No Way Home

Summary: Trunks returns to the future to discover that he has returned to a world that has differed greatly from his own. Lost no answers and unable to find a way home to his future he must make sense of this strange new world.

Disclaimer: Don't own Dbz and it's characters. Just making a bit of reading.

Hello,

I know it's been a number of years since I updated and I make no promises that this will be updated to completion, as I have other things to do in my life but I'm posting this as I knew there is always a positive in writing.

I thank you all for reading and I will try to keep working on this, in the mean time I have got some other ideas that I've written and may post at sometime or another.

The first couple of chapters have had minor alterations made but nothing that affects the story in any way, merely a couple of fixes in the ridiculous amount of times I said your instead of you're.

Trunks hovered in the sky, reaching out with his senses, trying to find any trace of Cell. Though fairly certain no part of Cell could have survived the blast, Trunks had to be cautious. Cell had proven himself to be a very cunning and a quick-witted adversary, or at least the one in the past had. This meant Trunks couldn't take his victory for granted. While he couldn't sense anything, Cell could've been masking his power level.

However, after a few minutes had passed Trunks decided that he must have succeeded. Cell would surely have attacked the android by now if he had survived. He wasn't known for letting something get away once it was within reach.

Descending towards the ground Trunks looked around.

The Android had gotten to her feet and was staring at him. She had apparently been in too much shock to have a rational reaction. Trunks shook his head unable to believe her stupidity. At least she was saving him the trouble of tracking her down.

Trunks took several steps towards her; studying her reaction. Judging by her expression she had no idea what to do or where to look.

He stared at her and she at him. 18 recoiled slightly at the hard look on Trunks' face, bringing grim satisfaction to him. Now it was her scared of him rather than the other way around.

Trunks had never enjoyed his time with the Androids, but 18 had been ten times worse than her brother. 17 loved to destroy things and would taunt Trunks' weakness. Trunks being nothing more than his punching bag, that once used he'd go find something else to play with. In contrast 18 loved to humiliate him. She took special pleasure in torturing him, emotionally as well as physically. 18 always knew just how far she could push things and how to drag out her torture for as long as possible.

18 would attempt to make him beg to be spared each and every time, Trunks never would but she would put him through as many different pains she could think of while trying to break him. He knew she didn't really want him to beg, if he begged he would die, she loved to play the game though, sadistic as she was.

Sometimes 18 would use surviving humans from the cities the Androids had been attacking in their private game of cat and mouse. Saying he was the one only who could save the poor man, woman or child she had in her power. These would be the times she'd want him to beg.

However, they both knew he couldn't save them, she would kill the person no matter how well he begged. It clearly amused her to watch him try. He knew this yet he'd always try, he could never refuse if there was even the slightest chance she'd let that person go.

She seemed to find his strength of will fascinating, or saw some entertaining value in it at least. 18 never seemed to tire of her game. 18 was always on the lookout for her favourite plaything, expressing delight whenever he was found and Trunks had heard her curse his absence when blowing things up became 'boring'.

Of course, her torture meant Trunks hated 18 far more than 17. He may have killed many more innocent people, but she had enjoyed stripping him of all his pride and set about destroying all his hopes of defeating the evil pair.

Without the hope of the time machine her victory would have been complete and total.

Trunks had soon learnt to not attempt to fight the Androids and do his best to avoid them. As hard as it had been to ignore the Android attacks, Trunks knew that if he died the planet's suffering would be indefinite. If he could survive and use the time machine and learn their weaknesses it would all be worth it.

But no matter how hard he tried to remain anonymous, the Androids would always come looking for him...

'Is he gone?' A small voice asked breaking Trunks' reverie.

'Of course, you did see him blow up right?' Trunks pointed out gruffly. Trying not to lose himself in anger at the sound of her voice. He needed to at least try understand where he was.

Trunks turned his face away, now that she had spoken the spell had been broken. Trunks could no longer look at her. She was a reminder of the world he had to get back to.

Despite his unwillingness to even look at one of the monsters that had killed all those he had known and ever cared for, there was something in her tone that kept him from just blowing her up out of hand.

Her voice was less cold than the 18 he had known, more human. In truth that could just be as a result of having to run away from Cell, some sort of survival instinct programmed into her. And now that Cell was gone, she was probably going to become the killer Trunks knew her to be.

'Are you Trunks?' She asked quickly. Trunks flicked a quick glance in her direction. It looked like she had asked before she lost her nerve.

Raising his eyes to 18's he saw she was still staring wide eyed at Trunks. A look beyond disbelief was etched in her expression.

'What's it to you Android?' Trunks scowled, he didn't really want to get into conversations with this monster.

'Well I was thinking of thanking whoever it was for saving me! And I thought it'd be rude not to at least try figuring out who you were! but if you're going to keep calling me Android you can shove my gratitude up your backside.' Snapped 18 in the aggressive tones she'd always taken when she'd been insulted.

Trunks balked at her, what was with her? He'd never known 18 to get so offended over being called an Android. Even the one in the past hadn't given a damn.

'Well who are you? Your clearly not Trunks.' She demanded when he remained silent.

'Who do you think I am?' He responded with a hint of irritation. It was childish and immature to say it, just so he could deny her an answer for a few moments longer, but Trunks didn't care. He hated her too much to be mature about this.

'I don't know!' She shouted in exasperation. Clearly she was getting sick of talking to an unhelpful arse. 'All I know is you look like Trunks, but your older than he would be and he's been dead for four years so you can't be him, can you?' There was a mixture of accusation and confusion in her words now.

Trunks didn't really know what he could say, he didn't know how but he was not in the future he should have returned too. Whether the future had changed by his actions or he had been somehow buffeted into another timeline he couldn't say.

