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: Yeah, Sunzeki's a chicken... a strong chicken, though. We'll see him again. And Trunks and Ami are pretty quick... once they destroy the power source they'll probably have enough time to make a gate. We'll just hafta find out!
Erika: Yep, a cliffhanger. I'd have finished up the cliffhanger, but I was getting tired and needed to end the chapter. Sorry for leaving you hanging!
Sonar de Mercury: Disneyland, huh? Cool! I'm gonna leave for Disneyworld this Saturday... that's why I've gotta finish these last couple of chapters before I leave (if something happens, I won't leave an unfinished story, you see). You'll see the final chapter sometime before Saturday, I promise!
MWD: Well, I'm glad you enjoy my story so much! Hope you like the final couple of chapters!
---
Still holding hands, Trunks and Sailor Mercury entered the glowing red energy sphere, and were immediately surprised to discover that being inside the sphere caused neither of them any pain.
"That's weird..." Sailor Mercury said, looking over at Trunks. "I'm not feeling anything at all... are you, Trunks?"
Trunks shook his head."I think we're both completely unharmed..." said Trunks, "but let's destroy this thing as quickly as we can anyway. We still have to keep it from hitting the Earth..."
Sailor Mercury nodded, and the two continued to float forward. Once they were fully inside the sphere, all the two could see in all directions was a brilliant, shining red glow, and each other. They floated further into the sphere, until Sailor Mercury's VR visor began to flash brightly."This is it..." Sailor Mercury said quietly. "The center of the sphere..."
"What should we do to destroy it?" Trunks asked. "Any blasts we use will fly to the outsides of the sphere..."
"We both need to release an equal amount of our energy at once," said Sailor Mercury. "You have far more energy than I do, Trunks, so you'll need to hold back... I just hope we've got enough..."
"It's alright, Ami... I'm sure we do," Trunks said, tightly gripping her hand as he began concentrating his ki. "Alright, Ami, now it's your turn to-"
Suddenly, Trunks could feel an immense, burning pain, coursing through his entire body. At the same time, he heard a piercing scream from right next to him, and he knew immediately that it was Ami who had issued the scream. He looked toward her and clenched her hand even tighter, feeling terribly distressed that Ami was in so much pain, and ignoring his own.
"Trunks... I think... it's reacting to the energy... we're giving off..." Sailor Mercury said, her voice strained. "It's reacting to our attack!"
"Then we really need to get this done quickly!" Trunks replied. "Hang in there, Ami... I'm feeling it too..."
Sailor Mercury nodded, and continued concentrating her energy, just as Trunks was doing. After several seconds of intense suffering, Sailor Mercury could no longer stand it, and screamed again, barely managing to sustain the energy she had gathered. Again, Trunks tightened his grip on her hand, leaning his face slowly toward Ami's. She turned to him, and began leaning in as well.
"I love you, Trunks..." Sailor Mercury whispered, barely able to speak. "We... we can do this..."
"I love you too, Ami..." Trunks replied, a single tear streaking down his face. "You're so strong, Ami... we're going to save everyone... together..."
The two lovers kissed, and at the same time, their combined energies were released in a brilliant, shining white wave that swept out over the sphere, disintegrating it almost instantly. The next thing Trunks and Ami knew, they were floating in the middle of the huge room, the sphere gone, and the room now collapsing around them. Quickly, Sailor Mercury withdrew the transportation wand from its casing and held it out in front of her.
"You did it, Ami..." Trunks said, wrapping his arms around Sailor Mercury in a congratulatory embrace.
"We did it, Trunks," Sailor Mercury corrected, gently kissing her beloved on the lips. "Let's go back home..."
---
Back down on Earth, in the middle of Nihimo Town, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus, along with Rose, Angela, Cammy, Patrick, and Tuxedo Mask, were watching two things: the menacing figure hovering hundreds of feet over the village, his silhouette barely visible in the sun's bright glare, and the huge object from space now rapidly streaking through the sky, becoming a bright fireball as it burned in the planet's atmosphere.
"Did... did he send that?" Sailor Moon shrieked, pointing at the silhouette and then at the fireball. "We've got to stop him!"
"I think we need to stop that first!" Sailor Mars shouted, pointing at the fireball. "It's big enough to do some serious damage if it hits!"
"Oh, this is just like that movie I saw... that bad movie, with Frodo, and... and the guy who played God in that Jim Carrey movie, and... and, and..."
"This isn't a movie, Cammy!" Angela shouted, lightly smacking her sister on the back of the head. "This is real life, and if we don't stop that... that thing, we're all going to-"Before Angela could say anything more, the fireball gave off a bright, white flash, and then exploded, the ball of light created by the explosion quickly filling the entire sky, briefly blinding everyone present. When the light disappeared, all that remained of the fireball were hundreds of tiny sparks, which quickly burned out and fell harmlessly to the ground as minuscule pieces of debris. The Senshi all gasped in shock.
