[5] Prison

[Drake]

?Aww?? Trunks gave a disappointed sigh as the once large area of mangled corpses, and destroyed military base dissipated and gave way to a large cell. The lavender haired boy was still covered in the various bodily fluids of the zombies he?d slaughtered, but they brought no comfort as he squatted down in front of their new prison. ?This is so boring??

The Halfling poked and prodded the cage with his sword, finding it mildly amusing when sparks began to shoot off his sword as the ki within it reacted to the energy field inside the metal- that wore off within the first five minutes of their confinement however. Once again bored, Trunks began to try and devise a way to free everyone (or at least himself) nevertheless it didn?t turn out very well. Metal Binding didn?t work as the metal holding them in was similar in makeup as the rest of the stuff group ?XTREME? had run into and thus resisted his power. The next thing on the hybrids list was to simply teleport to freedom, that didn?t work either because of the colossal energy being emitted by the fighters within the immediate area which blinded his ability to lock onto a clear signal. At least that is what Trunks believed at first, though he had a nagging feeling that since Raditsu had not left the cage, chances are it wasn?t really that blocking his ki sense, but some kind of field instead, similar to what blocked the metal binding ability.

Strangely enough Trunks even tried to dig through the floor as well, though that only led to a metallic floor buried a few inches below the soil. Brim had thought this all out fairly well.

He?d long (7 minutes) given up his squatting position to adopt something more comfortable, and in a corner of the prison- similar to a pouting child. The demi-saiyajin had begun to do some serious thinking, which only pissed him off as it would end up hurting his brain like- Trunks made a mental note to pay back Brim for making him think.

?Think, Think, Think?? Trunks repeated like a mantra, gently rapping on his head as if to shake lose an idea lodged somewhere deep in his psyche. Eventually the boy would have been able to think of something had he not been interrupted by a sudden outburst of drama from the large group of warriors.

Annoyed, and somewhat curious, Trunks rose from his crossed legged position to check out what the entire hubbub was about; however, as he got closer he found that some of the raised voices were startlingly familiar- most notably his sister and Raditsu. From what he could gather among the murmurs and whispers of the people present, the argument had just begun to die down and had originally been started over some guy named ?Burter?- Trunks sword he?d heard that name somewhere before.

?Aw, looks like I missed the fun?? The hybrid thought sadly. It?d already been 20 minutes and nothing had really happened, except for the soap opera that had just briefly taken place that he ended up missing out on entirely. If something didn?t happen soon, Trunks swore he?d go stark raving mad and start randomly blowing shit up just to stir up some trouble to keep himself entertained. But then suddenly, as if to answer his prayers, there was a bright flash as energy collided followed by an ear splitting scream- finally something was beginning to happen.

Or not, it turned out Raditsu?s girlfriend had touched the bars and got her self electrocuted- sort of, if you could call it that.

?Eighteen!? Yelled Trunks, waving his hand so she would notice him. ?You shouldn?t touch the bars, there is some kind of energy field in them- you?ll get shocked!? He continued to wave, and smiled as if his words were illuminating to the android.

But that smile quickly faded away as he caught a glimpse of his ?sister?, hidden away and by herself in a corner of the cell. At first he thought that maybe Bra had thought of playing a game, seeing as how they were stuck and there wasn?t much else to do, it made perfect sense for that to be what his sister was up to. Once he neared the saiyajin princess, Trunks found himself watching as Bra fell apart, wailing and crying about something he couldn?t quite make out between her chocked sobs; however, this scene caused something to stir within the lavender haired boy.

A long forgotten memory floated to the surface and made its self known.

A crying child, her hair was short and blue contrasting with the bright white t-shirt and red overalls that adorned her, but matched the red swollen bump on her forehead. Beside the girl was a young boy, probably three or four years older than her. He wore a blue tank top, and blank pants, and had a similar hair cut to the small wailing toddler but instead his hair was purple which would pretty much clash with anything he wore.

When Trunks attempted to focus on the faces of the two children he found it impossible to see who they were exactly, as they were distorted and shadowed.

?Okay, what happened to my little blue bird?? Cooed the soft and soothing voice of some women who had suddenly appeared in the memory. Something about this new person calmed Trunks, making him feel warm and calm inside.

There was a momentary silence as the girl bit her bottom lip and tried to suck in her tears so she could reply, but it was futile and soon the water works were back on. ?He? Hit? Me?!? The blue haired child managed to say between her tear choked sobs before breaking into an even louder wail.

?Is this true?? Asked the woman, her voice now stern and somewhat impatient.

?Yeah?? Started the boy. ?But it?s only cause she wouldn?t share her toy with me!?

The woman, whom Trunks had figured was their mother, waved her finger disapprovingly at the young boy. ?You?re not supposed to hurt your baby-sister!? She lectured. ?You?re supposed to protect her, that?s why you were born first.?

And as quickly as the recollection had surfaced, it quickly sank beneath the murky depths of Trunks subconscious mind, leaving the boy puzzled.

The memory which seemed to take a few minutes had actually passed in seconds, and thus Bra was still there crying. But instead of merely standing there like an idiot, Trunks took the initiative to try and ease her pain. ?Hey, Bra I??

