Chapter 27: Baby Saga Epilogue: As We Head Toward Our Future

The spectators' seat was rife with excitement as Piccolo excused himself from the announcer's side, placing himself adjacent to Pan and Bra in Satan's training room in the Tenkaichi Budokai arena. There, Pan and Bra were having yet another catfight.

"B-Bra! You dirty little cheat, you know I had you beat, what kind of sore loser blows up the whole ring just 'cuz she about to lose, huh?! I should beat your little ass for that!"

"Beat my ass?! I'd like to see you try! You know I have you beat in raw talent, I've barely trained a day in my life until the future Onii-chan trained me on New Namek the past six months, hell, I'll beat you up right now!"

The two were tangled up in a vicious struggle and ripped out clumps of each other's hair before turning Super Saiyan and pulling a cross-counter, downing themselves.

"That's quite enough, you two. You've effectively injured each other more in this little squabble than you did in your actual match. If you hurt each other any more than this, you would not even be able to spectate the main event. In fact…"

"In fact, what?"

"It's probably best that I change the order of the drawing lots, in order to ensure that none of the four Saiyans gathered together for this tournament end up facing each other before the semi-finals. An event like Gohan and the others facing each other in the first round only to end up knocked out of the tournament so early and giving nobody fighters leverage to climb up higher in the placement roster would be a shame."

"It's not like you to bend the rules, Piccolo-san," said Pan, "but I get what you're saying, the battle royale they held after Bra and I knocked each other out was just embarrassing to watch!"

"Then it's settled. The order shall be… Yes, I know…"

And so, the events of the tournament proceeded smoothly. The weakest fighters were one by one knocked out of the first few rounds of the tournament, and in accordance with Piccolo's designs, the semi-finals saw Future Trunks facing Gohan in the first match, with Trunks being nervous and antsy to face an alternate, far more powerful version of his mentor in such a grand and public setting.

"Calm yourself down, I've trained every day for years in preparation for this moment…" said Future Trunks to himself as he slapped clarity into himself before doing several stretches, and jump roping at lightspeed to warm himself up.

"He really is fired up for this match… He does know our family being as wealthy as it is, the prize money really doesn't mean anything, right?" said the alternate Trunks.

"It really isn't about the prize money, Trunks-kun. Maybe you don't understand since you've never really had someone you could call a mentor besides Vegeta-san, but in the future you's timeline, nobody can be brought back with the Dragon Balls because the other Piccolo-san is dead! So to him, this is a once in a lifetime chance to be acknowledged by his one true mentor!"

"Heh. I guess I kind of always wanted to be acknowledged by my dad the same way, so what you're saying makes sense… Maybe us two are too drenched in the comfort of knowing the Dragon Balls can wish us back at any time…"

"Nah, I wouldn't say that. You had the guts to beg the other you to kill you on Planet Reito from what he told me, plus you were willing to throw your life away many times after that! Even with Baby about to take over the universe and all! The Dragon Balls weren't a drug or source of comfort, they were just assurance that we have hope!"

"Heh. But I don't just hope, I know I can take you down! I've achieved new levels of power since the time we finished Baby, I'll have ya know!"

"You're not the only one. Let's make the next match one to remember! This decades-long rivalry between the two of us will be settled today! And I'll come out a step ahead, just like my dad Goku did over your dad Vegeta-san!"

"You're on! Nobody beats the CEO of Capsule Corp. at his own game!"

Several minutes later, Gohan, who'd finished getting in his orange and blue Turtle School garb, walked into the ring and did a few stretches before taking off his glasses and immediately flaring up an aura.

"Trunks-san, I'm sorry to say, but I'm immediately jumping into this match at 50% of my power. I don't plan on underestimating any of you, so we need to skip the warm-up to ensure that the final match won't see either of the participants weakened from unnecessary fatigue."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Gohan-san! I'll show you the results of my training, yet!"

Future Trunks immediately went Super Saiyan 2, after which he punched the arena multiple times in a circular motion, causing curved bursts of compressed air to strike at Gohan from unpredictable angles. The blasts that missed exploded in mid-air as Future Trunks detonated the small amounts of Ki he'd infused into the air bullets, causing a smokescreen to open up from debris being shattered.

"An interesting strategy, but not one I'd recommend using against someone who you know is holding back, Trunks-san. I can still… sense you!"

