Chapter 52: Settling the Nutz Gang and Getting Time Rift Eggs
(Opening Theme: Backbone by Daughtry)
Pearl awoke to see Kenshiro was still resting. She gave him a small kiss before stretching and getting dressed in a purple gi with white pants and black boots, she had worn him out yesterday, he deserved a rest. She decided to get breakfast ready, deciding to keep it a simple meal of rice and eggs with bacon and tea. Barit and Kenshiro came out of the rooms after everything was ready, and they all ate together, just happy everything was peaceful. Of course, it didn't last. They got the shock of their lives when their front door was sent flying off its hinges, they all flew to avoid it. "So, you're the one that's been hurting my beloved followers!" a male Majin voice said as he stepped inside.
He was about average height for a male Majin, about a head taller than Pearl, with grey skin a lighter shade than hers, red eyes with black sclera and fat pink lips, his tentacles looked like horns, and he wore a shirt like Dabura's, hand guards like Turles', red and green Buu-gi Gravity pants, and yellow boots like Baby from the GT timeline wore. The Majin male continued, "I'm the leader of the Nutz Gang, Barack, and now you've made me mad! It's time for payback!" Pearl quickly stretched out and grabbed Barack before using Instant Transmission to get them both into the sky. Barack blasted Pearl away with an exploding ki ball. Pearl barely avoided Barack's Majin Kamehameha and quickly Unleashed her Potential. The two Majin's clashed, their stretchy bodies moving in ways no other species could as they threw punches, kicks, and head butts at each other.
Barack blew Pearl away with Innocence Breath, before appearing in front of her with a Teleporting Vanishing Ball. Pearl caught the attack and threw it away before hitting him with her own Ill Flash. Pearl powered up a Super Kamehameha and sent it straight at Barack, and followed up with Burning Attack, knocking him even higher. Pearl flew at Barack, only too late seeing him smile as he then exploded in a massive release of pink ki, knocking her back. Pearl stopped her unwanted flight and wiped her face, she was bleeding from that Ill Bomber attack. She kept her senses open however, and Instant Transmitted away before Barack got her from behind, then appeared above him and kicked his head into his body before kicking him away. Pearl raised her hand and summoned a Death Ball that hit Barack hard, leaving him too injured to stop her from ending the fight with a roundhouse kick to his face.
Pearl caught him and flew to the Mushroom District, where Kenshiro and Barit were waiting for her along with the rest of the Nutz Gang. The Nutz Gang ran to their leader as Barack regained consciousness on his own. "Urgh! Who are you?! And how could I lose to you?!" Barack wondered at Pearl. "I am Pearl, daughter of Buudikka and Glutto, and the Time Patroller chosen by the Supreme Kai of Time to protect this world," Pearl proudly said. "I see," Barack said, "No matter! It's time we took responsibility for our mistakes! The Nutz Gang is hereby dissolved for good! Feel free to do with us as you see fit!" Pearl looked at the Nutz Gang and considered their fate. "Have you ever killed your fellow Time Patrollers?" she asked them.
"No! We never did," Barack said, looking at the rest of his gang. "Right!" they all agreed. "We only took money, and beat up people, I swear!" Barack said. "Then I want you to work as real Time Patrollers, after you give back the money you stole," Pearl told the Nutz Gang. "What? You want us to work as actual Time Patrollers?! I guess we have no choice if that's what you want us to do… Fine! We'll do as you say!" Barack promised. "Can we trust these guys?" Kenshiro asked. "We can," Barit said as the Nutz Gang bowed and left Pearl. "How do you know?" Kenshiro asked. "I read their minds. All of them are through with being thugs. Some are too scared of Pearl, others want to turn over a new leaf. Their leader, Barack, is looking forward to fighting Pearl again in a fair fight. I think we'll be alright," Barit said.
