Author's note: Antagonist name change → Chalastis. Also, when in Asteri's mind/POV MiraiTrunks will always just be Trunks… for now ;)

Chapter 6: I'm Scared to Know I'm Always On Your Mind

Chalastis' blood boiled in his veins, and he felt the urge to snap someone's neck - rage pulsing within him.

Failures, all of them!

His men had lost her location. That fucking princess! Where did she go?

He was so close to reaching her, so close to finally harnessing his desire.

"AARRRGgh!" his fist punched through the metal of the wall nearest him, ignoring the pain. Marching through the corridors of his vessel he screamed, "Piretis! Come here!"

The small rat of a man came scurrying by his side, "Y-yes sire?"

"Please tell me you have found her" his voice dripping with malice, "because if you haven't … I will rip out every man's heart I see until she is found! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

Piretis shrunk back in fear, "Yes sire! We are scanning various galaxies as we speak. It will not be long until we find something."

"That better be the case Piretis, because it will be your head this time!"

Chalastis was running out of time. His life's work had been spent looking for the one thing that would bring him ultimate power - the Star of Exousia. An ancient legend he began to research since his youth - a force so great, that if harnessed, would bring infinite strength, power, control, and immortality. This search for the Star became his obsession...his purpose. Many thought him to be a raving lunatic believing in hoaxes and fables, and they persecuted him relentlessly for it. But he knew better, and he had taken revenge against every last one of them. He would have the Star, even if it meant destroying every person or planet that stood in his way. But the Star's power could only be found once in a thousand millennia, and that time was drawing to a close. Only the princess of Eirini held the key to its location. And when he had her in his grasp, she slipped away … simply vanishing.

"Damn that woman! When I get my hands on her -"

"Sir!" one of his generals rushed towards him, "Sir, we have discovered a rare and strange power surge on the edge a nearby galaxy."

"And…"

"The only other time we saw a power like this was on the Planet Eirini, Sir!"

At last! "Show me."

Chalastis followed the general to the scanners, and saw the blinking white light on the screen.

"There, Sir," the general pointed at the map.

Such as small planet. "Tell me of the risks the creatures there place."

The general replied, "None Sir. It seems they are helpless and ill-advanced."

"Good. Thank you general."

Well, well princess. You thought you could hide from me? I am going to find you, and you will be mine. I'm coming for you, Princess. I'm coming for you, my beautiful Asteri.

"Piretis," he called out, "set a course for Earth."

Sunlight flooded into the room, and Asteri groaned at the interruption of her sleep. "Oooh...my head." The throbbing was intense, and the light made it worse. "What happened to me?" Then the memories of the previous night flashed through her mind, and slapped her into alertness.

I can't believe...did I really… ? It couldn't have been real. It can't be real!

She shook the thoughts from her head, "I will not think about it right now," and proceeded to get ready.

...

She wandered outside, feeling the refreshing crisp air bite her cheeks, and soothed her aching head. She roamed along, hoping to find some semblance of familiarity when a strange noise caught her attention. She noticed that it was coming from a dome-like building. Quietly she walked toward it, peering through the small round window, the only window on the building. Inside was mostly empty. It looked like some kind of training room.

A streak of color flashed before her eyes, startling her, and it took her a few moments to keep up with the blur. What is that?

Then realization hit her.

She gasped, "Trunks!" He almost moved too fast for her vision to see him properly. He was so glorious! Zipping through the air, fighting an invisible enemy. His black tank top drenched in sweat, his muscles bulging with strength. But he looked different than usual. His hair was no longer the long soft purple-tint billowing around his face, but rather it was radiantly gold, like flames atop his head.

Strange … and beautiful.

Lightning and power swirled around him in a wondrous haze. She was never so afraid and attracted at the same time before.

"He's so… strong…" She couldn't help but be hypnotized - in the way his muscles moved with such fluidity at every strike, in how his eyes were so intensely focused that it made them gorgeously blue, and how the sweat made his body glisten like a god. Her eyes continued to rove along his sleek body, his shoulders … his arms … his chest … his intensely rock-hard abs … Her heart began to pound in her ears. How did I fail to notice such power … such strength…? and he's so… … mmm...- mine.

He paused abruptly in his movements, and turned his head toward the window.

"Aahh!" She instantly whipped her body away, and carefully stalked elsewhere, blushing profusely, "I'm such and idiot. I'm such an idiot. … He couldn't have seen me...could he?"

What was I thinking? Drooling over him like that?

Also, did she just think to herself 'mine'?

HA! Nope. Forget it Asteri, he never belonged to you, and he can't and never will be yours.

She just wouldn't allow it. She barely even knew him. - She barely knew herself.

Then her mind flashed the memories that swirled through her head from last night. Maybe she knew more about him than she wished to admit.

"Argh!" Her face grew hot from embarrassment laced with anger...anger at her own petty weakness.

She couldn't afford to get ...involved. She had more important things to worry about ...like getting her memories back. What if her memories returned, and it turns out she was promised to another, or, gods-forbid, already married! Impossible. Anyways, she didn't want to impose her stay here any longer.

Then she heard him call her name, and her shame was complete.

