AN: Hello everybody! I'm sorry this took a while, but I have a brand new chapter of Puddin for you today! This took some work and reworking, but I am REALLY happy with how it turned out.

Eternal thanks to my lovely beta annbe11! She's the one who helps turn my ramblings into full-on stories. If anyone here is a fan of magical shenanigans, courtly politics, and TIGERS, please be sure to give her new story Rajah's Curse some love. It's a great story that needs a bunch more views.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12 –Get Moving, Recruit! It's Time for Remedial Training!

There exist such days in one's life that seem to be the pinnacle of suffering. When every single event manages, in some way, either to cause physical and/or emotional pain or just act as a deterrence to any sort of thought that could raise one's spirits in any way, shape, or form. When even the universe itself seems to spite you and the drudgery of the day seeks to poison your soul and kill you from the inside out.

Puddin was having just such a day.

Bling!

"Oh my god…" groaned Puddin, dragging both her hands down her face.

Bling!

"All the kais, gods, and kamis in the universe, please make them stop…" she pleaded.

Bling!

"AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" she screamed out in frustration. The exclamation of pain was enough to momentarily throw her off her flight path. A bit of green flashed past her, revealing her error and she maneuvered herself back on course.

Zap!

"You missed another one, Puddin," came the sound of an annoyed Elder Kai. Puddin groaned and pushed a button on her scouter.

"Sorry about that, Elder Kai," she said. "Got distracted."

Bling!

"Well, you had better keep focused, recruit, or you'll have to start all over again."

Bling!

"Please make this stop, Elder Kai," pleaded Puddin, feeling each bling reverberate in her very soul. "I have been doing this for three hours. I need it to stop. Please, I am actually begging you here."

Bling!

In this moment, Puddin couldn't think of a more mind-numbing experience she had had in all of her years of life. As part of her remedial training, Elder Kai had thought it would be a grand idea to make sure Puddin was properly trained on all of her basics because he apparently didn't trust her with anything at all. So she had to display her understanding of basic flight capabilities to him.

Bling!

This had consisted of teleporting to a huge mountain range and flying through rings.

Hundreds and hundreds of rings.

And each of these rings played an annoying electronic chime as soon as she passed through them.

And all of these chimes seemed to take up permanent residence in her brain. All she could hear were blings.

Bling!

"Can we please move on to something else?" Puddin pleaded. "Sparring? Ki blasts? Even just pushups? I will do literally anything if you'll just let me stop this exercise."

Bling!

Puddin heard a grunt on the other end of her scouter.

"Fine," said Elder Kai. "We can stop the flight exercise for the day."

"Oh my god, thank you," Puddin said with a deep sigh. She stopped herself in midair and curled herself into a ball. She let out a sound that was half-moan and half-growl as she began kneading her temples.

"Come back to me quickly," said Elder Kai. "I'll get a time gate set up and we can move onto another training exercise." Then the communication channel clicked off.

"It's okay," Puddin whispered to herself. "It's okay, Puddin. Just a little more remedial training. You can do this. Once you get through this, you'll be back on missions and you can get your life back on track."

After blowing out another breath, Puddin turned herself in the air and flew in the direction of where Elder Kai had been relaxing while she was enduring this torture.

"I've got this," Puddin said with a smile.

"I want to die," Puddin moaned, her face buried in her hands.

"You haven't even started yet!" snapped Elder Kai.

"Why is this part of training?!" she demanded, arms wildly gesticulating in the direction of two motionless figures before her. One was of the hero Son Goku while the other was of the wicked Goku Black. Both of them were standing on the grass and T-posing, of all things. "What's going on?! Why are they standing like that?!"

"These are Echo Fighters," said Elder Kai, clasping his hands together and giving Puddin an annoyed expression. "We use them for advanced training and special team exercises. They can copy someone's personality in a specific time, but have an adjustable power level to make things more interesting. As for why they are here, they will be integral to your next exercise. As a Time Patroller, you will have to work alongside numerous individuals across history, both heroic and villainous. You may also have to work with individuals who have… diverging goals. Your job for this session will be to defeat incoming enemies while at the same time convincing these two to fight alongside you instead of against each other."

