Chapter 1 - The Encounter
Time seems to be like a water faucet, it will either gush away before you know what happened or slowly drip by, seemingly never ending. The later is what Trunks' life seemed to be doing at the moment. He had returned to his time a little over two years ago. Since destroying the Androids and Cell, his life and has become very bland and flaccid. It might be the saiyan warrior that flowed through his veins or the adventurous spirit that he had inherited from his mother, but whatever it was, it was slowing causing the Trunks that once was to slowly wither away into nothing.
It wasn't as if Trunks hadn't been doing anything since his return. He had helped his mother rebuild the Capsule Corporation, and he had helped the coalition during some of the "rebuilding" phase. However, everything he did just seemed to leave him with a feeling of emptiness.
Trunks often spent many of his nights flying through the darkened sky, recalling his days with Goku, Gohan, and his father. Vegeta always tried his best to be arrogant and uncaring, but Trunks did find another side. Well, he never really actually saw it, but he did here about it from Tien and Yamcha. The knowledge that his father cared enough about Trunks' life to disregard his own truly moved him. Yet the pleasure he received from that soon dissipated with the loss of his father once more.
The emptiness that was his father presence wasn't the only thing that had bothered Trunks. He had formed quite the friendship with many of the Z Fighters. Men that were long dead in his world. He often blamed himself for not being able to have done something that would alter his timeline, nor being able to save his master Gohan's life. Trunks was beginning to become guilt stricken. His mother saw it, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do for him. No matter how much she wanted to help. Sometimes a person has to help themselves in order to be helped at all. She only wished that her son would figure this out. For she was dying a little bit each day having to watch her son. For as proud as he should be for all of his accomplishments, time just seemed to get the better of him. Time always seems to be the greatest killer of men, whether physically or psychologically.
Trunks landed slowly on the edge of a cliff overlooking East City. 'How many nights did I sit up here wondering when I would be able to look at East City and know that my mother and the rest of the world was safe. But now that night has come and gone, yet the emptiness remains. Like a scar that lives as a reminder of what was,' Trunks thought solemnly to himself. He was in his usual blue pants and black tank-top. The might seem weird to be wearing a tank-top during the cold nights, but he loved the feel of the night air on his exposed skin.
Trunks then began to become lost in his own thoughts, enjoying the night breeze. That is until an explosion came from the near by city. Trunks' eyes shot open, searching for the source of the sound. It was an explosion that occurred in the left section of the city, decimating several of the recently reconstructed buildings. In the blink of an eye, Trunks was up and flying to find out the cause of this massive explosion.
He neared the rising smoke and still could not sense any substantial power levels, Trunks began fearing for the worst. 'Please don't tell me that Dr. Gero had another android that I didn't know about. Man, am I getting tired of this guy.' Trunks looked around the side of the building that he was using for cover. He noticed a group of three individuals. There were two men and one female, and it appeared to Trunks that they were arguing over something..
"Maybe you shouldn't have caused such a large explosion. What if someone saw the blast?" asked a short, chubby little man. "Oh, stop being such a baby. We had to know if she would have the capability to break into the Capsule Corporation main office building. And that means being able to bypass or destroy the security system. So quit your whining," said his male accomplice who was slender and rather tall. "All I'm saying Jesse is that it was awfully risky causing such a large explosion. If someone were to catch us we would be in a lot of trouble. The buildings that our lady friend here destroyed was a housing development. An unoccupied housing development, but that is only because they were just recently completed," said the short chubby man. "Quit worrying so much James, this is the deserted part of the city, remember. That's why we choose to meet here," replied Jesse trying to calm his friend.
"If you two are through bickering, I would like to finish discussing our arrangement," said the raven haired beauty. The two men quit their fighting and looked back at the young girl, they seemingly had forgotten that she was there. Which for being men must have been extremely difficult given how beautiful their female guest was. She was just over five feet tall, with long raven black hair that stretched down to the small of her back. She had dark, deep eyes that could seemingly pierce into a person's soul. She had an athletic build, but the signs of growing up on the streets littered her body.
"Sorry Pan. But yes, lets return to discussing your terms," replied Jesse. "Okay then. First, you will never question my methods again," Pan said darkly glaring a hole through James, "Secondly, I want 40% of the money that we find in the vault, and finally, I want the 'machine'. Those are my terms, take 'em or leave 'em." James seemed to become physically upset at this last term, and Jesse noticed it. "May my partner and I have a moment to think about your terms?" Jesse asked as politely as he could. The two men then walked away from Pan so that they could speak in private.
