Out of Time

by Onomonopia

Cheating the System

Trunks forced himself back to his feet, trying not to notice how long it took him to do so. Or how all three Maestro's allowed him to get back up without striking him down. He then channeled all of the power he had within him and erupted into his Rage form once more, but there was none of the usual confidence he felt in his strongest form. It had taken everything he had to beat one Maestro. Now there were three.

"So this is what Clockwork meant when he said that all you were was a metal shell that was being controlled," Trunks snarled, trying to keep all three Maestro's within his sight. "None of you are the real him. You're all just shells that he's controlling from someplace else. Thought he only sent one of you at a time to a reality."

"Yes, normally I only allow one of my bodies to inhabit a reality. But you are an annoyance, Trunks. One that I will make sure to crush...thoroughly," the Maestro's said in unison. Then they attacked.

Trunks lashed out with his leg and caught the lion Maestro in the side of his head, sending him spinning off to the side. He snapped his leg to the ground and tried to raise his guard to defend himself against the next attacks, but he was a moment too slow. Shattered magic ripped into his chest while the reformed Maestro drove a fist into the side of Trunks face, snapping his jaw and sending him tumbling off to the side.

He had barely hit the ground before the shattered magic encompassed him once more, ripping him off of the ground and hoisting him into the air. Trunks strained against the magical bonds, but even the strength of his rage was not enough to break them. Maestro pulled Trunks into him, driving a metal boot into the face of the Saiyan before the other Maestro rammed his knee into the spine of Trunks.

Trunks could only let out a weak cry as he was sent tumbling head over heels, crashing into the ground and spitting up blood as his Rage form faded away, leaving him with his blue hair once more. Yet even though his body screamed at him to stay down, Trunks forced himself to rise once more, not just for his own sake, but for all of those who were counting on him, for those that needed him to win.

"Think of your loved ones, eh?" the Maestro's asked Trunks. His eyes narrowed in reply, getting the three suits to laugh in unison. "Yes, that is a trait that you heroes share. Whenever your back is against the wall, you think of your families, your friends, your loved ones, and it somehow gives you the strength to beat me. But interestingly enough, that doesn't seem to be true of your world, does it?"

"What...do you mean?" Trunks spat out, a bit of blood mixed in with his words.

"Think about it. You thought about all those you sought to protect when you fought Black. You failed. Your father's loved for Bulma increased his power to a level unseen when Beerus showed up. He failed. Gohan with Buu and the androids, even some of the fighters from other realities...seems that channeling the strength of your friends and family doesn't seem to work out for you, does it?"

Trunks tried to think of a response, but ended up saying nothing. He knew that the Maestro was in the right. Power is what made up his world. A lesson he had learned the hard way as a young boy. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, the Maestro held power in spades leagues above what Trunks could muster.

'I can't beat him,' Trunks finally admitted to himself. 'Even if I were somehow able to tap into the power father wields, it wouldn't be enough. He's...he's on a level that makes power useless. His powers, his abilities...my strength means nothing to him. I can't win. But I can sure as hell try!'

Mustering all of the strength he had left in his body, Trunks erupted with power one last time. His hair flickered gold for a moment, before it settled on its natural blue color. Knowing what was about to happen, he kicked off and tackled the main Maestro, driving his shoulder into the metal man and rocketing the both of them upwards through the ceiling overhead. they both burst through the metal into the previous arena, which had reconstructed itself.

"DIE!" Trunks roared as he hurled the Maestro into one of the metal walls, imbedding the master of shattered power into the wall. Trunks channeled his purple ki into his hands and brought them back, but before he could fire his attack the other two Maestro's caught up with him. One rammed a fist into his jaw and the other pulverized his intestines with his knee. Trunks spat up blood as his attack died in his hands, his vision going black as he fell down to the ground below. He didn't feel pain as he bounced off the ground, which he knew was bad, but his eyes still allowed him to see the Maestro's land next to him. That was worse.

"Well, seems our little game is at an end, Trunks," the Maestro in the wall said as the other two picked Trunks up by his arms and held him there. The main Maestro then raised a hand and pointed it at Trunks, shattered magic flowing along his fingertips. "You fought valiantly. And if it's any consolation, you were harder to kill than the Goku's or Vegeta's I fought. But not by much. Guess this is where we say farewell."

"At least..." Trunks muttered, barely conscious of what was going on. "At least Starlight will get her timeline back."

"Looking to the positives, eh? I like that about you. Too bad that i have to kill you now," Maestro replied.

"Not yet."

All three Maestro's turned their heads to see Starlight walking up to the group. Trunks tried, but his muscles failed him and his head slumped weakly against his chest. "Actually Maestro, before you kill him, I've got one last thing that I would like to speak with you about."

"Really? You haven't changed your mind on me, have you? Decided that you can't stand to watch as I destroy this worthless being without trying to save him?" Maestro asked Starlight with a bit of a laugh. Starlight said nothing in response. "A part of me is interested in what you have to say, but the other part of me knows that there is nothing that you can give or offer me that would convince me to save this beings life. Now stand back and watch as Trunks dies."

"Don't want to talk. Fine. Then I guess I'll threaten you," Starlight replied.

"That is even more amusing. You, a being with power nowhere close to Trunks, is going to threaten me? And how will you manage that?"

"Simple. Like this," Starlight replied, before her horn glowed with shattered magic.

For a full five seconds, Maestro was frozen solid by what Starlight had just done. Then with a roar of fury, disbelief and a hint of fear, all three bodies lunged towards her. And all she did was smirk. All three suits froze in mid air, none of them moving at all. Then Starlight's shattered magic erupted and struck each of the suits in the chest, causing their forms to shudder violently.

