STRAYS

Chapter 1

The warm, coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as he slammed into the dirt. A quick probe with his tongue affirmed that no teeth had been dislodged; he was thankful for that.

Aching, abused muscles protested as the youth pushed himself off the ground, staggering several steps away from his impact crater. He clutched his left shoulder, which had popped out of its socket. Gritting his teeth, he forced the dislocated joint back into place, then turned—

—just in time to receive a taloned foot to the face. He slid several metres on his back, digging a furrow in the blasted soil. Picking himself back up while fighting to ignore the pain stabbing through his abused, injured body, he dodged a piercing beam, returning fire with a volley of ovoid ki-blasts. His shots struck the large reptilian helmet, barely scorching its silvery surface. The skull-like face grinned, hissing evilly. "Foolish boy...you are no match for me! Your miserable life ends here!"

The youth gulped air, his lungs burning; a rib was likely broken. Reaching into his pocket, he closed a fist around a small object, which he brought to his lips and popped into his mouth. The mystical properties of the magic bean immediately coursed through his body, soothing his aches and revitalising him. Glaring at his silver-armoured foe, he ground out, "I don't know who you are, but for what you have done to this world...I will never forgive you. You will die here."

"Is that so?" the reptilian skull's eyes flashed with mirth, a sinister chuckle rasping from a hidden mouth. "Well, let me tell you something, boy. I know who you are. Oh yes...I know who you are all too well." The eyes began to glow an angry red colour. "I killed your father. I killed your father's father. I destroyed the world of your birthright. And now, son of a worthless monkey, I will kill you, and destroy this world!"

The lavender-haired youth's heart skipped a beat. "Masaka...it couldn't be..."

"Oh, but it is," the silver figure cackled. "Oh, but it IS!"

"Chikushou...!" Rage began to boil through the youth's veins. "I destroyed you once! I will destroy you again!" A wordless scream of rage ripped from his throat, the very earth trembling with his fury. A golden aura flared around the youth as his hair began to rise, shifting from pale lavender to a bright golden colour as it stiffened into spiky tufts. His sharp blue eyes glowed, changing to a piercing green colour. The seams of his blue jacket strained as his body developed extra muscle mass. His battle cry died in the wake of a sonic boom, and the earth beneath him finally gave under the strain, a crater spreading several metres from his feet. The transformed youth glared at his opponent.

The skull helmet smirked back.

A loud beep overrode the whooshing roar of the boy's aura. Cursing, he reached into his pocket, and withdrew a small, square device. "Hai," he spoke into the microphone grid.

//Trunks!// a woman's voice rang from the tinny speaker, crackling with static. //What's going on? Where are you?//

"Okaasan," he said quietly, "I'm a little busy at the moment."

//Trunks, you have to hurry! There's no time! Get back here before it's too late!//

"Shinpaishinai, Okaasan. I'll make it in time. I have something to finish first."

//Trunks, we've only got five minutes before the planet blows! What could you possibly have to finish that's more important than getting the HELL out of here?// the voice snapped impatiently.

"Freeza," Trunks said simply, before closing the link and pocketing the communicator.

"Well," the silver reptile said, arms crossed. "Are you finished with your little chit-chat? Are you ready to die now, monkey?"

"My name is not monkey," the Saiyajin growled. "My name is Trunks!"

"Your name is whatever I carve on your tombstone!" Freeza roared, before disappearing in a blur of speed.

* * * * *

For over three minutes, Freeza and Trunks blasted across the surface of the scorched world, past crumbled buildings, burned-out wrecks of cars, and far too many dead bodies. Every attack Trunks landed seemed to do no damage to the gleaming silver shell Freeza had acquired, while Freeza's attacks were introducing the last living Saiyajin to a new world of pain.

The battle seemed to be going badly, when Trunks managed to grab hold of Freeza's helmet after blocking an attack. Holding on tight, he built up as much power as he dared, and unleashed it directly into the metallic skull. A blinding flash of light and a scream of tearing metal rewarded him, followed by Freeza's scream of disbelief, agony, and rage. Trunks quickly put distance between himself and the alien.

"YOU HALF-BREED BASTARD!" Freeza roared, clutching his face. Bits of his helmet dropped to the ground, and Trunks could see the gleaming purple dome of Freeza's head. The alien looked up, blood oozing from one eye, the other bloodshot with fury. "I'll KILL YOU!"

