The Dimension Traveler
"Are you sure this'll work, Trunks?"
asked 14 year old Goten doubtfully. Trunks twisted a knob on his
strange machine. "Of course it will, I made it." he
answered. Goten shook his head and smiled, "That's why I
doubt it will." Trunks pressed a few buttons on the
peculiar invention. "This thing will take us to an
alternate dimension." Goten sat down on a pile of junk and
watched his friend make final adjustments to the Dimension
Traveler, as Trunks called it. "And we can explore
them!" Trunks added, pulling hard on a wrench. "Uh-huh,
and what if yer mom finds out?" Goten asked. "She
won't, I've been working on this thing too long for it to get
spoiled because of that. I've made it so our adventure lasts only
a few seconds in this world." Trunks answered.
"We? Our?" Goten laughed, "When did I agree to do
this?" Trunks grinned, "Since you decided you were my
best bud, 'sides what could go wrong? There, it's ready."
Goten stood up, "Where did you set it to go?" he
questioned. "Some other dimension, I don't know. We probably
won't run into anything we can't handle and we can spend as long
as we want there and we won't age. Cool huh? I bet this'll top my
mom's Time Machine." Goten snorted, "If it even
works." Trunks opened the door to the machine, "Only
one way to find out."
Goten sat behind Trunks, "Are you sure about this?"
Trunks turned around and stared at his friend, "Will you
stop worrying? Everything is gonna be fine, just watch." The
15 year old demi-sayjian pressed a light green pad on the control panel and that sent them into the unknown. There was nothing but
blackness outside. The machine rocked and spun, beeped and
flashed lights. "I think I'm gonna be sick.."
complained Goten, gripping the edge of his seat. Then suddenly,
the blackness disappeared and the ship stopped rocking. They were
back in Trunks's garage; or were they?
Everything looked as if it hadn't been used in ages. The paint on
the walls were peeling. And the air reeked of gas fumes and
pollution. Goten coughed, "Where are we? Or when are we? Are
you sure you didn't make a time machine?" Trunks stared at
the scenery around him in shock, "I-I don't know..it must be
some parallel universe or something..." his voice trailed
off as they climbed out of the machine. Trunks put the Dimension
Traveler back into it's capsule. "Well, Mr.Inventer, what
now?" asked Goten, looking outside at the pink sky. "I
guess we explore." answered Trunks.
They heard footsteps, someone was coming. An old
woman entered the garage, her hair was pale blue, almost grey.
She looked familiar..."Oh my god...mom?" whispered
Trunks. Goten stared. The woman didn't seem to notice either of
them. "Woman! Did you find it?!" boomed a voice. The
woman turned around, "Be patient Vegeta, I just got here and
for the last time, the name's Bulma!" she croaked. Her voice
was frail and soft. Trunks couldn't speak; here was his mother,
seemingly in her 70's or 80's. But he hadn't invented a time
machine...had he? "This is weird man..." Goten mumbled.
Trunks could barely nod.
A short, old man entered the garage. His hair was grey..almost
white. But his eyes had the same fierceness; this was Vegeta.
"Hurry up, Bulma, Kakarot is expecting us any minute. I
still don't see why we have to have this memorial, for all we
know those brats are still alive." Vegeta grumbled at his
wife. "Oh, sush, Vegeta, we had looked everywhere, Trunks
and Goten are not on this planet." she said, her voice
cracked slightly when she said her son's name. "Humph."
was Vegeta's only reply. "We're dead?" Goten asked in
awe. "But...how can?" Trunks was at a lost for words.
"Hey! Mrs.Brief! We're right here!" Goten waved his
hands in front of Bulma's face, but Bulma didn't even look up, it
was as if Goten wasn't even there...
"Father?" Trunks stood in front of Vegeta, he reached
out at his father's figure...his hand went right through.
"What?" Trunks pulled his arm back in fright, then
extended it again, his hand went right through Vegeta...as if he
weren't there at all..."What's going on Trunks? Why can't
they see us?" Goten demanded, his voice quivered slightly.
"I-I don't know..." stumbled Trunks. "What do you
mean you don't know?! You brought us here!" shouted Goten.
Trunks stared at the ground. "Let's go to my house."
Goten said, after a few minutes of silence. Trunks nodded meekly.
They were about to take off when "I found it!" Bulma
exclaimed suddenly. "Finally." shorted Vegeta.
The old woman who called herself Bulma held up a picture. It was
old and yellow with age. It was a picture of Trunks and Goten
when they were younger. Bulma stared at the picture and tears
weld up in her eyes, "Where did you go Trunks?" she
whispered to the picture. Vegeta's expression softened slightly,
"I don't know, they disappeared the evening of March 7th,
AS-054. Exactly 50 years ago." he said. "That's
today." gulped Trunks. "C'mon let's go." said
Goten, eagar to get away from there. They two demi-sayjians took
off towards Goten's home.
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Trunks and Goten landed in front of Goten's house. The place was
bustling with activity. People rushing all around them...and
through them. "This is getting creepy, man.." Goten
grumbled, "I am not used to people walking through me."
