A few years later, back on Earth, there was a sudden rip in the fabric of time. No human was around to notice, but the forest around it suddenly burst into noise. Out of it flew an odd-looking machine. It hovered an instant, then landed, engines burning the forest away beneath it. Landing gear emerged on the bottom as it landed. A dome was revealed over the top, closed with a hatch. This hatch hissed open with the sound of hydrolic gases, and a blue form jumped out.



Somewhere, infinitely far away, the same rip in time closed. Here, there was one person to see it. She was there for the express purpose of watching, because the man in the machine had been her son. Shaking her head, she realized she was already using past tense to refer to him. He would be back. He had to be. Brushing lavender hair from her eyes, she looked at the empty space a while longer.

The machine had been given enough power to make two trips. As soon as he was done, he would be back. And then they could begin rebuilding their shattered world. Everything was set up perfectly. After this, everything would be all right.

For months her son had been stewing over Goku; he'd been unresponsive. Now, at last, he would get it behind him, and maybe let himself be her son again. With him he carried the virus. She smiled slightly when she thought of it. That was the true reason for his trip. At last everything would be even. Turning, she walked back inside to sit down.

A time machine had been her most difficult project yet, but she had done it. It had taken every ounce of her intelligence for almost two years, but she had done it. Her son had been a big help. He must have inherited some of her intelligence as well as his father's strength. Frowning, she brewed herself a cup of tea and sat at the table, feeling empty now that her dream was coming true.

It was only a matter of time, she told herself, nothing to do but sit and wait. Looking out the window, she realized it was getting darker. There hadn't been any clouds, had there? Going outside, she looked upward, squinting at the sun. In what appeared to be a solar eclipse, something black was covering the sun. Racking her mind for statistics, she realized that there was no solar eclipse on this date, nor in the month. Light dimmed, and then suddenly went out, in a way that was shocking.

There were no lights in the sky. It was an unbroken black. Shivering, she turned to go inside and realized the lights within had gone out as well.

"This is the end," a voice spoke suddenly, out of the silence and ghastly beyond expression.

"What?" She whirled, seeing no one, as if she could see anything in the growing darkness.

"Well, Bulma...," the voice snickered, seeming to come from all around.

"What do you want? Why is it dark?" she gasped, wondering how this thing even knew her name.

"You want light, do you?" It spoke, voice heavily sarcastic. "All right. It's called oblivion."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you are a lie."

Before she could say another word, a brilliant light shattered through everything, and then there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.



The teenage boy landed on the ground, boots touching down lightly. He wore a blue jacket over a black gi, both showed the Capsule Corps insignia on them. Lavender hair was neatly parted to either side of his face. A sheath rested on his back, worn but serviceable. As of then, his face was deathly serious. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a worn picture frame and glanced at it, his mother smiled at him from within. His gaze grew sadder and he remembered.

"Be careful, Trunks!"

"Aw, mom!" He'd been younger then and hated her influence. She ruffled his hair and he was off.

Running through the fields he glanced back once, seeing his mother waving to him. He smiled and ran on.



Those had been the good times. He remembered all too well how the rift between them had grown beyond any healing. The memory brought a sour frown to his face, and he put the picture away quickly. Unnoticed within his jacket, the picture faded, leaving only a white frame behind.

Looking around him, Trunks found his view completely obscured by trees. For a moment he gazed at them. There hadn't been any of them by the time he was born, as they had all been destroyed.

"No!"

"Trunks, get away!"

Biting back tears, he struggled to get past Bulma's restraining arm. Gohan flew toward the androids, who laughed and attacked. Every blow that came Gohan's way seemed to hit him as well, and the boy quickly fell to the ground, having no need for Bulma's arm.

The others had fought, but he had noticed nothing. Vague memories of being flown away remained with him, but most of it was an empty void.



Trunk's features turned dark, becoming moody as he angrily forced himself to not char the trees. Calming himself, he collected his thoughts and remembered why he was here. Now that he was in the past, things could be changed. There was hope. He smirked slightly.

"Where are you, Goku?" he asked to the air, pulling out a sword and searching the area around him. "Where could you be? Come to Trunks now."

After some time passed and he felt nothing, Trunks put his sword back in its sheath.

"Fine. If you want to hide low, I'll make you come to me."

