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: The battle was so short because I wanted to show just how powerful Trunks was... plus, I only had so much stuff to fit in this chapter. The next battle will be a bit longer...
Selfless: Yeah, I am pretty sensitive... that's why Mercury's my favorite character, because she's so nice! I think she's the nicest, anyway...
MWD: Thanks for reading the chapter, and I hope you like this one just as much!
Erika: Don't worry, Trunks will fight at least one of them very soon...
IamMe: Well, right now Trunks is the strongest of the group, so he'll be doing most of the fighting... maybe Ami will get involved!
---
The next morning, Trunks and Ami followed their usual routine, first showering, then getting dressed (both activities done separately, not together, of course!), and then partaking in yet another one of Bulma's frugal yet delicious breakfasts. After breakfast, the two went downstairs to monitor Bulma's progress on Ami's VR Visor, which Bulma had been working on all through the night.
"How's it going, mom?" Trunks asked, peering over his mother's shoulder as she delicately worked with the visor's intricate mechanics.
"It's a very complicated design," Bulma replied. "Ancient in origin, yet still very advanced and complex..."
"It was built by the ancient Mercurians," Ami said, "sort of like that Saiyan scouter you keep around."
"The original design for the scouter was actually created by the Tuffles, not by the Saiyans," Bulma said. "They just stole it when they conquered the Tuffle civilization. The designs for your visor and my scouter are actually quite different from one another... I'm not familiar with this technology, but I'm making quite a bit of progress for not having an instruction manual or schematic..."
"Just out of curiosity, Ami..." Trunks said, turning to her with a smile on his face, "what was your visor reading just before it broke?"
"It was picking up a power level of 100 million," Ami replied. "Well, actually, it was reading eight 9s... it only goes to eight digits. I probably should have known that... but I've never seen anything that powerful before. Trunks, you're... you're amazing..."
"You were amazing yesterday too," Trunks said, affectionately brushing his hand through Ami's hair. "You showed a lot of strength and courage, fighting those powerful warriors like that...""You... you would have done the same for me," Ami said, leaning in close to Trunks. "I couldn't let you get hurt... I love you..."
The two began to kiss, their lips tightly pressing against one another's in a display of passion much like Trunks and Ami were probably getting used to every day. Their kisses were becoming more frequent, and though they had kissed many times, every single one was special, bringing a wonderful feeling like the very first time they'd ever kissed.
"Okay, I love you both, but you're both going to have to let me work, okay?" Bulma said, pointing Trunks and Ami toward the entrance of the room. "I'll have this thing done in a few hours... why don't you guys go back to Ami's world and-"
"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot that school was today!" Ami said, gasping as she realized she'd probably already be at least two hours late. "Oh dear..."
"I'm sure your mom will understand," Trunks replied, "knowing what you were out doing yesterday..."
"She still expects me to get back on time for school if I can..." Ami said, hurrying toward the basement entrance. "I'm really sorry, Trunks..."
"No, I should be the one that's sorry..." Trunks said, a worried look appearing on his face as he ran over to help Ami teleport back to her own world. "I'll just train here while you're at school... then you and your friends can come back right after and-"
Ami nodded, then kissed Trunks very briefly on the lips before picking up the transformation wand from the kitchen table and creating a gate right in the middle of the Briefs' living room. Then, she kissed Trunks again before handing him the wand and stepping into the gate. Before Trunks could say goodbye, the gate disappeared, and Trunks was once more left alone in the house."That's why I'm glad I was home-schooled by my mom..." Trunks said, returning the wand to its place on the kitchen table. "See you in a few hours, Ami..."
And with that, Trunks went outside to the training chamber, turning the gravity up to 20,000 before transforming into an Ascended Super Saiyan and stepping inside, almost immediately powering up to full strength.
"If I'm going to finish what I started yesterday, I'm going to have to get used to all this new power..." Trunks thought. "The fate of both of our worlds is depending on it..."
---
"And can anyone tell me why Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most timeless characters?"
It was ten o'clock at Ami's high school, and Serena and Mina were sitting in advanced world literature class, wondering why their friend hadn't made it to class yet.
"I know Ami stayed over at Trunks' last night, but she couldn't have forgotten about school, could she?" Serena thought. Suddenly, she was tapped on the shoulder by the person sitting to her left. She turned her head, and saw that it was Mina, with a small, folded-up note in hand.
"Read it," Mina whispered, a sly smile on her face. Serena nodded, but before she could take the note, it was quickly snatched away by the teacher, a short woman with curly, graying hair, angrily tapping a ruler against the side of her blue polka-dotted blouse.
"I think I'll read it," said the teacher, walking up to the front of the class and slowly unfolding the note. Everyone in the class began to snicker, except Serena, who was blushing brightly, and Mina, who was nervously biting into her lip, knowing that the contents of the note were definitely something she hadn't intended to be made public.
"This is bad, Serena..." Mina whispered.
"'Hey Serena...'" the teacher read, adjusting her reading glasses so that she was able to read the rest of the note, "'do you think Trunks and Ami are doing it right now?' Well, I don't see what this has to do with Shakespeare, but-"
Suddenly, the door of the room creaked open, and Ami, wearing her red, white, and blue sailor fuku, meekly poked her head into the room. Almost immediately, the class erupted into laughter.
"Mrs. Liyane, I'm sorry about being late," said Ami, walking up to the teacher, who was still standing at the front of the room. "I... I overslept, and-"
"You can do it!" interrupted a loud boy from the back of the class, rising from his seat. "You can do it allll niiiight looong!"As the boy accentuated the last three words of his sentence with simulated thrusts of his pelvis, the class' laughter became even more uproarious, and Serena angrily elbowed Mina in the ribs.
