[Author's Note] Another update! How do you like that? Consider this fast update as a present from me once again, for your support in this little fanfic of mine. *winks* Anyway, I'm glad you liked the previous chapter, and I'm sure Goten fans will like this one. Let's just say... there'll be someone joining the ranks from this point on. =P

You know I heart reviews, so... please do!

Hikari No Will Power

Act One, Chapter Eight
One Surprise After Another! The Unlikely Alliance Of Trunks Briefs-Vegeta And Yumi Kaname!


Present Timeline

"This shouldn't be hard. I'll just edge to that time machine slowly and quietly, and I'll be able to stuff it into this capsule. Trunks, I hope you're doing well out there," Goten whispered as he tiptoed towards the far end of the Capsule Corporation laboratory, which was supposed to be closed as the working hours came to an end. The room was dark, except for a few functional gadgets that brought about a minimum amount of light with their screens that lit up to show the information they held.

He made his way to the compartment at where he and Trunks believed the specially-made time machine was kept, doing so carefully so as not to bump into any of the test-tubes and equipment that could and would put him in trouble. Not only were the liquids contained in them dangerous, the elements and compounds that they were made of were as fragile as glass.

"Oniichan!"

The voice made Goten stop and roll his eyes. "Oh, great. It's the brat," he muttered under his breath as he slid past a table loaded with electronic equipment that he had never seen before. He then took a large step over a box of solutions stacked in covered flasks. "This isn't as easy as I thought it would be, with all these stuff around here..."

"I know! You're up to something again! I'll tell Daddy!"

"Bra, that's not what you think! I was just getting something from the lab for my Physics project, am I not allowed to do that?!" Goten heard his best friend reason out to his little sister. "I'm not up to something, and I mean it! Now, I should ask, what are you doing here? Maybe you are the one who's up to something!"

"Way to go, Trunks. Psycho that sister of yours," the demi-saiyajin mumbled to himself with a smile, stalking past a cabinet full of documents and research papers. As he did so, however, one folder fell out from the file, and his sensitive hearing enabled him to notice it. He spun around, picked up the document and was about to insert it back into the neatly-arranged files...

... when the name written on the folder caught his eye.

No way, this can't be... he thought to himself as he stared at the name, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. But when he held up the folder to clarify if he was mistaken or not, he found out that he wasn't. The name he was seeing on the cover of the file was truly the name he thought it was, and it only meant one thing: she was ill. After all, why would Bulma conduct a research on that person if she wasn't suffering from a disease that would need scientific back-up for its cure?

The name? Chichi Son.

Desperate to know what was truly going on and what was wrong with his mother, Goten hurried to the nearest lampshade to read the contents of the folder, but because he was not watching his step, he stumbled on another box of flask-stored solutions. And that, to his misfortune, caused a chain reaction, for when he fell, he knocked down a table that knocked down the table next to it. The domino effect continued, and he knew that there was no way out.

The breaking glass and falling equipment made Bra shriek, "What was that?!"

Goten knew that he could not escape... but he could hide.

Taking a second to slip the folder back into the pile of research materials, he rushed to the cabinet at the rear of the room, pulled it open, and slid inside. His heart began to pound furiously --- boy, was he in trouble now! The commotion outside made him feel much worse. There were hysterical screams, probably from Bra; loud, anger-filled curses, probably from Trunks; and thundering footsteps from all directions, probably from the research team and the rest of the employees working on the lowest floor, the basement.

He swallowed, very sure that he screwed it up. Praying that his best friend would be able to pull himself together and keep the situation at hand, and that Vegeta would not march right up the laboratory to investigate the matter, he slid his body completely into the closet, backing against some type of machine shaped like a door of a cave.

"Ow," he mumbled as his head hit the top bar of the machine, and he crouched to fit himself in before he shut the closet. For a few moments, he just stayed there, unmoving, in a very uncomfortable position, his mind spinning as he thought of so many different things, from his mother, to the trouble he got himself in, to the time machine he was supposed to stuff into a capsule. And in his meditation, one question struck him hard.

Where was the time machine?

Goten bit his lip as he snuggled closer to the back of the closet, in a futile attempt to hide from the trouble that was brewing in the outside world. "It's supposed to be here, Trunks said it was here. But all that's here... is an unfinished framework of some sort of doorway-type machine," he told himself, gripping one of the bars that supported the top arch and the bulge that was there.

The laboratory door slid open.

He saw white.