Gohan immediately grabbed hold of a three-foot long object resembling a limb, only to realize that it was a small tree trunk that Future Trunks had planted onto the ring in secret shortly after Bra destroyed the ring. Once Gohan was distracted grabbing it, Future Trunks took a deep breath and concentrated his energy, powering up far, far further and enhancing his power four-fold.

"HAHHHHHHHHH!"

Future Trunks' aura expanded massively and the blue bolts of lightning surrounding his aura of Super Saiyan energy increased in number and intensity, almost signaling that he had transformed. Piccolo and Pan were both shocked by his sudden jump in power.

"B-Bra, did you know about this? T-This energy feels like a Super Saiyan 3's, but he didn't transform at all! W-What is this trick?"

"This is what the future Onii-chan has been working on the past several months he'd been training with Dad! He knew the weaknesses of Super Saiyan 3 from watching Goten-san and my brother use it, so he found a way to maximize the strength of Super Saiyan 2 instead!"

"Impressive. Not even Goku or Vegeta has thought of such a way to bypass the form's limitations. I think even Gohan will have to get serious, now," mused Piccolo, proud of Future Trunks' ingenuity.

Gohan was knocked back, and realized that Future Trunks had actually managed to cause him to bleed from the temple when he kicked him during the brief moment of distraction.

"Trunks-san, I am impressed by your ability to hone your power to this degree, even though Dai Kaioshin-sama never gave you his ritual. Whether you trained on New Namek or not, whether Vegeta-san has been giving you pointers or not… This is truly impressive progress. I, too, will drop any pretense of composure and come at you at full strength," said Gohan as he levitated himself into the sky and powered up to his full power after forming a barrier around himself, in a manner not unlike Redjic on New Namek. Gohan's massive surge of power shattered the barrier and darkened the sky into a tumultuous, dark thunderstorm signaling an omen that an earth-shattering clash was now about to occur.

"You've got it, Gohan-san! I go all-out now, too!"

Future Trunks charged all of his energy into his palms and lifted them toward the sky, charging up a massive sphere around himself and preparing to launch a Heat Dome Attack at full strength. Gohan waited for the attack to complete its preparation time, and Future Trunks dropped all of his tricks and launched the blast at full power. Gohan, charging all of his energy into his fist, clashed with the massive, circular beam and eventually punched through it, only for Future Trunks to grab hold of his wrist and attempt to throw him out of bounds. Gohan, however, had predicted this and overpowered Trunks, turning his grip against him by throwing him out of bounds quicker than the drained Future Trunks could throw him.

"H-Hahahahaha! Just what I'd expect from you, Gohan-san! You're still the same Gohan-san that trained me, even in this timeline! I am completely beaten."

"No need for the humility, Trunks-san. I've been training every day outside of time I devoted to work and family for the better part of sixteen years now, and you worked me up a sweat! If you ever do visit this timeline again after you go back, I'm up for a rematch any time, and I'm really not sure I'd win!"

"You're too modest! T-To be honest, I…"

"What is it?"

"No, never mind…"

Future Trunks, in truth, had no idea how to build the Time Machine that he didn't bring to the present when Mu tampered with the dimensional rift that led #17 and himself to this timeline's M2, and could merely draw diagrams for Bulma to get an idea of how the intact Time Machine was supposed to look. As such, Bulma has made little progress in rebuilding a Time Machine for Trunks. Sensing that Future Trunks was uncomfortable discussing this topic, Gohan changed the subject and said, "That's a bridge we'll cross when it comes to it, Trunks-san. For now, let's just treat ourselves to a nice post-workout snack and a few Gatorades. The match between Goten and Trunks-kun should be starting soon!"

Before the announcer could even declare Gohan the winner, Trunks and Goten sped themselves into the ring and immediately snatched the mic from him, saying, "Alright, you bunch of peons! This is the match you've all been waiting for, the match between the Prince of Saiyans Trunks and the son of former champ, Son Goten!"

Bulma and Chi-Chi facepalmed and said, "Geez, still as boisterous as ever even when they're all grown up… We taught them better manners than this…"

The announcer nervously snatched back the mic and said, "A-As the two participants gathered here announced, the battle between the son of former champion Son Goku and the Capsule Corp heir Trunks is about to be held in this monumental occasion! Luckily, the first match didn't destroy the entire ring, so the next match of the semifinals will proceed without delay!"