Pearl sighed as she made her body heal its wounds, before her Scouter Glasses went off. "Pearl here," she said. "Pearl, we need you to visit the Time Rifts, all of them! I think the cause of them has finally shown itself," the Supreme Kai of Time declared. "I'm on it!" Pearl told her. "I think I'm finally going to finish with those Time Rifts," she told Kenshiro and Barit. "Got get 'em," Kenshiro encouraged her. Pearl put her fingers to her forehead and Instant Transmitted to Guru's House first. She entered the Time Rift, where Time Rift Nail waited. "Hello, my friend. The Grand Elder has something he wishes to show you," Nail said as Pearl entered Guru's House.
"Ah," Guru intoned when he saw Pearl arrive. "Welcome. You have been a great friend to the Namekians. For this, I thank you. I'm afraid that I have one more task to ask of you, however." Pearl sensed a dark energy and said, "Whatever it is, Guru-sama, I can handle it." Guru nodded and produced a large egg, similar to Tokitoki's. "Not long ago, a rather burly Namekian gave us this egg, asking us to take care of it. He had a wicked countenance, I have no doubt he would have slaughtered us if we had refused, and so, we did as he asked. However, I fear the power in it. You have proven your power, can I ask you to take this egg?" Guru asked. Burly Namekian, he must mean Slug! "I will do as you ask, Guru-sama," Pearl said. Guru reached down, and Pearl took the egg from him. As she touched it, she felt a similar energy like when she went out on Time Patrols, only corrupted. "I will see to it this egg is properly taken care of," Pearl promised, and left the Time Rift.
She immediately used Instant Transmission to appear in front of the Time Nest. She went in and saw the Supreme Kai of Time, reading a doujin manga. She looked and saw it was rather…explicit and starred Bardock. Pearl blushed and said, "Ahem." The Supreme Kai of Time squeaked before she stood up and hid the doujin. "Ah, Pearl! What is it!?" "This, Time Rift Guru-sama gave this egg to me," Pearl said as she presented the egg. "I see, I sense Towa's dark magic at work here," the Supreme Kai of Time said as she lifted her hands and sealed the egg inside a bubble of divine magic. "The other Time Rifts may have these. You shoucl get them all as soon as possible," the Supreme Kai of Time said. "Yes ma'am," Pearl declared, and headed out of the Time Nest. She Instant Transmitted to Capsule Corp next, and went inside the Time Rift. Time Rift Vegeta was waiting for her. "Bulma has something for you," he said, and Pearl went to the Earthling heiress/inventor.
"Ah, hello," Bulma said. "Vegeta told me you were strong, so I figured I could trust you with this," Time Rift Bulma said as she presented an egg just like Guru had. "A strange man with spiky hair dropped this on our property. He kind of looked like a Saiyan…but that's impossible, isn't it?" Bulma shook her head, "Anyway, all the tests I ran on it said this thing was dangerous, think you can take it off our hands?" "Sure thing," Pearl said, and took the egg from Bulma. "See you later," Pearl said to Time Rift Vegeta and Bulma. Bulma smiled and waved back while Vegeta looked away but lifted a hand to her anyway. Pearl left that Time Rift and headed back to the Supreme Kai of Time. As soon as she saw it, the Supreme Kai of Time sealed it like she did the first one. "It's as I suspected, these eggs are fake copies of Tokitoki's egg that Towa created. However, they are seriously flawed. She must have disposed of them, not realizing that even if they weren't as powerful as the real thing, they can still alter Time. They are cousing the Time Rifts, we need to collect all of them to make sure the rest of the World is safe," the Supreme Kai of Time explained.
"Um, Supreme Kai of Time-sama, what about those living in the Time Rifts? What will happen to them?" Pearl wondered. She knew that the Time Rifts weren't 'real', technically, and yet, the people in them… "Let me handle that. You just focus on getting the rest of the eggs," the Supreme Kai of Time told her. Pearl nodded and left the Time Nest, heading for Majin Buu's House next.
