Chapter 3: Promises to Keep
The illuminating glow barely faded from Vegetto's figure, having returned to the Time Nest and moving forward towards the four figures standing in front of him.
"You couldn't find him anywhere in the Scroll."
Whis nodded once.
"Correct. Zamasu's entire history has been removed from this timeline, as if he never existed."
Vegetto rubbed his chin, glancing down.
"Did you detect any magical tampering?"
Whis kept a flat tone.
"No."
Vegetto turned his eyes up at the answer, frowning.
"People don't just disappear from history, Whis. There must be something we can work off of."
Whis' gaze turned towards the Supreme Kai of Time.
"My capability to detect these distortions in history is limited. But I'm sure your Kai of Time is more than able of figuring out what happened if she takes a closer look."
The Supreme Kai of Time frowned as well, her voice panicked.
"That's the problem: I picked up a small energy signature from the Scroll that happened before you arrived in the timeline, Vegetto. It was the same energy signature that was behind the changes in the Scroll before Demigra appeared."
Vegetto's eyes narrowed into a glare.
"Towa."
Whis let out a small sigh.
"Well, at least it is a starting point. Do you know the whereabouts of this Towa?"
Vegetto kept a frown.
"No, she is one of the only beings in this universe capable of existing outside of time thanks to her magical proficiency. She is from the Demon Realm, where she somehow managed to avoid being sealed away with the other dark magicians that could distort time. If she's the one behind this, then it's clear she's trying to break the seal binding the rest of her kind and unleash chaos in the universe."
The Supreme Kai of Time dipped her head slightly.
"But why would she save Zamasu of all people? She is still a mortal, and Zamasu still believes he fights for something righteous even if he's wrong. He would never work with a mortal in the first place, let alone one who actually wants to unleash chaos."
Vegetto turned his attention towards the Supreme Kai of Time.
"Even if Zamasu turns on her, we still have him to worry about. It would be easier to track him if he were to go rogue, but with her activity here, we must prepare for the worst. Call Trunks off of his patrol in the western galaxy; we'll need everyone here for what comes next."
The Elder Kai fidgeted slightly.
"Everyone?"
Vegetto nodded his head once, the earrings lightly flapping around near his neck.
"Yes, even Kassava. We'll need her to be ready to fight soon."
The Elder Kai chuckled uneasily, rubbing the back of his head.
"About that...we had a small...well...incident earlier with Kassava. She...ummm..."
Vegetto raised an eyebrow in anticipation of the Elder Kai's explanation, only for his attention to divert to the pair of footsteps ringing out from the entrance of the Time Nest. Both Kai's blinked in shocked confusion with wide eyes, contrasting Vegetto's warm smirk upon seeing Kassava and Genn both walk steadily up towards the gathered group.
"Ah, Kassava. We were just talking about yo-"
"Vegetto-senpai!"
Vegetto blinked in confusion, his eyes turning towards Genn who was now completely bowed with his arms out on the floor. Kassava rolled her eyes in a exaggerated manner, crossing her arms and glancing away from the shaking male Saiyan keeping his head bowed.
"It is an honor to finally meet you in person! Please forgive my intrusion!"
The Potara fusion chuckled back in response, furrowing his brow uneasily while scratching the back of his head.
"It's quite alright Genn, you have nothing to be sorry for."
Genn poked his head up, the confusion on his expression clear.
"You...you know my name, senpai?"
Vegetto kept a warm smile, nodding his head once.
"Of course I know your name. I know all about you, your sister thinks quite highly of you from what I've studied."
Genn gasped slightly.
"You mean...you...you've been learning about us?! About...me?!"
Vegetto's warm smile slowly lifted into a confident smirk, nodding once again.
"Yes, your loyalty to the Time Patrol is second to none, and you possess the attitude that even puts the most powerful warriors to shame with its devotion to the good of all. A true hero in the making..."
The fusion's smirk weakened, chuckling uneasily.
"Apart from the...umm...small power level."
Genn hoped back up to his feet in an instant with a massive grin.