"Some other time," Trunks replied, firing a volley of powerful blasts at Freeza's exposed head. As the alien dodged and blocked, Trunks rushed in, forming a blazing arc of ki around his fist, a compact form of the Kienzan favoured by a long-dead comrade. The energy blade hissed against Freeza's armour as the murderous creature blocked, sparks flashing in the darkness.

Finally, mustering every bit of speed he could manage, Trunks blurred behind the alien, and brought his hand down in a wide, arcing slash. His strike was rewarded with a spray of blood—and the sight of Freeza's head flying away from his body.

Dissipating his ki blade, Trunks reached out with his senses, searching for the only two other ki signatures on the planet, and blasted off in the direction of his mother's escape craft.

Had he waited five more seconds, he would have seen a thick mass of silver cables spew from the bleeding neck of Freeza's body, forming a metallic spine which plunged into the base of the severed head, pulling it back into its former position. He would have seen silver threads, like sutures, lace themselves through the torn flesh, neatly reattaching the head.

He would have seen Freeza's sinister grin as the alien got his bearings, and took off after his quarry.

* * * * *

"Get the hell in here, Trunks! We don't have any more time!"

Powering down, Trunks stepped into the spherical ship, glancing around. The interior was in disarray, bundles of cables snaking this way and that out of a column of machinery in the centre of the control room. A pair of boots poked out from under the console. A few sparks burst from the ship's control panel, and a stream of cursing issued forth from the mostly-hidden figure.

Finally, a few seconds later, a pair of hands gripped the base of the console, and a disheveled, grime-encrusted, blue-haired woman pulled herself out into the open. Noticing her son, Bulma frowned. "It's about time you got here," she said.

"Gomen nasai, Okaasan," Trunks replied. "Are we ready to go?"

"Almost," Bulma replied. "The jumper drive is charging up right now."

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible," Trunks said. "I'm not sure if I finished that bastard off or not."

"Are you sure that was Freeza?" Bulma asked. "I mean...I thought he was destroyed for good."

"So did I," Trunks said. "But it was him. I saw his face."

"Worry about it later, guys!" a gruff voice called from below. A squat, stout figure shrouded in wild, spiky hair pulled itself up from the lower level, holding a candy bar in one hand, and a digital timer in the other. Gesticulating with the timer, he added, "We've got about 20 seconds before the planet explodes!"

"Right," Bulma said, making her way over to the control panel. "Strap yourselves in, guys," she warned. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride."

Bulma pressed a sequence of buttons. The control panel began flashing various warnings and readouts. The lights dimmed, and the column in the centre of the room began to throb ominously. Everything began to shake as the modified Capsule Corp spaceship began attempting to defy the laws of physics and nature. A large timer display began counting down the last crucial seconds.

[0:06]

The vibrations of the ship rattled Trunks' teeth, and he almost considered powering up to brace himself against the shock.

[0:05]

A massive earthquake ripped through the devastated planet, razing everything left standing to the ground.

[0:04]

A silver streak blazed across the black sky, bearing down on its target with hellish fury.

[0:03]

The roar of air rushing to fill a vacuum drowned out all sound as the very sky seemed to tear open above the ship, which was pulled into the tear by the sheer pressure.

[0:02]

Sprays of lava boiled from the ground as the seismic forces tossed various and sundry debris into the air.

[0:01]

The Capsule Corp vessel disappeared into the tear in a blinding flash of light, accompanied by a steady stream of debris.

[0:00]

With a massive eruption of hellfire and a percussive roar that, unfortunately, could only be heard at ground zero, Chikyuu exploded.

* * * * *

Smoke filled the cabin of the ship; the sound of sizzling circuits and spitting sparks was the only thing that could be heard.

"Ugh..." Bulma moaned. "...Trunks? Yajirobe?"

A violent retching sound erupted from off to her right. "Oh man, and I thought bungee-jumping off Karin-tou was a ride," the squat swordman groused.

The smoke slowly began to clear. The scientist could just barely make out the outline of her son standing nearby.

"I have good news and bad news," Trunks said without preamble.

"I hate it when people say that."

The young warrior chuckled. "The good news is, we're alive. It worked."

"And the bad news?" Yajirobe prompted.

"The bad news is, the jumper drive fried itself, and took the main engine with it. Wherever we are now, we're not going anywhere else anytime soon."

Bulma groaned. "Great. I barely got that thing working the first time."

"Hey, at least we're alive, right?" Yajirobe dug around in his pocket for another candy bar. "But where are we?"

"That...I don't know," Trunks admitted.

