"What?!" 17 was stunned.
Whoosh!
At the critical moment, Vegeta came streaking in from a distance, casually raised one hand, and absorbed Trunks' blast entirely.
Boom!
The energy detonated near Vegeta.
For Vegeta at his current level, however, an attack of that strength was nothing.
"Dad?!" Trunks blinked, and called out instinctively.
17 was bewildered.
18's eyes went wide.
16's expression shifted.
"16 — didn't you say he wasn't Vegeta's son?" 18 turned with a burning look of curiosity.
"He came straight at us like we'd done something terrible to him personally..." 17 quietly wiped a drop of sweat from his brow, quietly seething.
16: "..."
"The age is wrong — unless Vegeta was twelve when he had a child." 16 muttered.
"You three — you can leave." Vegeta waved dismissively, signalling the Androids to go.
"Dad — why are you letting them leave?" Trunks was not happy.
"Trunks — they're not the same as the Androids you know." Vegeta smiled easily. "Let them be."
Trunks: "..."
Dad — your entire character has changed.
Is this something you would actually do?
I can't get used to this.
The Dad from my future would kill all three of them without hesitation.
But now...
Trunks was shaking his head inside.
"Move quickly — that Vegeta's power is substantial." 16 murmured to 17 and 18.
17 felt thoroughly put-out. He and 18 exchanged a glance, then swept 16 along with them and left the area at speed.
"16 — you said that boy and Vegeta both have strong power?" 17 glanced back at 16 as they flew.
"Yes — comparable to Goku a moment ago." 16 said gravely.
"You're joking. Does it feel like anyone I run into can beat me?" 17 muttered.
"We were just born at the wrong time." 18 said with a firm set of her jaw.
17 felt that land somewhere unpleasant.
What do you mean, the wrong time?
"Strange — how can that boy possibly be Vegeta's son? Was he adopted?" 17 mused quietly.
16 and 18 said nothing more.
Adopted or biological — it doesn't really matter to us.
The real problem is — Vegeta, Goku, and even that boy who just appeared — all of them are absurdly strong.
The three Androids put the scene behind them quickly.
Flying along for a stretch —
"17 — there's a car on the road down below. Shall we go for a drive?" 18 suddenly pointed down at a vehicle making its way along the road.
17: "..."
We're in the middle of something and you're thinking about a joy ride?
"You used to love driving, as I recall." 18 smiled.
17 said nothing.
"Don't be so gloomy, both of you!" 18 said breezily, apparently having already come to terms with things. "So what if we can't beat Goku? Do you actually want to kill him?"
17 didn't answer.
"And 16 — do you still want to kill Goku?" 18 turned to him.
"That is correct. That is why I was created." 16 gave a firm nod.
"Then why didn't you detonate when you were holding him?" 18 asked pleasantly.
16: "..."
"Enough of this — let's go for a drive!" 17 was getting irritated from all the chatter, and dove straight down from the air, landing near a yellow van.
18 and 16 immediately followed.
Two drivers were standing beside the van, taking a break and smoking.
17 opened the van's rear doors and looked at the boxes of cargo loaded inside.
"These are in the way." 17 said with open distaste.
"Hey — hey! What are you three doing?!" One of the drivers rushed forward.
16 grabbed the van, tilted it, and dumped every box of cargo out onto the road.
Slam!
16 closed the rear doors.
The two drivers stood frozen in shock.
17 climbed into the driver's seat. 18 took the passenger seat.
16 had no choice but to sit in the back cargo area.
"Let's go!" 17 put it in gear and hit the accelerator.
The van rolled away.
The two drivers stared after it, standing in the wind, completely at a loss.
"Trunks — how has your training gone over these past three years?" Vegeta asked, looking at him.
"Well... not bad, I think..." Trunks scratched his head with a sheepish smile. "If Super Saiyan 2 has levels to it — when I fought Majin Buu, I was probably at the early stage. By now I'm close to full power."
"Not bad." Vegeta gave a satisfied nod.
He thought Trunks' rate of progress was a bit slow — but on reflection, Trunks hadn't had anyone proper to train with.
To push yourself to near full-power Super Saiyan 2 through your own efforts alone — that's genuinely impressive.
In my previous life, when I fought Majin Buu, I wasn't even at this level.