"What... what happened?" Sailor Jupiter asked, pointing up to where the fireball once was. "I don't believe it..."
A black, swirling energy gate appeared in the middle of the group of friends, who all stepped back to allow Trunks and Sailor Mercury to emerge. Trunks had remained in Ascended Super Saiyan form, knowing that he still had work to do once he entered the village. The Senshi, the sisters, Patrick, and Tuxedo Mask converged on the two as soon as the gate closed.
"What in the world happened?" Sailor Moon shouted, tightly hugging Sailor Mercury, and then Trunks. "Did you... did you make that thing explode?"
"That was the Galactic Research Armada's space station..." said Trunks, "and Ami and I completely obliterated it."
"You mean... that was you two up there in that thing?" Rose asked in disbelief, pointing to the sky, and then to Trunks and Sailor Mercury. Trunks nodded, and then briefly stopped to think, before looking up into the sky, directly at the shadowy silhouette above.
"So that's Exeter..." Trunks thought, starting to float up into the air. "I knew I could feel a huge power as soon as I stepped out of that gate..."
"Trunks, what are you doing?" Sailor Mercury asked, gently grabbing Trunks' leg and pulling him back to Earth. "You're... going up to confront that thing? Look at yourself, Trunks... that fight with Sunzeki took a lot out of you..."
Trunks looked into Sailor Mercury's eyes, quickly realizing that she was right. His body, though not nearly as badly injured as it had been after Trunks had battled Pandemonium for the first time, was still aching significantly, and it was covered with bruises and cuts that Trunks had sustained during the fight, still extremely recent. Trunks knew that he wouldn't be able to fight Exeter at his full strength, but also knew that it was important to face him quickly, before he could do any damage. Trunks was extremely surprised that Exeter hadn't done anything already.
"Ami, stay here," Trunks said, pointing to the others. "Protect them as you would me... I'm going to be fine, Ami..."
Sailor Mercury nodded quietly, kissing Trunks on the lips.
"I don't know what Exeter is capable of, but this is something I have to do... thank you for understanding, Ami..."
"Don't you dare get killed, Trunks..." Sailor Mercury whispered, clasping her hands in front of her chest as Trunks floated up to confront the mysterious figure, high up in the air. As he got close, Trunks heard him speak for the first time.
"I was beginning to get a bit worried," said Exeter as Trunks finally floated up to his height and faced him from a distance of just ten feet away. "I thought I might have to fire a couple of blasts into that pathetic peasant village of yours."
"You'll leave my friends alone," said Trunks, anger beginning to fill his body once again as electricity sparked around his powerful fists. "There's a large, empty area just outside of town that goes on for dozens of miles. If we're going to fight, that's where it's going to be."
"That's quite alright with me," said Exeter, a faint, red glow representing his own powerful energy aura. "Just lead the way, Trunks."
"No... no tricks? You're not going to send anymore men into the town?" Trunks asked, a skeptical glare on his face. Exeter shook his head.
"They've all already been sent back to headquarters," Exeter said. "This mission has boiled down to just you and me, Trunks. I am to return to headquarters myself only after capturing you."
"Headquarters?" Trunks thought. "Sunzeki mentioned headquarters more than a few times when I fought him... it seems this Galactic Research Armada goes a lot farther than just Exeter..."
Trunks nodded once to Exeter, and then flew off quickly, far away from the village. Exeter followed Trunks as the half-Saiyan led him out into the open, barren wasteland.
"Wherever you take me, Trunks, I will defeat you... Sunzeki's already softened you up quite a bit... which should make your capture a piece of cake... but I must remember to be wary of surprises you may have in store... Pandemonium and Nikashi weren't, and it cost them their lives..."
"Where are they going?" asked Sailor Moon, pointing up at the vast trails of ki energy Trunks and Exeter had left behind in their wake.
"They're going to fight away from the village," Sailor Mercury said, her voice becoming a fearful whisper. "Trunks... I can't even communicate telepathically with you, you've already flown so far away... I don't want you to do this, Trunks... I know you have to defeat Exeter and save us, but... I can't stand the thought of what might happen to you..."
But at the same time, Ami knew that if anyone could defeat Exeter and liberate the two worlds threatened by his presence, it was her beloved Trunks, the strongest person she had ever known. His powers were incredible, and if he couldn't defeat Exeter, no one could. It was with that thought that Ami was able to smile, if only briefly, as she began to realize that once again, Trunks would be the heroic, brave warrior she'd always known him to be.
