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.

This is my first attempt at a Fanfiction, I'm not a hundred percent sure where I'm gonna go with it or how long it will be but I would very much hope you will enjoy it.

The pairing will of course be Trunks/18 and while I'm not sure where I'm going if people would like to submit their thoughts and opinions I would be honored if you'd spare the time. Though I must point out that at this point the likely hood of ever making a trip to new Namek is 0.

Trunks stood on the lawn of Capsule Corp. Surrounded by the people who, until a month ago, had been legends he had grown up on, tales of his mother's. Now they were his friends and he knew they would die for him as he would for them. Even if, by some unforeseen happening, he couldn't free the future; Trunks was glad he had come back purely to meet these people. They had given him a feeling of warmth and content that, even with his ever-loving mother, he had been unable to find in his own time.

Trunks smiled at each of his friends in turn. Krillin smiled back, the short bald fighter really had a heart of gold, he'd seen humanity in the androids and nearly ruined all by doing so, but Trunks couldn't feel angry at him, it was just who he was. Yamcha had taken up a role of an uncle figure, this had surprised Trunks, particularly after the frosty reception he had given him on his first appearances. He never thought his mother's former lover would accept the son of her new one. While Tien may not have come to his send off, Trunks no less appreciated him than the others, from what he'd heard he had been the one to look after him when Cell had attacked and killed him on his return to the fight.

Trunks looked to Gohan, they had shared a strange relationship since he had first returned to the past. Gohan had always been the one who had advised and taught him how to fight and how to be a better man, at least in his time. However, on returning to the past their relationship had become a mirror of the relationship he had known. It had felt weird to be the one answering Gohan's questions and giving him the reassurances he always sought from his master.

Gohan had seemed like a different person to the one Trunks had known. The boy Gohan was almost a carbon copy of Goku, where as the man Trunks had known had been haggard but still an indomitable warrior, this Gohan had never been a warrior, even while fighting Cell he'd sued for peace before unleashing his true powers.

Trunks had seen flashes of the boy Gohan had been in his master. Usually it had been on the rare occasions his master had talked about his father. Gohan had worshiped his father. Worshiped him to the point that he couldn't see by just how far he had surpassed his father's strength. Perhaps that had been the main reason he hadn't been able to reach the same powers as the Gohan in front of him. When you can't see how strong you've become how can you possibly move forward? They both shared the inability to see when they had surpassed their father. They were the same person after all so they were bound to share similar triggers and thought processes.

Trunks had realized all this when Gohan had gained all that power when fighting Cell. He suddenly began to carry himself just like his former master had, with a self-assurance seeping through his very being. It had been refreshing to him, to finally see the connection between the man he knew and the boy that saved them. However, when looking at Gohan now he still held himself with the same manner of self-assurance, but the Gohan Trunks could remember never seemed to be comfortable when he wasn't fighting, it had been like fighting was his escape from the destruction of the world around him. He even seemed more comfortable fighting the Androids than when he'd been visiting Trunks and his mother. Perhaps it had been guilt hanging over him that made him so uncomfortable; the guilt of being the only survivor of the legendary Z fighters, the guilt of all the people that had died, and the guilt of not being strong enough to stop it.

The two half-saiyans shared a smile, they were the descendants of the two greatest fighters the saiyan race had ever produced. They shared a special bond, they were the only two of their kind and had the abilities of immense power, even if Trunks was an ant compared to Gohan. While their fathers shared a bond of hatred and rivalry, he and Gohan shared a bond of love and friendship. No matter the differences between the two timelines, Gohan was Gohan.

Turning once again he sent a quick nod to his father, they had already said their goodbyes with a short conversation the previous night. True, Vegeta hadn't really said goodbye he'd just gave his son advice, or at least that was the best way of describing what he had been saying. Expressing his disappointment was another.

His father had told Trunks 'A saiyan is only a saiyan if he continues to push his limits and get stronger, your only goal should be to surpass Gohan, if you don't; you have failed. Strength is all that matters in this world.' His father then went on to explain, in his words, why he and the future Gohan had been 'defeated by the tin cans.' He had sneered quite a bit at Trunks 'You lacked the pride to gain the strength to defeat those who claimed to be better than you.'

His next words had hurt a little bit. 'Even Kakarot had the pride to refuse to be bettered, he may be more ready to admit a man is stronger, but he will never accept it. You and Gohan are no saiyans, not until you find a saiyan's will to be the best.'

Trunks had been left to consider the words overnight and had taken them to heart, he would train no matter how strong he was or how strong he thought he could be, he would always try to get better. He knew he had to at least get as strong as Gohan, he didn't know how but he'd do it.

Last but not least he looked to his mother. Despite not actually being his mother, she had taken him as hers the moment she had known who he was, before that even. It had been strangely comforting that he had her help through this enormously difficult task.

However, despite her love, this version of Bulma would never be his mother. She didn't know the little things that made the Bulma in the future his mother.

His mother knew when he was lying and the reason why. Whether he was ashamed, embarrassed, scared or trying to protect her. She always knew why. She knew how to make him smile when he didn't want to and could adapt this technique for any situation. She was the one who would care for him when he was Ill, or when he'd fought the androids. This Bulma could never know that as she had not raised him and cared for him growing up, she was mother to the boy in her arms, he would be the one she would learn those things about and this Trunks would never be him, he would grow up differently and as such never become as dented inside as he had been before his first meeting with Goku.

