Trunks 9: Unexpected

"Our father and mother Vegeta and Bulma."

"…"

"…"

"…"

At Other Trunks' words, Goku was at a loss for his own.

With his jaw agape, in his Super Saiyan form, he looked at Vegeta and Bulma, then us, then back to them, then us once more.

"WHAT!? YOUR DADS ARE VEGETA AND YOUR MOMS ARE BULMA!" He shrieked dramatically, even going so far as to pretend to faint.

"Yep. Those are our parents."

Other Trunks expressed with a smile while Goku picked himself off the ground.

"Vegeta's a Dad and he has a kid with Bulma? Wow… That's nuts. It's even hard to believe a little. I mean. I grew up with Bulma. I thought her and Yamcha would stay together forever. But since it's coming from you two, I guess that's that then." He concluded.

"That's just how things turn out sometimes. She got sick of him running on the field and took off."

Said Other Trunks.

"Dang. I guess I probably should've seen that coming now that I think about it. They're always at each other's necks." He mentioned taking 3 pills out of his capsules and eating them.

Other Trunks then got out of his chair.

"Goku…please don't share any of this information with any of the others. If you do, there's a chance that I might…" he then paused then looked at me.

"That we might blip out of existence."

If he had known that I already told father about my past, he would have probably had a stroke. So I'd decided to keep that tidbit of information to myself.

"Alright… I got it. I can keep a secret with the best of 'em. You two got my word on that." Goku gave a credible nod, which gave Other Trunks assurance.

"Good… The Androids should show up 3 years from now on the 12th of May, arriving at Amenbo Island. Make sure that you and the others train real hard. You'll need to. Otherwise..."

"Your future will be our future."

And with confirmation, Other Trunks sat back down.

"What's up? I thought you were leaving to your timeline or something." I asked.

"Oh, I was going too… That was the plan initially."

He said while putting his arms behind his head in leisure.

"What changed?"

"You."

He spat rather venomously.

"Oh? You're following my role model example?"

I asked ironically.

"Nope. Still going to do the future jump."

Matter of factly, he retorted.

"Then, what are you still doing here? Leave."

I said, shooing him away.

"Nah… I'm good here for the moment. At least until I'm done watching an edgy ass hole be humbled."

He instigated.

Before I could reply, Goku stepped in, Frowning at his comment.

"Woah, you two. What's going on? What's with the name-calling, huh? Aren't you guys like… Each other or something? What did Trunks do to you, Tunks? Wait…Why'd you say that to Trunks? Jeez, this is gonna get confusing." Goku scrambled.

"He knows what he did."

Other Trunks stated.

Rolling my eyes, I switched the topic.

"So, Goku. Ready to fight?"

"I mean, yeah. But don't you guys have something to settle first? I sense a little bit of tension between you."

Simultaneously, both the Other Trunks and I spoke.

"It's nothing."

A little bit disoriented hearing two of the same people talk at the same time, Goku nervously laughed.

"Well… Since you both say so, I guess I'll just drop it then. Anyway, I'm ready."

"Same here."

I replied.

"Glad to hear. I'm all psyched up! I haven't been able to stretch out my legs in a good bit." He expressed while lunging side to side.

Walking a couple of feet away from the bum in the chair, Goku and I stood across from one another. He, in his Super Saiyan form, while I, in my base.

"So uh… You gonna transform or what? I want this to be a fair match."

"Goku… I'm gonna be real honest with you. You wouldn't be able to handle me if I transformed. Me being in base is the best chance you have."

While we were having this conversation, other Trunks clicked his tongue and popped out a capsule that contained a personal fridge. Reaching inside, he started to grub on some ice cream.

"Come on. It's not like I'll get another chance to fight a Super Saiyan anytime soon. Plus,it doesn't really matter if I win or lose. I just wanna have some fun!"

"No."

If I ascended, I'd be strong enough to take on the Androids of not just of my time, but this one as well. Current Goku was nowhere near them. Atleast, not yet, anyway.

"Please?"

He begged, clasping his hands together.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

He continued to plead.

"No."

