CHAPTER 18:
Gambit
The cockpit was steeped in an ambient green light which dimly emanated from the dashboard, signaling that all of the ship's systems were operational. The monitor by the pilot's seat also blinked a display of several white arrows that charted the ship's trajectory, pulsing its route every two seconds. Under the monitor, a long cable extended from the dashboard and connected with Giru, who was lying face-down on the dashboard in Pairing Mode. His back flap was open, revealing his motherboard and the Dragon Radar screen.
Trunks leaned forward in his seat as he closely monitored the positions of the Black Star Dragon Balls. He begrudgingly noted that if the screen were a clock, the ship was heading toward the 12:00 but the last Dragon Ball was located at 4:00. It irked Trunks to have to travel away from the last Dragon Ball just because of a fuel stop.
As he turned his eyes back to watch the monitor, Trunks thought about the construction of ship's fuel system, and all of the decisions that went into engineering it. Because of Trunks' busy work schedule, and also to prevent conflict from "too many geniuses in the room," Bulma had bypassed him during the initial engine planning process, when she decided on the ship's energy core.
At the time, due to time constraints, the entire spaceship had to be constructed within a week. To accomplish such a massive project within a short time window, Bulma had to make some quick-hit compromises to build with available resources.
At first, Bulma considered using a gravity-room type core that recharged with energy blasts, leveraging the same ki-absorption technology as used by the Red Ribbon Army's Androids 19 and 20. However, Vegeta, who was wary of the core's volatility, strongly objected. He reminded Bulma about how often his own gravity room exploded from ki blasts, and there was too much volatility in space with "both Kakarot and Gotenks" on board. Both gravitated toward power-level challenges, and the latter also had a penchant for mischief.
Finding Vegeta made fair points, especially when it came to the "issue of Gotenks," Bulma erred on the side of caution and decided to instead have the ship run on hybrid fuel technology. It was fairly standard on Earth, and the technology also came with its share of perks. They had a wide range of inventory in stock, immediately available to expedite the ship's production schedule. It was also versatile to modify, in case Trunks came upon any new types of fuel sources in alien worlds.
Trunks never prioritized finding a different type of energy source, since up until that point, it had never been a true concern. They had been lucky that the Dragon Balls had landed on worlds that had spaceship supplies.
Now that their fuel gauge was low, though, Trunks wished his mom had installed the ki-absorption fuel system instead, especially since Pan had come on the trip instead of Goten. It would have made everything so much easier, and they could have saved so much time.
Thinking of time, Trunks looked again at Giru's Dragon Radar, which indicated a number "6" that hovered over their ship location, and a number "1" that pointed behind their trajectory.
Watching how they moved away from their objective in order to address their fuel need, Trunks couldn't help but reminisce about how there must have been another time, or another place, or another universe, in which everyone had made different decisions.
As he watched the "1" on the Dragon Radar seem to move farther and farther away from them, Trunks, for some strange reason, couldn't help but think that in another life, or in another universe, perhaps Trunks could have bypassed Planet Vidal entirely, to head directly toward that last Black Star Dragon Ball, instead.
–––––––
The sky was green, and the air was thick and wet. Trunks desperately searched the jungle.
His whole team was behind him as they fanned out, searching for the last Dragon Ball. The Namekian Guardian had thrown it somewhere around here, in this direction before the enemy had attacked the village. Trunks only had minutes to find it before the enemy would be on his tail again.
He couldn't fly, or Not-Goku would find him.
The Namekians stayed close to his rear, keeping their power levels down.
They all prayed and hoped.
Not-Goku was close. He might sense them.
No one could take him on. Not even Trunks.
Everyone had fallen. Even his father had fallen. Gohan was gone. Goten was gone. Pan was gone.
It was a race against time now. Trunks had to get the last Dragon Ball, as fast as he could.
The Dragon Radar on Giru blinked as they made it to a bog. They quickly spread into a linear formation searching, and hoping. They knew it was somewhere in the dark waters. They waded, and prayed to the Kais that they could find it in time.
And then Trunks felt the warm glassy material against his brown gloves.
"I found it!"
He had it. The One Star Ball.
They had all seven. They had to hurry. Every millisecond counted.
They brought the beach ball-sized Dragon Balls closer, and wasted no time to recite the incantation. The One Star Ball glowed in Trunks' arms as the Dragon was summoned.
The sky went dark almost instantaneously. The Dragon loomed high among the clouds, beaming down as a beacon of their location.
In an instantaneous flash, Not-Goku was there.
He appeared before the Dragon and faced the Namekians, with both hands extended and curled, and with a ball of light between his palms.
"HAAAAAA!" In one powerful prepared wave, he unleashed torrential ki at the Namekians, obliterating the species who stood no chance against him.
Trunks only had time for one wish before his last man died. He had no time to think - just wish.
He wished for a time machine that would help him kill the enemy at his most vulnerable point.
Not-Goku turned to face Trunks.
In that same moment, the machine manifested between them.
In slow motion, Not-Goku raised his hand.
Trunks dove for the ship, and crashed into it with tremendous inertia that knocked the machine into a roll.
-KOOOOOOM-
The land erupted behind them in a massive ki blast that narrowly missed the machine. The force of the impact thrust everything upward and outward, including the ship, which barreled to the side, barely averting the blast in its roll.
As the time machine was thrown into the air, Giru snatched the hatch closed. In their descent, Trunks desperately hammered at the dashboard, smashing whatever buttons he could, screaming as the ship came crashing down to the ground in a violent roll.
Flashing and spinning as they rolled, the monitor remained the same date, over and over again:
FEBRUARY 3, AGE 797
FEBRUARY 3, AGE 797
FEBRUARY 3, AGE 797
Panicked and flailing, Trunks smashed into everything within the cockpit, while bashing whatever buttons he could in the mayhem.
Not-Goku phased before the ship as it barrel-rolled uncontrollably toward him, with his hands to his side, curled with a new energy wave. He thrust it forward and released ALL of his power.
"HAAAAAAAAA!"
-BOOOOOM-
The massive power SMASHED into the ship, and the machine was thrust backward in an intense flash of light.
Trunks and Giru screamed, knowing it was the end, and seeing his life flash within the light.
And then the light streaked into shooting stars — — - -
—- - - - -
—- - - - – – - -
— —-
.
And then… it settled into space.
The light re-formed as a spherical bright yellow star nearby, which idly floated among a majestic display of stars that stretched to all corners of the universe.
"Hahh, hahh, hahh, hahh…" Trunks panted, as his body trembled, recovering from the panic. His heart was racing. His breaths were short.
But… it was calm, and cool…
And he was alive.
Alive.
He was still dripping in sweat from the rush, and he was still damp from the bog… but he still had Giru. And he also still had the One Star Dragon Ball.
He had successfully blocked Not-Goku's ability to make wishes.
"Hahh, hahh, hahh, ha…hahaha…. hahahahah!"
Panting hard, Trunks relished a rising thrill of victory, "Hahahahahaha!"
He was still breathing. He had escaped.
With a rushing heartbeat, Trunks tried to read the time meter, but the words were blurred by his sweat. Thinking of a quick fix, he undid his blue bandana to wipe his face.
