly, Patrick was spun around by Pandemonium, who then hoisted Patrick up by the collar of his jumpsuit and held him high in the air.
"You never cease to amaze me, Patrick," said Pandemonium as he held up the struggling and kicking form of his former subordinate. "You outlived all of your fellow lieutenants by being nothing short of an impulsive, sadomasochistic pervert and lucking out on the good grace of one of your foolish victims. Had you chosen the path of nobility, you would have died with honor like the others, fighting to their deaths against the enemies of the armada. But now, you die a traitor, condemned to death by the leader you betrayed. Consider yourself dishonorably discharged."
Pandemonium, still holding Patrick with one hand, raised his other hand to Patrick's face, already charged with the same blast that would have been used to destroy Cammy had Patrick not interfered. But suddenly, Pandemonium heard the loud cries of the Senshi, once again calling for their most powerful weapon.
"SAILOR... PLANET... POWER!"
Pandemonium could feel the energy coming off of the huge magical energy beam now barreling straight for him. He tossed Patrick to the ground next to Cammy and turned around, firing off a large blast of his own that met the Sailor Senshi's group attack in the midpoint between himself and the four girls."Nikashi... may have succumbed to such a foolish attack... but I... will never allow that to happen!" shouted Pandemonium. With one push, his beam barreled through the concentrated Planet Power attack, nullifying it and flying toward the four Senshi, who had to break formation and barely managed to leap out of the way as Pandemonium's beam rushed past them and slammed into the wall, creating a huge explosion.
"No... no, the Planet Power attack!" thought Sailor Moon, sweat pouring down her face as she stared at the powerful Pandemonium, a look of pure terror in her eyes. "Our best attack... completely useless..."
"Now we know what Trunks was up against..." said Sailor Venus quietly, shaking her head. "How did Ami ever survive fighting this guy?"
---
She had survived with determination, fueled by love for Trunks and a desire to protect him, no matter what the cost. As Sailor Mercury carried Trunks back to the battle room, his bleeding and battered body draped over both of her arms, she knew that she'd only completed one step of her task, and had another far more important step remaining. How would she find a way to heal him before he succumbed to his brutal injuries? She'd thought of her own magical energy, but then realized that it could only be used to heal herself, not others, and she wouldn't have nearly enough to heal Trunks, anyway. Sailor Moon could heal others, but only of internal blights. She could purify, not mend. None of the other Senshi had that kind of power either. Then, she remembered the teleportation wand she still carried with her, tightly secured to her ankle with a leather holster Bulma had given her.
"I can take you back to my dimension, and then back to this one, at Bulma's house..." Sailor Mercury said, pointing to the wand attached to her ankle. "Should we..."
Trunks shook his head, and Sailor Mercury quickly realized the reason why. Bulma was out of Senzu Beans, and though she had the equipment to heal Trunks, it could take days to fully treat his injuries. By then, her friends would be long dead... Sailor Mercury knew they didn't stand a chance against Pandemonium. Trunks needed healing, and fast.
"Those sisters... Rose, Angela, Cammy... they can heal, can't they?" said Trunks, his voice weak and faltering as Sailor Mercury set him gently down on the ground. "Are they... are they here with you?"
"Yes.... they're in that room, right next to us... fighting Pandemonium exactly like you did," said Sailor Mercury, her hand stroking Trunks' face again, like the touch of a gentle angel.
Trunks' eyes widened when he learned that Sailor Mercury's friends were fighting Pandemonium, and Sailor Mercury could quickly detect the fear and worry on his face. She stroked his forehead again, briefly getting Trunks to calm down.
"They've only been fighting for a few minutes," whispered Sailor Mercury. "I'm... I'm sure they're alright..."
But Sailor Mercury's voice was faltering as well, and Trunks could sense the same worry in her that she had detected in him. This time, he had to be the reassuring one, as he reached up and stroked his bloodied hand across Mercury's cheek, despite the intense pain it caused him in doing so. As his hand slowly fell away, she took it for a brief second and touched it quickly to her lips before letting it slowly fall back to Trunks' side."I'll go in and try to bring the three girls out," said Sailor Mercury, pointing to the large, metallic door that guarded the room where her friends were fighting. "Can you... wait just a little bit?"
Trunks nodded, and Sailor Mercury leaned down and kissed him briefly on the lips, one last time. Then, she stood up, reluctantly leaving her lover's side as she re-entered the terrible battlefield where her friends were fighting valiantly to stall Pandemonium.---
Pandemonium stood in the center of the room and looked back and forth at the eight warriors he was preparing to destroy. On one side of the room, toward the back, were Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Mars. On the other side, toward the front entrance, were Rose, Angela, Cammy, and Patrick, the two latter of whom had just gotten up from having been knocked and/or thrown to the ground by Pandemonium.
"We'll never surrender! Not until our friend is free!" shouted Sailor Moon, pointing her henshin stick at Pandemonium yet again. "So prepare to fight us until the bitter end!"
"I'm going to destroy all of you, and it will only take me just a few more moments!" Pandemonium replied, flaring up his energy aura. "The bitter end will come a lot sooner than you think, fools!"