Trunks looked around, everyone was there: Goku; an old man..with
white hair and wrinkled skin, Chi Chi, Tien, Krillian, 18,
Piccilo, Gohan, Videl, ...all old with age and faces heavy with
grief. Goten spotted Pan, Marron and Bra. Both had grey hairs and
wrinked faces...well why wouldn't they, Goten thought to himself,
they were in their 50's and 60's.
Their friends were setting up tables and bringing food. Pictures
of Trunks and Goten were everywhere. "We're right
here!" Trunks screamed. Goten looked at his friend, sweat
dropped down his face. "It's no use, they can't hear
us." Goten mumbled. "What do we do now?" asked
Trunks sighing. Goten shrugged, "I guess we could go
home." Trunks took out the machine's capsule and stared at
it; "But if this is the future, then that means we never
returned home..." he said. Goten stared as his family and
friends sat down around the table. Vegeta and Bulma arrived. They
started some kind of ceremony.
Trunks turned away, "This sucks. This might not even be the
future, lets try out the Dimension Traveler, we might be able to
go home." Goten nodded, not taking his eyes off his family.
Trunks threw the capsule down. A puff of smoke appeared, when it
cleared the Dimension Traveler sat there, unnoticed by everyone.
Trunks and Goten climbed inside. The Sayjian Prince flipped a few
switches and carefully set the machine. "This had better
work, Trunks.." grumbled Goten. Trunks took one last look at
his family and pressed the green button.
They were shround in darkness..again. But this time there were
blue swirls rushing around the. Goten squeezed his eyes shut,
praying that when he opened them he would see home. When the
rumbling of the machine stopped, Goten slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was, well, the back of Trunks's head. He
looked around, they were in Trunks's garage again. But it seemed
normal, just the way they left it....Trunks opened the door, the
air was clean...Goten stepped outside and looked out of the
garage, everything seemed normal...
"Do you think we made it?" asked Trunks slowly.
"Only one way to find out...Mrs.Brief?!" Goten called.
Footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Trunks and Goten watched the door,
their eyes didn't blink...The doorknob twisted. The door swung open....and there
stood....Trunks! Goten and the..other Trunks, stared. The Trunks
at the door stared too, "You're me!" both Trunks
exclaimed. Goten stared back and forth from the Trunkses
"What the..how..did you..???" the Trunks that came in
the Dimension Traveler could not speak. "Who are you? And
why are you me?" the Trunks at the door demanded. Goten
faints.
Both Trunks stared at Goten. "Is that Goten..or Goten's
double?" the Trunks at the door asks. "Uh...his
double..." the other Trunks managed to reply. "I'm so
outta here.." he mumbled as he dragged Goten's body back
inside the machine. "Wait! Where are you going? Who are you?
And why do you look like me?!" the other Trunks inched
closer to the first Trunks. "I can't tell you! I don't know
what the information will do to...wherever this is!" Trunks
said. "Where are you going then?" the other Trunks
asked. "Home." Trunks closed the door shut the door to
the machine and reprogrammed the destination. Leaving his other
self very confused, Trunks pressed the button and left wherever
he had just arrived.
When the blackness disappeared once again, Trunks looked around.
Again, everything looked normal. Goten woke up, rubbing his head.
"Where are we? When are we? Who are we?" were his first
words to his friend. "I don't know...but it -seems- like
we're home, again." Trunks replied. "Uh-huh,
seems.." Goten got out of the machine. "Trunks? Goten?
What was all that noise?" Bulma entered the garage holding
some parts of the gravity room. "Mom?" Trunks wondered
aloud. "Duh, Trunks, who else would it be?" Bulma asked
impatiently, "Now what was all that notice about?"
Trunks looked at the ground briefly, then asked, "Um..are
there any...like a double of me around here?" Bulma stared
at him, "What are you talking about? Maybe whatever you've
been doing has gone to your head, dinner's in 30 minutes, stay
out of trouble, oh...go pick up Bra from Gohan's please."
Bulma turned and left.
Goten looked at Trunks, "Well, it looks like we're
home." Trunks nodded and put the Dimension Traveler back in
it's capsule. "Yeah, we're home, let's go get Bra."
Trunks threw the capsule to the ground and stepped on it. Goten
was surprised, it had taken 5 months for Trunks to make that
thing, but then again, what had just gone through was a
nightmare. "Let's go then." said Goten smiling,
"Race ya." with that the demi-sayjian flew off. Trunks
grinned and flew after him.
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That night Trunks sat on the edge of the bed, wondering about the
day's earlier events. Everything was normal, not one sign that it
was another strange dimension. If it had been, Trunks would have
been in trouble because he had destroyed the Dimension Traveler.
Sighing Trunks lay back in bed, and started to close his eyes.
Suddenly there was a bright flash outside. A thump. And
whispering voices. Trunks sat up in bed again, he walked towards
his window. There outside, stood Goten and himself...as 7 and 8
year olds. Trunks gaped, then fainted. The two young
demi-sayjians argued about something and went back in their
machine, then disappeared into Time-Space.
© Kiriska