Trunks could honestly say that this was one of the more uncomfortable things he had ever done in his life. How anyone could ever ride a horse was far beyond him. When they had first left Rivendell it was not so bad, mounting the horse was a bit of a struggle but it seemed he was favored with having a steed with an even temper. After nearly falling off twice, Mirai was sure he was going to have a tantrum before they even managed to get out of the forest. He swore colorfully to himself about how he should have just flown like he had planned, but the twins were always there to calm him with encouraging words and he felt embarrassed for thinking about leaving them to find their friends alone while he took off flying.

Then, as though someone had flipped a switch it was as though he had been born on horseback, he had balance and grace and he allowed himself to relax a bit before he broke the poor animal's ribs with his thighs. Of course, his glee was short lived. Not a minute after they entered the first large clearing it had been time to increase their pace.

Surely he would have humiliating dreams for months after this—if he made it out alive of course. The horse didn't have so much a mind of its own, as much as a drive of its own. As soon as Elladan and Elrohir began to pick up pace his own horse needed to stay a neck ahead. As the pace increased and the horse moved of its own volition, Trunks could only hold on for dear life and pray to the heavens that he didn't get flung off and trampled. They had covered at least five miles before he finally began to settle into the pace and balance, but the damage had already been done to his pride and backside.

The twins did not once laugh at him however, nor did they give him knowing smiles that covered hidden jokes between them. Still, their praise fell on deaf ears as Mirai mentally kicked himself over and over for agreeing to the farce to begin with. He could have left the creature in the stables and ran along with them, but it was far too late now.

The afternoon sun found them on the plains east of South Downs following the Bruinen. Trunks would not have asked them to stop for a rest, but it seemed the twins understood without his saying a thing and proposed a rest in the shade.

Trunks climbed painfully from the saddle and grunted. The horse nuzzled into his shoulder and Mirai grinned, petting its velvety nose before stretching himself out a bit and flopping ungracefully into the shade of an oak.

After the twins left their own horses to graze, they sat beside him and stretched. Trunks admired the beauty around him, silently praying that nothing would ever devastate the land and ruin so much health and green. Again it made him remember his home and he frowned as he saw the crumbled buildings, the everlasting grey skies and countless dead bodies that were unearthed every day since the androids destruction. He wondered if the survivors would ever see a brilliant blue summer sun and vibrant green grass ever again.

Elladan cast a worried look at his brother at the depression that etched across the young man's face. Elrohir pulled his hair from his shoulders and leaned forward to look directly in their companions face. "Are you well?"

Azure eyes blinked and slowly their focus returned. Mirai smiled weakly at the worried elfin frown. "Yea, just remembering home."

The young elf lord sat back again and nodded. "Do you miss it?" Trunks blinked at him, as though he didn't understand the question. Elrohir seemed to realize this and elaborated. "Your home, do you miss it?"

"Not really." Mirai spoke quietly, but it was the truth. There was no need for a hero there now, he seemed a constant reminder to those alive of the horrors they had lived through. The only other person that tied him there was his mother, and now she too was gone.

Elladan paused from shuffling through his bag to look up at him. "How can that be?"

Mirai shrugged. "There was nothing for me there but death." He really didn't want to elaborate and shifted in his seat hoping the subject would drop. He was not so lucky.

"Death?" The elfin tenor was quiet and Trunks glanced over at Elladan. There was a far away look in his slate eyes that cleared as he blinked. The elf turned his head to him and pierced him with his gaze silently demanding further explanation.

"There has been a lot of death where I am from, years of battles and war. I grew up learning to fight and hide." He swallowed thickly, he hadn't spoken about it with anyone except Goku several years before; it was painful then and was still a tender spot on his soul. "I was trained, raised to be the savior of our whole world since I was old enough to understand. Do you know how frustrating it is to grow up with that kind of pressure?"

The twins shook their heads and both shuffled a little closer as Mirai silently fumed. They listened to the twittering of birds in the boughs above them as Trunks calmed himself slowly. Finally he continued. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get so worked up." He pushed lilac hair from his face and smiled sheepishly at them. They waved their hands at him in silent dismissal. "The only thing that really kept me there was my mom. When she died I had nothing left there, so I'm not even sure I'll go back."