Suddenly, the door of the room flew open, and Sailor Mercury ran inside, immediately dashing over to Rose, Angela, Cammy, and Patrick. She began whispering something to them and pointing toward the door, but Pandemonium quickly took notice of their conversation and fired a lavender energy sphere that the five heroes were just barely able to dodge.
"I see you've returned, my dear Sailor Mercury..." said Pandemonium, walking toward Sailor Mercury as she stepped out of the group to face Pandemonium and draw attention from Rose, Angela, and Cammy, who were now running toward the door. Pandemonium saw them out of the corner of his eye and fired a large blast to stop them. With a loud scream, Sailor Mercury threw herself in front of the blast, causing herself to be hit right in the midsection and thrown violently to the ground, her now smoking body rolling to a stop at Patrick's feet. "That's what I should have done a long time ago! Now you're as dead as Trunks!"
Patrick knelt down to help Sailor Mercury, but she gently nudged him away and climbed to her feet unassisted, her body injured but not by any means destroyed by Pandemonium's attack.
"Trunks... is alive..." Sailor Mercury said, a smile on her face. By now, Rose, Angela, and Cammy were already outside, and Sailor Mercury knew that her lover would be in safe hands. "And soon... he'll be... coming for you, Pandemonium..."
"I wonder if this has anything to do with those three girls leaving?" asked Pandemonium, glancing toward the entrance of the room. "Or perhaps Trunks is dead, you're in denial, and you want to fight me by yourself to get revenge?"
"Sailor Mercury, you're hurt!" shouted Sailor Moon, noticing the damage that had been caused to her friend by Pandemonium's blast.
"No matter what you do to me... I'll never stop fighting for Trunks, not for a second," Sailor Mercury said, shrugging off her friend's remark with a message to Pandemonium eerily similar to the one she'd given to Frieza after he had abducted her. It was the same idea. No matter what happened to Ami, she'd always love Trunks, and would fight for him, sacrificing anything it took to help him, even her own life. Trunks was exactly the same way... they were interwoven, Trunks and Ami... forever two parts of the same whole.
"A second's just about all you have, you little Mercurian bitch," said Pandemonium, his energy aura still flaring brightly. "I'll kill you, and then all your pathetic little friends... and if Trunks is still alive, I'll kill him too."
---
"Holy cow, they did a number on you, Trunks..." Cammy said, kneeling by the injured half-Saiyan's side. "You need to be healed right away!"
"That's why... I was wondering... if the three of you could... maybe... please..." Trunks groaned before Angela put her finger up to his lips."Say no more, we'll have you healed in a heartbeat," Angela said, placing her hand gently on Trunks' chest. "Wow, even when he's hurt, his chest is still so firm and muscle-y... lucky Ami."
Rose and Cammy also placed their hands on Trunks' chest, and within seconds, healing energy from the three girls was rapidly flowing into Trunks' body, the three girls shining with a warm, colorfulglow as they concentrated all their strength into repairing their friend's shattered body. Almost instantly, Trunks could feel the magic taking effect, his blood seeping back into wounds that were closing even quicker than they had been formed in the fight. Bones were mending, burns were disappearing, and Trunks could sense his incredible strength being renewed and replenished. He knew that his Saiyan blood would make him stronger than ever before, and he needed all the strength he could get if he was going to fight Pandemonium again. Even when all the wounds were gone, the three girls continued sending their healing energy into Trunks' body, pouring their heart and soul into taking all the terrible injuries from him.
"Just... a bit... more..." Rose said wearily, clearly exhausted from having used so much of her energy to heal Trunks.
"Few more seconds...." said Angela.
"Almost... got it..." Cammy whispered. Finally, after just over a minute, the girls had done all they could do for Trunks. As soon as they'd finished their healing magic, the three girls collapsed to the floor, unconscious. They'd given everything they had to heal Trunks, and Trunks couldn't help but admire their tremendous efforts as he rose to his feet, every trace of pain and injury eradicated from his body."I owe you girls... an incredible debt," Trunks said as he gently set the girls next to one another on the floor, allowing them to get the rest they so badly needed after having given so much of themselves to heal him. "Thank you all so very much..."
Trunks clenched his fists and flared up his ki aura. Immediately, he could feel an incredible new strength that had seemingly arisen from the ashes, born of the blood and sweat Trunks had exuded over the past few hours. If the saying was true that pain was simply weakness leaving the body, then Trunks was confident that all of his weakness had left long ago. His pain was no more, and now he felt only strength as he pushed open the door where he'd held his first fight with Pandemonium, ten hours before. This time, Trunks would give it everything he had. There would be no punches pulled, no holding anything back. He couldn't let the efforts of all of his friends be in vain... especially the efforts of his beloved Ami. He was still fighting for her most of all.