Mirai Timeline

Yumi Kaname was furious beyond belief. The nerve?! How dare he?! she thought, her eyes flashing angrily, and she began pounding her fists on her captor's back in no time. What he did just a few moments earlier greatly enraged her, as he picked her up and practically threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Who do you think you are to treat me like this?! Ooooh, just wait 'till I break loose, I am so going to beat you to a bloody pulp!"

Sporting a cocky grin, her abductor replied, "I'm the Saiyajin no Ouji."

"Okay, so you're a prince --- but does that give you a right to treat a woman this way, Your Majesty?! I don't think so!" she exclaimed in a stern tone. "Now, put me down so we can negotiate! If you won't comply, you might have a hot-blooded female assassin on your tail any moment from now! Just wait and see, just wait and see!"

At that, Trunks Briefs-Vegeta sighed heavily. "Alright, but we negotiate," he said in defeat, then he stopped and put her down. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments, his features as serious as ever. He decided to break the silence a short while after. "I need your help, Yumi. You know that I'm innocent, you know that I didn't do anything wrong. You know that I only want justice. Please, Yumi. You must help me using your gift, your gift to see the future."

She shook her head in reply. "It's not a gift, Trunks. If you only knew how... how hard it is to see people die, to see people get killed, to see children stumble to their deaths, to see women cry out in pain, to see men fall and falter in the hands of the Grim! It's not a gift, it's more of a curse to me!" she exclaimed in frustration, burying her face in her hands.

"It is a gift if you decide to use it to help people," the demi-saiyajin corrected as he laid his hand softly on her shoulder. "I mean, look at me. I have a heritage that I never dreamed of having, a heritage that gave me abilities like no other, and caused so much pain in my life. I don't have any family left --- my father died fighting the androids, my mother died when I thought the trouble was over. But even so, I decided to use my power to help people, to free everyone from the clutches of evil, as it is my gift. And that's what I'm planning to do now."

"But you can't do that alone! Kasumi is someone you can't handle on your own, she's too powerful!"

"That's why I need your help. The order your father has established has a strong foundation, yes, but the pillar stands alone. That may be a strength to their eyes, as the pillar is thorougly independent, but it, too, is a weakness. Kasumi is the only person we have to destroy to bring the whole faction down, and that would be easier to accomplish with your help," Trunks reasoned out, his eyes flashing with determination.

"But I can't see the future at will, how will that help you?!" she exclaimed in frustration. "It's not that I don't want to help you. I'm just... afraid... afraid that I might put you in even more trouble, because of my lack of skill in controlling the power I'm gifted with."

Optimism shone in the other's eyes, as the young woman practically gave him a new hope in the battle he was in. He knew that with her by his side, he was no longer standing on the losing edge. "Your random visions are sufficient at that moment, and I'm sure you'll eventually learn how to use your power at will," he assured, smiling. "Besides, if I'm going to infiltrate the Kaname mansion, you can show me the secret entrances and the best way to get to where I want to be. That's how you can help me."

She looked at him.

"And in return," Trunks paused to take her hand. "I'll help you get your father back. I promise."

What in the world happened?!

Goten groaned as he lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling in a dazed manner. He did not know nor understand what just happened to him, except that a few moments from now, the door would open up and that he was going to be in so much trouble. "So much for an easy job," he muttered to himself as rolled his eyes. He screwed up, and he screwed up big time.

What was the white light all about? he thought wildly, suddenly remembering the bright light that blinded him just as soon as he gripped one of the steel bars that supported the framework of the machine he huddled against. But then he pushed the thought away, assuring himself that he plainly hit his head again and he stumbled out of the closet, dazed.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he did so, and took a good look around. It looked like a laboratory, all right, but it did not look like the place he was in just a few moments back. There were less equipment, less gadgets, less tables, less research papers. Plus, the room looked considerably smaller...

... and it had windows.

At that, the demi-saiyajin paled. But before he was able to say anything, or think about the situation, he heard voices.

"Then why did you fax them a message if you don't want them to know you're still alive?! I really don't understand how your mind works, Kami help me. I mean, you're trying so hard so you won't get spotted, and yet you sent them a message telling them that you have me?!"

"I said it indirectly, don't worry! And I'm sure they won't recognize my handwriting, I made it as stupid-looking as possible. In fact, I even planned to create a more creative message --- you know, cut letters from a magazine and paste them together to form the sentence --- but I didn't have much time."

