King Kai gulped. Different dimensions and alternate timelines had never been comfortable subjects for the members of his supposed-to-be-divine race. Now they were dealing with an unstable abomination of science who had learned how to bend the dimensional wall to his will.
Needless to say, Elder Kai was losing his composure. "A mortal who can sense energy in different dimensions? How the hell is that possible?"
"Ancestor, please try to stay calm," Kibito Shin pleaded.
"This is getting too complicated for me," Grand Kai muttered. "Clones I understand, but clones from different futures? I've had enough."
"I'm sure Goku feels the same way," King Kai said. "Um, no disrespect, but could you watch one at a time?"
King Kai was using his divine vision to watch the battle. The other three Kais were all crowding his personal space in an attempt to get front row seats to the show.
"S-sorry!" Kibito Shin stuttered and took a step back. Grand Kai followed suit.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" shouted Elder Kai. With a sigh, Kibito Shin grabbed the old man by the collar and yanked him back, causing a hacking sound.
Ignoring his ancestor's obscenities, something occurred to Kibito Shin. "Wait a minute. There's something I don't understand."
"Only one thing?" Grand Kai laughed. "I envy you."
"What is it?" asked King Kai.
"There are only supposed to be two Time Machines, right?"
King Kai nodded. "As far as I know. There's Trunks's one, and there's the one that Cell came here in."
"Alright," said Kibito Shin. "We know that one of the clones came to this timeline using Trunks's Time Machine. Then, Trunks himself came here using the one from Cell's timeline. So how did the 'Master' clone get here?"
Elder Kai fell silent as thought about the implications his successor had brought up.
"Do you think…?" Kibito Shin asked.
"I really hope not," King Kai interrupted. "But given all the evidence we've seen, I'm afraid we really can't dismiss it."
"It was him," Elder Kai said. "He's the one who physically broke through the dimensional wall."
"Okay," Kibito Kai said. "But how did he do it?"
"I think I have a theory…" All eyes fell to King Kai.
The servant clone gathered his ki and fired at point blank range. Goku tried to get his arms up in time. The energy missile exploded creating a screen of smoke. The clone smiled viciously as the shockwaves kicked up debris.
He was still smiling when Goku broke through the dust cloud and punched right between the nose and mouth. Hard. The clone shrieked and went flying across the hanger, crates and barrels doing nothing to slow him down. He smashed into the rear wall.
Goku reigned in his breathing. He was too worn out to follow up his attack. The fabric of his orange gi was smoldering in several places. For a moment, the crackling of his aura was the only sound that could be heard.
The clone fell to his knees cursing. He wiped his nose creating a bright red streak on the sleeve of his coat.
He looked at Goku with eyes full of contempt. "You bastard, you're holding back!"
Goku couldn't hide his surprise. That fact seemed like the last thing to get angry about.
The clone pointed at him. "Either fight me at full power, or just lay down and die!" he screamed.
On the other side of the base near an old communications tower, the master slammed his elbow into Vegeta's ribs. As the Saiyan Prince doubled over, he glanced back at the hanger with a look of concern on his face. His servant was beginning to lose his self-control. There were also several different ki signatures approaching the base.
He was too lost in thought to stop a recovered Vegeta from grabbing the front of his robe and smashing him into the steel leg of the tower. The metal warped with a terrible whining sound.
The master grunted more out of frustration than pain. He had seen what he had wanted. There was no longer a point in continuing the fight.
He reached out and grabbed Vegeta's face like a striking snake. The surprise move bought him enough time to bring his leg around and send him flying with a sidekick.
Instead of chasing after him, the master pressed two fingers to his forehead.
The servant stood ready to attack again. Goku held his ground, waiting. Suddenly, the clone's gaze seemed to focus on something else. "Not you again," he muttered.
"What?" Goku asked.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" the clone shouted.
Goku was so surprised, he took a step back. "Hey, are you all right?"
Rather than answer, the servant leapt forward with a feral yell. Goku braced himself as the distance between them vanished, waiting for the attack to come.
It never did.
Without warning, the master suddenly appeared out of thin air, right in the servant's path. He stood facing Goku with a neutral expression on his face. The servant jerked to a stop with a look of scared surprise. "M-master…"
"It's time to go," he said.
"But we've got the advantage!"
Goku could feel the tension in the air spike. The master looked back to his partner with a silent fury in his eyes. "Do not question me," he said calmly.
For a brief moment Goku thought he could see a look of terror cross the servant's face.
"Father!" a young voice called out.
Recognizing his son's voice, Goku looked to the open hanger doors where Gohan, Trunks, and Piccolo stood. A crashing sound drew his attention back to other side of the hanger. Several small crates toppled to the ground as Vegeta climbed over them.
Piccolo was at a loss for words. Gohan and Trunks, however, didn't seem all that surprised to see three Son Gokus standing near each other.