He entered the room and immediately saw Sailor Mercury, her back to the entryway where Trunks was standing. She was on her knees, and she appeared to be severely weakened. Standing just a few feet away from her was Pandemonium, his hand pointed toward her face. Trunks knew immediately that he had to act fast. He pointed his own hand at Pandemonium and fired a ki blast that knocked him clearly off his feet and to the ground on his back. Sailor Mercury stood up and turned around, her face lighting up as soon as she saw her rejuvenated lover standing just inside the entrance of the room. She ran over to Trunks and embraced him tightly as Pandemonium struggled to stand. The other Senshi and Patrick all watched as Trunks and Ami embraced for several seconds, the smile on Ami's face telling the whole story. This was everything she'd hoped for. Trunks was not only alive, but completely healed and stronger than ever, just in time to rescue her friends. But as Pandemonium stood up and brushed himself off from Trunks' attack, she realized that by fighting the vicious Pandemonium, Trunks would be in danger yet again.
"I don't believe it..." Pandemonium said, a clear look of surprise on his face. "You're... completely healed... but how?"
"That's none of your concern right now, Pandemonium," Trunks said. His hair spiked and turned golden, and his aura exploded outward as Trunks powered up to Super Saiyan, and then to Super Saiyan 2. "Right now, your only concern is me. I told you I'd kill you, and I intend to follow up on that promise. Ami... you and the others need to leave this room, right now."
"Trunks, no..." Sailor Mercury pleaded, her hand rushing to Trunks' face. As she wiped her hand across Trunks' cheek, he gently took her by the wrist and set her arm back down at her side.
"Please, Ami..." Trunks said, then kissed Sailor Mercury lightly on the lips. "I'll win this time... I promise."
By now, the Senshi had made it back across the room and were now standing by Trunks and Sailor Mercury, along with Patrick. Pandemonium had watched them the whole time, his anger building over Trunks' incredible recovery.
"I don't know how you managed to heal yourself, but I've beaten you once, and it appears I'm going to get that chance again!" Pandemonium shouted, flaring up his bright, lavender energy aura. "I'm going to enjoy this..."
"Trunks..." Sailor Mercury whispered one last time before reluctantly leaving the room with the others. Now, once again, Trunks and Pandemonium were by themselves in the huge room where just hours before, their titanic clash had rocked the very walls of the floating citadel they were both in.
"Before we begin, I just want to tell you that I wasn't lying when I said I was holding back," Trunks said, pulling his arms in close to his chest and gathering his energy. "This time, I plan to fight at my absolute maximum."
"Regardless of your power, you'll never be stronger than me!" Pandemonium shouted, the room trembling as his body began to fill with magical energy, his aura violently expanding as Pandemonium once again raised his power to its absolute limit. "Just try and stop me, Trunks!"
"As you wish," said Trunks, electricity coursing all about his body. "One more thing... I want to offer you a little lesson in Saiyan biology. When a being of my race is beaten to within an inch of their life, and then are later healed, their power increases by a significant amount. So whatever my maximum was then, it's nothing compared to the power you're about to face... right... NOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!"Trunks screamed loudly as he powered up, his energy level skyrocketing. His golden aura grew larger and brighter every second, and his electrical aura became incredibly prominent, with bright lightning sparking and crackling rapidly around his body. As Trunks gathered his energy, Pandemonium could feel an incredible power unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and knew that Trunks had become much stronger... but by how much, he couldn't possibly imagine. Finally, Trunks' screaming ended, and his aura died down slightly. He'd finished gathering his energy, and was now at his maximum level of strength, a power stronger than anything even Trunks had ever felt before.
"So much power..." Trunks thought, knowing Ami could hear his every word from just outside the room. "It's incredible... I can feel it in every inch of my body..."
"I can feel it too," Ami thought to him from where she was standing, in the hallway just outside the room with the other Senshi. "Unbelievable... I'm scanning your power right now with my VR visor... just, curious, you know? Let's see here..."
"It is impressive, Trunks," Pandemonium said, his own aura glowing as largely and as brightly as the Ascended Saiyan's. "But you must remember... you're 0 and 1 against me, Trunks."
"It's still scanning... still going up... still... aaaah!"
"Ami?" Trunks thought back to her, startled that she had screamed. "What happened?"
"It... it broke... I can't believe it... well, now Serena's yelling at me. I'd better just let you fight... please, please be careful, Trunks... I love you..."
"I love you too, Ami."
Suddenly, Trunks could see Pandemonium flying at him out of the corner of his eye. He reared back his fist and struck at Trunks, his fist flying at an incredible speed. His punch never made it to its intended target, because before it could reach Trunks' face, Trunks caught it in his hand and casually pushed Pandemonium away. With a snarl of rage, Pandemonium kicked at Trunks' head, and again, Trunks blocked, this time with the side of his arm.
"It's a little bit tougher now, isn't it?" Trunks said, with a hint of a smile on his face. "Maybe you'd have better luck with one of those purple energy balls you like so much."
"Damn you!" Pandemonium shouted in frustration, leaping back and forming an energy sphere in his hand. He threw the sphere at Trunks, who punched through the sphere with a powerful, glowing fist, disintegrating it instantaneously. Before Pandemonium could gasp, Trunks drove a powerful elbow into his stomach. Pandemonium gasped, a small amount of blood flying out of his mouth. Then, Trunks leapt above Pandemonium and slammed both fists into his back, sending him crashing to the floor with immense force.
