Sole Flame -Future Trunks Saga- Chapter Two – Plateau
The bright orange sun rose over a refreshed West City as the earthlings who inhabit this area began to awake and scatter about to begin their own separate days. Birds chirped while children played on their way to school. The men and woman mourning the loss of loved ones who fought against Pui Pui weeks before have returned to peace and their daily lives.
It has been one month since the fight between Pui Pui and Trunks. The city has reconstructed the few buildings damaged in the aftermath along with Bulma's own Capsule Corp. building.
In a large laboratory deep inside the recently rebuilt Capsule Corp. building is a well-known blue haired scientist who is currently one of the wealthiest women on Earth, Bulma Briefs. Typing on her large lab computer while wearing a white lab coat and hair up in a bun, the woman was obviously awake all night trying to finish a project.
The question is though, what kind of project would she be in such a hurry to complete? On a table behind the woman's desk is a large tarp covering something mysterious with wires coming out from the side. A 3D blueprint is displayed on Bulma's computer screen, but it is unsure as of yet what the plans are for. The earthlings typing began to slow down before it stopped instantly as the woman looked over and sighed.
She was looking at a picture frame holding a photograph of her son, Trunks, standing next to his mother looking embarrassed as she was striking a clever pose next to the boy.
"Oh Trunks, what will I do without you kiddo?" the woman said to herself as she heaved another sigh and looked back at the screen.
"I've had enough of this today…" she thought to herself as she stood up and left the room. While removing her lab coat, Bulma looked at a powered down droid from across the room and giggled.
"Wake up you dork! I need you to clean this mess up for me, if you can handle it!"
The droid rose its head and sparked as it buzzed over to the counter and outstretched its arm to press a button. *Click* The button sent the large counter shooting down into the floor as the droid whizzed over to the computer and started typing while Bulma walked away towards her room.
Trunks' sudden behavioral pattern of leaving out of the blue to train, leaving Bulma alone reminded the woman of her late husband and the half-saiyans father, Vegeta. He used to leave for months at a time to train for whatever threat came next. Once he had even gone for nearly a year to travel in space and become a super saiyan. This was all for nothing though because even as a golden warrior of legend, Vegeta was toyed with by the androids and eventually killed.
"I hope he is fine after all of this…whatever it is…" the woman said to herself as she opened the window in her bedroom and stared at the deep blue sky, hoping her "little boy" would return soon.
Bulma was exhausted from the all-nighter she had recently pulled and let out a large yawn as she jumped back onto her bed. Covering herself with blankets and pillows and slowly drifting into a deep sleep.
The weight of his own body became too much to handle. Quickly throwing punches and kicks as hard and fast as he could, Trunks became weary of the gravity bearing down on himself. Back flipping twice and continuing to throw his hands up in retaliation as if someone was attacking the half saiyan.
Trunks sighed heavily as he stopped and wiped what seemed like gallons of sweat off of his forehead. It has been about two months since Pui Pui devastated west city and the purple-haired man left to train. Constant training reminded Trunks of his experiences back in the past with his father.
"Ugh… sorry dad…..*sigh*… I'm just not getting stronger…" referring to the recent plateau he had hit with training. At first Trunks gained power very fast until the first month of staying at his mother's old backup bunker that she had if the androids ever attacked the one Trunks and Bulma already had lived in. Recently it didn't matter how much training the half-saiyan did, his power just didn't increase.
The bunker is a small 7 room house that is hidden deep in the forest around Ginger Town. Shrouded underground, the loft type building has two small bedrooms, a medium sized living room, a storage room equipped with food to last atleast half a year for a saiyan sized appetite, and a bathroom. The most notable addition to the bunker is the large gravity room that is the reason Trunks fled to the place for. Not to mention a small lab for Bulma to work in if they ever fled there.
Trunks sluggishly walked over to a tall computer unit for the gravity room and pressed a few keys. The command he typed in changed the gravity from 550 to 100 and opened the chamber doors. He retreated to the shower room. Much like his father, Trunks used showers to get deep contemplation in that usually led to a revelation.
`Why won't I get any stronger?' Trunks thought to himself as the rain-like water cleansed his sweaty body. `It just came so easy when I was training with dad…why can't I do this on my own!?' Trunks has become incredibly disappointed in himself since his return to the future. He felt that his power had proven to be worthless compared to Goku's or Gohan's. ` If this guy is as strong as that monster said, I need to achieve what Gohan did…but why is it so hard!?'
Out of anger, Trunks unleashed his super saiyan strength onto the shower wall, smashing the wall into pieces and revealing packed in dirt from the mountain he is buried under. Trunks slowly realized what he just did, he doesn't usually showcase his anger like that, the way his father would. Not wanting to become the pride driven man Vegeta was always came natural to Trunks, even though all he wanted more than anything was to impress the man that makes the half-saiyan's life so confusing.
