My name is Trunks Briefs, and I am a time traveler. My world was devastated by a pair of cyborgs hellbent on destroying all life. Desperate and out of options, my mother invented the time machine and sent me twenty years to the past to warn Earth's strongest warriors and assist them in preventing the apocalyptic reality I lived in. And while I learned that time doesn't work that way and things don't always go as planned, I returned to my timeline and brought an end to the terrors that plagued the planet. But little did I know, my mother and I violated laws beyond our comprehension. As punishment for our arrogance, the goddess of time prevented any means of time travel in my timeline and forbade my mother from ever touching the subject matter. As for me…for the last three years, I have spent my days atoning for my sins by enforcing the laws of Lady Chronoa to protect the timestream. However, when I was returning from a mission, I was attacked and sent through a Time Gate. I wound up being sent to an alternate timeline with no way back. I have no idea what the future has in store. So I await to see how my story continues…as a Time Patroller!


Capsule Corporation, West City, Age 776

A seemingly young blonde squinty-eyed woman was out on the front lawn, watering the sunflowers of her garden. However, the woman happened to be much older than one would suspect. She wore a pink apron over her everyday civilian clothing.

This was Bikini "Panchy" Briefs, the wife of Dr. Briefs, mother of Bulma Briefs, and the grandmother of Trunks Briefs.

As she was watering the plants with a watering can, she heard a warping sound from several feet away, causing him to say, "Hm?"

Turning her head toward the direction of the sound's source, the woman found three people standing at the halfway point of the walkway towards the Capsule Corporation's entrance.

These three are Son Gohan, Videl Seraph (formerly Satan), who seemed to be an older version of her grandson.

Future Trunks blinked, dumbfounded at the fact that he was transported from Mt. Paozu in an instant while Gohan touched his shoulder with one hand. Videl, on the other hand, had held onto her lover's other arm while Gohan had his right index and middle fingers touching his forehead.

"W-What the-!?" Future Trunks stuttered as he turned to Gohan. "Was that Instant Transmission?"

Gohan and Videl turned to the time traveler, Videl smirked as she answered, "Yup."

"But how? I thought Goku-san only knew since he landed on Planet Yardrat before returning to Earth." The confused son of Bulma stated. "When did he teach you that technique?"

Gohan tilted his head while staring at his old friend as if he grew a second head, "He didn't. Well, technically, he all showed us how it worked beforehand, but I never picked up the technique until later. It was kind of a "do-or-die" situation during the time."

"Wait. You fought someone with the same technique?" Asked Future Trunks, dreading to ask the upcoming question. "...Who could you have possibly battled?"

"Frieza's brother, apparently." Videl casually answered, shrugging without a care in the world.

The twenty-seven-year-old froze with his face paling at the answer.

"...You fought Cooler!?" Future Trunks said, barely able to contain his freakout.

"Hold on. You know him, Trunks?" Gohan questioned with a serious face. "Does he exist in your time?"

"N-No. There was never a Cooler in my timeline. But he does exist in other timelines. It's complicated. Look, let's just go inside and meet with this world's Mother so I can explai-"

"-Is that my future grandson that I see?" The ditzy youthful-looking grandmother said while approaching the trio.

Future Trunks and the others turned to see Mrs. Briefs happily walking over in their direction. Gohan and Videl smiled at the woman while Trunks remained stoic naturally due to his time as a Time Patroller.

"Hi, Mrs. Briefs," Both Gohan and Videl said, waving at the matriarch of the Briefs family with matching friendliness.

"And hello to you too, Gohan-kun. Videl-chan." The blonde chirped. "How's my favorite young couple doing today?"

The two raven-haired teenagers lightly blushed as Videl answered, "W-We're doing just fine, ma'am. We just finished training is all."

Panchy giggled before shaking her head, saying, "Is that what you kids call dating these days? Well, whatever floats your boat. How come Piccolo isn't with you two?"

"Master Piccolo flew over to Krillin's house to bring him over," Gohan answered, which Panchy was satisfied with.

Looking over to her grandson, the usually bubbly Panchy noticed a wave of negativity surrounding her future grandson, prompting her maternal instincts to kick in by showing immediate concern.

"Grandmother," Future Trunks nodded with a frown as Panchy stepped closer to him.

"It's delightful to see you again, Trunks," Panchy said, revealing her blue eyes to her grandson before noticing the ruggedness of his injured face and the bandages covering his chest and hands despite wearing a shirt and pair of sweatpants that Gohan provided him. "Sweetheart, are you okay? It looks like you've been in a rough fight again."

Future Trunks nodded stiffly as he responded saying, "Every day is a battle for me these days, Grandmother. But I've been hanging in there."

Panchy frowned at the response, placing a hand on the young man's left cheek as she said "…You look tired, Trunks."

The lavender-haired warrior cracked a small smile as he touched his grandmother's hand and said, "I am tired. So very tired. But there's always work that needs to be done. And it's very important that I must go and see Mother as soon as possible."

The blonde nodded, understanding that the circumstances of his return may not be positive.

"That's fine, but at least take it easy while you're with us for the time being. I'm sure Bulma will be just as worried for you as she will be happy to see you as I am. Can you do that for me, dear?" Asked Panchy.

"Sure thing, Grandmother. I promise." Future Trunks said before walking over to the entrance of the building with Gohan and Videl following close behind.


Crack in Time, Outside the Multiverse

Most of the chasm was currently being used as a battlefield. Punches and kicks were exchanged, ki blasts were thrown, and the combatants were moving faster than the eye could track.

So far, Otohime was dealing with crystal duplicates of her opponent, Vidro. Fortunately for the demoness executed a technique by spinning and creating a cyclone that repelled the onslaught of attacks from the various clones.

Meanwhile, Bojack had undergone a transformation exclusive to his people that was very similar to a Super Saiyan. Why? So he could stand a chance against the monster that was Cumber, who was only emitting his Evil Aura and using that in tandem with his normal power to fight the wicked ancient Saiyan.

Meanwhile, Tapion sat with his legs crossed and his sword sheathed while Sealas, the former Galactic Patrolman held out his hands and channeled his temporal energy onto the young Konatsian.

"What kind of ritual is this?" Tapion questioned.