Pandemonium stood up quickly, wiping the blood from his chin and firing a large beam of magical energy at Trunks. Trunks placed his hands out in front of the beam and blasted it back toward Pandemonium with a blast of his own. Realizing that his own blast would be inadequate to stop the one Trunks had fired, Pandemonium leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the blast, which collided with the floor and created a gigantic explosion.
"Damn him... he's gotten a lot more powerful..." Pandemonium thought, looking up at Trunks, who hadn't budged from his current position, hovering high above his head. "You're going to die, Saiyan!"
Trunks didn't say a word. Instead, he pointed his hand downward and fired a flurry of ki blasts at Pandemonium. The blasts came in quicker than Pandemonium could react, and in desperation, he pointed his hand upward and fired several lavender energy spheres at Trunks' blasts, hoping to absorb them like he had done before. This time, however, the huge blasts just barreled right through the spheres, destroying them and slamming into Pandemonium at the same time. Pandemonium screamed as the first blast hit him, and continued to scream as the blasts fell. When the smoke cleared, Trunks was standing just a few feet away from Pandemonium, his aura as strong as ever. Pandemonium, whose body was now covered in burns and cuts created by the blasts, stumbled back, staring at Trunks in disbelief. Trunks' aura was now larger than ever, and the sparks created by the electrical field circling around his body were bright enough to nearly blind Pandemonium.
"How's it feel to be the one on the losing end?" Trunks asked as he walked toward Pandemonium, a deadly serious look on his face. "It's not very fun, is it?"
Pandemonium leapt toward Trunks and threw a punch at his face. Again, Trunks blocked the punch with the palm of his hand, not even having to think to stop the punch. Another punch from Pandemonium was aimed at Trunks' chest, but yet again, Trunks blocked the punch, this time with his wrist. A kick directed at Trunks' face was blocked with the side of Trunks' arm. Finally, Pandemonium leapt back and extended his palm, charging up for another large magical energy blast."Stay back... stay back!!" Pandemonium shouted, terror beginning to creep into his normally calm voice. "I'm warning you!"
A huge beam of energy, as wide as a truck, suddenly came zooming at Trunks, a sonic boom forming ahead of the energy wave as it easily smashed the sound barrier. Despite its immense speed, Trunks was easily able to block it against his palm, but the blast was powerful, and it pushed the half-Saiyan backward as he tried to hold it off. Soon, the blast had Trunks pressed all the way against the door, and continued to push with an immense amount of force.
"That's right, Trunks!" Pandemonium shouted, sweat pouring down his face. "Either face the blast or you'll be smashed flat!"
"Yeah, right..." Trunks thought, ki energy now rushing through his hand as he prepared to counter the blast.
"Trunks, was that you?" Sailor Mercury thought from the other room.
"Oh, sorry about that, Ami... it's about to be over... just a few more minutes."
"Thank goodness..."Trunks' hand glew brightly, electricity flowing all around Trunks' arm as he gathered energy to stop Pandemonium's blast. After just a few seconds, the blast seemed to flash for a few seconds, and then faded away completely. Pandemonium stood silently, stunned for several seconds as he looked at Trunks, and then looked down at his hand.
"He... he... he completely canceled my attack!" Pandemonium shouted in disbelief. "No... no, it's not fair!"
"Ka...me..."
"Huh?"Pandemonium looked up to see Trunks standing just a few feet away, readying an enormous blast. The energy Trunks generated as the blast was forming was strong enough to nearly knock Pandemonium flat on his back. But unfortunately for Pandemonium, he remained standing, right in the path of the blast.
"Ha...me...HA!!!!!"
The tremendous blast engulfed Pandemonium, followed by a loud scream, and then silence. The beam of ki rushed all the way to the back of the room, where it mercifully dissipated before it would have slammed into the wall, potentially doing horrendous damage to the space station, which might have endangered the lives of Trunks and the others. The damage had been done, however, to Pandemonium. Unseen by Trunks, Pandemonium had managed to slip just out of the blast's path... but not all of him had escaped. After the blast had faded, another loud, agonized scream could be heard to Trunks' right. When he turned around, he could see Pandemonium standing twenty feet away, struggling to stand. Trunks' eyes quickly focused on Pandemonium's right arm... or what used to be his right arm.
"My arm... my arm... YOU DISINTEGRATED MY ARM!"
The blast had burned off Pandemonium's right arm, leaving only a deformed, bloody stump near Pandemonium's right shoulder. He continued to stumble back, his eyes wide in pain and terror. Trunks slowly walked toward him, his aura still shining as brightly as it had at the very start of the fight, if not brighter.
"It's over, Pandemonium," Trunks said, his arms gathering more ki energy for another blast.
"No... no... no, you pathetic freak!" Pandemonium shouted, his remaining arm pointed at Trunks. In desperation, he began to fire countless amounts of lavender energy spheres, all of them directed at the powerful half-Saiyan. "Take that! And that! And that!"
