Time Bandit

Chapter 1: First Time Meetings

Trunks closed his eyes. Counted to ten. Opened them again. Looked around. Sighed and resisted the urge to thump his head against the instrument panel in front of him. His readings and the scenery remained the same – Diablo Desert, approximately sixteen years farther back in time than he'd meant to go. He sighed again. This was the danger of untested technology.

Not that they really could have tested the time machine... Rubbing his forehead, he adjusted the coordinates, went to activate it again...

And hesitated. Let his ki sense spread out the way Gohan had taught him to, encompassing the desert, the country, the globe. This time period was so... peaceful. Serene. Trunks had never really realized what a constant hum the fearful ki from his timeline's Earth made in the back of his mind, but here, with it gone... tension he hadn't known he was carrying was flowing out of him. This world was at peace and, as far as Trunks was concerned, there were no noteworthy power levels anywhere on the planet. It would be so nice to just... stay awhile. Catch his breath. Not long – a day or two, a few weeks at most. After all, he had a time machine, it wasn't like he could be late to warn the Z Warriors and Son Goku...

Trunks popped open the time machine's lid, hopped out, capsulized it, and put it away. Then he looked around with a stretch and a contented sigh, taking in a deep breath of air. It was hot and dry here – he'd always liked the heat (Mom said it was probably his saiyan blood showing through), and nice and far away from anywhere populated. It would be a good place to rest for awhile, away from people and the possibility of screwing up the timeline. Hands in his pockets, he started walking, heading for some nearby rock formations. They seemed to have been hollowed out by the wind and sand, and the gusting air was making an interesting, whispery sort of music as it blew through them. A natural Aeolian harp. Cool.

He was just bending forward to examine some striations within one of the stone walls when something dropped on him from above, striking him hard in the back of the head, and the world went black.

OoOoOoOoO

Yamcha sprang off the youth he'd just landed on foot-first, dropping into a defensive stance in preparation for a counter-attack. He held it for a moment. The youth didn't move. Yamcha frowned and approached cautiously, nudging the prone figure with one booted foot, then snorting.

"Come on out, Pu'ar, he's down!"

"That quickly?" Pu'ar floated down from the ledge she'd been waiting on and which he'd jumped off of, "I thought you said he looked tough and that's why we ambushed him!"

"Yeah, well, his defence is apparently terrible." Yamcha smirked at her, "Come on, let's see what he's got with him."

OoOoOoOoO

Trunks groaned as he sat up, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head. What had hit him? And - he started as he took stock of himself – where was his sword? And his capsule case?! And- his boots?

He stared down at his bare feet for a moment. Why would someone take his boots?

He shook his head – that wasn't important right now. What was important was his missing capsule case and the time machine it contained. Sure, he could technically wait the ten years to tell Goku and everyone about the androids (provided he could stop himself interfering in the timeline), but after that, how was he supposed to return to his own timeline?!? His mom, the people of Earth – the androids would kill them all!

Even as he felt the panic rising, old advice from Gohan echoed in his mind. 'Take a deep breath and let it cool you down, Trunks. You come from two passionate parents, it's not surprising you're passionate as well. Make it work for you, not against you – you rule your emotions, not the other way around.'