A Prologue
He waved goodbye to her even though she couldn't see it. Her smile he imprinted into his memory. It would be a long time until he saw her again and he needed strength to travel the path before him.
The tiny bottle lay clenched in his fist and he slid it into his jacket pocket as the capsule rose into the sky. The young man fought back the jitters in his stomach. He had to do this, he reminded himself and seeing all the destruction from this height drove that thought into his brain. The future of the past, if that made sense, depended on him. Depended on this medicine. The life of Gohan's father lay in the young man's hands.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, resting his head on the back of the capsule. He was looking forward to seeing them all again. Meeting the man he never knew. His father . . .
The young man squirmed again. He had a mission that he mustn't forget.
Give the bottle to Gohan's father- Gokou- and then . . .
And then help defeat them.
It would be hard. It would be tough. But he knew he could do it. He knew he was strong enough and yet . . . and yet . . . somehow he felt that, strength wouldn't play a part with whatever happened in the past when he went back. No, something else would factor in. But what that was he couldn't quite place.
It didn't matter anyway. Besides, what could possibly be worse than those monsters, the androids?
***
Seconds after the capsule rose into the sky, it vanished leaving the young man's mother behind to wait.
She stood there long after the smoke cleared, gazing up at the sky. Her minds whirled through past calculations to make sure everything would be all right for her son.
And then she gave a little sigh. "Goodbye, Trunks," she whispered. "And take care."
***