Day One: Morning

[Orion]

"Ugh, I hate that girly voice of his," Trunks grunted as Karl finished up his updates to the participants. The moon was far from memory; the sun was now rising from the flat horizon. Breaking dawn meant far better vision, and for Trunks, far more safety. He hated being in the dark, potentially fodder from any direction, especially without his ki sense. At least he could see an attacker.

"Sounds like we're already two down," HellFighter 17 stated the obvious. "Guess there's no practice rounds, huh?"

"All the more reason to stay on guard," Kami responded. "We've been lucky to find each other so quickly in this game, but God knows what's to come next." He took the lead of the group, looking into the distance. "I've been in this before. Just when you think you've got the upper hand, some damn saiyan jumps on your back and blows you up." Trunks smirked, remembering the poor Namekian's demise at the suicidal explosion Raditzu used on him last time.

"Huh," Garlic Jr. disregarded. "I don't think any of us are going to lower our guard in a tense situation such as this."

Thirteen was the next to speak. "So, what's the plan now? Are we just gonna sit around here, or keep looking for the others?"

"I'd like to press on," Trunks answered, thinking of his good friend still unaccounted for. "As soon as we find Goten, I'll feel better." He almost failed to say it, but he followed with, "and Bra."

"The more the merrier," Kami affirmed. "Let's go." He motioned for the random assortment of warriors to follow him as he led them away from their location.

Trunks dropped back besides Seventeen. There was something he needed to talk to him about.

"Hey, Seventeen," Trunks said, looking ahead.

"Hey." The android returned the greeting, but far less enthusiastically.

The halfling wasn't sure how to say what he was going to say, but it had to be said. "How are you feeling?"

Seventeen gave a split second smirk, before dropping his lips. "About the same as the last time you asked me."

"Look," Trunks started uncomfortably, "I just want you to know that... you know, that if anything happens here, you know, to you..." He paused, still facing front, but now had Seventeen's undivided attention, "well, I just want you to know that I'll... I'll keep looking for her. Cell too. I'll find him and make him help."

Seventeen looked at the hybrid, bewildered. "Uh..." He was speechless; stunned. "Uh, thanks, I guess." He didn't mean to sound so dismissive, but the shock of the saiyan's words caught him totally offguard.

"And," Trunks added, his voice dimming, "... if I can, well, if I can "take the bullet" for you," he said, adding air quotes with his fingers, "I'll... I'll think about... no, no, I will. I'll take it."

There was silence between the two companions. Trunks looked at the ground before his feet as he walked, but Seventeen couldn't take his gaze from the prince. This warrior, who he barely knew, was offering his life for the android's, and even offered to continue the search for Sakura if he was... unable after the tournament.

Far more silence passed between the two before Seventeen finally added to the one sided conversation. "... Why?"

Trunks' eyes rose from the ground, but still fixed on the horizon. "Because... because you have something important to you, you know? You have this... this meaning for your existence. You're seeking your daughter, a daughter... well, you didn't even know she existed. What have I got? Huh, yeah, I'm a prince, the next in line to inherit an entire planetary domain. Sure, I'm the son of a woman who runs a multi-trillion dollar company dominating almost all of the known galaxy. But... despite all that, all of this stuff just... just given to me because of who I am, I'm not fulfilled. In fact, I kinda... well, I kinda envy you." He paused for a moment. His right hand reached up to his ear lobe and removed his Potarra earring. Gazing into the orange centre of the mystical jewel, he said, "you have no idea what I am."

The halfling stopped talking. He was so emotionally introverted that if he so much as met Seventeen's gaze, he'd lose control of his composure. Seventeen's lips opened, but he decided not to say anything. Trunks'd spilled his soul to him and he hardly knew the android. If he didn't want to talk, especially after a self sacrificing offer like that, HellFighter wasn't going to push the conversation further.

"You must really want me to find my little girl," Seventeen whispered to himself. He didn't intend for Trunks to hear it, but he did.

"Just... just look after yourself, 'kay?" Trunks finished, reattaching the earring to his right lobe. He power-walked out of Seventeen's pace, meeting up with Kami.

"So, how's the trek?" Trunks asked, sucking in a deep breath to placate the restrained emotion in his chest. "Everything going well?"

"I heard," Kami interjected. "I heard what you said. That's a very noble proposition."

"You heard?" Trunks questioned.

The guardian of Earth flicked his ear with his finger. "I'm a Namek. We don't miss much."

"Huh," Trunks puffed.

"Don't worry," Kami assured, putting a hand on Trunks' shoulder. "We'll all look out for each other."

Trunks nodded. Garlic Junior approached from behind, his dwarf like stature causing Trunks to look down when he spoke to him.

"An admirable sentiment," he added. "I hope you're as loyal to the rest of us."

Looking to his right, Android Thirteen were beside him, his countenance obviously set by the tone of what he heard also. The silver maned cyborg smiled.

"All for one, and one for all, and such," he said.