The fact he didn't know scared Trunks, particularly as he thought of his mother and how she should be here to tell him what to do and figure out where he was.

Wherever he was though, this 18, while incredibly similar to the 18 he knew, was vastly different. While physically identical to the 18 of his world, her eyes were very different, despite being the same unnaturally round eyes, they were far less cold and detached. She was even less cold than the 18 of the alternate timeline and that 18 had been positively cuddly compared to the 18 he had grown up hating. Though she was in a state of heightened emotion, so maybe Trunks was reading too much into this android.

He decided to Ignore her previous question, how was he supposed to tell her he was Trunks and yet he wasn't the one that died?

'Cell said he had been chasing you for seventeen years... how is that possible? He shouldn't have been completed for about another 4 years?' He needed information and she was the only chance he had at any answers.

18 considered him, maybe deciding whether or not he was trying to be funny. 'He came back in a time machine, but as you don't seem to know that I take it you're not Trunks then? Why do you look like him then?'

A time machine? Trunks pondered the implications, so he was in a world similar to the one he had just left then, wasn't he? If Cell had went through time without his warning that would explain the near devastation the world was in if Cell had had free reign for nearly 17 years.

But no. That couldn't be right, if he hadn't have built a time machine to return to the past in there would be no time machine for Cell and thus he couldn't have stolen one.

'This time travel business is getting way outta hand' Trunks thought desperately.

18 continued to look at him expectantly, all the while Trunks couldn't think of any coherent reasoning as to what had transpired in the world he had arrived in.

After a long pause Trunks looked at her, asking the question that had been bugging him the most since shortly after arriving on the scene. 'Why are you calling me by my name?

18's eyes had widened to the size of hub-caps and a gasp had escaped through her suddenly open mouth before Trunks realized his mistake. 'But your dead! I buried your body!'

'I'm surprised you thought I was worthy of a grave.' Trunks grumbled without thinking. Though he suspected that this 18 was very different to the one he knew, but when he saw her face he just couldn't help the snide remarks and hate he threw towards her. He supposed it was a learned behaviour, like Pavlov's dogs.

18's mouth opened and closed, the hurt expression returning, the same one as when he'd first called her an Android on his arrival. 'You can't be Trunks! He was a kind kid! You're just an arrogant prick!' She accused him, her eyes wobbling in their sockets with the intensity of her stare.

Trunks was stunned, how in any world could she ever get hurt at something he was saying. He knew he had upset the 18 in his world countless times but that had always resulted in her lashing out at him, whenever he called her a witch or 'gave her lip' as she had put it. For some reason though his insults were hurting this version of 18 emotionally.

Trunks knew things would be different in this world, from the moment he'd seen the Capsule Corp building was a derelict ruin but this was something he never expected, a version of Android 18 that seemed to truly care what he thought of her.

'I am Trunks,' He began carefully. 'I'm just not the Trunks you knew. Just as you're not the 18 I knew.' Trunks attempting to explain the situation, but he was unsure how best to put it. He knew he had to be a bit more careful with his tongue. He couldn't afford to lose this chance to find out about this world.

'What does that mean? How can you be Trunks? He's dead!' 18 said with a determined finality. Obviously she hadn't understood what he'd been trying to say. He couldn't blame her for that though, Trunks himself only had a little more understanding of what was going on than her.

'The best and only way I can really explain this, is that I'm from a parallel universe. And this world differs greatly to the one I'm from.' He informed her. Trunks felt that it was enough for her to understand that he was Trunks but not the same one she had known. He didn't want her to try and be friends with him. He felt he was a little disturbed at how close the two had obviously been, they had somehow formed a friendship of some kind and Trunks wanted no part of any friendship with her.

Trunks just couldn't understand it. How could any version of himself have been friends with Android 18? She was a vicious and horribly efficient, traits both 18s Trunks had met shared.

Then Trunks remembered the fact that she had been on the run from Cell for seventeen years, perhaps this version of Trunks had been protecting 18, a logical assumption to make. Clearly the androids in this world had been activated and some time travel had meant Cell had come across to this world as well as the past he had been too.

Trunks really should ask the Android for more details surrounding what had happened in this world but Trunks' brain had been overloaded in the short twenty minutes he had been here.

Though he knew he'd regret it, he had to get away from the android, she was too infuriating, not for anything she was doing, but she was a duplicate for the greatest tormentor he had ever known. Besides Trunks had enough to piece together what had happened in this world so he could get away with avoiding the unpleasant android in front of him.

Seeing questions were about to bubble to her lips, Trunks knew he was in no mood for what would be her inevitable inquisition.

'I'm sorry but I don't feel like explaining anymore.' Trunks told her curtly. It had taken a great deal of effort not to add 'and certainly not to you'. Now that he was certain Cell was gone, there was no reason to stay and have this awkward conversation with one of the machines that had turned his life into a living hell.

Well there was a reason, he might have been able to gather the information to find out what had happened to all the fighters and his mother, but Trunks was being immature and irrational. Unable to even ask for this small help from an android, his mother would've had a field day at tearing him apart for his own selfish lack of forethought.

Turning and without glancing at 18 he began to walk away.

'Wait! Where are you going?'18 shouted. She sounded lost, confused and desperate for answers.

'That's a good question.' Trunks mumbled to himself, and knowing he would regret his rashness, Trunks flew into the night sky.

It's been so long that I don't even exactly know why I was keeping 18's power level a secret, I'm sure it was a brilliant reason but alas I no longer remember, I know what the overall premise was and plan to write out what I planned, having lost my original notes this may take some time but I'm currently writing the next few chapters (Chapter three had long since been written) I apologize for any offence caused by my long absence and hope you can forgive me.