The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes, pushed unsteadily to her feet, and joined her son at the console. "What a mess!" Brushing soot off the panel, she worked at the controls until a readout began scrolling on the cracked screen above them. Her brow furrowed. "Well, wherever we are, everything's just like home...same atmosphere, same climate. I can't get very detailed readings because most of the sensor equipment is fried." Suddenly, a flickering light on the readout caught her attention, and she cursed.

"What's wrong, Okaasan?" Trunks asked.

"We're buried," Bulma said, frowning. "Looks like our portal opened underground...the hatch is blocked off by solid earth."

"Great, so we managed to avoid being blown to bits...and now we're gonna suffocate to death," Yajirobe grumbled.

Trunks looked up at the display, narrowed his eyes, and raised a palm. His hand glowed...

Less than a second later, bright sunlight shone down into the battered spaceship. Bulma blinked, then glowered at her son, hands on her hips. "You realise I'm gonna have to fix that before we can fly again."

"It'll give you something to do with yourself," Trunks replied with a shrug. "Going up?"

"Why don't you go ahead and scout around first, Trunks?" Bulma asked. "We'll stay here and see what we can salvage from this wreck while you make sure the world up there is safe."

"Hai," the purple-haired youth replied, rising slowly through the hole in the ship's roof.

* * * * *

The compass in his watch informed him the position of the sun was east; assuming this world was as similar to his own as it appeared, that meant it was early to mid-morning here.

He took in the surrounding landscape from his vantage point several dozen metres off the ground. His keen vision picked up telltale glints of sun on steel and glass that told him there were cities here; fairly advanced ones, at or near the level of his own world, if he was any judge.

Some distance away, a tall, broad purple mountain stood majestically; some distance from that, more directly to his east, there was an incredibly large city. He climbed slightly as he flew closer; until he was sure the natives were friendly, he didn't want to risk showing up on any detection systems or being spotted from the ground.

The city was enormous. From his vantage point, he could tell that it spread out for perhaps dozens of kilometres; near its centre, a massive radio tower glistened in the morning sun.

Descending to ground level, Trunks pulled out the capsule case he rarely used these days and selected a motorcycle capsule. As nonchalantly as possible, he clicked and threw it, looking around to make sure nobody saw him. Confident that he hadn't been spotted, he hopped on the bike and sped off toward the city.

* * * * *

"Did you see that?"

Two men having a piss by a tree watched the motorcycle speed away, blinking.

"Naw. I didn't see nuthin'."

* * * * *

"Are you going to help me clear out some of this junk, or are you going to sit there stuffing your face?"

Yajirobe looked at the irate scientist, mouth rimmed with chocolate from his latest candy bar. "Sit here stuffing my face."

Bulma growled. "You know, I'd expect a little more gratitude, since I did save your LIFE by bringing you along."

The spiky-haired swordsman smacked his lips, muttered "thanks", and continued munching his snack. Bulma rolled her eyes in disgust, then cast a glance skyward.

"I hope Trunks is okay out there..."

* * * * *

The city was getting closer. He knew now it was called Tokyo; the language on the signs being familiar was a pleasant discovery.

If it weren't for the fact he'd never heard of a Tokyo, the Saiyajin would swear he was back in the past of his homeworld, when everyone was still alive.

One peculiar thing he'd noticed was the proliferation of vending machines. The closer he got to Tokyo, the more of them there were standing alongside the road, in front of small shops, in front of what looked to be residential buildings, everywhere. Some advertised various beverages, others food and snack items; a few seemed to contain things Trunks was sure he'd rather not know about.

He slowed his bike to pay closer attention to his surroundings, and happened to pass a small business with a vending machine containing maps and guidebooks. Stopping, he pulled off the road and into the lot, examining the contents. He frowned at the money slot; he had a hunch the zenni of his world wouldn't be accepted by machines that took...yen? Trunks' brow furrowed. "I need money," he muttered.

He glanced at the door of the shop. "Hmm." After a moment of contemplation, he went inside.

* * * * *

"Excuse me, sir," he said to the middle-aged man behind the counter.

"Hmm? Yes, can I help you?"

Trunks shifted for a moment. "I've travelled a long way from home, and don't have any money. I'm in a bit of a tight spot because I don't know the first thing about Tokyo. I was hoping..." He paused. "Do you have any work you need done around here for pay, just for today? Anything at all."

The man behind the counter sized Trunks up. "Hmm. Well, y'look like a strong enough young fella. I reckon I can find somethin' for ya to do, if'n ya just need a day's pay."

The purple-haired boy bowed. "I appreciate it."