Pulling out a small communicator, Trunks turned it on with a flick of the finger and spoke into it.

"Both of you, begin Phase 2 of the plan."

"You aren't our master," a voice shot back. "We are allies. We will begin Phase 2 because we want to, not because you can command us."

"Whatever," the teenager replied, brushing a strand of lavender hair from his face. Turning the communicator off, he scanned around for a city. When he found one, he flew to it. The first sight that met his eyes was a group of teenagers, hanging out by a street corner. Trunk's eyes narrowed as he watched them.



Shouts rang in his ears as he raced down the street, away from the voices. Stumbling, he barely escaped into the house, where his mother jumped up in alarm. They followed him to the door, throwing whatever was in reach and yelling more words that bit to the core. His mother's surrounding arms did nothing to stop the cold inside him.

"Half-breed!"

"Alien!"

"Why don't you go back where you belong?"

The words burned into his memory.



Shaking himself into the present, Trunks shook his head and reminded himself why he was here. He needed to stay focused. Raising a hand, he gathered as much ki as he could above him. People down below began gasping as more and more ki built up in a brilliant ball over Trunks' head. When he smirked, it was a smirk that the galaxy had seen before.

"Idiotic humans!" he yelled. "You'll suffer my wrath for everything! Everything you have done will be repaid now!"

Hurling the gigantic ki ball downward, Trunks grinning savagely as he saw it grow bigger and bigger before it hit and crashed in the city. Energy washed out from it in a flood, sending buildings crashing out from the point of impact. When it had stopped, Trunks saw nothing left but ruins. After blasting a few larger objects to dust, he turned and headed for the next city, a smile on his face.



Goku suddenly stopped training. Something was happening on Earth, vast numbers of individual kis were being wiped out by the millions. Attempting to use Instant Transmission, Goku found he had nothing to latch onto. There were always more conventional methods. He turned and started flying to where he felt the disturbances. It was going to take him a few days to get there, but he could hurry when he needed to.

He had been training the entire time, he hoped that he was ready for whatever it was that was killing so many people. Again and again he had powered up to Super Saiyan, trying different things, until now it took no effort to become one. A few times he had tried to power up beyond Super Saiyan, to an even higher level of power, but he had failed. That was all right though. He would do his best, that was all he could do.



A few days later, Goku floated just above planet Earth. He quickly deduced three different paths of destruction, all more or less in a straight line. All going directly toward one point. Using all of his speed, he moved there and landed on top of the center building of the city where the three paths would collide. Goku concentrated, trying to lower his ki as low as he could. He got it down to about where Frieza had been at his max, that would seem realistic.

Just after he was finished, Goku felt three kis coming his way. He stood up and waited patiently for them to arrive. After a few minutes, he saw who it was. The first made his eyes widen in shock- it was Frieza! He was covered in metal. It appeared not all of him was organic. His legs were artificial, as was one eye. A few bolts and screws stuck out of him occasionally. It took him little time to realize Frieza had survived and been rebuilt! The next looked a lot like Frieza had in a previous form. It was obviously another changeling, this one much larger with two spiked horns protruding from his head. The last one he didn't know, a teenager with lavender hair that was combed to either side of his face. A large sword hung across his back. He was wearing Capsule Corps stuff, though, he had to be from Earth. All three of them moved in front of him.

"Who are you?" Goku said shakily, still surprised that Frieza had survived.

"You know me," Frieza laughed. "I am back and even stronger then before!"

"How'd you survive?" The changeling had been arrogant in the past, maybe he'd just reveal it now.

"That would be me," the other changeling grated out. "I'm his father, King Cold. I have trained and became even stronger than my son is! I rebuilt him after you foolishly attempted to kill him."

"Do you know who I am?" the youth said softly but intensely, "Do you know me?"

"Not at all,"

"Well, know that my name is Trunks. Before you die, I'll tell you who I am."

All three leaped at him at the same time. Goku dodged Trunk's sword swipe, then did a swirling kick that sent all three of them flying. Again they clashed with him. He grabbed King Cold's hands and hurled him away briefly. Frieza got off a hit that barely hurt, and Goku ignored it, avoiding the much stronger blows coming from the young boy. Breaking away from the combat, he flew upward, catching King Cold in the shoulder. Trunks went in for a close up attack, and Goku moved backward, avoiding every one of the blows. Both Frieza and King Cold fired blasts from above, and he was hard pressed to avoid every one of them.