---
Trunks and Exeter landed in the middle of a vast, empty field, with no trees or grass in sight. Only harsh, barren ground existed, littered with the debris of homes and buildings shattered by the unnatural apocalypse that had occurred just years before.
"I'm going to give you a chance to go quietly, and come with me without a fight," said Exeter, "though I know that you'd never be willing to leave everything behind."
"You know me well," said Trunks, his brilliant aura of golden ki and blue electricity flaring prominently around him, as always. "I'll fight you until my death, Exeter."
"Unfortunately for you, that will not happen," Exeter replied. "Didn't you already hear me? You will be captured, Trunks, and personally taken to Galactic Research Armada headquarters by me. I already have a ship that I will use to leave the planet, in a secure location where neither you nor your friends will ever be able to find it."
"You can't fly a ship when you're dead," Trunks said. He flew at Exeter, using the same strategy that had worked so effectively with Pandemonium, a constant, aggressive attack. When Trunks reached Exeter, however, Exeter disappeared, a red spark being the only thing Trunks' fist ever made contact with. As Trunks' fist crashed through the spark, a wave of pain swept up through his fist, then through his arm, and then quickly overtook his entire body. He fell to one knee, screaming and clutching his arm, which was now burning with a bright red flame and racked in a tremendous amount of pain. Exeter reappeared just behind Trunks, looking down on the agonized half-Saiyan and slowly shaking his head.
"I'd expected far more out of you, Trunks," Exeter said, pointing his hand at Trunks and beginning to charge up an energy blast. "But I guess-"
Trunks immediately leapt into the air and flew at Exeter, striking him in the jaw with a powerful punch and sending Exeter flying backward. Exeter quickly steadied himself and fired a blast at Trunks, who saw the blast coming and swatted it away, just in time.
"You're just like Pandemonium and Sunzeki," said Trunks, charging up two more energy blasts in his hands. "Quick, with big, flashy attacks and lots of tricks. I'm not impressed."
Trunks lunged forward and fired two large, powerful beams of ki at Exeter. The beams flew around one another as they rushed forward, combined into one large beam just before slamming into Exeter, detonating in a gigantic, spherical explosion. Trunks retained his fighting stance as the explosion swelled outward, knowing that Exeter could come flying out at any second. Suddenly, the huge ball of ki stopped moving, freezing completely and hovering in the air.
"What in the world is going on?" Trunks muttered as the huge ball of ki began to close in on itself, rapidly compressing smaller and smaller. "Hey!"
The ki ball finally compressed to a size just a little bit larger than Trunks' head, hovering in front of Exeter. The ball was now surrounded by a barrier of red energy, transparent so that Trunks' ki ball could still clearly be seen.
"Is this yours, Trunks?" Exeter asked, smiling at Trunks' stunned expression. "I should probably give it back."
Exeter leapt backward and kicked the ball of glowing ki at Trunks, hard enough to send the ball flying at nearly the speed of sound, giving Trunks only a fraction of a second to get out of the way. He barely dodged the sphere as it flew to the left and exploded behind Trunks in a brilliant surge of ki even larger than the one created when it had exploded for the first time. The force of the blast sent Trunks flying forward, nearly catching him off guard as Exeter once more disappeared and then reappeared just in front of Trunks, launching a deadly kick at the Ascended Saiyan's head. Trunks, fueled by a surge of his incredible strength, was easily able to grab Exeter's foot and twist it, cracking the ankle it was attached to and eliciting a gasp of pain from its unfortunate owner. Trunks then leapt above Exeter and slammed both of his feet into his chest, sending Exeter crashing to the ground, creating a large crater in the ground and throwing up a huge cloud of smoke and dust.
Not losing a step, Trunks pointed his arms at the crater and fired an intense flurry of blasts, throwing up more dirt and creating a huge energy explosion. When the smoke disappeared, Exeter was lying face-down in the middle of the crater. Trunks floated down to the rim of the crater and began walking toward Exeter, who was struggling to stand, a thin stream of blood trickling down one side of his face. As Exeter reached his knees, Trunks grabbed him by the neck and roughly lifted him to his feet, releasing his neck and punching him in the face repeatedly, every blow causing Exeter to stumble back up the crater. At about the fifteenth punch, Trunks suddenly found his fist stopped in mid-punch, and soon, his entire body had stiffened up, unable to move.
"I... can't move! It feels like something's taken control of my body!"
