I do not own Dragonball Z.
Fear Inside - Chapter 2
Falling.
That was the first sensation he felt when he regained consciousness. He was slowly falling through a void of darkness. Fear came in a close second. There were the monsters in his head in this place that invoked feelings of fear. He felt as if he were falling through every nightmare he could have ever had in his lifetime. And all at the same time, there was nothing there. It threatened to drive him mad, but at the last possible second, his slow decent sped up and the next thing he knew he was hitting the ground. Hard.
Goten coughed and groaned, rolling onto his back. He lay there for a while, not wanting to move or draw any attention to himself. He wasn't quite sure what happened, but he didn't want Vegeta to find him just yet. Opening his eyes, he saw that now he was outside. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a clear, crystal blue.
Weird, he thought and began to sit up to have a look around. Before he was even half way into a sitting position, he felt the air around him being displaced and just as suddenly as Vegeta had appeared before, he felt the cold hardness of steel pressed to his throat.
Instinct told him to stop before he knew what was going on. He could only think of one person with such precision and control over a sword like that and sighed in relief.
"Hey Trunks," Goten said as cheerfully as he could.
He wasn't sure if his friend was mad at him about his sister or not. The way he held his sword to his throat told him that the wrong thing said could be devastating. He lifted his eyes toward the man that stood above him and waited for him to remove the offending weapon. Instead, he was forced back slightly as the metal was pressed closer.
"I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, just because you know my name doesn't mean I'm going to let you up. Explain yourself." The purple haired man said his face set in an angry scowl.
Goten blinked and looked at his friend. "Trunks, it's me, Goten. Hey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your sister and me. We were hoping to avoid things like this and what happened with your father. Come man . . . " Goten said trailing off at the last part.
"What?" Trunks asked with a suspicious look on his face. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't know you. Are you friend or foe? Answer that now."
Goten frowned. "I'm your friend. We grew up together remember? Son Goten?"
Trunks took a step back and lowered his sword, but did not drop his guard. "Did you say Son?" he asked softly.
"Yeah." Goten said, "What the hell is going on? What's wrong with you?"
Goten took a closer look at his friend and for the first time noticed the vague differences in him. It was still the same person, but the look was harder, his stance that of a seasoned warrior -- both of which his friend did not possess. His Trunks, the one he grew up with, would have made a joke by now or something. This other person wearing Trunks' face was all seriousness.
"Son," The other Trunks said, "like Son Goku?"
"Yeah, he's my father." Goten answered looking at this Trunks suspiciously as he was looking at him.
"Impossible." Trunks declared. "Son Goku has been dead for more than three decades and he only had one son. Son Gohan, my mentor and best friend and he is dead also."
Goten jumped up at this, shock plainly showing on his face. "Where the hell am I?" he all but shouted.
Looking around he saw that the landscape was marred with giant pot marks. Hills and valleys where there should have been a bustling city. The ground around him was scorched and scarred, as if a great battle had taken place not too long ago. The vegetation was just beginning to grow back and with dawning realization, he knew where and when he was.
With a look of horror on his face, he turned to Trunks. "Mirai no Trunks?" he asked in a breathless whisper.
Mirai Trunks was taken aback by the title the mysterious man had given him. He hadn't been called that since his trip to the past. "Why would you call me that?" he demanded.
"Tell me," Goten began, "you don't know who I am and my father is dead here. All of earth's warriors are dead, aren't they?"
"Who are you?" Mirai Trunks asked again, beginning to get a strange feeling about this man.
"It's true, isn't it? You are the legendary Mirai Trunks that came from the future to save our past." Goten fisted his hands into his hair feeling as if he was going to go insane at any given moment. "That son of a bitch!" he screamed.
Mirai Trunks took a step back, unsure of the man that stood in front of him. "Yes," he said at last, "I did travel back in time to save my past, but instead it created another time line. Are you suggesting that you are from that time?" he asked.
Goten released his hair and nodded his head. "Yes, Son Goku is my father and Son Gohan is my brother," he looked up at him, "In essence, you created me. Or at least helped to."
Mirai Trunks shook his head in disbelief. "That's impossible. I watch Goku die at the hands of Cell. He didn't get wished back either, so how is it that you exist?"