Gathering energy, Goku unleashed it all as swiftly as possible, deflecting Trunks and all the bursts in the next wave coming for him. A rain of energy blasts pelted his three opponents, and Goku leaped back to catch his breath. Eventually the hail of ki stopped, but all three of them were left vulnerable to the slicing energy he sent at them. They all came back, but Goku elbowed King Cold off the building and kicked Frieza after him. They hadn't been lying when they said they were stronger, but neither could compare with the amount of power he had now. He fired a ki blast after them, sending them further down, and barely ducked the next swipe Trunks sent his way.

Leaping forward, Goku tried to kick Trunks in the jaw. The young boy blocked with his sword, but it was sent skidding to the side of the roof. They started fighting up close now, Goku only blocking, never attacking. He was pretty sure that he could win if he kept them separated and wasn't triple-teamed too often, but there were a few things that he had to know.

"So who are you? If you're human, you're pretty strong."

"Human?" Trunks snorted. Goku backed away from another punch and blocked the next. "I'm not nearly so pathetic. I'm only half human."

Smiling a bit sadly, Goku clashed with Trunks again, "My son was half-human too. He denounced his saiyan side and acted human. What about you?"

"I am not so weak as Gohan," Trunks growled, launching another flurry of blows, which Goku turned aside, wondering how he knew Gohan. "I have embraced the stronger side of my life, my saiyan side!"

"In doing so you've succumbed to the biggest problem with most humans. But that leaves the obvious question: who was your father?"

"Vegita! I am proud to say it."

Goku was so shocked he left himself open. Trunks' right hook knocked him backward. For a moment, Goku's anger at the name flared up so much he hit Trunks into the building itself and leapt to him, pounding him repeatedly, but soon he calmed down and continued his style of blocking. Trunks got up again, looking much worse for his troubles but still very confident.

"So who was your mother?"

"You should know! You tried to kill her!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I don't know what sort of sick game you're playing, but I'll play along a second. Bulma!"

Goku gasped again. This time when Trunks tried a right hook. Goku snapped out of it in time to grab his arm and slam him to the ground. Trunks bounded up again, still not looking worried and very confident.

"How'd that happen?" he asked, blocking another strike.

"Sometime on Namek," Trunks spat at him, kicking hard at the same time. "I'm not sure when."

Goku blocked the kick with his knee, catching Trunks' foot, and then jumped slightly, throwing Trunks off balance. As he rotated in the air to get in better position, Goku hit him to the other side of the roof, where Trunks managed to flip and land on his feet.

"So why are you here, killing people and trying to kill me?"

"You killed my father!"

Goku gritted his teeth and rushed forward, grabbing Trunks by the shoulders and slamming him to the ground, holding him there. "Are you crazy? Your father was killing everyone! He was insane!"

Trunks managed to buck him off. Goku blocked the follow-up punch.

"He was my father, and you killed him. That is all that matters. I have come back in time to kill you."

"So you're here just to get your revenge on me?"

"And to wreck my revenge on the human race. In the future, they outcast my mother and anyone who disagreed with them. Bulma has created a disease that should wipe out a lot of them. It won't affect you, but-" Trunks laughed evilly while striking, "that doesn't really matter. Soon you'll realize you caught a disease in space that will eventually kill you in my timeline, putting you beyond my reach. By going back in time, I can still get a chance to destroy you!

"In my time," Trunks went on, launching another punch, "two androids have eradicated nearly everything. They are incredible monsters, fit only to be destroyed. If you last long enough to meet them, I assure you won't like it. That would be delightfully ironic: the killers killing the greatest killer!"

"What a wonderful scene." Both saiyans turned and saw Frieza and King Kold standing there.

"That was beautiful, but I have to bring this reunion to an end," King Kold smirked. "We're ready to go!"

In an instant, both changlings stepped into action. King Kold grabbed Trunks' sword and tossed it to him, Frieza launched a kienzan at Goku. To Frieza's great surprise, Goku caught it in one hand, then hurled it vertically at him. It sliced through Frieza, leaving a giant gaping hole up and down him.

