Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lost In Your Eyes ❯ Jenny From The Block ( Chapter 9 )

Trunks looked at Jennifer and thought, not for the first time, how very brave she was to be standing by his side, holding his hand during all of this. He did not know if she would still be as adoring of him as she was at the moment after everything was over and done with but for the moment he was thankful that he wasn't alone in all this. Still, he knew it would be very selfish of him to assume that she would want to risk her own life along with his.

"Jen," He started, and she looked at him, her greenish eyes proclaiming what her heart felt, they said that the eyes were the windows to the soul and just then, Trunks knew exactly what that meant, "I want to be with you, more than anything. But I can't ask you to go with me and risk…"

She silenced him by placing one finger against his lips and shook her head, "Don't say another word. I told you before, I want to go with you, be with you, where ever you go, Nothing short of death will keep me from your side, Trunks, nothing!"

He knew there would be no arguing with her once her mind was made up, there was a stubborn streak in her that reminded him of his Mother's. He nearly smiled, but still serious he nodded and turned back to the glowing chair. It felt odd to be talking and listening to the back of it. "It's been decided." He said, as Jennifer gripped his hand harder, lending what strength she had to him and he to her, "We accept."

"Good," Came the disembodied voice from the chair, "You must travel to the End of Time and find The Broken Circle Tapestry. After you have found it, bring it back here."

"That's all we have to do?" Trunks asked, while Jennifer wondered just how, exactly, they were suppose to travel through time itself! "Find and bring back this…tapestry?"

"It won't be as easy as you think, young man." He said, chuckling, "No, it certainly won't be. Be off with you now!"

"But…" Jennifer began, but suddenly the floor opened up beneath them and she found herself tumbling down a long tunnel with Trunks behind her, bumping into her. The passage was narrow and if she braced her feet and back against the sides she could have stopped her plunge, but it had happened so fast that she did not have time to be prepared and cease her fall.

They landed in a pile of what looked like laundry, sheets mostly, and saw several blank-eyed women in gray uniforms walking back and forth carrying baskets of folded clothing and taking sheets from the pile they'd landed in and shoving them into washing and drying machines.

"Looks like we found the laundry room." Trunks said, though he needn't have, Jennifer could see that as well as anyone. She said, instead, "Probably merely another illusion anyway."

"I'm so sorry for that!" They looked up to see Foxfire standing there, she held out her hand and helped them to their feet, "He loves practical jokes and such and had that trapdoor installed a few eons ago. This is the first time he's been able to use it."

"Why didn't you warn us?" Jennifer accused, angry, "You say you are here to help us."

She looked ashamed, her face red and her whiskers twitched on her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I was forbade to."

Jennifer didn't look convinced but Trunks said; "Forget it. We need to…"

"Find and bring back the Broken Circle Tapestry." Foxfire finished, "Yes, it's a standard quest. Follow me and I will give you what you need to take with you…"

"Assuming they are not all illusion, that is," Trunks said, and she turned back to him, "Of course not, sir, Illusion is useful, to be sure, but there are times when only the real thing will do."

"Of course."

"Your are probably both wondering about the time travel aspect of the quest," She said as they followed her past the laundry room, through a door and down a long and narrow hallway, she opened another door and they followed her down a corridor that had reflective glass along the walls, floor and ceiling. She reached up when they came to the center and pushed on the low ceiling, shoving a square of glass away, "We will help you with that as well." She said as she climbed up and turned about to call; "Come on, it's easy to get up here, there is a step…"

Trunks found it and helped Jennifer up and then climbed up after. They continued to follow Foxfire as they crawled through the passage that seemed to wind around and in. Jennifer thought her legs and arms would never stop cramping and that they would never reach the end until Foxfire stopped and kicked at a seeming dead end where the passage had widened enough to allow them to crawl three abreast if they wished. She turned to them and said; "Beyond is the area where the fates gather the threads for each life in the universe they keep track of."

She opened a small door that they hadn't even seen and Jennifer peered past Trunks' shoulder to see what looked like the vastness of space with a million or more, she could not count them as they seemed to keep changing and altering and disappearing and reappearing, silvery threads crossing and crisscrossing over and under and through each other.

There seemed to be no bottom to the vastness around them and the silver of the threads sparkled like stars themselves, illuminating the area around them. A young woman with golden hair walked across one like a trapeze artist on a tight rope, reminding them of the illusionary circus they'd preformed in earlier, carrying a basket and a pair of scissors.

"Greetings!" Foxfire called and waved, the girl looked up and smiled, her eyes sparkling, she snipped a thread and gathered it up into her basket, "These are the two He has sent to find the tapestry!"

Without speaking, the girl motioned to a thread a few feet under her and bent down to grab part of it. With little effort she tossed it into the air where Foxfire reached out and caught it. She handed it to Trunks and said; "Let go of it as soon as your feet are on it, that way you won't loose your way. Also, try not to fall, or it will be impossible to find the correct thread again! Follow it to it's end. You will find what you seek…Godspeed!"

Without meaning to, Jennifer hugged the woman, knowing she was only an illusion and that she would cease to be once they had departed. It made her sad to think that the woman had no other existence beyond being their one time guide. Then a thought struck her; "Foxfire? When we come back, will you be are guide then?"

"Yes, I will be, dear." She smiled, "Even though I will cease to exist once you two have gone, as soon as you arrive back or if you ever need to come to purgatory again in the future, I will be `created' so to speak, for your convenience."

"You've been very helpful," Trunks said, shaking her hand, "Well, except for that trapdoor…"

"I wish you both the best," Foxfire said, "I hope you succeed."

"Thank you."

With that, they stepped onto the thread and were surprised to find that, even though it looked like just a thin string that would break with any real weight on it and be too narrow to keep their balance once on it, it felt hard and strong and they found that keeping balance was easier than they would have thought. Jennifer turned back and Foxfire waved, saying; "At the end of the thread someone will be waiting to give you what you need for the rest of your journey." She faded from sight after that and they walked on. The girl with the basket waved and went about her work.