Chapter 1

The lights on the dashboard flickered and died. Elated Trunks flicked the switch on the side and the bulbous dome of the pod retracted allowing the young Saya-jin to pull himself from the time machine. Hopping to the ground Trunks quickly transformed the machine back to a capsule and placed earths 'hope' in his pocket as he ran inside the slightly dilapidated remains of his home.

'Mom!'

The purple haired Saya-jin ran through the doors and into his mother's lab.

'Mom!'

Bulma looked up sharply, a huge grin spread over her face that once held a care free prettiness, which, over the years of anguish had been replaced by a more mature, world-weary beauty.

Her blue eyes filled with tears when she saw her son. He's home again. She knew he only went for a few days but when she watched him step into her invention she wondered if she would ever see him again.

'Trunks! You're home!'

The boy grinned and the mother and son embraced. For a moment both stood there, remembering how lucky the other was to be alive. As if suddenly realising how much danger her only son had been in, again, Bulma pulled away and took his face in her hands and looked for scars only a mother could see. She stood on her tiptoes and looked at the top of his head.

'Uh, Mom?'

'Hmmm?'

'Whatcha doing?'

'Making sure you didn't get into any big fights back there…you didn't did you?'

Trunks thought back.

'Only fight I had was with Freiza and you can hardly call that big.'

Bulma dropped her hands in shock. Wow, when I think of all the trouble Goku had with Freiza back then, trunks must be really strong, to bad he doesn't stand a chance against the androids. She sighed as an air of melancholy washed over her as she remembered her friends. I miss you all so much.

Deciding Trunks had escaped the battle unscathed she smiled and hugged her son again.

'Right then, you must be really hungry. I'll go make you some dinner and you can tell me all that happened back there okay?'

Trunks nodded deciding to keep an eye on his mother. She was the last person on earth he loved. He couldn't bear it if anything happened to her, physically or mentally.

__________________________

The radio hummed in the background as Bulma placed a huge pile of pancakes in front of Trunks. The famished Saya-jin dived into the mound and in less than thirty seconds the stack had disappeared. Bulma, who was back at the stove turned and gawked at the lack of food on Trunks' plate. Typical Saya-jin. She thought as she rolled her eyes.

'Let me guess….hungry?'

Trunks grinned sheepishly and Bulma smiled. ' I come prepared mister, I know you and your stomach…I have to admit I thought they would last longer but never mind.' She produced another plate of pancakes and placed them on the table. Trunks tried extra hard not to eat the lot at once. Bulma sat next to him.

'So then, how did it go?' She asked.

'It was…great,' Trunks tried to find the words to describe his joy, 'really great, incredible even.' He declared through mouthfuls of food.

'So…. What happened?' Bulma asked desperately. 'Did you see them?' Swallowing Trunks beamed at his mother, deciding to leave out the fact her past self had hit on him.

'Yeah, I saw everyone, Piccolo, Krillin, you, Gohan, Goku…and dad.' Trunks smiled to himself as he remembered his father's hostility towards him.

'Ah,' said Bulma as she picked up Trunks' empty plate and placed it in the sink, ' so, you met Vegeta.' She turned on the tap and squirted a shot of bubbles into the tub.

'Yup.'

'Was he ok? How was he with you?'

Trunks tried to decide what to say, in the end he settled on the truth. 'He treated me like scum, and for some reason was wearing pink, I never imagined him in pink.'

'WHAT? Dear Kami I would have killed to see that!' Bulma almost dropped the plate she was washing in shock.

Trunks stood, grabbed a towel from the rack and began to dry the dishes.

'Yeah, I kept looking at him, he figured it was cos of the stupid ensemble.' Trunks snickered.

'And you told them?'

'I spoke to Goku. You were right mom, he was incredible. I told him about you and dad, the androids, everything, I gave him the antidote. He said he would tell the others what they needed to know.'

Bulma looked at him and smiled. After all he had been through, after all he had suffered he still had spirit.

' You did it Trunks, you changed the past.' Tears slid down her cheek. 'I'm so proud of you.'

Trunks looked sombre for a minute.

'I have to go back.' He said quietly.

Bulma choked, her tears stopped.

'Wh-what? Why?' Bulma looked desperately at her eighteen year old son; she followed his eyes out the window and to the barren landscape in a far off city that only his Saya-jin eyes could see from this distance.

'I…. Have to go back.'

Bulma threw down her towel in rage. 'Damn it Trunks!' she screamed, more tears spilling down her skin. 'This is madness, you warned them, what else can you do?'

Trunks didn't move.

'No one knows the androids and their fighting style better than I do. I'm going back in three years to fight them, I can help Goku and the others, I WON'T let this happen to them, I can't let them suffer our fate.'

'I see,' Bulma lied, 'Really Trunks you do-'

She was interrupted by a scream from the radio.

"THE ANDROIDS ARE ATTACKING SOUTH CITY. SEND HELP, SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE US FROM, NO, NO, ARGH"

Trunks growled angrily and grabbed his sword and jacket, ignoring his mothers cried he ran from the hose and blasted of into the sky.