Elladan frowned. "But the Lady Bulma is safe in Rivendell…"

Trunks laughed lightly. "It's kind of complicated." He looked pensive before he shifted and started to draw in the loose soil in front of him. The twins shifted closer so they could peer around him and see what he was doing.

In the dirt were a few rough circles and shaky lines. Mirai looked up, blushing lightly at how close they were and pointed down at the little doodle. "This," he pointed to a circle to the far left, "is where I am from. Where everything is dead or dying; where I was born and where my mother died. Got it?" When he saw layers of bobbing brunette hair at either side he continued. "This circle is the earth where Bulma lives; where Goku, Piccolo and my Father live. This line here represents a dimensional wall. Following so far?"

Elladan had his face scrunched up in slight confusion but he nodded anyway. Trunks grinned at how cute the elf looked. Elrohir was more placid than his brother but his confusion shone through his eyes. "This is a barrier between different realities. Both planets are Earth, but each show the infinite possibilities that could happen. There are probably billions upon billions of different realities, but in this one I was born where my father and many other warriors are already dead." The uncertainty slowly relaxed from them and Trunks nodded his head in approval.

"My mom, from my time, found a way to go from this side of the wall, to this side." He poked his finger onto each circle for emphasis. "And since it is another reality, she's is sort of still technically my mom."

There were identical nods, though they didn't get it entirely, they understood enough to comprehend what Mirai meant. There was a strained silence and Trunks shifted around and cleared his throat. The twins suddenly realizing their proximity backed off with a light flush.

Bags were opened and a small meal was set out, eating past he heat of the day and lounging in comfort. When Elrohir set to packing up what little was out, Trunks groaned. His horse came to him and gave him what seemed an apologetic look.

Elrohir grinned at him as he tied the satchel onto the horse's saddle, "It will get easier with time."

"I hope so." Trunks grimaced as he hauled himself up, his thighs already cramping lightly and protesting. Elladan rode up beside him, looking as though he were born on horseback. "God, you guys make it look easy."

Elladan puffed up in pride and beamed. Elrohir came round to the other side of Mirai's horse and grinned over at his brother. "Elladan has had a lot of practice riding things." A light blush rose on his brother's face and Elrohir laughed.

"No more than you, dear brother. And at least when I am finished both I, and my 'mount' are both well sated." Elladan huffed and rode ahead.

Elrohir sputtered lightly and moved, continuing the risqué conversation with his brother as Trunks followed slowly behind laughing at the bickering twins.

---

The heat of the day was slowly flowing out, the sun already past its zenith, and Goku could feel the difference in his skin. Since the morning's small chats and menial events, nothing had happened and the innocence that was Goku was growing restless. He turned his head to look down at Vegeta, who even with the sweat dampened brow still managed to look exactly the same even after hours of walking, and smiled at the top of his head.

He knew that something vastly important was happening between the two of them, and even though he felt the change subtly over several months, it still felt like it had happened over night. Goku's mind popped up a mental image of ChiChi's smiling face and smiled gently at the picture. There was no guilt or shame as he thought over the feelings that were brewing for Vegeta somewhere in him, ChiChi had already made several things clear to him as she aged and one of those points was that Goku should find someone to love after she passed.

That conversation had certainly been a shock and entirely out of the blue. It had been two years ago at least, the last time ChiChi had been very ill and needed to stay in bed for a week to recover. Goku sat up with her in the nights rubbing slow circles across her back as she coughed harshly or vomited and he still told her she looked beautiful even though she would grimace at him and smack him playfully in the arm every time. It had been one of the quiet nights closer to her feeling better when she told Goku that she wanted him to be happy after she died.

"There is too much love in you, Goku." She had said, and when he looked at her with confused eyes she snuggled into his shoulder and sighed. "I know you don't understand why I'm saying this, I still love you, Goku and I always will but we both know you're going to live so much longer than I will." She paused to cough and sip some water. "Just promise me that you'll think about it okay?" Goku had readily agreed, still not quite understanding what he had agreed to, but the answer made ChiChi smile as she fell asleep in his lap.

Now he finally thought he understood as he studied Vegeta's proud profile. The prince felt the lingering look and looked up at him through his thick lashes. "What is it, Kakkarot?"