"What about Kakarot in your world?" Vegeta asked with passing interest.
"Mr. Goku is a little bit stronger than me." Trunks smiled.
Vegeta: "..."
"Hmph — as I expected." Vegeta wasn't particularly surprised.
Because Vegeta knew — Kakarot was genuinely a prodigy.
Surpassing Trunks in three years — absolutely no question.
"Come on — your mother is over that way." Vegeta pointed toward the mountains in the distance.
Trunks: "????"
Trunks went blank for a second and stared at his father, unable to form words.
Dad — you checked on everyone else. What about yourself?
"What?" Vegeta gave Trunks a sideways look.
"Dad — aren't you going to ask about the Dad in my world?" Trunks said with a strained smile.
"Hmph — that useless version of me. Achieving Super Saiyan at this point would be a generous assessment." Vegeta snorted.
Trunks' mouth twitched. He had absolutely nothing left to say.
Dad — you're describing another version of yourself. Do you think that's appropriate?
"I wasn't right, was I?" Vegeta ground his teeth, clenching his right fist, wanting to jump through to the future and pound his alternate self into the ground.
"You... are exactly right." Trunks nodded slowly, exhaling with quiet resignation, head dropping. "I wanted to train with my Dad... but he didn't seem to want to. He disappeared somewhere far away and was gone for a long time..."
Vegeta went silent.
That is exactly the kind of thing the me of that world would do.
"Come on." Vegeta placed a hand on Trunks' shoulder and gave him a warm smile.
"Yes, Dad." Trunks brightened immediately. This felt like his real father.
The other Dad... he was just so hard to reach.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Vegeta and Trunks picked up speed, flying toward the mountains where Bulma was waiting.
The two of them touched down near her position.
"Oh — Trunks!" Bulma saw Trunks and immediately lit up, stepping forward eagerly.
"Mum." Trunks smiled warmly, then spotted the small bundle in her arms and his eyes went wide. "Is — is that me? The me of this era?"
"Yes indeed!" Bulma nodded. "Would you like to hold yourself?"
She held out baby Trunks.
Trunks: "..."
He had no choice but to take his younger self into his arms and hold him there, looking thoroughly uncertain about what to do next.
"Honestly — if I hadn't already seen how handsome Trunks turns out, and this little one didn't have such an intense expression, I might have thought I'd given birth to something frightening." Bulma pressed a hand to her chest with an exaggerated sigh.
Trunks' mouth twitched slightly. He quietly wiped a bead of sweat from his face.
"Trunks — if I pinch baby-you right now, would you feel it?" Bulma pondered, and pointed at baby Trunks' arm.
Trunks: "..."
Trunks was speechless.
"He wouldn't." Vegeta answered without hesitation.
"Oh really? But aren't they the same person?" Bulma gave Vegeta a curious look.
"They are the same person — but they belong to different timelines. Think of it as parallel worlds." Vegeta explained. "Just like how our world and Trunks' future world are now completely different."
"Ah — once you say parallel world I get it right away." Bulma nodded, catching on quickly.
Trunks tugged at the corner of his mouth and quietly wiped the sweat from his cheek.
Mum — why did you want to pinch baby-me?
"Bulma, Trunks — the Android situation has been resolved. Let's head back." Vegeta said.
"Oh? Already? I wanted to see what the Androids looked like." Bulma looked disappointed.
"You'll see them eventually." Vegeta said with a slight smile.
"Why do you say that?" Bulma blinked, not following.
"If you want to see one, ask that bald fellow Krillin — you'll probably end up running into one of the Androids through him." Vegeta smiled.
"Krillin? An Android? How would Krillin be connected to an Android?" Bulma was puzzled.
"If my guess is right, Krillin and that Android — the one called 18 — might end up together." Vegeta answered.
Bulma was floored. She stared with wide eyes, completely baffled.
Trunks was no less thrown — it took him a long moment to recover.
Uncle Krillin and Android 18?
"Poor Krillin..." Bulma murmured with a small sigh. "Has it come to that? He has to take a robot home just to have someone to come home to?"
Vegeta: "..."
"I'll build him a mechanical companion." Bulma thought it over and came to a decision.
Vegeta gave up trying to say anything.
Trunks wiped his face.