"Nice going, perv!" Serena shouted, causing Mina to recoil back into her seat. "Now the class thinks Ami's some kind of slut or something...""Settle down, class!" yelled Mrs. Liyane, and immediately the laughter stopped, and the boy who had stood up meekly sat back down in his seat. Ami was now blushing brightly, her hand held up to her lips. "Mizuno-san, you may take your seat now... though I warn you that if you are tardy again in the future, you will be given detention for the day."
"Yes, Liyane-sensei," replied Ami, tiptoeing over to her seat at a desk just in front of Serena's. She briefly turned her head back to ask a question to Serena. "What was that boy talking about?""Um... nothing, really," Serena replied, glaring over at Mina while she talked. "Absolutely nothing at all..."
---
Trunks stepped into the church, a resolute stare on his face. His golden aura and his electrical field, the signature of an Ascended Super Saiyan, shined prominently around him as he walked down the aisle, a gaze of intense determination remaining in his gaze the entire time. As he reached the center of the church, five large, golden crosses slowly dangled down from the ceiling, and bound to the crosses at the wrists and ankles were the five Sailor Senshi, unconscious as the crosses slowly fell. As Trunks walked up to the very front of the church, a familiar figure appeared in front of him. It was Frieza in his final form, his giant black wings brightly pulsating with energy.
"So we meet again, Freiza," said Trunks, calmly smiling as his aura expanded. "You'd better let my friends go, right now!"
"Or what are you going to do to me, you stupid Saiyan monkey?" Frieza replied. "I've got a big surprise for you!"
Suddenly, eight perfect clones of Nikashi leapt through the stained-glass windows on the left side of the church, while eight perfect clones of Pandemonium leapt through the windows on the right. Their auras shined even brighter than Frieza's, and Trunks immediately prepared himself for a fight.
"These simulations will be a bit weaker than the real thing..." Trunks thought as he faced down the clones. "But it's still better than nothing! I just hope mom programmed them right..."
Trunks could feel a fist crashing into his back from behind, and knew immediately that it belonged to Frieza. The punch did little more than tingle, and Frieza screamed in horror as Trunks turned around and blasted him into oblivion with a single large blast of ki. Then, Trunks turned around and saw the eight Nikashis and Pandemoniums, all flying toward him at an incredible speed. As one Pandemonium came in, Trunks dodged the punch and leaned forward, catching another Pandemonium in the stomach with a powerful elbow. The Pandemonium clone doubled over and coughed up simulated blood onto Trunks' chest. Trunks was unfazed, but as he prepared another attack, he could feel his body stretched out violently as four of the Nikashi clones had lashed their whips around Trunks' wrists and ankles and were now trying to pull Trunks apart, his body suspended spread-eagle, high up into the air.
"It's always more fun with a friend, isn't it, Trunksie-poo?" shouted one of the Nikashi's, a smile on her face. Trunks smiled back at her, and his entire body shined with a bright, blue light.
"I couldn't agree more," Trunks replied. A huge wave of energy suddenly exploded forth from Trunks' arms and legs, immediately disintegrating the energy strands holding Trunks and blasting all four Nikashis back into the walls of the church. Before Trunks even had time to rest, he was assaulted on all sides by furious blows from several more Nikashis, as well as several Pandemoniums who had also decided to join in on the fun. The punches and kicks came in incredibly fast, and some of them even made contact as the rapid-fire attacks began to overwhelm the overworked half-Saiyan.
"Pathetic fool!" shouted one of the Pandemoniums, punching Trunks hard in the face. A small stream of blood began to trickle from Trunks' nose.
"I'm not an octopus, I can't block them all..." thought Trunks. "But maybe this could work..."
With speed fast enough to blind Pandemonium OR Nikashi, Trunks reached out and grabbed one of the Nikashis by her hair, then swung her right into one of the Pandemoniums, hitting him in the chest as hard as he could. The impact broke the Nikashi clone's neck, and the entire clone disappeared to simulate 'death'. The impact also shattered the Pandemonium clone's ribs, and the clone was thrown violently to the ground, creating a large explosion as it made impact. Then, Trunks flew out of the crowd toward the back of the church. When the Pandemoniums and Nikashis began to follow, Trunks fired hundreds of ki blasts at them. The blasts that were mistakenly aimed for the Senshis' crosses skillfully looped around them, catching the clones by surprise and rendering them unable to dodge. When the smoke from the blasts had cleared, nearly all of the clones had fallen to the ground, and several had been destroyed. Trunks smiled as he felt his ki aura still pulsating at nearly full power.
"It didn't take much at all to wipe these guys out..." Trunks thought. "Now I'm getting the hang of these powers!"
Trunks flew forward and smashed his clenched fists into the chest of one of the Pandemonium clones, knocking it straight down to the ground and on top of a fallen Nikashi. As soon as they'd hit the ground, Trunks had already begun preparing for their demise.
"Ka...me...ha...me...ha!!!" Trunks shouted, firing a large ki blast at the immobilized pair and obliterating them both.A punch from a Pandemonium clone came in at the same time, but Trunks was able to easily block the punch with his forearm and knock the clone all the way back into the wall before easily disintegrating it with a ki blast. After a few more similar exchanges, all of the Nikashis and Pandemoniums had been vaporized, and Trunks slowly levitated to the ground, smiling at a job well done.
"Whew, that was a pretty good workout..." Trunks said, breathing heavily as he spoke. Sweat was running down from his face to his chest, and as he wiped the sweat from his brow, he realized that victory hadn't come easily. "Still probably have a bit of a ways to go..."
