Another Time Machine

Bulma was at home caring for Vegeta, who was still unconscious, when a faxed photograph suddenly shattered the peace. She studied the image of a time machine covered in moss, looking as though it had been parked there for a very long time. After confirming again and again that it was the one her future son had ridden in, she wanted to tell Trunks immediately—but he was not nearby, and she could not reach him.

At that moment, Trunks was on a plane with Chi-Chi and the others, heading for Kame House. As they were about to arrive, Yamcha suggested that Krillin call Bulma and explain the whole situation behind their move.

Krillin grumbled a few times, but obediently went to make the call anyway. Before dialing, he even complained to Trunks about his mother's personality, leaving the older Trunks rather embarrassed.

After the call connected, Bulma was not the first one to answer. Only after Krillin said he needed to speak with her did Bulma take the receiver.

"Hello? Krillin? You're not dead yet?"

Bulma opened with that fierce greeting, making Krillin and Trunks beside him both shudder.

After the pleasantries, they quickly got down to business. Bulma told them about the other time machine, prompting Trunks to hurriedly check his pockets to make sure his capsule was still there. Only after confirming that his own time machine was safe did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Krillin relayed to Bulma that Trunks still had his time machine with him. Bulma was not overly surprised—she had already guessed that the machine in the photo probably was not Trunks's. It was covered in moss and extremely old, clearly having been there for a long time.

"Trunks, how many time machines did future me make?" Bulma asked.

On the other end of the line, Trunks answered truthfully: resources in the future world had been scarce, so only one had been made.

Bulma found it very strange, because she was certain that the machine in the photo was a time machine. She had seen it with her own eyes when Trunks rode it. Learning that they had a fax machine there, Bulma sent the photo over.

The instant he saw the photo, Trunks confirmed it—it was the time machine he had ridden to the past. A wave of confusion rose within him, and a vague suspicion began to form, though he still found it hard to believe.

"Uncle Krillin, please ask for the coordinates of that time machine. I need to go confirm it myself," Trunks said urgently.

Bulma checked the coordinates and found that they were not far from her home, so she said she would go as well.

When Gohan heard they were going out, he immediately said he wanted to come too. Whether he truly wanted to investigate or simply did not want to stay behind studying and wanted some fresh air was anyone's guess.

Once Trunks and Gohan were ready, they flew toward the target coordinates. Bulma also set out from home in her aircraft.

Not long after Bulma left, Vegeta, who had been unconscious in bed, slowly woke up. He was silent for a moment before angrily flying out through the window.

Trunks and Gohan, flying with Flight, were the first to arrive in the area marked by the coordinates. Looking down at the vast mountain range below, the two split up to search.

Trunks carefully circled at low altitude, examining every corner where the time machine might be hidden. Meanwhile, Gohan flew high into the air and surveyed the entire open region from above the clouds.

Second by second, time passed. Suddenly, Gohan's eyes lit up—in a slightly lower area of terrain, there really was a strangely shaped time machine parked there! It stood quietly in place, as if waiting for its owner to arrive.

"Found it! I found it! Trunks, I found it!" Gohan shouted excitedly.

Hearing him, Trunks immediately changed direction and flew swiftly toward Gohan. Before long, the two landed one after the other in front of the time machine.

"You found it so quickly. You're amazing, Gohan," Trunks praised. But his smile lasted only a moment—when his gaze returned to the weathered, ancient time machine below, his expression turned solemn again.

A rumbling sound drew closer and closer—a flying vehicle was approaching.

"That should be Aunt Bulma. I'll guide her here." After a moment's thought, Gohan guessed who it was and flew up to meet her. Trunks remained where he was, carefully examining the familiar yet unfamiliar machine.

Before long, Gohan led Bulma to the site. Bulma immediately greeted her future son. "Hi, Trunks! I'm your beautiful mom."

She jumped down from the aircraft and walked over to Trunks. "So? What do you think after seeing your mom when she was young?"

Trunks blushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed. "N-No... Mom doesn't look different at all."

Bulma laughed smugly, thoroughly pleased with herself. Trunks hurriedly interrupted her. "That isn't important... Please look at this first."

He took a small box from his jacket pocket, removed the capsule containing his time machine, and tossed it beside the old time machine.

"Poof—"

After a burst of yellow smoke, a brand-new time machine, identical to the old one, appeared before them.

"This is the time machine I rode in. It's been stored in this capsule the whole time." Trunks stepped forward.

"So the old one in front of us isn't the one you rode here in?"

"No. You only made one time machine in the future, so this one—this is also the one I came here in."

"How could that be...?"

"Please look at this." Trunks walked up to the old time machine and forcefully wiped away a patch of grime. The word "HOPE" appeared clearly beneath it. He told them that he had written it when he came here, and the other machine bore the exact same writing.

Trunks and Gohan climbed atop the time machine and saw a large hole burned through the cockpit canopy from the inside out. Trunks opened the hatch, and the long-unused equipment powered back on as the moss clinging to it shook loose. Once the door was fully open, the two found two empty shells inside the cabin. Gohan leaned closer to inspect them, but could not tell what they were.

Bulma had them bring the objects down. After studying them carefully, she reached a conclusion. "These should be... the eggshells of some kind of animal."

Trunks's heart sank—his worst suspicion had come true. Some unknown being had come from the future to this era, using the time machine that supposedly "only existed in one copy." Then the future him...

He gritted his teeth and checked the time machine's travel records again—it had departed from a point three years later than his future, yet arrived in this era one year before his own first trip through time.

"Could it be... that he was behind all the changes to history?"

Both time machines were quickly packed away. Trunks and Bulma stood to the side discussing the androids, but Gohan suddenly caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and walked off in that direction.

"What is it?" Bulma asked curiously.

"Nothing... I was just wondering what that thing is." Gohan moved closer—and saw a gigantic cicada-like creature lying on the ground. He swallowed and turned to shout, "Come take a look at this!"

Trunks and Bulma hurried over one after the other. When they saw the enormous thing lying on the ground, they were startled as well. "What is that?"

Gohan moved closer to inspect it and discovered that it was a huge cicada molt. But how could there possibly be a cicada that large? He immediately thought of the eggshells found inside the time machine—could this molt have been left behind by whatever had hatched from them?

Trunks climbed into the shell and felt around for a while, finding that the fluid inside had not yet dried. "This shell... it was only shed very recently."

Eggshells. A cicada molt. A time machine from the future. The three clues formed a vague but terrifying outline in Trunks's mind. Something—not him, not future Bulma—had come to this era in the time machine. And just moments ago, before they arrived, it had completed a molt.

The moment he said this, all of them became alert. They cautiously looked around, but saw only ordinary small insects and birds moving nearby. After checking again and again and finding nothing unusual, they finally left the scene with their doubts unresolved.

Trunks stayed behind until the end. He looked once more at the large pit left behind after the old time machine had been packed away, then glanced in the direction where the cicada molt had been—there was nothing there now, only a few wild birds pecking at the ground.

He said nothing more and quickly caught up with the other two. But from that moment onward, the sense of foreboding never left his heart.