"But why? It's not like you can't do it, Right? I just want a good fight! I haven't had one since Frieza. I would've, but you guys killed em before I could get here." He sulked.

"Technically speaking, Goku, that was his fault. I only killed his dad. If that were me personally, I wouldn't take that." Other Trunks voiced, instigating the situation.

"See? You kinda owe me in a way."

Goku added on.

Shaking my head, I glanced back at Other Trunks and saw that he was unconcerned with anything and just continued munching down on his snack foods.

"Goku. If I transformed, there wouldn't be a fight."

I reasoned. I mastered Super Saiyan. I had access to almost every grade. I didn't even need to transform to beat Cell in his semi-perfect form. The only reason I did was because I was under an extreme level of stress.

Meanwhile, I knew for a fact that Goku had only managed to unlock the beginning stage of Super Saiyan, yet, Right now his eyes were projecting the anticipation of a child asking his parents to take him to an amusement park.

"But I can already feel your Ki! I know how strong you are right now. I wanna see how much stronger a person at your level can get if you stack Super Saiyam on top of that. I'm supposed to be training for the next 3 years, right? Well, to get stronger, I gotta see where the bar is. How else am I gonna know what I'm aiming for?" He spoke out with conviction in his tone.

"Wait…can sense my Ki right now?"

I let out with surprise.

Perking his ears up, Other Trunks interrupted.

"Wait, Goku. You sound like you're implying that he's stronger than you without having the need to go Super Saiyan… That can't be right, right?"

He wasn't just surprised. He was stunned at Goku's statement. Reason being, Goku was stronger than him.

"Yeah. He's stronger. By a lot too."

Goku replied, casually.

In his words, at the corner of my eye, I saw that Other Trunks' skin pigment shifted 3 pigments lighter, but I wasn't focused on something else.

My Ki had been suppressed ever since I killed Frieza.

To detect a person's energy while their target remained suppressed, an individual's perceptual skills and Ki mastery would have had to have been at an extremely advanced grade.

Either that, or they'd have to be leagues above their target in terms of strength, but even then, a strong individual still had to have at least an intermediate understanding of Ki to sniff out a person's true power level when suppressed. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been able to detect me.

This had made me wonder what kind of knowledge he held. What roamed in that mind of his that others didn't know about?

"Yeah. I can sense you. I've been able to this whole time. Even while I was in space on my way here. That's why I'm so amped to see you transform. I just know it would be like being in another world!" He said, resisting the urge to jump with excitement.

"But… How? I thought I'd been doing a good job of disguising myself."

My Ki control… It was my strong suit when it came to my combat skills. Hearing that he was able to sense me felt a little discouraging.

"Well, When I trained with the Yardrats on their planet, they taught me a whole bunch of new ways to use Ki. It's what led up to me learning instant transmission. One of the tricks I learned was memorizing a person's life imprint."

Life imprint? What was he talking about? In all my years of training, not one time did Gohan mention a life imprint. Wasn't that just Ki. I couldn't help myself. I had to ask.

"But what does a person's life imprint entail, exactly? Ki is life energy. Isn't that the same thing as a life imprint?"

"I mean… It is, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Seeing a person's Life Imprint is like reading a person's soul, essentially. Well, not just people, but planets, and animals, and plants too."

"But you said it helped you sense my Ki? How does a life imprint help with that?" I inquired.

"How, is the easy part to explain. Life imprints are like Ki, but not."

He stated, scratching the back of his head.

"What I learned over on Yardart was a little different than sensing Ki, but it's the same in a way. Let me give you an example."

"Following…"

"You see, think of it like this. Imagine that a person is a house." He added.

"Mmhmm."

"All houses have windows, Right?"

"Yeah, last time I checked."

"Well, when you're sensing a person's Ki, it's like looking into a window. The problem is, if that person has shades, you can't see the inside of their house anymore."

The shades he was referring to was of course, a person suppressing their power level.

"Right… still following."

"Right. But once you get to understand a person's life imprint, it's like breaking into a window. But you can only detect an imprint if you've sensed a person's Ki before, or if you've looked in that window before. Does that make sense?"

"Wait… we've never met before. So does that mean you looked through my metaphorical window when I was fighting Frieza?"

