[ "Game master"!

"What is it?"

"That Briefs has figured it out--look what's it done to our ending!"

Game Master peered over the screen, pushing his large glasses up. "Move aside."

"What do you plan on doing, Sir?"

"I'm going to erase that coding. He might have figured it out once, but it won't happen again."

"Good thinking, Game Master. We need the ending to be the same...so that our beautiful dream can become a reality."

"Precisely."

"By the way Sir, I deployed 'him' into Conton. I'm sure by now, he's there waiting for the right moment."

"Yes...the tournament. I'm rather looking forward to it. That Chisato Shino...has proven to be smarter than I gave her credit for. Still, she's only as useful as her data corruption. Soon...we won't need her."

"And when Fu returns, we'll have both Pandora's Box, and the vessel!"]

 

Trunks wiped sweat from his brow and finished tying off three different colored wires, zip tying them together. "There. Those are back in place, but now I need to see about--"

A flash crossed his eyesight.

He looked around, up, down, not sensing anything different, but feeling that something was very, very wrong. Quickly he pulled up security footage on his wrist watch and replayed the past thirty minutes.

(Trunks walked into the LAB, taking off his trench coat and putting on a white labratory coat. He walked over to the long desk filled with computers, pulled out a notepad and scribbled something down onto paper. He tore the paper from the pad and wadded it up, throwing it into the trash recepticle. 

The next minutes were spent looking over wires.)

"I...wrote something down." He said.

With a memory such as his, Trunks knew that he'd remember what he wrote, especially with it being the last thirty minutes. Yet he couldn't recall what it was. 

He stood and went to the trash can, grabbed the newest wadded up paper on top and opened it.

--If you're reading this, that means whoever made this place has erased the data. I've learned that this entire existence is a game, and there may be much more at stake than just Chisatos safety. You were getting ready to create a backup drive with everything we've learned about this game, and a way to protect current data.--

Trunks swallowed.

"...I definitely wrote this." He said.

A game. He lived in a game.

Well, it matched up with what he recalled Chisato telling him. And that was enough for him to take heed to his own advice, and thus Trunks set aside the time he needed to fix the simulator and instead used it to formulate a system of backup drives. Not just within the LAB, but across the world, and even sending one drive to his other self in his actual timeline.

"There. That should do it for now. Just in case, though, psychical evidence could be even more important here." He mumbled.

After writing everything down in a notebook and putting it within the safe box belonging to his mother, Trunks exhaled. "Done. Now...how can I keep a record of things, to come back to this point if we need to restart here?"

Trunks had a lot of work ahead of him.

***

***

***

Rhuda sighed.

She swung her legs out, hanging from the side of a tall building and looked over West City. She already missed Trunks. "I'm...hopeless."

Here she was dating not only a genius, but a billionaire and owner of practically every important piece of technology this world had to offer. Yet all she wanted was his attention. Money wasn't important to her, not after living so long without much. One gains the importance of other assets, such as love, protection, friends and enjoying life. She'd much rather have those long lasting dreams.

Rhuda leaned back on the hard roof top and watched planes pass by. She held her hand up and tried to squeeze one together between her index and thumb, an old habit. 

Four hours was too long, even for game time.

She shut her eyes a moment.

A tap tap sound caused them to open, and she saw a long shadow above her head. Rhuda rose and saw a dark haired man there, wearing glasses. He looked like a scholar, what with the vest and slacks. "I-I'm sorry!" She said, "I'll leave right away! You don't need to call security!"

He laughed.

"Relax. I'm not security. I'm Gohan." He said, smiling. "Sorry if I startled you. I sensed your energy, and wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"O-Oh. Ano...I'm Rhuda." She bowed.

Gohan stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you. I heard your Trunks' new girlfriend, is that right?"

"I-I am."

"My mom wanted to invite you over for dinner." He said. "Since you're already here in West City, I thought I'd ask."

"Dinner? W-Well, okay." 

