"Finally! You kids will be the death of me you know!" Bulma shook her head at the teenagers who were slowly waking up. She immediately changed her tone, "Trunks! The time machine is going to be ready tomorrow morning! Are you up for it? This one is for keeps! You have to beat those androids in Goku's time!"
Trunks rubbed his temples, feeling a slight headache. "Yeah Mom, I'll be ready."
"You? You don't think I'll let you go fight those things all alone again, do you? I'm coming too!" Chibi sat up, a smirk on her face.
Trunks just rolled his eyes as Bulma laughed at their argument. "What makes you think you're coming?" Trunks grinned. He pulled himself from the floor and started rummaging through his closet for capsules to bring with him.
"You guys need help. I want to give it! Don't be so stubborn!" Chibi replied, grabbing her brooch and Luna Pen.
"Even though it's not your fight?"
"I'm making it my fight," Chibi kissed his cheek and winked at him, causing him to blush and his mother to burst into laughter.
"Alright, you can come, but don't get in over your head, Sailor Chibi Kawaii." Trunks emphasized the last three words.
Chibi narrowed her eyes in mock anger, "That's ETERNAL Sailor MOON to you. I did get a lot more powerful you know." She smiled sweetly up at him.
Bulma butt in before the new couple got any closer, "Say, why don't I make you two a big dinner! Might be the last home-cooked meal you get for a while!"
********************************************************
Morning came swiftly. Trunks and Shannon were both exhausted from the day's trials. Trunks was asleep before his head hit the pillow and Chibi soon followed. For the first night in a long while, both slept peacefully, without strange dreams to haunt their sleep.
"Ready?" Bulma knocked on the door to Trunks' room bright and early. "I've just got to make a few last minute adjustments to the time machine.
Trunks yawned sleepily, "Yeah Mom, don't worry."
"How ‘bout you Chibi?"
"Of course!" Chibi rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Well, I'll leave let you get dressed and ready. Breakfast is on the table and I'll be down in the lab." Bulma waved as she walked past the door.
"I'm gonna hop in the shower, you go ahead and have breakfast." Trunks said as he got up and stumbled out the door.
"Sounds good!" Chibi threw her blankets off and headed down the hallway to the kitchen.
"wow, I might actually get something to eat without being forced to compete with the appetite of a Saiyan," Chibi laughed as she sat down and poured herself a bowl of cereal.
Trunks walked in a few minutes later in his usual black tank and grey pants. He had a towel on his head and was rubbing his hair dry as he stepped into the kitchen.
"You gonna eat that?" Trunks grinned and started wolfing down the rest of the box of cereal.
Bulma climbed the stairs and peeped her head into the kitchen, "It's ready whenever you two are!"
"Oh, I better transform!" Chibi stood up out of her chair.
"Transform? What's that?" Trunks took a moment between gulps of milk to ask.
"It's how I become Eternal Sailor Moon. Just watch, you'll see," Chibi held her brooch high, "Moon Crisis Make-Up!"
Chibi felt the power of her transformation surround her in white ribbons. They enveloped her arms, legs and body, then in a flash of light became her fingerless gloves, boots, and her sleeveless bodice. A white skirt wove itself around her hips as wings flashed at her back. A crescent moon shot across her forehead as her other accessories appeared: earrings, a choker, barrettes. Her hair spun up into two neatly formed, heart shaped buns with violet gems atop them. Last, her blade of imperium silver crystal appeared at her hips, held by a blue sash.
Trunks' jaw dropped, "That's how you transform?!"
Chibi winked at him, "How did you think I did it? It's not like these things have a zipper!"
"Enough you two, let's get going! The time machine is outside, waiting!" Bulma pushed them toward the time machine. Trunks got in first, then Chibi. It was a tight squeeze, since it was made for one person, so Chibi sat on Trunks' lap.
Trunks flipped a switch and the machine began to lift off the ground. Both occupants waved to the blue haired woman on the ground as she got further and further away.
Back on the ground, Bulma sighed, "What has the world come to when we have to surrender the fate of the planet to the hands of a couple of teenagers..."
************************************************************
"So tell me Chibi, who are you really?" Trunks asked while they hurtled through the mists of time and space.
Chibi tried to strike her usual dramatic pose, but due to lack of space, ended up bonking Trunks on the head. "Oops, sorry about that... Anyway, I am... Agent of Love and Justice, pretty suited sailor soldier, Eternal Sailor Moon!"
Trunks sighed as a sweatdrop appeared on his forehead, "That's not quite what I meant. I mean, who are you? Where are you really from? What's the real story of your past? I've been able to piece together a few things, but I'd like it more if I could hear it from you."