Trunks, who'd dressed himself up in a red and white sleeveless undershirt, red armbands and red and yellow pants with Capsule Corp. boots resembling the boots he'd worn as a child, cracked his knuckles and said, "This is the moment I've been waiting for, Goten… The day I prove once and for all that I'm the mightiest Saiyan there is! I'll make my father proud, and surpass him!"

"You're not the only one with that goal, Trunks-kun! In fact, I'm going to beat you here and now today and stop calling you with any sort of honorific! A year older or not, I'm the one who's got the upper hand in strength!"

"You're on, bitch! This is the day we've both been waiting for, for years!"

Trunks immediately turned Super Saiyan and exchanged blows with Goten, who replied in turn by transforming and blocking his moves with a stance as fluid as the motion of the ocean. Goten did a judo flip on Trunks, his red and black Turtle School-styled Dogi blurring into a red streak as he moved at superspeed throughout the ring and fired streaks of yellow energy in all angles and trapping Trunks in a spherical prison. Trunks, however, used the tunnels dug up by his future counterpart earlier in the match to scape Goten's trap and then kicked him in the face, knocking him backward and nearly throwing him out of bounds. Goten turned Super Saiyan 2 and sped into Trunks' range, forcing Trunks to dodge him with an afterimage and reciprocate Goten's effort by also turning Super Saiyan 2. Without exchanging words or even another flurry of blows, however, the two instead moved backward into opposite corner of the ring and broke out into maniacal laughter.

"W-What?! A-Are they both crazy?! They both went and unleashed their full strength, why are they crackin' up, Piccolo-san?!" said Pan frantically.

"Because fighting at that level, to the two of them, doesn't even mean anything. They're about to take this up… another notch!"

"Knew it," said Bra with a smirk, "show them what you're made of, Onii-chan… And you too, Goten-san!"

"Super Saiyan 2, normal Super Saiyan, it's all the same to us now, isn't it? It's high time I show you the fruits of my training!" yelled Goten as he clenched his fists and unleashed a massive, blinding spark of light from within himself that released a massive torrent of raw, unbridled energy, from which immense bolts of lighting emerged in all directions and destroyed every lightning rod within the radius of thousands of miles. From it, Goten emerged a Super Saiyan 3, with veins popping up in his forehead.

"I knew I wasn't the only one who'd been makin' strides, Goten. I'll show you my real power, too!"

Trunks jumped a thousand feet into the sky and also flared up a massive aura, causing massive amounts of sweat to drip down his arms and forehead as immense amounts of energy radiated from his body and cleared up the thunderstorm generated in the previous match, and indeed caused the entirety of the planet to be lit up in a blinding light that scattered every cloud, and enveloped every continent in tremendous earthquakes. Trunks, too, had transformed to a Super Saiyan 3.

"And to think that just a year ago the two were mere regular Super Saiyans. The saying really is true, adversity breeds character. The two have grown from cubs to full-fledged lions," said Piccolo, "they make me nearly regret not participating in this tournament, myself…"

"Come up here if you've got the balls, Goten! In this state, it's honestly hard to control myself! I don't want to kill anybody in the audience by accident, and from what I can tell, Pan-chan seems a little scared shitless of our power… And the fact that her uncle's about to lose!"

"You're on, Trunks! It ends here!"

The two half-Saiyan heirs to the greatest bloodlines the warrior race had ever seen quickly sped into random corners of the planet while still purposefully abiding by the Tenkaichi Budokai's rule against making contact with the ground below, trading blow after blow in earth-shattering magnitudes. Before long, Goten punched Trunks into a cavern which Trunks destroyed, and from there, Trunks fired off a one-handed Burning Attack, which Goten shielded himself from with a barrier. Within minutes, the two had clashed enough times that they were both about to be thrown out of the Earth's atmosphere. Before this happened, Trunks quickly flew back to the vicinity of the Tenkaichi Budokai ring, and then ascended hundreds of miles into the sky.

"Not an easy victory like you thought it'd be, huh, Trunks?" taunted Goten.