'Oh Trunks! Take care of yourself. Go get those androids!' Gushed Bulma.

'Don't worry mom, I will. Those androids won't know what hit them.' Trunks smiled, He had always called her mom as he never really knew what else to call her, it would feel strange to call her anything else.

'I wish you didn't have to go.' She said there was almost a pleading note to her voice, she knew she shouldn't want him to stay, but Trunks could tell she really had grown to love him just as much as her infant son, he supposed she didn't really differentiate between the two like he did after all they were both biologically identical.

'I know mom but I can't abandon my mother. I know you are my mother, but she's the mother who raised me I couldn't leave her to die, just as much as I couldn't leave you to die.' Trunks felt she'd understand that, even if it had been garbled.

'I know Trunks and I wasn't asking you to, you belong in that world not here, I'm just gonna miss you.' She smiled at him.

The smile she gave him was so like the smile his mother had always given him, that for a moment he could imagine staying in the past and living his life with these people, he'd be able to train with Gohan and his father and they could go to amazing heights and live in a world of peace and harmony. But he knew he had a duty to return to the future and his world.

His mother reached forward and pulled him into a hug. She gripped him so tightly he was worried that she wouldn't let him go. Eventually she let go, and as their eyes met Trunks could see a small shine in her eyes, he Knew her well enough to know she was holding in tears.

'I'll miss you too, and everyone. But I'm gonna have to leave you now.' He said, the air of sadness over his mother now was worse than when Goku had died. How had he managed to make things sadder than when the greatest man ever had died he couldn't say but somehow he'd managed it. 'Besides if I wait too long I might lose my nerve to leave.'

The joke went down like a lead balloon, 'well it was a good try at lifting the mood' He thought sourly as he climbed into his time machine. His mother looked on determined to be happy. Everyone else was waving and shouting, everyone but his father. He had the same air of uninterested boredom he had had whenever there hadn't been fighting going on. He truly was obsessed with being a warrior and the ultimate fighter in the universe. Trunks wondered if Vegeta would ever surpass Gohan, if Chi-Chi remained dead set on Gohan hitting the books it was perfectly possible that he would.

Trunks programmed the time machine to return three weeks after he had left. His mother had explained that he would have to return to the present the same amount of time he had been gone for, just incase him being three weeks older despite only a day passing caused problems.

Not for the first time, he wondered if his mother had managed to survive the three weeks he'd have to be gone for. He knew this fear was relatively unfounded or as unfounded as it could be when two killer androids were running amuck. But the androids hadn't ever really bothered West City, unless there had been attempts at rebuilding the damage they had caused. However, after the first three tries people had stopped trying, the androids had always found out so what was the point. His mother had been able to hide underground during the attacks on the city so even if they did attack then there would be still a rather good chance she'd survive.

Trunks cast another glance at the surrounding people, they were his friends and he would never see them again. He felt again that desire to stay and damn the future. his mother herself had said that she felt that there was nothing else they could do for that world, so why help it?

A wave of guilt washed over him. How could he have thought such a thing? He knew his mother had said that because she believed he'd never be strong enough to beat both the androids. She could never know that by coming to the past he would come back with five times as much power.

Without looking at the people around him, in case he acted on any of his impulses to stay here, he pressed button for the ignition along with a few others to set the time machine into motion. From this point there was no turning back the time machine was automatic after it was set. Now he was safe to look at the people below, one last look. They were all waving, except his father of course, his eyes merely following the time machine's progress. Gohan and his mother were waving with two arms as fast as they could. It was like it was a competition to see which of them could say the best goodbye.

Trunks made his own wave back to the group on the ground. He spent most of this time looking at his father, he knew he'd miss him and that was the thing that had made leaving the most difficult. The knowledge that he was going to a future without his father was hard but in the end it wasn't as hard as leaving his mother to eventually die when Cell woke up and absorbed the androids and finishing of his two course meal by destroying the earth. Still he had grown to understand the man, who he had at first been so horrified to meet. He was a man of honour and pride, he fought because as a saiyan he was expected to be a warrior and as the prince of all sayians he was supposed to be the strongest of them all. Once he'd understood that it was hard not to admire his father, for all his faults, his desire to be a warrior of renown was his biggest redeeming quality.

After a few moments the people below, the garden of Capsule Corp, the building itself and all the views of West city vanished into black.

Trunks didn't really know what this place was, all he knew was that every time he'd gone to the past he'd ended up in this unknown darkness before appearing at his destination. The first time this had happened he'd been worried that something had gone horribly wrong and spent the twenty seconds or so in a bit of panic. This time however he simply waited for Capsule Corp to reappear.

So there is Chapter one, though I feel it's more of a prologue (not much of a fan of epilogues so don't expect me to do many) so it's possible that I've just lied to you. I have already begun work on chapter 2, and plan to have it finished soon.

Reviews are welcome and critical views are welcome but please no abuse, I can tell you you'd be just wasting you time as it will never see the website. ;) (let's hope my first ever review isn't some torrent of abuse)

At the end of the next chapter I will be posting power levels so as to leave a rough understanding of what I am working with when describing any fights and such.