Grinning, Goku shrugged. "Just thinking." Vegeta snorted and favored him with an odd look. He stared after Vegeta another few minutes before speaking again. "It's getting kind of boring. I wish something would happen."

There wasn't even time to take another breath when a mix of screams and shouts echoed to them from the front. Vegeta glanced up at him. "You were saying?"

They raced toward the noise, seeing Legolas atop the next hill with a bow stretched between his hands, firing off rounds with deft accuracy. By the time the saiyajins breached the hill they nearly tumbled into each other in shock. Great beasts, the likes they had never seen before, were tearing into the nearby warriors and chewing them into bloody pulp.

The next moment, their reverie broke and they drove headlong into the throng, grabbing hold of warg riders that had been loosed and twisting their boney bodies in their hands. Goku saw Piccolo grip one of the warg beasts by its great jaws as it lunged at him, wrenching the creature sideways and knocking over several warriors from both sides. Goku snapped his fist back and drove it forward into an orc stomach, feeling the skin grow taught and split under his knuckles and kept pushing until he felt the bones of the creatures vertebrae separate and explode from the creatures back.

There was a stiff, guttural yell that he recognized, and he snapped his head to the side to see Piccolo stumble over a dead body, the warg gaining an advantage pressing down on him. Goku shook the dead body from his arm and ran, screaming as he dove and drove his foot into the temple of the beast. The pressure bulged out its eyes, and Piccolo took the opportunity to gain his footing and concentrated what little energy they had to use to punch the creature between its wide set eyes and grunted as the bone shattered below the force.

He nodded quickly to Goku, a similar stiff shake of the head from his friend and they turned in different directions and into the melee. Stench of blood and echoing cries rang out and before long what had been blind panic was nothing.

Vegeta walked up beside Goku, he was covered in blue-black blood and panting lightly. The small area was a wreck. Dead bodies littered the grounds and Goku frowned sadly at the faces he saw in the dirt, some he had actually introduced himself to and they had shared a tale or two. Piccolo soon joined them, and the trio gazed at the horror before them. For the first time they understood what it was exactly that the peoples of Middle Earth stood to face, and they felt a kin to fear for them.

Their silent contemplation was broken by a shuddering intake of breath that held in a sob. Goku gazed up to see who would make such a sorrowful sound and his eyes widened as they came to rest of the Mirkwood Prince standing at the precipice of a cliff. The solid elf made not another sound, and Goku was confused for a moment, thinking that it couldn't have been Legolas until the elf turned and his eye usually glittering and bright were dull and void.

Goku elbowed Piccolo roughly in the ribs and the Namek growled low at him until Goku pointed over to the stricken elf. For some reason, Goku felt Piccolo should know, and when he saw his friend walk slowly toward the flaxen haired prince he knew he had done the right thing.

Vegeta let out a light, 'hnn' before turning and walking down the hill. Théoden was gathering those still alive and speaking quietly before he turned. "Leave the fallen. We move on." Goku felt Legolas stiffen, even from the vast distance between them, and his mind ground on to what could have happened to make the beautiful creature so upset.

Ignoring Vegeta for the time being, Goku began to walk toward Piccolo and Legolas to find out exactly what was happening and frowned deeply when he saw Legolas jerk violently from the comforting hand set on his shoulder. The elf stalked quietly away, already disappearing into the thinning crowd by the time Goku finally got to Piccolo's side.

"What's going on?" Goku blinked at the spot Legolas had been.

There was a deep rumbling sigh and Piccolo stared straight into Goku's eyes. The saiyajin felt like his head was going to cave in under his gaze and wondered idly if Piccolo was trying to use his eye lasers when the Namek spoke. "Aragorn is dead."

Goku jumped in shock and then stilled himself. He scratched the back of his head and then took a deep breath. "Oh." He didn't know what else to say and instead he followed Piccolo down the hillside.

They met up with Vegeta at the bottom where he paused to wait and the three walked on in pensive silence for the remainder of the travel, and even after they entered the gates of Helm's Deep, they only sat in their rooms staring unseeing at the grey walls.

