Chapter 54: It All Falls Apart
(Opening Theme: Backbone by Daughtry)
The day began as normal for Pearl, waking up, getting breakfast, dressing up, this time she chose to wear something she never had before: Zangya's Outfit, and getting out to train. Beate and Rachel joined Pearl, Kenshiro, and Barit in the beginning, and soon Bage, Amaya, and Hirohito were there as well to test their new Super Saiyan 4 forms against Pearl. Pearl smiled and got ready to spar Bage, when her Scouter Glasses went off, Trunks was on the other end. "Pearl, we need you now in the Time Nest," he told her. "Got it," Pearl told him then turned to her friends, "Well, I'm off." "Good luck," Amaya wished her, then turned to Kenshiro and Barit. The Earthling and Namekian nodded, "We'll give these guys their workout. You save the world." "Be careful," Pearl told them, and then Instant Transmitted to the Time Nest.
She went into the Time Vault, everyone inside looked very grave. "It's been quiet lately," Trunks said, "Too quiet." Elder Kai agreed, "I normally like things quiet, but this is making me nervous." The Supreme Kai of Time said, "Maybe we should take action." "Uh, what sort of action?" Trunks asked. "I admit, I'm not sure what to do either," Pearl confessed. "I've been thinking about that Masked Saiyan," the Supreme Kai of Time said. "You mean the one that I fought that interrupted with Beerus?" Pearl asked. "Didn't he turn out to be Bardock?" Trunks said. The Supreme Kai of Time nodded, "Unlike the others, I can't imagine Bardock working with Mira. There was something about him…almost like he was under mind control." Elder Kai looked at her, "Mind control? So you think that if we free him, he might join our side?" Trunks smiled at this idea, "Exactly!" Pearl saw a slightly perverted smile on the Supreme Kai of Time, but said nothing.
"And," Trunks continued, "if he still has his memories of when they did this to him, he should be able to tell us their plans." "But how in the world do we go about finding him?" Elder Kai asked. The Supreme Kai of Time answered, "If we find out when Bardock vanished, Towa and Mira should be there, too. Then that's what we'll do." Pearl nodded and said, "Then let's get to it!" Trunks told her, "Today's work will be an investigation. I'll be tagging along with you. Let's head on out!" Trunks grabbed the Scroll and Pearl put her hand on it as well, and they were gone.
AGE: 737
Frieza laughed as he launched his attack to destroy Planet Vegeta. Bardock could only scream as he was slowly destroyed, only for a wormhole to then consume him! As Planet Vegeta was destroyed, Towa and Mira appeared and smiled. Pearl and Trunks arrived just in time to spot the villains, but not before they disappeared. "Hurry! After them!" Pearl yelled, and they followed them.
AGE: ?
Pearl and Trunks arrived, to see a city in complete ruin. Trunks nodded, "It looks like they used a wormhole to capture Bardock. But what is this place, anyway? It reminds me of Earth, but everything is ruined." Trunks was interrupted then when Towa appeared. Trunks went Super Saiyan and Pearl Unleashed her Potential, ready to fight. Trunks charged at Towa, only for his attack to be caught by Bardock. Trunks jumped back from the Masked Saiyan. "So you show yourself at last, Towa!" Trunks declared. Towa smiled, "I knew you'd com. I've been waiting for you. Simply tracing our steps would eventually lead you to the wormhole. I suppose it was only a matter of time." Trunks told Pearl, "It looks like that Towa is the Towa from our Time." Towa only laughed as Trunks and the Masked Saiyan fought. However, it soon became clear that Trunks was the weaker of the two warriors.
Pearl quickly intervened and knocked the Masked Saiyan back. "Trunks, I'll deal with him, you focus on Towa!" "Alright!" Trunks agreed and swung his sword at Towa. Pearl blasted the Masked Saiyan with Burning Attack, and quickly followed up with a Death Ball. "No way. Bardock is ours," Towa said as she blocked Trunks' sword with her staff. "Don't you get it? It took quite a lot of effort to get him under control." Mira appeared then and kicked Pearl back. His eyes glowed with power as the dark aura surrounded him. "Tell me, how many times have we fought now?" Mira asked Pearl, "This time there will be no interference. This time we will end this!" Pearl's only response was to crack her neck and let fly with a kick that Mira blocked. Mira went for a punch, but Pearl avoided it and blasted ki balls at him. Mira deflected them away and answered with Majin Kamehameha. Pearl barely managed to counter the attack with her own Ill Flash attack, and quickly used Instant Transmission to get to Mira and land a hard kick to his stomach. She followed up by slamming her elbows on his head before he knocked her back with Blaster Meteor.