Gohan took off in flight towards the hills and Rhuda followed. The city turned into a forest, the forest turned into a stream. Up that stream was a waterfall, and Gohan descended to a tiny dome home. She recognized it to be Goku's home. "Gohan, sir?" She asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Ano..aren't you dead?" 

He laughed. "Not quite. You're thinking about the other me, from Trunks' timeline. I bet that's kinda confusing. You can think of like this; there's this me, and the one who didn't make it. We're two totally different people, if that makes sense." 

"I see. So, Trunks isn't from this time?"

"Not really. He stays here, but his true home is with the other him. But since that Trunks watches over his time for him, the one you know can travel where he needs to be."

Rhuda quickly became confused. 

Gohan smiled and shrugged. "Just don't think about it too hard. C'mon, my moms dying to meet you."

She followed Gohan inside. Chichi stood there with a dishtowel in her hands, rubbing them. She set the cloth down and smiled brightly. "We meet again at last! Rhuda, you're looking beautiful."

Chichi clasped her hands to Rhudas. "So? Are you two getting married yet?" She asked.

"N-Not quite--"

"My goodness! What's taking that boy so long?" Chichi huffed. "Those saiyan men are always so hard to pin down. No offense, Gohan. You're a dear."

Gohan laughed awkwardly.

"Where's Goku?" Chichi asked. "I told him to be here by now!"

Rhuda answered, "I think he's training with Broly. There's a tournament coming up."

All hope died from Chichi's eyes. She sank into a chair. "Another tournament? Don't tell me, your father is going to be in it."

Gohan rubbed the back of his head. "You know dad."

Before Chichi could go into fits, Gohan pulled out a chair. "Why don't we go ahead and eat? I'm sure he'll turn up later."

"Fine, fine. We might as well." Chichi said.

Gohan motioned for Rhuda to take the seat and she sat down, looking at the round table filled with meat. Three, no, four different varieties of meat all lined up perfectly. Steak, chicken, pork loin and meatloaf stared up at Rhuda. Her mouth watered. Down below, her stomach growled audibly. Gohan heard and said, "Eat up! A saiyan has to keep their strength."

She piled a porcelein plate with food and tried to carefully eat, but still ended up practically inhaling her plate. Her lips smacked with sauce, rice sticking to her face.

Chichi and Gohan talked the entire time, asking her questions, and she did her best to answer.

"For dinner, Mrs. Chichi, thank you." Rhuda bowed.

Chichi waved it off. "Oh, it's nothing, dear. I love to cook, don't I Gohan?"

"Yeah. It's true. There hasn't been one day she hasn't," he replied.

A knock came at the door.

Gohan opened it, and Rhuda gasped. Standing there was a blue haired version of Trunks, wearing a hawaiian shirt and shorts, complete with flip flops and sunglasses. There was a string of flowers around his neck. "Gohan. Hey. Sorry to bust in like this, but I sensed Rhuda was here. I need to speak with her about something important."

"Sure. Go on ahead, we were just getting done with dinner." Gohan said.

Rhuda followed Trunks outside Chichi's home. He stopped just beside the stream and said, "The other me sent something troubling over."

"Eh?"

"He's trying to work on creating a system of backups, for not just his data, but for 'our' data." Trunks said. "..Is it true? Is this all really a video game?"

Rhuda took her time in answering. She slowly nodded. "Yes."

"I thought so."

He began to pace. "This is bad. He's on to their scheme, and they've already erased his memories once. I'm sure they'll be trying to do it again."

"W-What? They did that?" 

"Yeah. Luckily he had the mind to write everything down, just in case. He thought something like that might happen before he could protect the data." Trunks said. 

He walked over and grabbed Rhuda's tiny shoulders. She blinked at his intense blue eyes as he said, "Listen. You're in grave danger, Rhuda. Whoever made this game wants to see you fail in everything. You need to be wary of everyone. Even allies. If they can change our memories, they may be able to do even more."

Rhuda swallowed. Fear shivered her spine and tail. "... That's...awful..."

"Yeah. We're all data, but you aren't. That means if you die here, its all over. I'm not even sure the Dragon Balls could work." 