"Trunks! Destroy them, now!" Starlight roared at him, blood pouring from her eyes and mouth as she struggled to keep the shattered magic flowing. "Clockwork's keeping them frozen in time and I'm using my magic to keep them separate from their main body, but I can't do it for long. You're the only one strong enough to kill him!"

Trunks could barely comprehend her words, let alone what was going on. He was face down on the ground, watching what was going on out of the corner of his eye. His eyes rolled slightly towards where a reformed Clockwork was standing, his body glowing with a light he had never sen before. But he was also aware that Maestro's three bodies were starting to move.

He tried with all of his might to find some source of strength that would allow him to destroy Maestro, some power that he still had left. But all he had was nothing. There was no power left within him to summon so much as a spark, let alone an attack powerful enough to kill the Maestro.

"Trunks, he's killed Vegeta and Goku. Which means he's been to a version of your reality. Most likely in a reality where he killed everyone, or allowed them all to die," Starlight barely managed to spit out through gritted teeth. "Do you know what that means? He killed Mai!"

That thought collapsed the depths that Trunks had dug to and he found a newfound well of strength. With a roar of might that could be heard echoing throughout all of eternity, Trunks rose up to his feet, his hair crackling with a blue and gold light. He then summoned all of his new strength into his right hand, which crackled with a gold and black ki.

"FUTURE'S END!" Trunks roared as he threw an uppercut into the center of the three Maestro's, knocking them into the air. A massive dragon made entirely of black ki then emerged from the ground beneath the Maestro's, ripping into them and causing their bodies to fade away into ash. Starlight ceased her magic and Clockwork stopped his time powers, and all three of them looked up at the spot where the bodies had vanished away into nothingness. Then, altogether, they all collapsed to the ground.

"That's...it...I'm spent," Starlight admitted with a smirk. "But I think we actually got him this time."

"What...did you do?" Trunks asked, unable to move his head to look at her. "You used...the same kind of power...that he was using. How did you manage to do that?"

"I've...always been really good with magic...like stupidly good. I copied a time travel spell perfectly, I figured out a way to erase cutie marks...I even beat Twilight in a magic duel, but she won't admit it," Starlight wheezed back. "But figuring out how to copy the Maestro's magic...may just be...the hardest thing that I've ever had to do. The power...the agony...how he uses it on a regular basis I have no idea. All I know is that I hope I never have to use his power again."

"Wow...that's really impressive," Trunks admitted. "Hey Clockwork. Guess you're still alive."

"Yes, when I realized what Starlight was up to, I feinted my death and made it look like I had been destroyed. I was waiting for her cue to return."

"Wait...was I the only one that missed what was happening?"

"Yes...she betrayed you as a means to buy extra time for herself so that she could master Maestro's magic. Honestly, I believe you and Maestro are the only beings in the universe that couldn't see what she was doing.," Clockwork chuckled. "But it matters not. We have done it. I can sense...that all of the Maestro's influence is beginning to leave this realm. Unfortunately, that also means his world that he has created is starting to fade as well."

"Oh...guess that means that's it for us," Trunks sighed. "We have nowhere or no when else to go. When it fades, we'll fade along with it. Does that mean...that none of the timelines are going to come back? That everything we've done...is all of nothing?"

"Wow, I cannot believe that the being who bested me would be so quick to give up," Clockwork said with a small laugh, before he shifted his head to look at Starlight. "Starlight, I know it will hurt like nothing you have felt before, but I will need you to use the Maestro's magic one last time, if you wouldn't mind?"

"I'm up for one last bout of pain. What do you need me to do?"

"It's simple. We're going to save all the timelines."

Comments

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

Wow. Just wow. Starlight MVP.

The real Maestro must be raging right now that someone actually managed to copy his shattered magic.

[Tempest_Flare]

heh, that whole strategy was copied from teenage mutant ninja turtles (2012) which copied the entire episode from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!. buy time by pretending to be on the bad guy's side till you can outsmart them while using their own power against them. by no means am I saying that the strategy wasn't brilliant. but I've seemed it done before and kudos for not having star gain super intelligence because she already had it naturally that is a unique twist on that particular formula. (sorry that little bit was my inner The Maestro coming out)

[Grahf]

9058820
Or happy because it's something he has never seen before

[Mother3Forever]

9058843
As far as I'm aware, Ultra Instinct has the same flaw as SSJ God... That flaw being that it's TEMPORARY. So unless Maestro simply waited for it to wear off, then there's no way he beat him.

[titanhades70]

No doubt about it. If I ever get into a fight with a Universe destroying being, Starlight is the one pony I want on my side.

[AMuffinlover]

"Trunks, he's killed Vegeta and Goku. Which means he's been to a version of your reality. Most likely in a reality where he killed everyone, or allowed them all to die," Starlight barely managed to spit out through gritted teeth. "Do you know what that means? He killed Mai!"

Vegeta and Goku?? Damn son

Haha, best waifu horse Starlight strikes again by being the single most powerful entity in Equestria and possibly in that universe. Why did Trunks have to finish off the three Maestros though? I mean Clockwork should of been well rested and should easily been able to take out the 3 Maestros

[_CheckMate_]

9060644
Good to know.

[Rosegfx]

" Honestly, I believe you and Maestro are the only beings in the universe that couldn't see what she was doing.," Clockwork chuckled.

I think I see a small crack in the fourth wall