No Way Home
Summary: Trunks returns to the future to discover that he has returned to a world that has differed greatly from his own. Lost no answers and unable to find a way home to his future he must make sense of this strange new world.
Disclaimer: Don't own Dbz and it's characters. Just making a bit of reading.
This is my first attempt at a Fanfiction, but I very much hope you will enjoy it.
The pairing will of course be Trunks/18 and if people would like to submit their thoughts, suggestions and opinions I would of course be honored if you'd spare the time.
Allow me to apologize for some of the grammatical errors in the prologue, I will be sorting them out as quick as possible but I got a little over excited and posted it before it was fully ready, I have combed this chapter much more thoroughly and any errors present will be through my sheer inability to see through my own work, thanks for reading :)
And FanFiction I hate the way you include author's notes as part of the word count, it makes me feel like I'm cheating on the word count of my History investigation all over again.
White light exploded all around the time machine, the world materialized through the blackness. Trunks was home. His time in the past had been a strange set of episodes but he and the Z fighters had saved that world and now he had to save his own.
West City was much the same as it had always been. As far as Trunks could remember the city had been a ruin. The miss matched nature of the destruction revealing the unnatural way it had been destroyed. Even the beauty of the setting sun could do nothing to better the view of crumbled buildings and miscellaneous rubble piled throughout the once lively streets. Trunks couldn't help but feel miserable looking at it. Having been to the past, he had seen what the city had once been and to see what it was now, a broken forest of concrete, ripped at Trunks' heart.
How could anyone have wanted to change the vibrant and thriving West City into this desolate wasteland? Trunks knew the answer to that, it was a stupid question, those damn androids did! They had made happiness and harmony an impossibility in their quest for domination and destruction. Trunks had lived through many hard years of dodging and diving android attacks, and to think back on them always brought him nightmares. The Androids had made him feel like an insect whenever they tortured him for their sadistic amusement.
Now though he had the power to stop them. Things were going to be different next time he met one of the androids. Trunks was going to make sure of it.
An uncomfortable sense of unease came over Trunks as he put the time machine back in its capsule. Something just wasn't right. It was coming from the planet itself, the energy around him was off. He didn't know what had changed but the energy from the planet was somehow different to what he remembered. Looking around him again Trunks couldn't see anything that seemed out of place; but still a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite as it should be clung to Trunks' subconscious, like he was trying to tell himself something.
Trunks shrugged it off knowing that he could work it out later, the first thing he wanted to do was look for his mother and tell her everything that had happened.
Walking through the front door caused Trunks to gasp in horror. The house, his home was a derelict. It just made no sense, he had been gone for three weeks yet the building he was standing in had clearly been empty for years. Layers of dust were coating every inch of every surface, the door frames had rotted leaving most of the doors hanging by a thread, the walls were covered in damp, wallpaper peeling away from the wall, where the adhesive paste had been unable to keep a hold of it.
Trunks just couldn't understand it, he had first thought that he had made a mistake with the time machine and came back much later than he had intended. But that didn't explain why everything in the house was outdated by at least 15 years. There were things in this house that his mother had gotten rid of years ago.
And once he had started recognising things his mother had thrown out years previously, he felt winded as memories flooded through his mind. The blue sofa that had been replaced when Trunks had gotten a rather nasty blackcurrant juice stain imbedded in the fabric. The dining table that had lost all of its legs when Gohan had jumped on it after being yelled at by Trunks' mother when he'd started describing what the androids were like to a 5-year-old Trunks. The rooms looked exactly the same as they had in the past Trunks had visited, only they were neglected and abandoned.
Even his bedroom had not lost its crib and the toy box lay open with toys scattered everywhere, clearly there had been no one to pick them up in the last twenty years. He clearly had come to the future there was no mistaking it. This much decay would've taken a long time for it to set in.