Puddin's mouth had dropped open halfway through the description. When Elder Kai stopped talking, there were a few moments of silence before Puddin shook herself out of her stupor.

"This is insane," she said.

"Heh!" laughed Elder Kai. "Probably! Better get to it, recruit." He plopped himself down on a rock and pulled a TV remote out of his pocket before hitting a button on it. The two Echo Fighters shuddered for a moment before their eyes snapped open and their posture became more natural.

"Hi!" the Goku drone said excitedly. "My name's Goku. What's yours?"

Puddin stared at the not-Goku for a few moments before she groaned and massaged her forehead.

"My name is Puddin," she said. "Nice to meet you, I guess." She turned to Goku Black and gave him a nod. "Sup Linkin Park. How's it going?"

Goku Black's face contorted in anger.

"You will kneel before me, mortal trash!" he snarled.

"Sure, I'll get right on that," Puddin said flatly.

Goku gasped and dramatically pointed a finger at Goku Black's face.

"It's evil me! And not the regular evil me!" He gasped again. "A brand new evil me!"

"Shut up, simpleton!" snapped Goku Black. "I am a god! If you dare cross me, I shall annihilate you, just as I have done with countless planets!"

"Well, that's actually not too impressive," said Goku, now scratching his cheek. "I mean, we can all destroy planets pretty easily. Hard to believe we can fight on them so easily, actually. But here's something I gotta ask." He crossed his arms and looked curious. "Have you ever beaten a Freezer before?"

"Grrrrr…" growled Goku Black.

"You may have beaten a planet, but I don't think you've beaten a Freezer. I did. Oh! Have you beaten a Cell or a Buu before? Those are really hard to fight. Heck, I've never beaten a Cell before. I had my son do that for me."

"I've had enough of your ramblings!" Goku Black snapped before lunging toward Goku with the intent of ripping him limb from limb. However, he didn't make it close enough.

Puddin had placed herself between the identical pair and grabbed them by their ridiculous hairdos. Just as the pair of them were about to protest, she yanked hard on her two captives. There was a reverberating CRACK as two Saiyan skulls slammed into each other at high speed. Both Echo Fighters let out cries of pain and held their reddening foreheads. Puddin glared at the both of them and crossed her arms, ignoring the sound of Elder Kai chuckling in the background.

"Listen up, dum-dums," she said, baring her needle-sharp teeth, "I don't care about anything you might have going on. Until I say otherwise, the both of you are working for me. If you don't do what I say or if you start fighting each other, I'll suplex you right into the ground. Are we clear?"

"Um, I'm okay with that as long as we get to spar at the end," said Goku, giving Puddin an innocent (or brainless) smile.

Goku Black only made a few grumbling noises, but Puddin decided to take that as both an agreement and an apology to a superior power.

"Good to hear," she said with a nod. "Now both of you follow me." She lifted off from the ground and took to the sky with the two Gokus trailing behind her.

Much like the exercise before it, this one was taking place in one of Chronoa's Time Arenas. They were particular locations that were 'saved' and stored in and around Conton City. Time Patrollers could hop in and out of them whenever they wanted to spar, hang out, or do training exercises. This exercise was in an archipelago of islands, each with green grass, rocky hills, and swaying palm trees. It was a good open area for a battle, and Puddin was sure she was about to get one.

"Your approach was about as subtle as a rhino in a tea shop," came Elder Kai's voice in Puddin's scouter, "but it was effective for this early exercise. Future situations are just going to get harder, you know."

"Then I'll deal with them as they come," said Puddin. "What's the mission?"

"Well, in this next exercise you'll be… hmmmmmm?" Elder Kai let out a long curious hum that was so theatrical it had to have been planned. "It seems that there is an extra person here. Oh no, he seems to be hurt! Whatever shall we do?!" he said dramatically. Puddin rolled her eyes, imagining Elder Kai swooning to complete such a performance. "You must aid him at once, recruit!"