"This is my version of the Namekian race's Unloack Potential technique," Sealas said, flooding Tapion's body as the former hero felt his energy rising significantly. "But instead of pulling out your hidden potential, I'm using energy from the crystals here to bring your hidden power to its peak as if you were in the prime of your life."

"Amazing!" Tapion whispered as he felt his power rise, albeit slowly. "How long is this going to take, Sealas?"

"Unfortunately, because of my power being rather lacking, this ritual will take some time. I would say it takes twenty-four hours for each person that I enchant." Sealas explained. "You'll just have to bear with the wait time."

"...I have no problem waiting, but what if the others become…antsy?" Tapion inquired.

"Let them be." The Time Breaker stated. "I will increase the difficulty of their training if they find current accommodations unsatisfactory."

Nodding, Tapion continued to sit still so the super ancient alien continued the process of unlocking his power.


Lounge, Capsule Corporation, West City

Bulma Briefs wasn't known to hold much of a grudge for a long time. Was she petty at times? Most definitely. Was she prideful? That's a given, being the daughter of the most brilliant scientist in the world. But ever since she lost the privilege of using the Dragon Balls, she has grown to slowly resent the magical side of reality that she used to complain about yet adore.

No longer can the blue-haired woman call upon the mystical Dragon God to grant her every selfish wish. And after her last conversation with Dende, the two of them were no longer on speaking terms. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she was allowed back on Kami's Lookout. Not that she would bother visiting there. She did not want to be reminded of the day that her love for the mystical side of the world had died.

It was a shame too, for if it wasn't for the Dragon Balls, Bulma wouldn't have run into the little monkey-tailed boy that had changed her life.

To distract herself from her growing bitterness towards all things magic, she had been investing her time assisting the late King Ichiro Furry's son and the new ruler of the world, King Jiro Furry in developing a new global military force with the technology that her corporation had acquired from Willow's Industries upon buying the company out after the events of the Dark Revolution. This military/police force will serve as the replacement for the Royal Defense Army and possess armor and weaponry strong enough to ward off threats from within the planet and invaders. When the king and the Briefs decided on a name for the project, Bulma suggested Project ESF.

Earth's Special Forces.

Needless to say, the name caught on fast and the progress on Project ESF had gone rather smoothly.

When it came to the relationship with his family, it was mostly positive. Her marriage with Vegeta had flourished.

He wasn't Prince Charming, but he was perfect the way that he was. Does he train on the daily? Yes. But did Vegeta sort out the time for her and Trunks? Definitely. Hell, he even took the time to interact with other people without belittling them…if the people do happen to irk him, anyway. Vegeta managed to find common ground with their adopted daughter, Cocoa Amaguri (formerly Yanagi), despite his hatred for her late creator.

Her relationship with her son, Trunks, was fine. He was still a decent child, albeit a little spoiled and mischievous. However, she was worried about his lack of social activities due to his long-time relationship with her best friend's son, Goten, ending. This saddened the bluenette. Watching the two Saiyan Hybrids grow up together since Goten's birth and while they had their bouts as boys often do, she never believed things would get so serious between her son and Goku's second son. After all, they were best friends, practically brothers. It was no different from her and Goku back in the day.

Finally, she and the newly adopted daughter had gotten along famously. The bioengineered artificial human worked as Bulma and Dr. Briefs' assistant for quite a while before looking for a career path. Upon expressing her love to spread her voice across the world to uplift it. From there, Bulma used her connections to enroll her in a prestigious theater academy to help her with Cocoa's new goal in life.

To become an actress.

Nowadays, Bulma found herself smoking more often as she worked on her latest projects, unsuspecting of what, or rather, who would come her way today. So, one can imagine her shock that her son from the alternate dystopian reality showed up in her lounge with Gohan and Videl on a surprise visit.

"T-TRUNKS!?" The woman blurted out in shock, recognizing her future-son's presence alongside Gohan and Videl standing next to the long lavender-haired man.

"Hello…Mother." The bandaged Future Trunks stoically greeted, prompting Gohan to sheepishly scratch his cheek at how dry his response was.

'...Remember Trunks, this isn't your Mother. Just a version of Mother.' Future Trunks grimly reminded himself.

Bulma instantly rushed to her son's side, looking over his bandages while her eyes analyzed his wounds.

"What happened to you? You look like a mess!" Bulma fretted, gazing at his facial and other injuries like the worrisome mother that she was at the moment. "

Despite being a variant of his mother, Trunks couldn't help but turn red from the older woman's actions.

"...Mother!" Future Trunks complained, almost sounding as if he was twelve again.

Videl couldn't help but snort at the sight, uttering, "And here I thought Gohan-kun was a Momma's boy."

"Hey! I resent that!" Gohan childishly groaned at the insult.

"Doesn't make it any less true, Wonder Boy." Videl smirked, causing Gohan to pout like a kicked puppy.

"Mother? Mother, stop!" Future Trunks strongly commanded, taking Bulma's hands off of him while staring into his alternate timeline mother's eyes. "I am fine. Trust me. I've had more gruesome wounds than this."

Bulma paused at her pestering, noting the change in the time traveler's tone and facial expression. She could have sworn that his commanding tone echoed that of his father's authoritarian voice. And the look on this grown man's face was fierce, akin to that of a war veteran and Vegeta's stoic expression. A far contrast to the hopeful gaze Future Trunks had given her before departing back to his timeline.

'Something is wrong,' Bulma thought to herself. 'Something is horribly wrong,'

"Trunks, sweetie," Bulma spoke softly with a worried expression. "What is going on? Why have you returned to this timeline? We thought you saved your world."

"I did," Future Trunks explained. "I was never meant to come back, but…"

"...But?" Videl echoed, placing her hands on her hips.

Future Trunks paused, then decided to pull back on the topic last minute and asked his mother, "...Do you have any clothes that resemble my own? I'm grateful for Aunt Chi-Chi loaning me Goku-san's clothes but it doesn't feel right wearing something belonging to a dead man."

Everybody was taken aback at the man's blunt statement, but Bulma complied and called a robot servant to take the young man to one of their many closets.

Meanwhile, Prince Vegeta came inside as soon as Future Trunks had left the room. He wore a black leather jacket over a red t-shirt, gray jeans, and black boots.

