A New Perspective

By Mayumi Takanashi

Trunks slowly opened his eyes. He was lying flat on his back, looking up at the night sky. It was black, and speckled with dull stars. As he unsteadily picked himself off of the ground, he noticed that he was standing on a walkway of dark stones. A low cloud of fog hung over the ground beside the walkway, and he noticed black trees hidden within the ominous fog. The tree had no leaves, simply bare sticks branching off from the tree trunk. Ahead of him, he noticed large, iron gates that loomed eerily above his head. The place was dark, wicked, and spooky.

"Welcome to the Gates of Time," whispered a voice.

"Who's there?" shouted Trunks, a little frightened.

"Behind you," said the voice softly.

Trunks turned his body slowly to find a woman staring at him. She looked no older than twenty, and her long, raven hair reached her hips. Her eyes were a deep navy, and she wore a long, flowing, black dress. The sleeves were like a peasant-top style, and a grey ribbon laced up the front of her attire. She wore black leather boots, and despite all of her rebellious clothes, she was extremely beautiful.

The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was the trinket she held in her hand. It was a gold pocket watch, and she swung it slowly from side to side.

"Who are you?" asked Trunks in a mystified tone.

"I am Mayumi, the Time Keeper," she replied in a low, yet appealing, voice.

"Uh, could you by any chance tell me why I am here?" Trunks inquired.

"You have broken the natural conduct of the Universal Time Continuum...Trunks," she whispered angrily.

"I'm, uh, sorry?" Trunks said, very puzzled.

"Oh, I guess you do not know..." she said in a monotone voice. "Let me explain your crime."

Mayumi waved her free hand, while still swinging the watch. A bench appeared at her side, and she sat down, and she motioned for Trunks to do the same. He looked at the antique bench doubtfully, and also at the intimidating woman upon it. Anyhow, he sat down next to her.

"A little after Garlic Junior was defeated, and Kakarot came back to the Earth, a young man arrived and defeated Frieza with one single sweep of his sword. He warned Kakarot and his friends and family about the androids that were soon to come. They discovered that the boy had travelled all the way from a future time. A time where the androids had slaughtered the people that he was speaking to at that very moment. For the next three years, Kakarot and his fellow Z Warriors trained and prepared to meet the androids and destroy them before they took over the world. He also told Kakarot that he was soon to develop a fatal heart disease. He gave him a special medicine to help fight the disease when it came around. The boy trained with everyone and help defeat the androids, then travelled back to his own time to defeat the very androids who had taken over his time, within the future."

"That's a really cool story, but what does that have to do with me?" asked Trunks.

"That young boy was you," she said coolly.

Trunks was not quite sure how to react. How could his future self travel into his present time to warn everyone of the androids?

"So, how did I, I mean, future me, break the Universal Time Whatever?" asked Trunks, still very baffled.

"Well, no one had ever come to the future time to warn his friends about the androids," continued Mayumi. "That's why he went back in time to warn everyone that you now know. Do you follow me?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"Do you believe in destiny, Trunks?"

"Well, sure, I guess..."

"The future Trunks disobeyed the destiny of the Earth."

"But, if he didn't go back in time, all my friends would be dead right now!" he argued.

"That was the point!" said Mayumi in a raised voice and her eyes flashing.

Trunks was taken aback by this change in attitude. However, he was prepared to debate her theory on Earth's destruction.

"Why do you say that?" he yelled at her.

"Because, I am the one who decides on each person's destiny."

Trunks was even more shocked at this new piece of information. This meant that she was the one who had decided upon Earth's destruction. She was the one that had sent all of those enemies that they had ever faced in all of their lives.

"But why do you send all of these villains to Earth, like Buu, or Baby?" he questioned.

"Why?" she said, her voice rising even more. "Because you and your friends slaughtered the androids!"

At this point, she hardly appeared to be able to sit down. She jumped up and faced Trunks as to be able to scream some more at him.

"I sent Buu, just to give you a hard time. In the end it all worked out, right? Well, he became your friend, right? Huh?" Her mystery and eerie calm were disintegrating at an alarming rate.

"I'm really sorry, Princess Mayumi!" said a frightened Trunks.

"You should be!" she bellowed. Suddenly, she calmed down.

"Is something wrong?" asked Trunks, looking at her as her features returned to normal.

"It's just that...no one has ever called me a princess before," she mumbled.

"Well, a-aren't you?" stuttered Trunks.

"I suppose I am," she said softly.

Trunks stared at the mysterious beauty. He carefully studied the surrounding landscape, which was very dreary and depressing. His conclusion was that this reflected her mood.

"So, how long have you been around?" he asked, trying to strike a conversation.

"Since the beginning of time."

"Uh, that's a long time."

"Yes, it is. No visitors, no company, just me here all alone. You are the first person I've seen in a long, long, time."

"Well, I'm glad to be here," said Trunks, trying to cheer her up.

"Trunks, I want you to know that everything you do, think, or say is part of your destiny. You were meant to be here with me right now. Everything is part of a plan, so never worry about what will happen, because that is the way it is meant to be. Accept whatever happens to you with grace. If you loose a fight, that was how it was meant to be. If your love leaves you, that is how it was meant to be. If a family member dies, that is how it is meant to be. But that does not mean you should stop trying! You can always have a rematch. You can always fight to keep your love. you can always, ahem, use the dragonballs to bring back a deceased one. Even though it tampers with destiny, the dragonballs were meant to be. That may not make sense, and rarely it ever does. Time is a strange thing to us all! Some think of it as a measurement of the period between events. Some think of it as an obstacle in becoming old. But time is a funny thing, and it is not something even a rocket scientist can understand. But time travel is something that tampers with destiny. If it has happened in the present time, then it is meant to be."

"Thank you for sharing this with me. I am honored." said Trunks humbly.

"You're welcome. And by the way, it was meant for you to go back in time to save your friends. Just wanted to freak you out!" she smiled, the first smile that crossed her lips.

Trunks felt extremely relieved. He thought he was in deep trouble.

"This is where we part," whispered Mayumi. "Our parting...was meant to be."

Her figure disappeared into the mist surrounding the walkway. Trunks felt something heavy in his palm, and looked down to find a gold pocket watch in his hand.