If you haven't read any of this fic before, the text in italics is from Trunks' monologue after the hyperbolic time chamber while Vegeta is fighting Cell.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or any of its stories. I just like to borrow them from time to time and play with them, but I promise to put them back when I am done.

Hope

I stood out on that little bit of rock outcropping that had stubbornly stayed in tack in the midst of the ruthless destruction, much like my own spirit. As I watched my father attack this monster known as Cell, I contemplated the circumstances that had brought me to this place and this time.

I almost can't believe that this day is finally come. All of our training, all of our hard work, it was all for this moment.

Although I was thinking of my time in the hyperbolic time chamber, my journey to this point had begun a very long time before that. I had hoped the time chamber would be the turning point of a life that I knew had been a considerable disappointment and failure.

In the past I had lived through, Gohan had believed in me and had died expecting me to become so much more than I was. I had let down my own time and had not been much more of a hero to this time. What had I accomplished? Was my only heroic action to be bringing the cure to the heart virus? Was that all I was capable of? Sure I had "saved" Goku, but the androids were still here and they were stronger than in my time.

And now there was Cell, who I had never seen in my timeline. It is all my fault that he's even here. He is just another shining example of my failure. So much had changed from how it was supposed to be and nothing had changed in my timeline. That was why I came back, because I was not strong enough and because I had failed in the cowardly method I had chosen to defeat the androids from my time

My mother had sent me back to the past the first time as the last hope for a world that was slowly being exterminated. She believed that my giving Goku the cure to the heart virus would save him, so he'd be around to defeat the androids I could not even touch. I had gone to the past to save myself from the humiliation of knowing I couldn't save my world. That fact was painfully obvious to me as I got into the time machine and headed to the past. But I had hope. Hope that Goku would save us, would save me, from my humiliation and failure as a Saiyan.

Being able to defeat Freeza and King Cold was only a bonus. Mother had calculated approximately when and where I would end up in time, but she could not program the machine for an exact place or moment. She wasn't sure how long the time travel would take. There were just too many variables involved. She did know that we needed to be able to give them as much time as possible to prepare for the threat to their future.

When I arrived in the past, I immediately capsulized the time-machine and placed it in its protective container along with the other carefully selected capsules. I needed to make sure I conserved as much energy as possible. Mother warned me to not use the machine any more than I had to. She didn't need to emphasize that point to me. I was well aware of the dangers of getting stuck in the past.

It was a very tricky mission I was on, but it was a simple one. Find Goku. Give him the cure. Return home. No sight seeing. No trying to find my father. The longer I was here the more I would be in danger of running into people who could jeopardize my future. The plan was to make sure I arrived when Goku returned. We knew exactly where he was landing. The mark his craft left still marred the landscape of the future. Unfortunately, it was not the only remnant of harm to the planet.

I glanced down at my wrist to observe the clever device my mother had created. She was always making amazing little gadgets. This one was no exception. In the few moments since I had arrived in the past, it had calculated exactly when and where I was. To my delight, Goku would be arriving very soon. He would be here in less than half a day. All I needed to do was get to the landing location and wait him out. It was unlikely I would run into anyone so far out in the desert. Things were going even better than planned.

As a precaution, I decided to try to locate the strongest forces on the planet and make sure they were a safe distance away from my final destination. When I felt out their forces, I was startled to realize that they were not only all together, but they were dangerously close to where Goku was supposed to land. What were they all doing out there in the desert?

As I was contemplating this disturbing turn of events, I became aware of a presence that I was startled to realize I had not sensed the moment I set foot on the soil of the past. I should have been able to considering the time I had come from, but androids don't give off any sort of power reading. I could sense evil. And it was an evil that was greater than all of the Z-warriors combined.

I vaguely remembered mother telling me about the battle that Goku and the other Z-warriors had fought not long after Goku's return to Earth. She never really told me many of the details of this battle only that it had been with some monster that Goku had battled on Namek. It was the monster that had made Goku harness all of his anger and rage into becoming a Super Saiyan. What was that creature's name? I couldn't remember. It had something to do with cold, which mirrored the feeling I was getting from that evil ki.

I decided I needed to get to the location of the impending battle. I knew there was nothing I could do for them, because my interference would mean exposing myself to their questions and making them aware of my presence. I felt like a coward, but I had to do as little damage to the future as possible.

As I flew quickly over the landscape, I should have taken the time to looks at my surroundings. The sky was blue, the trees were tall, the grass was green, and there was a city skyline in the distance. All these things were nearly impossible to find in the wake of the androids from my time. But I wasn't considering the things around me. I was focused on the task of searching my memory for bits of information about this battle. Anything I could use to possibly help them out. Suddenly, I remembered a name, Freeza. How could I have forgotten that name and the pain that being had caused?