"Woman! I thought I sensed several high power levels!" Vegeta barked. "Who goes there?"

"Hi, Vegeta!" Gohan greeted kindly, imitating his late father with one hand raised and a smile.

"...Oh, it's you two." The full-blooded Saiyan lowered his tone. "What a surprise."

"And hello to you, Your Royal Highness," Videl sassed, rolling her eyes. "Nice outfit. Planning on joining a biker club?"

"Please. I trekked across the galaxy in a metal pod for decades." Vegeta scoffed, crossing his arms. "Your planet's motor vehicles would bore me."

"Whatever. I bet you build them in your spare time anyway," Videl snorted.

'...Shit, she's on to me.' Vegeta swore in his mind before turning to Bulma.

"Woman, what is going on here? I felt a third person here?" Vegeta inquired to his wife.

The pixie cut Bulma stated, "Hey! The least you can do after work is greet your lovely wife properly, you jerk! ...Anyway, Trunks is currently changing in another room right now,"

"What are you on about? The boy's training in the Gravity Chamber on my orders. He still has an hour left in the damn thing before he starts on his Earth assignments," Vegeta questioned.

"It's called homework, Vegeta. Home-work." Bulma corrected.

Vegeta scoffed as he replied, "I know what I said, Woman. Earth assignments,"

"Ugh! Whatever," Bulma grunted.

"Actually," A familiar voice spoke towards Vegeta, causing him to turn around to the doorway. "She was referring to me, Father,"

Everyone turned to see Future Trunks, who now sported a black sleeveless muscle shirt, matching trousers, pale green fingerless gloves, matching boots, a dark green belt, and a brown belt that carried his sheathed sword.

At first, Vegeta appeared just as flabbergasted as his wife, but he immediately fixed his expression back to that of a stoic one as he peered into the eyes of his future son. He could recognize that his son had become just as, if not, more battle-hardened than himself. But he also mentally noted that the young man's eyes were baggy and that his exposed arms were scarred and worn from extensive battle.

Seeing his son had grown into a warrior and a man filled his heart with a sense of pride. But another part of his mind was perplexed as to why his future son had come back to their reality.

The Prince of All Saiyans approached his son and asked him, "Did you destroy them?"

"Without hesitation," The younger yet similarly gruff Z-Warrior answered.

"And Cell?" The troll-haired Saiyan inquired, thinking back to the horror from nearly a decade ago.

"I didn't give that thing the time of day," Future Trunks added, recalling his murder of Cell that was in his timeline.

"Then why have you returned, boy?" Vegeta bluntly questioned.

"I will explain soon, Father," The swordsman promised. "I'm sensing a few more people arriving shortly."

Soon enough, Piccolo came to the Capsule Corporation with Krillin, who was accompanied by a visiting Yamcha.

"Holy crap!" Krillin exclaimed with a full-blown smile. "Talk about a blast from the past! Or…is it a flash from the future?"

"Dude, just stop." Yamcha groaned while shaking his head before greeting the younger warrior. "Trunks! Long time no see, man! How have you been?"

"...I've seen better days," Future Trunks bluntly answered.

"Is your future in peril again?" Piccolo questioned.

Future Trunks decided to sit down on a chair near the others.

"...I'm not sure. I haven't been home in three years."

"WHAT!?" Everybody but Vegeta and Piccolo shouted in complete shock.

"You mean to tell me that you've been wandering through time for three years?" Gohan queried.

"I didn't have much of a choice, Gohan." Future Trunks answered stoically.

"Then explain yourself, son." The Saiyan Prince ordered.

"I will, Father. But before I do so, I have an important question to ask all of you." Future Trunks said.

Everybody looked at each other with a sense of pensiveness. They each wondered what kind of inquiry he would ask and the weight it could carry, given he was from the future.

"Sure. What is it, Trunks?" Bulma questioned.

"Why hasn't Goku-san been brought back to life, yet?" Future Trunks bluntly asked with a hardened expression.


Commissioner Vegeta's Office, TP Department, Business District, Conton City, Age 850

Granolah knew that Trunks Briefs was trouble. After all, he was half Saiyan and the son of Prince Vegeta. Of course, he was still learning to curb his prejudice against the race that slaughtered his people and murdered his mother, but he wasn't going to act like there wasn't any animosity within him for the warrior race.

Back to Trunks, the fact that he existed to endure his troubles was indirectly a result of the amateur time traveler's shenanigans that wrought a sour taste in his mouth. This only further solidifies his dislike for the young man with the knowledge of time traveling which he obtained after Gogeta brought him to the academy.

However, the Cerealian's mindset on the "Time Breaker" started to slowly but surely change when he became Trunks' warden. He was shocked to see that Trunks had never made an attempt to plead his case nor justify his actions. When reading his files, he presumed that the soldier was a daring rebel who wanted to play god using his mother's fancy science project to defy destiny. But hearing Trunks' story himself reminded Granolah of the assault the Saiyans had done to his planet and how he and his mother had done their best to survive the onslaught decades ago. For a moment, at least, he could see a bit of himself in Trunks and his story.

Regardless, the Cerealian did not wish to be on a team with any Saiyans, let alone their captain. So, one would imagine the sheer annoyance he had that not only was he a captain of a team with two Saiyans in it, but one of them happened to be the same "Time Break" he was a warden off.

Still, Pan, in comparison, was more troublesome given she was an adolescent Saiyan hybrid girl who had hormonal issues despite being a fighting prodigy like her grandfather, Son Goku.

Uub was also a prodigy, being the student of Elite Time Patroller Son Goku (Zenith Goku) and the just reincarnation of the chaotic entity known as Majin Buu. However, Uub still needed experience out on the field to grasp his true potential.

Trunks, however, wasn't a prodigy but had his fighting potential realized through his misadventures in another timeline and through the years in battle within his own reality. And yet, throughout his short time as a rookie Time Patroller, his potential had grown greater and greater. As much as Granolah hated to admit it, the soldier's work ethic was superb, he followed orders and executed them with excellence, and did not question nor did he not defy a command when given to him. To Granolah, Trunks was an invaluable member of his troop, and deep down, he respected him.

