Trunks's eyes burned. His sight had long since adjusted to the darkness of the evening, and his pupils could not compensate fast enough for the sudden burst of light emitted by the fake Son Goku's Super Saiyan aura. He refused to guard his eyes, however, knowing that any unnecessary movement would just provoke his opponent into attacking.

Things were getting intense now. When they first met in the future, the fake Goku overpowered Trunks with an intense ki blast in his normal state. In this fight, Trunks's had tried to finish his opponent off quickly at full power, knowing that surprise and haste would be his only chances for victory. Now that the fake Goku was fighting as a Super Saiyan, he suspected he wouldn't be able to defend himself for too long. His power level was even greater than Gohan's had been when he fought Cell as a Super Saiyan 2.

Still, Trunks couldn't stand by and let the imposter do as he pleased; in the future he had killed at least one person and put his mother in the hospital. He was wearing an orange gi now, just like the real Goku's. Trunks had no idea of what the imposter's intentions were, but if he had to guess it looked like he was trying to pass himself of as the true Goku. The youth feared that he might have already hurt someone else to get that gi.

"…beat you unconscious however," the fake Goku said.

Trunks was too lost in his own rage and desperation to focus on half of what his opponent had been saying. The real Son Goku was dead in this timeline. The Dragon Balls didn't have the power to bring him back. Those two facts were the only ones Trunks needed. Everything the fake said was a moot point.

He was totally beaten in terms of power, so Trunks decided to depend on speed. He hadn't been sitting on his hands for three years waiting for Cell to show up, afterall.

"Ha!" The youth fired at ki blast directly at the fake's face. He deflected it easily with the swing of an arm, but Trunks had just needed to distract him. The fake was understandably surprised to find his opponent had vanished in less than an instant. Trunks decelerated from superspeed above his head and swung his leg down in an ax kick stricking home.

The fake Goku was sent spiraling, but recovered quickly. Trunks charged forward. At the last second the fake shifted forward cutting him off. Off balance, Trunks was defenseless as his opponent pummeled his chest and solar plexus with a furious combination. Trunks recoiled back, but the fake refused to let up. He followed up with a front snap kick to the chin. Trunks's head was snapped back. Stars filled his vision for a few moments.

Even before he could see clearly again, Trunks backpedaled away as fast as he could. The fake didn't try to close the distance; he continued to hover without moving. Trunks shoved out his hands and made hand motions at rapid speed. He ended by snapping his arms to his chest then held them out again, forming a diamond with his fingers.

"Burning Attack!" he shouted and fired at the fake. He had been expecting the imposter to dash out of the way. Instead the fake Goku smashed the blast with a rising kick sending it higher into the sky. Then he used the Instantaneous Movement to teleport back into the blast's path. With a shout, the fake Goku smashed the attack again with a hammer fist strike.

Now Trunks's Burning Attack was headed back towards its point of origin.

"D-damn it!" Trunks muttered as he shifted to the side. And right into the fake Goku's path. The imposter had turned Trunks's strategy into his own.

The fake Goku slugged him across the face. Trunks was thrown into a total daze. Spittle flew out of his mouth. The imposter took the opportunity to circle behind and slipped his arms under Trunks's.

"Listen to me Trunks!" the imposter shouted as he held him in a body lock. "I don't understand half of the situation that's going on, so before you go back to trying to kill me, please explain why!"

Trunks responded by slamming the back of his head into the fake Goku's face. He released his hold and Trunks backed out of attack range.

The youth panted heavily. At the rate things were progressing, he was royally screwed. Trunks's advantage in speed wasn't enough. The imposter outranked him in every other category.

The fake Goku rubbed blood away from his bruised nose. He was in pain, but it did not seem to bother him too much. He dropped into an attack stance, preparing to rush his opponent again.

Trunks did the same. At this point, meeting his opponent head on was the best option for attack.

Both men charged. The distance between them shrank quickly. Trunks tightened his fist hoping he would just be able to get in the first strike. Three meters remained and then…

A ki blast split the space between them. Both men stopped short just barely avoiding the blast.

