Doomed to Failure
episode two ---distortion---
(Rating: T)
Author's Note: the action will pick up, I promise.
Although Trunks had taken in the possibility of a child fathered by himself – or Trunks from a different world – he hadn't been prepared for a shock this big. Trunks was not easily startled but looking in the eyes of that little girl did something to him, something he couldn't grasp at all. Her eyes were the same as his, a deep blue, and her hair was exactly the lavender he'd inherited from his grandfather Dr. Briefs. This wasn't a mere coincidence, Trunks realized.
His eyes moved to the woman. She looked extremely tense, frozen almost. For a little while Trunks thought she was actually afraid. The woman didn't say a word, simply tried to keep her child from running over to whom she thought was her father. Her eyes were very dark, as described by the old pervert, earlier. Her hair was short and pitch-black, cut in a boyish bowl. She wasn't very tall, though. Actually, she struck him as fairly petite. However, there was something more striking about her. She wore a gi in one piece. It looked only too familiar, with an obvious Son blueprint. She was a Son, she must be. But that was impossible… wasn't it?
She lowered her eyes and Trunks sensed she was weighing her options. Trunks knew she wanted to run but he didn't really understand why. If she knew Trunks, any Trunks, she should know to not be afraid.
"Tell me who you are," he suggested. He was perturbed by the child's constant cheer for her father. Daddy, daddy, daddy! She called out to him. It made him cringe, even.
"I—" the woman stammered. Her eyes shifted nervously. "I—I don't want to bother you. We were just leaving when Bikini lost her doll." She fell silent again, searching for a way out of this. She couldn't bear to look at him and lowered her face in shame.
"Bikini? That's her name?" Trunks spoke, hoping it would ease the woman a bit. He didn't want her to run, not just yet anyway. Not before he had some answers. The woman flashed her eyes up, only to lower them again.
"She—why does she—" he hesitated. He was unable to even suggest it.
To his surprise, the woman actually knew what he had planned to say, which intrigued him.
"She doesn't know any better. She was very young when her father died. I guess she cannot tell the difference between you and—"
She swallowed the end of her sentence, and refrained from finishing it.
The circumstances were becoming more and more awkward. This didn't sound like much of a conversation, Trunks thought. His mother had a lot more wit than he, especially when it came to uncomfortable situations. Right now, he wished he had had his mother's way with words.
The woman shook her head. "I really shouldn't be here."
She took to the sky, catching Trunks off guard. She was swift, he had to give her that.
He leaped after them, soaring over the city for the first time in what felt like years.
Trunks wasn't as fast as he used to be, back when he still trained most of the time and was forced to train in order to defeat those androids. Back then, there wasn't much else to do anyway. Nevertheless, he knew he was fast enough to catch up in no time. She carried a child in her arms and she was a woman, even if she might be a Son. There was no way anyone in the world was faster than him.
Even if she was not of this world there was no one able to exceed his speed, period.
All right, scrap that, she was fast – very fast.
But he'd catch up. He had to. Besides, there was nowhere for her to run so even if she could get away he'd find her still.
The child continued to scream for her father, getting unbelievably upset, to the point she attempted to kick her mother, who held her under one arm, pressed tightly against her torso. The little girl shrieked constantly, and her mother wondered how on Chikyuu the tot could produce such a racket single-handedly. It was destroying her concentration. She looked behind for a second, noticing Trunks was gaining on her.
Trunks had always been faster than her. Trunks had been faster, stronger and the better fighter. It still surprised her how she had survived Majin Buu's final attack and Trunks hadn't. Truth be told, she didn't remember much. She didn't want to remember.
As she neared the forest area beyond the city limits she figured it wouldn't be long until he'd pull alongside her. She had to make up her mind. The time machine was still a bit of a wreck but it should be able to get her to a close by dimension without too much of a hassle. It had to because she couldn't stay here. It would only complicate things and it would distract of why she'd really come here in the first place. She'd come here to warn this world of Majin Buu. And it was the only reason why she'd come here. Right? She nodded angrily. Of course it was the only reason! This wasn't the first world she'd come across! Although she had to admit this world looked a lot like hers had moments before the awakening of Majin Buu. It frightened her. And seeing him frightened her even more. She didn't want to be afraid but in all honesty she would never be able to match her father's fearlessness, nor Trunks' for that matter.
She landed in one sharp motion, setting her child down. Bikini glared at her, still sobbing. She'd get over it, her mother knew. She shot back up again, into the sky. Trunks was nearby. The thought alone irritated her to her core. This wasn't her Trunks. This man only looked like him.