Had the future changed? His mother had said that the future was going to remain the same, not change. Plus, he had returned to the future after he had given Goku the heart medicine and it had been exactly the same. Perhaps Trunks had made a mistake programming the time machine and come to some other timeline? Was that possible? how could he have moved outside his own timeline and that of the alternate timeline? True he had originally went to another timeline but he had made that timeline by going into the past, so his time machine had become a two-way pass to that timeline, or so his mother had told him. She had said as long as he went back after he had first arrived and returned after he had left, he could travel there and back again. Otherwise he would have been creating multiple timelines which could have meant he eventually got trapped and unable to return to his mother.
If he were to travel from the past and only went 15 years into the future he would most likely arrive in the future of the alternate timeline, and once done returning to his home would be impossible, or so his mom had theorised. Trunks knew why she'd said this, so that he wouldn't be tempted to try to go to when Gohan had died and save him. He was grateful for her warning as he most certainly would have tried if he hadn't known what he'd be doing.
Leaving to return the same amount of time as he had spent in the past had been another idea of his mother's, 'Just in case it matters.' She had told him. He knew she had other ideas as to the complexities of time travel, but when asked she had said that it was 'best you don't worry about it, just do as I tell you and you'll have the best chance of coming home.' She had laughed it off, but Trunks had seen she was really worried about possible consequences. He had vowed to follow her every order after that conversation.
And a fat lot of good that had done him. Here he was, with no idea what was going on, in a house that looked like even ghosts would deem it uninhabitable, and he was unable to tell what he should do. Looking out of the bedroom window, he noticed that the desolate West City looked exactly as it had done after the countless Android attacks, so why was his home so different?
Trunks wished his mother was here!
Where was she? Was she alive in this world? While she may not be his mother, he needed her if he was ever going to free his future he had tried to save. Plus, she would be the only one who could explain what this world was like and how it differed from those he knew.
For Trunks saving his world had been the only point of going to the past. The first time his mother had explained how time travel would work, and how she expected their world would stay the same, he had been furious. It was one of the few times he had said angry words to his mother. So what if people from twenty years ago got peaceful lives if in the here and now there would be no change. in the end it had been the prospect of meeting his father and the legendary Goku that had swung it for him to return. After all what boy doesn't dream of meeting the father they never knew and to meet a man his master respected above all others was an opportunity he didn't want to miss. He'd even harboured hopes that they would be able to help him get stronger so that he could defeat the androids. First in the past and then in his time.
While they had helped him become stronger than he could ever have imagined, how was he to save his world if he wasn't even in his own world? And what could he do if he didn't have the one person who would help him to figure the world out? His mother, the one who had always provided the answers when he got lost and didn't know what to do. And knowing that chances were; in this world she was dead made Trunks more afraid than he had ever been in his life.
This fear of life without his mother was unimaginably worse than anything the Androids could've made him feel. He felt lost without her, she'd always been there to save his world from falling into despair. She who would hold his hand when he felt frightened or give him a hug when he was upset. She who had forced him to keep on going when Gohan had died and Trunks had given up all hope of ever defeating the Androids. She was why he was still alive after his fights with the Androids. Without her Trunks felt as helpless as a child, he was naked in a snow storm.
But Trunks had to carry on. he couldn't stop. He refused to believe he was stuck wherever he was. His first step would have to be to recharge the time machine, He'd need to know the data it would tell him, without it he'd be walking blindly taking random shots in the dark as to where he was and Trunks couldn't plan how to get home if he didn't know where exactly he was.
How was he going to recharge the time machine though? He'd have to make a charging port to get the information, but how could he make one? Trunks had no plans to build from and the port would have to be an exact match to the one used by his mother or it would be futile. And if the Bulma of this timeline was gone, he had no chance to find blueprints to a port here in this world. Perhaps if he took a look at the plans to the time machine (his mother had insisted he take them in case the machine broke) he would find some answers to the charging port. There had to be some clue in them...
Then, before he could work out his plans, he felt a massive power surge not too far away from West City. The horrible energy rocked through him bringing all his nerves to the boil. He knew instantly who it was… Cell.