Goten gave a lopsided grin. "My brother told me that when everyone was training for the Cell Games, father took a break and spent 'quality time' with my mother. I suppose that is where I came from. I never met him until I was seven, though." He sat down on the ground and gestured for Trunks to do the same as he told his story. "There was a tournament and he was granted one day back on earth. That was when I met him. Through some unexpected events and threats toward the earth and universe, my father was granted life again. He lived until about seven years ago when he disappeared with the dragon. It is said that in 100 years he'll return, but we're not sure if that is true."
Mirai Trunks let out a slow whistle. "I never knew," he said in shock. "And my father and mother, what became of them?"
Goten frowned, remembering the reason that he was here. "Alive and well," he said bitterly. "Vegeta is actually the reason that I'm here. He was always threatening to blast me into another dimension, I just never thought he'd really do it."
"Why?" Trunks asked, now filled with curiosity.
"Your sister." Goten stated. "I was dating your sister and he found out about it. Wasn't very happy either," he finished in a grumble.
Trunks blanched. "I have a sister? I mean my counterpart has a sister."
Goten smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, and she's beautiful. She lights up any room and can make you feel as if heaven is on earth. Of course, Vegeta doesn't think I'm good enough for her. No one is good enough for his little princess," he finished in a mocking tone.
Trunks shook his head in amazement. "It sounds as if a lot of things have changed since my last visit."
Goten agreed. "Yeah, and I need to get back to her. Do you still have your time machine laying around?"
Trunks shook his head. "No. We took it apart to use in other machines. How did you get here if you didn't use a time machine?"
"I'm not sure." Goten said in a defeated voice. "The last thing I remember is Vegeta kicking the shit out of me and then I woke up here."
Trunks put on a hopeful smile in an attempt to cheer him up. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure my mother left her notes lying around somewhere. I can put something together for you."
Goten smiled and stood up with his new friend. He didn't bother asking why Bulma wouldn't be putting the machine together herself. He had a feeling that he knew why.
It only took five days for Mirai Trunks to find the notes and have the time machine ready to go. The haul of the machine was still pretty much in one piece; only the working parts needed to be replaced. While Savior City (named in honor of the one who saved the world) was doing well and things around the world were getting back together, the parts where still hard to come by.
Trunks spent most of his time alone or working on a way to get him back home. When he wasn't doing one of those two things, he sparred with Goten or they had long talks about what was going on in his time. Goten had been right about Bulma. She died over two years ago from some unknown virus trying to help other sick people. He could tell that it was still an open wound for Trunks, as he didn't talk about her much. Trunks seemed avidly interested in his time and the adventures that took place after he left.
In the end, Goten almost didn't want to leave him. It seemed wrong that one person should go through so much and come out with even less and he felt bad for having to leave him alone again. But he couldn't stand the thought of one more day without Bra.
Every day seemed like a lifetime had passed by without her. He would lay awake at night and wonder what she was doing and if she was thinking of him. He couldn't wait to see her again, to hold her in his arms and kiss those ruby lips. Every morning he awoke and went downstairs expecting to see her smiling face in the kitchen, only to be greeted by Mirai Trunks' assistants.
That was why when the time machine was ready to go, so was Goten. He climbed into the machine, for once carefully listening to Trunks instructions.
"...And when you return, you'll have three minutes to get out the time machine. After that it'll automatically return to this time." Trunks was saying.
"Why is that?" Goten asked as he made himself comfortable in the cockpit. "Don't we get a time machine to play around with?"
Trunks frowned. "Time isn't something to play with, Goten. Who knows of the repercussions of you being here."
Goten raised his hands in surrender to ward off the lecture he knew was coming. For all their differences, both Trunks were still the same in many ways. "Okay, okay. I get it. No more messing with time. You should come and visit sometime. I'm sure everyone will want to see you." He offered.
Trunks shook his head. "No. I don't think that is a good idea. My mother told me the same thing I told you just a few moments ago. There is no way of telling what time travel is doing to the course of time itself. We built the time machine in desperation. That desperation is gone now. There is no need for it. Your universe has its Trunks and mine has me. It was nice to meet you, Son Goten. I hope you and Bra work things out with your families and have a good life together. It's enough just to know that everyone is all right. Thank you."
Goten could not think of anything to say to that, so he simply waved and started the machine. Jerkily, it lifted off the ground and hung in the air. He double-checked the dials then pushed the button that would send him home. The scenery around him blinked in and out of existence for a few seconds before it disappeared altogether.