Trunks stuffed his bandana in his back pocket. Then with heavy breaths, and clear vision, Trunks read the date:
SEPTEMBER 29, AGE 795
He looked up to see a white blip - a small passenger ship, barely noticeable as it approached from the distance.
He made it in time.
–––––––
Giru was still connected to his wires he self-triggered out of Sleep mode, shrieking in alarm. "Dragon Ball detected! Dragon Ball detected! -giru giru-!"
And then, with Trunks as its witness, a new Dragon Ball just… popped up on the screen, out of nowhere.
What?
Trunks blinked, unsure of what he was seeing. He was certain it had to do with his lack of sleep, because the new position was in the same direction that they were heading, but slightly off-course.
Making sure it wasn't just dust, he rubbed the screen. But… the light was still there.
Trunks analyzed the coordinate calculations, trying to locate the exact position of the new Dragon Ball, but he didn't let himself feel any excitement yet.
It made no sense. By all accounts, according to these calculations, the Dragon Ball would just be floating in space, not even traveling in any kind of trajectory.
He decided he didn't trust the math, and so he calibrated Giru again, attuning him to Black Star Dragon Ball energy.
Then, he did a basic "Tech Support 101" move; he shut Giru down, and started him back up.
Trunks waited in trepidation as Giru's system restarted.
When the lights all turned back, though, the strange "eighth Dragon Ball" was gone.
Instead, the screen displayed its normal reading of 6 Black Star Dragon Balls on the spaceship, and 1 Ball that was tangentially behind them.
Feeling much better about the current scan, Trunks trusted that the Dragon Radar was accurately calibrated this time around.
There was no extra Dragon Ball; it was just a false alarm.
However… Trunks couldn't help but wonder about that weird glitch. He had never seen a Dragon Ball just… pop up like that before.
Trunks sat back in his pilot chair and wondered about it for a minute. He was still in a quandary when he heard the pneumatic doors open and shut behind him in the cockpit, and a familiar shuffling of feet.
"Morning Trunks," Goku's voice was cheery as he approached the side Trunks' pilot seat to greet him.
Trunks' head was spinning, partially from his daydream, and also from his lack of sleep.
Trunks continued to stare at his monitor as he absentmindedly replied, "Morning."
Goku leaned over the monitor to half-view it, before looking at Trunks. "I was thinking I'd go train, but I wanted to make sure what time to set my alarm?"
"Um… I don't…" Trunks half-heard him as he turned his eyes to him.
Goku just blinked, confused with his answer. "Huh?"
Watching Goku with distracted eyes, Trunks spoke a little distantly, in thought, "Hey Goku, weird question, but um… are you able to instant-transmit Dragon Balls?"
"Uhhhh," Goku was unprepared for the question, but felt like he should know the answer. He wasn't completely sure, and he looked up while trying to think of a time when he'd ever instant-transmitted with the Dragon Balls.
"Uh," Goku scratched his head, and then his eyes lit up as he thought of an example, "Oh yeah!" He put his hands on the dashboard and leaned onto it as he reflected, "I tried it a few years ago, to try to speed up one of Bulma's Dragon Ball searches."
"Oh yeah?" Trunks perked up a bit, interested, "A few years ago?"
"I remember she was super mad that day so she was just yelling about Yamcha on the radio the whole time."
"Yamcha?!" Trunks scoffed and laughed that it was way more than a few years ago, "What?!"
Goku looked up thoughtfully, "Yeah, I think that was around the time of their breakup."
Trunks shook his head as Goku's ridiculous sense of timing. He didn't want to get distracted away from his question, though.
"And the instant transmission? Did that work?" Trunks watched Goku in search of an answer, "Could you instant-transmit with them?"
"Nah, I don't think it worked while carrying them. But it didn't matter anyway," Goku shrugged with a small grin, "I used the instant transmission technique to get myself close and save time. I flew them back, but that was pretty quick, too. Bulma still got them all in under a day."
Trunks nodded, thinking of the technique. He wasn't very interested in the wish; his mother usually asked for the same things, every other year. They almost always centered around selfish, and cosmetic desires, though she had also done her fair share of wishing for Capsule Corporation's success and power in the world.
Goku leaned again on the control board as he said, "Actually, speaking of Dragon Balls… that reminds me - I wanted to talk to you about Mai."
Suddenly, Trunks was yanked out of his daydream. His eyes darted from the monitor to instead focus on Goku, as he processed what Goku had just said.
Trunks suddenly felt like he was on full-alert, and his shoulders tensed, "What about Mai?"
Goku seemed uncharacteristically shy for a moment. Trunks didn't like that.
Goku blushed a little bit, and seemed embarrassed - two more qualities that put Trunks on high alert.
"Well, I uh, I overheard your story," Goku admitted, "I didn't mean to - you were just kinda loud, and uh, I understand why you would feel upset… about, um…" Goku searched for his words as he awkwardly continued, "... about all the punches she threw to your pride."
Trunks' hairs stood up on end as he found the words triggering, and he was unsure how to respond. Trunks' attention was laser-focused on him, trying to read any kind of hidden message or meaning. He wasn't sure if Goku was casting judgment, or if he was hinting at knowing more than he did.
Goku continued, "I don't always agree with all the ways Bulma pulls her punches," he hesitated as he stood back and put his hands in his gi pockets, "but… I think there are two sides to a strong blow."
"What?" Trunks tried to search Goku's eyes, but was still perplexed. The extended metaphor was starting to get confusing.
"I'm not going to defend Mai or Bulma or anything, but…" Goku looked up, trying to find his words, "Maybe you can view the punch in a different way."
"View mom's punch a different way?" Trunks raised a skeptical eyebrow, yet he was intrigued.
Despite how Trunks felt like Goku had no idea what he was talking about, he was still curious to see what kind of otherworldly wisdom Goku might pop up with next.
"I've worked with Mai a few times. I've known her since I was a kid, even," Goku mused, "And so… I know I didn't know your relationship with her or anything, but at least I can say something about Mai that, maybe, might make you feel better?"
Trunks watched like a hawk as he prompted, "I'm listening."
"Mai is a good fighter, and always was." Goku's expression was stern, "And she was dependable. She knew how to identify and fight bad guys, so it made her a good guy."
Trunks said nothing as he continued to watch Goku, who had begun to pace a bit between the pilot control panel and the large window to the stars.
Goku sounded reminiscent as he looked ahead of him as he paced back and forth, speaking toward each wall, "Mai's always been the type to do her own thing. I mean, sure, she gets caught up with Emperor Pilaf n' stuff, but, overall I think she's a very independent woman. And, you know," Goku looked straight at Trunks and paused his step, "in some ways, she even reminds me of Pan."
Trunks felt irked. He never intended to compare the two women, and he never would.
"I know Mai had a dark side, but she knew how to be good," Goku continued, as he reminisced, "Kind of like Vegeta in a way."
Trunks did not like to picture Mai and Vegeta in the same thought, so he didn't. It brought up a memory that made him uncomfortable.
He said nothing, and simply started to picture a ramen bowl. This time, Goku's words were what he was containing, so he could stay calm.
