Trunks quickly took over his mother's lab. He studied all of her prototypes for the time machine and all of the notes made by both her and his grandfather. The science behind time travel was a little vague, but became clearer as he broke it down more. He silently thanked his mother for letting him work with her - it made this a lot easier. By the time he had finished, he completely understood the blueprints.

The blue gel his mother had salvaged from Capsule Corporation would act as a fuel. His grandfather had observed that it grew on its own at a slow rate, so it could be regenerated. They didn't have enough to fill the fuel systems in the blueprints, but he wasn't worried. The time machine was still a long ways away from completion - there could be enough by the time he finished.

Weeks passed, and Trunks was ready to move onto the building stage. One evening, he gathered and catalogued everything that was in the lab. As he did, he realized he was missing some equipment. The time machine was going to be made out of a tough steel, and he needed to be able to weld the walls of it together. He didn't have money to go to the store and buy it. He wasn't even sure if stores were around anymore. He leaned his cheek against his hand, as he tried to figure out where he was going to get it.

Then, it hit him. His grandfather had one. He used it to fix up their broken appliances, back at the cottage he grew up in. That place was in the middle of nowhere. All of that equipment was probably still there, waiting to be used.

The next morning, he set off to find his old home. He didn't remember where it was - he was brought there as a baby and was unconscious when he left. His only clue came from Piccolo, who said he remembered finding them near the Spinach Wastes. Nevertheless, he went off to search for it.

He remembered they lived in a quiet valley. There was a forest at the top of the hill and a mountain that loomed over them. The cottage wasn't very big - it had two stories with a basement underneath it all. Even with the circumstances that brought them there, it was still the place where he was the happiest. His eyes looked all over the landscape, trying to find it.

Then, he spotted it. He quickly flew down and landed. Nature had reclaimed some of the house, as vines and moss were growing over exposed parts of the house. The giant hole that Mercenary Tao had crashed through was in the exact spot he remembered it being in. It was left untouched for years. Surely, he'd find what he needed.

Trunks carefully stepped into the house. All of the furniture was ruined, the wood rotting and upholstery molding. His mother hadn't taken much - most of it was his stuff. As he walked through the first floor, so many memories came flooding back. There was still a dent in the wall where he threw a baseball. The carpet was stained where he spilled some juice. He hadn't thought about any of this in years, yet he remembered it like it was yesterday.

He shook his head. He couldn't waste time going down memory lane - he needed to find the tools.

He quickly found the way to his grandfather's lab and carefully traversed down the stairs to it. His mother had taken a lot of the equipment, but there was still some she left behind. She probably didn't think she'd need the bigger stuff. He opened all of the metal cabinets - he remembered his grandfather keeping them in there.

Sure enough, his memory was correct. All of the welding equipment was in a large cabinet against the wall. He felt around the sides, until his finger landed on a button. When he hit it twice, it collapsed into a capsule and he stuck it in his pocket.

With that settled and done, Trunks decided to look around the lab a little more. Maybe there was something else he could take with him. As he did, he found a big machine in the corner of the room. His mother used to sit at it every night when he was a kid. He never understood why. He'd try to sneak down and find out, but he always had to run back to his room before he could learn. It stuck in the back of his mind for years.

He walked around the machine and examined it. There was a microphone on the front and a small computer monitor attached to it. There was a wire that ran into the wall, leading to who knows where. He tried to turn it on, but the power wouldn't start. He kept poking around the machine, trying to find a work around.

His thumb hit a button by accident, and a tray fell forward. Inside of it were some cassette tapes. They were blank, without any labels on them, but looked to be fully played. He stuck those in his pocket. He had a feeling he needed to listen to them. Once he had everything gathered, he left the cottage. He looked back at it one last time, then flew back to the Lookout.

Progress on the time machine was slow, at first, but gradually began to pick up. Trunks managed to scavenge all of the steel and machinery by looking through ruined cities. Putting it all together was fairly simple. His mother always had a knack for making these complex tasks easy to manage and understand. In six months' time, he had the basic framework for the time machine mostly complete.

However, even with all of his scavenging, there were still some components he didn't have. He was able to repurpose some of the mechanics from old cars and bikes. But the fuel required some very specific parts. He couldn't use a spark-igniter, like he would for something that ran on gas. The blue gel required something even more powerful to work as fuel. Maybe he could fashion something, himself, but he didn't know how. And he wasn't going to risk wasting the fuel in order to test it.