So, to hear from Sho that she had lost all contact with Trunks had alarmed the sharp-shooting Cerealian. His mind immediately assumed that the young man abandoned his post to escape his punishment if it weren't for Sho telling him that he had been attacked on his way from a successful mission being completed.

This nearly stopped the man's heart.

Being the first to complete his mission, Granolah urgently ordered the rest of the team to wrap up their missions and immediately return back to HQ and meet him in front of the TP Department. The two remaining patrollers rushed back as quickly as possible upon making mince meat out of their opponents and returned to Conton City. Pan and Uub weren't happy with Sho's report. Uub remained reversed with his feelings, finding Trunks' disappearance to be an ominous sign. He didn't know if it was because he was a reincarnation of a magical being or if it was because he had Godly ki.

When entering the building, Pan outwardly expressed her emotions about the situation.

"T-That idiot!" Pan said, fuming at the situation her missing teammate had supposedly put himself in. "He was already exhausted from his mission, yet he still decided to pick a fight with a stranger who was much stronger than him! Why didn't he run away!?"

Sho, while sharing a similar sentiment to the girl, thought to herself, '...Isn't this the same girl who tried to attack Baby while he possessed Vegeta's body as a Golden Oozarū?'

Granolah shook his head, muttering, "...Saiyans."

Uub tried calming Pan down by placing his gentle yet strong hands on her shoulders while soothingly saying, "Why don't we take a deep breath and think for a moment, Pan-chan? Trunks-san may not have had the luxury of escape. After all, if they were stronger than him, who's second to the captain in power, then he would have been outclassed in speed as well."

Still fuming but feeling disheartened, Pan turned around to Uub and shouted, "How could you tell me to stay calm in a time like this!? Didn't you hear what Sho-chan was saying to us!? We've lost his signal! His Chrono Shifter is offline! That doesn't happen unless Sho either turns it off or has been severely damaged! We don't even know if he's alive or not! Doesn't that bother you!?"

"Of course, it bothers me, Pan-chan," Uub stated, frowning at Pan's accusation. "But I believe in Trunks-san's strength. And while it's possible that he could be injured, I have my doubts that the worst has happened to him."

"B-But," Pan tried interjecting, only for the captain to silence her.

"Enough! Patroller Son, you are an agent of a professional organization! We live and die to preserve the natural order of all of space-time!" Granolah scolded the teenager, causing her to flinch at the former mercenary's deadly gaze. "You are to act accordingly, lest you wish to return to the academy."

Pan then held her tongue, suppressing the urge to growl at the Cerealian's threat as she was reminded how much of a jerk her superior officer could be.

Sho then spoke to the team leader, stating, "Are we to accompany you to report the situation to Commissioner Vegeta?"

"Yes," Granolah nodded. "This ordeal is irregular. Even by our standards. Someone attacking our operatives while traversing the timestream is something unheard of. Perhaps, this case should involve Lady Time herself."

With the appointment secured, the team managed to ride the elevator to the top floor and walked down the hallway. The group reached the outside of the office and waited for the Commissioner to call them in.

"...Enter." A familiarly gruff voice from the nearby intercom prompted Team GT to head inside of the office.

The four remaining teams of the Granolah Troop had walked into the office of the Time Patroller variant of Prince Vegeta IV. But instead of wearing the standard Saiyan Armor under a blue jumpsuit that Bulma made in many universes, he wore a black jumpsuit under a unique white and brown Saiyan Armor that had a tube-like neck strap, white gloves with large black sections on the cuffs, and white boots with similar black sections on the uppers and a brown toe cap.

This was Zenith Vegeta, a variant of Trunk's father that came from Zenith Goku's universe.

"Team Granolah," Vegeta greeted stoically.

The four members saluted, acknowledging, "Commissioner Vegeta, sir!"

"I was expecting the captain to bring me a report, but not the entire squadron. What is the meaning of this, Captain?" The commissioner questioned. "And where is your fourth subordinate?"

"Sir, permission to give my report?" Asked the green-haired alien.

The former Capsule Corporation resident answered, "Permission granted,"

"We are here to report Agent No. 40291, as of now, MIA," Granolah stated, catching the Commissioner off guard.

Commissioner narrowed his eyes, not liking that answer as he gruffly commanded, "...Explain, Captain."

"He was intercepted by an unknown adversary during his travel back to the city. Sho-san monitored their engagement via audio before his Chrono Shifter signal was lost." The captain informed.

"That shouldn't be possible! Nobody's that foolish to betray a comrade and break the TP Code D! That warrants capital punishment from the goddess herself!" The Commissioner shouted, leaning forward before turning to Sho. "You, girl! Has the boy ever shown signs of treason?"

Sho immediately shook her head, advocating for Trunks, stating, "He's only ever been dutiful and loyal to the Patrol's cause. All that Briefs-san wants to do is atone for his mistakes."

Commissioner Vegeta sat back, mulling over her words, past reports regarding the variant of his son, and what was the next course of action. Seeing that the situation was too complicated for his caliber, he dismissed Granolah's team abruptly, stating that the issue would be expedited to the higher-ups.

Upon leaving, Vegeta took out a Crystal Ball and managed to contact a familiar specially designated Kaiōshin.

"...Vegeta! What a surprise! What's up?" Chronoa questioned while trying to restrain a bearded elderly bird.

"Kai, We've got a major situation." The Commissioner said. "It's the boy. He has gone missing."


Lounge, Capsule Corporation, West City

"...What?" Gohan was all he could utter from Future Trunks' question.

Not that the rest of the Earthlings barring Vegeta could blame the son of Chi-Chi. From the way the time traveler spoke, it was as if he had no regard for the sensitive topic at hand. Such a question had given even Piccolo tonal whiplash.

"Why hasn't Goku-san returned?" Future Trunks echoed back.

"...Uh, Trunks? Goku didn't want to come back. He said that he attracted too much bad attention." Krillin explained, awkwardly trying to jog the Saiyan hybrid's memory. "You were there on the Lookout when he told us about King Kai in Other World, remember?"

"I know that, but," Future Trunks said before stopping. "Listen, I understand that this sounds jarring but I'm questioning you guys for a reason. What about the Tenkaichi Budōkai? Was there one held two years ago?"