"Yes, Elder Kai," she droned, tapping a button on her scouter. After a few beeps from the little machine, the HUD lit up to point in the direction of the unrecognized power level. On one of the smaller islands below her, Puddin could make out a humanoid figure collapsed on the beach. With a sigh, she allowed gravity to begin reasserting its hold on her. It might get annoying to keep saving these weaklings when she could take care of any issues by herself, but it was still a part of her job. Plus, Elder Kai likely wouldn't allow her 'mission' to progress until she healed this guy.

When she had almost touched down on the sandy beach, she groaned as she finally got a good look at who she was reviving. It was Krillin, likely another Echo Fighter. The short bald man was flat on his back and only giving occasional twitches to show he was still 'alive'. Irritation flicked across her face before she gave an exaggerated gasp and put her hands on her cheeks.

"Oh no," she said flatly. "Krillin's been killed. It could have been literally anyone."

"Cut the sass, recruit," said Elder Kai. "He's a resident of this Age and you need to assist him in the fight to come, not least of which involves making sure he doesn't die. Now get to it."

"Yes sir," mumbled Puddin. "Should I use my emergency senzu?"

"Of course not!" snapped Elder Kai. "You have to save that for a situation where YOU need it! Just… y'know, give him a zap from the Rejuvenator."

"Yes sir," Puddin said again, reaching into her utility belt and pulling out a device about the size and shape of a Dragon Radar. Instead of a radar screen, however, it had a crystalline focusing lens. Puddin held the device out with the lens facing Krillin's crumpled form and pressed a button on the side. After a short charge-up whine, a beam of yellow energy shot out from the device to connect with Krillin, causing him to glow with energy. Suddenly, Krillin exploded into a blur of motion, going through the positions of fighting, being hit, and collapsing, but in reverse order. In a few moments, Krillin stood on the sand with his back to Puddin, slightly bruised but conscious. He groaned as he massaged his head and looked around blearily.

This device had been created by Puddin's mother a few years before she… went away. When Time Patrollers needed to give someone a quick heal and there were no available Senzu beans, a blast from the Rejuvenator would rewind the warrior's body to a point where they had more energy and fewer injuries. It wasn't as effective as a full heal, but it was normally good enough to get them back in the fight.

Krillin rubbed at his eyes again before turning in Puddin's direction. He froze and blinked rapidly.

"Colors…" he said quietly before his gaze seemed to sharpen a bit. "Wow, if I knew there were angels as pretty as you, I think I would have died a lot sooner."

"Uhhh...," said Puddin, taking a step back. And now she had to deal with this?

"Hey Krillin!" Goku said excitedly as he landed next to the short man. "You doing okay?"

"If you are, I'd be happy to kill you again," said Goku Black, who also landed near the Earthling. "It would be a favor to the world and to yourself."

"Oh hey Goku," said Krillin. "Man, I really must have took a knock to the head. 'Cause there's two of you. And one of you looks really, really angry."

"You dare think I'm the same as this Saiyan trash?!" roared Goku Black. "Argh! I'll happily destroy every single atom of your pathetic form for such an insult."

"Sorry, Dark-Me, but I won't just stand here and let you beat up my friend," said Goku, moving himself between Goku Black and Krillin.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot," said Goku Black, now sporting a snake-like smile. "You only do that when your son is the one fighting, don't you?"

"Okay, now I'm definitely going to deck me in the schnozz!" responded Goku, putting up his fists.

"Come at me, mortal! If you think you even can!" roared Goku Black.

Puddin rolled her eyes before stretching her arms toward them and yanking on their ears. Both of the ferocious fighters immediately started crying in pain as their heads were forced to follow where she dragged them.

"This is your second warning," she said, glaring at the both of them. "I want you two to knock it off and do what I say. If I have to remind you a third time, I'm going to be very pissed. Got it?"

"Got it," they both said. She nodded and released the two identical idiots, letting them rub at their abused ears.

"Wow…" said Krillin, staring at Puddin with wonder. Puddin just turned away and pressed a button on her scouter.

"So, what's the next exercise, Elder Kai?" she asked.

"Well, I think your opponents should be arriving any second now, recruit."

A series of notifications suddenly pinged on Puddin's scouter, informing her that a large group of new signals had appeared. As the signals drew in closer, Puddin's jaw dropped yet again.