Trunks flew around, freeing the simulated Senshi from their crosses to complete the simulation. As he freed each one, they disappeared, and Trunks smiled again, knowing that though the Senshi were holograms and their peril wasn't real, it was still nice to know that he hadn't let any harm come to them, which was, in Trunks' mind, just as important as defeating his holographic opponents. But when he reached Ami's cross, he noticed something very strange. It appeared as if she had been already removed, which puzzled Trunks very much.
"That's weird, I don't remember taking her down..."
"Oh, Trunks... maybe you should look over here."
Trunks turned around, and gasped when he realized what was happening. One of the Pandemonium clones had apparently remained alive, and was now holding a glowing energy sword to the unconscious Sailor Mercury's neck. Trunks knew that both Pandemonium and Ami were just holograms, but the sight was still terrifying, and Trunks' eyes grew wide with fear.
"Let her go!" Trunks shouted, pointing at Pandemonium and charging up a ball of energy on the end of his finger. "Mom programmed these holograms so realistically... they even take hostages..."
"Perhaps I should just do this," said Pandemonium, slicing the blade across Sailor's neck. Without a word, the Senshi fell to the ground, instantly killed by the fatal blow. The hologram disappeared as soon as it hit the ground, and Trunks went into a rage, flying at Pandemonium and pummeling him mercilessly with several powerful punches before finally, Pandemonium disappeared, his neck shattered by a brutal kick from Trunks. The church environment disappeared as well as the simulation ended, leaving Trunks alone in the empty training chamber, on his knees.
"Ami..." Trunks whispered, his lip beginning to quiver. "It was just a hologram... a simulation... but why did it seem so real? If I couldn't protect you in the simulation..."
A tear slid down Trunks' face. He wiped it away and stood up, shaking his head.
"Get a hold of yourself, Trunks..." Trunks told himself, continuing to shake his head. "It was just... a simulation... today, it ends for real. I'm going to destroy that ship, and all the evil beings inhabiting it! I have to do it, not just for Ami, but for my mom, and everyone else!"
The door to the training chamber opened. Trunks turned around and saw his mother Bulma walking in, a tray of small sandwiches in one hand, and a glass of orange juice in the other.
"I thought all this training might make you hungry, so I whipped up some lunch really quick for you to have... you know, take a little break from all this training," said Bulma, a loving smile on her face as she set the tray and the glass of juice on the floor. "Trunks, is something troubling you?"
"It's... it's nothing, really," said Trunks, sitting down and picking up a sandwich from the tray. "How are the repairs on Ami's visor going?"
"Well, I think I've finally figured the thing out, and now I'm making pretty good progress!" Bulma said proudly. "It should be all done by the time Ami finishes school for the day!"
"That's great, mom... you're the best," Trunks said, leaning up and kissing his mother on the cheek before taking another bite from his sandwich. As Bulma started to leave, she once more noticed the troubled look on her son's face."It's... it's about those enemies up there, isn't it?" Bulma asked, sitting down next to Trunks, who looked up from his tray of food and began to shake his head. "Don't pretend there's nothing wrong, Trunks..."
"It's just... I'm really worried about Ami," Trunks replied, slightly bowing his head. "I know that when I go up there again, she'll want to come with me... and that's great and all, but... if she comes, she might get hurt. You know what happened the last time she got involved in something like this."
"Yes, and as I recall, she saved your life," said Bulma, patting Trunks' hand. "You've got to be a little less worried about Ami... she loves you, and you know she doesn't want you to get hurt... your battles are her battles too, and as long as you two are together, she's going to be like that, and it's just something you have to accept. I remember when your father went out to fight the androids... I wanted to go out with him, I wanted to be with him, make sure he didn't get hurt, but he just said-"
"Not... not that last time," said Trunks, shaking his head. "I mean... a long time ago... that last time. When she was abducted by Frieza."
"Oh, Trunks..." Bulma said, a worried frown appearing on her face. "That... she didn't choose for that to happen... Frieza came here and kidnapped her, she wasn't taken because she was with you... I thought you and her talked about this already, several times."
"We have, but... but what if Ami comes with me, and... and something happens?" Trunks asked, the same worried look on his face as the one on that of his mother's. "Those fiends, they've got no honor... while I'm fighting, another one could come and snatch Ami before I've even had the chance to turn around. I can't stand to see her in a situation like that again, mom! When she's hurt, it tears me apart!"
"Trunks!" Bulma shouted, her hands flying to her son's cheeks and forcing Trunks to look into her eyes. "Listen to me. Ami is strong. She is prepared for anything that could happen to her. You think she hasn't trained just as hard as you have? She's determined never to let herself be taken like that again! She doesn't want to be helpless in front of you because she knows how terrible it makes you feel! Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that Ami might be in danger! We're all in danger, Trunks! Everyone on both worlds, and maybe in both universes! And the sooner you and Ami destroy that danger... together, then the sooner it will go away. Until then, you just have to fight, Trunks..."
"Mom..." Trunks said, placing his hands on Bulma's and gently taking them into his own, understanding that his mother was right, understanding that he would have to put his fears aside and go into battle prepared for whatever might happen, even if it meant danger for Ami, the girl he loved.... "You... you're right... thank you..."
"I'm scared too, Trunks... every day," Bulma said, leaning closer to Trunks. "I fear for you and Ami... I just want the two of you to be happy... you're my son... the only thing I have left... and I love you so, so very much..."