"This is bullshit Jesse. That's all this is. The only reason we were going to break into Capsule was to acquire the time machine. This is such bullshit," cried an extremely bothered James. "Calm down James. Take it down a few notches. Remember there is a reason that I'm here. Now think, yes Pan's terms are outrageous, but she is our best bet for gaining entry into Capsule Corp. Pan also doesn't know where the time machine is located, we do. So we would know where to look, and when we found it, we could shrink it down to capsule size and sneak out with it. Pan would never know the better," deducted Jesse. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess you're right. But what if something goes wrong?" "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know. We'll just have to think of something then. But this is all a risk I'm willing to take. What about you?" "I guess I will, after all, why not. I'm sure you're right that she doesn't know where the machine is. I hope."
The duo walked back over to where Pan had patiently been waiting. However, she was starting to become a little impatient with this bumbling pair. Not only that, she was tired and cold, and wanted to go back to her home and sleep. "Your terms are quite demanding, mainly the bit about your cut. It is an awfully high cut for receiving the machine too," said Jesse. "Those are my terms. You sought out my services, and if you want them, then you will have to pay for them. So what will it be boys?" asked Pan in a cocky tone. "I guess we have an agreement," said Jesse as he reached as his hand to shake.
"I believe I have a problem with this agreement," said a voice from the shadows. The three of them immediately looked in the direction the voice seemed to originate from. "If you value your life, step out into the light," challenged Pan. With that a tall, well built man emerged from the shadows. He had long flowing lavender hair, and was wearing blue pants and a black tank top. "Value my life huh? I think you are the ones whose lives are in danger. That is if you still plan on breaking into Capsule Corp," Trunks said with a daring glare in his eye. Almost as if he wished that the young girl would defy him.
"OH SHIT! IT'S….IT'S HIM! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" screamed James as he took off in the opposite direction Trunks, with Jesse not far behind. 'Pathetic fools. One little threat and there off to the races. Such cowards. This guy is just another little punk that thinks he's the neighborhood hotshot,' thought Pan. "Look whoever you are, I'm sorry you stumbled onto this meeting, but you are going to be even sorrier in a minute," Pan said with a glint in her eye. "For a girl you sure do talk a lot of shit. I hope you can back all that talk up," said Trunks still as cocky as ever. He was definitely his father's son sometimes. "You are really starting to piss me off you cocky little bastard. That's something that you may not live to regret," Pan said this time with a deadly seriousness. "Well then lets see what you got princess," Trunks dared.
Pan flew straight at Trunks, almost surprising him with her speed. However, Trunks was still able to easily dodge all of her attacks, before kneeing her in the gut and sending her into the nearest building. Pan was slow to rise, but when she finally did she said, "You are much stronger then I anticipated. But it will still not be enough to save your life. You should have been like all the other good sewer rats and stayed in the garbage." "Your insults sting almost as much as your punches. Well that's my theory anyway since you were never able to actually land a punch," Trunks retorted. Well that did it, Pan was now extremely pissed off. She never let anyone make fun of her strength and then be able to tell about it.
She shot a volley of ki attacks at Trunks' position. Clouds of dust and smoke filled the space that Trunks once occupied. When all of the dust began to settle, Pan noticed that Trunks was gone as well. And she knew full well that those blasts wouldn't have vaporized him, would it? But before she could think about that any more she heard a voice from above her. "Hey, it would seem that your aim is a little off," yelled Trunks as he hovered above. "Well if you weren't a coward and you would stay in one place like a real man would do," replied Pan right back. "You still wouldn't have hurt me, I just didn't want to get my clothes all dirty from the dust," said Trunks. By now Pan was getting tired of this battle, and if it continued at the pace it was at, Pan would lose and she knew it. She wasn't a naïve or stupid fighter, she knew her limits. She knew she didn't have the speed to stay with this guy, and even if he was weaker than her, that wouldn't matter if she could never hit him. But it was obvious to Pan that this mystery fighter could carry his own, her body still ached from that knee shot he gave her. So she decided to pull out all the stops. She was going to have to use her finisher. She only hoped that she didn't destroy the entire city in the process. "KA…ME…HA…ME….HAAAA!" yelled Pan as she fired the kamehameha wave at Trunks. "How in the hell does she know Master Roshi's technique?" Trunks asked himself before remembering to block the blast at the very last second.
After all the smoke cleared, floated one extremely pissed off saiyan. And seemingly before Pan could think about her next move, since her finisher had obviously failed, Trunks erupted with a gold aura and rushed her position. She was punched and kicked so many times that she couldn't remember seeing half of his attacks, but she could sure as hell feel them. Trunks finished off this assault with a ki wave point blank at her stomach. The blast sent her screeching into the ground, causing a creator from the impact of her body. Trunks remained floating for several more seconds while he attempted to calm himself down. When he finally cooled down, he powered down from a super saiyan. Trunks was also a bit worried about the girl too. He was sure that he had killed the poor girl, so he flew to where her mangled body laid. Pan was unconscious, unmoving and barely alive. At this he was grateful, for as much as he wanted to teach her a lesson, he didn't want to kill her.