Things only appeared to get worse. So that was why she wasn't allowed to respawn. "Ano...Trunks?"

"?"

"I'm not alone. There are more...like me, who got here the same way." She said. 

His eyes widened. "You mean the other Time Patrollers?"

"Yes."

"...I see. That...complicates things."

He turned away to pace back and forth when she grabbed his shirt sleeve. "There's more."

"Okay. Tell me everything you can." He said.

"W-Well...the thing is, the only one who can't come back...is me. M-My friend Shallot, he 'can' and has."

"W-what?!"

"The others, too. For some reason...it's only me who can't." She said, furrowing her brows.

Trunks saw that Rhuda was scared. He grabbed her hand in his. "Don't worry. The other me will figure things out, Rhuda. In the meantime, I'll be there to back him up. And so will mother."

He wasn't her boyfriend at all yet she was reassured all the same. She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Trunks."

"No problem."

***

***

***

Four hours had passed.

Rhuda flew back to Capsule with a hurry as if the grim reaper were behind her. She landed just outside the Gravity Chamber and its door automatically opened. Inside it was Trunks, who was standing there with his eyes shut. They opened and he smiled. "You made it."

"Yeah. The other you came by." She said.

"I told him to update you. I would have, but I was a little too busy." He said. "It's handy having another 'me' around."

Trunks watched as worry flickered inside Rhuda's green eyes. He walked over and pulled her to him. 

"Don't...worry. I'm working on something that will ensure if anything where to happen to you, I could bring you back."

"E-Eh? You are?"

"Yeah. It's gonna take awhile to do, though. I've also done a few things to make sure that even if my memory where to be erased, I'd still be able to find everything out."

Rhuda was so impressed she clapsed him into a tight hug. "I-I'm so lucky to have you, Trunks. I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner."

"...It's alright. I'm not sure I would have, either." 

He pet her auburn hair for a time and finally said, "We should train. I have no idea what they'll try to do at the tournament, but we need to prepare you as much as possible. Anything could happen."

"...Ok. I'm ready."

Trunks stepped away, to the opposite side of the gravity room. He smirked. "First things first. Forget everything Father and Goku taught you. Pretend we're in your world. I want to see how your instincts react on their own. I think we'll be able to figure out a fighting style based on that."

"Right!"

"Begin."

A timer popped up. 2:00 minutes. Trunks had 4x Health Bars, and Rhuda had 1.5x.

Trunks charged her, pulling out his sword. For a first attack it was pretty obvious he wasn't kidding around. Rhuda jumped away from his slice, skid to her side, and swept her leg out to trip him. Easily he hopped up and her leg only went through air.

"Nice try. But you're going to need to think better than that," he said. "Battle experience is important in fights. I can tell just by the way you defend that you haven't had many."

"...Sorry."

"No, no! It's not bad. But it is something to keep in mind." He said, jumping away. "Try to come at me."

"Yes."

She ran and pulled her fist back, catching his jaw. While his face turned a bit with impact, only a tiny amount of damage shown it had done anything. There wasn't even a scuff on his face.

He grabbed her wrist and wrenched it behind her back. "...You're reacting too slow, Chisato. It gave me too much time to counter. Don't wait and see what your attacks do next time."

"O-Okay. Nn, t-that kinda hurts."

"Sorry." He let her go.

She smirked. He'd let down his guard. Her knee swiftly collided into his groin, and it was a devastating attack.

M-My baby maker! He thought.

Trunks' sword clattered. He fumbled back one, two, three steps before falling to his knees. Stars, he saw lots of stars. "Guh---! Huuugk---!"

"I'm sorry! So sorry! I meant to hit your stomach! I promise!"

Rhudas eyes watered, thinking on how much it had to hurt. She'd only meant to surprise him, just as he'd wanted her to.

Trunks lifted his head. Sweat dripped off his cheek, "...T-That was...a nice...one." He shakily rose up. "I...think, that might work..in the future, if your attacker is a male. If you don't mind, keep that for them."