Goku likely did not realize how blunt he was when he said, "I know you said she never loved you, but I don't know if that's true."
Trunks strongly frowned as he felt his frustration build. He thought there was no point to this. Mai had been out of his life for eight years. Now that Trunks told Pan the story, it was all done, and over. He could forget Mai forever now.
"I remember Mai from the years before you dated her," Goku thought aloud as he paced a bit, "And I remember back then, her heart wasn't in the right place."
Goku inhaled and exhaled as he continued to think, "But then, turning back into a kid changed her." He gestured outward with his hands as he spoke, "In the end, by the time she grew to be an adult again, it all changed. Her heart was in the right place!"
Trunks frowned, unsure if he agreed. Even if his ex-girlfriend personally improved, it didn't change how badly she hurt him.
Goku mused, "And also, since she was a little older, maybe she helped you prepare for knowing the right thing to do, too? And how to be with Pan."
At those words, Trunks looked down and became thoughtful.
Goku continued, "Sometimes it takes doing something the second time around to do it better." He looked up, "Like, kinda like how a Saiyan gets more powerful after we're knocked down… When it comes to pain for us… it's about how we bounce back."
Trunks looked up to Goku, and frowned in bewilderment, staring a bit beyond Goku as the words sunk in.
"Maybe… you can view it as this…" Goku looked a little hopeful as he lightly shrugged in suggestion, "I think you made Mai bounce back a better person."
Trunks focused his eyes on Goku again, and had an unreadable face as he deeply considered his words.
"And for what it's worth," Goku stopped pacing as he stood still with his hands in his pockets while looking at Trunks, "I think you're helping Pan level up to be a better person, too…"
Trunks perked up, deeply pondering the meaning of his words.
"... And I think she's helping you, too."
Trunks just breathed.
A moment lingered between them in a silent understanding. Trunks' eyebrows turned up a bit as he frowned in thought.
He thought about how he had been feeling lately, and remembered how he had been able to lie next to Pan comfortably, for at least a little while that night. Things were different… not drastically, but enough to feel a change. He felt he was getting better.
When he thought about it, he realized Goku was right.
He felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted. Even just now, after hearing Goku's awkward words about Mai, Trunks had been able to manage his feelings. Even though many of Goku's words would have normally stung more deeply, or could have been more triggering, Trunks was able to keep his ramen bowl together.
Trunks didn't feel the same kind of anger that he used to feel. Somehow, just by talking about Mai to Pan, it made the memory of his pain seem… less hurtful.
He wouldn't say he felt at peace, but… he felt better. He even felt a little empowered, because he could finally address thoughts about Mai without feeling embittered by self-emasculating shame.
His expression toward Goku softened as he realized that, somehow, Goku did it again.
Goku's words impacted him, and made him feel a little better.
Trunks felt a warm familial feeling embrace his heart.
He smiled.
Looking at Goku, He felt genuine appreciation and camaraderie. It felt like a tingle of sunbeams and sparkles graced his cheeks.
Goku's eyes widened, seeing Trunks' expression, and for a moment, he had a look of wonder that radiated in his eyes the same way that Goten used to gaze at Trunks when he laughed.
And then Goku relaxed, and also joined his smile.
For a lingering moment, they both appreciated each other's presence.
And then, Goku did the unexpected.
He brought his hand up and held it over Trunks' shoulder for a moment, long enough for Trunks to acknowledge and accept it, before he settled it onto Trunks. And he squeezed gently, looking Trunks in the eyes.
"I know you don't ever hear it," Goku nodded to him, "But I'm really proud of you."
-WHOOSH- It felt like wind slammed into Trunks' mind. His eyes went wide and his breath hitched in surprise.
"You're an incredible warrior, you fight hard, and you try your best. I know you've gone through some things that have hurt you in different ways than just punches, but…"
Goku looked to the side, and then down as he continued, "... No matter what, or whatever timeline you've ever been in, I've always seen you as someone greater than your personal weights."
Trunks was thoughtful as he felt the impact of the words in his clenching chest.
Goku continued, "I know for sure that you're the type of person who matches someone's ki blast and you either rise above it, or transform to get your way."
Trunks was speechless, basking in an amalgam of feelings.
"You're a fighter," Goku nodded, "It's who you are." He paused and emphasized, "It's in your blood."
Trunks felt a wave of pride envelop him like a warm hug. He had never received this kind of positive reinforcement before.
He felt seen.
"And I know you've been trying hard. I can tell you're still doing your best." Goku smiled softly. "Thank you for opening up to Pan," He added earnestly, "I could tell how happy she was to be able to talk to you."
Trunks felt a little heat rise on his cheeks as he blushed a bit.
"And," Goku looked him in the eyes, "you're every bit of a man worthy of being with Pan. I'm proud to have you as my grandson."
The last part made Trunks' stomach clench, and he continued to hitch his breath.
His eyes began to sting. His pulse began to race.
Trunks couldn't explain the kind of pride that he felt inside. The warmth of it melted layers of ice he hadn't even known were there. It was like his whole world began to thaw.
Trunks exhaled in quick breaths, and inhaled again with a staggered hu-hu-hu-hu as his lungs kept hitching, as if holding back tears.
He hadn't even realized how much he had wanted to hear words like that. He never heard a compliment like that before. Nobody said anything like what Goku said to him, ever before. Not like that.
Not from someone like Legend Goku.
But somehow… Legend Goku could think that of him.
Legend Goku was proud of him.
And, even though Trunks knew it had already been implied previously by Goku's actions and behavior, it meant the world to him that Goku voiced his official approval of his marriage to Pan.
For some reason, Goku's words made Trunks feel so happy that he felt like crying. He didn't understand this feeling.
-KLAK- -KLAKAKAKAK-
Suddenly, a clattering of plates distantly came from the kitchen, which pulled Trunks out of his thoughts. From the other side of the ship, they could both hear a series of SLAMs as Pan made her way through every single cabinet door, clearly searching for something in a temper.
Both of them looked toward the cabin door, through which they could hear Pan distantly scream, "Darnit Giru! Why do you ALWAYS put the coffee pot with the measuring cups?!"
Trunks couldn't help but break out into laughter and Goku joined in the mirth, "Hehehahahaha!"
Goku laughed as he scratched behind his head, "Don't tell her it was me!"
"AAAAHAHA!" Trunks belly-laughed even harder at Goku's words as if they were a joke, feeling in a bright mood.
Chuckling under his breath, Trunks watched as Goku began to head out of the room to join Pan in the kitchen.
As Trunks watched the doors open and close behind the Saiyan, Trunks once again thought deeply about how Goku had a strange way to comfort and revive his sense of hope.
But it was more than that…
–––––––
By the time Trunks finished unplugging Giru from the cockpit dashboard, Pan had made breakfast, and set the table with a giant family-style bowl of scrambled eggs in the center. Goku was already on his third plate, washing it down with a large glass of orange juice.
Lured by the scent of coffee, Trunks practically danced into the kitchen in a dramatic fashion, with Giru riding his left shoulder.