Time seems to be like a water faucet, it will either gush away before you know what happened or slowly drip by, seemingly never ending. The later is what Trunks' life seemed to be doing at the moment. He had returned to his time a little over two years ago. Since destroying the Androids and Cell, his life and has become very bland and flaccid. It might be the saiyan warrior that flowed through his veins or the adventurous spirit that he had inherited from his mother, but whatever it was, it was slowing causing the Trunks that once was to slowly wither away into nothing.
It wasn't as if Trunks hadn't been doing anything since his return. He had helped his mother rebuild the Capsule Corporation, and he had helped the coalition during some of the "rebuilding" phase. However, everything he did just seemed to leave him with a feeling of emptiness.
Trunks often spent many of his nights flying through the darkened sky, recalling his days with Goku, Gohan, and his father. Vegeta always tried his best to be arrogant and uncaring, but Trunks did find another side. Well, he never really actually saw it, but he did here about it from Tien and Yamcha. The knowledge that his father cared enough about Trunks' life to disregard his own truly moved him. Yet the pleasure he received from that soon dissipated with the loss of his father once more.
The emptiness that was his father presence wasn't the only thing that had bothered Trunks. He had formed quite the friendship with many of the Z Fighters. Men that were long dead in his world. He often blamed himself for not being able to have done something that would alter his timeline, nor being able to save his master Gohan's life. Trunks was beginning to become guilt stricken. His mother saw it, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do for him. No matter how much she wanted to help. Sometimes a person has to help themselves in order to be helped at all. She only wished that her son would figure this out. For she was dying a little bit each day having to watch her son. For as proud as he should be for all of his accomplishments, time just seemed to get the better of him. Time always seems to be the greatest killer of men, whether physically or psychologically.
Trunks landed slowly on the edge of a cliff overlooking East City. 'How many nights did I sit up here wondering when I would be able to look at East City and know that my mother and the rest of the world was safe. But now that night has come and gone, yet the emptiness remains. Like a scar that lives as a reminder of what was,' Trunks thought solemnly to himself. He was in his usual blue pants and black tank-top. The might seem weird to be wearing a tank-top during the cold nights, but he loved the feel of the night air on his exposed skin.
Trunks then began to become lost in his own thoughts, enjoying the night breeze. That is until an explosion came from the near by city. Trunks' eyes shot open, searching for the source of the sound. It was an explosion that occurred in the left section of the city, decimating several of the recently reconstructed buildings. In the blink of an eye, Trunks was up and flying to find out the cause of this massive explosion.
He neared the rising smoke and still could not sense any substantial power levels, Trunks began fearing for the worst. 'Please don't tell me that Dr. Gero had another android that I didn't know about. Man, am I getting tired of this guy.' Trunks looked around the side of the building that he was using for cover. He noticed a group of three individuals. There were two men and one female, and it appeared to Trunks that they were arguing over something..
"Maybe you shouldn't have caused such a large explosion. What if someone saw the blast?" asked a short, chubby little man. "Oh, stop being such a baby. We had to know if she would have the capability to break into the Capsule Corporation main office building. And that means being able to bypass or destroy the security system. So quit your whining," said his male accomplice who was slender and rather tall. "All I'm saying Jesse is that it was awfully risky causing such a large explosion. If someone were to catch us we would be in a lot of trouble. The buildings that our lady friend here destroyed was a housing development. An unoccupied housing development, but that is only because they were just recently completed," said the short chubby man. "Quit worrying so much James, this is the deserted part of the city, remember. That's why we choose to meet here," replied Jesse trying to calm his friend.
"If you two are through bickering, I would like to finish discussing our arrangement," said the raven haired beauty. The two men quit their fighting and looked back at the young girl, they seemingly had forgotten that she was there. Which for being men must have been extremely difficult given how beautiful their female guest was. She was just over five feet tall, with long raven black hair that stretched down to the small of her back. She had dark, deep eyes that could seemingly pierce into a person's soul. She had an athletic build, but the signs of growing up on the streets littered her body.
"Sorry Pan. But yes, lets return to discussing your terms," replied Jesse. "Okay then. First, you will never question my methods again," Pan said darkly glaring a hole through James, "Secondly, I want 40% of the money that we find in the vault, and finally, I want the 'machine'. Those are my terms, take 'em or leave 'em." James seemed to become physically upset at this last term, and Jesse noticed it. "May my partner and I have a moment to think about your terms?" Jesse asked as politely as he could. The two men then walked away from Pan so that they could speak in private.
