Bulma slumped back into the firm cushions of the pilot's chair, taking a deep sigh as gravity became a purely downward thing once again.

She smiled and thought triumphantly, I really did it. No one else helped me. I really am going to get to do this on my own!

With a happy little feeling of accomplishment, she flipped the switch to open the cockpit top and gathered up the capsules of her possessions, making sure that she had everything she would need.

"Trunks!"

Bulma jumped out of her seat at the scream, capsules scattering all over the floor as she shrieked and ducked under the side of the ship in terror.

"Trunks! You're home!" The oddly familiar voice called again.

Bulma frowned. Is it… Could it be…?

Despite herself, she slowly stood up to look at the welcoming committee standing there in the lawn of the future Capsule Corporation building.

There was a moment of stunned silence as both women looked at each other. Just that one moment of silence where both could not believe what they were seeing.

Then the dam broke and each exclaimed, "It's really you!" The young Bulma quickly climbed down out of the ship as the older woman rushed up from the front doors to meet her.

But one thing that had been learned over these hard times was logic in the face of adrenaline. The long haired woman asked, "Where's Trunks? Why didn't he come back with you?"

Bulma scowled. What was it with her and this 'Trunks' guy? "How could I bring him with me if I don't even know who he is?!" She snapped back at her future self. "There wasn't exactly an instruction booklet on this thing, you know."

The older woman's eyes widened and her heart plummeted. "You don't know who Trunks is?" She whispered, mortified. Then her eyes widened even further, "Wait… Twenty years ago…"

Bulma was confused. Why should I know this guy? What's so important about it? She opened her mouth to demand some answers, but didn't get a chance.

Her older self rounded on her, suddenly very angry. "What in the world do you think you're doing here?! You're supposed to be back with Vegeta!"

Out of all the things she ever expected to hear coming from her own mouth, this was most definitely not one of them. She blinked two very large blue eyes. "What?"

"Do you have any idea at all what you're doing?" She butted in before Bulma had any chance to retort. "Do you even know what happens to you in the future?"

Bulma instantly calmed down, drawn in by the lure of this information. "No. What happens?"

The older of the two calmed down as well. There was really no point in yelling at the other if she didn't know anything. She sighed and faked a cheery smile, "Let's go on in and get settled. Then we can figure out what to do about all of this.

A dark shape rocketed out of the open ship as the two oblivious women walked towards the future Capsule Corporation Building. Something that was obviously not human judging from its speed alone.

Bulma gasped, noticing that the wrecked and half collapsed fixer-upper was what had become of her beloved home. The once, tall green and flower bedecked lawn now was littered with pieces of the building beyond. I didn't know that kid's world was this bad. She felt a pang of sympathy flutter through her heart and understood perfectly well why he had been so thrilled to stay with the Sons.

As they walked the older woman said, "I have one thing to ask before I start answering your questions."

The short haired girl nodded. That seemed fair enough.

"If Trunks didn't come back…if you don't know who he is…" The older Bulma's eyes began to twinkle with suppressed tears. What if something had gone wrong? What if her son wasn't coming back? What if he was… She shook her ponytail with the effort to block out that train of thought. "Then who was it that gave Goku the antidote and warned you guys about the androids?"

Bulma giggled. "Oh that guy? He's the really cute teenager that's training with Goku. We call him CK."

The older woman stopped mid-track and gasped, her eyes glowing with happiness. "CK? As in Calvin Klein?"

Bulma was thrown off by the sudden change in her older self, but answered, "Yeah, that's what he said his name was."

The laughter escaped as relief flooded through the future Bulma. My smart boy. My smart, genius child. She thought happily to herself. Her Trunks would have known letting past Bulma and Vegeta know his real name could change the future entirely in a negative manner. So, he had picked a name that those who knew him, would know who it was. Calvin Klein…A brand of men's trunks. Amusing son, amusing.

"So, why did that young man let you take his time machine?" The future Bulma asked all too shrewdly.

The younger woman blushed, saying, "Well, he didn't exactly let me take it. Or at least not use it anyway." The two slipped through the main entrance and into a dark hallway that led to the kitchen. "You see, he was going to go train with Goku for a while, but the only way Goku convinced him to do it and not go immediately back to the future was to have me take the ship and learn how to program it to go back to a just a few hours after he left…" Bulma's eyes widened in shock as she realized. "Oops. I totally spaced that part. With all of the other modifications it slipped my mind."

Trunks' mother nodded, understandingly. Her son would not have wanted to abandon her here in the future, even if it meant gaining the power to meet the androids. His loyalty ran too deep. But if there was a way to do both, then he would have jumped at it. Secretly she was happy for him. For the first time in his life, her son would have gotten to experience life. Life without fear, life without death, life with love and hope. Even though she missed him terribly, Trunks' mother also wished he could stay back there and be happy.

The blue haired women sat down at the table and the longer haired one said, "There's a lot I can't tell you and before I know what I can, I've got to know. Why are you here?"