Dragon Ball © Toriyama Akira, Shuheisha, Inc.


Chapter 16: A Machine Called Hope


After the festival was over, they were walking together near the Dragon Tear's Lake for a small chat. Tenten barely had such a good mood lately so he didn't want to waste the chance.

"…and the Lunch-san's other personality betrayed them, taking the diamond together with Master Roshi's only plane," he ended his story in which she giggled. "My mother said that Lunch-san's dual personalities were helpful and annoying at the same time. She was like a double-edged sword for them back then."

"But she was still helpful as a comrade, right?" Tenten slowly swayed her step as she walked. "It must be fun if we can do things as they did back then—collecting the dragon balls, right?"

"Then have Shen Long grants your wish," Trunks said. "How wonderful it must be."

They slumped on the bed of grass together and stared into the sky. The weather had grown a lot warmer now since it was the beginning of summer. The breeze fell upon their face was filled with the sweet smell of tall billowing grass. Puffs of white cotton from the cottonwood tree floated slowly past them. They weren't saying anything while enjoying the scenery before them, hoping that the peaceful moment could last forever.

"I wonder if I'm strong enough to beat the Androids now," he finally said.

She propped herself from the grass with one arm, staring almost disbelievingly at him. "I don't mean to doubt your strength, but… I don't think so."

"Well, we never know unless we try, right? We never really face the Androids these past three years, so I think I should give it a try."

Tenten grabbed his shoulder and glared at him. "Don't even think about it."

"But–"

"No but, Trunks! We never face them one-on-one! You of all people know how strong they are. You can't face them the way you are, and neither can I!" she raised her voice at this.

He rose to sit position, craned his head towards her, and was about to say something when she suddenly clutched on his shirt. She bit her bottom lip before resting her head on his chest.

"Please… Don't do anything stupid," she said.

He stared at her before wrapping her with his arms, pulling her close.

"Okay." That was what he told her, but he couldn't promise her that he wouldn't go and face the androids.

Trunks had to use his hovercar capsule to bring his groceries home because he ended up bringing a lot of things because the villagers thought that he was Tenten's boyfriend and had to eat a lot to be stronger. Glancing up to his house, he could only sigh when he saw the hole in the upper part of his semicircle-shaped house. His mother decided not to fix it in the meantime because the androids might end up blowing it again. Hoisting the groceries on his shoulder, he turned the car back into its capsule form and went into the basement they were living in.

"Kaa-san, I'm home! I managed to get a lot of good groceries from the harvest festival today," he said.

"Welcome back, Son! Oh, what a gem!" Bulma said while seeing the groceries in the box. "Guess what, Son. We've got just about enough energy charged in the time machine for a round-trip journey. This will be enough to let you go about twenty years into the past. It took nearly eight months to charge it this much; too bad, we can't test it. It will get you there and back safely. If only my lab hadn't been destroyed, I could have made it a lot better."

He was staring at the time machine and true to his mother's words, the rocket-shaped machine was so close to finishing. '1' emblazoned every side of the jet, represented itself as the first of its kind. The first time machine his mother ever created, no, the first one in the universe.

It probably would take another five months until the machine was ready and Trunks couldn't wait until then.

"Kaa-san, with the strength I have now, I think it's enough to defeat the Androids. I shouldn't need to go to the trouble of traveling into the past and learning from them."

"Trunks," Bulma frowned deeper than ever, "You surely become a lot stronger now, but you haven't forgotten how they killed Gohan three years ago, right? There won't be much difference between the way you are now and the way he was three years ago."

"But, Kaa-san—"

"The androids are now attacking Bridgetown Area! To all people living nearby, please make your way out! I repeat…"

"It's not very far from here…" Trunks muttered.

Bulma quickly stormed her way and grabbed her son by his arms. "N-now hold on, Trunks. Don't get any crazy…" she stuttered.

"I'll be back. I'm going to show you I can beat them!" he took the sword he laid on the table and stormed his way out of his house.

"Trunks! Wait!" Bulma chased after him, but he ignored her.

She couldn't follow him when he kicked his feet on the ground and buckled his sword belt around his back. "Gohan-san, Goten, and everyone else, I will avenge you this day! You just wait and see what's coming, Androids!" he turned into Super Saiyan and make his way to androids' place. "I will end this for you, Tenten… I will free from all of these nightmares!"