Trunks was then sent flying into the side of the crater, smashing through layers of packed earth and stone as he was forcibly tunneled through the hard ground. Exeter flew up and into the hole Trunks had made, quickly catching up with the half-Saiyan and blasting his chest with a large, red energy beam. The beam sent Trunks flying back up, where he burst through the surface and bounced along the ground several times before coming to a stop thousands of feet away from the huge crater. Exeter's attack had sent Trunks nearly a mile, and it took him several seconds to stand up, trying as hard as he could to shake off the effects of being thrown about like a ragdoll. He looked up and saw Exeter, just floating out of the hole from where his body had been thrust painfully through the earth.
"I don't believe it..." Trunks thought, wiping the dirt from his face. "I've never been thrown about like that by an attack..."
As Trunks had been pushed through the ground, he saw the grim reminders that the world he was living in, the world he was fighting for, had already seen too much carnage. Countless skeletons and remnants of bones lay buried where people had died or had been buried, victims of the androids in mass graves, far too numerous to count.
But Exeter didn't give Trunks any time to dwell on that, as he had leapt forward and struck Trunks in the chin with a powerful uppercut, knocking him up into the air. Exeter leapt up to make another strike, but Trunks was ready, quickly recovering and kicking Exeter across the chest, which knocked the warrior down and sent him skidding across the ground, throwing up huge chunks of dirt and stone. Trunks pointed an arm at the skidding Exeter, firing a ki blast that exploded against Exeter's stomach and sent him backward and up into the air. Trunks flew at Exeter, his energy fully charged, ready to strike perhaps a critical blow against his powerful adversary. Trunks' momentum, however, turned into shock when he saw Exeter quickly stop and fly back toward him, holding his arms apart and creating a large sphere of ki energy in the space between his outstretched palms.
"That's ki energy..." Trunks thought, sensing a much stronger level of power than he had previously been sensing from Exeter's attacks. "I didn't know they could use... of course, high-level warriors in their group use ki and magic... but... why would he..."
A huge ki beam rushed at Trunks, and as it drew close, Trunks extended his arm to stop the blast, charging up a beam of his own and releasing the energy just in time. Trunks' blast pushed Exeter's blast all the way back to the midpoint of the two warriors, and then continued to push, all the way back toward Exeter himself.
"My ki is stronger than yours, Exeter..." Trunks thought as his ki pushed Exeter's blast further and further back. "You've made your last mistake!"
Suddenly, Trunks could feel a sharp, stinging pain in the middle of his hand, as if a gigantic needle had been pressed into his palm. Trunks let out a loud scream, and suddenly, his beam of ki disappeared entirely, allowing Exeter's beam to smash into Trunks and detonate in a huge explosion, knocking Trunks to the ground and creating another huge cloud of smoke and dust as another crater was created in the severely scarred battlefield.
Exeter gave a smile of satisfaction and floated down to the ground, standing on the rim of the crater Trunks had made and watching the stunned half-Saiyan climb to his feet.
"Do you know why your blast failed, while mine blew right past yours?" Exeter asked. Blood was now streaking down several large gashes on Trunks' chest, where his flesh had been slashed open by impacting on the hard earth. "It took me only a small amount of magic to completely nullify your blast, Trunks."
"That was the sting I felt in my hand..." Trunks thought as he floated up out of the crater. "Exeter blasted me with magic in the center of his ki blast..."
Trunks looked down at his right palm, which was covered in blood. The flesh in the middle of his hand had been completely sheared away, and blood flowed freely from several gashes carved out around the burn.
"I won't surrender," said Trunks, though his golden aura of ki had already begun to waver, and Trunks could feel his strength already beginning to slip away. "This isn't good.... two fights in a row... damn, it feels like my entire body is giving up on me..."
Trunks shook his head. He couldn't be losing this fight, he couldn't be letting everyone back in Nihimo Town, everyone in Ami's world, everyone in his world down... he had to win! He had to defeat Exeter, just like he had to defeat Crysthea, Frieza, Pandemonium, Sunzeki... too much was at stake. Trunks could not, would not lose. He flew at Exeter and pummeled him with a series of brutal punches and kicks. Exeter stumbled back from the crater, not even bothering to block or dodge Trunks' attacks as they came in. Exeter leapt into the air, pointing his arm at Trunks. Trunks could see that his attacks were doing damage, Exeter was bruised, he was bleeding, he was feeling just as much pain as Trunks... or so it seemed, anyway. Trunks couldn't possibly know how much strength Exeter had left. All he could sense was the huge amount of energy Exeter possessed, and all he could see was the glowing red energy aura around Exeter's body.
Using the energy he'd quickly gathered, Exeter fired a powerful beam of energy down at Trunks, hoping to catch him off-guard as he emerged from the crater. Trunks dodged the beam to the right, clutching his side in pain as the beam whizzed past him.
"It hurts just to dodge now?" Trunks thought, removing his hand from his pained ribs. "I have to finish this!"