This time, an impassive-looking Videl spoke up and said, "The 25th tournament was canceled, but two companies collaborated in the creation of another tournament unaffiliated with the Martial Arts Association."

'...Great, as if this timeline wasn't as divergent as it already is. But still, why wasn't Goku-san given the pass by Grand Kai to come back on May seventh?' Future Trunks inquired in his mind.

"Okay… Say, were there ever any contestants in that tournament named Spopovich and Yamū?" Future Trunks questioned.

Gohan and Videl looked at each other in confusion before turning back to turning back to the swordsman and responding, "...Who?"

'...Okay, so they didn't show up either.' Future Trunks said, biting his lower lip while thinking.

"With all of these questions, you make it sound like there's a new threat!" Yamcha said, laughing sheepishly before shutting up a la a deadly stare from both Bulma and Vegeta.

"There was supposed to be," Future Trunks revealed. "A wizard was meant to appear and awaken an ancient primordial entity of chaos, who was supposed to have been sealed on Earth. But once again, my involvement in changing events has greatly affected the course of this timeline's history."

"A wizard? Seriously?" Videl heckled a little, showing a little bit of her old skeptical self. "Okay, I'll bite how strong was he?"

"Don't take sorcerers lightly, kid," Piccolo stated, causing Videl to frown. "Take it from someone who comes from a race that created the Dragon Balls."

With that, Videl immediately removed the mirth from her face.

"Piccolo's right, Videl-san." Future Trunks explained. "Babidi was no joke. Where his strength was lacking, he excelled greatly with his magic. Those two contestants that I've mentioned were not only mind-controlled by Babidi but were magically enchanted to be able to take virtually any and all physical attacks. In fact, in one timeline, you managed to kick Spopovich's head so hard that his neck turned ninety degrees and snapped it. Yet, he managed to move his head back in place and proceeded to beat you to near death."

"You're kidding me! Wasn't that the guy who lost to my dad in the 24th tournament during the finals? That's impossible? Didn't the Gohan-kun of that timeline teach me how to use my energy?"

"He did, but her teaching was lackluster, to say the least," The lavender-haired man said bluntly. "Compared to yours, anyway. The Gohan from that timeline was blackmailed by that version of you into joining the tournament. But Gohan never considered the possibility of ever having a student, ergo was ill-prepared to teach your variant. All that you could do in the timeline was fly."

Videl then sharply gave her lover an angry glare, causing Gohan's fur on his tail to bristle in fear as he waved his hands frantically.

"H-Hey! Why am I getting glared at?! That was the other me in that other timeline! Not me! I taught you how to use the Kaiōken for Pete's sake!" Gohan disputed, trying to simmer the hothead down.

All that Gohan got, however, was a huff while Videl turned her head away from the Saiyan hybrid.

Yamcha and Krillin chuckled amongst each other, muttering, "Love birds,"

"Regardless of the wizard's magic, it pales in comparison to the monster he unleashed." Future Trunks alluded to.

"Hold on, you're not talking about Majin Buu, aren't you?" Gohan inquired, catching Future Trunks off guard while everybody looked at Gohan with a confused expression.

Surprised at a single constant remaining, Future Trunks asked, "Gohan, you know about Buu?"

"Uh, yeah. Lord Shin told me about him." Gohan answered honestly.

"Okay, so you've met the Supreme Kai and possibly Kibito-san. That's good to know. Did you manage to defeat him? Majin Buu, I mean." Future Trunks inquired.

"...Buu's not a threat here, Trunks-san. In fact, he's been benevolent for millions of years. The Grand Supreme Kai had to seal him away to protect him from an even greater adversary." The son of Goku explained.

Future Trunks remained silent, mulling over this huge difference in the timeline's history compared to the main timeline, and realized how much he's affected reality as a whole.

'Buu turned good early? But how? I don't sense Mr. Satan nearby, or at all for that matter. So, he must be dead. So it had to have happened millions of years before Earth evolved. Does that mean that the Grand Supreme Kai somehow tamed Buu? Or did he absorb a benevolent creature pure enough to quell his chaotic tendencies?' Future Trunks mulled over. '...Which reminds me,'

"Father, I was informed that you all had an encounter with Cooler recently. I'd like to know more about it and if there were any other threats that emerged." Future Trunks questioned.

Vegeta turned to Gohan, who grimly nodded, knowing that the topic may have been painful for him and everybody else, but was necessary if it meant understanding Future Trunks the significance of Future Trunks' sudden arrival.

"It all started two years ago…" Vegeta began speaking.

From there, the Prince of All Saiyans informed his future child Cooler's invasion with his machines and his Armored Squadron, their involvement, and Cooler's eventual defeat at the hands of Gohan. From there, it got complicated with the introduction of "Dr. Yanagi" and his supposed "children" entering their personal lives through the "son" being enrolled in Gohan and Videl's class.

Needless to say, their friendship was a ruse to monitor Gohan, and to some extent, the Z-Warriors. Vegeta then revealed that Yanagi was actually the son of a scientist named Wheelo who used to work for Mr. Satan before learning that his father was a former scientist who worked for the infamous Red Ribbon Army. Mr. Satan ended up slandering his name and killing his career, prompting him to plot his revenge against Mr. Satan and the rest of the world for their blind worship of the man.

This ultimately led to him creating a tournament to lure the strongest fighters and use his technology to force the world to its knees to not only reveal the truth about the death of Cell and Mr. Satan's corruption but to bow to him as the planet's new leader. And much to Future Trunks' horror, not only did the madman create some of the Machine Mutants that were supposed to have existed in another timeline and destroy the capital of the planet with a superweapon from outer space, but Wheelo was crazy enough to splice his DNA with Saiyan DNA in order to become a hybrid and train his body enough to achieve three transformations before and during the tournament just so he could fight the strongest warrior on the planet. It took everyone to take Wheelo down, including Gohan with a brand new transformation to end Wheelo's madness.

Future Trunk's initial reaction to all of this was disgust. Not just for Cooler and Wheelo's actions, but he was disgusted with himself. His tampering with time and space had created numerous domino effects across multiple timelines and had caused many tragedies upon variants of his loved ones. Sure, he was aware of Cell's gruesome hunt for power across the various towns, but never did he imagine that his desperation would lead to genocide and the loss of an entire landmass.