"Y-yes!"

Rhuda saw that his Health Bar had went down one whole Bar. Maybe it had worked a little too well.

Just as she took note of that, he was there and then he wasn't. 

"W-Where--?!"

Something grabbed both of her breasts and squeezed them tightly. Her hand automatically flew back and smacked Trunks so hard he hit the wall with a resounding 'crack'.

There was smirk on his face. "...Good."

"W-W-What was t-that for?" 

He got out of the wall and dusted his shoulders off. "Your reflexes are pretty good." Trunks chuckled, "...I had a feeling that would make your true power come out."

She didn't drop her arms from her breasts, keeping them at bay from the booby snatcher. As he walked over she could see a welt blooming on his cheek.

"Sorry...about your face," she said.

Trunks shook his head a little. "By the time you're through with me I'll need a sensu bean. I'm uh, kidding. Don't worry about me Chisato."

That's the first time he's grabbed them like that, she thought. His hands are so big. A-And so strong!

"Hm? What's up?" He asked.

"N-Nothing!"

"Good. Can't afford for you to lose focus. Lets switch to evasion. A big part of tournaments will be how well you avoid the enemies attacks. I'm going to be coming at you hard, so get prepared."

After lowering her hands and adjusting footing, she was ready. 

Trunks grabbed his sword and dashed, "Uuurah!"

Swing,

Swing,

Went his sword. Rhuda back peddled, jumped, ducked, and was quickly pressed to the wall. The sword was glimmering at the side of her neck. "No good, Chisato. If this were the ring, you'd be out." He said.

"I-I can do it," she said.

He lowered his blade and nodded. "I want to see your best. Push me back."

"Yes."

His arm rose to swing down, blade aiming for Rhudas chest. She tucked her forearm into the crease of his arm, thus preventing his sword from landing, and began punching his stomach with her right fist. 

However, it wasn't quite damaging enough. He barely moved back. "Chisato! Focus! Do it again, and this time imagine punching through me!"

She invisioned her fist barreling through his chest and let loose all the power she could. It did more, making him stumble, but otherwise remain upright. Trunks grit his teeth and shouted, "Again! Throw your whole body into it! I know you can do it!"

Once more she punched his chest--throwing her weight as well. Trunks went sailing back to the wall.

"Ha..ha.." she smiled, seeing that his health bars were down by two now. A lot better than what she'd thought capable.

"Good. I actually felt that one." He said, smiling. "Still. Practice makes perfect. Keep it up."

"Yes!"

Again and again they repeated the motions, until at last she was doing it on her own, without hesitating. He began countering with his sword, but made sure his blade never truly connected. 

Both jumped away. 

Rhuda panted, seeing her Stamina low. "...I'm low," she said to him.

"Low? I see. Some..sort of bar?" He asked.

"Yes. I-It refills, but takes awhile."

"In that case...you'll need to buy some time. The enemy won't let you rest. Neither will I."

Trunks raised his sword and came for her. Rhuda jumped up, and tried to keep distance between her and Trunks. It was hard, for he was much faster and could practically vanish, but she managed to get back half of her Stamina.

Rhuda finished her training with Trunks, successfully managing to drain his last two bars. By the time it was over, both were panting, sweat pouring from them.

[Mission Clear!]

[Level Up!]

[Ultimate Skill Learned: Nut cracker]

Trunks ended their training session. He walked over to his girlfriend and hugged her tightly. "That's all I have time for tonight. I hope it helped you some. I'll bring you a bag of sensu beans tomorrow."

"Trunks..." she whispered, curling into his trench coat. "Will I be enough?"

"I don't know. But..don't worry. I'm here. And I won't let anything happen." He said, kissing her forehead. "That's why I'm the leader of the Time patrol, after all."

"Mhm. Thank you." 

"Who's going to fight with you?" He asked.

"I was going to ask Shallot."

"...I see. Then, goodnight, Chisato." He leaned and kissed her lightly. 

"Goodnight...Trunks."