A/N: Time Travel was never fully be understood, not even by the great Bulma Briefs. Time flows like a river, never changing course. Even if something disturbs the surface and creates ripples, time will always correct itself. What ripples has Trunks' actions in the past made, and are they still shaping time around him?

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, and Akira Toriyama. Please support the official release!

Chapter 1: Mission Successful?

He had did it. With the help of Goku, Gohan and his father, Vegeta, Trunks had successfully prevented the living hell that would come to be his time line. Well, it wouldn't happen again. But thanks to all of them he was no strong enough to destroy the androids of his time line and bring peace back to the world. Maybe, just maybe, he could talk his mother into allowing him to travel to Namek as well. He could use their Dragon Balls to fix the mess on Earth, and maybe even bring his friends back to life. Before that, and after the androids, he'd have to kill Cell. No doubt that creature was somewhere lurking, waiting for his chance to try and steal Trunks' time machine. He wouldn't let that happen, not again. The Cell in this time line stood no chance at his Super Saiyan might. His Saiyan blood boiled at the chance to fight for Earth's destiny, and wrestle it from the clutches of those that sought to bring harm to the Earth. Well, he'd admit, it was really just for the fight.

The time machine beeped only a few seconds after leaving the past, signaling that it was arriving back in his time line. West City came rushing to his eyes as he appeared above it. It didn't look too much worse for wear. While it had suffered from the androids initial onslaught, it was still (mostly) standing. Most of it's inhabitants had fled, though, preferring to live out in the wilderness than in any place that would attract androids to a large settlement. Those who did stay lived out of bomb shelters. Even the Capsule Corps building was lived more in the lower floors than the upper.

The time machine zipped down toward the ground, finding the lawn of the Capsule Corps building. Grass lay flat as a compression came from the machines thrusters, and it finally settled on the ground. It opened much too slow for Trunks' liking, but he waited. He was anxious to see his mother and report his success—and to inform her that he was strong enough beat the androids himself now. With a small his, the dome finally opened and Trunks grabbed the side, leaping out. Quickly pressing a button and returning the machine to it's capsule state, Trunks broke into a full sprint. Elated, he nearly bowled the door off it's hinges as he entered the house. What he found made him stop.

His mother had never been a neat freak, as she insisted that most genius' were simply not very tidy in their work. The house, however, looked as if it had not been lived in quite awhile. A bookshelf stood by the door, one that was only waist high and Trunks ran a finger over the top. The film of dust that his digit disturbed was rather thick, which told him that this place had been abandoned for not months, but years. Just how long had he been gone? The time machine—he had double checked—was returning him not mere moments after he had left in the first place. At least, it was shooting for that. It couldn't have been this far off, that made no sense. He felt his stomach flopped as a scenario came to him. Had the androids attacked? No, that couldn't be right: the city was still standing. They barely left more than rubble in their wake. It was a game to them. Perhaps they had found out where he lived and targeted his mother? That still didn't explain why the house looked to be abandoned for years. Trunks shifted his weight, folding his jacketed arms across his chest as he took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he felt out for his mother's ki.

While she was no stronger than most other humans on the planet, it wasn't a signature he would ever forget. Much like a mother's touch, or a mother's scent, nobody would forget those feelings from when they were a child. This was the same thing, in a way. His brow furrowed as he continued feeling out. He couldn't feel her, which made his veins run cold. Either she had been killed, or she wasn't in the city. An energy signature did reach him, though, feeling as if it was in the next town over. It was familiar in that it felt like Goku and his father's, but Trunks knew this energy well. This was no Saiyan, and no ally. This was Cell.

Had Cell gotten to his mother!? He shouldn't have been active yet, at least not so brazenly. As much as it pained Trunks to admit, he wouldn't have been able to find Cell this easily—especially if he had been around prior to his leaving. The creature feasted on people cautiously, so as to not bring his nor the android's attentions. Growling at the inability to make sense from this, Trunks did the only thing that made sense: he would go to confront Cell. The size of the power told him that this Cell was stronger than his first form should have been, and it was identical to when himself and Vegeta squared off with the creature. That meant, by logic, that Cell had absorbed one of the androids already.

