Chapter 2: The Time Patrol
A bright light enveloped Kyuri, sending the young Saiyan to a realm beyond space and time. A phenomenon that was completely out of his control, all he could do was wait until his cosmic travelling came to a halt.
On the other side of the dimension, the Supreme Kai of Time's excitement to greet her new savior grew thin. Her pinkish cheeks flared with an impatient huff while she crossed her arms. "Ugh! This is taking too long!"
"Don't get mad at me! This was your wish remember?" Shenron jabbed. "I had to search through several dimensions for your 'ideal warrior,' so excuse me if bringing them here takes some time."
"What was that you overgrown lizard!?" hollered the Supreme Kai. Her taunt only resulted in creating a mocking laugh from the ancient beast.
Trunks could sense that an altercation was imminent and decided to do his best to calm things down. "Now, now, Supreme Kai. Shenron's right. It shouldn't be a little while longer, so hang in there, okay?" he smiled warmly.
The Kai huffed as a sign of acknowledgement to her assistant's request. She then turned away from the altar and headed towards the mess hall. "It's getting late. I'll prepare a meal for our guest if and when they arrive. Let me know when they get here, alright?" she asked facing Trunks one last time.
"O-Of course! Do your best, boss!" he waved with a doubtful grin. After the Kai left, he clutched his stomach recalling the terror of her cooking skills. "I can't let our hero endure Supreme Kai's terrible cooking. She'll kill them before they even get started!" The halfling Saiyan swallowed the tension mounting in his throat. There was no way he was going to let the chosen one suffer as he had suffered.
As the light began to fade, Kyuri emerged after heeding Shenron's call. He found himself in a bizarre world beyond his imagination- a feudal-futuristic city of time. "Where am I?" His violet gaze fell upon the massive serpent-like creature that coiled himself around the floating hourglass and immediately a sense of terror and confusion washed over him. "W-What the heck is that!?" Kyuri shouted pointing at the ancient beast, earning a few stares from passing Patrollers.
The dragon lowered his head to the young lad with his beaming red eyes appraising his chosen one's features. He allowed a small smile to creep upon his scaly face as he began to ascend his way into the sky. "Farewell, young warrior…" And with another flash of golden light, Shenron was gone, scattering his form into the seven Dragon Balls in various directions.
"Wait! Send me back! I'm not supposed to be here!" Kyuri pleaded but to no avail. "Dammit." He glanced about his surroundings to see group of diverse beings and machines staring at him. The baffled halfling then heard footsteps coming from behind him causing to shift his attention to the source of the sound, Trunks.
"You're surprised, I'm sure." smiled the lavender-haired swordsman as he approached the confused and cautious Kyuri.
"Well, if you call being transported from your home to a place unknown 'surprised' then yes, I'm surprised." Kyuri retorted. "Where am I?"
"I'll have to explain it all to you later." Trunks replied while he reached for the hilt of his sword. His blue eyes narrowed with intensity. "For now… Let's see how much power you have…"
"T-That's a bit much, don't you think?" the chef asked with his hands raised in defense. "I just wanna know where I am!"
His request fell on deaf ears as Trunks homed in with his sword drawn, rallying a fierce battle cry. "AAAAAH!" The swordsman proceeded to launch a barrage of slashes all of which Kyuri barely managed to avoid before his adversary returned the long blade into its scabbard.
"Can't we just talk this out!?" the chestnut-haired Saiyan demanded as he felt his fists clench instinctively.
Trunks took on a fighting stance of his own, gesturing his unwilling opponent to make the next move. "Come at me!"
Feeling that fighting was the only option he had, Kyuri relented and took the initiative by dashing forward to hurl a heavy straight punch into Trunks' abdomen. He wanted this fight to be over as quickly as possible; he had questions, his foe had answers. He figured he might as well get straight to the point. Kyuri was more like his mother than he would like to admit in that regard. However, Trunks intercepted his fist with the palm of his hand. Clearly, Kyuri's opponent was an experienced fighter and deep inside, that fact excited him.
"Not bad…but let's see how you handle this!" Trunks smirked as he mirrored Kyuri's attack with his free hand.
"Crap!" exclaimed the halfling. The moment Trunks' gloved hand made contact with his abdomen, the only thing Kyuri could do was try to manipulate the threshold of pain rising through his body by circulating his breathing rate.
The Patrollers that were passing by stopped in their tracks to watch their senior battle against a complete stranger struggling to hold his own. The crowd only grew larger when one of them went into the dorms and made an announcement, "Hey guys! Check it out! Some guy is fighting Trunks!" After a few responses of disbelief, the crowd grew even larger as their cheers filled the area.
Curious about the cause of the commotion, a young Earthling who just returned from her parallel quest stepped into the main hall with her arms crossed. "What's all this about?" she asked irritated by the senseless noise.
"Oh, Hakusa! Good timing!" beamed a Majin Patroller. "Trunks is sparring with someone and it's really intense!"
"Hmm? I didn't think there was anyone stupid enough to try and fight him." the green-haired girl chuckled. "How's the victim holding up?" she asked shifting her attention to the bout.
"See for yourself." answered the Majin.
Hakusa scanned Kyuri's current power level with her scouter and heaved a pitying sigh. "Poor guy doesn't even stand a chance." She didn't have any expectations for him at all. The only thing she saw was a teenager on the defensive until he fell flat on his back from a hard teep to his chest.