With tears streaming down her face, Bulma pulled Trunks into a tight, motherly embrace, both of them knowing that they all had a very important battle ahead... and that the battle of evil would not easily be won, but with Trunks and Ami working together, and a little help from their friends, anything was possible.
---
After Serena, Ami, Rei, Mina, and Lita finished school for the day, they all went over to Rei's shrine... with the exception of Ami, who went to the hospital where her mother worked. Ami hadn't seen her mother in two days, and was beginning to miss her very much... plus, she probably knew about Ami being late for school, and Ami wanted to explain to her mother the entire circumstances behind her tardiness. Hopefully, it wouldn't happen again.
She entered the hospital and quickly made her way up to the office where her mother worked. She only planned to stay for a few minutes, knowing that her mother was a very, very busy person. Once she reached the office, she walked inside and saw her mother, as usual, sitting and working diligently at her desk. She looked up and smiled as Ami walked into the room.
"Mom?" Ami said, walking over and sitting down at the desk across from her mother. Marika continued to smile, though she immediately said what Ami knew she would probably say.
"The school called and said you came in two hours tardy today," said Marika, her smile quickly fading into a more serious expression. "Ami, if you start missing too much school, your grades are going to slip. Don't think I'm always going to be able to cover for you."
"I understand, mother... it was my fault, I stayed over at Trunks' house and lost track of time.... I'll try to be more alert in the future."
"You'll never be a doctor if you keep showing up late for school," replied Marika. "How do you think your patients will feel if you're late for an important surgery? It could mean the difference between life and death, Ami, you know that..."
Ami nodded again, sighing as she turned away from her mother's desk.
"I... I'm sorry I didn't come home last night," said Ami, hanging her head sadly. "I should have visited you first, just for a few minutes..."
"Your friends... told me everything last night," replied Marika, smiling and reaching out to turn Ami back towards her. "Is Trunks okay?"
A smile returned to Ami's face, and she quickly nodded.
"You... you wouldn't believe what I said last night... I was a complete nervous wreck after hearing you'd charged in there to save Trunks on your own... I told your friends that they'd better take better care of you, or-"
"They did care for me," Ami said, reaching out and touching her mother's cheek. "If it hadn't been for them, I-"
"I know, Ami, I know... they stalled Trunks' captors long enough for you to find him and save him," said Marika. "You must... really care for him to take such a big risk like that..."
"I love him, mom... with all of my heart," Ami said quietly. "If I wasn't still in school, I'd probably ask to marry him..."
Ami gulped. She hadn't confessed that to anyone before, and she worried that her mother might take it the wrong way.
"You'll stay in school," your mother said sternly. "How are you going to support Trunks and yourself?"
"I'm going to finish high school... and graduate from college too, mom, don't worry... I'll wait to marry Trunks until after I've finished all of my schooling... you know that more than anyone, mom... I'm going to be a doctor, just like you."
"That's an awful long time to wait," said Marika. "It'll take you two more years to finish high school... plus college, plus medical school... that's probably ten years from now until you finish all of your schooling."
"Well... maybe I can marry Trunks while I'm in medical school," said Ami, smiling. "It... it doesn't matter, really... as long as we love each other, it doesn't matter when we get married..."
"And I suppose you're not going to wait ten years for-"
"Mom!" Ami cried, blushing prominently as she immediately realized what her mother was referring to. Before she could say anything else, Trunks walked into the room, leaving the door open behind him.
"I heard someone yelling... was that you, Ami?" Trunks asked. He noticed the blush on her face, and started to speak again before Marika interrupted him.
"You know, while I am a successful doctor, I run a search and rescue business on the side.... I'm going to charge you quite a bit for that rescue my daughter performed yesterday," Marika said, smiling as she attempted a bit of humor.
"Do you take cash, check, or charge?" Trunks asked, not missing a step.
"I'm surprised you even know about checks and credit cards, Trunks... from what I've gathered from Ami, you and your mom are living in the Stone Age," Marika replied, still smiling.
"You pick up quite a bit when you visit this world as much as I have," said Trunks, putting a hand on Ami's shoulder. "You ready?"
Ami looked up and smiled at Trunks, standing and kissing him on the cheek.
"Just a few more minutes, okay, Trunks dear?" Ami said, turning back to her mother. "Mom, you don't mind if Trunks and I-"
"Have sex? Sure, there's a janitor's closet right across the hall, I'm sure both of you could fit in there," said Marika, giggling a bit at her own joke. While Trunks chuckled, Ami's entire face immediately turned a bright shade of red, her fists clenching as she became very annoyed with her mother's off-beat sense of humor.
"I've had to deal with this kind of thing all day at school, and I really would like not having to hear it from my own mother," Ami said, her teeth beginning to clench. "Dammit, Mina... why'd you have to write that stupid note?"
"What did she write?" Trunks thought back to Ami, her mind having inadvertently transmitted the thought. "Something about us?"
"Nothing... I'll tell you later. Well, Trunks and I had better get going, mom..."
"Thanks for stopping by," said Marika, standing up and walking over to Ami. "Ami, I... I'm really sorry if my little joke-"
"It's okay, mom... you were just trying to lighten the mood a bit," said Ami, wrapping her arms around her mother's back. "Thanks for making Trunks laugh... he's had a really bad last 24 hours... he needed it."
"Sounds to me like you've had it a little bit worse," Trunks said, taking Ami's hand as the two walked together out of the room. "I want to know what that note said before I go back to fight the rest of the Galactic Research Armada."
"Sure, Trunks... anything you say..."
---
Upon returning to Trunks' world and entering the Briefs' home, Trunks and Ami were immediately confronted in the living room by Bulma, who held both of her hands concealed behind her back.