He did some research on the old computer in the lab. According to multiple articles, the strongest car-igniter was produced for Capsule Corporations' recent capsule car models. They were set for full production and sales, but were cancelled when the androids attacked Purple City, where they were being built.

He put his hand under his chin, as he stared at the computer screen. He remembered that attack. He didn't remember the entire city being decimated. He had managed to evacuate a lot of the people before the androids could get to them. When there wasn't anyone to torment, they just left. That factory was probably still standing. If they were ready for a full release of those bikes, that meant a lot of them were there. Surely, he could find at least one of those parts.

The following day, Trunks set out for the remains of Purple City. The old Capsule Corporation factory was easy to spot. It was massive, with huge smoke stacks and a large glass ceiling. Aside from some smashed windows and a broken smoke stack, it was mostly intact. He quickly landed in front of the building and went inside.

The interior was a mess. Desks were pushed over, papers were laying on the floor, and personal items were left forgotten. As he stepped further inside, glass broke underneath one of his shoes. When he looked down, he was standing on a picture frame. Inside was a photo of two women and a child. They were happily looking into the camera together. He shut his eyes, hoping those three were still alive somewhere.

A directory of the factory was pinned to a wall. Once he figured out where the actual factories were, he began to head in that direction.

As he traversed the grounds, an odd feeling crept into his stomach. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. It sounded like he was being followed. He immediately powered up into a Super Saiyan. If a confrontation with someone came, he needed to be on guard for it. Then, he kept walking.

He finally reached the factory floor. It was even more of a mess than the rest of the building. Broken glass was scattered all over the ground. Tools like hammers and screwdrivers were lying at random around the room. It was as if everyone vacated the area all at once in panic, desperate to get away.

But he was in luck - one completed car was sitting on the conveyor belt. He ran up to it and popped off the hood. If those leaked blueprints he saw were right, then the ignitor was located right next to the engine. And sure enough, it was. Carefully, he pulled off the wires attached to it and tore it right off. He smiled, as he stuck it into his pocket. He had all of the supplies he needed to reattach it back at the Lookout.

He left the factory floor the way he came. But right as he took a step out, he was suddenly surrounded. A dozen soldiers in armor blocked his way, pointing rifles at him. Their faces were covered by visors on their helmets.

"Don't move," the one in the front shouted. He must have been the leader. "Unless you know what's good for you!"

Trunks put his hands in the air. "This isn't what you think. I'm not here to hurt anyone."

They scoffed. "You expect us to believe that?! We have eyes - we can see that power coming off of you. You're just like those damned androids!"

Trunks knew they were just being cautious, but hearing that still hurt. He breathed out of his nose to keep himself calm. "I'm not with them. Please understand that. If you let me go, I'll be out of here forever."

"Yeah right," another one said. "That's what they all say. The only reason anyone ever comes here is to scavenge old Capsule Corp tech. And it's never for good."

"Well I am. I don't want to fight any of you. But if you won't let me leave, I'll have no choice."

The leader pointed at one of the troops. "You there - the moment he moves, shoot him!" They nodded at them and readied their weapon.

Trunks crouched down. This was really how it was going to go. He'd have to try and be quick. Even if these guys thought he was a villain, he still didn't want to hurt them. He just needed to quickly jump over them and run out of the building before they could catch up with him. With the Super Saiyan form on his side, this was going to be easy.

Once he could get a good start, he jumped into the air, going right over the men. They gawked as he went right above them. Trunks was about to land on the ground when a loud bang echoed from behind. The next thing he knew, he was hit. He cried out as he felt searing pain in his back. He tripped and fell forward, barely managing to catch himself before he hit the ground. He knelt on the ground, as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

How were they able to knock him down that quickly? He was able to handle ki blasts just fine. Now bullets stopped him? So caught up in the pain, he let go of his Super Saiyan form.

"Wait," the leader shouted. He held up one hand. "Hold your fire!"

He lowered his weapon as he approached. Trunks just glared back at him, as he tried to control his breathing. He didn't say anything - he just stared at him. As he kept staring, Trunks wanted to snap and ask him what his problem was.

He finally spoke, again. "Trunks? Is that you?"

His heart stopped. How the hell did this guy know his name? He'd been so careful to not mention his name to anyone, these past few years. He wanted to remain as anonymous as he could, lest the androids use that against them. How did he know it?

The man holstered his weapon, and began taking off his helmet. As it came off, he shook his hair. The moment Trunks saw his face, his eyes widened. He was a teenage boy, who looked to be about his age. He had tanned skin, freckles, and dark curly hair.

"Calab?!"