Seeing her son vanished from her sight, Bulma quickly grabbed her phone and pressed five to speed-dial to Son's resident.

"Hello, Son's resident here," Tenten answered from the other side of the phone.

"Tenten! It's Trunks! He's…" Bulma swallowed the ball that was holding her throat, "he's going alone to face the androids right now!"

Tenten widened her eyes, feeling her heart was thudding with an immense strength that clouded her vision with the darkness. The memories of Goten and Gohan's death were replayed like a flash inside her head. Suddenly, it was hard for her to breathe.

"Please save my boy, Tenten… I'm begging you!" Bulma's voice cracked on the other side. She seemed to be close to tears. "I know I'm asking too much, but—"

"I-I'll go to his place, Bulma-san. Don't worry." Tenten had to use her other hand to hold the phone because they were trembling. "I'll bring him home safely…"

"Please, Tenten…"

She hung up on the phone and moseyed towards the door. She searched for his Ki presence and kicked the ground, flying as fast as she could when she noticed the change in his Ki.

"Onii-san, Goten… please protect Trunks! Please let me make it in time!" Tenten transformed into her Super Saiyan form to top her speed.


Trunks decided to attack #18 first, shooting an energy ball towards her before striking her with his sword. But #17 with interfered their match before he could do significant damage to her. The next energy blast he shot towards them directly hit them – making him believed that he had out powered them for a brief moment. But they emerged from the billowing smokes, unharmed – smile promptly faded from his face when he realized they hadn't even taken any damage from the attack that used most of his power.

The androids pitied him by laughing at his futile attack. When he had no choice but to run, they chased after him. He could feel his adrenaline was rushing like crazy that he hardly felt anything as he kept running, running, and running, until his will to fight completely wavered from his spirit.

He was badly wounded that he could no longer move. He couldn't even move his hand when he saw them aiming their arms in his direction. Feeling that it was the end of him, Trunks shut his eyes, readying himself to accept his fate.

"I'm sorry, Kaa-san… I'm sorry… Tenten…" he muttered as he gradually losing his consciousness.

A brief moment before he took the attack, Tenten jumped before him and activated her barrier. The blue-coloured hexagon formed around her, rejecting the continuous attacks. Tenten was pushed back and she could feel the pain growing on both of her arms but she still managed to withstand it.

The moment when they slowed down their attacks, Tenten quickly banished her barrier, putting Trunks' arm around her shoulder, and absconded through the billowing smokes to hide their presences. Hiding below the giant ruins that formed a triangle gap, she put his body then covered him with her body. Her heart stopped when she heard a creek of pebbles, followed by their subtle footsteps, moving very slowly to her place.

Tenten lowered her Ki, the minimum she could while covering her nose and mouth to decrease the noise of her panted breathing. She stopped breathing when she heard the scratching noises made by footsteps drawing nearer. Widening her eyes, she slowly craned her head to see him slowly turning in her direction. Her breathing was ragging as #17 walked in her direction. Clenching her fist, she prepared herself to act as a distraction if necessary…

"I think we managed to finish him, #17. I don't see his remains anywhere. We might be overdoing it," #18 said to her twin brother, insanely laughing.

"I guess you're right. Too bad we're losing our precious toy, but oh well… Let's go and look for something interesting."

"Got it."

The whizzing sound they made as they flew was getting vague as they went further away. She heavily sighed as if she was just regaining her breath back. Pulling Trunks' body out from the ruins, she placed her hands above his wound and healed him, only then realizing that her hands were shaking all the time.

The thought of him getting killed feared her. It made her heart pounding so fast that it was almost getting out from her chest.

Though she managed to close most of his wound, she still had to bring him to the hospital for internal organs injury. She sighed in relief when he made a small grunt, pulling his head close to her body.

"Trunks… I'm so glad…" She shook her head. "Please don't leave me as well… Please don't…"


An IV drip blurred into his view.

Slowly surfacing back into the conscious world, he blinked blearily up at the bright lights. Slowly his hearing sense managed to make a return as well when he heard the beeping sound of the heart monitor. That all-too-familiar smell that hospital had – the smell of medical substances had invaded his nose. Eyelids still heavy, he glanced around, noticing that he was in the hospital's bed.

