Open-Log--less talk, more action? With Prompts and OTA [Month of Horseshoe]

[light_of_willpower]

Trunks had finally found his cabin, and met his room-mates. One of whom was a book. With very odd ideas, that had Trunks raising an eyebrow at it. (He didn't really do well with 'overlords' okay?) After that it had been investigating his rucksack--and he had his capsule case. With his mini-fridge (yay), but two capsules of clothes (his armor and his normal stuff) otherwise. WHERE WAS THE TIME MACHINE?!?!?!

Still, not much he could do now. Besides, he had a whole train to explore. Along with a spar--and Cassie had said she'd usually be in the gym car. Come to think of it, Trunks would probably be spending a lot of time in the gym car himself. So, time to explore his new 'home'.

Comments

[light_of_willpower]

"Every day out here is one year in there. It's...a tricky and interesting dimension found on Kami's tower. Not used lightly, trust me."

[nutkrusher]

"Sounds handy," Cassie says. "Definitely believe you that it's serious shit, though. I wouldn't think you'd use something like that just to cram for a final."

[light_of_willpower]

"Not unless you like having the gravity shift on you randomly, in terms of how much pressure it puts out. Or sudden freezing cold weather, or a burning inferno. It's not a vacation at all."

[nutkrusher]

"Never heard of a pocket dimension that was," Cassie says.

Actually, her visit to one had been considerably less pleasant than that.

[light_of_willpower]

"If you find one, let me know. I could use a vacation." Oh look, he could joke back! His blush has just about faded too, which probably had something to do with it.

"Anyway, I was in the middle of that tournament when the train picked me up. I'm hoping, based on some things Piccolo said, that things will go well. But I'm also scared to ask for more information, because that could make things tricky when I go home, y'know?"

[nutkrusher]

"I...know how that goes, actually," Cassie says. "My mother came onto this train wounded. And about two years into my future. If the train hadn't taken her she wouldn't have made it."

She sighs.

"Not exactly sure what to do with that information."

[light_of_willpower]

Trunks winces in sympathy. "That's definitely rough. IS she healing alright here?"

[nutkrusher]

"Yeah," Cassie says. "Though she needed the break we took on that resort planet a couple weeks back more than pretty much anybody else."

She shuts her eyes and exhales again.

"Really hope you make it through without losing anybody else who's close to you."

[light_of_willpower]

"I appreciate that. It's definitely been...interesting. Getting to know all these people I'd only heard about from Mom. And Gohan--he's younger than the Gohan I knew." Obviously. "But seeing some of the similarities has been startling, as well as the differences."

[nutkrusher]

"It'd be something to meet the heroes my parents always told me about," Cassie says. "Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Nightwolf. The real, living versions anyway. They all died before I was born, during the Outworld invasion. All of Earthrealm's best, except for Mom and Dad. Then the Netherrealm attacked, and Quan Chi brought them all back as revenants serving Shinnok."

She shuts her eyes and shudders a little.

"Then they came back twenty years later. My team and I had to fight them all when we made our last-ditch assault on Shinnok."

[light_of_willpower]

"That's rough." It was more than rough, but it was all he could think of to say. Pausing as he walked, and tilting his head briefly against hers--it was the closest he could do right then to a sign of solidarity.

"Like I said, this Shinnok shows up, you won't be facing him alone."

[nutkrusher]

Cassie's eyes remain closed, but her expression lightens.

"Thank you. That means a lot. I'll do what I can if your world's chief dickhead shows up, too."

She'd had to fight Shinnok alone. She had a team to get her there, and she wouldn't have done it without them. But she'd been the only one who could handle Shinnok.

"It's a shitty feeling, being...y'know, the only one left. I can't help your world from here, but I want you to know...I'm pulling for you. I hope you can pull one out like I did. Maybe get a little luck on your side."

[light_of_willpower]

Another pause, and then that head-tilt so that his leaned against hers again. "Thank you." Very softly. "I'm hoping I can too, when I go back. I know there's at least 1 timeline where I don't..." And wasn't that a pleasant thought.

[nutkrusher]

"Well...I hope you know enough about it to make sure you don't end up in it yourself," Cassie says.

Welp, that's 3 timelines so far he's mentioned. :D

[light_of_willpower]

"The point where that'd come to pass has already happened, so yes. I know how to avoid it. It's how Cell came to be, in the timeline I just came from." Not exactly a fond or fun memory. "In another timeline, I found a way to turn the androids off, not beat them by fighting them. So when Cell appeared I wasn't strong enough to fight him. He..."

Trunks couldn't seem to say 'killed me', but it was implied.

"He ended up taking the time machine, since the androids had been destroyed after I turned them off, into the timeline where Goku lived. Whereas that timeline's Cell is destroyed, as Krillin and I made sure of it."

[nutkrusher]

"Ugh."

Cassie's grunt is a sympathetic one.

"Time travel is fucked."

[light_of_willpower]

"Honestly, it makes my head hurt sometimes too." Trunks is chuckling very softly though. "And I've been through it."

[nutkrusher]

Cassie chuckles weakly. "Yeah. I bet we've both got a lot of long, weird stories with shit that barely makes sense in 'em."

Her eyes flutter open as they pass through the door into Sleeper Cabin Three.

"I think we're coming up on my cabin. 3-D."

[light_of_willpower]

"Guess you're gonna sleep like a rock, huh? I'm in 2-B." Trunks replied genially. "I definitely feel less restless, if it helps. Thanks."

[nutkrusher]

"It does, actually," Cassie says.

"Feel so good about it I think I'm just gonna lay down for an hour or twenty."

[light_of_willpower]

More laughter, shoulders and chest shaking with it. "Maybe not quite so hard next time, but we definitely need to spar again."

[nutkrusher]

Cassie smiles. "Yeah, we should."

A pause as they reach the door to Cabin 3-D.

"Could maybe take me up on that cinema booking, too. I've been thinking of screening Ninja Mime 3."

[light_of_willpower]

"Going to a movie instead of watching it at home would be nice for a change." Trunks agreed, pausing and then crouching to make it easier for her to slide off his back. "There are lots of things that are 'normal' that I never got to do."

[nutkrusher]

"Well, this isn't exactly a normal place to do it," Cassie says, "but I'd be happy to show you some of those things."

Cassie starts to lower herself off of Trunks's back in preparation for the handful of steps from the door to her (thankfully lower) bunk.

[light_of_willpower]

"I'm glad, that for all you went through, you got to have some normalcy too it sounds like." Trunks meant that too, genuinely. He was glad that Cassie'd gotten some semblance of normal life, for all the shit she'd been through.

Keeping her arm around his shoulder though, supporting her until she was ready to stand on her own. "I'm used to not-normal being normal, so that sounds great."