`There has to be a way… would Gohan or Goku do?' Trunks thought to himself as he left the shower and put his raggedy old clothes on. He abandoned the purple Capsule Corp. jacket a few weeks after he arrived, but is still wearing the black tank top, black kaki's, and yellow Capsule Corp. boots. There are no changes of clothing down in the bunker, something Bulma must have forgotten about in her design. *sniff sniff* 'Awww! These wreak!' he thought as he grabbed the clothes and looked around for something new, ending up being very disappointed.
Trunks walked into the family room, but began to ponder on what was missing. Eventually he came to the realization of the "family" part missing. `Poor mom, she must be worried sick…maybe I should go see her and grab some new clothes why I'm at it.' He thought to himself before looking back at the gravity room. `No…I have to continue my training and she would only get in the way. Speaking of which." Trunks stood up and glided straight for the gravity room.
The half-saiyan continued this rigorous training schedule for another two weeks until the plateau had become too apparent for him to ignore. Eventually though, he found the secret he was looking for. He felt limitless once again like he did while training with his father. After discovering it, Trunks' training soared for another month, never feeling more alive in his life.
'This must be how Gohan felt… so much power with all the instability just gone.' He had begun to feel good about himself once again, and hope returned to the young saiyan. Until he reached another halt in his quest for power. Returned to the gravity room with even more stuck in his mind, the room set to a massive 700 times Earth's gravity to fit his super saiyan status. Punching and kicking as two floating droids shot beams at him. `Every time I get more powerful…' *swat * * Kick * ` Every time I ascend…' he dodged both beams shot by the two droids and continued his escapade. `there is always something standing in my way that forces me to drive further!' he dodged two more beams with a jump, then threw two ki balls at the small droids, but missed. `If only father was here, or Gohan… IF ONLY THOSE DAMNED ANDROIDS HADN'T KILLED THEM! TAKEN AWAY MY FAMILY!' he yelled before blasting the droids again, this time hitting the core of the gravity room.
Suddenly an alarm boomed as a speaker descended yelling, "Danger! Danger! Overload! Overload!'
"Oh no!" Trunks yelled before powering up as much as he could and holding his arms together in a block. *BOOOM!* the whole room exploded and Trunks soared out of it. Hitting the ground hard and popping out of his super saiyan form.
The last thing Trunks remembered seeing was a large figure walk towards him, and everything went black. The anger of his past and remembering what the androids did to his life had no effect on Trunks' power, it only hurt him in the end. Much like his father's power ventures did to him. Bulma told her son of the many times she would leave Capsule Corp. to see Vegeta passed out with a recently destroyed gravity machine that he busted.
This was quite a setback, it would take weeks for Trunks to recover without any senzu beans from the past, or a medical machine from the World Trade Organization. That was two weeks at the least in which he won't be able to train.
"Oh Trunks…what have you gotten yourself into?" Trunks could hear faintly from his deep sleep that he was currently undertaking. "Just like his father…"
"Trunks…Trunks...Truuuunnnnks…" that is all the half-saiyan could hear, he didn't know where he was, how he got there, or what he would do to get out. "C'mon little bro get up, listen to me!" Trunks knew all too well the voice that he was hearing.
"Gohan?" the purple-haired man muttered in his recovery bed.
"Yes! It's me. Listen up though, this is important. We can't chat."
"Gohan…" Trunks muttered again, off in his own world.
"Look, this threat that the alien told you about…it's real big, and right now you aren't powerful enough to stop it, you need to get more power. I happen to know just how." He said with a smirk.
"G…Gohan!" Trunks yelled as he began to wake up.
"Everything will be answered on New Namek…" is the last thing Trunks heard before awaking startled.
*Pant Pant* `That was Gohan! What was he talking about though? New Namek? Isn't that where that kid came from? Hm…' as Trunks thought about it more, he couldn't help but wonder what was waiting for him on this New Namek he heard about from his former mentor, and why it is so important. He also thought about what his father would do...`Maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me, if there was something on New Namek…Bah! I should just return to training instead of waste my time. He wanted so bad to be like his father and not let adventures like this take him off track. Maybe acting like his father would help him this time.
Finally making his mind, Trunks stood up slowly and searched for a change of clothes. Although still injured, he was at least functional and could move along with use ki. Scanning the room trying to get out before his mother realized he was up, Trunks noticed a closet. "Aha!" the half-saiyan said to himself before rummaging through it and finding another set of Capsule Corp. jackets, tank tops, and dress pants. Trunks squeezed into them as much as he could before running over to the counter, grabbing his sword, slipping on his boots, and flying off through the window.
Even with Trunks' absence, West City remained the same loud metropolitan area it always was. Parents clutching on to their children as they walked from store to store, a class of students wandering around on a field trip to the big city, the city was more alive than ever. Among the crowd of people was a certain blue-haired woman with a personality quirk and strong mind, Bulma briefs. She had bags around both arms as she had been shopping all day. Most would think that she would just have someone else do that for her, but Bulma loved to get out from time to time. How healthy would it be for someone to stay cooped up in a lab all day anyways?