"That's ok! I already know I'll never be strong enough to make the real change in the universe, but I'll do anything to help the strongest warrior to ever live accomplish that goal!"
Vegetto dropped his arm back to his side, his eyes turning towards Kassava.
"Actually, there is something I've been meaning to ask of you. You see, the Kais have informed me about Kassava's training earlier today and-"
Genn's beaming eyes grew wider.
"You've been training Kassava?!"
Kassava grunted in annoyance.
"I already told you that was happening Genn!"
Genn kept his attention locked on the uneasy Potara fusion.
"Yeah...but it's so much cooler to hear it from Vegetto-senpai than you!"
Vegetto chuckled once again, his uneasy expression softening.
"Let's just stick with 'Vegetto' for now, ok Genn? Senpai is a little...too formal for me."
Genn's head lifted up and down rapidly, the man taking a moment to recover from the blood flow leaving his head before responding with a meager voice.
"Ok...Vegetto."
Kassava sighed heavily, watching Vegetto continue.
"Anyway, we had a bit of a problem with Kassava's training where she wasn't quite motivated to perform well until her life depended on it. Obviously, that sort of drive will not work for every situation she faces, and if she doesn't find a way to improve, it will eventually kill her."
The fusion broke out into a cheeky grin, his dual voice raising in pitch to match a familiar portion of his fusion.
"That's where you come in!"
Kassava narrowed her eyes, her mind locked on the sudden distortion in Vegetto's personality as he rapidly shifted back into a serious tone to match his narrowed eyes.
"You may not have the power level to face the threats we would need you to, but you certainly have the ingenuity. You two share a battle intelligence that rivals even my own when it comes to fighting, and while she may have the power, you have the character we need. You make her stronger just by being in her presence; you give her something to fight for."
Kassava's attention faltered at the fusion's words, completely forgetting her speculation on the fusion's sudden personality switch to glance away in embarrassment, her cheeks turning red once she felt Genn's eyes turn to her.
"I've seen that kind of power before, love can change people in ways that mentors and teachers only dream of. That's why from now on, I'd like you to personally work with the Kais in overseeing her missions in time."
Genn's let out a small squeal of delight, Kassava's own head turning back to Vegetto with raised eyes.
"I thought that was your job though?"
Vegetto kept a warm smile.
"It will be, but I could use a little help in molding you into a better warrior. You are quite stubborn when it comes to training."
Genn smirked as well, placing his hands on his hips.
"That's not the only thing she's stubborn about. You should see her when we play rock paper scissors for garbage duty."
Vegetto raised an eyebrow, his eyes turning towards Genn with a smirk.
"Oh really? It must be a treat, seeing her lose."
The two broke out into a shared laugh, prompting an venomous response from a clearly agitated Kassava.
"At least I'm not so full of myself to make a stone statue worshiping my achievements in the middle of Canton City Square!"
Her narrowed eyes rapidly turned towards Genn.
"Or pathetic enough to worship it like a shrine! Sheesh, I bet you'd even suck on the crotch if they sculpted his dick Genn!"
Whis' eyebrows lifted.
"Quite the temper this one has, even for a Saiyan. She's even worse than Prince Vegeta, although he's had more humbling experiences to put his pride to rest."
Vegetto chuckled in response, his own expression remaining soft.
"As I said, she needs a lot of work. Genn and I both understand that."
Genn nodded once.
"Yeah, she's usually more viscous than that. You should see how she acts around people she knows she can beat up."
Kassava snorted.
"I don't care how strong you people are. Keep making fun of me like that, and I'll beat you to a pulp."
Vegetto broke out into another strong smirk, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, is that right?"
Kassava's narrowed eyes met the fusion's, who walked forward to stand face to face with the Saiyan woman.
"You'll certainly need an attitude like that. Before you got here, we found some rather distressing changes within the Scroll of Eternity. Changes that will require you to be much stronger than you are now."
Kassava kept a strong glare, her expression never faltering while Vegetto nodded towards another scroll neatly resting on a nearby rack.
