The Magic of the Moment

This is a crossover fic between DBZ and the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda (mainly from Ocarina of Time). If you aren't familiar with this game, it shouldn't really matter, because most of the important stuff is explained anyway. I don't own DBZ or the Legend or Zelda, or any of the related characters. I also don't own the song "Wind of Change" by Scorpions, from which the title is derived. Thank you, and enjoy the story ^-^

Song of Time

There was always a moment of absolute silence before the Sun rose above the Earth. A moment when darkness still reigned for the most part, where nothing made a sound or movement. The creatures of the night had silenced their song to prepare for sleep, and the creatures of the day had not yet woken.

During this moment, Trunks always felt he had to hold his breath. He would hold it until the first rays of sunlight peeped from behind the hills and were captured in the dewdrops. And then, the noise would begin, for the day had truly started.

But Trunks remained solemnly silent, letting the warmth and light wash over him slowly. He loved the dawn. To him, it signified rebirth, regeneration, a new beginning. That was why every morning, he would sit at the highest point of Capsule Corp.'s dome and watch the Sun struggle to take its place in the sky.

Trunks knew that his world was going through a similar struggle. It was still in that moment of silence before the Dawn. The Night was truly over, but the Day had not yet begun. Trunks was beginning to doubt that it ever would. But at least the Darkness was gone, and Trunks, himself, was responsible for that.

It had been two years since he had returned from the past and destroyed the jinzouningen monsters that had brought so much pain and death to his world. Two years since he had defeated Cell, before the genetically engineered creature had had the chance to steal the time machine. Two years. But it felt like a lifetime to Trunks.

He sighed, and watched as the once black ceiling of the land blushed a pinky-violet. Not until the pink had faded to be replaced by a shade of blue as glorious as his mother's eyes did Trunks venture inside. As always, the floor was cold beneath his bare feet.

Trunks was not surprised to find his mother already up. In fact, it was more than likely that she had been awake for much longer than he. She greeted him in her usual morning manner: a grunt that could have meant hello, steaming mug of coffee in one hand, cigarette in the other.

"Those things are bad for you, you know," Trunks commented in his usual morning manner.

Bulma simply shrugged. "Haven't killed me yet. How long have you been up?"

"Since before dawn. I watched the sunrise."

"Again?"

Trunks nodded. "It's always so beautiful. I'll never tire of it. You should join me one day."

"No thanks. I've seen plenty of sunsets; they're good enough for me."

"But the sunset is the Close of Day. It signifies the ending of something. The sunrise is a beginning, and that's why I like it."

"You and your symbolisms." Bulma smiled. "And I always thought you'd be a scientist like me."

"Can't have too many in the family. So, how long have you been up?"

"Stuffed if I know. Way too long. I've been making the final adjustments on the time machine. You should be off to the past by lunchtime."

"It's not really the past anymore," Trunks stated. "Every journey I make I go to a later time in that timeline. Eventually, I'll be going to the exact same corresponding time."

"I never really thought of it that way," admitted Bulma. "How old were you – I mean, the other you, last trip?"

"About eighteen or nineteen. Getting close to my age."

"Do you think you could get a photo of Bra for me this time?"

On his last trip back, Trunks had met his "sister" for the first time. The young girl had simply adored him, even asking, "Can you be my onii-chan instead of Trunks-kun? You're much nicer than him!"

Trunks then had the difficult job of explaining to her why he couldn't. When he returned home, he had told his mother about the daughter she had never had.

"Really? A daughter?" she had whispered. "I always wanted a little girl. And Bra was the name I had picked out if I ever did. Though I'm sure Vegeta would not have appreciated it. He was bad enough when I named you Trunks."

Trunks smiled. "Of course I'll get you a picture. But it'd be so much easier for you to come with me, wouldn't it?"

"And see my younger, better-looking self? Ha! I don't think so!" Bulma scoffed, laughing. "Besides, the time machine wouldn't be able to cope with taking two people on a return trip." She looked at her son slyly. "But it would be okay with two people on a single trip, if you ever wanted to bring someone back with you."

Trunks had to laugh. "Not on about that again are you, Okaasan?"

"I'm perfectly serious, Trunks. You know I won't be around forever, and I want you to have someone to look after you when I'm gone. There's so few people left here, and I think you'd have better luck in the past."

Trunks kissed his mother on the forehead. "I appreciate the thought. I should start getting ready."

In his room, Trunks quickly dressed. He pulled on a well-worn pair of boots, and an even more worn denim jacket with the Capsule Corp. logo on the sleave. Lastly, he strapped his sword across his back. It was doubtful that he would need the weapon, but it had become such an attachment.

And besides, it looked mondo-cool!

"I'm ready, Okaasan!" Trunks called, as he wandered to where his mother usually set up the time machine. She was giving it a quick wipe-over so that it shone brilliantly in the midday sun.

"Well, the machine is ready too," she replied. "Do you want something to eat before you go?"

"No thanks." Trunks kissed his mother again. "Sayonara, Okaasan. I'll miss you."

