Little would I realize that my life, the one I thought I was ready to throw away to assure the safety of others, would change forever….with the prospect that I could do more and be able to live without fear. This is the beginning of…

Prologue: How I Survived…
~ TIME: Age 779 - LOCATION: Sacred World of Kai's ~

The Kai's realm was the setting of a massive battle as, at this very moment, the expunged evil side of Android 21 is struggling to withstand the Spirit Bomb being pressured down upon her by Goku and his friends. From the sidelines, everyone was surprised by how much strength she had left to hold back the ball of energy from completely crushing her. As nothing but silence fills the air, the spirit that was harbored within Android 21's body left her and into Android 18, standing close by her. Puzzled, she turned towards Android 21 who looked back with a tearful expression.

"Thank you….and goodbye." she muttered. With those final words, Android 21 darted out on her own, heading straight for her evil side. 18 gasped and called out to her.

"21! WAIT!" she shouted. Reaching her side, evil Android 21 watched in shock as her good side tackled into her, throwing her off balance and released her grip on the Spirit Bomb.

"We'll die TOGETHER!" she yelled.

"Wha-What are you doing?! Get OFF me!" Evil 21 shouted. But as the Spirit Bomb started descending closer to them, continuing its assault, a bright flash of light emitted close to the two Androids as a figure cloaked in a crummy brown cover dashed into the scene. He remained hidden from Goku and friends by the light shining from the Spirit Bomb.

"What now-?!" Evil 21 shouted before, without a word, he passed clean through them. In a surprising move, he grabbed onto Good 21 and pulled her away while, at the same time, shoving Evil 21 briefly aside with his other arm. Both were completely stunned by what was playing out before them.

"Supreme Kai! Warp me back! NOW!"

Before 21 had a chance to get a word in, the cloaked figure instantly teleported away. Still baffled by what happened, the oncoming threat of the Spirit Bomb gave Evil 21 no time to react as it came crashing down upon her, enveloping her in a bright light before it detonated. While she did let out a scream of agony, the detonation blocked out her shrieks of pain. But while Good 21 had been abducted, to everyone else, both sides of 21 had died at that moment in time….

~ TIME: Age 852 - LOCATION: Conton City | Time Nest ~

At the same time, within the confides of the Time Nest in the bustling Conton City, the Supreme Kai of Time, Future Trunks, Tokitoki and Elder Kai waited with great anticipation in the scroll room. Suddenly, the same flash of light appeared before them. And just as quickly as it arrived did it vanish, leaving everyone to see the cloaked man laying on the ground, embracing the good Android 21 in his arms.

"I…I don't believe it! The kid actually did it!" Elder Kai gasped. Trunks and Chronoa hurried to his side as, rising from the ground, his hood fell back to reveal it was a Saiyan with a relative length ponytail behind his black hair. He paused for a moment to catch his breath as he turned to Trunks.

"Hey…you okay?" Trunks asked. The Saiyan glanced to him and let out a hefty sigh.

"Y-Yeah. I'm okay. Was a bit of a squeeze back there, but…I got her." he muttered. Their eyes turned to Android 21, having been knocked unconscious due to the shock of everything that happened.

"Looks like that warp through time must've konked her out." Chronoa said. The Saiyan stood himself upright before picking up the unconscious 21.

"All right. Take her to the medical wing and get her situated. When she comes to, I'll talk with her." she continued. The Saiyan nodded and was about to leave before feeling Trunks' hand on his shoulder.

"Good job…Tomasu. I was a bit doubtful of you back there…but you probably just pulled the craziest rescue mission ever given to a Time Patroller." he said. Tomasu lightly chuckled.

"Yeah. The big difference being I HAD the Supreme Kai's approval before going into this." he said, turning back to 21 in his arms "And I'm sure of it. She'll be a GREAT help to the Time Patrol." He then continued towards the medical center, leaving the others behind.

~ A While Later… ~

With the fatigue of time travel wearing off, Android 21 slowly begins to awaken in her bed in the medical ward. Her bright blue eyes slowly peeked out as she surveyed the room. With a slight groan, she slowly rose from her bed and rubbed her head.

"Ugh…my head." she muttered, massaging her temples. Shortly after, her mind caught up with her as she was shocked awake, surprised by what she was seeing around her.

"Wha…What happened? Where am I?! Is…Is this the Afterlife?! Who? What?!" she yelped. Before her freak out could grow worse, she saw Chronoa quickly come to her side.

"Whoa. Whoa. It's okay. Take it easy. You're not dead, you're in no immediate danger….just take a moment and BREATH. You're safe." she explained, helping 21 out of her moment. She quickly took her advice and took a few deep breaths, resting her hand against her chest with each breath. Chronoa slowly backed away.

"Feel any better?" she asked. 21 nodded.

"Y-Yes. Thank you. That helped. But…if I may ask…who are you? And….where am I?" she asked, looking around her again.

"Well, not to be the "grammar police", but I think one of your questions should actually be "WHEN" are you? My name is Chronoa, but I'm better known as the Supreme Kai of Time. As for where slash when you are….you're actually outside the natural flow of time…inside the home of the Time Patrollers, Conton City." Chronoa said. 21's attention turned to the window near her bed, looking out at the massive city laid out before her. She lightly gasped as she slowly began taking in everything she saw. She saw Saiyans, Namekians, Majins, humans and other life forms going about their daily lives as some took to the skies. From her perspective, she could see as far back as the Patroller Academy.

"Amazing little world we live in, isn't it?" Chronoa asked, looking outside as well. Still puzzled, 21 turned back to her. But Chronoa raised her hand, stopping her from speaking.