She shouldn't waste all her energy just yet. She didn't know how strong this Trunks was but figuring he had destroyed the androids and Cell by himself he must be strong, stronger than she was. But he had not fought Majin Buu. She had, and although she had been no match to Buu she had grown stronger during that time. She'd at the very least be able to delay him. She hoped that would be enough.
She threw her hands back, gathering her chi. He looked at her confusedly, stopping dead in his track. She didn't want to do this but she knew there was no other way. Knowing Trunks, he was too damn curious to let her go. She ground her teeth, pulling her hands crossways over her head. Trunks still scrutinized her with an enquiring look.
"Masenko…" she exclaimed.
The man opposite her stared, unsure of what to think. This was Gohan's special attack!
"Ha!" A bright, plum beam sizzled forward, missing Trunks by a thread. The only reason the attack had failed to connect was because of Trunks' swift response in avoiding impact. Trunks watched the ball of chi explode into a rock formation in the distance.
"Hey! There's no need to get hostile!" he yelled at her irritably.
"I don't want to hurt you, Trunks!" she shouted. "Allow us to leave. We don't belong here. We need to be on our way."
Narrowing his eyes, Trunks realized something. The woman must be Gohan's daughter, from a different universe. How else could she have known Gohan had a daughter? Why else would she be wearing a Son gi? How else could she have learned his attack? She prepared another attack, he noticed. Quickly, he decided to try and stop her without having to hurt her.
"You're Gohan's kid, aren't you?"
The woman brought her attack to a standstill and looked at him with big, black eyes. She looked like a Son. She had to be a Son!
Trunks was unable to budge for a while, as she stared back at him with those dark eyes. The sun was slowly setting behind the woman and Trunks felt its rays burning in his eyes. He wondered what she was thinking in that exact moment as they stared at each other. Without realizing, he approached her carefully but before he was able to move anywhere near she dove into the trees, disappearing.
He wasn't planning on letting her beyond his reach a second time. If she wanted a chase, she would get one! He dove after her, manoeuvring in between trees, branches, bush and rocks, sizzling past one tree trunk after the other.
She had better manoeuvring skills than he had, he perceived. However, no one was as fast as he.
The woman looked back constantly, her face worried and overwrought. Why was she so afraid to talk to him? What was she really running from?
When she looked back yet again, her shoulder hit the side of an evergreen tree, knocking her off balance. Her calves hit a second tree, making her lose her sense of direction. She dropped to the murk, loose soil and crashed hard into the surface. In hopes of breaking the girl's fall, she held her child behind her elbows. The woman smashed into another tree, coming to a halt. She was disoriented long enough for Trunks to catch up.
He stood before her as he towered over the both of them. He didn't quite notice how threatening he was in this position and he looked at the black-haired woman angrily. What had she been thinking moving in such a tightly packed space holding a child for Kami's sake!
The woman rubbed her face, trying to snap herself out of it. She had to keep moving. She had to stop Trunks from catching up. She… where was she anyway?
Bikini struggled from her mother's grip and ran over to Trunks. Passionately, she hugged his left leg.
"Daddy, daddy! I missed you so much!" she exclaimed. Trunks looked down to her and frowned sheepishly. The girl looked up, meeting with his confused stare. She smiled widely. "You miss me, too, touchan?" she asked innocently.
Trunks didn't say anything. He just stared at her and the girl stared back, never intending to break the exchange of glances. The moment was broken when the girl's mother pickedher upand stood opposite Trunks, looking at him sternly. The girl turned to look at her mother and the woman's glare faded unwillingly. She wanted to cry. She couldn't handle this.
"Kaachan, why are you so sad?" the child wondered.
The woman closed her eyes. "Because you're gonna hate me for a long time."
Trunks studied them, unsure of what the woman was saying.
She set the girl down again, pushing her against her legs. Then, she opened her free hand in front of Trunks' face, firing an string of chi blasts into his confused stare. This would delay him. It would buy her much needed time. He had not expected this.
Trunks fell backwards, onto the heavy ground, coming down with a loud thud.
Bikini in turn screamed and dove for her father but the mother grabbed her by her collar. The little girl howled, unable to bring out any words, anything beyond a constant, horrified scream.
The woman tore her daughter away, and continued on her way. Her eyes were dark with pain. Yes, Bikini would hate her for this. But she'd get over it. She had to. They couldn't stay here.
Author's Note: Short, true. I probably have never written a chapter this short. Tell me if it is TOO short. Perhaps I need to be more descriptive? Let me know. The action is picking up, and more action is underway. Again, feel free to be honest.
It seems the woman is a Son but one can never be sure until she will finally reveal herself to Trunks. This wasn't exactly a pleasant meeting, that much was certain.
Knocking Trunks out wasn't a very nice thing to do, was it? Wonder how Trunks will react? Find out in the next chapter, eh?