Trunks swooped toward the coffee pot, and enthusiastically poured himself a nice, hot "cup o' joe."
He was fairly fluid in his movement and appeared choreographed as he unheeded the confused eyebrows on Pan and Goku's faces, and continued to happily kitchen-dance through the kitchen, opening the fridge to look inside with a melodic hum.
Then, he emerged with the cream, and lightheartedly dressed his coffee to taste, with a little additional sugar because he wanted to channel feeling extra sweet.
He even showed off a little bit, by grabbing the breakfast bread loaf in spin, and then within the same magical moment, came out of the twirl by tossing two slices straight into the toaster several feet away.
-fwoop- -fwoop-
The slices made perfect landings in their toaster holes.
"Yeah!" Trunks celebrated, "I still got it!" Trunks pumped a fist in victory, "Hoot hoot hoot!"
He turned to his confused teammates and felt immense pride when he saw how Pan had paused by the sink, and Goku had been staring up from his plate. They were were both wide-eyed and speechless.
"What?" Trunks felt smug and proud, wearing a shit-eating grin, amused at how impressed they were by his toaster-basketball skills. "Did you see that? Even Goten could never land both slices, perfect like that!"
Trunks put his hands on his hips for a moment, puffing himself up… But then he remembered he had to actually press down on the toaster to get it working.
Trunks started to take a few steps to the toaster, but Pan reached it first.
Pan pressed the toaster button down, and in that same motion, now that they were both close, she looked up at Trunks with a disbelieving gaze.
Pan raised her left eyebrow and then looked him down, and up again, before she skeptically said, "You're in a good mood…"
Trunks grinned, feeling light as a feather, as he grabbed his coffee mug from the counter and whirled it over to the table, where Pan had already laid out a plate of eggs for him.
"And why not be?" Trunks spoke in a lighthearted tease, "We're all alive and healthy, and on our way to another new planet..." He paused, and perked up in realization. "Wait! You know what that sounds like to me?"
Pan looked deadpan at him.
"Oooooh, you know what it sounds like to me, Goku?" With a wide grin, Trunks turned to Goku, who had started eating again.
"Wmm?" Goku chewed.
"You know what it sounds like, Giru?" Trunks looked to his shoulder, and tapped Giru's chest with his left hand.
Giru blipped and then did a flip, landing back on Trunks' shoulder, as he yipped, "Adventure!"
"Adventure! You are right, Giru!" Trunks slammed his coffee mug down a little too hard, and it splashed upward and rained down as a series of puddles on the table. Trunks grinned bashfully at the spill, "Oops!"
"Look at you, letting loose," Pan rolled her eyes and grabbed a kitchen towel to wipe up Trunks' mess. "What's up with you this morning? Did you have sugar cereal for breakfast already?"
"Hahahaha!" Trunks broke out into a laugh and used his napkin to clean another spot on the table under his plate, "What's wrong with waking up on the right side of the hammock?"
"Because you never actually slept," Pan rolled her eyes as she sat at the table to eat her food.
"Yeah.. but we got a chance to hang!" Trunks' nose crinkled in a snicker as he shoved a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth, and laughed with his mouth full, "Hmm hmm hmm hmm!"
"Oh no," Pan whined as she forked her eggs, "Grandpa, he's being funny again."
Goku just smiled a bit as he ate, and after he swallowed, he took a deep swig of orange juice, and then said, "I dunno. It's just Trunks being Trunks right now."
Trunks grinned after swallowing his mouthful, and gestured to Goku with his fork, "He's right!"
-CHI-CHIKK!-
The toaster sprang up both slices.
Trunks enthusiastically scooched his chair back to stand and get them. Giru rode on his shoulder, mimicking Trunks' gestures.
Trunks stood and took a few steps to pop them out of the toaster, and then turned to face Pan with a wolfish grin. He pointed to himself with his right thumb as Giru also mimed the movement, "You married this!"
Then Trunks stuffed one of the pieces of toast straight in his mouth, filling out his toothy grin, and in a couple steps, he gallantly glided back to the table, where he tossed the second toast onto Pan's plate, and it landed in a -plop-, perfectly beside her eggs.
Pan looked like she didn't know how to react. Her wide eyes betrayed how she was truly impressed, but her pride made her puff out her bottom lip like she was somehow mad. Trunks knew her, though. He could tell by her silence that she was probably amazed by how awesome he could be when he wanted to impress a girl.
He grinned at her as he plopped back in his chair and pulled the toast from his mouth, finally yanking a bite. He tore a piece to hand to Giru, so Giru could also mimic eating the toast.
After a few moments, Trunks saw that Pan was still giving him the weird look, so he put his toast down and swallowed his bite. "What?"
"Nothing… just…" Pan's look shifted into an expression akin to resigned confusion as she shook her head and picked at her eggs, "I thought you were in a bad mood because of how you left this morning."
"Oh, yeah," Trunks took a long swig of his coffee, and as he still held it up, he gestured to Pan with his mug, "Then Goku and I got to catch up, and then I got to thinking…" Trunks looked at Giru and said, "Hey Giru, what's my title?"
"Bullhead Briefs, Defender of Earth, Emperor of Heroism, and Best Husband Ever in the Universe!"
As Giru spoke, Trunks lifted his fork like a musical conductor to a symphony orchestra, raising and lowering it to each beat.
Goku coughed and laughed, "What's an emperor of heroism?"
"It's poetry, Goku." Trunks raised his fork, "For dramatic flair."
Pan then broke out into a laugh, "For dramatic flop."
"What, you think you can come up with a better title?" Trunks challenged before taking a long swig of coffee, "What's yours?"
Pan cleared her throat and recited in a prestigious tone, "Persistent Pan, Fearless Leader, Warrior for Hope and Justice for All!"
Goku chuckled again.
Trunks put his mug down, "Hey that's pretty good. But it's also not fair."
"What do you mean, 'not fair'?" Pan perked up in challenge.
Trunks waggled his fork at her, "You can't be Persistent Pan and then call me Bullhead Briefs. There has to be consistency there."
Pan tensed and suddenly blushed, "But it rhymes."
"No, it doesn't rhyme. It's alliteration," Trunks picked up his empty coffee mug and scooched his chair back. "And you can still fix the problem and stay consistent. Like, if we go by first names, why can't I be Tenacious Trunks?" He grinned toothily as he stood, "Or if last names, you could be Stowaway Son!"
Pan waggled her own fork back at him, "This attitude right here is why I call you BULLHEAD, Trunks."
Trunks grinned as he walked backward to the sink, with his white robe swaying around him. "But I'm not a catfish."
"A what?" Pan blinked, confused.
Trunks brightened as mirth danced in his eyes and his lips stretched from cheek to cheek in a shit-eating grin, "You DO know that a BULLHEAD is a FISH, right?!"
Goku broke out into laughter as he chewed, "That'sh right!"
"What!?" Pan exclaimed as she slammed her hands down on the table.
"Ahahahaha!" Trunks belly-laughed as he backed up to the sink holding his coffee mug out.
Goku laughed, "I used tchu catch giant bullhead catfishes all the tchime, hahaha!"