"Hello, Trunks! Hi, Ami!" Bulma said, a proud smile on her face that revealed the fact that she'd either invented or repaired something, or maybe both.
"Hey, mom..." Trunks said, trying to look behind Bulma's back. "What's back there, mom? Is Ami's visor fixed?"
"Well, sort of..." Bulma said, a sly grin on her face. She revealed her right hand, closed into a fist. Then, she opened up the fist, revealing a small, blue, dot-like object on her palm. Ami immediately recognized it as her visor, and she transformed into Sailor Mercury, then pinned the small object on her ear. It was an earring, which transformed into her visor as soon as she pressed it.
"It's working as good as new!" Sailor Mercury said, scanning the various functions on the visor to make sure they all worked. "It's in perfect working order! Thank you!"
"So, what's in your other hand?" Trunks asked, trying to glance at Bulma's left hand, still held behind her back. "You're hiding something, I know you are!"
"Now, Trunks, hold on... patience is a virtue, you know," Bulma said. She slowly pulled out her left hand, also clenched into a fist. "Now, this is going to make you think you're seeing double, so..."
Bulma opened her hand. There, in the center of her palm, was a blue earring, identical to Ami's, except for the fact that it was a clip-on and not an actual pin earring.
"This is yours, Trunks," Bulma said, clipping the earring onto Trunks' right ear.
"Wait a minute, mom..." Trunks said, reaching up to the earring. "You're not giving me this just because I think Ami's looks nice, are you?"
"Press it, Trunks," said Bulma. When Trunks pressed the earring, a red visor appeared over his eyes, similar to Sailor Mercury's blue one.
"I don't believe it..." Sailor Mercury said, gasping as she looked at Trunks' new visor. "It's... identical..."
"Not really," said Bulma. "It's just a scaled-down version... you know how yours interfaces with that little computer you're always carrying, Ami? Well, Trunks' doesn't do that. Also, it can't scan for weaknesses or power levels or information. Basically, all it is is a cross-dimensional, interplanetary walkie-talkie. When you want to say something, just press the button on the earring and begin talking. Your message will be transferred in both audio and text form to the other visor. It's a function that wasn't on your visor before, Ami, so I added it in by adapting some things from the old Tuffle scouters. Basically now, if one of you gets into danger, you can quickly contact the other and you'll be able to come to each other's rescue! It wasn't too hard to do, really..."
"Mom, it's.... it's great!" Trunks said, turning around and wrapping his arms around Bulma. "Thank you..."
"Yes, this will really help both of us out quite a bit!" said Sailor Mercury, detransforming and turning to Trunks. "Now we don't have to be nearly as worried about one another... and if one of us gets into trouble, the other will quickly be able to come and help!"
"I figured that since you two are about to go into the final battle with Exeter and his lieutenants, you'd need to have some piece of mind in case something terrible happens..." Bulma said. "You... are going soon, right?"
"Actually," Trunks said, turning to Ami and taking her hands in his, a serious look appearing on his face. "I.... I..."
Somehow, Ami knew what Trunks was about to tell her. Her lip began to quiver, and she slowly shook her head.
"I... want to go to the space station alone again, Ami," said Trunks, tightly gripping Ami's hands. "This... this is something I need to do alone... I don't want you or your friends getting involved in this one, Ami..."
"Trunks, no!" Ami cried, beginning to sob. "You know what happened the last time you went up there alone! I thought... I thought I was never going to see you again!"
"But this time is different, Ami... this time we have these!" Trunks said, pointing up to his red visor, which was still over his eyes. "If anything happens to me, if I'm in any danger at all, I'll tell you immediately-"
"And I can... I can come to save you again?" Ami asked, almost pleadingly. "And the Sailor Senshi?"Trunks nodded.
"I promise I'll tell you, Ami, at the first sign of danger... it's just that... I've got these new powers now, and I've gotten so strong, and.... and I don't want to endanger you unless it's completely necessary."
"You.... you promise?" Ami asked, and again, Trunks nodded. "Oh, Trunks.... I...."
"Ami.... please don't think I think you're in my way," Trunks replied, knowing that that's how he was probably making Ami feel. "It's just that...""I understand, Trunks," said Ami, who then leaned over and kissed Trunks deeply on the lips before he could say anything more. "I love you... and you know I'll always be there for you..."
"Whenever I need you, Ami... before anything happens to me... I promise I'll call you," said Trunks, reaching up and pressing his earring, making the visor disappear. "You have my absolute word."
"So... you're going then, Trunks, is that what I'm hearing?" Bulma asked, having just gone into the kitchen to obtain a cup of coffee. She took a sip, and then began to speak again. "You'd better be careful, Trunks..."
"I will, mom," Trunks said, leaning over and kissing Bulma on the cheek before turning back to Ami. "And I will call you if anything goes wrong... anything at all."
"I know you will, Trunks," Ami replied, ever-trusting, ever-loving, yet ever-worried at the same time. "And I promise to save you if you get into trouble..."
---
Trunks and Ami now stood just outside Rei's shrine, where they had teleported to using Trunks' teleportation wand. He created another gate leading to the space station, then handed the wand over to Ami.
"You go in and tell your friends to be ready," said Trunks, pointing toward the shrine. "Remember, I'll call you if anything goes wrong."
Ami nodded, and then looked around to see if anyone else was watching her. Once she'd made sure, she transformed into Sailor Mercury and activated her VR visor.
"Be careful, Trunks..." whispered Sailor Mercury, once more kissing Trunks deeply on the lips. "You come back soon... and you come back safe."
