Conton City
It had been a number of years since Trunks had joined the Time Patrol. Countless missions, dozens of faces seen hundreds of times, countless moments experienced from a new perspective each time. He had seen moments from Goku's birth, to each of his deaths. He had even seen his own death about twelve times now. It was honestly starting to wear on him.
As he walked out onto the lawn of the Time Nest, the central hub of each scroll in history that told a new story, he noticed Toki Toki flying far above him, circling along the rim of the large environment. Having laid an egg a few years ago, the bird had been rebuilding it's strength. His eggs were capable of giving birth to new universes, though it did take a few centuries.
Watching the bird, he had almost completely ignored the loud argument coming from the walkway near the portal. Standing near it were two Saiyan warriors, warriors Trunks was proud to serve with. Son Goku, the legendary Saiyan who awakened the power of the Super Saiyan to defeat the tyrant Frieza, and Trunks' father, Vegeta, the prince of the Saiyan race. These weren't the versions from his timeline, nor from the timeline he had visited to help save from the cyborgs. They were from another timeline Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, had discovered. These two had saved their time a dozen times, being the perfect display of heroism and selflessness.
Their conversation, on the other hand, was less so. "But Vegeta!" Goku started, "The Galick Gun looks nearly identical to the Kamehameha! They're practically the same move!" The prince scowled, a vein pounding in his forehead. "Of course they aren't, you imbecile! The Galick Gun actually takes skill, unlike your stupid little stolen move! Why do you think Trunks used it in the battle against Zamasu?" Goku started laughing. "Well, the Trunks in OUR timeline used the Kamehameha, so..." And with that, Vegeta landed a blow to the top of the Saiyan's head, triggering an instant response of pain. "Shut your damn mouth clown!"
Laughing, Trunks headed towards his comrades. It was odd, seeing them all the time now. His Goku and Vegeta had died when he was just a baby. Goku had died of a heart virus a few months before the cyborgs had shown up, and couldn't be revived with the Dragon Blls, due to his death of natural causes. Meanwhile, his father fell in battle against 17, reduced to ash against the might of his superior foe. Now that he worked with them everyday, or at least, different versions of them, he felt like he knew them as if he had forever.
"Hey, father! Goku! What's up you guys?" He said, flying over. "Supreme Kai of Time said there was a mission that we needed to get to right away." Goku replied back. "And I heard it was dangerous, so that counts me in." Vegeta chimed in. Nodding to them both, Trunks led them to the Time Nest.
Time Nest
The room was massive. Scrolls, each detailing a day, a month, a year, a century, lined the walls of the dome. Each one recounted the tale of a heroic hero, a terrifying villain, or a run of the mill adventure. At the table in the center of the room, was the Elder Kai of Universe 7, and the Supreme Kai of Time, Chronoa. In front of them was a scroll, dark, swirling purple energy hanging over it.
"Yo, SK o' T! What's up?" Goku yelled, oblivious to the tense expression on her face. Gasping, she turned fast, not expecting her warriors to come in so soon. "AH, I didn't think you'd get here that fast!" Turning once more to the scroll, she watched it carefully, not wanting to miss any details. Elder Kai, noticing the situation, turned to the three Saiyans. "Ah, Goku, glad you could make it. This change in history is terrible!" He led them over to the scroll, letting them gaze at the change.
Inside the scroll, was the Tournament of Power arena. These versions of Goku and Vegeta had watched the events of the tournament with Trunks through a scroll, experiencing the power of the pair in that timeline. In the proper timeline, Goku, attaining the full power of Ultra Instinct, nearly defeated Jiren, the strongest warrior of Universe 7, before losing his power. With the likes of Frieza and Android 17, he managed to beat back the mighty foe, and bring the universes back into existance. But here, something had changed. And Vegeta noticed it instantly.
"Frieza's not in the arena! What happened?! And where's that Toppo guy?!" Elder Kai shook his head, frowning with his wrinkled face. "In this timeline, Toppo, upon awakening his God of Destruction power, accidentally released too much of it, and destroyed Frieza's spirit. Due to this, the Omni-Kings erased him from existance. Even so, him being gone didn't help this Universe 7. Since Frieza isn't there, he couldn't save Goku from being elimanated by Jiren, and only 17 is left to survive in the arena. It wasn't long before he was knocked off by the fighter."