Future Trunks, who was sitting on a chair, gripped his knuckles as it turned white.

'...Damn it! Why!? Why did this have to happen!? All that I wanted to do was to save my world! I never meant to cause this cataclysm!' Future Trunks screamed in his mind while his head bowed. 'And yet, it's like all of my efforts were in vain!'

"Trunks?" Bulma called out to her son from the future as the rest of the people monitored the idle young man. "Trunks, are you okay?"

Future Trunks shook his head, coarsely uttering, "...No. I'm not okay. I haven't been okay in a long time."

"I hate to be that person right now, but could you stop playing twenty questions and cut to the chase?" Videl asked, now wanting to get to the bottom of the situation. "You still haven't told us why you came here."

"...You're right," The older man said before standing up and telling the group the truth.

Looking at Bulma, Future Trunks said, "Mother, we have made a grave mistake."

"A mistake? I don't understand. What do you mean by that?" Bulma asked, not liking what her son was implying.

"I defeated C-17 and C-18 and I've destroyed the Cell that came from my world. But in our desperation to save my future, I've potentially doomed countless realities." Future Trunks clarified. "We were arrogant. Too damn arrogant."

"Uh, I'm kind of lost here," Krillin said, scratching the back of his head with spiky black hair. "What's so bad about you going back in time when nothing changed between you going back and forth between our world and yours?"

"Accept that's the thing. I didn't just travel to your world." Future Trunks revealed. "The events of me coming back to your timeline are different. While it is true that I came back to make sure that the cyborgs were defeated, I didn't travel back to your world, but a reality parallel to yours."

"Ah, Many Worlds theory. Right," Gohan nodded with understanding.

"...I'm not following. Could you explain what that means?" Yamcha questioned.

"Remember, time is like a tree. While time can act as the trunk of a tree, our choices can sprout branches in time. But with each choice that we make, there are branches formed out of the different possibilities based on choices that we could've made." Gohan explained. "If Trunks traveled back to our world three years after giving Dad the medicine then there's a possibility that where Trunks ended up may not be our exact world, but a world nearly identical to this one with slightly altered events."

"Okay, hold on. Let me see if I can wrap my head around this," Videl said, trying to comprehend the theory posed to her as she turned to Future Trunks. "So, you're saying that this may not be the same guy that you first see pop up out of nowhere and kill Cooler's brother?"

"...Kind of? It's more like we're not the same people from the altered past that he was trying to save," Son Gohan answered, staring into Future Trunks' eyes. "Am I right?"

"Yes…" Future Trunks nodded. "You'd be correct."

"Well, out with it! What did you do differently than you were supposed to?" Vegeta interrogated.

Future Trunks took a deep breath and confessed, "Everything was normal for the most part. Goku started to have a heart attack but was medicated. You turned Super Saiyan and beat No. 19 and we eventually took out No. 20. But, we somehow unleashed powerful Androids designated as No. 13, 14, and No. 15. And we had to deal with them right before Cell appeared."

"What!?" Gohan, Bulma, and Vegeta screamed.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Piccolo bellowed out of nowhere. "There were more of them!?"

"Oh Kami," Yamcha shuddered, recalling getting penetrated through his chest cavity with one arm by No. 20.

"What the hell, man!? How the hell did that happen!?" Krillin asked.

"I don't know! Mother set the coordinates on the machine just fine! The miles were a little off but I was in the right time period and everything!" Future Trunks said defensively.

"...This is a theory but I believe the altered events of the splintered timelines could be the result of the ripple effect going back in time has caused. Distortions not too evident, but small enough to change the course of history with a chain of different events." Bulma explained. "What happened after you saved the world?"

"...My mother and I were met with the results of our hubris. The very goddess that oversees the timestream itself stopped the flow of time and enacted judgment onto us." Future Trunks said, taking everybody by surprise. "Mother was forced to give up all of her space-time-related research and was to never construct another time machine again."

"What the hell!?" Bulma shouted. "That was my future self's life's work!"

"Bulma-san, is it truly worth it if countless people's lives were lost to your work?" Gohan inquired.

Bulma tried justifying, "We were trying to save the world in that reality, Gohan-kun! What right does she-"

"Mother, she is the Supreme Kai of TIME!" Future Trunks exclaimed, causing Bulma to jump a little from Trunks raising his voice at the haughty woman. "It was us who trespassed on her jurisdiction! And we paid the price for it!"

"...Wait, we?" Videl said, picking up on Future Trunks' words.

"I was arrested and was sentenced to serve under Lady Time to safeguard the timestream as a temporal officer." The lavender-haired youth explained.

"A what officer?" Said Yamcha.

"Oh, snap! You're a cop just like me! And a time cop at that! I'm so jealous!" Krillin said with a toothy grin. "Welcome to the force, man!"

Future Trunks mildly scowled at this sentiment, prompting Piccolo to ask, "Something tells me that it's not what it's cut out to be. Right, Trunks?"

"I am content that the goddess of time has allowed me to atone for my sins, but even if it is a fulfilling duty that benefits numerous timelines, how can I be happy when I can no longer return to my home?"

"Wait, you were exiled from your reality?" Gohan questioned in shock. "But that's not fair! What if something else appears and attacks!?"

Future Trunks shook his head, saying, "There's nothing else that I can do. I was uncoupled from time, yes, so I could theoretically help any timeline without interfering. But as a part of my sentencing, I am no longer allowed to return back to my original timeline. Whatever happens there now is up to the Earthlings and my mother and cousin."

Bulma couldn't help but feel the festering rage for the gods surge from her Future Trunks' explanation, prompting Vegeta to verbally tell his wife to calm down.

"Don't you tell me to calm down, Vegeta!" Bulma growled. "Our son risked everything to save his world, and he can't even enjoy the peace that he worked so hard to achieve! You and the rest of the Saiyans may relish endless fighting, but most of us enjoy a decent life! He deserves that and more! Not to be enslaved by some idle divine hussy's whim!"

Everybody remained silent, not wishing to argue with the mouthy scientist.