* * * * *

Despite the fact that school and work commence on Saturday in Japan, it's still a slow day. Students are looking forward to spending the afternoon with their friends, to say nothing of their Sunday activities, and salarymen look forward to their day off, be it spending time with their family, going out on the town for a day, or just staying at home relaxing.

Even the most studious of pupils in Japan tend to be a bit lethargic on Saturday. Which is why one particular girl could perhaps be forgiven for not noticing a signal coming from a pocket computer in her schoolbag.

After all, even Mizuno Ami takes it easy on Saturday.

* * * * *

"Whoa! Take it easy there, sonny! You're gonna burn yerself out!"

The shopkeeper had to admit he was impressed. Already, the boy—"Trunks", what an odd name!—had swept the entire floor, washed the windows, cleaned the restroom, and done the work his shiftless stockboy couldn't manage to do in three days. It wasn't even ten in the morning yet, and already he was running out of chores for his dayworker.

"Don't worry about me, this is nothing," the lavender-haired youth said with a casual wave of his hand. He stood by a refrigerated display case in the back of the store, frowning. "You know this unit's about to go, don't you?"

"Hmm?" The older man glanced up. "Oh, that old thing. Yeah...I've been havin' trouble with that for months. I've been meanin' ta get a new one, but..."

The boy pulled a small case out of his jacket, then frowned. "I'll be right back, I need to get my tools from my bike."

"Huh? Uh...okay, sure."

A moment later, Trunks walked back in carrying a toolkit. "Let's see..." he muttered.

The shopkeeper watched in amazement as the young man opened up the back of the refrigerator, not bothering to unplug it, and began to tinker around inside. Less than ten minutes later, he put away his tools, closed up the unit, and slid it effortlessly back against the wall. The odd rattling noise it had been making had ceased, and it was humming quietly along. "Temp looks about right now," Trunks announced. "It just needed a couple bad wires fixed."

"Why didn't you tell me you was some kinda 'lectrician, boy?" the older man asked, stepping around the counter and walking over to inspect his cooler. "Hell, I gotta lotta little things that need fixin' up."

"Alright, show me where to start," Trunks said, smiling.

* * * * *

Bulma cursed as the console she was under caught fire. "DAMMIT!" she screamed. "I'm getting sick of this thing." Pulling herself out into the cabin, she coughed twice, brushed some soot off her face, and kicked the console angrily, then pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it on the flames from the circuitry.

"Aren't you...gonna put that out?" Yajirobe asked in disbelief.

"No, I'm not," Bulma huffed. "Wherever we are, we can live here, and we've got capsules, so what's the point of fixing this stupid piece of shit?"

"Yeah? Well what if Trunks comes back and says the whole planet's overrun by Jinzouningen or Saiyajin or something?"

Bulma shrugged. "Shoganai."

The rotund man crossed his arms and frowned, his pudgy cheeks puffing like a blowfish. "Well that's just great."

"Anyway, quit complaining and do something useful!" Bulma snapped. "We need to have all our stuff gathered up when Trunks comes back so we can blow outta here."

"Hai, hai..."

* * * * *

By midafternoon, Trunks had repaired or done minor upkeep on every electrical appliance in the shop. He wiped his brow, replacing his tools in his toolkit. "That should about do it."

"Son, I gotta say, yer a lifesaver. I'm mighty lucky you came along; ain't no tellin' how much I'd be out for all th' stuff you just fixed. An' my store ain't been this clean an' tidy in months."

The youth coloured slightly at the praise. "Just trying to be helpful," he said.

"Well, I rightly can't think of a blessed thing there's left to do or fix, so I reckon you done earned yer keep." Walking over to the counter, the middle-aged man opened the safe and began counting out a small stack of bills. He also placed a roll of coins beside them. "I reckon fifty thousand yen oughtta cover yer pay."

Trunks blinked. "I couldn't accept that much..."

The shopkeeper waved down his protests. "That's not even half what you saved me on th' stuff you fixed, an' you did a week's worth'a work in a day. You earned it." He handed the lavender-haired boy the money. "There's some change there too, for vendin' machines and whatnot."

Trunks bowed. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." The older man sighed. "I kinda wish I could talk you inta stayin' on full-time, but..."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not even sure how long I'm staying in the area."

"I understand. Life on the road can't be easy."

"Thank you again, sir." Trunks bowed, then left the shop.

"That young feller's somethin' else," the shopkeeper said, chuckling.

* * * * *

Once outside the store, Trunks encapsullated his tools, then threw his motorcycle capsule again. As he was doing so, the communicator in his pocket beeped.

"Hai," he spoke as he drew it out.