"Not quite. But rather than drag this on and perform some petty trickery like just hoping you'd poop yourself out of this form first, I say we finish this with style! Our strongest attacks, clashing head-on! No tricks, no nothing! Just a straight-up, manly ass contest of strength!"

"You've got it! Here comes my full-power Kamehameha!"

"I'll take that on and throw down my ultimate Final Flash!"

The two frenzied Saiyans both charged up their strongest attacks, and dropping any pretense of conserving energy for the finals, launched the blasts at each other with extreme fervor.

"Kamehame…HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"FINAL FLASH!"

In an immense explosion of power, the solar system was lit in a massive eruption of heat and energy, causing the Ki to be felt from all corners of Universe 7, including Hell, where Baby now resided.

"Feh… So that wretch has gone ahead and done it, eh? Ascended to the ultimate level of a Super Saiyan without the need for Fusion? In a sense, I am proud of his achievement… Perhaps in our next life, our bad karma could be undone and we could meet as friendly rivals…"

By the time the sun had come down, the results of the finals had become clear. Sensing this event transpire, Vegeta said to himself from his gravity chamber in Capsule Corp., "So my two sons really have gone and achieved the pinnacle of Saiyan power… Damn. Gotta admit, I really am proud. I'd better not cut myself any slack, or I could see the two of them surpass me sometime soon!"

The ring completely destroyed yet again, and all four Saiyans who'd participated in the final two rounds exhausted and beaten, Piccolo brought Dende over and had him heal them all.

"Dende-kun, your healing process is a bit slower than usual… Has a long period of disuse caused your abilities to wane by any chance?" asked Gohan.

"N-No, on the contrary, it's because the four of you have become immensely strong over the past year! After healing you all, I don't think I'll have enough juice to heal Bra-chan and Pan-chan!"

"Hey, no fair! Bra and I fought our hardest, too, ya know! I-I'll go and grab a Senzu, I'm starving and pooped!" said Pan as she tried to turn Super Saiyan and fly away, only to fall to the ground, exhausted.

"Y-Yeah, tell me about it… I think we shouldn't have gotten into a catfight after we already hurt ourselves during our match… I can barely move a muscle, too… And the food corner got totally destroyed during the finals…"

"Then we'll fly to Karin-sama's tower, right now! Yip-yip, hooray!" yelled Trunks and Goten both, as Trunks grabbed hold of Pan's arms and flew into the beautiful, mesmerizing horizon, and Goten followed suit by grabbing Bra's arms and lifting her up as well.

"H-Hey, Goten-san! Hold onto me more gently, tired as I am, I almost peed my pants!"

"T-Trunks! I've got no energy in the tank, you're flying too fast, I'm getting even more tired!"

"Hey, whiners can't be winners! I'm gonna have Satan-san adjust the rules so that kids thirteen and older can participate in the Adult Division in the next tournament, and from then on, I want you to be able to beat me at my peak!"

"M-Me? Beat you… At your peak, Trunks? Y-You've gotta be jokin', I'd just embarrass myself!"

"Hey, don't give yourself so little credit! You and Bra are already leagues above what Goten and I could do unfused at your age, you've got more potential in you than you realize! I gave up on training for the longest time and just let time pass by as I crammed myself in workload after workload… But now, everything is different! I want to be the strongest fighter ever, even more than Gohan-san, even more than Goku-san, even more than my own father! And if I have to juggle loads of paperwork at Capsule Corp. in the meanwhile, I'll do it with gusto! A true genius excels at everything he ever does!"

"T-Trunks… H-He's so cool…. Maybe… Maybe one day, I can be a great and respectable adult, just like him! J-Just you wait, Trunks! I'll make you love me… Adore me… And respect me! You and the other Trunks both! And Papa and Uncle Goten… And you tooooo, Grandpa!"

The tale of the heir to Capsule Corp. and the royal bloodline of King Vegeta, Trunks, and his grueling, arduous struggles against the Tsufurian King Baby has now come to an end. However, what we didn't know then was the fact that this was far from the last battle that the Dragon Team would have to face… Indeed, like the cycle of the seasons, a new, ominous threat was to emerge across the horizon, lurking beneath our notice….

The Earth Dragon Balls, which hadn't seen use since Kaiba's wish a year ago, cracked silently and released a menacing, dark and purple gas…

Arc 2: The Mightiest King, Baby - END