"Oh." Chibi got quieter. "Well I suppose you know I'm not from around here."
"It got a bit obvious after the magic gemstones, strange pens, sailor suited super heroes, weird dreams..." Trunks stated.
"Well your Mom found out a whole lot earlier than you did, smarty," Chibi smiled playfully. "Anyway, I'm from Earth, just a different one. On my Earth, we don't have dinosaurs, or dragon balls, or androids, or anything like that."
"Really? What's it like?" Trunks seemed curious.
"Well, now it's peaceful, but not too long ago, my mom, Sailor Moon, was the greatest heroine ever. She defeated those who would have destroyed the earth or maybe gone on to do even worse! But now, we live in an era of peace. It sounds strange, but I feel like I missed it all. I could have been a great warrior, but since there's no more evil, there's no need to have warriors. Not that it's bad to have peace, I just feel sometimes, that I don't belong there."
"Hmph, well you're a lot luckier than we are. I'd give anything to have all my friends and family, not to mention not worrying about whether the world is going to end, or if a loved one will live another day." Trunks said softly.
Chibi looked away, she knew his comment hadn't meant to hurt her, but it stung. "Well, it's not that I don't enjoy it, but just once, I wanted to have an adventure, help someone else, you know, before being tied down with the responsibility of ruling the world!"
"Oh yeah, your mother said you were a princess." Trunks nodded.
"Yeah, my mom was princess of the moon a long time ago, and my father was prince of the earth. Now, in Crystal Tokyo, the place from my dream, they act as King and Queen. I suppose one day, unless my older sister steps in, which doesn't seem likely now that she's married someone who isn't even in this dimension, I'll have to follow in their footsteps..." Chibi sighed.
Trunks raised an eyebrow, "And I thought my family was weird..."
"Yeah, so I'm a princess, whoop de doo... You know, it's not as great as they make it out to be in fairy tales." Chibi frowned.
"Well, it's just so different. Here we are, on the same earth, but we lead completely different lives." Trunks remarked.
"I guess. So, what makes you think that what we're doing will have any effect on the future? It could still turn out the same." Chibi asked.
"It's just... I don't know... Hope will always make a difference. Maybe not to them, but I'll know I tried, and that really all I can do." Trunks said in almost a whisper.
"Hope?" Chibi inquired.
"Yeah. Sometimes that's all you have left is hope." Trunks smiled.
Chibi smiled back, "you seem to have more hope than anyone in your world."
Trunks shrugged, "they've all been through so much. They have to fight for their survival daily. It's easy to lose hope when your situation is so bleak."
Chibi fidgeted in her ‘seat,' "is that it up ahead? The other time?"
Trunks nodded, "yeah, we're almost there. Hold on!"
**************************************************************
Trunks opened the top of the time machine while Chibi got up. Both hopped out as Trunks re-encapsulated the time machine. Trunks took a look around.
"We've gotta head to South City. It should be just a few miles from here." Trunks hovered briefly above the ground before jetting off. Chibi quickly followed, getting used to the new speed and power of her transformation. They rushed through the skies, then Trunks stopped in mid air.
"That's South City, it looks like it's already over! I hope we didn't come too late!" Trunks looked worried and confused.
"Wait, what's that energy?! It feels almost like when you went Super Saiyan Trunks. Over that way!" Chibi pointed.
"You're right. It's my father's ki. I can feel it too. Seems he finally made it to Super Saiyan." Trunks replied.
They jetted hurriedly off in the direction of the powerful ki. On the way they saw a small aircar which they passed in a blur.
"Was that Bulma?" Chibi shouted to Trunks.
"Probably. She never likes to miss these things." Trunks yelled back.
In a few moments they arrived at the scene. Yet again, it seemed they had missed the action. There was a bit of rubble and a few craters left in the ground, not to mention some strange looking robotic bits and pieces. He picked up a chubby looking robot's head, "Come on, we're almost to them!" Trunks leaped back into the air.
They both saw flashes of light in the distance and hurried toward them. In a few seconds they saw a couple of small figures. One was his father, the other looked like, "Dr. Gero?!" Trunks gasped.
"Isn't he the one who made the androids? Did you have to fight him before Trunks?" Chibi looked worried too. "I take it this wasn't what was supposed to have happened..."
The robot was missing an arm and Vegeta was enjoying being able to toy with it. Chibi tried to hold back a laugh, "That's your FATHER?!"
Trunks smiled, "yeah, but something's wrong. Too much has changed in this timeline."