Though Trunks could feel the energy he couldn't believe it was really him. How could Cell be here? Surely Cell hadn't completed his growth yet. Trunks should've had a couple of years before Cell was walking the Earth, what was going on here?
Trunks was moving as soon as he'd registered the ki, there was no mistaking something that evil. Flying towards the power he hoped he could get some sort of answers from somewhere, clearly wherever he was his mother was almost certainly dead. Without her Trunks was unlikely to be able to reboot the time machine to try and find out where he was and how he'd gotten there. In short, he was stuck in a world he didn't belong.
At this moment Trunks couldn't let his crisis affect him, not yet. First, he had to deal with Cell. Judging from his power level he was already in his second form and that meant that he needed to make sure the other one wasn't absorbed or he and this world were finished. He put as much energy as he could into his flight making sure to keep his eyes peeled for signs of where the remaining android was, a task made difficult as the sun had long since set.
However even the darkening sky couldn't hide the scene the two androids played out. It had only taken a minute to find them. But he could see immediately that a minute had been cutting it closer than Trunks would've liked.
Android 18 stood battered and bruised barely able to stand as Cell approached her his tail twitching as he walked. He was toying with her, it was the only reason Trunks had been able to get there before Cell had achieved his perfect form. A small swell of relief bubbled inside his stomach before he forced himself to focus on the task at hand.
'Well my dear 18, your seventeen yearlong goose chase is finally over. I hope it was worth it. It certainly was for me.' Cell's bellowing howls reached Trunks even at this distance. 18 shivered at the noise and her eyes closed in defeat.
As Trunks got closer, he saw the Android was slumping in on herself, her unlimited energy unable to keep her body from succumbing to the damage she had taken.
Trunks had to act, he knew Cell was ready. He had delayed his gratification long enough that he would become impatient if he waited too much longer. He would act soon, taking the power he felt was his destiny and Trunks had to stop him. As Trunks watched Cell's tail whipped like a cobra preparing to strike. It was obscene the way his tail hung over his shoulder, it made him look like a strange scorpion. the stinger designed for absorption then opened into a wide gaping hole, big enough for a human, or more accurately an android, to fit inside.
Trunks flew at Cell and, with the element of surprise, his kick sent Cell flying, his body crashed through a mountain's side with enough force that the entire mountain broke into many large pieces on top of him. With Cell's guard down Trunks' normal state was just strong enough to at least make Cell sting a little.
'I hope you enjoyed today Cell!' Trunks shouted casually, landing in between 18 and Cell, Trunks took up a protective stance, leaving no opening for the green giant to get at her. 'Because today is the day you go to hell.'
Cell emerged from the rubble, with a scream of indignation and his eyes burned with fury. 'How dare you?! You insolent little punk!'
Trunks smirked back at him. An arrogant confidence radiating from him.
18 had opened her eyes now, and upon seeing Trunks her eyes had bugged out of her skull. 'Trunks!' She exclaimed in shock.
Trunks whirled and stared back at her, both had an expression of bewilderment on their faces. For Trunks it was the shock of hearing her use his name. 18 had never called him by his name. His name had been a dignity she deemed too good for him, she had always called him by snide or sardonic names. Her favourites being 'little guy', 'tough guy' and 'blondie'. All designed to make him feel inferior. Yet here she was saying his name as if it had regularly fallen off her lips.
Cell interrupted their private staring contest. 'I hate to break up this little lover's reunion. But I must ask how are you alive Trunks? And more importantly why you are interfering with my date with miss 18?'
'Well as for the first question I'm not a hundred percent sure on the details myself, but I doubt it'll matter to you once you're dead. And as for your date, well... My mother always said I lacked tact.' Trunks smirked wider, knowing that the monster would hate it.
Clearly this Cell had killed this world's Trunks which would explain 18's shock at seeing him, though not why 18 seemed to think he had a right to be called by his name.