//Trunks? What's taking so long? Is everything alright?//

"Gomen ne, Okaasan. I got sidetracked earning a little local money so I can find out—oops, almost forgot." He walked over to the vending machines, broke open a roll of coins, and purchased two maps of Tokyo and a tourist guide.

//Forgot what?//

"Just getting a little local data. This is a pretty nice place, Okaasan. It's a lot like home. Well, home before..."

//So you think we could live here?// Bulma asked.

"Well, the natives seem pretty friendly so far. At least the guy in the shop I was working at was nice. I'm going to head into a city they call Tokyo and have a look around. It's a pretty big place...bigger than West City used to be."

//Any dangerous animals or anything?//

"None I've seen. I don't think there are even any dinosaurs here."

//No dinosaurs? How weird!//

"Yeah. How's the ship?"

//A total loss. That's why I called...we're staying on this world.//

Trunks looked off into the distance, at the enormous mountain, and the area on the outskirts of Tokyo. "I can live with that."

//So you were able to find work today, you say? What kind of work?//

"Eh, I cleaned up a convenience store and fixed a refrigerator and a few other things. Nothing major."

//I see. So there's technology, huh?//

"Yep...pretty close to what I saw in the past, maybe a little more primitive. Oh, and I don't think they have capsule technology here. That's an advantage we have in our favour."

//Cool. I can rebuild Capsule Corporation here and we won't have to worry about money or food or anything.//

"Are you two okay back there? I can come back and get you if I need to..."

//No, we'll just sit tight for now. The human garbage disposal is finally moving his lazy butt getting our stuff together.//

Trunks chuckled. "Well, I'll spend the rest of the day checking out Tokyo, stay somewhere cheap in the city tonight, and come back to the ship tomorrow morning. By then I should have a fairly good idea of what to expect."

//Sounds good to me. Be careful, okay?//

"Always." Taking a moment to stuff the maps, guidebook, and communicator in his pocket, the young Saiyajin gunned his bike into motion, riding off into the vast urban jungle called Tokyo.

* * * * *

Tsukino Usagi yawned and stretched as she, Aino Minako, Mizuno Ami, and Kino Makoto cleared the gates of Juuban High. "Ahh, I'm hungry!" Usagi said.

"You're always hungry," Makoto pointed out with a giggle.

"It's because I'm healthy and energetic!" the odango-haired blond said with a wink.

"You're in a good mood today," Minako commented.

Usagi smiled. "I'm having a date with Mamo-chan tonight! Even nasty Rei-chan can't spoil today!"

The others quickly looked around to make sure the raven-haired priestess didn't materialise out of thin air. "You shouldn't say such things," Ami chided.

"Anyway, should we go to Crown?" Makoto asked.

"Sounds good to me!" Usagi chirped. The four girls changed course, heading for their favourite arcade and snack parlour.

* * * * *

The four girls arrived at Crown Game Center to find Hino Rei already there. A brief bit of bickering ensued between Usagi and Rei as the girls moved to the upstairs snack bar and took their usual table.

Shortly after they'd ordered their treats, two older girls approached the table. "Yo, Odango," the taller of the two greeted with a jaunty wave.

"Haruka-san, Michiru-san!" Usagi smiled. The two older girls normally didn't spend much time with the other Senshi, but they were still greeted with open friendliness by the reincarnated princess, despite their legendary standoffishness.

The two older Senshi sat down with the rest, leaning in close. "We were hoping to talk to you today," Michiru said.

"Oh? What's up?"

"The waves washed up strange driftwood from the sea this morning," the aqua-haired Senshi began cryptically.

"The wind whispered about an errant cloud in the sky," Haruka added.

The five younger girls looked at one another, then at Haruka and Michiru. "Huh?" Usagi replied.

Haruka sighed and shook her head. "Something's up. We don't know what, but we both felt it."

"That's odd," Ami commented. "I'm sure my computer would have..." Trailing off, she dug into her bookbag and withdrew the compact Mercury computer. A moment of work on the controls, and her eyes widened. "You're right. There was a dimensional breach at 8:17 this morning, 17.9 kilometres west of Tokyo. How did I miss this?"

"It's Saturday," Usagi shrugged. "Who worries about anything on Saturday?"

"So is this a new enemy?" Makoto asked.

"We aren't sure," Haruka admitted. "It doesn't feel evil, just...alien."

"The sea became calm again afterward," Michiru added. "An enemy would disturb the waves far more than this."

"I'm not sensing anything evil," Rei said after a moment. "We might want to ask Luna and Artemis later."