Gohan had told me about Freeza and the terrors that creature had unleashed upon the universe. Freeza had destroyed my home planet of Vegeta-sai and almost all of my people long before I was even a consideration in any world. Goku had destroyed that vial monster, but not before Freeza had killed my father and set in to motion the destruction of Namek. Even many years later, Gohan had still seemed troubled by the thought that with the destruction of Namek had also come the death of his own father. But Goku was always more resilient than that. He was not so easily destroyed in battle and neither was Freeza, unfortunately.

Gohan had known instantly when Freeza arrived on Earth, along with the rest of the Z-warriors. Somehow Freeza had survived and the creature had become even more of a monster. This creature had been mechanically restored and enhanced. While they knew they could not sense this evil being's true power, the Z-fighters all knew he was more powerful than he had ever been on Namek.

Gohan did not give me all of the details of the battle, but he did tell me that my father had been the first to challenge Freeza and the first to fall. He was on the verge of death before Piccolo stepped in and was almost killed himself. One by one each of the warriors stood up to the challenge and failed, including Gohan.

Freeza did not fully kill any of them because he wanted them all to know their failure and live through the ultimate destruction of Earth. He didn't just want revenge on these friends of Goku's; he wanted to fully humiliate them. Before this monster could finish his plans, Goku arrived on Earth. The battle went on for a while, but Goku again emerged victorious and sent Freeza and his father, King Cold, to the gates of hell.

As I settled to the ground not far from the Z-warriors, I lowered my ki as low as I could without putting myself into a coma. I couldn't risk being detected. I sought out and found a place to hide where I could observe the battle that was sure to come without being seen myself. As I settled under an outcropping of rock on a hillside not far from Freeza's ship, I finally got a chance to look at the Z-warriors.

They were all creeping around the rocky landscape in an effort to approach Freeza's ship without being seen. As I tried to identify the warriors I had only seen in photographs before this moment, a very disturbing sight caught my eye. I hastily stood up in an effort to see better and unknowingly almost revealed my hiding spot. To my growing horror, I could see an unmistakably familiar tuft of turquoise hair peeking up over a rock about half a mile from my location.

She had never told me! She never once mentioned it! That must be why she tried so hard to make sure I arrived after Goku. But she had failed, and now I knew what she had kept hidden from me for all these years. She must have forbidden Gohan from ever telling me. I could not believe that my mother was out here in grievous danger. Not only was she here, but she was moving closer to that monster Freeza.

I could not risk being seen, but I had to do something. I had to make sure my mother stayed safe. Suddenly, letting the Z-warriors fend for themselves was no longer an option. Looking back down at Freeza's ship, I watched as soldier after soldier exited the craft. They were completely out numbered. While the individual power of each soldier was insignificant, their combined numbers would quickly wear them down. I could not let them be almost destroyed by this monster. Who would keep my mother safe? More importantly, Freeza was insignificant compared to what awaited them with the androids. They needed all the time they could get to prepare for this upcoming threat.

Now there was no way I would be able to accomplish my goal without revealing myself to them. There was too much at stake now to remain the shadow I had hoped to be in this time. I could only hope that they would be content with little information and be willing to take what they saw at face value without thinking about me after I left. I decided that defeating Freeza for them would now help to prove myself. They did not know me and were sure to be skeptical of who I was and what I had to tell them, but if I could save them from Freeza then that would have to be enough proof that what I said was true.

I stayed at my hidden location and waited for Freeza to emerge. As soon as I saw him, I felt a tremendous rage towards this creature that had been almost completely turned into what I feared and loathed the most, an android. I fought to contain myself when I saw that creature, who had been turned into the worst kind of monster. Suddenly the more noble purposes I had in mind for defeating this abomination were insignificant. My mind started to work on a different level - one of revenge and hatred.

While none of the Z-fighters could compare in power to Freeza and King Cold, I could. I had surpassed all of them with the life I had to lead in the future. Gohan had trained me well. Freeza would be no match for me, and King Cold was almost a waste of my time. I knew that I could defeat both of them with little trouble, and I needed a release from the anger and frustration that was pent up in my soul. I had to be able to destroy something that had left nothing but death in its wake. To be honest, Freeza meant nothing to me, but I could see the faces of those androids when I looked at that loathsome creature. Somewhere, deep inside of me, I hoped that destroying Freeza and King Cold would atone for my failure in my time.