"Achoo!"
Krillin sneezed repeatedly, rubbing his bald head with a faintly puzzled air.
"Who's talking about me?" Krillin muttered to himself.
"Ha ha — might be that female Android." Yamcha laughed and actually leaned toward Krillin's face and sniffed.
"What — what are you doing?!" Krillin startled and quickly put distance between them.
"Nothing... just checking whether the spot that Android kissed still smells like hydraulic fluid." Yamcha laughed harder.
Krillin went white with fury, glaring at Yamcha.
Is this joke ever going to end?
"Goku, everyone—" Tien spoke up.
Everyone turned.
Tien came to a stop in the air.
The others did the same.
"Now that the Android situation has been settled completely — I'll be taking my leave." Tien raised his hand in farewell.
"What — Tien, you're going already?" Goku blinked.
"Chiaotzu is waiting at home." Tien nodded. "If you ever need me, just reach out."
"Alright — take care of yourself, Tien." Goku smiled.
"You too, Goku." Tien replied, then exchanged brief nods with Krillin, Yamcha, Piccolo, and Gohan — and without another moment's hesitation, turned and was gone.
"I suppose... I should be off too." Yamcha scratched his head with a smile. "Puar's waiting at home."
"Alright, Yamcha." Goku had no objection.
In Goku's mind, Cell — whenever he arrived — wasn't going to pose much of a real danger. Even if he absorbed 17 and 18 and achieved his perfect form, he would still be no match for Gohan. And after the Cell situation was resolved, there would be at least seven years of peace.
Seven years from now, Majin Buu would awaken.
But Buu would be no match for Gohan either.
Goku had already made up his mind — this world's Buu could be allowed to live. He would ask King Yemma to let that little Buu reincarnate — to come back as Uub.
After the Buu situation ended, it would be another ten-plus years before Baby from Planet Tuffle would appear.
So the timeline stretched out long ahead of them.
Ever since the Buu incident, Goku had always felt he saw less and less of Krillin and the others.
And because their strength had fallen so far behind, they barely took part in battles anymore.
"Yamcha — I've always wanted to ask you something." Krillin suddenly thought of it and nudged Yamcha in the side.
"Go ahead." Yamcha looked at him.
"Puar can shape-shift, right?" Krillin said with a smile. "You don't suppose you've been having Puar transform into various beautiful women and then... heh heh heh..."
Yamcha's eyes immediately lit up.
Krillin: "..."
Why are your eyes lighting up like that?
"I might have just opened a door to a whole new world for you." Krillin laughed.
"Alright — I have to go." Yamcha waved, and departed with noticeably hasty speed.
Krillin scratched his bald head. He could have sworn Yamcha looked like he was in a hurry to get somewhere.
Poor Puar...
You're not going to be...
I really didn't mean to plant that idea.
"Goku — I should get going too." Krillin waved at Goku.
"Heading back to Master Roshi's?" Goku asked.
"Where else would I go?" Krillin said with a shrug.
"Off you go." Goku clapped him on the shoulder.
Krillin said no more. He turned and flew in the direction of Kame House.
"Piccolo — Gohan — let's head home." Goku suggested.
Piccolo nodded with no objection.
"Sure, Dad." Gohan replied.
The three of them turned and flew toward Mount Paozu.
Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and baby Trunks returned safely to Capsule Corporation on a jet-cycle.
The moment they arrived, Dr. Brief came pedalling over on his bicycle at unusual speed.
"Vegeta, Bulma—" Dr. Brief started to speak, then spotted Trunks and paused. "Oh? Isn't this the grandson who came from the future — Trunks?"
"Hello, Grandpa." Trunks gave a modest smile. "It's been a while."
"Dad — what's going on? You're in a rush." Bulma asked.
"This happened a few days ago..." Dr. Brief said gravely. "Someone out in the Western Region called our company about something they found in the mountains — a strange aircraft. They said no matter what they tried, they couldn't move it. They weren't very detailed about it over the phone — only mentioned that the vehicle had Capsule Corporation markings on it."
Bulma: "????"
"Bulma — I had them send over a photo. Have a look." Dr. Brief reached into his pocket, produced a photograph, and handed it to Bulma. Then he turned to Trunks. "You came at a good time, Trunks — you should see this too."