As soon as she arrived, she was dogpiled by all ten of Majin Buu's children. "Play with us!" "Let's fight bad guys!" "Let's treasure hunt!" "Let's play hide and seek!" "Let's nap!" "Okay, okay!" Pearl yelled as she stood up, "We'll play, but I can't stay forever." For the next several hours Pearl played with all the little Majin children, sparring, playing hide and seek, looking for treasure, just running around and having fun. And it was genuinely fun for her, but at the back of her mind she thought, What will happen when I retrieve all the Time Rift eggs Towa made? Will I…erase this world? These children? Pearl swallowed her worry; and hoped the Supreme Kai of Time had a plan.
Pearl was relieved when the little Majins wore themselves out and finally settled down for a nap. Time Rift Majin Buu was waiting for her. "You help Buu make family and take care of them. Buu was waiting so he could make food for you. Got a nice big egg to make omelet," Majin Buu said as he pulled out an egg, and Pearl saw the dark energy around it. "Hold on! We shouldn't eat that egg!" Pearl said. "Huh? Why not?" Majin Buu asked. "That egg is…bad, really bad! It could…give us really bad tummyaches," Pearl quickly said. "Hmmm…you right, it looks bad, now Buu really looks at it," Majin Buu said. "I can throw it away for you," Pearl said. "Alright," Majin Buu said, "But, Buu wishes he could give you something nice, for being such a good friend." "It's alright, just, keep being a good Papa for your family, that's good enough for me," Pearl told him. Majin Buu looked at his slumbering children and smiled, "Right." Pearl took a short nap while she waited for the little Majins to wake up and said goodbye to them before leaving the Time Rift.
Pearl Instant Transmitted to the Time Nest and went in to see the Supreme Kai of Time looking at the eggs she already gathered along with Trunks. "I got another egg," Pearl said. "Ah, good job," the Supreme Kai of Time said as she placed a bubble of magic energy around the third egg. "Umm, Supreme Kai of Time-sama, what will happen to the people in the Time Rifts if we destroy the eggs?" Pearl asked. "I think that the Time Rifts will disappear all together if we do that," the Supreme Kai of Time said after thinking about it. "Then, can we NOT destroy them?" Pearl asked. "Just trust me," the Supreme Kai of Time said with a smile. The Goddess walked up to Pearl and took her hand, "Pearl, I chose you for your mind. I know that you are willing to make the tought choices. But I promise, this is my choice. That said, if you should affect any Time Rifts, I won't hold it against you." "Huh?" Pearl asked, and then thought about it. It hit her after ten seconds what the Supreme Kai of Time was getting at.
"I see, alright then," Pearl said. She decided to head to Hercule's House next. She entered the Time Rift and went to Great Saiyaman, Great Saiyawoman, and Jaco. "Ah, Great Saiyaman 3! It's great to see you!" Great Saiyaman greeted. "Yeah, we don't have any missions to go on, however, there is something important waiting for you. My Da…I mean Videl's Dad has something to give you," Great Saiyawoman told her. "Thanks," Pearl said, and walked over to Hercule. Hercule looked all kinds of nervous, until he saw Pearl. "Ah! Hey there, you've been doing such a great job, that I think you deserve a reward," Hercule said as he pulled out an egg. "Some big guy dropped this on me, said, 'Get out of my way', and then the jerk just ran away, like the coward he was," Hercule said with his usual false bravado. Pearl saw how nervous he really was though and guessed the 'Big Guy' was Broly! "I'll be happy to take that off your hands," Pearl said, and Hercule gave her the egg. "Thank you for everything," Pearl said with a bow, then walked back over to the Superheroes and Galactic Patrolman.
"I had a lot of fun training with you all. You helped me grow stronger than you realize," Pearl told them all. "Think nothing of it. All Champions of Justice should always be ready to help each other," Great Saiyaman said. Great Saiyawoman piped up, "If you ever need our help, just call." Jaco said, "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Rookie. Good luck out there." "Thank you," Pearl said, and bowed to the three of them before leaving the Time Rift and making a beeline for the Time Nest. She went in and handed over the fourth egg. "Alright, one more to go," the Supreme Kai of Time cheerily said. Pearl nodded and had a small smile of grim satisfaction. The Supreme Kai of Time had given her carte-blanche to do what she wanted with the Time Rifts. She was fine with four of them, but the last one needed a major overhaul. Pearl cracked her neck and knuckles before Instant Transmitting to Frieza's Spaceship and entering the Time Rift one last time.