"I will, Ami..." Trunks whispered back, and kissed Ami one last time, their lips engulfing one another's as they slowly savored what might be, but both knew wasn't going to be, their last kiss. Finally, they pulled away, and Trunks slowly began to back into the gate. "Ami... I love you."
"I love you too, Trunks..." Sailor Mercury replied. Trunks smiled at her once more, and then backed into the gate, which closed behind him, sealing Trunks in its black void. Sailor Mercury looked down at the transportation wand, clenched tightly in her right hand. "He'll have to call me on my visor anyway... since this thing is the only way he's getting back here. I just hope it works like Bulma said it would..."
---
Trunks quickly made his way to the center of the huge space station, having transformed to his Ascended Super Saiyan state and then powering up to full power immediately upon arrival. He was quick but cautious, knowing that potential danger could lurk around every corner. He knew not of Pandemonium and Nikashi's deaths at the hands of Sunzeki, and thus suspected they could be anywhere within the station's halls, in any room, behind any door. But as Trunks navigated to the station's core, he realized that he couldn't find anyone... not a soldier, a lieutenant, a warrior... not even Pandemonium or Nikashi. Finally, he reached the very room he was looking for... after walking down a very long and very wide hallway, he arrived at a large, iron gate, heavily protected by several security locks. With one mighty blast, the gate, and all the other gates behind it were vaporized, and Trunks floated all the way through the gates to a small, well-lit blue sliding door with the word "EXETER" clearly engraved in the middle.
"This is it..." Trunks thought. "Exeter's chambers.... this is where that bastard must be hiding... what a coward... he's probably not even as strong as his lieutenants... at least I hope he isn't..."
Trunks looked to his right and saw that this door, like the gates behind, was guarded by numerous security locks. Trunks didn't have time for things like that. He placed his hand on the door, and with a single small pulse of ki, the door fell cleanly from its placing, hitting the floor inside the room with a loud thud. Trunks walked into Exeter's chambers, a large, wide room similar to the hallways Trunks had encountered before. Hundreds of computers and viewscreens lined the walls, and instead of a metallic floor was a plush, carpet, its red color bearing an uncanny resemblance to blood as Trunks slowly stepped toward the back of the room. There, behind a large, wooden desk, was a large, black chair, its backside facing Trunks, its frontside and occupant facing a large, clear window in the back of the room, with a very clear view of Trunks' ravaged Earth below, its continents brown and ruined, its waters still beautiful and blue, deceiving the carnage that had taken place on its surface. Trunks had never seen his planet from space before, and was stunned at the incredible contrast his planet appeared to represent. Though the land was destroyed and stained with horrible death, the oceans were still blue and lively, the only areas of the planet the androids had seemingly left untouched.
"It's beautiful... your planet," came the voice of the man sitting in the chair, a casual, light, almost arrogant sort of voice that Trunks didn't recognize, but immediately assumed must belong to Exeter.
"You're one to talk..." Trunks said, his voice lined with anger. "You're just like them... just like the androids that ravaged my planet and exterminated its people!"
"I'm not interested in your planet," said the voice, its tone soft and deliberate. "Or the people living on it. If you're angry about the attack on your village, ask Pandemonium... well, if you still could ask him, anyway."
"I don't care who actually planned the attack, you're all responsible! Every one of you is responsible... for kidnapping my mother, for twice attacking my village and my friends, and killing one of them... for attacking the Sailor Senshi... and for trying to kill me and Ami! And since you're the leader, you're responsible most of all, Exeter!"
"Exeter? Hah..."
The person in the chair slowly turned the chair around, and for the first time, Trunks could see the young face of its occupant. The green eyes, the silver hair, the blue and gold jumpsuit, the gray trenchcoat... Trunks had never seen this person before, and still continued to think he was Exeter, until the mystery person finally revealed himself...
"My name is Sunzeki, a direct lieutenant of the supreme commander of the Galactic Research Armada," said the man, standing up from the chair and walking around the desk to face Trunks. "If you're looking for Pandemonium and Nikashi... I destroyed them for being incompetent and weak. "They captured you, and then couldn't even fight the Senshi when they tried to bust you out. My goodness, Pandemonium even fought Ami one on one, and he lost. Perhaps if her friends hadn't showed up, he eventually would have killed her, but he at least should have been able to stop Ami from finding you. I guess it's true what they say about love... it does conquer all."
"Then why are you trying to fight me?" Trunks asked, his ki aura pulsating brightly. "Because I'm fighting for love right now..."
"I'm feeling lucky," said Sunzeki. In a flash, his fist came flying at Trunks' face. Trunks raised up his arm and blocked the fist with the side of his wrist, a large ki wave flying off of the two warriors as their blows met. From the moment Sunzeki's fist made contact with his arm, Trunks knew that Sunzeki was far more powerful that Pandemonium... because for the first time since being healed by Rose, Angela, and Cammy, Trunks felt the sensation of pain, if still incredibly slight. Sunzeki smiled. "I've always enjoyed a challenge."
Displaying incredible agility, Sunzeki leapt off of the ground, did a forward somersault over Trunks, and landed just behind him, then struck quickly with another powerful punch. This time, Trunks stopped the punch by catching Sunzeki's wrist in his hand. Before Sunzeki could counter, Trunks released Sunzeki's wrist, leaped up, and kicked Sunzeki hard in the face. Sunzeki skidded backward for several feet, but remained standing, and blasted Trunks with a flurry of golden energy blasts. The blasts came in quickly, but Trunks still managed to block the ones headed for him. The rest flew harmlessly around Trunks and slammed into the desk and chair behind him, vaporizing them instantly.