---

Bulma walked stiffly from the work shed and stretched as she went on her way to her chambers. She had opened Mirai's capsule and set it up beside the one she was working on. At first she felt like slapping herself in the forehead at the obvious problems that leapt out at her, but soon set to work at a furious pace.

The main purpose of the whole frenzy was to keep her mind from wandering to what exactly was happening to her friends, and what may happen to her future son. It seemed every time she took a small break to eat or stretch her mind would wander and before long horrible visions were dancing in her head. One time she even thought she heard the tortured screams of Vegeta and ran from the shed at full tilt in a frenzy, tearing through rooms and sobbing uncontrollably until Lord Elrond caught up with her and rocked her lightly as he held her tightly to his chest and repeated 'Every thing is fine. Il' nat sa tereva,' softly, alternating between common and Quenya until she calmed.

She had been horribly embarrassed and Elrond told her she should rest, but being the stubborn woman she was, Bulma refused and found herself surrounded by auto parts and grease.

The halls were quiet when she finally stepped from her rooms, freshly bathed and refreshed. She felt no hunger even though she had barely eaten, though she was sure she wouldn't have been able to keep anything down with the twisting in her stomach anyway. Bulma wound her way through the halls and eventually found herself in the vast library.

Picking through the stacks and shelves, she found very little she could actually read, the rest written in the languages of Middle Earth. A thick volume with a heavy suede cover caught her eye and she sat on a plush bench and flipped the text open on her lap. She read a few paragraphs on some type of herb or another before her mind began to play evilly with her again. Before long, she was cursing herself and wiping furiously at the saline drops that dared to fall from her eyes.

A swish of heavy maroon robes blurred in her watery vision and she looked up to see the worried face of Elrond gazing back down at her. He kneeled slowly in front of her, resting his hands lightly atop hers and frowned at the tears that trailed her cheeks. "I cannot have failed already."

The strange words took Bulma by surprise and for a moment all sorrow left her. "What?"

"Your son asked me to watch after you, but still you are in pain." Elrond watched a tear roll silently forgotten down her cheek and wiped it away with the tips of his fingers. There was a light blur and a solid weight fell onto his chest. It took him a moment to realize that Bulma had slid forward and clutched at him, sobbing into his shoulder with all she was worth.

He silently held her and patted her back, waiting for her anguish to drain itself. After a time the sobs slowed and only a small sniff and light hiccup remained. Bulma turned her head and buried her face in the crook of his neck and sighed. Elrond tipped his head a little, allowing her to snuggle deeper. "Better?"

Bulma nodded, and then laughed a little as she drew away, wiping at her eyes and smiling. "You smell nice."

Elrond blinked in surprise, "Diol lle." He rose to his feet, shaking his robes and gazed down his thin nose. "Have you eaten, Lady Bulma?" After a shake of her head, Elrond frowned. "Come then, it will not do for you to starve."

A small smile tugged at his lips as Bulma sighed overdramatically and took his offered hand. The book lay forgotten on the couch pillows as they walked from the library toward the dining hall, still linked hand in hand.

---

Night had fallen and Trunks could feel the pulsing ki of his father, Goku and Piccolo in the distance. The feel was stronger and they apparently had reached whatever destination had them on the move all day. Mirai had tried to remain optimistic through the day, but as his father continued in the same direction they were going, they were only gaining on them by very little.

They broke for camp better than two hours ago, long after the sun had set, cradled in the valley at the foot of the mountains. They had crossed a river sometime after their noon rest, though Trunks couldn't remember what exactly the twins had called it, he remembered it had something to do with swans. Where they were now gave Mirai a bit of hope, Elladan assuring him that Isengard was less than half a day's ride away.

Fed and fatigued, Trunks had pulled his jacket tightly around himself and lay on the bedroll Elrohir had lain for him, falling into sleep soon after. The twins had sat watching him for some time, admiring the strong features of the man.

Quietly they left him be and moved to a spot far enough away so that they would not disturb him but still keep watch and rested to talk. Elladan pulled his fingers through his thick hair as he watched the moon move. "You know brother, there seems to be something far deeper to our companion that I first thought."

Elrohir nodded, nibbling on his lower lip in thought. "I know how you feel. Though he is mature in man years, other men of his age are still foolish with youth. But there is a solemn wisdom far too old for his age."