"This is bullshit Jesse. That's all this is. The only reason we were going to break into Capsule was to acquire the time machine. This is such bullshit," cried an extremely bothered James. "Calm down James. Take it down a few notches. Remember there is a reason that I'm here. Now think, yes Pan's terms are outrageous, but she is our best bet for gaining entry into Capsule Corp. Pan also doesn't know where the time machine is located, we do. So we would know where to look, and when we found it, we could shrink it down to capsule size and sneak out with it. Pan would never know the better," deducted Jesse. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess you're right. But what if something goes wrong?" "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know. We'll just have to think of something then. But this is all a risk I'm willing to take. What about you?" "I guess I will, after all, why not. I'm sure you're right that she doesn't know where the machine is. I hope."
The duo walked back over to where Pan had patiently been waiting. However, she was starting to become a little impatient with this bumbling pair. Not only that, she was tired and cold, and wanted to go back to her home and sleep. "Your terms are quite demanding, mainly the bit about your cut. It is an awfully high cut for receiving the machine too," said Jesse. "Those are my terms. You sought out my services, and if you want them, then you will have to pay for them. So what will it be boys?" asked Pan in a cocky tone. "I guess we have an agreement," said Jesse as he reached as his hand to shake.
"I believe I have a problem with this agreement," said a voice from the shadows. The three of them immediately looked in the direction the voice seemed to originate from. "If you value your life, step out into the light," challenged Pan. With that a tall, well built man emerged from the shadows. He had long flowing lavender hair, and was wearing blue pants and a black tank top. "Value my life huh? I think you are the ones whose lives are in danger. That is if you still plan on breaking into Capsule Corp," Trunks said with a daring glare in his eye. Almost as if he wished that the young girl would defy him.
"OH SHIT! IT'S….IT'S HIM! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" screamed James as he took off in the opposite direction Trunks, with Jesse not far behind. 'Pathetic fools. One little threat and there off to the races. Such cowards. This guy is just another little punk that thinks he's the neighborhood hotshot,' thought Pan. "Look whoever you are, I'm sorry you stumbled onto this meeting, but you are going to be even sorrier in a minute," Pan said with a glint in her eye. "For a girl you sure do talk a lot of shit. I hope you can back all that talk up," said Trunks still as cocky as ever. He was definitely his father's son sometimes. "You are really starting to piss me off you cocky little bastard. That's something that you may not live to regret," Pan said this time with a deadly seriousness. "Well then lets see what you got princess," Trunks dared.
Pan flew straight at Trunks, almost surprising him with her speed. However, Trunks was still able to easily dodge all of her attacks, before kneeing her in the gut and sending her into the nearest building. Pan was slow to rise, but when she finally did she said, "You are much stronger then I anticipated. But it will still not be enough to save your life. You should have been like all the other good sewer rats and stayed in the garbage." "Your insults sting almost as much as your punches. Well that's my theory anyway since you were never able to actually land a punch," Trunks retorted. Well that did it, Pan was now extremely pissed off. She never let anyone make fun of her strength and then be able to tell about it.
She shot a volley of ki attacks at Trunks' position. Clouds of dust and smoke filled the space that Trunks once occupied. When all of the dust began to settle, Pan noticed that Trunks was gone as well. And she knew full well that those blasts wouldn't have vaporized him, would it? But before she could think about that any more she heard a voice from above her. "Hey, it would seem that your aim is a little off," yelled Trunks as he hovered above. "Well if you weren't a coward and you would stay in one place like a real man would do," replied Pan right back. "You still wouldn't have hurt me, I just didn't want to get my clothes all dirty from the dust," said Trunks. By now Pan was getting tired of this battle, and if it continued at the pace it was at, Pan would lose and she knew it. She wasn't a naïve or stupid fighter, she knew her limits. She knew she didn't have the speed to stay with this guy, and even if he was weaker than her, that wouldn't matter if she could never hit him. But it was obvious to Pan that this mystery fighter could carry his own, her body still ached from that knee shot he gave her. So she decided to pull out all the stops. She was going to have to use her finisher. She only hoped that she didn't destroy the entire city in the process. "KA…ME…HA…ME….HAAAA!" yelled Pan as she fired the kamehameha wave at Trunks. "How in the hell does she know Master Roshi's technique?" Trunks asked himself before remembering to block the blast at the very last second.
After all the smoke cleared, floated one extremely pissed off saiyan. And seemingly before Pan could think about her next move, since her finisher had obviously failed, Trunks erupted with a gold aura and rushed her position. She was punched and kicked so many times that she couldn't remember seeing half of his attacks, but she could sure as hell feel them. Trunks finished off this assault with a ki wave point blank at her stomach. The blast sent her screeching into the ground, causing a creator from the impact of her body. Trunks remained floating for several more seconds while he attempted to calm himself down. When he finally cooled down, he powered down from a super saiyan. Trunks was also a bit worried about the girl too. He was sure that he had killed the poor girl, so he flew to where her mangled body laid. Pan was unconscious, unmoving and barely alive. At this he was grateful, for as much as he wanted to teach her a lesson, he didn't want to kill her.