"Bingo!"

He said while playfully giving me a thumbs up.

"So… That means from that point on, you've been able to effectively know my location, know how strong I've gotten, and can teleport to me anytime you feel like it?"

"Wow. You catch on fast… but to do any of that, I have to be pretty focused. Also, when you put it like that, it almost makes me seem like a stalker."

He giggled, putting his finger under his nose.

"Is there a limit on distance with instant transmission?"

I asked.

"Well, the distance really relies on the user, really. Also, how good they are at sensing Ki… Hey! Wait a minute. You're not trying to get me to teach you Instant Transmission before fighting me, are you? Are you doing that on purpose?"

"Not really. I was just amazed by your ability. Seems really handy."

"yeah. It really is something. You'll learn more when I teach you. We're supposed to be fighting right now."

He said, getting into a combative stance.

"Alright then."

"Still not gonna go Super Saiyan?"

Thinking for a moment to myself, he did have a point. Right off the bat, I did see Goku as a potential sparring partner. Perhaps, showing him my transformation wouldn't have been that bad of an idea.

"How about this… After I win, I'll transform. I'll go full power."

"Really? You won't go back on your word?"

"Really… I will."

Unfortunately for him, the only full power I was gonna show him was Super Saiyan Grade 4. I was saving Super Saiyan 2 for Cell as a welcoming gift.

"Sweet! Let's get to it right away then."

Without missing a beat, Goku surged forward with a flying kick so fast that one would have mistaken his leg for blade cutting through wind if they had their eyes shut.

The moment before he struck, I lifted my foreman up to block.

"*boom*"

Causing my arms to slighly sting while dust to flew in every which way, with his flight, he continued to push me back as if I was on roller skates. That was until I planted my feet on the ground with two heavy stomps, regaining my balance.

Reaching a stalemate, he commented.

"Boy, are you tuff."

"Likewise."

"But it isn't over yet."

He announced.

Putting his fingers to his forehead, in an instant, he faded away, disallowing me to feel his presence any longer.But in that same instance, I felt his energy to my right, blipping back into reality.

Before I could react to his metallization, there were five knuckles warping my jaw, making me bite down on my cheek, and causing me to bleed.

There was no conceivable way to respond to him. The feeling was akin to blinking and opening your eyes only to realize you were in a different room moments ago.

"*booom*"

For the first time since arriving, I was sent soaring, crashing skywards into a nearby mountain as if I was a stamp made for geodes.

The punch… It made me almost bite my tongue off. But pain wasn't something I was a stranger to.

"*crack*"

Breaking myself out of the peak like an action figure out of packaging, I dusted myself off, seeing that Goku hadn't left the spot where he had initially landed his blow.

He was waiting for me.

Steadily, I approached rubbing the spot where he hit me.

"That had some bite to it. That punch could have definitely killed someone."

"That's why I tested you with that kick I threw before. I figured that if you could take that head-on, then a little jab wouldn't hurt." He said, cracking his knuckles.

"A little jab? That's what that was?"

I asked, which caused him to smile.

"Haha. Don't take it personal, how else am I gonna get you to transform?"

"That's fair… Mind if I return the favor with my own little jab?" I grinned.

"That's assuming you're fast enough to touch me."

He provoked with a grin.

Dashing towards Goku with my arms extended as if I was gonna try to tackle him, he attempted to hit me with a spinning heel kick aimed at my face.

Failing to see that this was a feint, he proceeded with his attack, as I assumed he would. Slightly shifting my trajectory in the air like a snake with wings, I wrapped my arms around his right leg, kicking off of the ground with enough momentum to flip him.

Taken off guard, Goku didn't have adequate time to react as it was already too late.

"*Boom*"

Slamming him with enough force to fissure the land beneath us, his body had formed a cavity as deep as the one his space pod created upon arrival.

Although I used a considerable amount of strength to slam him, the man appeared to be fine on the outside.

"Haha! I can't lie. I didn't see that one coming. I didn't think you'd take advantage of that opening."

He said while I stood over him laying on his back in a pit of dirt.

"Better not let that happen again."

He chuckled.