'I see, well correct me if I'm wrong but I do believe you have just inferred you're going to kill me, yet again, I have to ask... how you plan to do this? Last time we fought you couldn't even turn into a super saiyan. Have you now got some great mystic powers to kill me with?' Cell was clearly trying to toy with him now, a new addition to the game of cat and mouse. 'I mean if I kill you now that'll make it three nil to me, won't it?'
'Wait what?' Trunks asked unable to comprehend Cell's meaning by saying '3-0'
'Well I have already killed you twice, once in my world and once in this, both times you were woefully under my skill level. What makes you think you can fare any better this time? Are you hoping for divine intervention? you know what they say, third time's the charm.' Cell smirked broadly, his rage had settled down now, confident that the new addition to the game would make it more fun, rather than ruin it.
'How are we going to get away from him?' Asked 18 in a low and desperate voice, keen not to be overheard.
'Well android, you can run when we start fighting, don't want to risk him getting you and getting too strong, do we? As for me, I'm going to kill him.' Unlike her, Trunks was calm and wasn't bothered if Cell heard him. He knew that he would have no problems killing Cell, and he doubted the Android would ignore the chance to run. He doubted she'd believe.
She didn't disappoint.
'What are you talking about? You can't beat him! You can't even lay a finger on me! Never mind him.' She sounded concerned, probably for her own survival.
'Aww... is the big bad android concerned by the thought of the little guy getting hurt?' Trunks mocked unkindly.
'Why are you calling me android?' 18 snapped back at him, he had clearly upset her, which had been his intent but he was surprised to see a deep hurt in her eyes as he glanced back at her. He'd expected her to be angry not hurt. Why was she getting all emotional at him?
'Well, you are an android, that's why I'm calling you one.' Trunks replied bemused. 'Just hide out of sight will you, and I'll take care of bug breath, okay?'
He didn't wait to see If she was going to comply as he turned back to Cell. He was standing; tall, green and ugly, just as Trunks had seen him when he emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Cell's face was relaxed with a condescending smirk playing at the edge of his purple lips, his stance was relaxed and confident as he and Trunks locked eyes.
The confidence was surely a by-product of having killed two different versions of Trunks. 'But he's in for a rather unpleasant surprise with this Trunks though.' Trunks could tell that Cell wasn't any stronger than the one he'd known in the past.
'You want to see my mystic power as you call it?' Trunks asked, a smirk yet again playing at his lips, as he imagined Cell's coming look of fear. Trunks clenched his muscles in preparation for the fight to come.
Trunks could feel his anticipation rising, hanging around his father and Goku had made him enjoy the fight more than he ever had before. Perhaps because he wasn't being beaten up and humiliated half as often after he went to the past.
'Why yes of course. It would be most interesting to see why you can suddenly stand there with an arrogance to rival your father's. Of course, it won't do you any good, no matter what you've learned you're still no match for me.' Goaded Cell.
Trunks wasn't scared in the least, Cell's words actually amused him. They were similar ones that Freeza had used when Trunks had told him he was going to kill him. Trunks' only worry was 18 getting herself absorbed and dooming everyone. He was quite confident he'd be able to prevent that though, it was his father's interventions that had been the main reason Cell had got 18 in the past.
'Okay Cell I'll show you.' Trunks said quietly. 'But just remember you asked for this.'
Trunks clenched his fists and focused on the energy hidden within him.
Trunks was feeling out his rage, the source of a super saiyan's power. As he found it Trunks felt his power begin to smoulder.
Each saiyan's trigger was different, just as each saiyan was different. For Trunks, he had to remember his anger and pain the day Gohan had died; at the androids, at himself, at life itself and the all-consuming rage would do the rest.
As he latched onto the feeling and focused on it, the world began to shake, and the sky crackled with electricity.
'Aaaaaaaaaaargh!' Trunks screamed, his mind lost in the unfairness that he'd been forced to bare. His energy swirling into flames inside him, boiling and simmering Just below the surface; before Trunks felt the snap and his rage become a towering inferno.
'YAAARRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!' Trunks' energy exploded outwards; becoming a golden fireball, it caused the world beneath his feet to shake more violently. He heard 18 collapse behind him and suck in her breath in shock, fear and fatigue. The mountains all around began to crumble with the force of the energy emitting from Trunks. The ground underneath him cracked and lumps, big and small, rose into the air; his screams reaching a Crescendo as the golden flames settled around him.
Having reached his peak. Trunks' screams slowly subsided into heavy breaths as he tried to gain back the oxygen he'd lost while transforming. With a final 'Humph' of effort the rocks went flying smashing into all the mountains for miles around and causing those still standing from his original transformation to break and fall with the power that had propelled the rocks. Those that flew at Cell disintegrated as they came within his own powerful aura. Cell's expression turned hard as he stared fixated on Trunks, clearly left unsure at the power Trunks had displayed. Eventually the world quieted again leaving only the burning sound of Trunks' new aura.
Trunks knew the imposing figure he cut. His hair was a deep gold and had spiked upwards, to the right and left in a symmetrical mess. Then there was the aura that surrounded him, the golden ring of flames revealing his god like power. But these paled in comparison to his eyes. His eyes had turned from their royal blue to turquoise and losing their pupils, when looking at them all an enemy could see was a deep well of rage, many an enemy could be beaten just by looking into those pitiless eyes. They were hard and unforgiving, His father might have said he was no sayian, but Trunks couldn't believe him having seen those eyes.
'Do you like it?' Trunks asked, his voice had gained an edge of menace to it. He could feel 18's eyes focused on the back of his head she was clearly mesmerized by his new powers, he hoped she'd enjoy the show, because when he was finished with Cell, she was next.
'Oh well this certainly is impressive, first you come back from the dead and then you transform into a super saiyan as if you've been doing it for years.' Cell smiled, it was his most mocking and deadly smile. 'Shame you had to waste this new power on getting yourself killed.'
'For all your cunning Cell you really are quite dense I stand here with quite a bit more power than you and you still think I'm the one going to die?' Trunks sneered.
Cell cocked his head slightly, clearly confused. 'You... Stronger than me? I doubt that. But let's see you prove it.'
Trunks smiled, now he was going to get to take out all his frustrations at the mess he found himself in. He propelled himself forward, moving several times faster than any bullet could, he rammed his fist straight into the giant android's stomach. The monster grunted in pain, his legs bending slightly at the force of the blow, causing his head and neck to fold onto Trunks shoulder. 'Does that prove it?' Trunks asked in mock concern, whispered into Cell's ear.
Cell bellowed in rage throwing a fist straight at Trunks' head. Trunks saw the blow with plenty of time, he didn't even need his full speed. He leaned back so as to avoid the blow. He fell into a crab position and pushing up with his hands he sent his foot flying into Cell's jaw. Cell flew backwards, landing on his back 50 feet away.
'How about now big guy?' Trunks taunted as he rubbed his hands together, feigning concern over the dirt on them. It was just one more way to anger the monster, he had noticed in the past the angrier Cell became the less cunning he was. It was a fatal flaw that Trunks would make him pay for.
'What...! You fool! You think you're stronger than me?' Cell snarled. His body quivering in rage.
'not so happy now, are we Cell?' Trunks thought smug in this small victory. He cast a quick glance at the other android present and noticed she was still on her haunches unable to move. 18's eyes were wide, her mouth gaping open in disbelief at the obvious ease with which Trunks had bested Cell in their last exchange.
Turning his attention back to Cell Trunks said 'I don't think anything... I know.'
The veins in Cell's temple where pulsing as he looked at Trunks. 'I'll show you! You're nothing but an insect!'
'Says the green bug thing.' Retorted Trunks.
'I'll teach you not to mock me!' Cell screamed. He was clearly coming towards the end of his tether and with that he'd lose all reason.
The monster charged his eyes filled with hatred. he wasn't planning on any warm ups in this fight, that was good, Trunks wasn't ether.
Cell charged pulling his fist back as he did so. Throwing it forwards he hit Trunks full in the face. Cell eyes widened in surprise as Trunks stood firm, his head didn't even move as the android hit him. Trunks' face was set in an expression of calm fury.