"Asteri! Hey wait!"

She slowly spun around, trying not looking him in the eye, but instead her gaze locked on to his handsome chest and shoulders. Oh wow, ok...got to look somewhere else. Her view then settled on a patch of grass behind him.

Try to act casual, try to act casual. "Oh... h...hello Trunks." Part of her wanted to bolt away and forget this - forget him, but the other part of her couldn't live with herself if she did.

"Hey!" he replied, scratching the back of his head, "Oh, you know it's ok if you need to call me something different, since there are two Trunks clones here. Sometimes the others give nicknames for me. I've heard Time-Trunks, Twin, Mirai etc. Bra even calls me 'Other-Brother.'"

She softly chuckled, "No, I think I will continue to call you Trunks, for that is your name, is it not? And maybe I shall call the other Trunks something else if I wish, because remember, it was you I met first."

He gave a soft smile, "Yeah...I remember."

…

"Hey," he continued, his voice filled with concern, "are you feeling any better since last night? You should probably get something to eat. It's already mid-day. I'm sure there's some food back at the house. I need to get showered up anyways."

She nodded. Was it really that late? She must have really needed to sleep, "Yes, I guess you are right. I am a bit hungry."

"Here, let me walk you back. I'll give you a brief tour on the way," he began to walk, and slung a white towel over his glistening shoulders. She followed his stride, taking in all the information he told her about the area, but her mind kept wandering back to last night, and those odd memories. She recalled being harassed by that smelly brute-of-a-man, and how he had gotten waaay too close to her. Then, she blacked out, and the next thing she saw, she was in Trunks' arms and the gross man a heap on the floor. Yet while she was blacked out, she saw strange...impossible things. Things that plagued her dreams last night. She felt her nose burn, and her eyes began to fill with tears recalling such painful scenes. She experienced memories of ...sadness...anger...guilt...revenge...loneliness. Memories that were not hers …

- memories of the man walking next to her.

Puffing out his chest, Mirai let out a much needed, and much deserved, sigh. The shower had helped drain out his mind, and clear the sweat.

He hadn't slept much last night - he had been up wrestling his thoughts. The image of Asteri's goddess-like apparition, puzzled him. What happened to her? How did she do that? The more he had thought about her, the more he realized how little he knew, and now he wanted to know more. When he finally did get to sleep, her face haunted his dreams - her smooth bronze skin, the elegant designs of her tattoos caressing her cheek and neck, and her eyes - Kami her eyes! He could get lost in their depths. He then resigned himself to waking up early and set off to the gravity machine, hoping to train his way to oblivion to get her out of his head. He needed to focus on getting back to his own timeline ...his own dimension. He had risked way too much by staying already. Training always helped him flush out his thoughts ...to forget. Maybe it was because Vegeta's blood ran through his veins, but he craved the adrenaline. Nothing distracted him while he trained. He had pushed his body to the limit, and relished in the emptiness of his thoughts. It felt familiar, comfortable. While he trained, had felt her presence near the chamber, and fought to ignore it. But then he heard her say in the depths of his being, the word, "mine," as if it rolled off her tongue in a purr as sweet as honey. He turned in the direction of her ki and discovered her there watching him through the window with hungry eyes. How was he able to hear her through the walls of the room? It didn't matter. Seeing her there, and hearing her say that word associated with him, made the beast inside him roar with possessive ferocity. He liked it, and that frightened him. He never felt that way towards another person before. Yeah, he felt attachment before. Hell, he allowed himself to care too often, and it was usually spit back in his face -his heart was damaged enough. But this… No Trunks, you can't get this way! You'll just hurt her. Or was he more afraid, she would hurt him? Leaving him like all the others?

The shower had helped calm his mind, and brought back reason. Yes...tonight he would talk to Bulma about making a new time machine, or something to help him get back, and to build it as soon as possible. Then he could be rid of her and these ...feelings. And Asteri? Well she would be free to live her life, be happy, meet new people, find a nice guy and...

Her with another man? The beast within him growled - Mine….

"Arrgh! What the hell is wrong with me?" He smashed his fist into the bedside table, splintering it in pieces.

Aw shit!

"HEY!" Bra banged on his door, "keep it down in there ya crazy gorilla!"

He looked at the pile of wood in guilt, and sighed.

"By the way," she continued, "food is ready, so get your angry-ass to dinner," she then paused and taunted, "oh, yeah, and just because you haven't lived here in this dimension all your life can't get you out of the fact that I take great pleasure in getting my brother in trouble, and you mister, are in trouble. Don't think I didn't hear you in there. I'm telling Mama about whatever it is you broke. And after yesterday's disaster...she will not be pleased." She maliciously giggled, and trotted off.

He hung his head in his hands, "Great, juuust greeaat."

End Chapter 6

Sorry the plot has been going a bit slow right now. The story will have some action (DBZ style) soon. I promise. I like to write longer stories, sorry.

Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you think. I need your motivation to help me continue. This story has been getting some mixed reviews, so I have been reluctant to keep it going (you can tell by the three-year hiatus), so if you like it, please let me know! I really appreciate the help! :)