Swiftly rolling over to his side, Goku attempted a leg sweep.

Predicting this, I jumped in the air avoiding his kick.

Using the excess moment of his kick, he got back on his feet as if he was a professional breakdancer.

Not wasting any time, he darted at me with an elbow aimed at my face.

Seeing me catch his arm, he headbutted the bridge of my nose, disorientating me for a moment, providing himself a small window of time. With it, grabbed my shoulders, pulling me in so that he could knee me in my chest.

Catching his knee with both of my hands, I held him in place, retracting my left leg to a fold.

"*Boom*"

I struck his shin kick powerful enough to disintegrate steel upon contact, causing his face to contort.

"Agh!"

Cringing in pain, Goku's entire body spun 180 degrees, but even in a state of slight distress, he maintained his composure, forming and launching a Ki blast at my stomach.

"*Boom*"

As I slid backward due to the drastic force, Goku somersaulted in retreat, readying himself once more.

Advancing forward with a fist from afar, instead of retreating, Goku met me in the middle, clashing with me fist to fist, knocking us both back with an explosion of pressure.

"*Boom*"

With haste, he and I ran back at each other at full velocity as if two earthling-sized bullets were shot with Ki-based gunpowder.

Unlike last time, this time when we met, neither of us were propelled back. Instead, I threw a powerful hook which was narrowly dodged by Goku ducking.

Aiming for an uppercut with his right arm, Goku jolted upwards as if his thigh muscles had pistons in them.

Leaning back, I evaded his fist.

Twisting my hips, I aimed a right overhead punch aimed between his eyebrows.

"*Boom*"

Sending him tumbling back, Goku bounced off of the ground and ascended into the air, launching a flurry of Ki blasts at me like a machine gun.

"*Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom*"

Determining that the skies were the best chance to avoid the attacks, I flew through the air, avoiding each one as I inched closer to the man while explosions set off in the distance.

As I flew closer, Goku's accuracy started to increase as if he had laser focus and was expecting my next chess move until dodging was no longer an option.

Concentrating my Ki into my hands, I clapped my hands together, opening them slowly, creating a dark purple ring wand of Ki big enough for a body to fit in.

To spectators, it looked as if the inside of the ring had a thin translucent bubble-like texture in the center. But what it really was was a defensive maneuver I created called the Adephagia shield.

Pulling the wand over my head and enveloping my entire body with a thin aura bubble, I was coated in a purple layer of absorbent Ki whilst the wand I used to cast it disappeared.

Allowing myself to be hit with Goku's volley, the purple layer began to greedily consume his attacks, glowing brighter and brighter as the exterior of my body began to heat up.

Noticing I wasn't being affected by his onslaught, Goku halted his attacks, getting into a defensive posture, preparing for what was to come. Although cautious, he was also slightly intrigued. This time, his curiosity would get him in trouble.

Throwing a sloppy-looking, heavily projected slow straight, Goku caught my fist in his hand.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're getting tired already. I thought that purple aura around you was gonna do something. I guess it was just for show."

He said, smugly.

In his defense, I was sweating intensely and breathing heavily. But it wasn't because I was tired. I was hot and felt like I was on fire. This was the first time I had used this prototype skill in battle and I hadn't even come close to mastering it.

"Not tired. Just hot."

Confused by my words, Goku was about to go for a punch until he realized that my aura had rapidly dimmed on every spot on my body… Every spot except my hand he had been holding on to.

"What the-!"

Panicking, Goku was about to let go, but it was too late.

"*Booom*"

A mighty explosion that consisted of his own redirected Ki knocked him back so forcefully that he was sent flying hundreds of miles away with a now singed palm.

After about 40 seconds, I could feel him flying toward me.

Breaking, he looked at me in amazement.

"What the heck was that? That felt like you just hit me with my own energy!" He sounded off with a hand that looked like it had been put to a flame.

"That's because it was your energy. It's a new skill I'm working on. It's still in the trial period."

"You mean to tell me that wasn't even the full version of it yet?! That's insane!" He cried out.

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

"You really fooled me there. I started getting excited thinking I was wearing you down… But you caught me off guard again." He said while soothing his hand.