Chibi turned around at the sound of an aircar approaching. It was Bulma alright, and she'd finally caught up to them. She waved through the glass window.
The strange android Dr. Gero took the opportunity to create a distraction. He flung a ki blast at the tiny aircar, causing it to begin hurtling to the ground.
Trunks reacted quickly as the doctor ran off through the rocky terrain. Trunks flipped open the hatch and pulled Bulma and her baby to safety. "Thank you! You saved Trunks!" Trunks seemed a bit taken back, hearing his mother say his name, but realized it was the baby she was talking about, not him.
Chibi quickly raced after him to help. She pulled the other passenger, Yajirobe from the car and dropped him softly on the ground. She ran over to Trunks who seemed extremely upset. He glared in Vegeta's direction.
Bulma heaved a sigh of relief. She looked around, seeing she and her baby were okay, then calmed down. "Vegeta!" Trunks yelled.
"Hmm?" Vegeta turned around.
"Why didn't you try to save Bulma or your son?! They could have been killed!" Trunks fumed.
Vegeta shrugged.
Piccolo eyed the purple haired young man in recognition, "Trunks is back!" He seemed almost happy, or at least as happy as a Namekian gets, to see him.
Vegeta nearly facefaulted, something clicked in his mind. He finally realized just who this mystery kid was. Vegeta smirked. He got ready to take off, but Trunks stopped him, "No! You must never underestimate the power of these androids!"
Vegeta flew past him, totally ignoring him. Trunks raced to catch up, "Listen, don't go! You won't be able to handle the androids by yourself, we have to wait for Goku!"
Vegeta glared at the young man, "Listen, I will only say this once, I do not have to wait for Kakkarott! I am a Super Saiyan now and I'm a lot stronger than that pathetic fool could ever dream of becoming! Now out of my way!" Vegeta flew past him once more. Trunks was left behind, seething with anger toward his father. He landed near the others, Chibi took his hand, which seemed to calm him down a bit.
Piccolo seemed to be the only on who understood what was going on. He turned to Trunks, "These other androids, do they absorb energy like the first two?"
Trunks shook his head, "No these two don't need to. Their energy... it lasts forever." he whispered.
The other fighters, Tien, Krillin, and Gohan gasped as Trunks continued, "The androids I know were created by Dr. Gero, to be sure, but, unlike the clumsy androids you met today, these two are sleek and graceful."
Chibi nodded, adding what she knew, "Android 18 is designed to look like a beautiful young girl. Android 17 is a young boy who wears a red scarf and has long dark hair." she shuddered.
Trunks finished, "but they both have the same cruel, lifeless eyes, yes, it's their eyes that will haunt me the most."
Chibi's eyes went wide as she looked at Bulma, "Oh my gosh Trunks, that baby is you, isn't it?!" she ran over to Bulma and smiled at the infant.
Trunks facefaulted. "Chibi! They're not supposed to know that!"
"I'm going after Vegeta, are you coming?" Trunks asked impatiently.
"Yeah! Of course, let's go!" Chibi left the baby and flew off after Trunks and Vegeta.
The Z senshi just stood there in a daze. Bulma was shocked, "What?! What did they mean by that?!"
"Oh man! Wow!" Gohan's eyes went wide.
Krillin looked in awe, "now that you mention it, they DO look alike!"
Bulma cooed at her baby, "Well Trunks, at least we know you'll grow up to be a handsome young man! And think, all this time, I was afraid that you'd look like your dad!"
Krillin nearly facefaulted himself, "uh... did you guys understand any of that?"
Gohan laughed, "yeah, that was pretty weird!"
Piccolo shrugged, "I knew about Trunks, but I have no idea who that girl is."
****************************************************************
Bulma sighed, "they're going to Dr. Gero's lab, right? I can tell you guys almost exactly where it is..."
Within moments the Z-senshi all headed toward the android's lab. Krillin was one of the first to spot it, followed quickly by the others. The doctor snuck inside, apparently thinking he hadn't been seen. Trunks and Chibi headed for the secret door, but Vegeta blocked the way.
"Move! He's going to activate the other androids! We have to stop him!" Trunks yelled at his father.
"Baka! You think I didn't realize that? I didn't train so hard these past three years just to beat up an old tin can! If these Jinzoungen really are as powerful as you say, I want to fight them!" Vegeta sneered.
"Mr. Vegeta, please! We have to stop them! You don't realize what you're doing!" Chibi stepped forward.
"Hmph," Vegeta stuck his nose in the air, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "You think I care, woman?!"
