//------------------------------//
// Flesh and Blood 
// Story: Out of Time 
// by Onomonopia 
//------------------------------//

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Trunks asked, wiping the back of his hand against his mouth. A quick glance down at it showed that there was no blood, but the impact had still hurt. That was enough to put Trunks on guard.

The being that stood across from him was comprised entirely of metal, not in the way that Clockwork had been. Where as Clockwork had visible gears, joints and mechanical parts, the being standing before Trunks looked like a suit of metal brought to life. A brown cloak with a brown hood was all that it wore, but Trunks found himself more interested in the metal that made up its body. It was a metal he recognized.

'Meaning this guy is either an alien or from another time,' Trunks deduced, reaching back for his sword only to remember that it was gone. He switched his movements and placed the hand that had been reaching for the sword on the side of his head, using it to tilt his head slightly to crack his neck. "You did just sucker punch me. That's kinda rude. You can make up for it before I take you out by telling me your name."

"My name is of no concern to somebody who will soon be dead," the metal being snapped. "I should have known that the foolish Kai would send you sooner or later, but I did not expect you to arrive so soon nor catch on to what was happening so quick...let me guess, you caught Clockwork while he was shifting? Wait, was that what I was supposed to say? Or was that a little-?"

This time Trunks went in for the sucker punch, catching the metal being in the side of the head and sending him spinning. The metal being came a halt before he had spun to the ground, before slowly levitating back up to a standing position. The metal head slowly turned to look at Trunks, who smirked to himself when he saw a dent in the side of the cheek area.

"So you're Clockworks boss. Makes sense, the both of you looking like you're made of metal. Reminds me of a couple of androids that I faced. I hated androids," Trunks said coldly as he walked towards the metal being, who didn't cede an inch to the advancing saiyan. Trunks then grabbed the being by the cloak and glared into where his eyes should have been beneath the metal. "So I will only ask nicely once more. Tell me what is going on before I turn you into a pile of scrap."

"Hmm, I see you have all of the manners that your father had," the metal being snarled, before grabbing hold of Trunks hand and attempting to rip it off of his cloak. He was unable to. "However, as useless as the information would be to a being that is soon to be dead, I suppose that the fear and horror in your eyes as you die would more than make up for it."

"Is that your way of saying that you're going to talk?"

"I will keep this brief, as it is clear that you did not inherit your mother's brain. Clockwork is a denizen of Equestria, but not the timeline you know. I found what was left of him screaming to the sky, demanding power to set some wrong in his life right. And I appeared before him, granting him the power to tear space and time asunder until he finds what he wants."

"Well aren't you a nice guy. Except for the part that he's tearing apart the lives of all of the ponies in the other timelines," Trunks snarled. The metal man laughed at that statement. "Alright bastard, why do all of that? Why give him the power? What do you get out of this?"

"I get to be entertained. I get to see what happens when Equestria's timeline is ripped apart and stitched back together like...you have Frankenstein in your reality, correct? It's hard to keep track nowadays. Especially after all the repeats."

"That's it? You're allowing ponies entire timelines to be wiped out so that you can be entertained?!" Trunks bellowed, his fury reaching a point that his hair began to flash with shades of blonde.

"Do not try to take the high road, Trunks. You've already caused more irreplaceable damage with your little stint with Sombra than Clockwork has with shifting the timelines," the metal man chastised him. "You are the villain in this story. Every single time."

"As if you're one to talk. I've saved dozens of lives since arriving here. And I'm going to continue to save lives, put an end to Clockwork and make sure that the timeline is safe. I will protect the ponies."

"Like you protected humanity against Zamasu?"

Trunks hair erupted into a fury of blonde power as it stood up on end, followed by an unholy bellow as Trunks threw the metal man across the blackness. The metal man used a single hand to right himself, but Trunks had already taken aim and fired a massive blast of ki towards the being. The being extended a single hand to intercept the blast...and the blast of ki vanished into thin air.

"What...?" Trunks asked, his fury replaced for a moment by confusion.

"Trunks, I killed the other three members of your little Time Patrol. Did you really think I was able to do that without someway to nullify the power that you all wield?" the being asked as he raised his right arm, revealing that it had blue lines running through it, along with several other extensions that Trunks couldn't place. "This is a ki nullifier. I take it even you understand what that means."

"Yeah, it means you can nullify my ki attacks. So what?!" Trunks bellowed as his muscles swelled beneath his suit, a golden aura surrounding his body as he channeled his ki into his body. "That just means I get to rip you apart with my bare hands!"

With another roar, Trunks hurled himself towards the metal man, with speeds that even other ki users would barely be able to keep up with. But Trunks, in his anger, did not try any fancy tricks or try to confuse his opponent. He when straight in for the kill. Allowing the metal being to know exactly what to do next.