"What do you say we start taking things a bit more seriously, Trunks?"

Although his hand was damaged, he still looked overall healthy. He was ready to go for round two.

"How serious are we talking?"

Cracking his neck and knuckles, Goku replied, "I don't want you to hold back. I won't either, starting now."

He smiled.

"But, I don't think I can do that in good conscious.This is supposed to be a spar."

"What?! Why not?"

"This whole time, I haven't really been trying."

Frowning at my words, Goku looked at me with frustration.

"Fine then. If you don't want to take me seriously, I'll make you take me seriously. Kaio-Ken times 2!"

His aura exploded. His muscles bludged. His veins had become so inflamed that they were as thick as the roots of a tree. Most of all… His Power Level rose as high as mine.

Kaio-ken times 2 wasn't a technique that doubled a person's power. Regular Kaio-Ken did. Multiplying it by 2 would mean that Goku, on top of being Super Saiyan, Had quadrupled his power

"Ka…Me…Ha… Me…"

"W-wait! Hold on Goku. Hear me out!"

Not replying, Goku gathered more and more Ki to the extent that the orb that was formulating in his hands started to glow as bright as the sun, illuminating everything around.

"Goku! Realx! It's not that serious!"

I yelled.

Still charging his attack, his power level began to skyrocket, surpassing my own.

It doubled.

It tripled.

As he charged, others around began to panic and were running to the battlefield.

"Goku! Stop! You're actually gonna kill him at this rate!"

Shouted Other Trunks.

"Dad! What are you doing!" Gohan shouted from the ground.

As we had been fighting the entire time, the others had been spectating, following us as Goku and I continued our brawl.

"What are you doing Kakarot? You're going to destroy the planet along with us, all because you can't take an honorable defeat from my alleged Son!" Father screamed.

"Stop it, Goku!"

Krillin shrieked as he sweated profusely.

As his Ki grew higher, Goku's Kamehameha started to erupt in blue flames.

'Oh shit…'

As that thought was established in my mind, Goku held the energy wave in one hand while putting two fingers on his head with his free hand.

Then, a memory played… One that occurred involved a situation very similar to this one.

Then, Goku's presence disappeared, reappearing behind me. Instinctively, I shrouded the entirety of my body with as much Ki as I could, creating a shield for the oncoming blast.

"Ha!!!!!!!"

"*Boooom*"

His blast was so intense that it burned the shirt off of my back, melting my skin beneath, knocking all the air out of my lungs while I was being rocket-propelled into the air.

As I continued to be carried by the wave, more and more of my body began to burn. Far worse than the Adephagia shield had. If I didn't do something quick, I would die.

Realizing this, I had no other choice. As the earth got more distant, I decided it was time to let loose.

"*Boom*"

Letting the pent-up energy in my body release, an explosion of familiar golden aura irradiated off of my being, filling my veins with power and enhancing all of my senses to the highest degree.

Even though I was currently riding a wave of destruction that threatened my existence as I made my way towards the stratosphere, my transformation that I had gotten to know intimately over the past two years had flooded my body with strength, providing me the blissful feeling of power. No longer did I feel the threat of death. Now, I would face it.

Flipping over to face the attack, reaching for Noir and Owl, I coated them with Ki, preparing for the Adephagia Blades.

Holding my blades in the shape of a cross, the Adephagias began to work their magic, devouring the vicious Ki aimed to threaten my life.

Like vicious animals, they ate and ate until there was nothing left of the blast.

Filled to the brim with Ki, I aimed the swords toward the sky, expunging their energy.

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I wiped the sweat off my face while crimson liquid dripped off of my back.

I was shocked. I didn't know that Goku had access to the Kaio-ken while in his Super Saiyan state. If I had even slacked for a moment with putting my Ki shield up, I probably would have received severe life-threatening injuries.

Even so… Although I wanted to be, I couldn't bring myself to get angry at Goku. In fact, for some odd reason, in the split moment where I thought that I would die… the sick masochist thrill-seeking Saiyan side of me was excited to face off against someone actually capable of putting up a fight.

"*sigh*"

"The hell is wrong with me."