Bulla stepped out of her time machine, once again in the past.

The air was thick that day, heavy with humidity and the sun was shining brutally overhead. By her estimation, the androids were already in South City, about to launch their attack. She had landed just a bit outside the city—expecting to see some destruction caused at the hands of the evil duo—but it was oddly still.

As she walked around, everyone seemed perfectly normal. People bumbled about with shopping bags, cars lined the streets, smells wafted from restaurants undoubtedly preparing for a lunch rush on such a beautiful day. She scanned the island for a spiked ki, thinking maybe the Z Fighters had drawn the androids away from the city to protect the citizens there. But again, nothing.

She was oddly worried. There was always a chance that her presence in the past could affect the outcome of this future. Was it possible that by merely traveling to the past she set off an unintended slew of events that somehow made the androids and Gero disappear? No, that was too optimistic. What was more likely was that she pushed a domino out of order from her timeline that created a similar, yet diverging, path, one in which the androids failed to appear at the time she thought they did in her reality.

She walked the streets looking at the people passing by without a care in the world. It was only when she came across a newspaper stand that the gravity of her situation hit her. Evil Duo Terrorizes Indigo City, Copper Town, the headline screamed. Across the top was a large picture of destruction and in the corner — way back in the distance — were two faces she recognized.

Her heart sank: they had come early.

If that were true, why were the Z Fighters not fighting? Panicked, she started running down the street before taking flight. There was only one place on Earth she knew to go — and that was home.

As she jetted through the sky, her head was in a million different places. Where was Goku? Where was her father? Had her trip to the past been for naught? When she and her mother had begun working on the time machine, they both considered the ethical and moral implications of time travel. What if this was always the way it was supposed to be?

She increased her speed. West City was in her sights when a glimmer of something from the sky caught her eye. Was it a meteor? No, it was a spaceship. More specifically, it was a Capsule Corp. spaceship.

"It's dad…" she said with relief, grateful he was still alive.

The Z Fighters had been anxiously awaiting for Vegeta to return. Goku was getting better, but only incrementally, and he was in no way ready to fight the androids. Piccolo recalled 17's warning: In two days, if Goku was not ready to fight, the androids were going to come find them. As they all holed up in Capsule Corp., he and the others were glued to the TV as reports of the androids' destruction spread to another city.

Early that morning, Bulma came in with good news: Vegeta's ship was coming back and would be arriving just past 11 a.m. Piccolo let out a sigh of relief. They tracked his ship and gathered on the lawn waiting for his arrival. Just as his ship entered their sight, Piccolo felt a strong power heading toward them at an aggressive speed.

It wasn't the androids — they didn't have a ki. Whoever it was, though, was coming right for them.

Vegeta's ship came into the atmosphere, its feet extended as it hovered over the huge landing pad on the backside of the Capsule Corp. compound. With an unceremonious thud, it plopped down, and before the engines even cleared, the front door creaked open. Out stepped Vegeta, as confident as ever, just radiating with a newfound power. His training had clearly paid off. He sauntered off the ship, arms crossed.

His smug look quickly turned to confusion. He figured everyone would be in South City by now and that he would be making his fashionably late grand entrance to undoubtedly save them all from imminent death. Truth be told, he was chomping at the bit to show them his new transformation. But all the fighters of Earth were before him and Kakarot was nowhere to be seen, and then he felt it, too: A power coming in fast. Was it an android? No — it was the space traveler. It was that girl.

Bulla landed on Capsule Corp.'s lawn and darted toward the group. Without even thinking, Piccolo shouted out to no one in particular.

"Bulla's back!"

Bulma whipped her head around to look at the Namekian. What did he just say? The girl they had met three years ago — the space traveler — her name was the same as her baby's? As Bulla descended on the lawn, it was all too clear. That girl was her daughter, and Bulma's feelings of confusion and anxiety on the day she met the girl were not completely out of line. Their faces were almost identical. Bulma knew when she met her that they had some special connection.

Vegeta, too, heard Piccolo's words and nearly fell over. The strong and arrogant fighter they met three years ago was indeed a Saiyan — and she got it from him.

"Bulla?" Yamcha choked when the girl joined their party.