Hundreds of small energy blasts were fired at Trunks, creating fiery explosions as they hit Trunks' aura, but did no damage to Trunks himself. Eventually, the blasts created enough smoke to obscure Trunks' vision, and caused Trunks to cough and sputter violently.
"This smoke is gonna mess up my lungs," Trunks coughed, beginning to get annoyed. "I'm going to kill you sooner or later, Pandemonium!"
But when the smoke disappeared, Pandemonium had gone. Trunks looked all over the room, but could find no sign of his once-mighty adversary.
"No!" Trunks shouted in frustration, his hands curled into tight fists. "Dammit... how could I let him escape? Aaaaaaaaargh!!!"
Trunks flew into a rage, firing ki blasts all over the room. After a few seconds, the door opened, and Sailor Mercury slowly walked into the room, followed by Patrick and the other Senshi. Sailor Mercury looked worried as she sensed the intense rage on Trunks' face. She ran over to him as quickly as she could.
"Trunks... what happened?" she asked calmly, her hand gently reaching out to him. Still angry, Trunks turned away with an angry snarl.
"He got away, that's what happened!" Trunks shouted. "That damn coward disappeared... I had him! I HAD HIM!"
Sailor Mercury gasped, and Trunks quickly turned back to face her. His expression softened, and his eyes grew wide, hoping his anger hadn't hurt Sailor Mercury in any way. He hated himself when he yelled at her... she didn't deserve that... why was he taking his anger out on her?
"Ami... it's.... it's not your fault..." Trunks sighed, wrapping her in his arms in a gentle embrace. "You didn't... see anyone leave, did you?"
"Nope, and we were watching that door for a long time," said Sailor Moon, turning to the other Senshi. "You girls didn't see anything, did you?"
"It doesn't matter... he probably teleported away," said Trunks, his anger quickly being replaced by immense regret. "I was so close... I destroyed his arm, I was about to finish him off for good... one more blast, just one more blast, and-"
"I... I understand how you feel, Trunks," replied Sailor Mercury, though she knew she probably had no idea what Trunks was feeling right then, and didn't want to say anything to hurt his feelings, which she could tell were already fairly fragile. "He... he hurt you... I'm just as angry with him as you are, Trunks..."
"He didn't just hurt me," Trunks said, looking into Ami's eyes. "He hurt you... and all of your friends... his minions wrecked my friends' village...""They killed Minori's father," Sailor Mercury whispered, figuring Trunks would know exactly who she meant.
"Dammit, the mayor..." Trunks whispered, slowly shaking his head. "He was... he was saying I should probably... should probably..."
"Should probably what?" Sailor Mercury asked. "Oh... you mean live in our dimension...""I'd be endangering people wherever I went," said Trunks, briefly looking at the Senshi and Patrick before turning back to Sailor Mercury. "So right now, I'm going to stay in the place where there's the least amount of people..."
"Your world," Sailor Mars whispered, and Trunks nodded.
"That is... after I've finished what I started here," said Trunks, walking toward the entrance of the room. "Pandemonium's still here..."
"How do you know he didn't teleport to your world?" Patrick asked. "He might have gone back to-""No," said Trunks, his ki aura flashing. "He's still in this ship... I can sense him... his energy's weak, but I can still sense him... he's not too far from here."
"Wait," said Sailor Mercury, gently pulling Trunks back. "Your mother... would probably like to see you before you get into another fight.""But Ami, I-"
"Pandemonium probably went back to his boss, and that's who you could be fighting next if we stay here," said Sailor Mercury.
Ami was right. Trunks knew that Pandemonium was probably reporting the battle and Trunks' new strength to an even stronger opponent, and though Trunks was a lot stronger than he had been before he'd entered the ship, he knew he'd exerted quite a lot of energy in the fight, though he couldn't exactly feel that it was gone. Whenever you get a lot of new power, you typically tend to use it up quickly until you get used to having it, and Trunks didn't want to fight an unknown foe again without being at full strength... he'd learned that lesson the hard way.
"We should just go back to Juuban... take the girls back, and then you and I can go back to your house, okay, Trunks?" Sailor Mercury asked, holding up the teleportation wand. "We can regroup and then come back here tomorrow."
Trunks nodded, and then turned to the Senshi.
"Get Rose, Angela, and Cammy from outside," Trunks said, and Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus quickly complied, retrieving the three unconscious girls and pulling them back into the room. Once that had been accomplished, Sailor Mercury created the gate that would send the Senshi, Trunks, the sisters, and Patrick back to Juuban. The rescue was completed, and now it was time to go home. "You won't get away next time, Pandemonium..."
---
Pandemonium, his body battered, his arm gone, and his pride thoroughly crushed, staggered through the halls of the space station before finally reaching a large, domed room, similar to where he'd fought the Senshi. This particular room, however, was where Nikashi had done battle with them. Pandemonium didn't know that, and when he entered the room, she was gone. He could see a small amount of blood on the floor, and correctly assumed that a battle had taken place.