"You have seriously got to be shitting me…" she muttered.

It was Saibamen, of all things. A veritable army of shrunken green gremlins landed all around Puddin and her drones, all of them chattering and shrieking like demonic monkeys. They gazed at the four of them with burning red eyes that held nothing except for malice.

"Why the hell do you have me fighting Saibamen?!" Puddin shouted into her scouter. "These are garbage enemies! We use them to train kids!"

"Says the girl who's not even two years old," sassed Elder Kai.

"You know what I mean!" Puddin snapped. "Saibamen are so not worth my time!"

Behind her, a particularly brave Saibaman leapt at her from the top of a boulder, its claws extended and its teeth bared. It came closer and closer to her unprotected back, thinking of nothing more than sinking its fangs into her throat. Before it could, though, Puddin moved. She gave barely a quarter turn toward her left shoulder and there was a faint pop as she brought her fist up. It was the sound of millions of air molecules desperately trying to get out of the way. The back of her hand made brief contact with the side of the Saibaman's skull, transferring an amount of kinetic force that was usually measured in megatons. The opposite half of the creature's head exploded outward while its red eyes burst in their sockets. The force reached the rest of the Saibaman's body a split second later, almost bending the creature over double at the spine. Its corpse flopped to the sand below, where the innocent waves lapped at it and carried away its alien green blood.

"See?" said Puddin, not even pausing her conversation. "Garbage. Enemy. Give me something to fight that might actually help me improve."

"Saibamen are the traditional practice enemy for such training exercises," explained Elder Kai, sounding thoroughly unintimidated. "That goes for both Basic Training and Remedial Training. Unless you want to be on probation for the rest of eternity, you'd best get to it." With that, the scouter clicked off.

Puddin stood there silently staring into the far distance before she gave a loud groan.

"I swear I will find a way to kill that geezer…" she muttered. She looked at the three Echo Fighters and jerked her head toward the Saibamen horde. "Well, what are you waiting for? Have at 'em."

The Saibamen took that statement as their own signal to attack, all of them letting out a collective shriek and lunging at the four warriors. Goku, Goku Black, and Krillin all rushed to meet their opponents, with Krillin only giving a few whimpers of worry. Puddin focused on the Saibamen closest to her and set about her own chore.

Punch. Squish!

Kick. Squish!

Scratch. Squish!

Squish squish squish squish!

Eventually, Puddin's thoughts became utterly lost in a haze of absolute boredom. Her movements were thoughtless; mechanical. She merely needed to tap these little monsters to destroy them. With such little engagement in her outside world, Puddin's thoughts turned inward.

Why is this even happening to me? I studied hard. I trained harder. Do they really need to start me from square one? To treat me like some useless kid?

As she used her thumb and forefinger to snap a Saibaman's neck, she sighed.

I won't mess up again if they give me another chance. I'm super-powerful. I can handle anything they throw at me. I just wish that would give me some training that wasn't so stupid.

"Hey, Rainbow Angel!" Krillin said, looking over his shoulder at her. "You're doing really great. If I live through this, wanna go get some coffee afterwards? Or maybe some fro-yo?"

"No fair, Krillin!" whined Goku, blasting a group of Saibamen with a Kamehameha. "I wanted to spar with her after this was done. She seems really strong."

"Silence! Both of you!" roared Goku Black, who was currently carpet-bombing every Saibaman he could see. "Having to lower myself to fighting such insects is already an embarrassment but listening to you filthy mortals prattle on and on is too much to bear!"

"C'mon, Evil-Me. Don't be like that. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything."

"I'll make certain that YOU never again say anything if you speak up again!" snapped Black. "I don't care what the gray one says!"

"The 'gray one' can hear you, asshole," Puddin called out as she idly ripped a Saibaman in half and used the bottom half to club a second one over the head.

"Don't you talk about her like that!" yelled Krillin, shaking his fist at the dark mirror of his friend. "If you don't knock it off, I'm gonna-"

Suddenly, Goku Black stood right in front of Krillin, a sickening sneer on his face as he looked down his nose at the short Earthling.

"You're going to what, mortal?" he asked.

"Um…" whimpered Krillin, beginning to tremble.