"Hahahahhh-chh-jjjhh–"
Trunks' laughter became a choke.
Trunks' eyes went wide as he suddenly jerked, wide-eyed, "Jjjh…"
Goku frowned immediately, sensing something was wrong.
Pan wasn't interested in Trunks' joke. "What? Did you choke on your toast, now?"
Trunks' eyes went blank, as his consciousness dissipated without warning.
The empty porcelain mug fell from his hand, and fell to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.
Giru immediately reacted by taking to the air by Trunks, shrieking, "Danger! Danger!"
Trunks, dead-eyed and unconscious, began to fall.
"Trunks!" Goku dropped his fork and shoved his seat back with an ear-splitting -KREEEK-
As Trunks' body fell, Goku phased next to Trunks and caught him before he hit the floor.
"TRUNKS!" Goku lowered and shook him, "Trunks!"
Pan finally began to realize that there was an actual medial emergency.
"What's wrong?!" Pan felt like she was in a stupor. And then, Pan felt a pang in her chest, and a compulsive need to get to Trunks' side, "Trunks?!"
"He's not breathing!" Goku shook Trunks, and began to tap his cheek, distraught how Trunks kept staring ahead blankly, unresponsive, "What happened?! What do we do?!"
Pan's shoved her seat back as she phased by Trunks with wild eyes, "I don't know! What is it, Grandpa?! Is he having a heart attack?! Is he having a stroke?!"
There were an intense ten seconds when Trunks wasn't breathing anymore.
Goku yelled his name as Pan's shrieking began to rise in intensity and desperation, as she began to more desperately claw at him, begging him to breathe.
"Breathe, Trunks!" Pan wailed in tears, tugging at his collar and shaking, Breathe!"
And then, Trunks sharply inhaled, "HAAAAAAAH!"
In that breath, all the color flushed back into Trunks' face, and he panted deeply, trying to catch his breath, "Haah, haah, haah…"
Trunks blinked, and his blue eyes came into focus again as he breathed heavily. He looked confused and incredulous toward the ceiling. He noted that his head and back were being held up by Goku, who was still bending over him with wide eyes and softened frown.
Trunks' eyes darted to Goku's face, and then after staring at him for a few moments, he slowly turned his head to gaze at Pan, who was also panting as if she had run a marathon, looking anxious and pained. She glanced to her left hand, in contemplation as she breathed deeply, "Haahh… haaahh… haahh…"
Trunks frowned and squirmed out of Goku's hands as he sat up.
He felt perplexed. He looked around him, realizing he was on the ground. He didn't remember how he got there. "What happened?"
Pan cried and knelt to hug him, holding him tightly as she cried into his chest. "You weren't breathing! You just collapsed! And your eyes were all dead and everythiiiiiiiing! Waaaaa!" She kept crying into him, sobbing from deep in her chest, "I thought my nightmare was coming truuuuue. I dreamed you were just gonna vanish, and then you diiiiiiid."
Trunks barely registered her words, perceiving them all as nervous rambling whine. He did not even notice how she held him so tightly as he stared to the side floor in bewilderment.
"Did I… have a seizure or something?" Trunks frowned his brow, trying to remember.
"What's a seizure?!" Pan cried.
Giru sprung to life, twirling in the air, "Seizure is defined as… the result of an imbalance within the brain's neurotransmitters!"
"What?" Pan sniffed, "Is something wrong with your brain?!"
"Uhh," Trunks shook his head, absently, and only then looked down to realize that Pan had been clinging to him, "Well, I feel okay... but I can't remember anything."
"I thought you died," Pan sniffed with a broken voice as she hugged him, "I thought you were dead."
Trunks let out a small singular chuckle and brought his left hand around Pan to give her a half-hug, "Looks like you're still stuck with me."
"Ehehehe… -sniff- " Pan let out a relieved chuckle against him, sniffling deeply as she loosened her grip around his back.
"I'm going to be okay," Trunks reassured her, "Whatever that was, I'm feeling better. Plus, this didn't come at a bad time. We're on our way to Planet Vidal. It's a research planet for medicine. So… when we're there, I'll try to see a doctor, okay? Maybe we can figure out what happened."
"Okay," Pan nodded her head against him, and pulled away.
As Trunks got a better look at Pan's face, he could see it was puffy and flushed from emotional panic. Her eyes were watery, which made them sparkle in all kinds of different ways.
Something about seeing her so distraught over him pulled at Trunks' heartstrings.
She was genuine… and she genuinely cared about him…
Trunks felt a little bit of his positive energy seep back into him from earlier. He didn't know what happened that made him faint, but whatever it was had helped Pan physically express her true feelings about him, and that spoke to Trunks in volumes, even louder than words.
Trunks also acknowledged how her touch had felt so natural against him. He had never once felt triggered. He… liked it.
He felt warm. He wanted to do something for her. He heard that Planet Vidal had restaurants… Maybe after Trunks saw a doctor, he could take Pan out on an actual da-
"DANGER!" Giru suddenly sprang to action, in a panic, "DANGER!"
Everyone jumped to their feet, in sudden alarm.
Giru floated rigidly as he buzzed, "Incoming message… radio transmission…."
There was a BLLEEEEEP sound like an electric feedback pop, and then Giru began to speak in a monotone automated vocal tone, "001001. TRANSMISSION PENDING. 00100101."
They all waited with baited breath, as Giru's speakers transmitted the message.
Radio sounds crackled in static, a voice sounding frantic: "…Help…..attack on the ship…..-crackle-"
The static returned. There was silence.
Trunks and Pan turned to look at each other in a stupor.
Then there was static, and a voice, "need assistance…..if anyone can hear…. the coordinates are…"
Trunks panicked as he ordered, "Pan! Grab a pen!"
Pan shrieked, looking around, "Where's a pen in the kitchen?!"
"Just grab one!" Trunks did quick thinking and pounced for the coffee stir sticks, counting out each number that was coming through, as represented through sticks.
Goku was quick to vanish, and popped back with Trunks' notepad and pen, which Trunks gratefully took, and tore off a page, trying to keep track of the numbers.
Trunks scribbled down the coordinates as fast as he could, as he raced into the cockpit, followed by the rest of the team.
He quickly slid in his pilot's chair and pulled up the stellar map on the monitor, which had been charting their trajectory.
"Trunks, what's going on?" Pan nervously followed him into the cockpit, followed by Goku.
"The ship that sent this signal…" Trunks looked at the map, "Giru, point to its location on this map."
"Yes, Trunks!" Giru flew to the monitor and tapped one of the stars that was slightly off their path toward Planet Vidal.
As Giru tapped, Trunks took pause, and his eyes grew puzzled.
"That star?" Trunks wondered aloud.
Trunks was baffled at first, but then he felt a spark of realization. He jumped up from his seat, feeling a strange wave of dread.
It was the same location that showed the rogue Dragon Ball from earlier.
Something felt strange, like a deja vu.
Something felt… ominous for some reason. It couldn't be a coincidence…
He felt a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Giru hopped onto the dashboard and excitedly did The Floss dance, swinging his hips back and forth as his arms rocked around his body.