* * * * *

Trunks was beginning to wonder about some of the people in Tokyo. Three times so far, while he'd been looking around trying to decide which way to go, some of the natives had come up to him and began trying to converse with him in a strange, halting dialect. He'd had no clue what they were saying, but trying to clarify their meaning in Japanese seemed to help; once they realised he spoke it, they began speaking more naturally to him, though all three of them had made some vaguely condescending remarks about how he'd "learned to speak it so well". This annoyed him; being praised for speaking his native language like, well, a native made him feel like some kind of mental retard being rewarded for doing a homework problem right.

A brief study session in his recently-purchased books yielded a clue about the odd behaviour: apparently, foreigners were more or less unilaterally treated this way in Tokyo. *Ah well, not much I can do about that,* he mused.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon local time, and the Saiyajin had made his way to the heart of Tokyo by relying on the public transit system. The diversity of the people coming to and fro in the rail stations amazed him; despite all being ethnically Japanese, there were dozens of subcultures and cliques evidenced in the way they dressed and styled themselves. Frazzled, weary-faced men in suits shuffled through the station with shoulders slumped; cute, perky teenage girls bounced vibrantly along, wearing similary-styled blouse and skirt combinations and chatting animatedly with friends or into cellular phones. Demure women in navy blue blazers and skirts apologized profusely as they bumped into people on their way out of the station; occasionally, one of these encounters would result in the poor women receiving a rude pinch or pat from some of the men they bumped into, yet they merely cast their eyes down and hurried their pace. Trunks scowled at that, but chose not to intervene until he was sure what was actually going on here.

Then there were the more bizarre specimens: young men with oddly spiked hairstyles (bizarre even to a Super Saiyajin) and strange, uneven dye jobs; women his age or slightly older with artificially orange skin, heavy makeup, and flashy clothes, the occasional boy with long, stringy black hair, dangly earrings, and black-painted fingernails. He also noticed that many of the teenage girls and young women going to and fro wore ridiculously large shoes with absurdly high heels; Trunks had seen platform shoes in the past of his world once or twice, so he had a vague idea what the purpose of the footwear was, but he had to wonder how these women were walking without falling and breaking their necks.

Deciding he'd had enough after one more encounter with a well-meaning native who tried to converse with him in a foreign language, Trunks left the station and made his way toward the edifice at the heart of the city, the structure he'd felt compelled to visit for no reason he could particularly identify.

Before him, Tokyo Tower reached up into the sky, the afternoon sun glinting off the high observation windows.

* * * * *

"So, what're we gonna do tomorrow?" Makoto asked the group as they left Crown Game Center.

"We should have a meeting to discuss that dimensional breach," Ami suggested.

"What's to discuss?" Usagi asked. "Rei doesn't sense anything, Haruka and Michiru don't sense anything anymore, I bet Luna and Artemis don't even sense anything, your computer's not reading anything..."

"I hate to admit it, but odango-atama is right," Rei said, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "There's not much point in holding a meeting when we have absolutely no information, or even an idea what might have happened this morning."

"Yeah, for all we know, it might just be Doctor What visiting Earth or something," Minako shrugged.

"Doctor who?" Usagi and Makoto chorused.

"Exactly," the blond replied with a smile.

Ami sighed. "Well then, I guess that's that."

"So, what DO you guys wanna do tomorrow?" the tallest of the girls reiterated.

There was a long moment of silence.

"How about Tokyo Tower?" Usagi offered up a moment later.

The others stared at her. "Tokyo Tower?!" Makoto echoed increduously.

"For god's sake, Usagi, we're not grade schoolers!" Rei snapped.

"I'd like to go to Tokyo Tower," Minako said with a cute pout.

"I'm surprised Usagi-chan would want to do something so cultural," Ami added, slightly impressed.

Rei sighed. "Why Tokyo Tower, though?" she asked.

"Because I heard they're selling these really cute tower-shaped chocolates for tourists in one of the gift shops now," Usagi replied with a big smile.

The others facefaulted.

"It figures," Rei muttered.

"Mou, Usagi-chan..." Ami sighed despairingly.

"Cute chocolates?" Makoto mused.

"Chocolates are good," Minako decided a moment later.

Several moments passed in silence. By the time the girls went their separate ways for the day, they'd more or less agreed to take a trip to Tokyo Tower the next morning.

* * * * *

Trunks stood on the upper observation deck of Tokyo Tower, looking out over the city. He had to admit, it was a breathtaking view. For all its quirks—and he was sure he had just barely scratched the surface of this world's quirkiness—it definitely seemed to be a nice place.