Trunks pointed his arms at Exeter, firing a furious flurry of repeated ki blasts, becoming more and more desperate by the second. Exeter quickly and easily blocked the blasts, his hands quickly moving back, forth, and to the side to deflect each and every single one. As Trunks gasped in shock, Exeter lunged forward and punched Trunks in the face, once again launching him face first into the center of the crater.
"This time, you won't get up, Trunks!" Exeter shouted. Trunks watched in horror as a red, goo-like substance began to seep out of the numerous cracks in the crater. Before he could stand, the substance had seeped over his knees and arms, and then quickly engulfed his head, rising and expanding to fill the entire crater. Trunks gasped for breath, but found himself completely paralyzed in the thick ooze, trapping his submerged body in the center of the crater. Exeter waved his hand, and the substance suddenly froze over into a thick block of red ice.
"Can't move... can't breathe... what's happening to me?" Trunks thought, struggling to move in the thick ice that encased his body, trapping him in the now crypt-like crater. Exeter floated above the entombed Trunks, his arms glowing brightly with magical energy.
"I'd leave you like that, but like I said, I have to take you alive, so..."
Exeter pointed his arms at the crater and began firing countless blasts. The immobilized Trunks was helpless to stop the huge beams of ki, which hit the red ice and shattered it on impact before raining down on Trunks himself, who screamed in pain as all of the blasts began hitting him at once. The blasts had a deadly effect on the already badly-injured half-Saiyan, burning his flesh and putting an incredible strain on his bones as Trunks tried desperately to maintain his ki aura. A huge column of fire burst forth from the center of the crater, searing Trunks even more. After a few seconds, Exeter's latest attack was over, leaving Trunks floating above the shattered crater that had once been his prison, his body smoldering and hurting from the series of brutal blasts. Exeter looked up at Trunks, his eyes narrow with contempt.
"That was supposed to knock you out, Trunks... I can't believe you're still-"
"Believe it, Exeter!" Trunks shouted. He lifted up his arms and flared up his power aura, determined to turn the battle around before it was too late.
"This has dragged on far too long, Trunks..." said Exeter, floating up to meet Trunks in the air. "I'd anticipated a difficult battle... but this hasn't been difficult at all, merely annoying. It's time you accepted your fate."
With a loud scream, Trunks lunged at Exeter again with another flurry of punches and kicks. Exeter was prepared for the attack, but not quite for its ferocity, and he could definitely feel each blow as it made contact. Trunks wasn't done yet, and he was going to fight Exeter with all of his strength, to the bitter end. After the furious round of punches and kicks, Trunks pointed both of his arms at Exeter's chest and blasted him with a beam of golden ki that knocked Exeter into the ground just outside the crater. Quickly gathering as much energy as he could, Trunks pulled back his arms and prepared to use the attack that he hoped would turn the tide of the battle.
"Ka...me...ha...me...ha!!!" Trunks shouted, firing a large beam of blue ki at Exeter, still lying face down on the ground. The blast hit Exeter and exploded, leaving a shining blue dome of energy on the ground where the beam had landed. Trunks then gathered up even more energy, flying down to the ground and placing his arms out in front of his body. "Final Flash!!!"
A brilliant white light overtook the blue dome, and Trunks flew back to escape it, landing just behind where his attack had landed and collapsing to his knees on the ground, gasping for breath.
"That... better have... gotten him..." Trunks breathed, slowly rising to his feet. "Way too much... energy... to waste... on a useless attack..."
When Trunks once again stood up, he looked into the bright flash and slowly watched as it faded away, waiting to see if his attack had done what he'd intended it to do. Even if it didn't destroy Exeter, if it hurt him enough that Trunks could finish him off with the energy he had left, then...
But the combined might of the Kamehameha and the Final Flash had not only left Exeter alive, but still standing, and completely unharmed. A spherical red barrier that Exeter had formed around himself just before Trunks' Kamehameha wave came in had blocked both attacks, and in fact was still in place around Exeter, with sunlight glistening off its surface. Trunks gasped in disbelief, stumbling several steps back before collapsing once again to one knee.
"No... no, he blocked them both!" Trunks thought, horrific memories of his defeat at the hands of Pandemonium flooding back into his mind. Surely at full-powered Ascended Super Saiyan, Trunks was invincible... or at least he thought. Once again, Ami was right... once again, Trunks was about to be defeated.
"Just a little bit of magic, Trunks... now do you see why this fight is fruitless?" asked Exeter, lowering his barrier and slowly walking toward the stunned half-Saiyan. "You never had a chance against me, Trunks."