"It's not enslavement if he broke the rules," Videl fired back, causing Bulma to fire a glare at the young adult. "I'm just saying. There are laws for a reason. But you guys are so used to everything going your way that rules don't mean much to you. And I'm not excluding myself either. It only makes sense for the law to eventually catch up to you."

"Now you listen here, Sat-"

"ENOUGH!" Future Trunks shouted, stopping the quarreling before facing his mother with a glare as his ki flared a bit causing Bulma to sweat from the presence of it. "I'm so sick of this! No matter which timeline I end up in, all of you do the same damn thing! I don't care how smart you are, or how alluring you can be to other men, nor that you're the daughter of the smartest man on the planet! We are flawed! And we don't know everything! So stop acting like you're high and mighty and learn how to have some goddamn humility for once in your life!"

Vegeta, Bulma, and others were rendered completely taken aback by the future warrior's outburst. In Bulma's case, she was too fearful to form any words but was in the middle of processing the part where Future Trunks mentioned the other versions of her and their behavior.

Gohan was going to try and calm Future Trunks down, only for the swordsman to cut him off with a rant.

"The day I defeated my version of Cell was the day that I thought that I could finally put down my sword, leave the battlefield, and try to build, to create something for once instead of destroying it. But no matter what I do, it always seems to end in violence! I finally had freed my world from the Cyborgs and just when I thought peace was in my grasp, it was snatched away! I accepted my crimes, and I repented for my actions, but do any of my colleagues actually care? No, they shun me, they give me weird looks, they treat me like I'm a pariah, like the goddamn plague! I can't even relax or enjoy the place that I'm living in because the whole force hates me for creating their respective timelines! I get up in the morning, I have the half-decent coffee that they overcharge me for, I receive my missions from my racist commanding officer, I do the mission, I go home, I go to sleep, and rinse and fucking repeat! My life is a war that never ends, a battle that will always exist, and when I die, it will not be of old age or illness, it will be a gruesome and violent death! I will never know peace, I will never be able to truly reap the rewards of my labors! I'm tired, I'm so damn tired, I want to stop fighting and just do something else for once in my miserable life! But I ruined everything, and I have to atone, for however long she sees fit… I can't… I just can't do this anymore…"

As he built up his base level's ki, the tie unraveled, causing his long lavender locks to fall and obscure his face. The tearful and broken Saiyan hybrid did the unthinkable and took off the belt that he wore to secure his sheathed blade and threw his sword on the ground.

Out of everybody, Vegeta was the most affected by this speech. Back on Planet Vegeta, an act like this would have been social suicide. A Saiyan, or rather, a typical Saiyan would always protect their pride. They were primarily known as a warrior race, after all. But Vegeta never accounted for Future Trunks' biracial makeup. He would have been fine mentally had he grown up with his influence or background, but Future Trunks had known that he was partially human, and had the same mentality as a human. Perhaps that was what caused his mind to deteriorate as he endured war and hardship much sooner than him.

Another part of him appealed to this lament, for there were two instances where Prince Vegeta himself had his will and pride crushed to bits. Once, by Frieza on Namek. And the other was when Goku sacrificed himself, dying to Cell's self-destruction. Both were completely separate circumstances but were relevant to this display. Life has taken a toll on his adult son and scarred him to the point of mortal weariness that he could only identify when Frieza humiliated him on Namek. This forced the prince to leave Frieza's defeat in Kakarot's hands before departing to the afterlife. To see his son pushed to the brink and dropping his weapon of choice brought him back to the time where temporarily, he swore never to fight again after Cell's defeat. It took Bulma to reconsider when he found a reason to battle again, but it brought a funk that caused him to not train for six months straight. Vegeta could recall looking at himself in the mirror at night and seeing the look of defeat in them.

These were the same eyes that his son had at this moment. A dead stare of utter hopelessness.

"...Are you quitting, man?" Yamcha questioned in disbelief.

"What's the point? It's only a matter of time before Lady Time picks me up and will probably throw me behind bars or wherever I'll end up. Besides, none of this matters anyway. It's impossible for me to fix things. There are way too many timelines to keep up with. And no matter what I do, it won't help me see my mother again." Future Trunks bitterly answered.

"There's got to be a way to convince this Supreme Kai of Time that you're innocent," Gohan stated. "Didn't you say that you came here by accident?"

"Yeah! You can plead your case, ya know?" Krillin agreed.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. Even if I told her that I was attacked by a guy that came out of nowhere while legally traveling back from a mission, I don't have proof of ever contacting the threat. For all that she knows, I could have been buying my time to do a solo mission to go AWOL." Future Trunks said. "Just forget it, Gohan. I'm done."

Future Trunks took something out of his pocket and handed it to his mother from the present timeline. It was his damaged Chrono Shifter that Goten gave back to him.

"This needs to be fixed. And for both of our sakes, DON'T copy its schematics." Future Trunks explicitly instructed.

While passing his father, Future Trunks muttered in a low tone, "Father, there's a DynaCap somewhere in the main computer room with the time machine Cell used to get here. Do the world a favor and get rid of it. See to it that she never builds one as long as she's alive."

"Very well. And where are you off to?" Present Vegeta questions evenly.

"...I'll be around. Just not here. I can't bear the sight of her face right now," Future Trunks stated, regarding Bulma.

Vegeta stiffly nodded before the older Trunks moved past him and made his way towards the door. But when Bulma was about to call the man, he was greeted by Kid Trunks.

The boy, while a little taller, still wore his green gi and trousers, red wrist bands, and belt to the side, and wore yellow and black boots.

"Hey you! Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house!?" Kid Trunks said, feeling the immense energy that came from his future self.

Future Trunks' brows furrowed, already could feel the arrogance oozing off of his counterpart. Of course, he would be, this variant of Trunks had everything he ever wanted and then some. And from the looks of it, he never lost anybody in his life. Not even his grandparents. Meanwhile, the only male figure in his life had given everything to protect him because he knew that he wasn't ready to face the cyborg threat. Hell, not even Goten of this world had everything. He grew up never knowing what it was like to have a father, yet he was kind and polite. But this wasn't him. He was a brat. A brat with a life that mocked Future Trunks to no end.

"I don't have time for this," Future Trunks grunted as he began to move to the doorway, only for Kid Trunks to block the area.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Kid Trunks shouted. "Don't you ignore me!"