The clock had just ticked 6:00 pm as Bulma stopped to look through a window at a beautiful dress with blue stripes and a star at the top right. 'This would be perfect for a night out…too bad I barely leave the lab anymore… *sigh*' Bulma thought to herself as she remembered the passing of her husband. 'At least I have Trunks. Well…kinda.' She had a sorrowful look on her face as she looked down, contemplating the life she could have.
From the crowd, a tall middle aged man walked towards Bulma with a smile on his face. He wore a teal sweater vest and tan kaki's. He approached Bulma slowly and attempted to comfort her.
"Couldn't help but stop and see what is keeping such a beautiful woman such as yourself so down," he said in a welcoming tone.
Those words would make any other woman on Earth blush, but the unlucky man had tried to pick up Bulma. Her look of sorrow quickly turned into one of annoyance and anger. " Look pal! Don't think you can just walk up and make the first pitiful woman you see swoon and go off in your arms huh? Well you have another thing coming, so back off before I make you CREEP!"
The man didn't move, but said something that made the whole scene become unsettling. " Look, I was just trying to let you have a good time, but I guess you aren't going for it… so I need to force you."
"What are you talking abo…" Bulma began to say before the man grabbed her arm and yanked to the ally just feet away. "Grr… get off me…you…ahh!"nobody stopped to help her, nobody even looked twice at what was happening. The man dragged her into the ally before he became unseen by the street walkers. All seemed bad for Bulma, until an explosion blast through the ally and the man is sent flying out of it.
A mysterious figure lands on top of the nearby building and drops Bulma, waiting to hear her gratitude. "You couldn't have interfered any sooner!? What did I program you for anyways if you are just going to let things get bad before you help!?"
The figure remained silent as the woman chewed him out. "Well say something!"
It still wouldn't say anything, just stared at her and looked up at the birds soaring through the sky. Bulma continued to complain until she heard a *blip* come from his eyes. "What are you doing now!?"
"I believe your son has awoken from his sleep, he is currently heading towards coordinates W8675-309…Ginger town." The shadowy figure finally opened his mouth, although Bulma didn't like hearing it.
"Trunks! I can't believe he would leave like that! It's like he doesn't even care about me! He is such a child sometimes, what did I raise!" Bulma continued on like that while the tall shadow scanned again.
"Ginger town is only a few miles from here, would you like to go get him?" it said.
"Get him! Oh yeah, I'll show him! You should be stronger than him now right? Go get him and bring him back to me safely!" Bulma commanded.
Listening promptly, the machine scanned for Trunks' signature again. " I will be on my way than, it seems he will be hard to persuade though. About a 50.49% chance that he will come willingly."
"I don't care, just get him back to me!" Bulma shouted, becoming annoyed.
It paused before speaking one last word, "Okay." The machine blasted off in the air towards Ginger town before Bulma could get another word in.
"HEEEY! HOW AM I GOING TO GET DOWN!" Bulma shouted to the machine as it flew away.
Trunks touched down back in front of the bunker that had become his temporary home and walked towards the entrance before he realized that the gravity room is most likely still blown to bits. "Oh that won't do. Where else is there a gravity room that I can go to? Hm…" he said to himself.
*Tack* Trunks heard something hit the ground and quickly turned around to notice the tall figure staring at him in silence. It had large green body armor with black legging and green boots, topped off with an orange Mohawk. Trunks recognized him instantly. " Android 16?"
The android stared at him for a few seconds before speaking back in surprise, "How do you know me? Actually that doesn't matter, my creator has told me to bring you back to her, that is my mission."
'Her?' Trunks thought to himself,' I don't think Gero was a woman, so whoever reprogramed him must have made him different this time. He doesn't seem friendly.' "Well I don't care who sent you for me, I don't trust androids. Especially ones from this timeline" Trunks stated as he drew his long sword from the sheathe tucked around the jacket the saiyan wore.
"I do not desire to fight anyone that isn't Goku, but my creator wants me to bring you to her, and that's what I will do. Force is permitted." 16 retorted to the battle ready man.
"I don't know how you got here, but you won't be leaving. Androids from this timeline kill and lie!" Trunks said before rushing the android at full speed, not leaving his base form.
Android 16 stood tall and muttered one sentence before getting in his battle stance, " It seems force is necessary, my statistics are correct as always."
I am not posting power levels this week to keep next chapters battle a secret, but trust me it will be a surprise. Sorry there wasn't much action in this one and that it took so long. I was waiting for feedback to improve my writing for this chapter. The third chapter will come much quicker than this one did as I have been mapping out the whole first arc for "Sole Flame" that I am naming the Future Arc. Buu isn't even near yet, sorry. I'm going to use this first arc to really flesh out Future Trunks' universe, something cannon never did. You are going to see a lot of familiar faces, and a few surprises so please keep reading! Next chapter will have power levels and will include action. Sorry about the length of this chapter two, I was trying to flesh out the characters more, but right now there are only 3, and 1 was just introduced. I changed the first chapters power levels and figured out all the power levels from here on out, so they should be better. All feedback is welcome, especially on power levels and grammar. Thank you so much for reading!