"Help me!" Frieza gasped, clutching his sides. There was a suddenly explosion of gold. Goku looked over and saw Trunks standing as a Super Saiyan. Trunks whipped his sword up and charged, completely severing Frieza's torso. Before the changeling even fell, Trunks launched a one-handed blast that vaporized him, then turned back.

"What is this?" King Kold demanded, stepping up to Trunks. "We had an agreement to kill Goku!"

Trunks sneered at him, then jumped into the air. King Kold looked up in time to see Trunks come down, sword blazing with blue flames and slice him entirely in half. His two parts fell to the ground, and the blue flames spread over him and consumed him. Trunks turned back to Goku, smirking.

He launched another onslaught, greater than every before, and Goku avoided the blows mechanically, digesting what he had seen. Though Trunks was a lot stronger, his technique was still sloppy enough for Goku to keep up. Eventually they parted and landed on opposite sides of the roof. Goku noticed how Trunks was using his full power in everything, and it was consuming power at an incredibly fast rate- it'd be a fatal mistake.

"You have truly become evil, you are a monster," Goku said fairly calmly. It was what had to be said.

"Like my father became a Super Saiyan, I also became the Legendary Super Saiyan when he died. And when you are dead as well, I will be the Legendary One!"

"How come everyone knows all this stuff about the Legendary One and I don't?" Goku muttered, carefully watching as Trunks' muscles tightened in preparation. As Trunks dived forward, sword first, Goku quickly dodged. Hurling the sword at him, Trunks used the time he was distracted with dodging to charge up and leap into the air.

"Burning Attack!" He roared, hurling ki toward him. Goku nearly avoided the blast, then deflected it slightly, making the brunt of it blaze off into space. The attack was large and had a lot of energy, but surprisingly little power. Trunks already had his sword in hand again, and Goku tried to attack a few times as he dodged.

"I'm taking your sword." Goku zipped into Trunks' defenses, and elbowed the sword from his hands. Flipping over his next punch, Goku landed and caught the sword before it hit the ground.

"A weapon doesn't make a man," Trunks smirked at him. "You cannot beat me!"

"True," Goku agreed, edging to the other side of the roof. "A weapon doesn't make a man- a heart does. And if you've inherited your father's heart you aren't much of a man."

Trunks roared with anger. "Take your best shot! I can dodge anything you throw at me, your power level is nothing compared to mine as the Legendary Super Saiyan!"

"Well, I don't really know how to use this thing." Goku raised the sword, looking along its length, "but-"

Flying forward faster than Trunks could register, Goku saw Trunks' eyes open in horror as Goku became a Super Saiyan as well. Goku quickly delivered three deadly strikes to his chest, one diagonal, one horizontal and a final vertical. For a single instant, Trunks seemed connected and unharmed, but then he fell apart, shattering into pieces. Goku checked that he was completely dead, and then vaporized him anyway. Goku flew up to another building where he could take cover from any watching eyes.

Soon enough, he saw something that made him groan and roll his eyes. Hercule climbed from a hatch out onto the top of the building. He raised his hands victoriously and started breathing heavily. It wasn't long before helicopters started flying around, showing Hercule standing victorious among the remains of Frieza, King Kold and Trunks. Goku shook his head and flew out of the city. Even if he had no power, Hercule had an incredible sense of timing.



A few days later, he watched the next parade for Earth's hero to see what all had happened. He did learn that all three of them had killed almost a quarter of the Earth's population. Using his ki as a third hand, Goku floated a newspaper up to him, there was a small article about a strange disease appearing in various places around Earth. It killed thousands of people instantly and moved on easily. Scientists were baffled as to its origin.

Goku shook his head. He knew where it came from. It appeared that Trunks' killer virus was taking its toll already. Thinking about it, Goku sighed deeply; what was he going to do? This wasn't a solid enemy he could fight, there wasn't anything he could do. He dropped the newspaper and flew away. And what had Trunks said about the Goku in his time getting a disease and dying? He hoped it wasn't true, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Landing in another secluded area, Goku began to train as hard as he could. He couldn't fight a disease, but there might be an enemy in the future whom he could fight, and he wanted to be in perfect shape for when that happened.



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Those of you who review, could you do me a favor and tell your friends about this story? Rest assured that I'm capable of updating every week for some time; I want to get more people in on this. Would you be so kind?