Then he recalled what had happened before he lost his consciousness. He covered his eyes in shame when he remembered how he recklessly faced the androids all alone. Craning his head to the right side had given him the sight of his mother and Tenten, both sitting beside his bed.

"Kaa-san… Tenten…"

Bulma sprang from her seat and caressed his hair. "Trunks! Thank goodness! You've been out for the last five days straight. We're lucky to have Tenten to save you in time."

His heart clutched and he swallowed hard against the ball of guiltiness at the thought of putting her in danger because of his recklessness. He glanced at her but he knew that she was very mad at him from the way she coldly stared at him.

"Thank you… Tenten," he said softly, to which she didn't respond.

"You better think twice before fighting like that again next time," his mother said.

"Yeah, you were right, Kaa-san. I'm not nearly a match for the androids…"

"I'm really glad that you make your way back to me, you know? You've got a strong streak of luck just like me."

Trunks shut his eyes, not being able to move freely because he could feel the pain all over his body. He wouldn't stand a chance against the androids alone so he only had one option left…

"I'm ready to take the time machine as soon as we gather enough energy, Kaa-san."

Bulma took a pot that contained medical herbs Tenten had prepared for Trunks, lifting his head and had him drank the content. "That sounds good. First, you'll go twenty years into the past and give Son, Tenten's father this medicine. If only he hadn't died from that heart disease, I doubt the terrible state the world is in would have come about like this."

"Tenten's father, was he really that strong?" Tenten was looking at Bulma out of curiosity as well.

"He certainly was strong as well, but no matter what terrible thing happened, you felt like he would take care of things for you… He always had a way of making you feel like that. Son was… the person who taught me to stay calm in crucial time, and most importantly… to hope." Trunks glanced at Tenten, who slightly creased her forehead while biting her bottom lip. "No matter how bad the situation is, we should never give up on hope…"

Trunks was looking up at the ceiling and said, "I'm looking forward to seeing my father."

Bulma responded with a faint smile, "I'm not sure you'll want to expect too much. Anyway, I will go and bring more clothes for you. Tenten, please watch him for me."

"Sure, Bulma-san…"

Things were getting awkward the moment Bulma left the room. He didn't know whether his mother was doing it on purpose—leaving them like that, or not. But if she did, that was the cruelest thing she ever did for a sick person like him.

"Tenten, are you mad?" From the way she ignored him, he knew she did, she was very mad even. "I… thought I could end this one for all, so…"

Both of her hands were shaking with emotion before she slammed the book she was reading against her thighs.

"Why are you doing this?! Why are you so persistent about defeating them that you risk your life like this?!" Trunks widened his eyes, surprised to see her gotten so mad. "Answer me, Trunks! Why are you doing this?!"

"I…" He tilted his head away from her. "I want to do this for Goten, for Gohan-san… And especially… you." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I want to set you free from your misery. I'll do everything to return you to the way you were… That way, maybe we can be together…"

Tenten stiffened in her seat. Trunks didn't look in her direction as he said it. She knew that sooner or later she had to sort this complicated thing between them so she rose from her seat, gently placed her hand on his cheek, and looking straight into his eyes.

"The reason I don't want to be together with you is that… it will burden you, Trunks. I know that you're still blaming yourself for the death of my brother." He widened his eyes at this. "I know you still do. That's why I don't want you to take the responsibility and… did this. I've lost so many people dear to me so I can't bear to lose you as well… That's why I don't want you to protect me…"

"Don't protect her. She won't like that."

"Fight alongside her. Just because she's a girl, doesn't mean you have to show your back to her. You got that?"

It crossed his mind like thunder. He now remembered that Gohan used to tell him that. He felt stupid for forgetting his words. It made him chuckled at his own stupidity.

"Trunks?"

"I won't protect you if that's what you want, Tenten. But in exchange," he smiled at her, "I want to have the honour to fight alongside you—together. I just want to face my incoming fights together with you. Through victories and losses… I just want to be with you…"

She looked surprised at his words at first, biting her bottom lip as she looked down to the tiles beneath her feet. After giving herself some time to think about it, she gave him a small smile.

"I wonder if that's how a warrior like us confess their feeling…"

Trunks quirked his lips. "Maybe?"

She wondered what had she ever done right to gave such a fine man like him willing to sacrifice his life for her. His words were like a soft touch that blanketed her heart with the foreign feeling she had yet to distinguish. It was warm and somewhat beautiful.