"That's... a lie, Exeter..." Trunks gasped, heroically climbing back into a standing position. "I will never... allow myself to be defeated... by the likes of you!"
Trunks ran forward toward Exeter and punched at him again, a weak, half-hearted sort of desperation blow that Exeter could easily dodge, swinging just out of the way to the right as Trunks launched a kick screaming toward his chest. Exeter dodged this blow by leaping back slightly, escaping the kick and then returning the blow with a kick of his own, hitting Trunks in the side of the head and knocking him flat on his back, blood spewing from his nose and mouth as the back of his skull impacted a large rock on the barren ground.
"That's never good, Trunks... a concussion," said Exeter, smiling amusedly as Trunks weakly stood up once more. "You might even have brain damage... though it would probably be hard to tell."
Trunks flew at Exeter yet again, charging him for what must have been the hundredth time in the fight, at least by Trunks' count. Realistically, the number was much lower, but fights always seem a lot longer when you're losing, and Trunks was losing quite badly. Exeter blocked Trunks' blows with one hand, then pushed the half-Saiyan back with a wave of energy that nearly knocked Trunks to the ground. Trunks retained his balance, taking a fighting stance while feeling the last vestiges of his Ascended Saiyan energy coursing about his body. His electrical aura was still quite impressive, though that deceived the fact that his body's strength was rapidly failing with every attack that he or Exeter made. Every punch, kick, and especially ki blast was putting a huge drain on Trunks' immense power reserves, and by his own estimate, his Kamehameha and Final Flash combined had sapped about one-third of his energy. The worst part was that even combined, they were completely useless, blocked against a magical shield that Exeter barely had to exert any of his own energy to form. Trunks struggled to remain standing, raising his arms up defensively as Exeter slowly walked toward him. When Exeter was just a foot or two away, Trunks continued to hesitate, trembling as he wondered whether or not it would be completely worthless to attack.
"Ami... I've barely put a dent in this guy... maybe if I wasn't exhausted from fighting Sunzeki... maybe if I'd have gotten the chance to heal first..."
"I'm getting so terribly sick of this," said Exeter. "The problem is that you're still quite capable of putting up a fight because of those pesky powers of yours."
As Exeter continued to speak, his right hand began to glow an eerie black glow. Trunks could only stare at Exeter's glowing palm, wondering if the next attack would be the finishing blow Trunks had dreaded so much.
"It's time for that to end, Trunks... say goodbye to your precious Super Saiyan 2."
"Did Exeter just say what I think he-"
Exeter's glowing palm slammed into Trunks' chest, and almost immediately, Trunks could feel not only the wind being knocked out of him, but most of his strength as well. He flew backwards and landed face down on the ground. His ki aura shrunk instantly, and the electricity that had been sparking from his body completely disappeared. Trunks had been literally knocked out of his Ascended Saiyan state, forced into reverting to a regular Super Saiyan. As he weakly stood up, he could easily sense the incredible drop in his power level.
"No..." Trunks thought, looking down at his hands. "It's... it's gone... I'm not an Ascended Super Saiyan anymore!"
"I should probably tell you what I've just done," Exeter said, rapidly walking toward the severely weakened Trunks. "I've locked your most powerful transformation away using one of my favorite techniques, the Fist of Restriction. You won't be able to access your Super Saiyan 2 abilities for days, Trunks... which leaves you utterly helpless to fight me."
Exeter dove upon Trunks, pounding his body with a series of punches. Trapped as a regular Super Saiyan, every punch was brutal and bone-shattering, and after only a few punches, Trunks was tossed to the ground, his body racked with pain.
"Without my Super Saiyan 2, Exeter will be able to beat me in a matter of seconds!" Trunks thought, desperately trying to climb to his feet. "This isn't good..."
"Say good-bye, Super Saiyan!" Exeter shouted, pointing his palm at Trunks and charging up a magical blast. "Now that you're in this state, it should only take one blast to finish you off!"
Trunks clenched his fists, knowing that he would be helpless to stop the attack in his weakened state. He only had one alternative, something that Trunks knew would only prolong a crushing defeat, but it was better than being knocked out in just a few more seconds. Trunks clenched his fists, channeled as much of his remaining strength as he could, and began his Ultimate Super Saiyan transformation. His muscles bulged, and he could feel an incredible strength returning to his body. He stood up and allowed the blast to hit him in the chest. The force of the blast knocked Trunks backward, but he remained standing, and more importantly, remained in the fight. Exeter's expression changed from a smile of victory to a sneer of annoyance as he realized he hadn't defeated Trunks quite yet.
"If I could use my Fist of Restriction more than once every few hours, I'd lock this pathetic transformation too," Exeter grumbled, pointing at the muscularly enhanced Trunks. "But it's no matter... you're much slower now."