Calab's eyes lit up. He quickly knelt down next to him and helped him onto his feet. "Oh my god, it is you! Holy shit! I-it's been so long!"

He winced, as he was hoisted back onto his feet. "Yeah, you can say that, again."

He grinned. "You haven't changed a bit. Have you, Trunks?"

"Hey," one of the other soldiers said. "Who is this guy?"

He turned back to the others. "This is Trunks. He's not a threat at all. He's actually an old friend of mine. We met when we were kids."

Though Calab spoke, Trunks couldn't hear him. He was barely processing what was going on. When Calab's village was attacked, he was sure that he was dead. He'd watched the androids kill his father, so he didn't think anyone else fared much better. But he had been alive this entire time. And was apparently the head of some militia. It was a lot to take in at once.

Calab patted his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. "Hey, do you got a minute? I'd love to take you back to the base and introduce you to everyone."

Trunks looked at him. He'd spent a long time getting here, and it was a long way back home. What would hanging out here a little longer hurt?

Calab took Trunks and the rest of his party back to their base camp. It was a little ways away, hidden in an old sewer. It turned out that Calab had been very busy these past few years. After his village had been attacked by the androids, the survivors united to stay alive together. And as their body count continued to grow, they networked with other surviving groups to support each other, as well. Their job was to move food and supplies to those who needed it. Calab wasn't even a leader, like he thought. He just happened to be one on their last mission.

Trunks couldn't help but envy it. For all of his talk about helping people and saving the world, these were the real heroes. They were the ones doing the hard work and keeping people alive. He had just been chasing dreams.

Once he showed him around, the two old friends went to catch up alone. They sat against the wall of a tunnel, lit by some small lanterns.

"After my dad died, I didn't know what to do," Calab said. "I felt so lost without him. It wasn't until the rest of us managed to put together this team that I found some kind of purpose. I could help people and make a real difference."

Trunks nodded. His experience wasn't so different, after all. "I know how that feels."

"Yeah. Things aren't always easy, but we've managed to make great progress. My mom is back near West City. She's helping with growing and foraging food. I don't get to see her very often, but we still manage to talk through our radios. When we figure out how to stop those androids, we can finally have some peace."

"Have you fought either of them head on?"

"Not yet. It's hard trying to keep up with them. We have posts near a couple of the remaining cities, so hopefully we can catch them off guard, one day. But for now, no - we don't take them on directly. But if we ever get caught, those new rifles we have might be strong enough to slow them down." He nudged Trunks. "It managed to take a Super Saiyan down, after all."

His jaw dropped. "How did you-"

"Remember it? How could I forget, after all that time we spent together? You were one of my best friends. I could never forget about that stuff." Calab smiled.

Trunks smiled back at him. He never would have expected him to remember all of that. It made him wish they had reconnected sooner. Maybe if he worked with them, things would have turned out differently.

"But that's enough about me. What about you, man? What have you been up to? Aside from all of that special training you've been doing."

He sighed. "I've been fighting the androids, too. I've had a lot more close calls than you have. Last time I went up against them, they almost killed me. Right now, I'm working on something that can help us fix all of this. It's why I was at that old Capsule Corp factory."

"That's amazing, Trunks. I should have known you were gutsy enough to fight them head-on. So that thing you're building - you're building it with your mom, right?"

Trunks frowned. He looked down at the floor. "My mom died about a year ago. She was trying to protect me from the androids."

Calab's eyes widened and he gasped. "Oh my god. I-I am so, so sorry. I-it was stupid of me to ask-"

"Save it," Trunks said. "You didn't know and that's fine." He blinked. He sounded a lot like Piccolo, there.

Calab bit his lip, pausing before he spoke, again. "Well, whatever it is you're working on, Trunks, I'm sure it'll help us good. Hey, maybe when you're done, you can help us out! We could use something with your power on our side."

He looked back over at him. Maybe that was the best option. He had no idea if the time machine was even gonna work. And if it did, it wouldn't change anything here, just like Piccolo said. Maybe being a big, superheroic savior wasn't the best use of his talents. He might save more people by being just another cog in the machine. And when he was strong enough, they could take on the androids together.

Trunks smiled at him. "Yeah. I'd like that."

After over a year of planning, scavenging, and building, the time machine was complete. Trunks, now a strong and capable seventeen year-old, had managed to put it all together almost exactly to his mother's specifications. In that time, the blue gel had regenerated enough to completely fill a fuel tank. Just enough to get him there and back, again.

Once construction was complete, Trunks and Piccolo discussed what their exact plan was going to be.