Cell backed away slowly 'Who are you? You're not Trunks! You can't be! Trunks was an insect compared to me. I killed two versions of him with minimal effort!'
Trunks took a small step towards Cell, causing the later to take a step back. 'No, I'm not.' Trunks told Cell simply. He continuing to walk forwards at a measured pace. 'Or at least I'm not the Trunks you knew, I am not from this world, but I guess it doesn't matter, not to you anyway. Because your nothing compared to me.'
'What do you mean? You're not from this world!' Cell shouted, his fury was clearly about to get the best of him. Trunks saw him cast a glance at 18, clearly wishing he hadn't toyed with her.
'Oh yes if you had her you could defeat me easily... But you don't have her. And without her,' Trunks paused looking at Cell so that he would fully understand what he was about to say, 'you have no chance of surviving this encounter.'
'HOW DARE YOU!' Cell was beside himself. 'I AM CELL! NO ONE IS STRONGER THAN ME!'
Trunks was done playing now, he had nothing more to say to the menace. It was time to truly unleash the fury of a super saiyan. Trunks wouldn't risk the android being absorbed by toying with Cell.
Trunks' energy flowed through him as he charged at Cell. Trunks' speed meant he was half way towards the monster before Cell realized he'd moved, all Cell could do was widen his eyes before Trunks buried his foot into the green giant's gut. Coughing and spluttering up blood, Cell was unable to take in or even comprehend Trunks' offensive before Trunks used his other foot. He sent it crashing into the underside of Cell's jaw. The monster was propelled into the air, spinning as he went. Trunks watched him go up and with Cell still in a daze, unable to centre himself and certainly unable to keep sight of Trunks. Trunks kicked off the ground, the earth beneath his feet cracking and collapsing in on itself, racing towards Cell Trunks started gathering his energy between his hands preparing for his final strike.
Cell had a moment where he had completely orientated himself, his eyes bulging like balloons as he saw Trunks hovering next to him, the energy in his hands had formed into one massive ball and was pointing, point blank, into Cell's face.
'NO! Wait...!' Cell cried, before he was enveloped in the wave of yellow energy.
Cell screamed in defiance. He attempted to break free of the energy that was engulfing him but he had far too little power to even budge. Trunks watched as Cell's body became smaller and smaller, Trunks kept pumping energy into the blast, if he didn't Cell might regenerate.
The blast faded leaving no sign of the monster. His screams silenced, the monster was no more. Everything was silent now apart from the sounds of Trunks' aura flittering in the night air.
Power Level Guide (for those who are involved in the story of course )
Android 18: ? (keeping this secret for now, but safe to say it's lower than Cell's)
Trunks: 200,350,252 (Base)/ 1,021,400,170
Semi Perfect Cell: 760,840,020
I have given them random numbers (other than the first 3 or 4 digits) cos I find it stupid that all power level guides have things like 125,000,000 as if it would be an exact number, so I thought I'd be nice to have a bit of disorder in the numbers (I'll pay for this later when I have to make all the power levels correspond in each chapter, unless there is a change in power of course, but even still :/)
This chapter was meant to include a little more, but I got so into the descriptions of the SSJ transformation and Trunks' arrival that I felt it was best to cut this chapter and run where I did, I personally feel it's a nice moment to end and probably better than where I had originally intended so all's well that ends well.
On the SSJ transformation I tried to do it justice but, I just feel that I can't put into words how I'd want it, it's a very visual thing I think but I gave it ago.
Thanks for reading and I appreciate all the people who have decided to follow this story. Please leave me some opinions as you think of them, it would mean a lot. :)
The next chapter may take a little longer to put up as I want to really plan the rest of the story and so I'm not ruining it by flying off on tangents everywhere, I knew before starting where I wanted to start and having thought about it I'm now pretty sure where I want to finish this story, but the truth is I need to work out how to get there, or this story will end up like so many other Fanfics great premise that gets lost in the padding and lack of character development.