He heard some giggling from about five metres away. It was a group of schoolgirls; he'd seen them when he came in, and they'd spent the better part of a half hour either visiting a small shop at one end of the observation deck, or trying to watch him without being noticed.

"Kakkoi gaijin, ne?"

"Motto suteki!"

It had been going on like that for about the last ten minutes. The lavender-haired teen smirked; for some reason, the antics of the girls amused him.

At length, one of the girls approached him. "Ano...eto...aaa..." Stuttering, she began to speak in very halting 'eigo'. "Ai, amu, aa, miitingu yuu happi...aa, yoa neimu izu uatto puriizu?"

Whatever she'd said, it was obvious she had little idea how to speak that other strange language. Trunks turned and flashed her a smile he'd been told was winsome; normally girls flustered him a bit, but the way this group acted was just so funny he couldn't help but be amused. He definitely had the upper hand here, in any case. Taking a guess at the question he'd been asked, he replied, "My name is Trunks. It's nice to meet you, miss...?"

The girl was obviously startled; across the deck, her friends began to giggle while her cheeks flamed red. "Um, Kaori...my name's Kaori...I just...ah..."

It would have been fun to watch the poor girl try to recover, Trunks thought (where had thoughts like that come from?), but she was interrupted by a sudden squealing of microphone feedback. Trunks' head whipped around sharply.

"AARAITO DAMASSU NIGAAZU!" a large man wearing a long leather trenchcoat and a thick mask over his face roared into a microphone; his voice echoed from the PA speakers around the observation deck. "I'm in control of this tower now, BITCHIZU!" He raised one fist, which clenched a remote control of some kind. "AIMA GANNA BURO ZISU MAZAAFAKKAA AAPU!"

People began screaming. Trunks had no idea what the man had said, but it was a safe bet it hadn't been good. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when the man spread his coat open to reveal a vest covered with sticks of dynamite. The teen sighed. *Even in this world...*

"Now, you listen to ME, HOAZU! ITSU TAIMU YUU DAI!" Several security personnel began converging on him, but a gesture with the detonator in his hand made them stop. "Don't come any closer, FAAKINGU PIGUZU! One step and I blow all this TNT! And I've got bombs outside the tower too! ITSU GANNA BURO, NIGAA!" He threw back his head and laughed.

The detonator vanished from his hand.

"What—?!"

Trunks stood a metre away, holding the remote in one hand. He crushed it with contemptuous ease. "You're not blowing up anything today."

"BITCH! HUU ZA FAKKU AA YUU?!"

"You know, screaming unintelligibly in a foreign language doesn't make you menacing. It makes you look foolish."

A long pause. "FAAKYUU!"

Trunks shrugged. "Whatever." He blurred into motion again.

A few seconds passed. A small pile of dynamite formed on the ground. Another few seconds later, the would-be terrorist lay on the ground, bound by strips of his own trenchcoat. Trunks ripped off the man's mask and tossed it by the dynamite.

The onlookers murmured, and began to applaud.

"How...how did you...?" the madman—a balding, fortysomething fellow with sunken, sallow cheeks—asked shakily, staring fearfully up at the boy.

"You'll have a lot of time to figure that out in jail," Trunks replied. Before anyone could question him further, he took off for the emergency stairs and left the tower.

* * * * *

//Our top story tonight: disaster was narrowly averted at Tokyo Tower today when a terrorist hijacked the public address system of the observation deck and threatened to blow up the tower with a vest of dynamite strapped to his chest. The man was disarmed and detained by security officers, although no statement has been issued on just how they managed to peacefully apprehend the suicidal madman.//

//It's strange, isn't it?//

//Yes, it certainly is. Witnesses say something about a young man at the tower who moved very fast and was the one who really stopped the bomber, but so far there's nothing but hearsay about that.//

//Well, if it's true, this country owes that young man a big debt of gratitude.//

//Indeed. Seismologists warn that a quake may—//

*click*

"It's sure good that nothing bad happened to Tokyo Tower," Tsukino Kenji mused from the living room sofa.

"Yeah. If it'd been blown up, me and the other girls wouldn't be able to go tomorrow and buy cute chocolates," Usagi said.

Her father stared at her.

"Well, and it'd be horrible for all those people to die, and the property damage, and the effect on television, and all that," Usagi amended.

Kenji shook his head, and announced he was going to bed.

* * * * *

Ami frowned as she worked with her computer, trying to make sense of the readings from that morning. There had definitely been a dimensional breach, and she was fairly certain something had come through—something rather large.