Meanwhile, Trunks was contending with the Masked Saiyan, while Towa sat back and laughed, like it was a show, "Trunks, stronger than ever I see. And that's one of Majin Buu's offspring isn't it? Quite impressive." Trunks fought hard, and Pearl's attacks had weakened the Masked Saiyan to make the battle more even. Trunks surprised his opponent by knocking him in the stomach with the pummel of his sword, and then knocked him back with a ki blast to his face. Pearl on the other hand was trading blows with Mira, her fists a blur even to her as she went at it with all her fury. "Mira," Towa commented, "these two have quite a lot of energy. It would be very fitting for their energy to help revive the Demon Realm."
"I knew it!" Trunks said as he and the Masked Saiyan got into a grapple, struggling hard against each other, "Your plan all along has been to unite our Universe with the Demon Realm!" Towa smiled, "Perceptive. Can't you imagine it? A garden of Evil blooming with rage and pain? So beautiful." Pearl caught Mira by surprise with a kick to his groin and kicked his head to get some space before yelling at Towa, "You twisted sadist! Only a demon would think something so twisted is beautiful!" Trunks yelled, "You devil! I've already seen enough despair! I won't let you create any more!" Trunks screamed out with all his might, and to everyone's shock turned Super Saiyan 2! Trunks kicked the Masked Saiyan through a building before grabbing him and tossing him into the air, before finishing with Heat Dome!
The Masked Saiyan hit the ground hard, and Trunks yelled, "You're next, Towa!" He went at her, only for Mira to elbow his face before he reached her, "If you want to get to Towa, you'll have to go through me first." Towa explained, "Mira is much stronger now thanks to the energy he's absorbed. You don't have any hope of victory." "Then try me!" Pearl yelled, faster than ever before as she slammed her heel into Mira's head, knocking him to the ground. Mira dodged her Death Ball, and Pearl quickly dissipated it before it could reach the planet's core, leaving her wide open for Mira to grab her and toss her aside. Mira kicked Pearl's face hard enough for her head to snap backwards, but she quickly dodged his point blank Majin Kamehameha before kicking his chin and blasting him with a Super Kamehameha in return. "I-I don't believe it… My Mira!" Towa yelled as Pearl poured more power into her blast.
"What's going on here? My measurements… they showed that Mira was stronger!" Towa yelled. "This is it!" Mira declared as he got up, bloody and wounded, "That unexplained power… I will overcome it and make it my own!" "My path is clear!" Towa muttered as Mira summoned more of his power. Pearl and Trunks were ready, only for a wormhold to open up beneath them. "Another wormhole!?" Trunks yelled. Towa smirked, "I'll send you to the realm between dimensions! There you shouldn't bother us anymore." "My battle isn't finished yet!" Mira yelled. "We needn't worry about them anymore, let's move on to the next…" But before she could continue, a ki blast hit Pearl and Trunks, knocking them away from the wormhole. "Huh?" Pearl wondered, and then saw, Bardock! "Bardock!?" Towa yelled as the Saiyan got Mira into a Full Nelson Hold. "What the?!" Mira struggled to break free, but he couldn't get out. "How could someone so weak…overpower me!?" Mira wondered. Towa tried to blast Bardock, only for him to then dodge it, and send both himself and Mira over the wormhole.
"Don't!" Mira yelled. "How dare you make a fool out of me," Bardock growled. His ki aura flared out brighter then ever as the Father of Goku yelled, "Never underestimate a Saiyan's power!" The wormhole consumed them both, yet Bardock smiled, "Get ready!" And like that, they were gone.