Giru enthusiastically reported, "We are five minutes from the destination. WARNING: DO NOT RECOMMEND. FUEL SUPPLY LOW. TERMINATION PROBABILITY: 65%. LOW CHANCE OF ESCAPE FROM STAR'S GRAVITY: 15%."
Then Giru snapped into radio mode again, as static re-started, "… life critical… help us -crackle- … baby's… help us… -crackle-"
The transmission kept repeating at the end, until it cut off.
There was silence in the cabin, except for their beating hearts.
They were trying to process what they just heard.
Pan was the one to gasp first. "Oh no! Babies?"
Goku got into a tense fighting pose, "It sounds like kids are in danger?!"
Trunks' head was spinning. He hadn't focused on the babies; his head was reeling from the percentage numbers. He didn't know what to do.
Pan hit the side of the monitor in emphasis as she decided, "We have to go rescue them!"
Trunks swallowed, feeling morally conflicted.
"How far away are they?" Goku's eyebrows knotted into a fierce concentration, as he opened up his senses. "Maybe I can instant-transmit to them?"
Trunks brightened as he felt a spark of hope, "That's a great idea, Goku!"
But then, Trunks' expression darkend, "But… can you really sense them while we're traveling faster than light?" Trunks looked at the point on the navigational map, then compared to their trajectory, and did some mental calculation, "Since the signal traveled at the speed of light, it looks like the signal originated from here," he pointed to the spot, "about forty minutes ago."
Goku put two fingers of his right hand to his forehead as he closed his eyes and focused, "I'll look to see if I can find a group of kis in that direction."
He focused for a moment, as Trunks and Pan waited eagerly.
Then, Goku's expression shifted from concentration, to confusion, to sternness, to questioning…
… and then to acquiescence, and resignation.
Goku opened his eyes and brought his hands down, looking defeated, "Yeah, I got nothing, sorry." He shrugged dejectedly, "I guess my body is still too young to sense that far?"
"Then if we can't instant-transmit, we have to go get them!" Pan put her fork down as she spread her arms and stressed, "We have to save the babies!"
Trunks felt his stomach drop, realizing that would mean traveling to the ship.
Trunks hadn't told the team yet about the fuel shortage. He had hoped to not make a scene of it, but circumstances were forcing him to present the issue.
"I don't know," Trunks tried to make his rejection less combative, hoping for an easy resolution, "We don't really have enough resources to take refugees on board. And it's a pretty small ship. Besides, I'm concerned for our fuel."
"So what?!" Pan patted her chest, "Just get us close enough, and I'll take care of them on board! We can take our space shuttles right?! And once we get them all, we just need to get them to Planet Vidal, right?!"
Trunks felt exasperated as he reminded her, "There's also the fact that we don't have any weapons installed on the ship to defend ourselves against whatever attack is going on."
Pan scowled, "So what? Grandpa could instant-transmit over to the enemies and take them out!"
Trunks shook his head, "That's not how space battles work, Pan. That's not a solid strategy."
"Why not?" Pan was also showing signs of frustration in her eyes.
"I'm not about to start telling you my obvious concerns for our safety right now. Plus, that signal went out to everyone. It's from forty minutes ago, and the signal stopped."
"So?" Pan challenged.
"Pan, just think about this logically." Trunks spoke with gesturing hands, "We're headed to a planet that has dozens of ships in and out. I'm sure some other ship heard the signal, and is on their way to rescue them. Maybe even better equipped than our ship."
"What are you saying?!" Pan seemed aghast.
"I'm saying," Trunks emphasized with his hands as he assured her, "Maybe they were already saved?!"
"But how would you know?!" Pan's eyes welled up. "How could you just assume, when there are babies?!"
Trunks raised his voice, trying to ignore the pain of his conflicted heart, "I'm saying that someone else might be safer when rescuing them!"
Pan's face contorted into a look of anger and betrayal. Her countenance darkened, and she began to radiate a rageful aura.
Trunks had never seen Pan so upset, and it gave him pause.
"That's not something my husband would say," Pan said slowly and spitefully, as if the words were laced with poison, "Is that something that X-1 would have done? That someone else might be a safer hero?"
Trunks' heart wrenched. He suddenly felt humiliated, and embarrassed. He felt ashamed of himself.
Trunks' eyes began to widen as he realized that Pan had suddenly grabbed ahold of one of his most vulnerable heartstrings. She was testing his integrity.
Pan said slowly, with disgust in her voice, "How could you ever call yourself a hero, again?"
Trunks' eyes went wide.
He felt strangely naked and vulnerable. His resolve had been stripped, exposing him to Pan's targeting and judgment.
Trunks felt his resolve waver, feeling a rising tide of guilt threaten to consume him.
Trunks swallowed, feeling the fight drain from his body. "Going there would be reckless."
Pan's eyes watered as she glowered, "Not even trying would be heartless."
"We don't have the fuel," Trunks reminded her weakly.
Pan's face flushed as her eyes welled with tears, "How could you live with yourself, knowing that you could have at least tried to save a baby!"
… You could have at least tried to save a baby… You could have at least tried…
Trunks' eyes bugged as he lost all of his breath, winded by an emotional punch to his gut.
KAKOOOM!
A truckful of emotions smashed into him head-on.
The whole room spun.
The walls collapsed.
Her words echoed.
They whirlpooled like a drill into his soul.
You could have at least tried to save a baby…. You could have at least tried…
All the light in the room skewed into a whirl as Trunks felt a wall inside his heart shatter like glass.
… Is that something that X-1 would have done…?
His eyes welled with tears.
He knew this feeling. He remembered that time.
It was always such a real feeling to him. He knew exactly what X-1 should have done. And he reflected on Goku's words.
Sometimes it takes doing something the second time around to do it better... When it comes to pain for us, it's about how we bounce back.
Trunks hitched his breath in a singular sob.
Then, Trunks realized a tear had streamed down his cheek. He inhaled quickly and sniffed. He bashfully brought his right hand to his face and faced away from her as he wiped his cheek.
Looking down, Trunks sniffed, and took a moment to gather himself, considering the risks.
Their lives were too important to be sidetracked from saving the Earth. The right thing to do would be to stay on course.
The right thing would be to get the fuel, and hope for the best for those they couldn't safely save.
But… Trunks couldn't do it again. He couldn't just let any baby die…
Pan was right… Trunks would never forgive himself.
Trunks knew their fuel was dangerously low. Their chance of success had odds stacked against them.
But… then again… they had Goku. And Legend Goku brought luck, and miracles. And he also had instant transmission.
And also…
Trunks looked at Pan with a hard expression, as he heard King Kai's words to Pan from two nights ago echo again in his mind.
You'll have a much better chance of saving his life this time around…
Trunks remembered his realization. He remembered the prophecy.
"We need to at least try," Pan pleaded. "Please, Trunks. I don't want to live with this guilt."
He knew what it was like to live with the guilt. He couldn't do that to her.
Trunks looked at each of his teammates, knowing time was up. He had to decide.
Looking down, and then back up to Pan's eyes, Trunks reassured, "Don't worry. You won't."
Trunks considered their resources, and knew of a few things he could do to save energy and help increase the chances of a successful rescue mission.