She went into Cooler's Spaceship and headed for his Throne Room. Frieza was there as well in his First Form, looking subdued. "Ah, Captain, one of our soldiers has something for you," Metal Cooler said as a soldier stepped forward. "Who are you?" Pearl asked him. "My name is Navel, Captain," the soldier said. "So, what is it you want me to have?" Pearl asked Navel. "Well, you see, a while ago, a woman, an honest to God woman, appeared on the ship. She gave me an egg and said, 'Take care of this for me', and I did that, kept it warm in my locker. This woman, she was a babe, I mean smoking-" "I get it!" Pearl interrupted, That was Towa alright. The soldier then produced the egg and gave it to Pearl, "I figure it might be bad now, but, since she wanted me to keep it, I figured it might be important, Captain!" Pearl resisted the urge to look down at herself to check if she was still a female and took the egg.
She then decided it was time to end the Frieza Force, for good. "Cooler-sama, I've heard that the leader of the Planet Trade Federation was your Father, King Cold. May I have the honor of meeting him?" Cooler smiled, "Of course, in fact, we were heading to meet him just as you arrived. I've told Father about you, he is most intrigued." "Thank you, Cooler-sama," Pearl said. Cooler offered her a seat next to him that Frieza brought, and she sat down on it. Pearl wasn't nervous in the least, confident in her power. She had grown so much more powerful since the last time she visited this Time Rift, doing what she had to would be easy. She could do it a number of ways, but in the end decided to just end it quickly.
Pearl saw as they arrived at an even larger spaceship, she, Cooler, and Frieza walked out and flew to it, they were close enough to do so. Once they were inside, Pearl saw the massive King Cold waiting for them. "Ah, so you are my sons' newest captain. Cooler told me much about your power," Time Rift King Cold said. "Thank you, I'm very proud of it," Pearl said as she let her pink aura fly around her, and her tentacles rose up. "Candy Beam! You three will be jawbreakers!" Pearl yelled out as three tentacles pointed at Cooler, Frieza, and King Cold and blasted them with Candy Beam, turning them all into pink jawbreakers. Pearl picked all three of them up in front of King Cold's stunned soldiers, and then crushed the candified planet conquerors to powder. She looked at the soldiers and declared, "The Planetary Trade Federation is hereby dissolved! Return to your homes, and never harm another innocent. Or, share your Masters' fates." Pearl then walked past the stunned soldiers and went back to Cooler's Spaceship to retrieve the Time Rift egg.
Upon retrieving the egg she told the soldiers on the ship what she did, and what to do, before Instant Transmitting back to the entrance/exit of the Time Rift. She left the Time Rift and headed for the Time Nest one more time. Again, the Supreme Kai of Time sealed up the egg, and put them in her house for safekeeping. "You did well, Pearl. Those Time Rifts shouldn't grow anymore after this," the Supreme Kai of Time informed her. "Then, what about the people in them?" Pearl asked. "You needn't worry, with the eggs sealed, I can leave them be. You don't have to worry about anyone being erased, after all, the people in the Time Rift are innocent, they didn't ask to be part of any Time Rift," the Supreme Kai of Time said. Pearl thought of the Namekians, and Majins, as well as Saiyaman and Saiyawoman, Bulma and Vegeta and let out a relieved sigh as she got on her knees and wrapped the Supreme Kai of Time in a hug. "Thank you, so much," she said.
The Supreme Kai of Time returned the hug, "You deserve this much at least. Go take a break, I'd say you're done for the day." "Thank you," Pearl said, and left the Time Nest with a bounce in her step. One more challenge ended for her.
(Ending Theme: Confident by Demi Lovato)
Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long to post this. My family evacuated because of Hurricane Florence, and I didn't have much time to write. Luckily, our part of South Carolina wasn't affected too badly. Please donate to relief efforts for the victims of Florence or volunteer if you can, and thank you for reading.