Exiting the house, Trunks blasted off into the air the moment he left the threshold. West Brooke was the next town over, and that was where the energy was coming from. It had been abandoned, long since reduced to rubble by the androids. No buildings remained standing that were more than a dozen feet tall—and that was as debris. As he got closer, the trek would take him easily a half an hour, what he felt made him stop entirely. His mother's ki!

And it was right near Cell.

Letting out a roar, abandoning his intent to try and get the drop on Cell, Trunks felt the warmth of his Super Saiyan transformation wash over him as the golden aura exploded to life around him. Pouring energy into his flight, Trunks took off with a sonic boom. He continually poured more in, attempting to close the distance even as another sonic boom cracked the roof tops below him.

Cell stood with arms outstretched to his sides as the bullets struck his body. The crack of the last shot echoed off the walls of the dead city, muting out the sound of the blunted lead object that had struck Cell's chest as it bounced off the cracked concrete. His blue eyes, a gift from his previously acquired brother, surveyed the blue haired woman as she held the gun outstretched with both hands.

"Are you quite done," Cell asked, allowing his arms to drop.

Bulma felt tears well up into her eyes as she allowed the gun to drop. While she knew that most munitions wouldn't effect the bio-mechanical android, she had been specifically designing those to do the trick. This was the one and only field test she would have gotten, and she was sure she had done the job. Perhaps she overlooked something, but that didn't matter.

"Good. 18 and I have a date, you know," Cell said in finality as his tail whipped around, the end pointing at Bulma. It was poised to strike like a cobra and she didn't even register when it did so. All she could feel was a pair of arms yank her out of the way. She had been saved with such speed that it took her a moment to realize she was no longer standing in the street, but rather on the ruins of a parking garage nearby. As her feet touched the ground, her savior stepped in front of her.

"Bulma, you should run."

18 looked to the blonde haired woman. "18, I—"

"Those bullets were our last chance. This bastard has to pay for what he did to 17," 18 said calmly. Her blue eyes were cold with hatred as she placed herself between Bulma and Cell.

"There you are," Cells voice came, though the tone was low and venomous.

"18, wait," Bulma cried out, but it fell upon deaf ears. 18 charged forward.

"You son of a bitch," she roared, and Cell's mouth turned into a sadistic grin as he rushed forward as well.

A familiar ki came to 18's senses and she stopped short. This proved to be her saving grace, as a human sized ball of golden light came careening onto the battlefield. It's target was not her, however, but rather Cell.

Cell had no time to react or sense the new arrival, so enthralled that he was about to acquire 18 as he was. The golden shrouded warrior careened into Cell with an outstretched fist. The sonic boom that Trunks had previously caused miles back caused the ground to tear behind him, slowly arriving to where he had struck Cell. The force of the blow sent the green android hurling away with a shout of alarm.

Trunks paid no heed to the rest of the battlefield. This bastard had almost killed his mother, and he would pay. There would be no mercy from the Saiyan swordsman. He burst after Cell, and before the creature could even right himself, Trunks appeared above him and slammed a heavy boot onto his stomach.

18 blinked, stunned by what she had just saw. Turning back to look at Bulma, who was clearly in a daze, 18 floated over to her. "Bulma, we have to leave," she spoke. Bulma merely replied with a dumbfounded nod, eyes still focused on the new arrival. She couldn't see their movements, and if 18 had been asked she would have admitted that Trunks' speed nearly surpassed all of her own senses. Grabbing Bulma into her arms, the blonde haired android took to the air, heading back towards Capsule Corps.

Cell slammed into the ground, and before the crater could begin forming, Trunks was upon him unleashing a flurry of punches into Cell's stomach. Finally, Cell managed a feeble defense by placing his arms in front, but the Super Saiyan wouldn't be deterred. Grabbing the arm, Trunks flung Cell behind him like a child would a frisbee. Turning, he watched as Cell righted himself and finally came to a stop.