"In my other form, you'd have defeated me in less than a minute," Trunks replied. "At least this way, I have a chance. A very small chance... but a chance nonetheless... I can't let Ami down!"
Exeter flew at Trunks and battered the half-Saiyan with another series of punches and kicks. Trunks' reduced speed made it nearly impossible for him to dodge, and he soon found himself tossed to the ground again, the might of Exeter's assault nearly too much to bear.
"Dammit!" Trunks shouted in frustration, standing up and firing another beam of ki at Exeter. Exeter ducked out of the way, blasting Trunks with an energy beam of his own. Again, Trunks' transformation had made him tremendously slower, and all he could do was watch the gigantic beam of ki as it slammed into him, detonating in a horrific explosion that knocked Trunks flat on his face. Exeter hovered over the fallen warrior for several seconds, taunting him as he wearily climbed to his feet.
"You're going to be mine, Trunks... soon, this will all be over..."
Trunks crawled up to Exeter, grabbing onto the warrior's legs and using him to climb to his feet. As Trunks got to his knees, Exeter kicked Trunks in the forehead, knocking him away and clearly indicating that he didn't like being used by Trunks to stand up.Trunks hit the ground on his back and skidded for several feet, coming to a stop just in front of a large, gray boulder that had been imbedded into the ground as some kind of grave marker for a village wiped out by the androids. Trunks grabbed onto the top of the boulder and used that to steady himself, ignoring the blood and sweat now pouring down the sides of his ravaged body.
"This... this is what I'm fighting for..." Trunks thought as he looked at the grave marker, remembering all of the lives in his world that had been shattered by evil before, and that Trunks had promised would not be shattered again. "Everyone... everyone who survived... every child that has been promised a better future... not just my friends, not just my mom, not just Ami... but everyone!"
Trunks turned around, looked up to the sky, and let out a loud scream, sending a wave of golden ki energy flying outward in all directions. He then looked back down and gazed into Exeter's face, curled into a glare of impatience as he watched Trunks power up for one last gasp of a fight.
"You're done now, right?" Exeter asked, looking into Trunks' angry, narrowed eyes. "Because if you are, I'm quite ready to finish this."
"I won't let you win, Exeter..." Trunks said. "You've battered my body... you've restricted my most powerful transformation... but... but I'll never surrender!"
"How many times have I heard this before?" Exeter thought to himself. "I really should end this quickly, before headquarters becomes impatient..."
"Ami, I don't know if I'm going to win this one... but no matter what happens to me... wherever you are, I just want you to be happy and safe! If I'm going to lose... I just want you to know... how much I love you..."
---
Instead of just standing outside, the Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, Patrick, and the sisters had gathered inside Chris' house, where they could await Trunks' return in the comfort of a well-kept home. Chris and his mother had graciously allowed their guests to fill the couches and chairs in the living room, and were very appreciative of the conversation their numerous friends had provided.
"Trunks is fighting right now..." Chris said, looking up at the ceiling while sitting next to his 'special' friend Angela on a one-person chair that the two had somehow squeezed into together, which both were enjoying rather well. "So after this fight, it'll all be over?"
"That's what we're hoping," said Sailor Moon, sitting on a couch inbetween Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mercury. Over the past few minutes, Sailor Moon noticed that a very worried look had quickly begun to appear on her blue-haired friend's face. "Ami? Are you alright? You're starting to look pale..."
Sailor Mercury stood up from the couch and began pacing the room, glancing back and forth between her friends and the door.
"Guys... I can barely sense Trunks' energy anymore," said Sailor Mercury. "A few minutes ago it used to be incredibly prominent, but now... now I can barely feel it... something's happened to Trunks."
"Maybe he just got done beating Exeter, and he detransformed!" Rose said, trying to reassure her friend. "I mean, that could be it!"
Sailor Mercury shook her head.
"I'm getting that same feeling... that I got the first time Trunks was captured... he's in pain, you guys... he's losing the fight...""Ami..." Sailor Moon began, starting to get up from the sofa to comfort her friend, but quickly recoiling into her seat next to Tuxedo Mask. "She's probably right... Trunks... Trunks could be losing... but how could Trunks lose? When I felt his power, it was... it was so incredible... it was overpowering... how could anyone that strong lose? Even to someone like Exeter? It just doesn't make sense!"
"Trunks..." Sailor Mercury whispered, beginning to reach down to her ankle to withdraw her teleportation wand. Almost immediately, Rose, Cammy, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Jupiter got up from their seats and lunged toward Sailor Mercury, trying to stop her from leaving. They grabbed her arms and pulled her struggling form back toward the couch, despite her loud and shrieking protests.