"Care to test your claim? You'll be sparring with me, so you'll have the chance to try to make your threat come true."
Kassava snorted back in response, her scowl still strong. Her shoulder lightly bumped into the fusion's chest, forcing Vegetto to step back as she brushed past him in moving towards the scroll.
"Fine, it's your funeral."
Vegetto blinked a couple of times, shaking his head in amusement before following after her towards the scroll. Whis kept a warm smile, moving up towards Genn.
"I can see what you're thinking, Genn. You've been planning something like this from the start, haven't you?"
Genn shook his head frantically, chuckling uneasily.
"Well not really! I didn't really plan anything...just...you know..."
He kept a small smile, watching the two Saiyans on the opposite side of the room begin to glow with the familiar white light as they both gripped onto the same scroll before vanishing into the timestream.
"Just sort of imagine it in your head...and hope it'll be what's best for everyone."
Whis lightly nodded his head once in acknowledgement.
"Yes, although, it's certainly a more believable fantasy with what he mentioned earlier about your relationship with your sister."
The Supreme Kai kept her eyebrow raised, resting a hand on her hip.
"What are you two going on about?!"
Whis chuckled.
"Oh you'll see soon enough. Observe the training, it'll become a bit clearer once things have picked up."
Unknown Regions of Space, Unmarked World.
The blurred vision began to slowly fade from the Kaioshin's view, his eyes beginning to sharpen steadily. The dark abyss seemed to continue on without end from his perspective, the small forms of rock and debris before him giving the only semblance of reality for his mind to focus on.
"Ah, you're finally conscious."
The white mohawk atop the green Kaioshin's head shifted lightly in the small breeze, turning to face towards the feminine voice that addressed him. Zamasu's eyes remained narrowed, warily watching the two unfamiliar figures before him.
"Who are you? And where am I?"
Towa crossed her legs, casually floating down towards Zamasu on the staff she sat on.
"The edge of the universe, teetering between physical reality and the entrance to the sealed Demon Realm. If you were to fly a few thousand miles south from here, you would end up at the closed gates that are housed on this planet."
Zamasu remained silent, watching the woman hop off the staff and land on the dusty rubble.
"I am known as Towa, a demon. I've been watching your history unfold in this universe, and your plan to eradicate all mortals coming to fruition on Earth in an alternate timeline. Impressive work."
Zamasu's eyes widened.
"How do you know about that?"
Towa giggled lightly in response.
"Using the same power that made this conversation possible, dear Zamasu. Your actions in stealing the Time Ring from underneath Gowasu's nose and rivaling the power of Son Goku himself with your immortality have generated quite the unrest among the gods of this universe. Your name even invokes the attention of Lord Beerus, who was personally seeing to your execution in your timeline. Had it not been for my intervention, he along with the Time Patrol, would've erased your last chance at fulfilling your dream."
Zamasu's eyes narrowed once more, his attention set on Towa.
"And what do you gain from saving me?"
Towa nodded her head towards Zamasu's left.
"The revival of the Demon Realm: an army ready to cleanse mortal kind off out of this universe. Think of it, with the Time Patrol defeated and no one left to stop us, we could unleash justice across this entire plane of existence. To destroy the mortals that have plagued the gods for so long."
Zamasu glanced down, lost in his thought while Towa rubbed her chin.
"Although in your current state, you aren't ready to lead. We will need to regain your lost power, stolen from you by Trunks and Son Goku..."
Zamasu and Towa both turned their heads towards the two new figures that stepped out from the darkness. Both figures stood still with violent purple auras of dark energy surging around them, black lightning erupting around the swirling energy. One stood nearly a foot taller than the other, and held much more muscle mass in comparison. With Janemba and Broly both standing silently with their fronts towards Zamasu, Towa moved in front of the two with a sinister grin.
"These two will provide ample distraction for the Time Patrol as we reclaim your lost body and bring you back to the power you deserve. And then, there will be nothing left to stand in our way."