?That?s not fair!! Why didn?t he call me!? Why wasn?t I there!? I could have helped!! I could have saved him this time! Brim, how could you!? How could you!?? she screamed, another punch smashing into the wall, which refused to give in to the crushing forces being placed upon it, ?Then it?s my fault! Oh no, no!! If I was there he would still be here!! But I didn?t mean to- I had to- Burter, I?m sorry!! I?m so sorry, it?s all my fault!! This isn?t fair, Brim, you fucking son of a bitch!!? a primal roar escaped the girl as she punched the wall once again, much harder this time, her fist crackling with raw energy. Tears endlessly streamed down her dirt-smeared face, creating lines of purity which marked their paths, ?You fucking coward!! You promised this was just a game!! Just like last time! You took him away again! Again, again!!?

Something about those words were frighteningly familiar, enough that the hybrid was frozen for a brief second in time as he tried to think back on where he?d heard them before.

He?d regret that decision.

Unlike the previous memory, this new on didn?t float gently to the surface like a pleasant dream. Instead it twisted, and tore apart the reality around him like a piece of scrap paper, assaulting his mind with vicious jolts of pain that nearly made him scream. This bit of the past seemed to fight tooth and nail in a vain attempt to remain submerged in the furthest recesses of Trunks brain.

It was night and what sounded like thunder could be heard in the background, but no rain fell from the heavens. Something in the back of his mind told Trunks that it wasn?t a storm, but a titanic fight between two super powers. For some odd reason he felt disorientated, and in the middle of a giant open area that had all the markings of an all out battle between a few high calibre warriors.

?Where is he?? Echoed a voice in his head. The memory was a bit different this time, instead of seeing it from the third person, the hybrid was experiencing it through the eyes of someone else- possibly an old memory from his predecessor.

Blindly in the night Trunks stumbled backwards in someone else?s body, frantically looking left and right as if to look for something while a sick sense of dread slowly grew into the pit of his stomach. ?------ where are you!?? Yelled the hybrid through cupped hands near his mouth. Part of what he had cried out into the darkness was muffled out by a strange buzzing noise, though Trunks guessed it might be a name.

?I need to find him!? The voice echoed once again, this time more desperate.

He wandered around some more but was growing impatient, and new feeling of urgency had arisen within Trunks which was connected to the thundering noises in the sky that had become much, much louder. To be safe, he looked up at the night sky while still moving amid the torn up battle field to try and catch a sliver of what was happening up there when his foot got caught on something and sent him to the ground.

?Stupid!? He cursed softly, slamming his fist into the muddy ground.

Why was the ground muddy? It had not rained at all that day, or the next, and from what he could tell the rest of it was dry as a bone- so why was this place different. Trunks slowly got up onto his hands and knees, the soft muddy soil oozing between his fingers. In reality, he knew, or at least some part of him could sense what was really going on; which is why he hesitated to turn around and examine what he?d tripped over.

Before him lay the body of that same child he?d seen in the previous memory, except older, fourteen or maybe even as old as sixteen. But as he examined the boy, he came upon the origin of the wet ground and the reason for the overwhelming sense of dread Trunks had felt since the beginning of the memory. Where the lavender haired kid?s midsection should have been was a gaping hold, filled with various mangled internal organs laying about or haphazardly hanging from the wound. The sight, which wasn?t new to the battle worn boy, made Trunks wretch and forced him to bring his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to keep from vomiting.

Instead, that decision made it worse. The hand he brought to his mouth was the very appendage that moments before had been plodding around in the mud, giving Trunks the unfortunate experience of tasting what blood and soil mixed together is like. Trunks couldn?t remember when the last time was that he had thrown up, even when he was sick, even after taking a gut wrenching punch to the stomach after a large meal, but now he began to wonder if he?d ever stop.

?Wh-who?s there?? Called out a voice weakly.

Trunks swallowed and wiped away the bits of food stuck to the corners of his mouth before crawling back over to the child?s body. His eyes were open now, but from their erratic movement, the hybrid somehow knew that a lack of blood to the teen?s brain had caused him to go blind.

?It?s me -----.? Consoled Trunks, another piece of the memory being buzzed out.

The lavender haired kid turned his head to where the origin of the voice, and then reached out a hand which Trunks took firmly in his own. ?Heh..I really screwed up this time?? Coughed the boy, a small bit of crimson peaking from the corner of the teen?s mouth.

?Nah, you did just fine?? He gently patted boy?s arm.

?I don?t want to die,? the kid said suddenly. Tears began to well up in the corner of his eyes, before sliding down the creases of his face and falling into the dirt, he let out a few choked sobs before tightening his grip on Trunks hand.

?You have to keep him away from dad and mom?? Sniffed the teen, squeezing the hybrids hand firmly. ?And my sister.? The boy nodded and swallowed, letting out another laugh, this time it seemed pitiful and weak.

?Because that?s what big brothers do.?


A greater deal of time had passed during this memory, for when Trunks had been freed from it; his sister was gone from the corner she had been in only moments before. He quickly scanned the room to see where she had gone and found her near some human sporting a Mohawk and a strange blue alien. For some reason it felt like something was missing when he saw Uub embrace Bra to comfort her during her time of need.

?That should be me.? Called out a tiny voice, so small and weak that Trunks didn?t even notice.

The halfing prince merely turned his back on the group of three and walked into the group of warriors, a bit disturbed by these recent memories that had been brought back in vivid color. While they weren?t boring, it wasn?t exactly what Trunks had been hoping for in the way of entertainment, he?d rather move onto something else and push them back to whatever crevice in the deepest part of his mind they?d come from.