The air inside the Time Machine buzzed with restless energy as Trunks and Rudra sat side by side. The capsule-shaped craft hummed, its systems whirring to life, the coordinates locked: twelve May, eighteen years into the past. The very date Trunks had once marked with dread — the day the Androids were supposed to reveal themselves to the world.
Trunks gripped the controls tightly, his blue eyes reflecting both fear and determination.
"This is it… the point where history was supposed to change."
Beside him, Rudra sat in silence, his hand resting calmly on the hilt of his sword. His aura was steady, but his thoughts swirled. This was not just Trunks' mission — it was his responsibility too. If the Androids had strayed from the plan he himself had set in motion with Dr. Gero, then something far worse than Trunks imagined might be unfolding.
The Time Machine shook violently as it pierced the flow of time, light bending around them until everything was consumed in a flash.
And then, silence.
The machine reappeared over a ruined coastline, hovering above an island located nine kilometers southwest of South City.
What awaited them below was devastation.
Entire city blocks had been reduced to rubble. Black smoke curled into the sky from craters large enough to swallow buildings whole. The once-vibrant island was nothing more than a graveyard of concrete and ash. The ocean waves lapped quietly against the broken shore, mocking the destruction with their indifference.
Trunks' breath hitched.
"No… it's already destroyed? But this is… this is the date I was told—"
Rudra's eyes narrowed. His instincts screamed that something was wrong.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, pressing two fingers to his forehead. His senses stretched out, locking onto the faint flicker of ki nearby.
It was familiar. Weak, but still burning.
"Gohan."
In an instant, Rudra's body blurred and vanished, reappearing within the ruins of the city. Trunks quickly pressed a button on the console, shrinking the Time Machine back into its capsule form, then followed after him.
Among the collapsed remains of a building, half-buried under broken steel beams and shattered walls, lay a teenage Gohan. His clothes were torn, his body bruised and bleeding, but his spirit had not yet surrendered. He gritted his teeth, trying to push away the rubble pinning him down.
Just as his strength gave out, two figures materialized in front of him.
"Gohan!" Trunks shouted, rushing to his side.
The younger warrior blinked in disbelief. His vision blurred, but the sight of Trunks' face cut through the haze like sunlight through storm clouds. His chest tightened. He was alive, but the relief was too much to contain.
Tears streamed down his cheeks before he could stop them.
"Trunks… y-you came…"
Trunks knelt, his own eyes wet. From his pouch he pulled out a small bean — a treasure carried all the way from the ruined future. Gently, he pressed it to Gohan's lips.
"Here. Eat this. Quickly."
The Senzu Bean dissolved instantly, and power surged through Gohan's battered body. The cuts sealed, his bones knit back together, and the weight crushing his spirit lifted. He sat up, gasping as energy coursed back into him.
For a moment, there was silence — then Gohan threw his arms around Trunks, sobbing openly.
When his tears finally subsided, Trunks leaned back, searching his friend's eyes.
"Gohan… what happened here? Why is the city already destroyed? The Androids weren't supposed to show up until today."
Gohan's expression darkened. He clenched his fists, the tremor in his voice betraying the depth of his pain.
"You told me… that three years after your warning, they would appear. You said twelve May. I believed that. We all did. But reality…" He shook his head. "Reality was different. They didn't wait three years. They came only one year after you left."
Trunks' eyes widened. His heart sank like a stone.
"What…? That's impossible."
Gohan continued, his voice breaking as he spoke.
"Vegeta was the first to confront them. He wanted to prove himself, to defeat the Androids with his own strength. But they slaughtered him." His gaze fell to the ground. "Piccolo saved me when they attacked. He and Goku fought side by side, but even then… they couldn't keep up."
The memories spilled out like daggers.
"Goku put me under Roshi's care, thinking I'd be safe. But no one was safe. Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu even Uncle Raditz and Nappa— one by one they fell. The Androids crushed them all. Not even Goku's strength was enough."
Trunks' face drained of color.
"Then… they're all—"
Gohan nodded. "Dead. Every last one of them. Only I'm left."
The silence that followed was suffocating. The ruins around them seemed to whisper the truth of his words, the ghosts of fallen warriors haunting every broken street.
Gohan's hands trembled as he went on.
"Earlier today, I came here… hoping. Hoping maybe this time you'd arrive, just like you promised. But instead, the Androids found me first. They were too strong. I couldn't defeat them. I told them about you, Trunks — about the fighter from the future. And I told them about Rudra, a warrior even stronger who would soon arrive."
His eyes fell, guilt burning in his chest.
"I thought… if they believed you would come, maybe they'd let me live. And they did. They laughed, said they'd spare me until after they crushed you both. Then they left. They spared me only so I could watch."
Trunks' hands curled into fists, his teeth grinding together. His body trembled with fury.
"Those monsters…" he hissed. "They've twisted everything. This isn't how it was supposed to happen!"
He turned to Gohan, placing a hand on his shoulder. His voice was steady now, but inside it was fire.
"I swear it, Gohan. I'll protect this Earth. I'll end them, no matter what it takes."
Gohan's eyes softened, tears threatening again. For the first time in years, hope flickered in his chest.
But Rudra… Rudra was silent.
His face was pale, his eyes hollow. Trunks' anger didn't touch him, Gohan's grief didn't reach him. His mind replayed only one truth, over and over.
The Androids weren't supposed to awaken yet.
He had given Dr. Gero explicit instructions. The Androids were to be activated three years later. That was the deal, the plan. Every move had been calculated, every variable considered. Yet here they were, standing in a world shattered ahead of schedule.
Rudra's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. His aura flickered faintly, unstable.
"Dr. Gero…" he whispered, voice low and trembling.
Had the old scientist betrayed him? Had he grown impatient, or perhaps disobedient? Or… had someone else interfered, altering the course of history in ways even Rudra had not foreseen?
The thought tore through him like a blade.
For the first time in his long, calculated life, Rudra felt something he had not known in decades — doubt.
The Androids' early arrival was no accident. This was not just fate. It was treachery. And Rudra vowed that if Dr. Gero had indeed betrayed him… then not even the Androids would compare to the wrath he would unleash.
————————————
✨ Wanna Read More?
Join patreon.com/RJ_Multiverse
and unlock 50+ exclusive chapters before anyone else!