"Bardock!" Trunks yelled. Towa fell on all fours, "My Mira…some masterpiece that turned out to be, I disgust myself." "It's over, Towa!" Trunks yelled. The demon scientist glared at him, "You think that was my only Ace in the hole? I have one more trick up my sleeve." They both felt the surge of power, and to their shock saw the source. It was Soon! His turban was gone, and his face had a mask like Bardock's on it that covered his eyes as a dark aura swirled around the Hero of Tokitoki City! "Soon-sensei!" Pearl screamed. "What!? It's you!?" Trunks yelled, only for Soon to fly right into him and knock him out with a kick to his chin. "That's how you got through our communications channel! You used Sensei!" Pearl yelled as Soon flew at her. Pearl struggled to dodge his attacks, he was even more powerful than before!
"I'm sorry Sensei," Pearl said as tears formed in her eyes and she countered a punch with a kick. The mind controlled Soon punched her with a stretched out arm, knocking them both back. Soon blasted at her with Kamehameha, knocking Pearl back. He then appeared in front of her, and she quickly blocked his kick and knocked him back with Ill Flash. "I need to beat you, Sensei. Forgive me," the Majin girl pleaded as she powered up. Soon and Pearl clashed, throwing blows with reckless abandon. Every blow that Pearl landed hurt as much as every blow that Soon landed, yet she fought through the pain, determined to end it quickly. Punch after kick landed on her, and she answered with more of the same every time. Seconds seemed to be hours as they fought, until at last, Pearl felt her punch slam into Soon's stomach. Pearl kicked him back, and Soon vomited purple Namekian blood.
Pearl had to struggle not to cry as she powered up a Super Kamehameha Wave, and Soon did the same. "Kaa-Mee-Haa-Mee-HHHHHAAAAA!" Pearl yelled out, as the Super Kamehameha Waves met in the middle. The two of them were evenly matched, both of them wounded, but Pearl looked deep within herself. She remembered all she had fought against, all the challengers, all of her victories! She wasn't the same as she was when she first met Soon, she was someone who would become even greater. "The student has surpassed the Master," Pearl whispered and let loose with all her power. Pearl's Super Kamehameha Wave tore through Soon's, hitting him hard, and knocking the mask off his face.
Soon's aura disappeared, and Trunks woke up. He and Pearl ran to Soon, as Towa growled, "Idiots! I'm surrounded by idiots!" She then composed herself, "Well then, in that case, I guess I'll…have to start off with a clean slate." Pearl and Trunks reached Soon, only to watch as he disappeared!
The two of them then looked around in confusion, not sure what had happened. Pearl picked up a mask that was on the ground. "I think, we completed our mission," a confused Pearl said. She felt like she had forgotten something; but didn't know what it was. "Let's go back then," Trunks said, and pulled out the Scroll.
AGE: 852
Pearl put the mask on the table in the Time Vault. "I guess all we ended up getting was that mask…" Trunks said. Pearl nodded as the Supreme Kai of Time said, "Welcome home! I was so worried when I lost contact with you." Elder Kai asked, "Where did you end up, anyway?" "Um…" Pearl didn't know what to say, she couldn't remember what she had forgotten, but felt like it was important. Trunks explained, "We went through a wormhole into an unidentified point in time." Elder Kai asked, "So how did it all go?" "Huh? How did what go?" Trunks asked. Elder Kai looked confused, "You know, the…huh?" "I remember my partner…" Trunks said, sounding more confused. "Hm?" the Supreme Kai of Time asked, "What did your partner do?" "Wait," Trunks said, and turned to Pearl, "You're my partner, right?" "Uh…yeah?" Pearl asked more than answered. What had she forgotten?
"Hold on a second now. Pull your thoughts together. You two have done a lot of great work together. I don't want to see any infighting now," the Supreme Kai of Time said. "That's right. The four of us have a sworn duty to defend History," Elder Kai declared. A dark aura then surrounded the Time Vault, "WH-What's happening?" Trunks yelled. "Oh no!" Elder Kai yelled, and Pearl looked to see the Dark Aura on all the Scrolls! "History is changing in all the Scrolls at the exact same time!" "Oh no!" the Supreme Kai of Time yelled as well, "Changes at this scale are bound to affect this world as well. We'll look into the cause of this!" she told Pearl, "You and Trunks should check outside!" "Right!" Pearl and Trunks yelled and they both ran to Conton City.
(Ending Theme: Confident by Demi Lovato)