"Dammit... Nikashi..." Pandemonium groaned weakly, stumbling into the center of the room. "Couldn't you have held 'em... just a little... bit longer?"
"It's not her fault you're such a failure," came Sunzeki's voice from just outside the room. "You did that yourself."
"I'm not in the mood!" Pandemonium shouted, his voice cracking as he spoke. "Leave me alone, Sunzeki..."
"You lost my prize, Pandemonium... you and Nikashi. Your weakness and ineptitude cost me my prize... you cost me Trunks," Sunzeki said, still unable to be seen by Pandemonium as he stood just outside the room.
"You're the one that wouldn't let me kill him, dammit!" Pandemonium shouted, his pain beginning to make him delirious, as if he was drunk. "You should've been here to fight him yourself!"
"Pandemonium!" gasped a weak-sounding voice from just outside the room, before being muffled by some unseen force. The voice sounded exactly like Nikashi's, desperate and painful at the same time. It was then that Sunzeki stepped into the room, one hand clasped over Nikashi's mouth, the other hand holding a white energy blade firmly against her throat. Her arms were bound to her sides with rose thorns that looked particularly like the ones Rose had used on her just before she had been blasted by the Senshi's Planet Power attack.
"You know, when I found her, she was still crumpled up on the ground, tied up in these vines," Sunzeki said, an amused smirk on his face. "These vines belong to... those... 'flower bitches', am I correct?"
"Let her go, Sunzeki..." Pandemonium said, revealing a hint of an affection he'd never revealed to anyone before, but somehow, Sunzeki had known... somehow, Sunzeki wanted him to see Nikashi suffer.
"If she was strong enough... to be of any use... to us, she'd be able to break these vines, right? I mean, they're as weak as those girls, are they not?" Sunzeki asked. "I could understand if these were... Trunks' vines, but they're not. They belong to one of those weak little girls who I could probably destroy in oh, say... about one second!"
"It was my fault Trunks got away," said Pandemonium, bowing his head. "Not Nikashi's... please, let her-"
"You know, she told me a little bitty something about you that I found very interesting," said Sunzeki, his hand still clamped tightly over Nikashi's mouth. He looked at her for a brief second, her trembles clearly indicating the immense terror she felt in Sunzeki's presence. "She's got a bit of a... thing for you, Pandemonium. Not a lust thing, like she has for Trunks... no, I do believe she's quite smitten with you, my dear, dear friend."
"Let... her... GO!" Pandemonium shouted, his energy aura flaring up again, but quickly dying down as the searing pain in his severed arm became too much to bear, and he collapsed to the ground. "Argh!"
"Pathetic to the last, I see," said Sunzeki, smiling broadly. "Well, it seems you can't keep Trunks imprisoned to save your life, and you can't keep him to save Nikashi's either. What a shame."
With a quick movement of the energy blade, Sunzeki had slashed Nikashi's throat, allowing the lifeless woman to fall unceremoniously to the ground, killed instantly. A shout of rage burst forth from Pandemonium, who leapt to his feet and ran at Sunzeki, energy gathering rapidly in his remaining arm."I.... I LOVED HER!" Pandemonium screamed, firing a huge, lavender energy beam at Sunzeki. In one fluid motion, Sunzeki ducked under the blast and lunged into Pandemonium, driving his fist into the warrior's stomach and stopping him cold. Pandemonium doubled over, blood spewing from his lips. He gasped, tears streaming down one side of his face as he desperately struggled to breathe.
"Pretty pathetic choice of last words for someone as powerful as yourself," Sunzeki said, pointing his arm at Pandemonium. "Your legacy will be that you defeated the mighty Ascended Saiyan Trunks... and then died the very same day, a pathetic, sniveling, sobbing fool. C'est la vie."
One blast from Sunzeki was all it took to completely disintegrate Pandemonium, simultaneously ending his life and his suffering. With a smile, Sunzeki walked out of the room, casually stepping on Nikashi's body as he made his exit.
"If you want a job done right, send the guy from headquarters to do it," said Sunzeki as he strode toward Exeter's chambers, his newly-donned gray trenchcoat billowing behind him as he walked. "Trunks will return... and then we'll see if I'm underestimating the Saiyan or not."
---
Cammy and Patrick stood outside Cammy's house, her sisters having entered just a minute earlier. For a while, they said nothing, just staring at each other as they realized the tremendous turn their relationship had taken over just a few short days.
"You... fought really well today, Cammy," said Patrick, breaking the ice. "I... I just thought I should tell you that."
"You did too, Patrick," Cammy replied, a smile appearing on her face. "I'm really glad you were able to help us out today... without your help, we might not have won!"
"I... don't think that's the truth, Cammy," Patrick said. "The Senshi could probably have saved Trunks by themselves... well, and you, of course."
"Don't forget my sisters," said Cammy, pointing to her house. "They kicked a lot of butt too!"
Patrick nodded, and then turned away from the house, bowing his head. Cammy could sense something was wrong, and walked up to ask him a question.