"A photo?" Trunks leaned over to look.
The moment he did, his face went pale.
"That — isn't that Trunks' Time Machine?!" Bulma gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.
Vegeta alone did not move to look.
As a reborn person, Vegeta already knew what was coming.
Just Cell, isn't it?
Wait—
Trunks hasn't met Cell yet, has he?
That's why he looked like that.
Right — it should be after Cell is defeated that Trunks returns to the future, and then comes back and encounters Cell.
"Trunks — take a close look." Bulma pushed the photo toward him.
Trunks' expression shifted immediately. He jammed a hand into his pocket.
He pulled out the Time Machine capsule sitting right there in his pocket.
He let out a long, relieved breath and tossed the capsule out.
Bang!
It expanded into a Time Machine.
"That was a fright." Trunks drew a slow breath and smiled, relieved.
"Hold on — how many Time Machines did I build in the future?" Bulma looked from the photograph to Trunks' Time Machine, thoroughly confused.
"Just this one — and it was incredibly difficult to build even so." Trunks gave a strained smile.
"That's what I thought — but then what is that in the photo? It does look like a Time Machine." Bulma was doubting herself now.
"It is — the Time Machine in this photo looks almost exactly like mine. What is going on?" Trunks felt a growing sense of dread.
"Instead of standing here guessing, just go take a look in person." Vegeta couldn't listen to it any longer, and said to Trunks flatly.
"Dad's right — I'll go check right now!" Trunks nodded firmly and recalled his Time Machine.
"Where exactly is it, Grandpa?" Bulma asked her father.
"Western District 1050." Dr. Brief pushed up his glasses.
"I'll go take a look." Trunks clenched his fists.
"Please be careful." Bulma said with a worried look, then glanced at Vegeta.
Vegeta gave a small nod.
"Dad — are you coming with me?" Trunks asked.
"Of course." Vegeta said with a faint smile.
Without another word, the two of them launched into the air and flew toward the western region at full speed.
A short while into the flight, something occurred to Trunks.
"Could it be... that the person who arrived in that Time Machine... is the Cell that Dad mentioned?" Trunks' eyes sharpened, a look of uncertain alarm crossing his face.
"You finally worked it out." Vegeta said, without any particular feeling.
"But — we never encountered Cell in the future." Trunks frowned, expression darkening.
"We'll see when we get there." Vegeta didn't elaborate, though he found it faintly puzzling.
I already warned Trunks about Cell. He should have been on his guard.
How did the future version of him end up being killed by Cell — with Cell then taking his Time Machine to come here?
Vegeta thought it over, and something clicked.
Of course. How did I forget something this important?
Our world's Cell is still out there.
He's never been dealt with.
Could it be our world's Cell who came here using the Time Machine?
That doesn't quite track either...
Our world's Cell wouldn't have access to Trunks' Time Machine.
After all, Bulma in our world hasn't built one.
I'll just have to see for myself.
Whoosh!
The two of them cut bright lines across the sky, heading west at full speed.
Before long, Vegeta and Trunks arrived in the western mountain range.
"Western District 1050." Trunks checked the coordinates on his watch and scanned the area.
Vegeta looked around as well.
After searching for a short while, they finally spotted the damaged Time Machine and descended to land nearby.
The cockpit dome of this Time Machine had a large, melted hole through it.
The hull was covered in a layer of green moss and looked visibly aged.
Trunks wiped the surface of the hull.
A single English word appeared:
HOPE!
"Dad — look. That's the word I painted on myself before I set off. 'Hope.'" Trunks pointed to the lettering.
Vegeta gave a slow nod.
"What happened here? Did Cell really come to this era?" Trunks' unease deepened sharply. He flew up and looked inside the cockpit, pulling the hatch open.
The moment the hatch opened, Trunks saw something lying inside — a cracked shell, like a hatched egg.
"This is..." Trunks stared, not quite computing it.
"It's definitely Cell." Vegeta said flatly.
"He hatched from an egg?" Trunks asked, puzzled. "Why does this feel like a miniature version of Majin Buu's seal?"
Vegeta: "..."
Now that you mention it — there is a certain resemblance.
"He came from... Age 788." Trunks read the timestamp, his expression shifting slightly.
To be continued…
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