Tenten put her hands on top of his, slowly nodding to him, in which he widened his eyes.

"I want to fight together with you too, Trunks. As long as you promise to stay alive for me and fight until the end…"

His heart leapt with joy and he wanted to move his arms to hold her but he couldn't. Tenten noticed his intention so she descended towards his face and whispered, "Stay still, Tiger. This time, I'm on the top."

Happiness wasn't enough to describe what he felt the moment their lips touched. They felt giddy, warm, and completely euphoric at the new step they took together.


"Are we there yet?"

"Nope. We're close. Don't open your eyes yet!" Trunks placed his left palm over her eyes as he guided her towards the thing he wanted her to see. He kept pushing her steps with her body until they were standing in front of it.

"Now… are you ready to see it?" Tenten gleefully smiled as she nodded.

When she opened her eyes, she was stunned to see a bullet-shaped machine standing in front of her with the number '01' emblazoned its sides to represented itself as the first machine of its kind. The smell of new machines hit her senses as she looked around the machine, touching its cold surface with her hand.

"Presenting you the Capsule Corp.'s first-ever built time machine!" Trunks proudly said as he pointed towards the machine that was the result of his and his mother's sweat for years. "And it's ready to take us to the past."

Tenten creased her frown in confusion when she noticed the plural in his sentence. "Did you say 'us'?"

Trunks smiled as he down to one knee. He took her hands and said, "I've thought about it and decided that it is better to bring you to the past so you can meet your father," he took out a medicine bottle from his pocket and placed it in her hand, "then save him with your own hand, Tenten. Save your father, save your family, and save all of us. So, what do you think? Do I have the honour to do this journey with my lady?"

Tenten's cheeks almost were hurting from her wide smiles. She didn't say anything and just jumped onto his embrace. Trunks returned her embrace with equal excitement, pulling her up and spun around with her.

"I'll go with you! Thank you, Trunks! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, my lady…" He brought his lips to her and kissed her very gently.

"Anyway," she panted as she gained her breath after their long kiss, "aren't you going to name the machine since it's the first of its kind? Just like what you always do."

"I do, my lady… In fact, I think this is the most appropriate name for her."

"Her?" She chuckled. "What are we going to call her then?"

Trunks put her down then took out a black marker from his pocket and wrote the word on the machine.

HOPE!

He let out a satisfied smile then glanced at her. "What do you think?"

"Hope…" Tenten smiled at the word, feeling like it was the beginning of a better future for them. "I love it. It's the best name for her." Though her faith in it had completely wavered since Gohan's death, without her knowing, both Bulma and Trunks had secretly planted it into her heart and now it was growing stronger again.

"You will have to depart a month from now when the chronal energy is filled up so get ready, kids!" Tenten turned around and couldn't hold herself from hugging Bulma, who held her back with equal excitement. "I take it that you like my new machine, Tenten?"

"I love it. I can even feel your love from it, Bulma-san. Thank you for giving us hope again..." The machine wouldn't be possible without Bulma who used her all and went beyond her limit out of her love for the Earth.

Bulma shook her head. "I only do what a mother should do... trying my best to give a peaceful world for my children to live in. But this is as far as I can go so the rest will be up to you two."

"We will do our best, Kaa-san!" Trunks said.

Preparation after preparation had been done, and finally, the departure time was nigh. Bulma embraced both Trunks and Tenten, wishing them good luck.

"Kaa-san, please be careful," said Trunks while he climbed on the machine.

"I'm counting on both of you!" Trunks then gave his thumb up while Tenten waved her hand to Bulma.

Inside the time machine, Trunks sighed while plopping himself on his seat. "I'm really nervous. Will this going well?"

Tenten smiled while she held his hand, entwining her fingers with his. "Everything will be alright. We're counting on Hope, right?" she confidently said as she patted her seat. "Let's do our best, Hope!"

Trunks gazed at her and kissed her forehead before he pushed the button to jumped into the past.

"Yeah, let's go!"


AN: Ah! Finally, I reached the end of History of the Future. But we still have a few chapters until the part where they returned to the past. Meanwhile, stock your tissues for the next chapter! XD

The reason I put 'five' for Bulma's speed dial to the Son household is a nod to Goku, Gohan, and Goten's name. 'Go' in Japan stands for 'five' (though they're not in the same kanji characters). XD

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