But where was it, and why had nobody noticed it?

Sighing, she set her computer to scan the area as best it could overnight, and keep watch for any other breaches or signs of trouble. She'd have to talk to the others in the morning and convince them that they should go out to the place where the breach occurred and investigate for themselves.

For now, though, she needed sleep. She hadn't been to Tokyo Tower as a tourist in some time, and she was actually looking forward to it.

* * * * *

A young man with spiky blond hair, wearing black jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black leather jacket lay somewhat uncomfortably on a thin mattress in what, for all intents and purposes, was a coffin.

After the incident at Tokyo Tower, Trunks had felt it prudent to get out of sight as quickly as possible, and then disguise himself in the event he'd been photographed. To that end, he'd quickly flown to another ward of Tokyo, transformed into a Super Saiyajin, then descended and found a clothing store. After buying new clothes and stashing his old ones in a capsule, he set about finding lodging for the night.

He'd been surprised to find something called a "capsule hotel", and briefly wondered if perhaps this world DID have the technology his grandfather had invented and built a fortune from on his world.

He quickly found out, much to his dismay, that it was another kind of capsule entirely.

Still, he'd slept in worse, and after everything that had happened from the time Freeza had come again to his world and destroyed it, Trunks could have passed out and slept a week on a burning hot rock.

Tomorrow, he'd bring his mother and Yajirobe to Tokyo, and start a new life...

Maybe even a peaceful one this time.

* * * * *

A battered silver figure floated in the void between worlds. Surviving by the same sheer determination that had kept him from being permanently killed over the years since his encounter with that accursed monkey Kakarotto, Freeza ignored the pain wracking his abused body; ignored the odd flashes of green, purple, and blue sparks that arced between his protective shell and the surrounding ether. All that mattered was finding a way out of this...emptiness, and getting his revenge on that half-breed Saiyajin brat that had the unmitigated gall to escape his wrath.

[You.]

The tyrant's head snapped up. With his one good eye, he looked around; a trickle of blood oozed from his cracked head into his eye, and he wiped it away with a snarl and a curse.

[You.]

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Freeza demanded.

[No.]

"Then leave me be, or I'll find you and destroy you."

A hollow chuckle echoed through his head.

[Destroy? Destroy...destroy. Destroy is not possible.]

"What?! Have you any idea who you're speaking to?"

[A thing. Some animal thing, some metal thing. Living thing, not living thing, same one thing. A thing.]

Freeza was beginning to grow angry at this insulting presence. "Look, if you'll just tell me how to get out of this wretched place, I'll spare you."

[Want out?]

"YES, I BLASTED WANT OUT!"

[Where go? If out, where go?]

"I DON'T CARE! ANYWHERE!" The reptilian cyborg paused. "Wait. No. I want to go where...that Saiyajin brat went."

A pause.

[Animal thing. Go in metal thing? Away from destroy?]

"Yes, animal thing," Freeza snorted. "I owe that punk several deaths."

[Know where is go. Want follow? Want give destroy?]

Freeza paused. Whatever he was dealing with...didn't sound particularly intelligent. And yet...on the edge of his senses, a hazy presence was beginning to make itself known. For some reason, the galactic warlord was beginning to feel uneasy.

"Yes...I want to 'give destroy' to the Saiyajin brat..."

[I make follow. You give destroy. But cost is I name. Cost is you give.]

"A price, of course. Alright, what is it you want?"

The presence began to intensify.

[World where is go, cannot follow. Is not possible I go there. Is possible I make thing go there, is not possible I go there. World is I want go. Cost is you make possible I go there.]

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to do that?"

[Give destroy on animal thing you follow. Then you is give cost. Give destroy on Sailor Senshi things there.]

"Sailor Senshi...?"

[Sailor Senshi things is make not possible I go there. Sailor Senshi things destroyed, is possible I go there. I go there, give big destroy on all things.]

The sparks surrounding Freeza, as well as the surrounding ether, had begun to turn black. The weight of the presence he felt began to press down on him. Whatever he was conversing with, it was powerful...far more powerful than the half-breed son of Vegeta, or the monkey Kakarotto. And this power...this power was intensely evil.

"Alright. I'll do it."

[Is good.]

A pause.

[You is ugly thing. Is no good. You is know by animal thing you follow. Is no good. I is make new thing of you. I is give many thing you make do say. Then you is go, you is destroy animal thing, you is destroy Sailor Senshi thing. Is good.]

And the blackness rushed in on Freeza, crushing his body and burning his spirit...

Author's Notes

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