"You too, Trunks-kun." Bulma embraced him. "Have fun."

"Always do." And with that, Trunks jumped into his time machine. He waved to his mother, and then she disappeared.

The trip through time and dimensions always tended to take a while, so Trunks leant back and thought about why he made these trips.

True, he enjoyed seeing the friends that he had made, and his father was always a… joy to see… well, sort of. It was also interesting to meet the new people who had come along; Goten was always fun, and Pan had been a real cutie the first time he had met her. And of course, Trunks liked to see how his other self was faring. 

But it wasn't those reasons that kept him going back. It was exactly the reason that his mother had picked out.

Trunks was lonely. He had never in his life experienced unconditional love, only ever parental love. He had never had a girlfriend, been kissed, or made love. In fact, the only women he had really known were his mother, ChiChi… and Juuhachigou.

Thinking of the blonde jinzouningen reminded Trunks of his last trip to the past; when he had met Krillin and Juuhachigou's grown daughter, Marron. He had met her when she was a child, but she had certainly changed.

No longer the young female image of her father, Marron had inherited the flawless beauty of her mother. She had openly flirted with Trunks, stating, as Bra had, that she preferred him to "our Trunks".

From what he could gather, Trunks guessed that his other self had been a right little brat as a child and had terrorised poor little Marron. So, though she found him incredibly good-looking, she would never be able to forgive her Trunks.

But similarly, Trunks would never be able to forgive Marron. Her crime? Being the daughter of Juuhachigou. With all due respect, the Juuhachigou of the past was guiltless. But every time he looked at her, he saw the same menacing crystal blue eyes that had taunted him after Gohan's death. The same woman that had beaten him close to death.

So, despite Marron being a lovely, sweet girl, Trunks knew that he would never be able to love her.

He sighed, and spoke aloud, "I'm sure my day will come soon."

That was all that he was able to murmur, for in the next moment, his time machine shuddered violently, and everything went black.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Trunks woke, laying on a cold, hard surface. His immediate thought was that something had gone wrong, and he was back at Capsule Corp.

But something didn't fit – it was the smell. Bulma's army of domestic robots made certain that Capsule Corp. was eternally hospital clean. Wherever Trunks was, it did not smell like disinfectant. It had that old, musty smell that churches tended to have. And there was something else, which Trunks had not at first noticed.

Chanting. The room – for he had decided that he was most definitely in a room – echoed with voiced like that of Gregorian monks. The sound was soothing, but somewhat eerie at the same time.

Trunks finally stood, and found that he was indeed in a large stone room, with a polished marble floor. Stained glass windows suggested that it was a church or temple of some sort too.

Trunks was standing on a small raised stage in the centre of the room. Next to him was a mount – a pedestal, he realised after closer observation – with the image of three triangles engraved into it.

The sound of footfalls behind him startled Trunks, and he spun around. Crouching on the floor, as though he had just cushioned a fall, was a young man glad in dark blue, with a white shawl (or something of the like) draped over the shoulders and chest. As the other man stood, Trunks saw a symbol – a large eye – on the front.

"I did not expect you back so soon, Hero of Time," the young man stated, upon seeing Trunks. Though the majority of his face was covered by a scarf, Trunks could still make out his eyes, and the confusion that passed through them. "What happened to your hair? And your clothes?"

Trunks could only stare, dumbfounded. He thinks I'm someone else. But who? And while I'm at it, just where am I? Where's my time machine?

"Link?" the young man asked again, trying to gain Trunks' attention.

"Trunks," he mumbled.

"What?"

"My name is Trunks, not Link."

"Then who…?"

The mysterious young man was cut short by the unmistakable sound of a bowstring being stretched to fit an arrow.

"Turn around slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them," a strangely familiar voice commanded.

Still confused, and not wanting to start an unnecessary fight, Trunks raised his hands and slowly turned to face his assailant. What he saw nearly caused him to pass out again.

The young man dressed in a forest green tunic that was standing at the entrance to the room, with an arrow pointed squarely at Trunks' chest, was a mirror image of Trunks. The only difference was his blonde hair.

"Friend of yours, Sheik?" the second young man asked the first, after recovering from the initial shock of seeing his double.

"No, he was here when I arrived," the first replied. "I thought he was you."

"Who are you?" The second man pointed the arrow back at Trunks.

"Hey, there's no need for that!" Trunks cried. "I'm just as confused as you. More so even – at least you two know each other. I don't even know where I am."

The second young man sighed, and lowered his bow. "This is getting ridiculous. Sheik, you seem to be the master of mystery. What's going on?"

"I have no idea!"

As the two men argued, Trunks started to edge his way out. He had to find his time machine, and it definitely wasn't in here. Once he was close enough to the entry he started running.

"Hey wait!" one of the men cried. "Come back; you don't know what's out there!"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

A/N: This is my first attempt at a crossover, so please tell me what you think. Next chapter: Trunks finds his way into Hyrule Castle Town… or at least, what used to be Hyrule Castle Town…