She looked stunned. "How did you know my name?" His words hit her like a kick to the gut. After all she had been through to warn him — after the journey she had endured the risk she took to see him — Goku shared her secret. He had told them. He had to have, he was the only one that knew who she was. But she spied a miniature version of herself in her mother's arms, her big, blue eyes soaking in the world around her which was so wonderful and new.

"I'm sorry," Piccolo said quickly. "I just let it slip — just now."

Vegeta quickly strode over to her, ignoring the panic on her face, and grabbed her by the collar.

"You lied to me, girl!" he tightened his grip. "Who are you really?! And what do you know of Gero?!"

"I'm curious myself," Piccolo said angrily, crossing his arms. "Your prediction on Gero wasn't entirely correct."

Her heart sank. She knew something was amiss when she went to South City and seemingly nothing had occurred. Wrapping her hands around her fathers, she tried to loosen his grip. It only made him hold on tighter.

"I-I-" she stammered.

"Out with it, or I'll force it out of you!" Vegeta hissed.

"I am — I am Bulla, your daughter," she choked. Vegeta's face went white. "I am from the future. I didn't tell you who I was three years ago because I didn't want to jeopardize my birth, but I had to tell you about the androids because of the harm they've caused in the future."

Vegeta pulled her in closer, lifting her off her feet.

"I swear it!" she choked. "I don't know how to prove it, but I am your daughter!"

"Look at her, Vegeta!" Bulma cried out. "She looks just like me! She's a Super Saiyan!"

Everyone had gone eerily silent as the family drama played out on the lawn. He dropped her dismissively and she fell to the ground hard. Catching her breath, she looked up at her father, staring deeply into his eyes, almost daring him to challenge her claim that she was his daughter. There was no denying she was Bulma's child, but there was no denying she was his, too. The widow's peak, the furrowed brow, and the look of dogged determination over her slightly olive skin.

She stood up and brushed herself off. "We can have this conversation later. What I need to understand now is what is happening with the androids."

"They came two days early," Piccolo said. "Goku had his heart episode during the fight. He's alive, but he's still recovering here."

There was always a chance that time would be changed by Bulla's warning, and she knew that. But somewhere deep down she believed it wouldn't happen, that everything would take place as if it should. Now she knew she was wrong.

"So where are they now?"

"I told them Goku would come back and fight in two days," Piccolo said. "Well, today is two days. Goku isn't ready to fight. We've been forming a strategy that we think can hold them at bay for a little while. They've completely destroyed Indigo City, and reports have them in Copper Town now. But I suspect they'll be heading back to Goku's soon."

"Well, well, well." A sinister grin formed across Vegeta's lips. "Looks like someone is going to have to intercept them. Leave this to me"

"Are you crazy?" Bulla shouted. "You cannot go fight them alone!"

Before his feet could leave the Earth, Bulla lunged at him and grabbed his arm, pulling him down with more force than he anticipated. He quickly shrugged her off, sneering at her in disgust.

"And to think you're my child." His words were like venom. In a matter of seconds he was airborne, heading toward Copper Town.

Bulla lunged forward in an attempt to follow him, but was stopped by Piccolo's booming voice.

"Wait!" he shouted. "I don't think I have to tell you how bad of an idea this is. We're coming with you."

"No," the words came out of her mouth more bitter than she had anticipated. "I know we can't win, but he doesn't. I won't let him die, but I think this is something we have to do alone for now."

She paused and took in another deep breath. Before she floated into the air, she glanced back once more at the faces of her friends, and tried to give them a small, reassuring smile.

"I'll bring him back in one piece, I promise."

As she flew off into the sky, Piccolo considered going after them before Tien jumped in.

"We will keep an eye on their ki," Tien said. "If Goku wakes up, we will need to be here to help him and then we can join in the fray. In the meantime, Krillin — why don't you go visit Korin and get some senzu beans? Once we have those we can plan our counterattack."

They nodded and Krillin took off. The others dispersed, most likely to check on Goku.

Bulma stayed on the lawn looking mournfully at the sky. The baby she held in her arms would one day grow up to be a strong warrior like her father — one capable of taking down Frieza and King Cold. With a twinge in her heart, she felt guilty for not knowing what she thought about that.