Trunks clenched his fists and Chibi was just about to give Vegeta a piece of her mind when they heard loud clanging sounds within the lab. Vegeta, impatient as ever, blasted through the metal door.
Inside, sure enough, Dr. Gero had activated the Jinzoungen. What he hadn't expected, however, was the small fact that the twins didn't want to follow orders. They were both taunting the doctor, enjoying his torment. They activated a third android, much to the doctor's displeasure. The new android was of a much greater build than the first two. He wore a bright green vest with the ‘Red Ribbon' insignia on it. Atop his head was a bright mess of red hair which contrasted sharply with his sad, somber expression.
Juunanagou casually shoved his fist through Gero's chest, not even bothering to take his other hand out of his pocket. Dr. Gero dropped a small device, which the androids quickly swiped. Before he had time to react, Juunanagou jumped into the air, landing a spinning roundhouse kick to Gero's face, breaking his head off his shoulders in a mess of oil and artificial blood. The Z-Senshi stood watching, aghast at the site.
The twins, finally seeming to notice the other fighters, turned toward them. Juunanagou jumped through the air, landing on Dr. Gero's head, crushing what was left of it into the ground and smiling up at the z senshi. His eyes locked on each one, his internal computer matching the faces with a name and detailed description. Except for two of them...
Vegeta smirked, "Is this all?"
Juuhachigou flipped her hair nonchalantly, "Mind if I take care of him?"
Juunanagou shrugged, he was more interested in finding out about the two new fighters.
Juuhachigou rushed Vegeta, while he leaped off the ground, quickly becoming Super Saiyan. He grinned, awaiting the battle.
Juunanagou, as well as the new android, #16, followed the action. The Z-senshi joined, keeping their distance from the artificial humans. Vegeta and #18 began throwing punches, kicks, and ki blasts faster than the human eye could comprehend. To someone walking by, it would almost appear as if nothing were happening.
"Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta yelled, throwing a huge ki blast toward Juuhachigou. She narrowly missed being hit, but a truck driver who had been driving along the supposedly empty road, had not been as fortunate. The truck indeed exploded with a ‘big bang.' Vegeta narrowed his eyes, angry that his newest attack had failed.
Juuhachigou brushed the dust from her clothes. She launched herself toward him, punching and kicking. Vegeta was starting to wear down and she knew it. She finally landed a harsh roundhouse kick to Vegeta's upper arm. It snapped with a crack as Vegeta clutched it, screaming in pain.
Trunks couldn't take it anymore! He didn't work so hard for his father to get killed again! He bolted toward 18, going Super Saiyan. He drew his sword and swung down hard.
Juuhachigou blocked the strike with uncanny grace and skill. It hit her forearm, but she hardly noticed. Trunks, however, felt like he'd just struck a wall. He looked in disbelief as his sword cracked where he had hit her.
Juunanagou was suddenly in the air above him. #17 clasped his hands together and struck Trunks from behind, at the base of his neck, sending him crashing to the ground. Trunks pulled himself painfully from the ground, then ran at 18. Juuhachi smirked, grabbing Vegeta's leg and swinging him at Trunks like a baseball bat. Both father and son went flying. Chibi flew to Trunks' side, shaking him. His hair went back to normal and his eyes rolled up in his head as he went unconscious.
Chibi drew her own sword and took up her familiar stance. "Stop right there, enemies of justice! I cannot forgive what you've done! I am pretty suited sailor soldier, Eternal Sailor Moon!" she smiled, loving the attention her routine always brought, "And, in the name of the future moon, I will punish you!" She rushed 18, swinging her sword with the same force Trunks had used earlier. Her sword glowed brightly, and hit Juuhachi's arm, only this time, her sword didn't shatter. It didn't matter to 18. She grabbed the sword by the blade and used it to throw Chibi to the ground.
Chibi Kawaii picked herself up, but not before Juuhachigou kneed her in the stomach, making her fall to the ground, gasping for air.
"Anyone else want to try?" 18 smirked.
"You'd better get them some senzu quickly." Juunanagou stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
Krillin was shocked, "you know about senzu seeds?"
Juunanagou smirked, "we'll let you go this time, but next time, you may not be so lucky, our mission is to destroy Son Goku. Just don't get in our way." He raised an eyebrow as his twin walked over to kiss Krillin on the cheek and whisper something. He shook his head before motioning for 16 and 18 to get moving. His eyes went over the fighters once more, taking mental pictures of the two he didn't know. He wondered how on earth his sister could even think of liking those human scum. His eyes rested on the only girl in the group. Without thinking he smiled at her and shot her a wink before taking off.