The Rules to the Alternate Timeline of Dragonball Z – Cell Series

Hello all you glorious fans of Optimal Otaku!

Today, I’m going to talk about something that has always confused me about one of my favorite series, Dragonball Z. I’m talking about the alternate timeline from the Cell Series. If you recall, this series was defined by a mysterious saiyan from the future, known as Future Trunks. He is a character who would rival Gohan as my favorite due to his baddassery (not a word) and humility.

One of the confusing points in this series was how the timeline worked. Why didn’t the changed past override the future? There is point where cell first appears and he describes that he killed trunks and stole his time machine. The question is how did Cell steal Trunk’s Time machine if Trunks was still alive and well? Additionally, at the end of the saga, how did Trunks go back to his time to kill Cell and stop him from killing himself? The logic is truly maddening.

Upon reading the dragonball wikia page, the answer gets even more confounding: http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Alternate_Timeline. Where we would have thought that there one timeline (if you think a changed past should overwrite the future) or two timelines (explains Future Trunks and Baby Trunks), there are actually FOUR! Take some time to read the link, it will go into detail about the events of each time line. I’ll give a brief summary of each. Afterwards we’ll put into perspective, the Grand sequence of events. That is we’ll discuss which timeline happened before the others and the effects each one has on the other.

Timeline 4 is he first alternate timeline. It works on the fact that Trunks went back in time and gave Goku the antidote to save his life. There was no knowledge of Cell, thus Trunks3 (we’ll get to the “3”) only took the blueprints to destroy Androids 17 and 18. 3 denotes the timeline 3, which can be considered the original. Because each timeline has it’s own version of the characters, the article and myself, will use a number to keep track of their origins and individual, or personal, histories.

Timeline 3, in some regards, can be considered the original time before any time travel ever existed in the universe…ever. It is the dark history that Trunks 3, an alternate Future Trunks, grew up in. Remember, I said there was no knowledge of Cell? Because there was no knowledge of Cell, Trunks 3 is killed by Cell3. Cell3 is the Cell that makes his way to the “canon” timeline or timeline 1, otherwise known as the Cell that’s killed by Teen Gohan. Think of this timeline as the whole “The History of Trunks Movie.” Goku still dies of the heart attack. The Z-warriors all Fall. The world is left to Bulma, Gohan, and Trunks3. It is only characterized by Cell3’s appearance and murder of Trunk3 upon his return from giving Timeline 4 it’s appropriate future.

At this point, we have to create a rule. I think it’s mentioned somewhere in a DBZ encyclopedia. Basically whenever a time machine is activated it creates a new “space.” Let’s call it timespace and let’s make it synonymous to timeline. We’re just added to the idea of what a timeline is in that each timeline has it’s own space and form. It has it’s own characters with their own unique stories and idealogies. These time spaces are separate entities and don’t necessarily overwrite each other. A topic that we address at the end of this post is the exact similarities and differences between Timespace 2 and Timespace3.

Thus, that is why we can have two (three or four) timelines existing in parallel. What does this mean? This means that when Trunks3 and Trunks2 (more on him in a second, this is the Future Trunks we “see” in the series, Timeline 1) return from solving the problems of the past, their understanding of their time/history doesn’t get erased or overwritten. For example, If my future self went back in time and killed the leader of some nation, when my future self returned back to his own time, it would be as if that leader was never killed. This is why the Future Trunks of DragonballZ Xenoverse is still the Future Trunks, Trunks2, that we all know and love from the Cell Sagas. This is important because it separates our first dichotomy of events. Trunks service to the past which will not, I repeat will not change his future. I’m interested to see if Bulma or Future Trunks knew this would be the case.

So this brings me to the next question. How does Timeline 2 and 1 get created? This is because of a quasi-second rule. It’s not really a rule, so much as it’s just logic. The short answer is a paradox created timeline 2 and 1. This is basically our second dichotomy or second juxtaposition. When Trunks3 came back to his own timeline, he was killed by Cell3. (Side note: The Cell4 might have been killed, as speculated by our link to the article above. Thus, we don’t concern ourselves with him too much.) When Cell3 went back in time, he transformed Timeline 4 into Timeline 1. Why is this? It’s because Cell3 went back FURTHER in time that Trunks3. Remember, Cell3 said that he moved the timemachine settings back a few years. This was because his form wouldn’t fit in the time machine. Thus, he had to become a smaller larvae form and that form needed time to develop. Cell3’s goal was to go back and absorb timeline 4’s androids. But he needed to go back further for a second reason. To stop Trunks and Z-warriors from killing the androids (via the blueprints as far as Cell3’s knowledge is concerned). Timeline 1 now received two time travelers as opposed to the one time travel timeline 4 received. This is fundamentally why they are different and how Cell3 changed 4 into 1. I wonder, given my first rule, is it correct to say timeline 4 changed into 1. I guess to be consistent I should say timeline 1 is built on the framework of timeline 4, but they each maintain their own identity and history.

Knowing this, when Trunks3 goes back in time he gets transformed into Trunks2. It’s not important WHEN this happens so much as that it DOES happens. This why the Trunks we actually see (develop feels for, w/e) in anime/manga episodes is tripping balls by all the changes. He has the mind of Trunks3. Remember Trunks3 didn’t know of a Cell. Trunks3 didn’t know of a prior time interference before his arrival. Trunks3 couldn’t know of prior arrival by Cell3, cause Cell3 didn’t exist yet. Therefore, Cell3’s eventual time travel creates a paradox and that paradox transforms Trunks3 into Trunks2.