"Patrick? Um... where are you gonna live now that you quit the bad guys' team?" Cammy asked. "It's not like I don't trust you or anything, but I don't think my sisters would like the idea of you staying here."
"I'm going to live with Trunks and Bulma for a while. After that, Bulma said they could probably build me a house in the town, so I could live there. It's okay, Cammy, I'm going to have a place where I belong."
"I think you should," said Cammy, continuing to smile at Patrick with a warm, caring grin that made Patrick's heart feel ten times lighter. "I knew you were a good person deep down inside... you just had to look really, really hard."
"Wait, Cammy... you mean you... you trust me now?" Patrick asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. "It... it hasn't been all that long since I-"
"That Patrick is dead," replied Cammy. "I killed him in the spaceship, just like I said I would. You're... you're his good twin that he'd been keeping locked up in that room, just like me."
"Why... why do you say that?" Patrick asked curiously, with a hint of confusion on his face. "In that... room?"
"Because I could feel you holding my hand," said Cammy, gently leaning closer to Patrick. "You... were trapped with me... you were the one who made him stop hurting me..."
"I-" Patrick began before Cammy leaned in even closer and gave him a very brief peck on the lips. She gently pulled back, and brushed her hand across Patrick's cheek before smiling one last time and walking toward her front door.
"Thank you," Cammy whispered to him, opening the door and walking into her house, closing the door behind her. Patrick briefly touched his fingers to his lips, then slowly turned around and walked down the sidewalk, a look of bewilderment still plastered on his face.
"She... she just kissed me," Patrick thought, gently shaking his head. "Maybe I really am the good twin..."
---
Back at the Shinto shrine, Trunks and the other Senshi, now detransformed back into Serena, Rei, Lita, Mina, and Ami, were sitting around the middle of the room, sipping tea and trading their thoughts on the day."You know, I really should've gotten Darien to come along with us," said Serena. "It really would've made my job a lot easier..."
"He comes back from his school trip tomorrow," Rei replied, sipping from her tea. "You should ask him to come to the future with us."
"Hey, you're right, Rei!" Serena said, a smile appearing on her face. "Oh yeah, Trunks... don't forget those flying lessons, okay?"
"As soon as I kick Exeter's punk ass, I'll teach you all to fly, I promise," Trunks said.
"Now Trunks, I don't think your mother would like you using that kind of language," Ami replied with a giggle. "She must be really worried about you, Trunks..."
"Don't worry, Ami... we'll return to my dimension as soon as Patrick comes back," Trunks thought back to her, glancing toward the door. As if on cue, Patrick walked into the room, a slightly bewildered look on his face.
"Hello," Patrick said, sitting down in the circle between Trunks and Serena. "I see you're drinking tea... may I-"
"Oh... we didn't make any for you," Rei said, standing up with an embarrassed blush on her face. "I'm really sorry, Patrick... I could go make you some, if you want-"
"Here, Patrick, you can have mine," Ami said, smiling as she kindly handed her teacup to Patrick. "It's a little cold, but...""It's fine," said Patrick, gratefully sipping the tea. "Thank you, Ami... and you too, Rei."
"I'm also sorry I got mad at you today," Rei said, still looking at Patrick from across the circle of friends. "I didn't trust you, and-"
"I don't blame you," said Patrick, taking another sip from the teacup. "I still don't think I've earned any of your trust... I've been so cruel, especially to Cammy, which is why I can't believe... I can't believe she..."
"She trusts you?" Trunks said, turning to Patrick and interrupting his sentence. "Patrick, one thing you have to understand about Cammy is that she's extremely kind, probably even as kind as Ami."
"And part of being kind is being merciful and having the ability to forgive," Ami stated. "Cammy knows that first hand... she told you about when she used to work for the villains, right?"Patrick nodded, but still shook his head.
"This is different... way different," said Patrick. "All Cammy did was attack you guys... I did more than that. I kidnapped her, I hurt her, I terrorized her, I tried to... I almost..."
"But you didn't, and Cammy saw something in you that none of the rest of us saw," said Serena. "Something that made you stop hurting her... something that made you long to repair the damage you had done. Most people don't get a second chance like you've been given, Patrick... if I were you, I wouldn't knock it."
"You know, maybe Cammy has Stockholm Syndrome," whispered Mina to Lita. "Like in this one movie I saw, where- oof!"
"And if Cammy's willing to give you a second chance, then so are we," said Lita, who had just elbowed Mina in the ribs. "Right, Mina?"
"Right," Mina half-gasped, angrily glaring at Lita.
"So... now that this is all settled, I should probably be getting back home," said Trunks, standing up and bowing to Rei. "You don't... mind, if I leave now, do you?"
"I'm going to go too, Serena... please call my mom and tell her, okay?" Ami asked. Patrick also stood up, having just finished his tea.
"Thank you... thank all of you, for being so encouraging to me... I promise that I'll do my best to life a better life, as a person and as a friend," said Patrick, graciously bowing to everyone in the circle.