The girl was confused. "What are you planning, then? Even if they won't recognize your handwriting, why did you inform them that you kidnapped me in the first place?! I have no idea of the stunt you're trying to pull up, and I'd really appreciate it if you'll explain it to me thorougly. After all, I'm supposed to be your partner from now on."

"A distraction, of course," the young man said confidently in a voice that was so familiar to the demi-saiyajin. "I have the feeling that your father will have Kasumi get you back, so she's going to be busy following all the leads, some of them in which I'll plant myself, to bring her as far away from us as possible. She won't think of me, of course, because she thinks I'm dead --- and she can't sense ki, so it's impossible for her to know that I have you unless they spot us. With her away, the mansion will be open for infiltration. Then I'll have the opportunity to prepare a trap for her return, enabling me to clear my name and have my revenge."

Goten blinked, recognition hitting him.

He immediately bolted up, and headed towards the door. It was time to find out what exactly was going on, and if he was going to get killed for sneaking into the Capsule Corporation laboratory and wrecking havoc by accident --- and he was sure that nobody would believe that the mess he caused was by accident. Throwing the door open, he called out, "Trunks!"

They fell silent.

And they stared at Goten with puzzled looks.

The absence of people in the area made the demi-saiyajin smile in utter relief. "Boy, am I glad to see you! I thought for a moment that I was going to get murdered by your father for sneaking into the laboratory without permission and interrupting his oh-so-holy meditation in the Gravity Room," he mumbled as he hugged the other demi-saiyajin. "But you did a great job in covering up for me after all, thank you!"

"Who are you?"

Raven eyes narrowing slightly, he blurted out, "Haha, Trunks, that's a really funny joke you've got there! Look, I'm really sorry for screwing up. I tried very hard to get to the time machine, but there was this suspicious file about my mother that I wanted to check out. I stumbled on a box of flasks on the way to the lampshade to look at what's inside, and it caused a chain reaction. I then hid in the closet on which you said the time machine was in, but there was no time machine! Just some dumb stupid framework, a portal kind if I'm not mistaken..." his voice trailed off as something clicked into his brain.

He peered into Trunks' flustered eyes. "You really don't know who I am?"

"I'm sorry, but I really don't," the other demi-saiyajin answered, shaking his head. "You look awfully familiar, though."

Everything fell into place at that, and Goten's face became as white as sheet. His voice then dropped into a barely audible tone, and his eyes showed traces of disbelief all over. "So this is the android-infested timeline they have been talking about, then? The timeline in which my father died of a heart disease, my brother was your sensei, and I was never born?" he asked, earning a curt nod from the future counterpart of his best friend, who did so even if he did not understand everything Goten had mentioned.

"So Trunks was right. That was the time machine."

Azure eyes still as sharp and attentive as ever, Kasumi marched into the office of the Prime Minister, holding a piece of paper in her hand. She appeared calm and composed, as usual, but Hyouko knew her too well to notice that something was greatly bothering her. "My lord," she began, bowing slightly in front of her master. "the penmanship has been identified."

He put away the documents he was examining. "And?"

The young woman took a deep breath, preparing herself for an apology. She knew that her master could not afford to be mad at her, in fear that she would turn down his proposal, but she did not want to risk it. "I'm sorry, my lord, but apparently, the brat is still alive. He indeed has the will of the devil, as those who tried before me said."

"For him to survive an attack from you, he would have had much luck..." Hyouko began, his voice trailing off as his gaze darkened. He did not seem to mind that his best, most skillful assassin failed to eliminate someone as weak as the demi-saiyajin. "... and help."

"I believe that is so," she agreed, leaving the topic about her failure behind. Her glistening orbs immediately showed suspicion. "However, it seems to me that that help came just at the nick of time --- by accident, one may say, but isn't it too coincidental? Coincidental that his rescuer arrived at the right place and at the right time, as if he, or she, knew what was going to happen?"

The Prime Minister looked at her.

"I'm afraid that was no ordinary streak of luck for him, my lord. I strongly believe that there has been a conspiracy... and that an alliance has been formed between the King of the black pieces, and the Queen of our own." At that, she smirked, the previous failure forgotten. "I suppose the time is ripe for the White Knight to move out, reclaim the captured chess piece and have her revenge, Your Majesty?"

Hyouko's eyes were expressing utmost concern. "Take care of yourself, dear."

"Don't worry, my lord, never again will I commit that mistake," Kasumi assured him, the arrogant grin on her features back in full force. "I will not leave him in one piece... in fact, I will not leave anything of him at all."