"Trunks! Stand down!" Vegeta called out to the younger boy.

Ignoring his father, Kid Trunks went to throw a punch at his future self, only to punch thin air. Most people, like Bulma, Videl, Krillin, and Yamcha couldn't see the older Saiyan hybrid move. But Gohan, Vegeta, and Piccolo knew what happened.

The next thing Kid Trunks knew, everything fell to black as Future Trunks appeared behind him using Rapid Movement and struck his younger counterpart with a chop to the neck, rendering him unconscious before leaving.

While Vegeta approached the fallen child, Gohan and Piccolo stared at the floor where Future Trunks' sword lay before Videl decided to pick it up. The son of Goku found the whole situation complicated but solemn. He had liked to have believed that maybe his friend had finally found the peace he had strived for himself and their world. Alas, that was wishful thinking.

He then turned to Bulma, who had turned to the winery for her to drink her sorrows away. This caused the young adult to sigh, finding the actions to be typical of the scientist. Still, he wondered what Future Trunks' arrival meant for them and the future of the planet.

Only time will tell. And hopefully, time will be on their side.

To Be Continued…


Author's Notes:

Answers about ideas, concepts, and moments scene by scene

Scene 1:

Future Trunks would be surprised that PRIMAL Gohan would learn Instant Transmission given that up until now, he had never run into a Gohan variant that knew the technique.

Future Trunks is aware of who Cooler is, implying that one of his missions would have included battling a variant of Cooler.

Two years after their senior year, Gohan and Videl's relationship is normalized within their social circle.

Panchy here may be a ditz, but much like PRIMAL Erasa, she can read situations and people quite well.

Unlike his mother at times, Future Trunks can better manage a conversation with his grandmother. Or at least, Present variants of Panchy.

Scene 2:

While a person waits for their potential to be unlocked by Sealas, everybody has to train to familiarize themselves with each other's abilities to use them to their advantage when working together.

His version of the Namekian's "Unlock Potential" technique but involves using the Chronal Gems' power to Sealas' advantage to push Tapion to his peak as if he was at his prime age, as Seleas is saving his energy for Chronoa.

Scene 3:

Future Trunks' questions regarding the PRIMAL continuity are warranted. Given that he'd been sent there by Sealas, he did not know the differences in this reality's history.

I forgot to mention this in the chapter proper, but Bulma is wearing her outfit that was seen in the OVA Yo Son Goku and Friends Return.

Meanwhile, Vegeta is wearing an outfit akin to the one he wore in "End of Z" right before entering the 37th Tournament with the color scheme of GT Vegeta during the Baby Saga.

Krillin is still rocking Buu Saga clothing, and so is Yamcha.

Scene 4:

Regardless of her dynamic with Future Trunks, GT Teen Pan does care about Future Trunks because, without him, she wouldn't have existed.

Uub has great respect for Future Trunks as a warrior and a friend given what his master and adopted grandfather figure, Zenith Goku, had told him.

Granolah doesn't necessarily like Future Trunks, but has respect for him as a soldier and finds him to be a least an asset to his squadron. This is why he went to report to Commissioner Vegeta (Zenith Vegeta).

Commissioner Vegeta calls Chronoa "Kai" as a means of respect and because he keeps his diction direct and somewhat restricted. Think the way Kratos speaks in God of War PS4/Ragnarok. He still calls his Goku and any Goku variant Kakarot.

Scene 5:

Future Trunks' reaction to the various changes, especially the dangers that he indirectly caused only fueled his self-hatred and the arrogance he and his mother had in foolishly time-traveling with the notion of changing their fate.

Bulma's bitterness towards the gods and the fantastical world mirrors her punishment mirrors the tragic loss of her future counterparts' legacy in the form of Future Trunks due to Chronoa's punishment being played straight instead of being a joke that Dragon Ball Online/Xenoverse tends to do.

Why Future Trunks (who is Anime Future Trunks) screwed time over space-time unlike his Manga counterpart (Prime Future Trunks) is because of the movies. Now, this Future Trunks did not experience all of the movies. No, he had gone back in time and experienced the Super Andriod 13 movie, which splintered off into various continuities, creating a ripple effect that distorted the timestream. This, in turn, created Zenith Goku and Vegeta's reality, and even the PRIMAL continuity. By making that error within that time jump, he was outed as the anomaly, the "Time Breaker".

Bulma's outburst mirrors her future counterpart but has two distinctly different approaches. While Present Bulma's outburst is primarily one motivated by her vanity and refusal to acknowledge higher beings as authority figures, Future Bulma's outburst is far more altruistic but misguided, as she sees her son as the savior of their world and that taking him away would doom their civilization once more, that and it doesn't want to lose her son. Future Bulma's experiences humbled her more and made her realize how her status and pride did not amount to anything in a world on the brink of death, but Present Bulma, who still lives in a formed society, has not learned to let her vanity and superiority complex go as she has always had people around her who could challenge the supposed divine or higher beings that occupy their reality. This is more evident with how PRIMAL Kid Trunks treats someone who is hundreds of thousands of times stronger, like his future counterpart.

Future Trunks' experiences battling nonstop, living poorly, working in a pointless job he knows he'll never be able to complete while being colleagues with people that do not like him and hearing his alternate mother disrespecting his commander's counterpart was what caused Future Trunks to finally scream at his mother and breakdown mentally. He even drops his sword, mirroring Vegeta after Cell's end of not wanting to fight anymore given his hopeless situation.

This miniseries will be coming out slowly, but it will not be forgotten. And remember, if you have questions regarding anything involving Dragon Ball Z: PRIMAL, go and read that for context. I'd advise you to read from Chapter 1 to Chapter 44 before continuing. This will take a bit to flesh out but compared to "Season 3 PRIMAL", this little semi non-canon side story will be finished before it.

Please leave your comments, questions, concerns, and criticisms in the Reviews. Tell me what you like, dislike, what could be better, and what you enjoy about the saga and/or story so far by writing a detailed review for me. What are your favorite moments? Who would you like to see more of? Let me know these things, guys! It helps me grow as a writer, and I enjoy reading your thoughts on my work.

Anyway, I'll see you guys later!

-DarkShadowGames451