I know I was arrogant that day. It just seemed natural. I knew that they were absolutely no match for me. I wanted to prove myself to that annoying Freeza, to the Z-warriors, and to myself. I wanted to protect my mother. Almost more importantly, I wanted to show off to my father. Although I knew that he could not know who I really was, I wanted him to be impressed with me and my abilities. I did not realize that my defeating Freeza and King Cold would have quite the opposite impact on him. I didn't know him, but a fool could tell that he was angry, angry with me for being a Super Saiyan and for being able to destroy Freeza so soundly, with so little effort.

After defeating Freeza, the Z-fighters did not seem to want to approach me. They were curious, but almost afraid of me as well. It did not help that I would not give them any information other than telling them when and where Goku would return.

They were true warriors. They had seen many an enemy that would defeat others for their own purposes only to turn and fight them as well. Having a common enemy did not mean that you would still be allies after that enemy was destroyed. They knew I was stronger than all of them, which could not have helped them feel any more at ease.

Their stares and inquiring glances while we waited for Goku made me wish that I had taken more time defeating Freeza. I'm not used to being the center of attention or being around such experienced warriors. There was so much that I wanted to ask and to tell them, but I had to make sure that I told them as little as possible about their future as I could.

Mother had made me promise if I saw any of them that I would not reveal to them things that might alter their futures. While I knew this was important, my primary goal was to make sure that I was actually born. Mother had told me that my conception had been a bit of a fling, and I needed to assure that "fling" still occurred. Knowing of my presence and their future could have terrible consequences on the Vegeta and Bulma of this time and on whether or not I was born.

So I sat there and tried not to think about any of them, but I kept finding myself looking at my father. I never really knew what he looked like. Mother had pictures, but my father was always the aloof figure off in the distance. I kept trying to catch glimpses of him to try to memorize his features and figure him out. He didn't like that very much. He didn't like me very much.

At the time, I'm not sure how much I realized that my being there pointed out his failures as a Saiyan. He knew I was just a boy of no more than 18. I had surpassed him and had done it at a younger age. That must have been a crushing blow for him. I didn't think of those consequences, just like I didn't think of any of the other consequences in my killing Freeza. I would like to hope that my being a Super Saiyan got under his skin enough to propel him to becoming one as well. It's foolish of me to think I had that much of an impact on his life, but I went home hoping he did not forget about me, that I somehow stuck in his head.

When Goku finally arrived, I was nervous to finally meet and talk to Gohan's father, but I had a mission to accomplish. My time there was running out. Mother wanted me to give Goku the heart medicine and return home as soon as I could. I knew she had to be growing frantic. She told me the computer should be able to locate Goku as soon as I arrived in the past, and it should only take a matter of hours for me to get to him and give him the medicine. She did not know that the machine might take me further back than she intended.

With defeating Freeza and waiting for Goku, I had been here for several more hours than she had anticipated. She developed the machine so that it would stay in sync with my time. Mother told me that it would be too difficult on my body and dangerous to the time continuum for me to come back at a different time than I was intended for. So if I came back at the same time I left, then I would always be out of my intended time even if it were only by a few hours. She knew exactly how long I had been here because the same amount of time had passed for her. Knowing my mother as well as I do, I knew that she was going crazy in the future wondering if I was okay.

The conversation with Goku went better than I had expected. I did not know anything about Goku other than what mom and Gohan had told me. I knew he was the legendary Goku, but I had to make sure, and I wanted to see his power. That is why I challenged him. I could tell that he did not fear me and that he could have easily destroyed me. Knowing that, and judging his reaction to me, helped me determine that I was doing the right thing by prolonging his life.

I had thought that knowing you were going to die would have more of an impact on someone than it did on Goku. He did not seem fazed by it any more than if I had told him the changing of the weather. He was more upset at the fact that he was not around to help defeat the androids. Sparring with him briefly and talking to him gave me the hope I had been looking for when I traveled to the past.

Mom was right. Goku may be the strongest fighter in the universe, but that was not what made him the best. The fact that his just being there gave you the courage to carry on and know that all would be right with the world was just what the Z-warriors needed to face the difficult future. His presence is what I needed to fight the androids. There was something about him that just gave you hope.

And hope is what I took back with me as I piloted the time machine back to my future. I knew that Goku would overcome the androids and that all would be right with the world once again. My trip had been short, but I knew that I would see all of those I had just met again in the future. For the first time in my life, the future held genuine hope.


Revision Notes: I know this is not chapter three, but I realized I had made some big errors in the first chapter and felt I needed to fix them before I continued. Please forgive me. I hope to be working on chapter three soon.