Looking back at the scroll, Trunks watched as the Universe 7 of that timeline was erased, a frightened look on each of their faces. It pained him to see Gohan in total despair, crying about Videl and Pan. He saw Krillin, shouting about never seeing Marron again. But, even worse, was Vegeta, who was shouting all sorts of curses at Jiren and the Gods. He would never see Bra again, just a single day after her birth. Then, they were all gone. Beerus, Whis, the Kais, all of Universe 7 was gone. And in their place, was Jiren the Gray, standing smugly in the arena.
Age 780
"Jiren, the strongest of Universe 7, the victor of the Tournament of Power, and truly the strongest of all mortals! You have been bestowed the Super Dragon Balls! What is your wish?" The Grand Priest boomed, arms folded behind his back. Jiren looked up at his teammates, sans Toppo, as they yelled at him. "Bring back Toppo!" Cocotte yelled. "Bring back Universe 7, they were fun to fight!" Dyspo commanded.
But Jiren's smirk gave away his desire. He didn't want to waste this wish on weaker beings, on foolish people who relied too much on others for help. No, this was *his* prize, *his* wish. And he knew what *he* wanted. "I wish for my village to be revived, along with my master and fellow students! Heed my wish, Super Shenron, and bestow it upon me!" As Super Shenron's red eyes glowed, Jiren's smile grew wider. 'Finally, I can see them again! All of them!'
And then, there was nothing. No giant poof, no giant confetti. Super Shenron just stood there, staring at Jiren on the stage. The Grand Priest looked softly at him, with a hint of sadness. "Mister Jiren, I'm so sorry. But that is not the correct wish." With that, the Omni-Kings floated down to the arena. They both looked angry, angry enough to make any God of Destruction tremble in their boots. And indeed, Belmood was.
"We used the Super Dragon Balls as an incentive to see the selflessness of mortals!" One of the Zen-Ohs said. "You only thought of yourself to make that wish! It was very selfish!" The other chimed. "Yes, very selfish!" The first repeated. Jiren was sweating now, knowing well to fear the God of Gods. He dropped to his knees, and clasped his hands together in a praying position. "Please, my lords, please forgive my transgression! I didn't mean it! I'll ask for another wish, I promise!" But the lords did not give a reply, only an angered expression.
They raised their hands, now covered in a glowing light, and snapped their fingers. And all of Universe 11 was gone. And not just that, but as were the other universes. All that remained, were the angels, the Grand Priest, the attendants, and two angry lords.
Time Nest
"Geez, that was harsh!" Goku said, putting his hands on his hips. "I don't know who's more wrong, those little purple dudes, or Jiren!" Vegeta scoffed, closing his eyes while folding his arms. "As much as I'd hate to say it, Frieza being gone from all of existance sure is a terrible thing to see. Even worse is all of existence being gone. We need to fix this, right away!" "Right!" Goku replied back. "Send us in guys! We can fix this!"
The Supreme Kai of Time shook her head. I don't know you guys, this is really bad. This isn't just some villain getting stronger, or someone achieving a form earlier. This is one of the strongest warriors in the multiverse, coupled with the lords of it. This isn't another fight you can win with punching and energy attacks, this is a high-maintainence task."
Trunks pondered the problem, trying to find a solution. They couldn't talk the Zen-Ohs out of it, or risk being erased themselves. They probably couldn't beat Jiren either, seeing as Goku had to tap into Ultra Insinct to do that, and his Goku wasn't anywhere near that. They had to do something with Toppo. "Supreme Kai! How about you send me back to the start of Frieza and Toppo's fight! If I don't get seen by anyone, I can probably weaken him somehow, or at least get rid of the attack that erases Frieza!"
"That's a good plan, Trunks. But the problem is you *CAN'T* be seen! And you're in an arena surrounded by people a dozen times stronger than you! Not only that, but you're not even supposed to be in that timeline to begin with!" Trunks frowned. "Damn, that is bad. Well, we need to fix this soon, so how can we do that without one of us being seen?"
As he scanned the room, he suddently had an idea. "Father, that's it! We'll disguise you as this version of you, and you can stop Toppo from unleashing that blast! Then, he'll turn his attention to you, and fight you like in the main course of history. Well, the *other* you of course, but you know what I mean."
"Hmm, that does seem possible." Vegeta added. He thought the plan over, and a smirk appeared on his face. "Yes, let's do it!" "I like the sound of that!" Chronoa said. And with that, they set to work on disguising Vegeta.