"Exeter's not going to be too happy about that," said Trunks, "unless of course, you killed him as well."
"Now, that wouldn't be very smart, would it?" Sunzeki asked, stepping backward toward the entrance of the room. "Should I fail, who will fight you if Exeter's dead?"
"You think you're going to lose?" Trunks asked, stepping toward Sunzeki as fast as Sunzeki was stepping back.
"I'm petrified of you, Trunks, terrified..." Sunzeki said, smiling the entire time he was speaking. "I saw what you did to Pandemonium... blew his arm clearly off.... you think I want to be mutilated like that?"
Trunks picked up his pace, walking several steps more at a time. Suddenly, he picked up an incredible amount of speed and flew toward Sunzeki, hoping to tackle him to the ground. Sunzeki stopped walking backward at the entrance of the room and stood still, unflinching as Trunks flew at him.
"What's he doing?" Trunks asked himself. "He's going to try something as soon as I get up there... I should stop... no, he's bluffing! He wants me to be intimidated by him!"
But as soon as Trunks closed to within five feet, Sunzeki pointed his palm outward. Immediately, Trunks was blasted back by a glowing, green energy shield, all around the front of Sunzeki's body. Trunks flew back nearly halfway across the room, finally stopping and landing on the ground, barely able to maintain his balance. Trunks looked down at his arms, which were slightly burned by the powerful energy attack. He'd nearly been bowled over...
"So he wasn't bluffing," Trunks thought, reaching up to the earring on his right ear. "I should probably call Ami... she said to call at the first sign of... no, I can't! I can't call her... I can beat this guy!"
As Trunks pondered whether or not to call Ami, Sunzeki wasted no time, assailing Trunks with a flurry of green ki blasts. Trunks looked up just in time, and was able to block most of them with a large wave of blue ki that flew out from his palms right before the main wave of blasts hit. The rest, however, were able to get through, going around Trunks' wave and slamming into Trunks' face, side, and legs. Trunks could feel every single one of the blasts... and all of them hurt. Again, Trunks was knocked backward.
"You seem a little distracted, Trunks..." said Sunzeki. "Did I attack at a bad time?"
"I can't be thinking about Ami right now... this battle is important! Ami, I'm sorry, but until I know I'm in trouble, I can't let you get involved!"
With renewed fury, Trunks lunged forward and slammed his fist hard into the side of Sunzeki's face. As Trunks' fist made impact, Sunzeki cried out in pain and was tossed all the way out of the room, hitting the hard, cold metallic ground of one of the hallways and skidding across it for several seconds on his back before coming to a stop and quickly standing back up, rubbing a large, purple bruise that had appeared on his cheek. Trunks flew out of Exeter's chambers and into the hallway, where Sunzeki greeted him with a smile.
"Incredible, Trunks," Sunzeki said, smiling while shaking his head back and forth, seemingly in disbelief. "Everything... everything they said about you was right, Trunks... I've never been hit like that before in my life... what incredible power... now I know what Pandemonium and Nikashi were up against... why they couldn't hold you..."
"Pandemonium defeated me, Sunzeki," Trunks said, his eyes fixated on Sunzeki's. "He defeated me and captured me, and I was at his mercy. If Ami hadn't come to my rescue, I'd still be trapped in that dank, dirty prison cell, gagged, bound, and bleeding. I'm not afraid to admit that, because-"
"Because you love Ami very much," Sunzeki replied. "You know, it takes a strong man to admit that, Trunks."
In an infinitesimal fraction of a second, Trunks was doubled over, gasping in pain. That was all the time it took for Sunzeki to fly the length of the room and elbow Trunks in the gut, as hard as he could. Then, Sunzeki put his palm to Trunks' face and fired a flashing, golden sphere of ki that sent the half-Saiyan hurtling backward across the room. Again, Trunks managed to bring himself to a stop and remain standing. His hand briefly went up from his stomach to his lip, which he ran his finger across to check for blood. There was none. Trunks' lips curved into a smile.
"Even Pandemonium made blood come out when he elbowed me in the gut," said Trunks, pointing across the room at Sunzeki. "What's wrong? Is it just lack of effort?"
"Believe you me, Trunks, I'm trying," said Sunzeki, returning the smile. "Remember... I'm fighting for my life here."
Trunks and Sunzeki flew across the corridor at each other. Trunks' ki energy aura was shining brightly, while Sunzeki seemed to have no aura at all. When the two warriors clashed, however, their entire bodies seemed to be surrounded by spheres of white light as the impact knocked both of them back, Trunks to one end of the long hallway, and Sunzeki to the other end. They hovered in the air for several seconds after that, staring each other down, both of them preparing to make the next move.
"Speaking of Sailor Mercury," shouted Sunzeki to Trunks from across the room, "why isn't she here with you now? Is she afraid to fight me?"
Trunks said nothing, trying his best not to let anything that had to do with Ami get out into the open in this fight. It would only be a distraction to him... and in a fight like this, where Trunks didn't know his opponent's strength, he couldn't afford any distractions.
"I see..." said Sunzeki, slowly floating toward Trunks. "Then tell me this. If she's not afraid to fight me, and you're just keeping her somewhere, away from the fight... who's to say that someone's not out right now, trying to capture her, or even worse... kill her? You've noticed Exeter's gone... perhaps that's his plan, that's been his plan all along, to destroy you from the inside by destroying the one person you hold most dear... your heart... Ami Mizuno."
"SHUT UP!" Trunks shouted, his rage exploding as well as his ki aura. "Don't even TALK about Ami! Leave her OUT of this fight, you damn son of a bitch!"