"Calm down, Ami..." said Sailor Mars, pulling Sailor Mercury back to the couch. "We have to let Trunks fight this battle on his own... we know you want to help, but-"
"Let me GO!" Sailor Mercury screamed, desperately trying to escape the grasp of her well-meaning friends as she swung her body every which way in an attempt to extricate herself. "You... don't... understand! You can't understand! I love Trunks, and I'm going to help him whether you like it or not! I-"
"Let her go," said Sailor Moon firmly, standing up and looking into Sailor Mercury's eyes with an expression of deep calmness on her face. "Ami loves Trunks... and she knows that he could be in great danger. Though we all care deeply for Ami... who are we to stop her from going to protect her one true love?"
"But Serena, if we let Ami go... if we let her go to where Trunks is fighting... she could be killed!" shouted Sailor Jupiter, tears starting to streak down the frantic Senshi's face.
"Don't you care about Ami?" shouted Rose, still tightly holding the struggling Sailor Mercury's arm in her vice-like grip. "We're her friends... we can't let her go off and die like this!"
"I know how all of you feel, but... if something happens to Trunks... Trunks and Ami are lovers, soulmates, two parts of the same whole... for Ami, losing Trunks is a fate worse than death..." Sailor Moon said calmly, her eyes locked on the desperate, tearful eyes of Sailor Mercury, her best friend, the kind, sweet, gentle girl who had been the first to join her in her fight against evil... and who now shared a love identical to hers. She could understand perfectly Ami's determination to save Trunks, because if her beloved Darien were in similar danger... there would be nothing stopping her from coming to his rescue. It took everything Sailor Moon had to say the words that would allow Sailor Mercury to go to Trunks... to maybe throw her life away in a battle she couldn't possibly win. But if Ami wasn't allowed to go to him... somehow, that would be eternally worse... she would die either way.
With a great deal of hesitation, the girls released their hold on Sailor Mercury, who gently bent down and retrieved the teleportation wand from its holster around her ankle. She lifted it up in front of her, preparing to create a portal through which she may never return.
"I... I love you all..." Sailor Mercury whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you... Serena... thank you... everyone... I promise.... I promise..."
"We know, Ami..." Sailor Moon whispered back, reaching up and wiping the tears from her friend's face. "You will come back, Ami... you and Trunks... that's what I believe..."
---
Trunks attacked Exeter with all his might, every one of his blows dodged easily by the much-faster Exeter, who was just wearing Trunks down now for an attack of his own, one that would end the battle, and Trunks' freedom, for good. As Trunks continued his futile assault, he thought once more of pressing the button on his earring and telling Ami one last time... one last time that he loved her... but he knew that if he told Ami he was losing, she would come... she would rush into the battle herself and be killed instantly. No matter what, Trunks couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let Ami be sacrificed for his sins...
"I promised you, Ami... that I'd tell you at the first sign of danger... but... I can't let you be hurt... I can't let you get involved..." Trunks thought as he threw forward a punch that was caught by Exeter, his fist locked in the tight grip of Exeter's powerful fingers. "I love you too much..."
Exeter released Trunks' fist and countered with a furious punch that knocked the battered, bleeding, and incredibly exhausted half-Saiyan to the ground once more. Trunks' head slammed against the dirt, and Trunks could feel the wind being knocked out of his body as his spine crushed the cold, hard surface of the earth. He began gasping for breath, coughing up blood and turning onto his stomach to allow the suffocating red liquid to slowly escape from his lungs, forming a crimson pool on the ground.
Of all the battles Trunks had ever fought, of all the times he'd lost and come this close to death, his entire body filled with so much pain, he knew that this one was probably the most hopeless of all. He had nothing, no Ascended Super Saiyan, no hope of healing or regaining his powers, no one to help him... except the one person Trunks knew would be lost, knew would be defeated, knew would be destroyed... if Ami showed up, Trunks would have to watch her death... and that was the thought that scared him most of all.
Trunks had been reduced to this... hoping he'd never see his beloved again, because if he did, he would have to watch her die, just like he'd almost had to experience her death at the hands of Frieza, so long ago, but still so vivid in Trunks' mind that it seemed like yesterday. Trunks didn't fear his own death, but the deaths of everyone he loved... Ami's suffering, Ami's death... the mere thought drove Trunks to tears that streamed down his face, mixing in with the pooled-up blood on the ground.
"Ami, I love you... and I never want to see you again... because I don't want to see you die..."
---
What a depressing chapter, ne? Trunks is getting his butt kicked, and this time, it looks like there's nothing that can save him, right? Certainly Ami can't... but she's sure going to try! Only one chapter left... and trust me, it'll be something you'll remember the rest of your life!