Puddin groaned before moving behind Goku Black and wrapping her arms around his midsection. The mad Kai didn't even have a chance to voice his displeasure at this before Puddin hauled him back, suplexing him headfirst into the sandy beach. Goku Black was buried up to his waist, his feet kicking uselessly in the air as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Puddin released him and stood up, dusting the sand off her pants. A quick look around told her that there were no more Saibamen attacking them. The horde of monsters had been reduced to bits and pieces, turning the sands and surrounding waters a sickly green. Goku and Krillin were both looking from her to the kicking legs of Goku Black. She shrugged at them before walking away from the planted Kai.

"I did warn him," she explained.

"Man, I wanna learn how to do that," Goku said with a smile.

"Oh God, she can suplex me any time she likes…" Krillin murmured. There was a trickle of blood running from his nose that Puddin was quite certain had nothing to do with the fight.

"Are we finally done?" Puddin asked no one in particular, pressing a button on her Scouter. After a moment, an update appeared on the eyepiece, making her groan. "Looks like we missed one," she said. "My Scouter is telling me it should be right around-"

A final Saibaman suddenly burst from the sand right in front of Puddin and lunged forward, locking its arms and legs around her torso. It gave a chittering laugh as it dug its nails into Puddin's outfit before it closed its eyes.

KABOOM!

The Saibaman exploded with incredible force, fully engulfing Puddin in a fireball of destruction. Sand was blasted everywhere and both Krillin and Goku covered their eyes against the blinding light and flying debris. When the explosion ended, there was a flaming crater and billowing smoke left in the place where Puddin had been standing.

"Rainbow Angel! No!" screamed Krillin, reaching out desperately to where she had just been.

"Oh my gosh! She's been Yamcha'd!" Goku cried out in surprise.

"Too soon, Goku!"

When the smoke cleared, however, their jaws dropped.

Puddin stood exactly as she had been before, the only change being a few more smudges on her face and the disappearance of her Scouter. She sighed in annoyance before idly noticing her arm was on fire.

"I hate this training," she snarled, slapping at the fire until it died out. "It's a complete waste of my time. Even when these guys pull out their strongest attack, I can't feel a thing."

"...Please be my wife," Krillin blurted out.

Puddin glared at the small man. If keeping him alive wasn't part of her mission…

All she said was, "Not happening." She really tried to keep the snarl out of her voice.

"Aww…" moaned Krillin as he seemed to deflate on the spot.

Puddin looked away and muttered under her breath, "God, could this day get any more annoying?"

She reached for her belt to activate her backup communicator but stopped when she saw her belt was a burned and melted ruin. Any further complaints against the universe were interrupted when another explosion from behind her shook the beach. Goku Black, looking absolutely livid, was standing in a crater of molten sand that was rapidly cooling into glass.

"THAT IS MY ABSOLUTE LIMIT!" he roared. "I HAVE HAD TO PUT UP WITH THIS INDIGNITY FOR FAR TOO LONG! EVERYONE IS DYING!"

"Man, he seems real upset," said Goku. "I bet you he got some sand in his pants. It's honestly the worst."

"Silence, you insect!" continued Goku Black. "You are all mere maggots whilst I am a god! You mortals disrespect the universe while the other Kais just let you run around like destructive children! It drives me to wretch!"

"Now we have to listen to this?" Puddin said through gritted teeth. "Man, I really should have hit him harder."

"And you think you're any better?!" yelled Goku Black, focusing his angered gaze on her. "All this time, you've done nothing but whinge about the unfairness of the universe!" His voice suddenly took on a mocking high pitch. "'Oh, woe is me! I don't deserve this! These enemies are too weak to have my attention! I'm better than this!'" He gave her a dark scowl. "I do have to wonder. If you are as capable and skilled as you claim, then why do your masters see fit to only let you have scraps?" His scowl morphed into a smug smile. "You talk a hefty game and love throwing your weight around, but it seems that you choke on anything bigger than table scraps. Such a Pathetic. Little. Housecat."

Puddin's pupils constricted to tiny slivers as she glared at Goku Black.