His fury overflowing, his electrical field sparking, Trunks flew at Sunzeki, pummeling him with a series of brutal punches and kicks that seemed to knock Sunzeki more and more senseless with every deadly blow. Trunks could see bruises begin to form on Sunzeki as his fists and feet crashed into Sunzeki's face, chest, arms, and legs, and could tell that he was dealing a great deal of damage to his powerful opponent. Finally, after several dozen such blows, Trunks leapt backward and began charging up for a gigantic attack. His entire body glowed a bright, white glow as he gathered as much ki as he could into one gigantic blast. He extended his palms toward the battered and stunned Sunzeki, spreading his fingers as wide as he could.
"It's... all over... right now!" Trunks shouted. "FINAL FLASH!"
Like a gigantic bomb detonating, Trunks' blast hit Sunzeki and created a gargantuan boom as it exploded, filling the entire room in a bright, white flash that blinded even Trunks for several seconds. When the light finally disappeared, Trunks surveyed the damage. The blast had blown a gigantic hole in the room, creating a gash that spanned several sections of the station, but thankfully didn't puncture the station itself. Sunzeki, however, was nowhere to be found, though a wisp of black smoke had appeared where Sunzeki once was.
"I.... I blasted him... completely into oblivion..." Trunks said, gasping and breathing heavily as he finally let his arms drop to his sides. "Blew the bastard away... he deserved it... Ami... I did it... I-"
Suddenly, the room began to flash with a bright, red light. Warning sirens began to blare loudly around Trunks.
"Damn, must have triggered an alarm with the blast," Trunks said, beginning to smile as he floated into the next room through the hole he'd made in the hallway. "Serves them right... guess I'd better call Ami and-"
"Trunks..." came a raspy voice, seemingly through a speaker located somewhere in the ship. Trunks looked up to where he'd heard the voice coming from, and sure enough, a small speaker was located on the ceiling, a field of holes punched into a metallic silver disc.
"That sounds like... couldn't be...." Trunks said to himself. "Sunzeki... I don't believe it!"
"I must say, that was some incredible attack... I was right in the middle, too... got some pretty serious scrapes," said the voice, with a carefree tone completely unusual for someone who had just been in the middle of a Final Flash fired by a level two Super Saiyan. "Is that a third degree burn on my arm? Good thing it's not my dick, huh?"
"Where are you?" Trunks shouted, anger and frustration building in his voice.
"Where else would I be? Control room, that's the only place that has a universal intercom... that and the desk I just blew up. Well, at least your blast didn't damage this intercom, huh? Hey, if you want to finish this, hurry up and find me. If not, that's fine too... I'm losing this fight, and I'm getting pretty scared in here. You didn't blow up the bathroom, did you?"
Sunzeki chuckled loudly, and Trunks cried out in rage, his ki aura flaring up yet again.
"I'm going to find you, Sunzeki..." Trunks said, "and I'm going to FINISH what I started! Hold on, Ami... I'm going to beat this guy and get back to you soon... I promise..."
---
"Got any threes?" Mina asked, playing a game of Go Fish with Lita, Rei, and the three sisters (Rose, Angela, and Cammy) in the corner of the front room in Rei's shrine.
"Go fish," Lita said. Mina heaved a sigh of disappointment and drew a card from the pile in the center of the three girls. While they played, Serena, Darien, and Sailor Mercury (Ami had been the only girl to transform) stood in the opposite corner, watching them. Sailor Mercury had a worried look on her face.
"Trunks said to be ready... what are they doing playing Go Fish?" Sailor Mercury asked, annoyed at her friends, who were just trying to have a little fun.
"What if Trunks doesn't need our help, Ami?" Serena asked. "I mean, it's better to be safe than sorry, but... I don't think Rei and the others wanna be bored, either..."
"I really hope Trunks doesn't need our help," said Sailor Mercury, "but if he does, we have to be ready at a moment's notice..."
"Hey," said Cammy, briefly standing up from her game and walking over to Serena, Darien, and Sailor Mercury, "why don't we use that teleport thingy to go to Trunks' world?"
"Because then we'd have to use it twice to get to Trunks if he needs us," said Sailor Mercury. "It's best that we just stay here..."
"I know why you want to go to Trunks' world," said Serena, a smile forming on her face. "You want to visit Patrick, don't you?"
"I do not!" Cammy shouted, a blush appearing on her face. "I mean, um... I do like him, but... I just thought maybe we should see what Bulma's doing... her son's up there fighting, and I want to see if she's okay..."
"I wonder what Bulma is doing right now, anyway..." Sailor Mercury thought.
---
At the kitchen table in the Briefs' house...
"Got any sevens?" Bulma asked Patrick, sitting just across from her at the table.
"Go fish," Patrick replied, pointing toward the pile of cards at the table's center.
---
"If Ami wants to go to Trunks' world, we'll go," said Serena, "but I don't think..."
"Actually," replied Sailor Mercury, turning toward Serena, Darien, and Cammy, "I think we should go... just to see what Bulma's up to. I'm worried that Exeter might send someone to attack Bulma if Trunks attacks him... an extra gate jump only takes ten more seconds... Trunks will be alright, I know it. He promised me."
"Really?" Cammy said, eagerly beginning to jump up and down. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!"
"You're welcome, Cammy," Sailor Mercury replied, taking out her transportation wand and creating a dimensional gate. "Trunks... I'm counting on you..."
---
Aw, right in the middle of a battle, too! Well, round two of Trunks vs. Sunzeki is about to start... and are Bulma and Patrick really in danger? What IS Exeter's master plan, anyway? You've gotta keep reading to find out!