"Don't worry. You don't need to ask. I'll answer for you." she said "You see…you're no longer in the world you call home. In actuality, the timeline you came from is a separate one that branched off of the main timeline. As for what happened to you earlier….well…one of the Time Patrollers under my command traveled to your point in time and rescued you before "that timeline's" Goku could destroy you both with the Spirit Bomb. He then brought you here, hoping your talents could be used to help everyone at the Time Patrol." Android 21 lightly gasped, thinking back to the hooded individual that rushed in and grabbed her.

"So…I basically time travelled? Is…Is that even possible?" she asked, looking down at her covers.

"Also, you can rest easy…according to the flow of time, the Spirit Bomb successfully destroyed your evil side. My Time Patroller made sure to leave HER behind. And, from the perspective of everyone back in your timeline, they still believed you to have successfully sacrificed yourself to stop her. Because of how well it was timed, the flow of history is still stable and nothing is too out of place for your friends. Plus, as long as you are here in Conton City, you don't need to worry about her coming back. Even with the amount of security we have here, there are others here who can help you in more ways than one…including how to quiet your "restless appetite" problems you suffered from." Chronoa explained. Hearing this, 21 lightly gasped.

"R-Really?! The Time Patrol have people like that?!" she asked.

"Uh huh. In fact, what you're suffering from is mostly a "Majin" issue, seeing as you were apparently born with Majin cells inside you. We have plenty of Majin members on the Patrol who can help. Plus, once you get it under control…you'll be able to scarf down as MANY sweets as you want! We're well equipped to suit everyone who lives in Conton City." Chronoa said. Just then, the door opened and in walked Tomasu, now dressed in his Time Patroller uniform.

"Oh. So you woke up. Glad to see you awake." Tomasu said. Chronoa and 21 noticed as Chronoa slyly chuckled before stepping a bit to the side.

"And, speak of the devil…here he is. Android 21? I'd like you to meet Tomasu, the very Time Patroller that is your "knight in shining armor"." Chronoa said. As he approached, Tomasu gently nudged Chronoa aside.

"Just because I thought she would benefit the Patrol doesn't make me anyone's "knight". Ease up on the romantic thoughts, boss." he replied. Chronoa merely huffed and turned away with arms crossed. Android 21 watched their exchange and lightly chuckled to herself.

"What's WRONG with having a "romantic side" every once in a while, huh?! You have NO IDEA how hard romancing is for us Kai's!" she replied, pouting the entire time. Tomasu rolled his eyes before kneeling down to 21's level.

"Sorry if I scared you back there. I didn't mean to." he explained "But…now that you're up, I feel like introductions are in order. My name is Tomasu, one of the many members of the Time Patrol. I also happen to be a Saiyan that was born in a branched timeline…same as you. In my case, however, I'm sure we went through different situations." Android 21 slowly turned to him and rest her hands on her lap.

"T-Thank you. I can't thank you enough for coming to my rescue. Perhaps…the Supreme Kai IS right when she called you my "knight in shining armor"." she teased, making Tomasu chuckle as well. Supreme Kai watched with a grin.

"Anyway, back on topic…it was actually my suggestion to ask Supreme Kai to try and recruit you to our cause. Since I first found out about your alternate timeline while in the Time Nest, I did a little research into your origins and history…and I was really surprised by what I had found out." Tomasu explained "When I realized what kind of fate you would've ended with, I plead with the Supreme Kai to let me save you from it and bring you here. And…while it IS illegal to tamper with time…I managed to convince her to let me reach out to you. All I needed to make sure was that no MAJOR occurrence happened back there that would heavily affect the timeline." Pausing for a moment, Android 21 quickly pieced it together.

"Oh! I see. So you used the cover of the Spirit Bomb to swoop in. That way…when it went off, it would still seem as if I perished." she said. Tomasu nodded.

"Yeah. Right on the money. Heh. I knew you had to be more than just a pretty face." he said. 21 lightly gasped, as did Tomasu when he realized what he said. They quickly averted gaze from one another, blushing slightly while Chronoa snickered quietly.

"With "THAT" aside…" she teased "Why don't you show her around the city, Tomasu? Give her a tour and then bring her to the dormitory. I believe Elder Kai should have her room set up for her." Tomasu nodded.

"A-All right, then. W-Would you like to look around town, Miss 21?" he asked, still averting gaze. When he looked back, he saw 21 had extended her hand albeit still looking away.

"O-Of course." she said. Without a word, Tomasu smiled before standing up and took her hand. After she rose from bed, the two were off together as Elder Kai walked past them, entering the ward himself.

"What's wrong with HIM?" Elder Kai asked. Chronoa giggled.

"What else? I had a funny feeling Tomasu had an "ulterior motive" besides recruiting 21's genius to our cause." she explained "He's in L-O-V-E with her." Elder Kai sighed.

"Oh good grief. Let's hope it doesn't affect his performance." he added. Silence soon fell over them as Elder Kai and Chronoa glanced at one another.

"You STILL think this was okay? Making sure time stays in tact IS your job, after all. For all we know, Towa and Mira COULD get their hands on her evil side and make her fight for them." he asked. Chronoa crossed her arms.

"Well, it's in the past right now. Tomasu went out…and made a pretty clean getaway. According to the scrolls, history in her timeline is stable. I say…until something like that comes, let's help Android 21 get back into fighting shape. Perhaps…she can be of more use to the Patrol than just the brilliance she is blessed with. This time…let's see what comes with "time"." she said. Elder Kai chuckled.

"Heh heh. "Time"…ho ho ho. Good pun there, missy." he replied.

PART 1 - PROLOGUE - COMPLETED
TO BE CONTINUED…