The metal man extended his left arm, hidden beneath the cloak, towards Trunks and a cloud of gas spewed from within the cloak. Trunks hadn't realized what the metal man had done until after the gas had already reached his face. The moment he inhaled some of the gas he crashed to the ground and skidded past the metal man, his golden hair return to its blue state. Trunks hardly even noticed that it had happened.

The Saiyan warrior's body was wracked with pain, with his muscles spasming out of control in furious agony. His mind was like an inferno of pain, preventing him from being able to focus on anything but the pain. Each breath was like inhaling hellfire and each pound of his heart was like a blade being driven into each nerve. With what little concentration he could muster, he tried to reach his ki, but his body did not respond. He barely noticed the blood that was pouring from his mouth and eyes or the fact that he could no longer see, but there was one thing he could still do. He could still hear. And the metal man knew that as well.

"You Saiyans are all the same. Thinking that because you're powerful enough to rival gods or destroy the heavens that you're invincible. You're not," the metal man said, cementing his point by driving his foot into the gut of Trunks. Trunks roared in agony as the pain he had been feeling increased tenfold by the blow. "You're flesh and blood, just like the rest of the world. And despite all of your power, all of you training and all of your hair colors, you are meat. And like all other meat, you are susceptible to...decay. You are easy to beat Trunks. I should know. I've done it millions of times."

The metal man lifted Trunks with one hand, before slamming him back first into the ground, getting Trunks to below with agony once more. "Like this sickness I concocted in case I ran into another one of you Super Saiyans. Amplification of your pain receptors. Extreme weakness in tissue and skin. Inhibitors to your motor functions. Complete shutdown of visual sensors. And a complete cut off to your ki reserves. You are tough, but all that does is prolong the suffering. Right now, your own body is trying to fight off the sickness I placed in you and it is ripping itself apart to do so. That is because the sickness bonds with your cells, making it apart of you. So the only way it can rid itself of the sickness...is to kill itself.

"Do I understand what I'm saying, oh hero of the future? You breath like the rest of those humans you failed, you suffer just like those you failed...and you will die, just like every other single one of those people you failed. You will just take a little longer to do so," the being finished as it rose from the dying Trunks and began to walk away. Then an idea struck him. A dangerous, foolish, but a so deliciously enticing idea that the being had no choice but to act upon it.

"You failed to stop the Androids from killing your mentor and people. You failed to stop Cell from killing you and returning to the past. And you failed to stop Zamasu from killing your mother and finally finishing off your world. Your's is a legacy of failure, Trunks. And you've failed these ponies far more than you will ever know," the metal man said as he knelt down in front of Trunks, lifting the warriors head so that they were looking eye to eye, even though Trunks could see him. Then he reached inside his cloak and pulled out a tiny vial of liquid, which he shifted between his metal fingers.

"But I am not a being that enjoys things that are predictable. And whenever it seems like you are at your lowest, you find a way to...make things interesting. Saving Goku, redeeming Vegeta and your Rage form...yes, perhaps I can get a little more entertainment out of you yet."

The metal being then tossed the vial somewhere into the darkness, before looking back down at Trunks. "I have just thrown the cure to what is killing you somewhere in this darkness. If you can find it in the pitiful amount of time you have left to live, it will save your life and allow you to challenge Clockwork and what he is doing. Fail, and die. Those are your only options."

All Trunks could do was spit up more blood in reply.

"I know it seems impossible. I know that right now your body is shutting down, leaving you unable to so much as curse my name. Maestro, by the way. But if you are truly the hero that you claim you are, then you should be able to find it and survive. After all, Trunks, isn't that what heroes do? Overcome impossible odds? Maybe actually save this timeline? And I know you won't believe me when I tell you this, but I would truly hate for you to die here. That would be so dreadfully boring."

The Maestro was gone a moment later, leaving Trunks alone with his agony and suffering in the darkness. He knew that the cure was out in the darkness somewhere, waiting for him to grab it. Yet Trunks was in an unending state of suffering and pain. He knew that he had less than minutes to live. He then dug deeper than he ever had, digging to the depths that he had dug to when he had been forced to face Cell, when he had fought Zamasu. With a roar of strength, he reached out with a single hand.

And grabbed at nothing.

His body then fully shut down a moment later, leaving him unable to feel a thing. His limbs didn't respond, his ki wouldn't come at his call, and he was painfully aware of how all of his sense seemed to be leaving him. With agony and regret tearing apart his heart, he knew that this would be it for him. Beaten by a being that he knew nothing about. He had so many people he wanted to apologize to, so many amends to make, but as his brain began to finally shut down as well, only one name crossed his mind.

'...Mai...'

Then Trunks mind went dark.