However, before Krillin could continue speaking, his words were abruptly interrupted by Bulma.
"That's not important. By the way, is my grown-up son from the future with you? I have something I need to tell him."
"Ah? Oh, he's right here beside me."
The sudden loud voice startled Krillin so much that he nearly jumped.
"Great, hand the phone over to him."
"Bulma, you can just talk directly—he can hear you through the speaker."
"Alright then. I just received some news. A few days ago, someone from the western suburbs came to our company asking questions. They said that while camping in the mountains, they discovered a strange flying machine abandoned there. They wanted to take it, but didn't know how to start it, so they came to consult us."
Upon hearing Bulma's description, Krillin and the others aboard the ship exchanged puzzled looks. They couldn't understand why Bulma would bring up such an unrelated matter.
Just as confusion spread among them, Bulma's voice sounded again.
"At the time, I asked him about the model of the flying machine, but he said he didn't know. At first, I thought it might not be one of our company's models, but then he told me that he clearly saw Capsule Corporation's logo on it."
"So, I asked him to go back to the site and take some photos of the machine. Just now, I received the pictures he sent over..."
At this point, Bulma paused. Krillin and the others didn't interrupt her, knowing her temperament well. If they cut her off now, she'd scold them for sure. They quietly waited for her to continue.
Fortunately, Bulma didn't keep them waiting long. After only a few seconds, her voice came again through the receiver.
"When I saw the photos, I was completely shocked. The flying machine they found looked exactly like Trunks' Time Machine—except that this one seemed to be damaged."
Hearing that, everyone gasped, especially Trunks, whose face showed utter disbelief.
"This... how is that possible? Could it be..."
As if realizing something, Trunks hurriedly pulled out a small white capsule box from his chest pocket. Seeing that the capsule containing his Time Machine was still intact, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Good... it's not mine. I already stored my Time Machine back into capsule form."
Even without Krillin repeating it, Bulma had clearly heard Trunks' words through the speaker.
"Mm, I thought so too. After all, that Time Machine was covered in moss—it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time..."
Bulma sighed deeply.
"Ah, just how many Time Machines did my future self end up building..."
Without hesitation, Trunks replied, "Only one. And it took a lot of effort to complete."
"Really? Then that makes it even stranger. It must be a Time Machine, though. You have a fax machine there, right? I'll send the photos over—you'll understand once you see them."
As she spoke, Bulma started operating something on her end. The next second, a faint printing sound came from the ship's control console. Moments later, a clear photograph slid out from the fax slot.
When Krillin and the others saw it, they finally understood why Bulma had sounded so unsettled.
"This... there's no mistake. That's definitely the same Time Machine I used. But how could this happen? Could it be that, at some point in the future, I came back here again and something went wrong... and I never made it back safely?"
Hearing Trunks' speculation, both Bulma on the other end and Krillin's group fell silent, their expressions growing heavy with concern.
"This... that shouldn't be possible, right? Over the past few years, we haven't encountered any threats that were difficult to handle. If there really was someone even Trunks couldn't defeat, then we wouldn't have been able to handle them back then either."
"Mr. Krillin is right. There must be another explanation. That's why I plan to go check it out myself. Um... Miss Bulma, do you know where that Time Machine is located?"
"Ah, don't call me Miss Bulma. Just call me Mom!"
Bulma teased with a laugh, instantly lightening the previously tense atmosphere inside the ship.
"Hmm... I don't know the exact coordinates, but it should be somewhere around the Western 1050 Area. I'll go with you too—it's not that far anyway."
Trunks coughed awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed by the way she said it, but he didn't argue about the title.
"O-okay."
"Then I'll see you soon, Trunks."
With that, Bulma hung up the call.
Exhaling lightly, Trunks lowered his head to look at the photo in his hand, his expression still serious.
Just then, Yamcha, who was piloting the ship, suddenly turned and asked, "Are you sure there's only one Time Machine?"
Trunks immediately looked up at him and nodded firmly. "Yes, I'm certain!"
"Um... Trunks, can I come with you to look for the Time Machine too?"
The slightly youthful voice of Son Gohan suddenly came from behind them.
Hearing that, Trunks turned around and smiled. Seeing the younger version of Gohan lifted his spirits a little.
"Of course. Thanks for the help."
Hearing Trunks' approval, Gohan smiled brightly. However, from the side came Chi-Chi's disapproving voice.
"Gohan, what do you think you're doing going along?"
"It's fine, Mom. We're not heading anywhere dangerous."
"But..."
Chi-Chi wanted to protest further, but seeing the determination in Gohan's eyes, she closed her mouth. She had heard the entire conversation earlier and knew that Trunks and Bulma were heading to a mountain to investigate the abandoned Time Machine—not to fight anyone dangerous—so she decided not to stop him.
"Alright then. But be careful. Once you find the Time Machine, come straight back, and don't go wandering around."
"I know, Mom."
After waving goodbye with a smile, Gohan flew out of the ship alongside Trunks, and the two headed toward their destination.
...