"So I'll travel back in time to the date and time you said," Trunks said. "That'll put me on the exact day that Frieza came to Earth?"

"That's right," said Piccolo. "It was late in the afternoon, so you should have plenty of time to prepare yourself."

"And then I go in and kill Frieza. Should I just… show up or what?"

"Whatever approach you think is the best. At your power, you're more than strong enough to take on Frieza on your own. Just do it before I run and fuse with Kami. And make sure Goku gets through it alive."

"After that, I'll tell you, well, the past you, about the androids. What should I say?"

"The truth. Don't sugarcoat it - make it clear what's going to happen if the androids take over. That'll give them the chance to prepare for it. Even the warriors who fell to the androids in this timeline might stand a chance with the right training. Which is another reason you need to make sure Kami and I don't fuse. Knowing the old man, he'll have a few things in mind for them."

"Right. Piccolo, there's another idea I've had. The fuel we have is only enough for a roundtrip, but it can regenerate itself. Maybe I can use the time machine to go to the day the android struck and help them fight. I know the exact date and time - I read it in an old news article. Do you think that would work?"

"I wouldn't think that far ahead. But if that's what you want, I don't think having a Super Saiyan on their side would hurt. Alright. That should cover everything. You'll go to the past tomorrow morning, once you're rested. Sound good?"

He nodded, with a smirk on his face. "Yes."

Once the meeting was over, Trunks went back into his room. As day turned into night, he found himself in his bed, lying on his back, and staring up at the ceiling. He needed to rest, but he had such a big day ahead of him. This was going to be his chance of finally fixing all of this. It was hard to sleep when he was so excited.

He turned over to one side. He had the radio turned to static for white noise. It was all he could bear to listen to for the past year. If he turned to a music station, he'd be on edge, waiting to hear about the next android attack. And the moment he heard about it, he knew he'd drop everything and go fight them, further delaying his journey to the past.

As he stared at the radio, he remembered something. He still hadn't listened to the cassette tapes he got back at the old cottage. He jumped out of bed and walked across the room, grabbing them off of his dresser. He went back to the radio, switching the settings to the cassette tape player. He quickly opened it, and put the tapes inside. Once they were in, he closed it and rewound them back to the beginning. The machine hummed, as the tape ran backwards at a fast speed.

Once they were done, the player made a loud clicking noise. Then, Trunks hit play.

"This message is for the Saiyans of Planet Vegeta!"

His heart stopped. It was his mother.

"This is Bulma! There was an attack on West City approximately two months ago - an android created by Dr. Gero! And I have reason to believe he'll do it, again! We need reinforcements on Earth immediately! Please respond!"

Before Trunks could process what he was hearing, another message began.

"Planet Vegeta? This is Bulma! I've attempted to reach contact with you several times and have not received an answer! The Earth is in danger because of an android created by Dr. Gero - the same man I believe is behind the murders on Planet Vegeta! We need reinforcements as soon as possible!"

"Vegeta! You need to come to Earth! We're in danger! Gero's android, h-he killed Raditz and almost killed my dad! W-we escaped, but we don't know how long we can hide! Please, we need your help!"

"Vegeta, can't you hear me?! Our family's in danger! Please, if you're not going to come back for me, do it for your son! Trunks needs you!"

The messages just went on and on. His mother pleaded to his father for help almost every day for an entire year. She tried to bargain with him. She tried to appeal to his emotions. She got angry and blew up at him. But she never got a response. With every new recording, Trunks felt himself getting angrier.

"Vegeta, if you don't care about me anymore, fine. But don't you care about Trunks? Your own son?! He doesn't deserve any of this! If you're still going to ignore his needs just because of me, I'll never forgive you! You hear me, Vegeta?!"

The pure vitriol of the last message was offset by the pure sorrow of the next one. His mother was sobbing for most of it. Barely able to get the words out. "Whatever I did, Vegeta. Whatever reason you've been ignoring me, I'm sorry. But please think about Trunks. He needs you. He needs you even more than I do. Please. Please come home."

He finally slammed his hand down on the stop button. He couldn't listen to another second.

Trunks leaned his forehead against the wall. All of his life, his mother told him how much his father loved them. How he was a hero and a role model to be looked up to. He'd had his doubts over the years, but hearing those pleas from his late mother cemented it.

If his father was so amazing, why did he abandon them? His mother begged him to come back and he never did. Even when she talked about how much was at stake. How could someone who cared about his family do that? Everything that happened to her was just as much his father's fault as it was for Gero and the androids.

And he'd never forgive him for it.