They had Goku, and he brought miracles.
And Trunks had Pan, too.
He remembered King Kai's words. Pan had a "much better chance of saving his life this time around."
Feeling lucky, and rising up to the challenge, Trunks acquiesced, nodding to Pan and Goku.
And then he said the damning words.
"Okay, let's do it. Time to save a baby or two."
––––––––
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"DAMN THE DEMONS!" Kibitoshin Kai threw out his fists as he cursed into the air. He was pacing with his long purple ears pointed straight backward in a raging temper. He was furious as he watched the scene unfold in his crystal ball. He had been pacing and screaming expletives ever since Pan Son had started to push Trunks Briefs to go off course, "BURNING SOULS! STRIKE THE HEAVENS!"
"Calm down!" Ancient Kai grumbled in his gravely voice, "You're making a RUCKUS! I can't hear ANYTHING they're saying!"
"HOW CAN I BE CALM?!" Kibitoshin seethed in rage, "This is ALL NORTH KAI'S FAULT!"
"Just SIT DOWN!" Ancient Kai patted the blanket beside him and grumbled, "It's not like it's the end of the universe!"
Kibitoshin wailed, "But it IS!" He flailed his arms, "Don't you see?! This is the BEGINNING of the END!"
"Oh stop being so MELODRAMATIC!" Ancient Kai rolled his eyes with a huff, "You don't know what will happen, just as I don't!"
Ancient Kai sat back in a relaxed cross-legged position on the purple blanket that cushioned him among the overgrown grass, "Forked prophecies are forked for a reason. There is always a chance of something different. That's why all the timelines have such variance!"
Kibitoshin sighed and tried to relax as he sat back down on the purple blanket, "I know. But I hate losing control to chance! You end up with disasters like this!"
"There's no disaster," Ancient Kai flicked his right hand, dismissing Kibitoshin's meltdown, "The mortals will figure it out."
Through the crystal ball, Kibitoshin watched the Grand Tour team change into spacesuits to prepare for their upcoming rescue mission.
Kibitoshin Kai was usually much more collected and unemotional about happenings in the mortal realm, but this issue was personal. He could not simply sit and let it slide, without voicing his dissent.
He had made sure that this outcome would not happen. Yet, somehow, it did. And it foiled all of his plans.
He knew that the more he fretted about it and took no action, then nothing would stop this travesty from unfolding.
He needed to do something, but it would involve a direct interaction with the mortals. Direct interactions were usually only allowed in the case of a universal existential crisis, such as battles against Majin Buu.
But then again… Kibitoshin Kai, whose main soul, Shin was well over 20 million years old, had only been working beside Ancient Kai for about twenty years. He was still learning about him, and he had many questions he had not yet asked.
Kibitoshin knew that Ancient Kai had personally battled Majin Buu many Kai generations in the past. He wondered, perhaps, when it came to the Kai rules, Ancient Kai might be a little flexible…
After all, they were both Supreme Kais. They would normally have been above the law…
It couldn't hurt to ask…
Kibitoshin Kai forced himself to relax. He inhaled the aerial ether and breathed out deeply. He felt his corpus return to its normal radiance, and decided to approach the elder with a more venerable tone.
"Elder Kai…" Kibitoshin asked with a tone of reverence, "When do you think it's allowable for a Supreme Kai to interfere-?"
Ancient Kai huffed adamantly, cutting him off, "Never."
Kibitoshin didn't like the answer, so he tried to negotiate.
"But we are Supreme Kais," Kibitoshin argued, "We can override the policy."
"Wrong," Ancient Kai wagged his finger at Kibitoshin, "No Kai is above the law of the Grand Kai, now. You'll need to answer to Grand Zeno, and you'd better not! Because he's going to lump me in with your capers, and I want no part in your tendencies to go rogue!"
"Damn the Demons," Kibitoshin cursed again. Ancient Kai never did him any favors, and he did not want to deal with the child Kai ruler, Grand Zeno.
For fifteen Kai generations, the universe never had a need for Grand Zeno, because there had only been one timeline. And for the entire expanse of the entire history of the one timeline, the Supreme Kai was the ruler of all the Kais. That was simply how it was, and how the universe had worked.
When the Original Supreme Kai was split in two in the battle against Majin Buu, it forced the gods to make a vote for the New Supreme Kai.
The Original Supreme Kai split into both Ancient Kai, and the Nameless mortal, which created a vacuum of power among the Kai hierarchy, and forced new governmental body. It gave rise to a Grand Kai. The last Grand Kai died in a battle against Majin Buu, which defaulted power to the voted-Supreme Kai, Shin, who later fused with Kibito Kai, in the last battle against Majin Buu, when he was reborn as a fusion, Kiboshin Kai.
For many millions of years, as his form Shin, he had ruled as the One God above Gods - The Lord of Lords. He had never expected to ever meet Ancient Kai.
It was all because Gohan, Goku's first-born son, saved Ancient Kai from the Z-Sword's infinite seal when he accidentally broke the blade when training for the fight against Majin Buu.
Ancient Kai was called Ancient, Elder, or Old, simply because he could no longer remember his name. But even without knowing his true name, he possessed the Mystic Power… of The All.
The All was not just any Mystic power. It was the primordial power of the first, Primordial God, who planted the World Tree that gave birth to all the succeeding Kais of the universe. It was so powerful that it could only be inherited by one singular direct heir for each generation. And Ancient Kai was the one who had it.
And then Ancient Kai, in a desperate act to rid the universe of Majin Buu, twenty years ago, had bestowed his Mystic Power to Gohan.
And that led to The Power of All to now be possessed by a mortal instead of a god.
Kibitoshin Kai bit his lip at the hypocrisy of Ancient Kai, who forbade Kibitoshin from meddling in mortal affairs, when he could have the gall to introduce the ultimate divine power into the mortal realm.
Thankfully, because nobody had known Ancient Kai had possessed The All due to him existing from before recorded history, that detail had been hidden for many years from Grand Zeno, and the Supreme Kais had gotten away with interfering with mortal prophecies at that time. And while the battle did not lead to the permanent sealing of Majin Buu, at least all of their efforts helped to defeat the djinn.
It was because of Goku that Majin Buu had been neutralized for a long time, and the Kais had gotten away with aiding the mortals.
Kibitoshin felt that he owed something to Goku because of that. But Ancient Kai was right - if Kibitoshin Kai was caught helping Goku, he might get higher-power Kais involved. Grand Zeno liked Goku, and tended to have a lot of interest in that Saiyan.
Grand Zeno was still very young, and unpredictable, and often made rash decisions, even eradicating entire universes in his tantrums and games. Consequently, Kibitoshin Kai did everything he could to avoid his attention.
Grand Zeno was born from the World Tree only 33 years prior, as a result of the universes' first split.
It was Trunks Briefs who split the universes. Kibitoshin could probably argue that it was Trunks' fault that Grand Zeno was even born.
The timeline had first been tested when the first Trunks Briefs, known as "Future Trunks," decided to travel through time and give the Viral Heart Disease medicine to Goku. But because Goku did not take the medicine that was given to him until after Future Trunks returned, the timeline had still remained mostly stable.