The android moved to speak, but found himself retching. He felt sick to his stomach, and attempted to keep himself from throwing up. The damage had been done, however, and less than a second later, 17 was ejected from him, causing Cell to revert to his first form.

The black haired android fell towards the ground, covered in purple bile. Trunks wasn't about to take any chances and let out a shout as he fired an orb of golden energy into 17 as he fell. The explosion caused Cell to cover his eyes, though when he was able to see again, only tatters of 17s bandanna blew in the wind.

""NO," Cell roared, looking to Trunks with his snake like eyes. "I—! How are you..!? YOU'RE DEAD," Cell roared.

Trunks regarded him with a cold stair as that golden aura flared and released a compression of ki that caused Cell to be pushed back slightly. Reaching a hand back, Trunks secured the hilt of his sword. "No, Cell. You're the one who's dead."

Cell couldn't conceive how the young Saiyan was upon him, but he already was, sword over head. "This is it Cell! The nightmare is over!" Trunks brought the blade down, cleaving Cell in two right down the center. As the androids halves began to fall apart, Trunks tossed his sword into the air and stepped between the two pieces. A column of golden energy from each hand turned those pieces to little more than ash. It was then time for Trunks to survey the battlefield. His mother's ki was fine, but it was moving at a high rate of speed away from him. Had she developed a new type of craft that allowed for speeds that could rival even his flight? He grinned as he released his transformation, his long lavender hair falling to a rest. That was typical of his mother. While she was loathe to allow him to fight the androids (she never really let him so much as he did it anyway), she had a lot of faith in Goku. She must have figured he'd come back successful. Turning back towards West City, Trunks brought his feet up, preparing to burst away. His sword slammed back into it's hilt and he burst off.

Trunks followed the ki all the way back to the capsule corps building—an odd choice, seeing as to how it had appeared to be abandoned. He watched as his mother stood on the lawn, where the time machine had been previously, and watched his approach. Landing, he gave her a wave. "Hey mom, I'm back!"

Bulma's eyes were narrowed with skepticism as she took a tentative step towards her son, arms half raised to her waist.

"Trunks?"

The lavender haired youth blinked. "Yeah, mom. C'mon, do I really look that different? I'm only a year older." He folded his arms, shifting his weight. Maybe it was the hair. He should have allowed the younger mother to cut it, but he wanted to get back as soon as possible.

Bulma took another step forward, before she rushed to the young man and hugged him. Trunks was taken aback by the force at which she careened into him. She sobbed into his chest, and Trunks felt the tears soak through his undershirt. "M-mom, what's wrong? I told you I'd go back and change the past. Mission successful," he said as he gently rubbed his mother's back. Bulma sniffed and leaned back, looking up at him with a furrowed brow.

"Trunks, wh-" She was cut off.

"It's nothing a good cleaning can't fix," 18 spoke as she exited the capsule corps building. She blinked a the sight, before she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hey there handsome, it's been awhile."

Trunks grit his teeth and brushed his mother aside as he felt himself instinctively transform into a Super Saiyan. "MOM, RUN! ANDROID!"

Bulma shouted in alarm as Trunks both brushed her aside and shouted at her. 18 took a step back, the previous smirk she had leaving her face as fear gripped her features.

"Trunks, what are you doing!?" Bulma cried as she ran in front of 18, arms out stretched to her sides.

"What am I doing!? Get away from that monster," Trunks called, obviously dismayed. 18 remained silent, eyes wide and Bulma blinked before she narrowed her eyes and stomped over to Trunks. Trunks watched his mother approach in a manner that meant he had done something wrong. Reaching him, Bulma brought her hand around, slapping Trunks across the cheek.

"I'm glad you're alive, but that's no way to speak to your girlfriend! I raised you better than that!"

A/N: Duh duh duh! Don't worry, this isn't going to be one of those "oh we're together? Ok cool" fics. There will be plenty of drama and plenty of action, after all there's still plenty of enemies that haven't appeared in Trunks' timeline yet! R&R please!