Spark of Hope

by justin.jossart

In a desolate future, a young boy dies in the place of his teacher. Alone, beaten, and crippled, the battered warrior fights on, despite losing everyone and everything he's ever loved. Miraculously, hope's light shines again in the form of a time machine that allows our hero to go back and change things... but will they be for the better? Future Gohan x Present Bulma

1. PROLOGUE

The Spark of Hope

by Justin Jossart

A/N: I know this prologue is super short. That's why I uploaded it and the first chapter at the same time. Please forgive me for killing off Future Trunks, but it was necessary for the plot to continue. This story is going to explore the question: "What if Trunks had died, and Future Gohan was the warrior who went back in time to warn the Z Fighters about the threat of the androids?"

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or any of its characters.

PROLOGUE

The world slowly faded into focus as the warrior regained consciousness. The battle had been worse than the ones before it; his enemies had hardly held back that time. Maybe they were finally tiring of their little game. Pain lanced through the warrior's body, though the majority was focused on his left shoulder. Looking down, the warrior cried out in shock. His left arm... his entire left arm was gone at the shoulder.

Pushing through the pain, and trying not to panic, the warrior fumbled for a small leather pouch tied to his belted gi. He had saved something for just such an occasion, in case his foes had injured him too badly to fight their tyranny. Awkwardly, he opened the pouch's drawstring with his teeth and his one remaining hand, letting its contents, a small, green bean, spill out onto the scorched earth below. Belying its mundane appearance, this bean, known as a Senzu Bean, could magically heal all wounds, restore his stamina, even his lost arm. Once, Senzu Beans were very rare, though the defenders of Earth usually had just enough to get through their worst battles. Now they were gone forever, except this last one. The warrior was about to pop the bean into his mouth, but stopped when he saw the lavender haired body about ten feet to his right.

"Trunks!" The warrior cried, dragging his injured body towards his student. Desperation gave him the strength to overcome the blinding pain that arced through his body with every movement. His student's eyes were wide but unseeing, his form unmoving. As he edged ever closer, the warrior could see that the boy's chest was still; he wasn't breathing. "TRUNKS!" the warrior called again, propelling himself the final few feet towards his student. "Wake up, Trunks, don't do this to me," the warrior begged. "I can't do this without you." He shoved the Senzu Bean into the boy's mouth, forcing him to chew, though the warrior already knew it was pointless. Senzu Beans don't bring back the dead. Only the Dragon Balls could do that, and they had been destroyed fifteen years prior.

Sobs racked the warrior's body. Why had Trunks been here at all? He had made the boy promise to stay behind. He shouldn't have been here; he wasn't ready. What was he going to tell the boy's mother?

Planet Earth suffered a devastating loss that day. Its old defender was crippled, its new one was destroyed, and the light of hope dimmed to barely a spark. For five years, that spark would continue to dwindle, kept alive in the heart of a single, one-armed warrior.