The first actual tear in the timeline happened shortly after the first Future Trunks Briefs died, in Age 785, after he returned from the past, and then was jumped and murdered by the Android, Cell, before he had gone back in time.
After Cell killed the original First Prime Trunks, he stole his time machine to travel back in time within Universe 7, four years before Dr. Gero unleashed the Androids upon the world. And Cell's impact on the universe was that he enabled the possibility of "Prime timelines" to have alternate versions of themselves, as spin-offs that related to similar lore.
The tear that Cell created within the timeline enabled the existence of Androids 16, 19 and 20, all of whom did not exist in Future Trunks' timeline.
Android 20 was the Android form of the Red Ribbon Army's infamous scientist, Dr. Gero. He did not exist in Future Trunks' timeline because Androids 17 and 18 killed Dr. Gero before even he completed Android 19.
What threw the First Prime timeline into an entirely new Second Prime timeline was on the day of the Androids' arrival. It was the moment when Android 20 attacked and exploded Bulma's flying car. Both Bulma and Baby Trunks would have died, except they had been saved at the last moment by Future Trunks.
The moment Future Trunks saved the life of Baby Trunks, Trunks Briefs' life became a paradox. Without Future Trunks' action, his baby form would have died, and would have eradicated his own existence.
That paradox was what spun the timelines out, and created multiple universes of possibilities, which the Kais called the Xenoverse. And it was because of the creation of the Xenoverse that it became a necessity for Grand Zeno to be born, to oversee all different possibilities.
It was all because of Trunks Briefs.
None of the Kais understood why Kibitoshin had a personal vendetta against Trunks.
To most other gods, Trunks would just seem like "another Z fighter" among the mortal players in the field. But Kibitoshin Kai had his eyes on him. He knew what Trunks Briefs could become.
The more Kibitoshin Kai thought about Trunks, the more his divine head felt like it would burst.
There were too many versions of Trunks Briefs to track. Anything that had any ties with his destiny tended to become… complicated…
… Just like the complication that the Current Trunks Briefs was about to make.
Current Trunks Briefs was now the Third Prime Trunks Briefs.
He used to be the Second Prime version, until North Kai decided to meddle with his fate by throwing him a bone of information that Trunks decided to falsely interpret on his own.
Second Prime Trunks just sacrificed himself for the sake of the universe.
And now Third Prime Trunks, currently traveling with Pan and Goku, was on his way to botch Second Prime's gambit.
And he was doing it because this version of Trunks decided to let Pan argue her point. He had given her the time to make her case. In the version of Trunks that did not marry Pan, he did not give her that time.
But this time around, Trunks made his new decision all because that moron, North Kai, couldn't keep his Kai-damned mouth shut, and he ended up incepting Trunks' thoughts with a deluded notion that Pan would somehow save him.
Kibitoshin Kai thought back to what he had done to try to control the situation, and lamented how even Kais could not elude prophecy and fate.
But as the Supreme Kai, Kibitoshin was used to testing his limits and tempting fate. He had done it for millions of years, and now, just because he had a supervisor, he wasn't about to stop. Certain strings needed to be pulled and navigated for the betterment of the universe. That was his purpose.
Despite how he preached righteousness to other Kais, Kibitoshin was not afraid to go against the rules. Ancient Kai simply did not know that about him, yet. They had only been working together for twenty years, since the last time Kibitoshin decided to interfere with mortal prophecies. If not for Shin and Kibito seeking the aid of mortals, Ancient Kai would still be trapped in the Z Sword. If anything, Ancient Kai should be grateful, since Gohan was the mortal who freed him.
Because Ancient Kai was a bit of a loose cannon, and Kibitoshin did not trust him yet, he never told him his secrets. And there was a secret that Kibitoshin was keeping from him. He kept it secret from everyone. If anyone found out, he could get into a lot of trouble. But he did it for the sake of the universe.
During the overblown wedding of Trunks Briefs and Pan Son, which every single Kai had decided to tune into as some kind of celebrity-marriage event, Kibitoshin Kai had decided to take advantage of the distracting opportunity.
During the wedding, Ancient Kai had been so engrossed with the crystal ball, that he failed to notice how Kibitoshin Kai had slipped away for a few moments, popping onto the moon Kikarroo while all the eyes were still on the Mystic wedding.
Kibitoshin had purposely sabotaged the fuel on their ship. He had left just enough to get them to their next destination. It had been the perfect setup for forcing his way of events, and establishing God's Will.
He knew what would be on the passenger ship. He had intended to make sure Trunks bypassed the passenger ship out of a necessity for fuel preservation.
He knew that the ring bond between Trunks and Pan would force Trunks to choose Pan's safety over any other logic. And the lack of fuel would ensure that Third Prime Trunks would not accidentally interfere with Second Prime Trunks' objective.
Third Prime Trunks was never supposed to listen to Pan's pleading. Kibitoshin did everything he needed to do to encourage him to not listen to her.
This time around, Baby was supposed to die before he ever made it to Planet Earth. He still could die. Right now, he was on his way to a guaranteed death. It would happen, if everyone just let him be.
But… damn the heavens… Trunks was making a bad decision. All because of Pan.
No - all because of that damned fool, North Kai!
Or maybe… it all came down to the truth of Trunks' origin, and the makings of his soul.
In the end, it didn't matter what the source of the issue was. Trunks was simply one to get in Kibitoshin's way. And now that he was bonded to the Legendary Mystic Saiyan, everything was over nine thousand times worse.
As Kibitoshin Kai sat next to Ancient Kai, his mind was reeling about all of the mistakes that led to this notorious moment of prophecy.
As he distantly watched the crystal ball, and witnessed the Grand Tour team embark toward their inevitably-destined encounter with Baby, Kibitoshin realized he never considered that his ingenious plans could be thwarted so easily.
Trunks, for some reason, went against common sense.
Trunks had been illogical, and reckless. Why?!
But then again, this was Trunks Briefs… and he was being influenced by Pan Son, who had already begun her coming-of-age.
And…
Kibitoshin Kai had forgotten about the two most formidable powers of the universe which had the power to impact prophecies.
They were the ultimate super powers - the only two powers that no Kai could control.
The two powers were the exact reason WHY Kais were not allowed to interfere with mortal prophecies.
It was well-known that any interference by Kais within mortal destinies could trigger either one or both of the two potential powers that could inevitably impact the entire universe.
The powers, combined, enabled variances, transformations, and new probabilities to be carved among otherwise-infinite impossibilities.
The combined powers were what made mortals imperfect, and therefore, capable of breaking boundaries and rising above limits.
The powers, together, enabled mortals to overcome all odds… even against the efforts of the Supreme Kai and Lord of Lords, himself.
No matter what the Kibitoshin Kai did, both powers were beyond his influence, and ultimately forced their way against God's Will.
And Kibitoshin knew that Trunks Briefs was also coming of age, and about to learn how to dual-wield them like swords of a second nature, not unlike that of a child destined from a Dragon Ball wish.
They were the powers of Hope…
And Love…
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–A: 4/14/24–
–F: 7/23/24–