Vegeta and Goku both looked up as they felt a familiar Ki suddenly appear.
"What's wrong?" Bulma asked as she noticed their odd expressions.
Vegeta snorted. "Trunks."
She jumped up, panicked. "What? My baby? What's wrong with him?"
"Not the baby, baka woman! Future Trunks." He unwound her hands from his shirt collar.
Her blue eyes danced. "He's here? Where? Lets go find him!" she bounded up the stairs, Goku and Dr. Briefs hot on her heels.
Vegeta sighed. Damned emotional human. And Kakarot was just as bad, no, probably worse. He followed them, but at a more dignified pace. As he walked out into the yard, he noticed everyone standing around his son. He looked terrible. He was filthy, his clothes were mere rags, his hair long and tangled.
Trunks looked up at his father. His blue eyes were as hard and cold as his black ones. "Father." He acknowledged.
"Oh! My baby! What happened to you? Are you alright?" Bulma wailed. He didn't look like he'd eaten in quite some time, and there was a fresh scar that ran from his forehead down over his left eye and onto his cheek.
He gave her a wane smile as he turned and activated the capsule in his hand. The time machine glowed then disappeared. He stared at it for a moment before placing it in its carrying case and handing it to her. "Here's a few things for you to play with."
She took it and looked into his sad eyes. "But you'll need it to get home."
"I won't be going back. It's gone. Everything. There's nothing to go back too." He whispered.
"What?!" Goku frowned. He could feel Trunks ki wavering sporadically. He grabbed him as his knee's buckled. "Trunks?" he carried the boy into the house, and placed him on the couch.
Bulma laid a cold cloth on his forehead. "My poor baby." She sniffed. His face was thinner, and his lips seemed to be turned down in a permanent frown. She thought about how much he really did look like his father.
"He needs his rest. Poor dear! I'll go get something on the table so he can have a good hot meal when he wakes up." Mrs. Briefs wiped the tears from her eyes and headed for the kitchen.
Goku's eyes lit up at the mention of food. He looked across at Vegeta. He was trying hard, but unconvincingly, to look unconcerned.
Dr. Briefs sat down on the arm of the couch. "Do you think this has anything to do with what's going on here?"
"It is strange that Trunks would show up just as all this stuff started. Last time he gave us three years warning." He tapped his lip thoughtfully. "If he couldn't save his world from whatever attacked…" he trailed off.
"Now lets not jump to a lot of false conclusions. He'll tell us what happened when he's strong enough." Bulma sighed and wiped at the grime plastered to his handsome face. It was so unlike him to let himself get in such bad shape. Whatever happened must have been horrible.
Trunks slept for a couple of hours. His face as still as if death had one the battle. His eyes fluttered open. Where was he? Had it all been a bad dream? "Mom?"
"I'm here, honey."
His heart sank again as the face that appeared over him was that of his young mother from the past. Yes, technically she was his mother, but she wasn't the one he had grown up with. Been through so much with.
"Do you think you could eat something? Your grandmother has fixed enough food for a Saiyan army." She laughed.
He felt a smile creep onto his face. "Sounds good." He started to sit up, but she pushed him back down into the fluffy couch pillows.
"Oh no you don't. I'll bring it to you." She headed for the kitchen.
He propped himself up and looked around. He could see Vegeta and Piccolo standing out on the balcony. Their backs to him.
"Hey! Bulma said you were up. You feeling better?" Goku entered the room followed by Krillin and Yamcha.
"Hey kid, it's good to see ya again." Yamcha slapped him on the knee as he walked by.
"Yeah." Krillin agreed.
"Hey, guys. What are you doing here?" he couldn't help but smile. It was good to see them again. It had been so long since he'd had any friends around to talk to.
The doors opened to admit the Saiyan prince and Namekian.
Piccolo half smiled at him. "Trunks."
His father gave him a very critical once over before offering a curt nod.
Bulma brought in a tray of food and set it down in his lap. "Here ya go honey. You eat till you just can't eat anymore. There's plenty where that came from. Even after Goku got through." She gave her friend a reproachful look, causing him to blush.
It had been so long since he'd had a hot meal. Any meal for that matter. He ate three trays full before he felt contented. "That was wonderful. Thank you."
They discussed a few trivial things. No one wanting to be the first to ask what he was doing there. Finally Vegeta broached the opening question.
"Where's your sword boy?" it had been one of the first things he'd noticed upon the boys arrival. He never let the weapon out of his site, yet it was conspicuously missing.
A look of rage passed over his face. And his hand went to the scar over his eye. "It was destroyed."
"What happened Trunks?" Goku asked.
He sighed. "I'm not really sure, exactly. Everything was going so well. I defeated the androids and Cell. Things were finally getting back to normal. Then they came." His face took on a haunted look. "So many. I killed so many, but then HE came. He was just so strong. A power level like I've never seen before. Not even Cell. He just took my sword like taking a stick from a child. It exploded when he struck me with it. When I woke up, everything was in ruins. I made my way back home to find it had been leveled." He paused for a moment, obviously fighting back tears. "When I found mother, she was almost gone. Her last request was that I come back, to warn you again. To try and help prepare for the coming danger that destroyed our world. There was nothing left to fight for there. I buried her next to father and then used the time machine to come here. For some reason, this was the time period she had set."
The room was silent for a moment.
Bulma pulled her hair back. "Trunks, do you recognize this?"
He frowned furiously when he saw it. "Frost."
"Was he one of King Cold's spawn?" Vegeta sneered in disgust.
"No." he looked at his father with some confusion. "He was a Saiyan."
Everyone sat, in total shock.
"A Saiyan? But I thought they were all dead?" Goku sputtered.
"Are you sure boy?"
"No doubt. He was at least a hybrid like me and Gohan. He had a tail, I think it was black. But I've never seen a power level like that before. Not even when Gohan defeated Cell. It felt…twisted, or warped or something. Like it wasn't all him. I can't really describe it." He shuddered involuntarily.
"Well, if he's as powerful as you say, then it's imperative we stop him now. And as far away from here as possible." Piccolo mused.
"How? We don't know where to look."
"Oh, yes we do." Bulma scratched her neck. "A little tattooing bird told us."