"We know you will, Patrick," said Serena, who stood up and hugged him before next hugging Trunks and then Ami, in that order. "Trunks... Ami... I'm glad both of you are safe."
"We're glad for you too, Serena... you did great today," Trunks said.
"You're a wonderful leader and a wonderful friend," Ami said, tightly wrapping her arms around Serena's back. "See you guys tomorrow, okay?"
The girls said goodbye to Trunks, Ami, and Patrick once more before the three left the shrine and returned to Trunks' world, all three of them happy that this long day was finally over.
---
Meanwhile, inside the inner sanctum of Exeter's vast space station, Exeter and Sunzeki were planning out their next course of action against the half-Saiyan who had already foiled so many of their best-laden plans.
"I had to execute Pandemonium and Nikashi for their failures," said Sunzeki, describing the act with a chilling casuality. "I am sure you won't mind."
"The only thing I mind is losing Trunks, after we'd worked so hard to have him within our grasp," said Exeter. "You're... sure you can defeat the Saiyan when he returns?"
"Actually, I'm not entirely certain I can," said Sunzeki, though he seemed not at all worried about a confrontation with the Saiyan. "What about you, Exeter? Are you sure you can defeat him?"
"Of course I can," said Exeter, rising from his throne and speaking with arrogant confidence. "But I sincerely hope you can do the job first."
"I will give it my best efforts, mighty one," said Sunzeki, casually bowing to Exeter before turning to leave the room. "I suggest that you evacuate everyone you can from this vessel within twelve hours."
"And... why is that?" asked Exeter, slightly confused.
"Because tomorrow... this station will shake with a fury unprecedented in the galaxy, that is why," said Sunzeki, smirking as he left Exeter's sanctum. "Quite a rare treat... for such a meaningless fight."
---
"Goodnight, Ami... goodnight, my darling Trunks," said Bulma, kissing her son on the forehead as she smiled and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, letting her beautiful blue nightgown trail behind her as she walked. "I'm glad you're both safe and sound... I missed you so much today, Trunks..."
That night, Trunks and Ami lay snugly in sleeping bags in the middle of Bulma's living room, nestled warmly between the soft fabric. They were as close to one another as the separate sleeping bags would allow them to get, their faces just inches apart as they spoke, a small candle in the corner of the room providing their only light.
"Ami... I'm really sorry about what happened," said Trunks.
"Hmm?" Ami replied, thinking that Trunks was sorry about being captured and nearly killed by Pandemonium, and about the incredible strain his capture had placed on Ami's emotions. He was sorry about that, but that wasn't what he was talking about.
"Your VR visor," Trunks said, pointing to Ami's beautiful blue eyes. "My power broke it, remember?"
Ami giggled and kissed Trunks briefly on the lips.
"Your mother said she would fix it tomorrow... don't worry about it, Trunks! I'm just really surprised you've become so powerful in such a short time... you told me Saiyans get more powerful after recovering from grave injury, but... I didn't know the power-up would be so dramatic..."
"I'm glad it was, Ami... I didn't want to put you through that again," Trunks said quietly. Now he was talking about being captured by Pandemonium. "Ami... I just want to..."
"I know exactly what you mean, Trunks," Ami whispered, a smile on her face. "But if you want to finish, then-"
"Thank you.... so much, Ami," said Trunks, gently stroking his hand across the side of Ami's face. As he did, he could feel the slight moisture of a tear that had been streaking down her cheek for the past few seconds, and wiped it from her face with a gentleness that could only be provided by a lover's delicate touch. "I love you... I was so afraid... I'd never see you again..."
"I was afraid too," Ami whispered, another tear slowly falling down her face, this time on the other side. "All I could think about was you suffering... it... it hurt me so much, Trunks... you must have been in so much pain... I'm so sorry I didn't get there earlier, I-"
"When I'm fighting for you, Ami... I feel no pain," Trunks replied, more metaphorically than literally, of course, but Ami knew exactly what Trunks had meant, and in reply, she kissed him as deeply as she'd kissed him after winning his freedom, allowing her lips to be engulfed by his, gracefully slipping her tongue inside the front of his mouth, and then pulling away after several seconds of their lips being joined, only to repeat the beautiful kiss in a similar fashion, and then repeating twice more, their lips and tongue meeting four times in all before the two lovers slowly pulled themselves away.
"I love you, Trunks... and I promise that no matter what happens... I always will..." Ami whispered.
"I love you, Ami... and when I'm with you... there's nothing that can bring me more joy..."
Trunks and Ami kissed once more before finally allowing themselves to sleep, their hands clasped under their sleeping bags in a gentle and warm display of affection, a sign that nothing could tear the two lovers apart, no matter how hard anyone tried... together, their love would protect the universe, and at the same time, each other.
---
If I had a muse, it would be going "You write like a girl! You write like a girl!" and then I remember why I don't have a muse, because I have a sword, and I couldn't take ten seconds of that s before- uh... but never you mind, readers! All I ask of you is that you read and review! And the first person who says I write like a girl... gets a big hug! "And you do your author's notes like a girl, too!" Meh.