"And you," he continued, turning to Goku, "I honestly can't believe that-"

He looked like he was about to go even longer, but Puddin decided to curtail his rant with a punch to the face. After that, the only noises he made then were whimpers and moans about his newly-broken nose.

The sound of his suffering did nothing but piss Puddin off even more.

"I have HAD it with today!" Puddin yelled with frustration. "First I'm subjected to FUCKING HOURS of flying through rings and then I have to deal with THIS bullshit!"

"Um," said Goku, lifting a finger.

"Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!" shouted Puddin. She snarled and pointed a deadly finger at the Saiyan. "You're an idiot!" She pointed at Goku Black. "You're a bitch!" She pointed at Krillin. "And you're annoying! Grrr! This entire exercise has been a fucking waste of my time! Remedial training, my ass! Everyone's just trying to fucking annoy me to death!"

All three of the Echo Fighters looked surprised at such an outburst. Goku Black had even stopped whining about his nose.

"Um…" said Krillin. "Are… are you feeling okay?"

"NO I'M FUCKING NOT!" roared Puddin, glaring at the small man. "I have worked my whole life to be just like my dad! I am a badass Time Patroller! I am an unbeatable fighter! I was made to crush my enemies and see them driven before me! This is the kind of work I was BORN to do! So, why did I have to go and mess up my first mission like EVERYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE?!"

Puddin stood there for a time, panting after such an outburst, before her gaze dropped to the sand beneath her.

"Like everything else in my life..." she repeated in a whimper before tears began falling down her face. She sunk down to sit in the crater and pulled her knees up to her chin, sniffling through her tears. "Why couldn't I just do the mission?" she asked. "Why do I ruin everything around me?" She squeezed her eyes tight and pressed her face into her knees. "I wish my dad was here."

She sat there for half a minute as she cried, ignoring Goku's and Goku Black's uncomfortable fidgeting. Krillin looked like he was about to try giving her an ill-advised hug when he stopped and looked up.

"Hey, Rainbow Angel?"

Puddin looked up at him and wiped away her tears.

"What?!" she snapped harshly. "Can't you see I'm having a moment here?"

"We, uh, got company," Krillin answered, pointing above them. A time gate was ominously hanging in the air, crackling with blue energy as it spun. A few moments later, three humanoid figures came through it and hovered in the air.

"Of course another ambush happens now," Puddin said grimly, standing up. She took a few calming breaths before getting into a fighting stance. "Let's try and finish this quickly."

With the three Echo Fighters behind her, Puddin charged.

It wasn't an ambush.

Sitting in Chronoa's office was a very surreal experience, mostly because it could barely be considered an office. The terms 'room-sized scrapyard' came to mind when one considered the workspace of the Supreme Kai of Time. Every surface, both flat and otherwise, was piled with various gizmos and knick-knacks from thousands of planets across thousands of time periods. Even the floor was ab absolute minefield of garbage, with only narrow paths carved through the debris so individuals could make their way to the chairs or the desk. Chronoa was known to have a bit of a hoarding problem, falling in love with some sort of historical device and taking it home with her to make use of or fix into working condition. Inevitably, however, she would grow bored with it after a few hours and toss it away to join the heap. This office wasn't even the worst of it. Chronoa had a literal scrapyard in the back of her house, piled high with broken down spaceships, submarines, and even a few alien Zambonis.

Waiting around in such a chaotic environment was not doing well for Puddin's nerves. The girl was just barely kept her foot from tapping against the floor as she sat uncomfortably in her chair. She had been left to stew in Chronoa's office for the last twenty minutes after a few clipped words from the child-like god. Chronoa had said she needed to confer with Elder Kai before deciding what to do about what happened during the training session.

Puddin's fingers were clenched hard, grabbing fistfuls of the fabric of her pants. This was it. They were for sure about to expel her completely. She had managed to mess up again while in the middle of remedial training. There wasn't any lower position that she could possibly go to. A lifetime of dreaming and training was about to go down the drain. What was she going to tell her dad?

"Oh my gods, Dad," she said to herself, feeling sick. Dumplin had been on a long term assignment for the past week and a half. He had left before she received her results of the Time Patroller Exam, but had had enough time to commission this suit for her to celebrate her advancement. Now he was going to come home only to learn that she had managed to fail out of the Time Patrollers completely. She would be nothing but a failure.