They both turned their heads to watch the subject of their discussion. Trunks had turned onto his side facing away from them and curled into himself. Elladan leaned back onto his brothers knees and sighed as Elrohir unbraided his mane and combed through its length. "If what he says is true, then he has seen far more than half the men of Middle Earth."

There was a silent nod of affirmation and the two relaxed into the boughs of the tree in which they sat. A chill settled into the air and moved over them in a light mist. Elladan settled closer to his brother, gooseflesh rising on his arms as the cold bit into him. A murmur came to them from the ground below and they looked down between the limbs to see Trunks shivering.

Elladan grinned coyly at his twin and leapt silently to the ground. Elrohir dropped beside him and the two contemplated what exactly they should dare do when another shiver at their feet and a quiet whimper made them pause. Thinking it a fluke, Elrohir settled down beside Trunks to give the younger warmth. As he sat, his knee barely brushed the coat on Mirai's back and the boy curled tighter into himself with a deeper whimper and small sob. Shaken at the reaction, Elrohir gazed up at his brother and the other elf settled opposite, lowering his face so that he was a breadth away from Trunks'.

Suddenly the saiyajin's eyes flew open and he yelled loudly, pushing himself away in blind panic. "No! Please! Kami not again! Kill me bu-but don't…" Elrohir pulled the saiyajin to him from behind, scared for the fear that rolled from him in waves. Trunks stiffened in his arms, and before they knew what had happened a blinding flash of light seared into their eyes and Trunks was floating far above them, hair in a torrential upsweep of gold. He had one palm flattened at them and he was growling low in his throat.

"Trunks?!" Elladan called up to him, the fear for the boy had fallen away and now a terror for his own safety clutched at his chest.

With the call of his name, Mirai snapped around, staring down at them before his face crumpled in confusion. Slowly the gold fell from his hair and the light around them died out. The saiyajin lowered carefully to the ground between them, looking at them as though he saw them for the first time. As soon as his feet touched the earth he crumpled to a ball and wept quietly into his knees.

The twins sat cautiously on either side of him, staring at each other in bewilderment. Between the sobs they heard broken pieces of apology. "…sorry. Kami…" Afraid of the reaction, Elrohir slowly reached out his hand and rested it on Trunks' shoulder. There was a tense moment as they both waited for the saiyajin to jerk away but Mirai only curled tighter into himself and shivered.

Taking hope, both twins moved forward, Elladan pulling the trembling young man into his arms while Elrohir pet the hair from Trunks' face. "Ernil, you are fine. There is no harm done this night." Elrohir's voice was soft and what he hoped was comforting as he continued to stroke the silken strands from the saiyajin's face.

There was a broken sob, and with what took a great amount of effort, Mirai quelled his emotion and sighed heavily. "I-I'm sorry. I was having this hor-horrible nightmare…" His voice was thick with tears and broken with small hiccups.

Elladan hugged him tighter and lightly rocked them both. "It is alright, mellon nin."

Trunks shook his head. "I'm sorry. So sorry." There was a small crack in his voice. Elrohir nodded to his brother and Elladan squeezed Mirai tighter, resting his chin on the saiyajin's shoulder.

Elrohir tucked the long strands of lilac behind Trunks' ear. "There is nothing to forgive. Now rest." After a tentative nod, Trunks untangled himself from Elladan's embrace and crawled back to the bedroll, laying on his side and curling up again.

The twins caught each others eyes and without a word agreed with what each was thinking. The moved to either side of the stricken warrior and tucked him between them. Elladan pulled Trunks' back soundly to his chest and held the saiyajin with arms around his waist. Elrohir settled to the front, pulling both Mirai and his brother forward, Trunks' forehead resting on his collarbone. There was a time as they lay, Mirai wound tight and tense. Elrohir again played his fingers through the warrior's hair and Elladan hugged him close and slowly the saiyajin relaxed in the dual embrace. As Trunks' breathing began to even out, Elrohir placed a chaste kiss to Mirai's forehead and rested his pointed chin on the top of the saiyajin's head.

---

Il' nat sa tereva : Every thing is fine.

Quenya: old elfish tongue brought forth from Valinor, the base root of elfin languages.

Diol lle: Thank you

Ernil: Prince