"What the?" Trunks shouted.

Piccolo hovered several meters away with his arm outstretched. "Well," he said. "When I woke up this morning, I can't say that I was expecting to see a sight like this."

"What are you doing here?" asked the fake Goku. Trunks really wanted to punch him now.

"I was on my way to Satan City," Piccolo said. "When your little scuffle popped up right in my path." He looked at the Trunks. "I take it you're the Trunks from the future. What's the story Goku? Does he have to kill you to save the future this time?"

"He won't tell me!" the imposter said exasperated. "For all I know, that could be the reason!"

"Get out of here, Piccolo!" Trunks shouted. "This Goku is an imposter!"

"I'm telling you, I'm real!" the fake Goku shouted. He was laying it on thick, Trunks thought.

Fine, then. If you want to play games with me, then I'll humor you. "The Son Goku in this timeline is dead!" he replied. "He's died twice, so the Dragon Balls weren't able to revive him." He looked at Piccolo. "This…whatever he is…came from my timeline. I think he's a creation of Dr. Gero."

Piccolo glared at the fake Goku for a moment then turned back to Trunks. "I'm not sure I understand the entire situation here," he said. "However, I do know that the Goku in this timeline was resurrected by a higher power two years ago."

For the first time, Trunks realized what he was hearing. Did he say two years ago? That's impossible. That imposter came to this timeline only yesterday. It would have been impossible for him to appear as long as two years ago. Trunks reached out and analyzed his opponent's power level. It was distinctly different than the power that had been used to blast him in the mountains.

Everything clicked into place. Trunks powered down to his normal state. "Oh God, what have I done?"

Goku took a deep breath and powered down. "Easy Trunks," he said. "It sounds like you've been through a lot recently."

Trunks forced a small smile. "You have no idea."

"I can't say that I don't understand your reaction though," Goku said. "You are the son of Bulma and Vegeta after all. Thanks for your help Piccolo."

Piccolo merely shrugged. "Don't mention it. Someone has to be the voice of reason when it comes to you people."

"Something is definitely going on though," he continued. "It feels like whatever was happening in Satan City is over."

"I can still feel Gohan's power," Piccolo said. "From what I felt, however, I don't think he won."

Goku looked at Trunks. "I think it would be safe to guess that this imposter of yours is probably the owner of that power level."

Trunks remained quite. There wasn't anything he really had to contribute.

"You said that you think Dr. Gero is behind this?" Piccolo asked.

"Y-yes," he said. "As you know, I was able to defeat the Artificial Humans and Cell in my timeline. I decided to destroy the remains of Gero's lab to make sure that nothing would be left to chance. Guess who I found in a secret room."

Goku sighed. "I was never really good with understanding how this whole different timeline thing worked," he said. "Does this imposter really look just like me?"

"From what I can tell, there's only one difference," Trunks said. "The imposter has a Saiyan tail. Other than that, he's the perfect double. He might even be a clone created from the DNA samples Gero took when he created Cell."

"But isn't Dr. Gero dead in your timeline?" asked Goku. "And why would he make a double of me?"

"I think that this clone was created before he created #17 and #18. The computers that were hooked up to its conception chamber where older than the Super Computer that made Cell.

Trunks took a deep breath. "This clone might have been Dr. Gero's first plan to avenge the destruction of the Red Ribbon Army. But for whatever reason, he abandoned the project so he could work on the Artificial Humans instead. He probably programmed his computers to finish the work for him, however."

"Just like Cell," Piccolo said.

"As to why he would create a clone of you," Trunks continued. "Who would be a better match for Son Goku than Son Goku? That's my guess anyway."

Goku crossed his arms and tried to comprehend everything that had happened in the last few hours. "Okay," he said. "What should our next move be?"

"How about this?"

Out of nowhere a ki blast blindsided Trunks sending him flying to the earth below. Goku and Piccolo dropped into a ready stance. The attacker hovered down to face them.

"Speak of the devil…" Goku muttered. He was looking into his own face.