She felt like bile was crawling up her throat. She really was going to be sick. Before she could grab the nearest trash can-looking decoration, however, the door to the office opened. Puddin jumped in her seat and spun around. Chronoa and Elder Kai both walked inside with Elder Kai closing the door behind him. Puddin snapped to her feet, almost knocking over what looked like an alien milkshake maker, and bowed to them. She swallowed hard.

She would make it through this conversation. She would not throw up, no matter how hard her body wanted to.

Chrona took a seat at her desk and motioned Puddin to sit down. Elder Kai clasped his arms behind his back and stood flanking Chronoa. The child-like Kai tapped her fingertips together in silence for a moment before fixing a neutral look on Puddin.

"I want to start this conversation with the simple statement you need to hear, Puddin. You are not being expelled from the Time Patrollers."

Puddin was stunned. She had been so expecting to hear her dismissal that hearing the opposite actually made her heart skip a beat.

"R-really?" she stuttered. "B-but I… I attacked those Time Patrollers. And I was already on probation. How… I mean, how…?"

"I think there are enough unusual conditions to consider this to be extenuating circumstances," said Chronoa, crossing her arms on the desk. "The three Time Patrollers did not properly fill out the request forms to use that Time Arena. You had no way of knowing they were not part of the training exercise and, having lost your means of communication, you had no way of getting any confirmation from the old man."

Elder Kai glowered at Chronoa, but said nothing.

"Furthermore," Chronoa said with a smile, "I can't help but be impressed that a new recruit such as yourself was able to handedly put three Second Year Time Patrollers into the hospital. You have the makings of a truly great Time Patroller and I won't allow that to be squandered."

Puddin let out a long breath and felt as if she could melt out of relief right then and there. She wasn't being failed out. She still had a chance to be a Time Patroller.

"Now, normally I'd put you back on remedial training, but a new situation has come up," said Chronoa. Puddin snapped up straight in her chair.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Over the course of the day," Elder Kai began to explain, "we've seen a huge uptick in Time Warps throughout history. So much so that every available Time Patroller has been sent out on assignment. And I do mean every Time Patroller."

"Things had been holding pretty constant," Chronoa continued, "but then we got a new Time Warp." She reached behind her back and pulled out a Time Scroll, radiating with dark purple mist. Puddin leaned forward as Chronoa rolled out the scroll. The surface of the scroll showed the battle between the Z-Fighters and the invading Saiyans. Even considering canon events, things seemed to be going especially poorly for the heroes. Not the least of which being that both Vegeta and Nappa had taken their Great Ape forms.

"That looks horrible," said Puddin before meeting Chronoa's eyes. "Who are you going to send?"

Instead of answering, Chronoa rolled up the Time Scroll and held it out to Puddin. She felt a thrill of excitement in her chest but stamped it down a moment later.

"Me? B-but I'm still on probation," she protested.

"This is not how I would handle things normally," said Chronoa, "but unless we want to gather the Dragon Balls and wish for a whole new crop of fighters, you are literally our last hope."

"Since you are still on probation, however," Elder Kai added, "I will be coming along to supervise and grade your performance. If you show good judgment and competent skill on a series of missions, you will be taken off of probation. Understood, recruit?"

Puddin felt like crying, finally being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She swallowed any tears, however, and nodded to the two gods.

"Understood," she said, taking the offered Time Scroll.

"Make sure you get replacement equipment before you leave," said Chronoa. Puddin nodded and stood to make for the door. Just as she was reaching for the handle, she heard a call of "Puddin" from behind her. "This is your second chance," said Chronoa. "Don't waste it, Patroller."

Puddin drew herself up straight and bowed to Chronoa.

"I promise I'll accomplish my mission, ma'am. You can count on it." With that, Puddin left the office, Time Scroll in hand and Elder Kai close behind.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Puddin had a determined smile on her face.

It was time to get things back on track.

And there we go! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I think I'm now going to get a few more chapters of Excelsior under my belt.

I hope you are all staying safe out there. Have a great day!