"Like I said," the master said. "It's time to go. Now."
"No you don't!" Vegeta shouted and charged at the two clones.
He wasn't fast enough. The master grabbed his servant by the arm, and with a flicker of motion they both vanished.
Vegeta landed where they were standing and skidded to a stop. "Damn them!"
"Easy Vegeta!" Goku urged. He reached out but couldn't sense anything. "Wherever they went, they're suppressing their ki. There's nothing we can do about it." He got a glare in return, but could see that Vegeta knew he was right.
Gohan and the others joined them. Piccolo was the first to speak. "Please tell me that my eyes were playing tricks on me."
"Only if you saw four of me," Goku said in weary tones. He dropped to the ground and sat in a cross-legged position. "I'm too tired to explain right now."
"You can leave that to us," Gohan said to both of them.
Trunks walked over to were Vegeta stood, cross-armed and seething. He wanted to say something to the man that he had finally been able to accept as his father, but couldn't find any words. The mood was just a little too hostile. He turned to look at the others. "Why don't we head to Capsule Corp.?" he asked and held up his PDA. "I think we'll be able get our answers with my Mom's help."
Goku nodded.
The light from the stars lit the clearing. The forest was silent, bar the occasional Capsule Flyer soaring in or out of Metro Central only a few kilometers away.
"'Hope!' huh?" the master clone said. He placed his hand over the word and looked at the Time Machine. The servant stood a few meters back looking at the ground. "Maybe I should have this word stitched into the back of my tunic," he continued with a chuckle.
The servant remained silent.
The master looked back at him. "What's wrong with you? You're not mad that I cut your fun short, are you?"
"No," the servant said looking at him.
"Then what's wrong?"
"It's just…" the servant began. He tried to phrase his words in the best way. "Well, I've been hearing voices."
That took the master by surprised. "When?" he asked.
"During my fight with Gohan," he said. "It said 'please, please' over and over. And then again when I fought Son Goku, same as before."
The master crossed his arms. "It could be an side effect of my telepathic contact with you," he said. "I doubt it's anything to worry about."
The servant nodded not entirely convinced. The master sighed. "I'm telling you, it's nothing. Just focus on our mission." He placed his hands on his shoulders. "The next time we meet Son Goku, we'll kill him. Then I'll take his name and you'll be free. You'll be able to fight to your heart's content."
That shook the clone out of his train of thought. He looked at his master and smiled hungrily. "You're right," he said.
"Now then," the master said, reaching into his robe. "Let's do something about those crappy clothes. You look like a hick."
"It was cold," the servant said with a shrug. "Beggars can't be choosers."
"I guess," the master said and held up a capsule. He pressed its switch and tossed it into the air where it exploded with a "BOM!" A gi fell back down into his arms. "Here," he said.
The servant looked at his new clothes. An orange gi with matching blue boots, wristbands, and an undershirt… "These were Son Goku's," he said. "From your future?"
"That's right," the master said. The servant took them. "Since Goku is dead in my time, I decided he wouldn't mind if I borrowed these. His wife had her complaints, but…" he trailed off with a smile.
"You guys look like hell," Bulma said after Gohan had explained the events of the night to her and Piccolo. Along with Trunks, Vegeta, and Goku, they were all sitting in Capsule Corp.'s central interior garden. A docile T-Rex was searching for prey nearby.
"I've been to hell," Goku muttered and wiped his face. The back of his hand was smeared with blood. "I'd say you pretty much hit the nail on the head."
Bulma laughed and looked at Trunks's PDA. "I wish our reunion could've happened under better circumstances," she said to her future son.
"The feeling's mutual," Trunks said. He smiled at his alternate younger mother. "Still it's good to see you again. Then he looked to Vegeta. "You too father."
Vegeta simply nodded. Trunks looked away and smiled wider. He actually hadn't been expecting any kind of response.
Goku stood up. "I think I should get myself cleaned up," he said. "Bulma, will you call everyone over here? I get the feeling were gonna need all the help we can get with this one."
"Sure thing."
Without another word, Goku walked out of the garden. Trunks looked to his mother. "You'll be able to get that file open, right?" he asked.
"It won't be a problem," Bulma assured him.
Trunks nodded as he eased back into his chair, and watched that giant T-Rex. The sound of the doors sliding open again cut through the silence. He looked back wondering if Goku had returned.
Instead he saw a young boy with the same face as his. It was like looking into a mirror. And like a mirror they both had the same expression of surprise.
"Mom, Dad," the child said to the same people Trunks had called Mom and Dad. "What's going on here?"
Bulma burst out laughing.
Goku splashed water onto his face from his cupped hands. Blood and dirt washed away. He grabbed a hand towel as he turned off the faucet. He took a deep breath and dried his face. Placing the towel aside, Goku looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, thinking over the events he had just been apart of.
Tonight he had looked right into the face of evil.
And it was his own.