Inside the pink sports car, watching the live projection split into two different groups, Eriri immediately focused the tracking feed on Trunks and Gohan instead. She had no interest in continuing to watch Krillin and the others heading toward Kame House.
"Eriri, do you know what that abandoned Time Machine they mentioned is about?"
Lazuli, sitting in the back seat, looked curiously at Eriri. The earlier conversation between Bulma and Trunks had piqued her curiosity as well.
"Well..."
Up until now, Eriri had only told Lazuli about Cell's existence but hadn't explained how he appeared. So Lazuli didn't know that Cell was the one who had used that Time Machine.
"The Cell that's about to appear in this world actually came from the future. Three years after Trunks saved his world, he tried to return to the past again to share the good news with Goku and the others. But he was ambushed by Cell, who had been hiding in the shadows."
"In that future, both you and Seventeen had already been defeated by Trunks. Since Cell couldn't evolve into his perfect form without absorbing the two of you, he used the Time Machine to travel to the past in order to do so."
"And the Time Machine Bulma and the others just mentioned—that's the one Cell used."
After hearing Eriri's explanation, Lazuli couldn't help but frown. Something about that logic didn't sit right with her.
"Wait... something doesn't add up. If the Cell from the future came to this timeline and was already killed by Gohan, then how did Trunks still get ambushed by Future Cell when he returned to his world? That doesn't make sense. Shouldn't he have dealt with the still-developing Cell as soon as he got back?"
"I was wondering about that too."
Arifureta, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at Eriri curiously. Although she had watched the Dragon Ball anime in her previous life, she had only gone through it roughly once and never paid much attention to the detailed settings or background like a true fan would. She only knew the general outline of the story, not the specifics. Until Lazuli raised the question just now, she hadn't even realized the inconsistency about Future Trunks and Future Cell.
"Let me explain," Eriri said. "Actually, the future world and the one we're in now aren't on the same timeline. They're separate parallel universes. Even the smallest change can create a completely different world."
"For example, let's call the timeline Trunks came from Universe 1. When he traveled to the past, he actually arrived in Universe 2. And here's the key point: in Universe 2, the Cell incident never happened."
Both Arifureta and Lazuli blinked in surprise.
"So, the world we're in right now isn't Universe 1 or Universe 2?" Arifureta asked.
"That's right," Eriri nodded.
"Hmm, interesting. Go on," Arifureta said enthusiastically, while Lazuli in the back seat also leaned forward with interest.
Seeing their reactions, Eriri smiled faintly and continued.
"While dealing with Lazuli and Seventeen in Universe 2, Trunks and the others discovered Dr. Gero's secret underground lab—the place where Cell's embryo was stored. There, they found the blueprints for the androids and learned how to stop them."
"So they destroyed the underground lab, along with Cell's undeveloped embryo, and took the android blueprints back to Bulma. Using them, Bulma created the Emergency Shutdown Remote—you should remember that, Lazuli, it's the same device Dr. Gero once held in his hand."
Eriri turned her head to glance at Lazuli. Lazuli didn't speak, only nodded silently.
"Using that remote, Goku and the others in Universe 2 defeated that world's Lazuli and Seventeen. Afterward, Trunks brought the device back to Universe 1."
"Once back in Universe 1, Trunks used the same remote to defeat his world's Lazuli and Seventeen, saving his future. However, since he never experienced the Cell incident that took place in Universe 2, he didn't know Cell existed."
"That's why, three years later, he was ambushed and killed by Cell—allowing Cell to use the Time Machine to travel to Universe 3."
"So that means the world we're in now is Universe 3, right?" Arifureta asked, intrigued.
"Exactly."
Eriri smiled, reaching over to ruffle Arifureta's hair before turning her attention back to Lazuli.
"After Cell arrived in Universe 3—the world we're currently in—you already know what happened next. I've told you before."
"Yeah." Lazuli nodded with understanding.
"So, the Trunks who'll deal with Cell in this world later will actually be one from yet another timeline, right?"
"Mm... more or less. In fact, that Trunks isn't making his first trip from the future. When he time-traveled again later, a fourth timeline—Universe 4—was created. The Trunks from Universe 4 worked together with Gohan and the others to defeat the Cell from Universe 1, then returned to his own world to create a brand-new future."
"I see!" Arifureta nodded in satisfaction.
...
After finishing their discussion about parallel universes, Eriri and the others turned their eyes back to the live feed projected on the windshield.
By now, Trunks and Gohan had already arrived at the site where the Time Machine was located. Shortly after, Bulma arrived in her small aircraft.
The three stood before a moss-covered Time Machine with a massive circular hole melted into its top canopy, all wearing stunned expressions.
Trunks then took out his own Time Machine capsule, deploying it beside the damaged one. Apart from the difference in condition, the two were identical in every detail.
They proceeded to carefully inspect the ruined Time Machine, uncovering numerous strange details—the melted hole likely caused by intense heat, the remnants of a strange eggshell on the pilot's seat, and a time record showing a date three years later than when Trunks had departed.
All of these clues pointed to one thing: the pilot of this damaged Time Machine wasn't Trunks... but some unknown and disturbing being.
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