Kyuri struggled to stand, but was advised otherwise by his opponent. "I was wrong about you… Stay down." As Trunks turned to face the crowd, he gritted his teeth in frustration. "After all that, our 'hero' is this weak!? I can't believe we wasted a wish on him!"
"Wrong about what?" Kyuri asked rising to his feet slouched over. His clothes were covered in dirt and his face was marked with few cuts and bruises. To Trunks and the Patrollers' surprise, he could still stand. "I never asked to be here… So why do you sound so damn disappointed!?" Something inside Kyuri began to stir… Perhaps it was his anger at being forced into a situation beyond his control. One thing was for certain… His blood began to boil.
"No way…" Hakusa commented as she watched the numbers in the young Saiyan's power level rise.
Trunks could sense it too, the dormant instinct within Kyuri's veins now surfacing to vent his emotions. "Looks like the little warmup is complete!" He couldn't help but grin with anticipation when he faced a strong opponent, just like his father before him. "Now… It's about time you showed me your full strength!"
Normally, Kyuri would avoid fighting as much as possible due to the fact that he hated it. Or to be precise, he hated that he might enjoy it. But when he's forced to fight, his primal urges take over, turning him into his polar opposite. Now he was reveling in the power that coursed through his veins and welcomed his adversary's challenge. "Heh, have it your way!"
The two took their battle to the sky, their exchange of blows rumbled like thunder while the audience watched in awe. Even Hakusa found herself amazed witnessing someone she deemed as a weakling holding his own against her boss.
The two halflings peppered the sky with their golden ki blasts clashing together which quickly dispersed once they returned to full-on melee. It was hard to view their expressions from below, but if Hakusa didn't know any better, she would guess that the two warriors were having fun.
Their fists then collided into a deadlock where they tried to drive each other back in order to gain the advantage. Amidst the nexus of their struggle, Kyuri and Trunks could only smile as they both drew back their opposing dominant hands to deliver a simultaneous haymaker that knocked them out of the sky. A feat that surprised the swordsman's fellow Time Patrollers.
Trunks stood up as he wiped the blood from his mouth with a proud smile on his face. He had his solution all along, he just had to test him out first. Kyuri on the other hand, was still raring for a fight, his purple eyes glazed over with his Saiyan blood boiling. Trunks realized this and decided to put his test to an end. "All right, that's enough sparring! I have my answer! You really are the chosen one!"
The absurdity of Trunks' statement was enough to snap Kyuri out of his combat high. "Huh?"
The swordsman merely ignored the chef's bewilderment as he studied him closely. "You were chosen. Chosen by Shenron." He then gave Kyuri an apologetic smile. "Sorry for attacking you, by the way."
Kyuri could only manage a sigh as his initial answer before forming a sentence that could justify what he was feeling. "I have so many questions!"
"Let's start from the top. I'll introduce myself, I'm Trunks… and I'm currently on a mission." the swordsman explained.
"I'm Kyuri. Nice to meet you." the halfling replied sarcastically.
"As you can see, this place is not the world you're familiar with." Trunks motioned for his companion to look upon his surroundings.
"I could figure out that much. This place looks nothing like Planet Vegeta."
"You're a Saiyan!?" Trunks perked up.
Kyuri's tail twirled about as he spoke, "Yeah…well I'm half Saiyan. What's it to you?"
"So am I!" grinned the fellow half-breed. "He's from Planet Vegeta, huh? To think there's a Planet Vegeta in another dimension…"
"Isn't there a point you should be making right about now?" the brunette sternly asked, growing impatient. "Where am I?"
Trunks cleared his throat after regaining his composure. "Right. This is the Toki Toki world, where the flow of time gathers." He then turned his attention to his colleagues who witnessed Kyuri's combat test. "You can call us… the Time Patrol."
The motley crew of agents were delighted to make Kyuri's acquaintance, except Hakusa. She only turned her head away and crossed her arms before she finished Trunks' introduction. "Basically, when history goes off course, a false timeline is created. Our job is to correct any changes made to history. Not like we need your help anyway."
"You're pleasant." Kyuri clicked his tongue.
"That's Hakusa, she's a bit rough around the edges, but she means well." Trunks smiled ignoring her arrogant humph. He then put an arm around Kyuri's shoulder in effort to share his enthusiasm with his less than excited recruit. "As Time Patrol members, we'll fight all throughout time. Sometimes we deal with legendary fighters… or dangerous forces… Whatcha think?"
"Come again?" the Saiyan chef winged a brow.
"You're a lot stronger than you look, Kyuri. You're a natural fighter! Why not test your power here and see how effective it is?" smiled the swordsman trying to appeal to Kyuri's latent lust for combat.
The green-haired martial artist scoffed at Trunks' efforts, knowing Kyuri's answer before he even gave it. "Give it up, Trunks. He's clearly not interested."
"What're you talking about? Of course he's interested!" said an excited Trunks. His smile broke the minute Kyuri gave his answer.
"She's right, you know? I have no interest in joining the Time Patrol or fighting." Kyuri said flatly. "You snatched me from my home, forced me into a fight and for what? To offer me a job? You think I'd just say 'yes' after all you put me through?"
The teenager's response nearly threw Trunks into despair. "W-What!?" He knew what was at stake, but what could he do to make the chosen one understand? As justified as Kyuri's reason was, he was unaware of the encroaching danger that threatened the entire universe.