The main difference between Trunks3 and Trunks2 is their knowledge, power, and original timespace (new word). Remember Trunks3 didn’t train a year in the hyperbolic time chamber an unlock new power. His androids in Timeline 3 and 4 were destroyed using blueprints. Trunks3 didn’t go back to a past where he encountered Cell. Because Cell was unknown to the world. This is why we call Timespace 4, the unseen. It’s totally based on Trunks3 perspective, who we never really see in Timespace1 where the story (that we read cover to cover) takes place. Trunks3 was then killed by Cell3 causing the, eventual, creation of Trunks2. Trunks2 is defined and created soley by Cell3’s interference in a new timespace, timespace 1. This is timespace or timeline 1. Trunks2 trained, knew about Cell2 and Cell1 because he met Cell3 (remember larvae form?).

Are you following this? Let’s take a break for a moment then we’ll put all this together in timeline1. Timeline 1, by the way, is the story of this saga as we see it. It’s our perspective and the subject of the main continuity of the DBZ universe.

Finally, I think it’s important to understand this major difference between Trunks2 and Trunks3. Trunks3 met Cell3 in timespace 3. This means after Trunks3 was done saving the world (his timespace 4), his ass got killed by Cell3 in a destroyed future (timespace 3). Trunks2 met Cell3 in Timespace1. I guess you could say this meeting in this space is When Trunks3 became Trunks2, but again I try not to answer that question. It get’s confusing because the only thing we can really accept is that the moment Cell3 travels back in time it creates timespace 1 and acts a womb that births Trunks2.

This metaphor of birthing Trunks 2 is important because it answers the question, what is the difference between timespace 2 and timespace 3? Well actually the answer is very little up to a point. In Timeline 2 and 3, all the events of the android induced apocalypse happens much the same way. Goku dies, Frieza is eradicated (though unclear how in Trunks did it in Timeline 3 or even “what” trunks did it, as discussed by Cell3 to Trunks2 in timespace1). The analogy is that timepace 4 is to 3 and timespace 1 is to 2. This is because when Trunks3 and Trunks 2 return form their “adventures in the past,” Timpace 4 and 3 respectively, the moment upon their return creates a “fork in the road”. This return of the Future trunks is where Timespace 2 differs for Timespace 3. Trunks2 knew about Cell2 because of his encounter will Cell3 in timespace1. Thus, he was ready to kill the weaker Cell. Trunks2, while he was in the past (aka timepsace 1), because he met Cell3 there, he knew to destroy the budding Cell1 (which is why we never talk about him). Trunks 2 and 3 are defined by their past experiences and knowledge and that leads to their different fates.

Trunks 2 is the reason why Cell2 is dead and why there isn’t, potentially, two additional timelines. I say this because if Trunks2 hadn’t killed Cell2 in timespace 2, it would have been a repeat of what happens in timespace 3. That is Trunks3 returns to his own timespace (3) and is killed by Cell3. Cell3 goes back into what would be “timespace 4” creates a paradox creating two additional timespaces (2 and 1).

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonball/images/f/f2/Time_map2-1-.gif/revision/latest?cb=20100315054739

Hopefully, by this point you understand just what timeline 1, timespace 1, is. This is the timeline 1 of which we read things from start to finish. It represents the timeline where cell3 arrives, then Frieza is killed by Trunks 2 (quasi 3, whatever), Trunks2 gives Goku the medicine, androids 19 and 20 show up instead of 17 and 18, and so on and so forth. Timeline 1 is what we use to tell the whole story of what happened. But as you can see it is created based on events of timeline 3 and 4. What we did was put the four timelines in an order that makes sense.

Therefore, in summary the great order of 4 timespaces is as follows: 3, 4, 1, 2.

A final note about timeline 2. Because Timespace 2 is like timespace3, it can be said that timespace 2 isn’t so much a separate “space” from timepace 3 altogether. I think an accurate metaphor would be a fork in the road. Say before the fork in the road, the road is called timespace 3 or “The original timeline.” The fork is created by the fact that a different trunks comes back. Trunks3 who was birthed or created by timespace 4, a world without knowledge of Cell, only to be killed by Cell3 later. The other fork is brought on by the return of Trunks2, who was said was created by Timespace 1. Timespace 1 is inherently different than timespace 4, because it hosts TWO time travelling anomalies when compared to 4. Why is this? Because in 4 only Trunks came to it’s space, specifically Trunks 3. Timespace 1, both a Trunks and a Cell came back to its space, and more importantly because that Trunks and Cell have interactions it leads to the creation of Timespace 2.

If it gets tricky use this graph to help track character deaths and conditions, paying attention to what happened to them and where (what timespace) did it happen. A good rule of thumb is to start with Cell1 and go through to Cell4. If you understand what happened to them and why Trunks2 and Trunks1 are different, you understand the rules of how time travel works in the DBZ universe:

Character(s)	Timeline
Character(s)	1	2	3	4
Frieza and King Cold	Killed by Future Trunks²	Killed by Goku	Killed by Trunks (of an unknown timeline)	Killed by Future Trunks³
Goku	See Goku	Died from heart virus		Likely lived thanks to antidote from Trunks³
Trunks	See Trunks	See Future Trunks	Killed by Cell	Likely lived
Other Z Fighters	See respective biographies	Killed by androids		Likely lived since Goku lived and the Androids in that timeline did not seek to kill the rest of the Z Fighters, like in the main timeline, and because the Androids were deactivated
Androids 17 and 18	Absorbed by Cell³but eventually freed and reformed; seeAndroid 17 andAndroid 18	Killed by Future Trunks in combat	Disabled and destroyed with device based on blueprints obtained by Trunks in timeline 4	Likely destroyed by device made based on blueprints
Cell	Killed as a fetus by Future Trunks² and Krillin	Killed by Trunks² in failed ambush	Killed by Gohan¹ in timeline 1	Likely killed by Future Trunks³ and Krillin⁴ as a fetus like in timeline 1, as the android’s blueprints were next to him