Chapter 42: Future Trunks Gaiden, Part III
Everyone gathered at the site of the short but intense battle found themselves shocked at the declaration.
"A…An…"
"An alliance?!" yelled Kaioshin and Kibito together.
"T-These guys have Ki almost as evil as the Evil Dragons we fought on Namek! There's no way we can trust 'em, Onii-chan!" yelled out Bra.
"R-Rild… wants… an…" muttered Future Trunks as he began flashing back to all of the times in which Rild's alternate self in the main timeline devastated the Resistance, and killed Trunks' second in command, as well as gave him many defeats.
Future Trunks' consternated expression turned into one of furious rage as he grunted and yelled out, "This has to be an insidious scheme! I won't trust you, Rild!"
Future Trunks then charged at Rild, chopping him in half with a wide arc-drawing karate chop. However, Rild managed to turn himself into liquid metal in time and began to regenerate from the damage, at which point Future Trunks deftly took out a capsule containing a samurai sword and yelled, "The moment you solidify…!"
Rild, as if having anticipated this, fired a green metalizing ray from his mouth, which Future Trunks then blocked by coating his sword in a layer of Ki. However, at that exact moment the air around the colliding masses of Ki began to swirl and contort, and Future Trunks' sword was enveloped in small bolts of electricity. The sword itself then exploded, knocking Future Trunks back. Rild then fired another metalizing ray, which Future Trunks dodged by several feet, which, rather than turn the ground into metal, also exploded, completely devastating the ground below Future Trunks.
"T-This… This isn't mere Ki manipulation, nor metalization!"
"Correct. It is a power I gained from becoming one of Babidi-sama's ardent followers. I use my metal ray to create near-microscopic masses of iron in the air, and simultaneously fill it up with hydrogen. This can bypass the Ki defense of Ki-coated material that my simple metalizing rays could not, and attack at objects on a microscopic level as well as with the force of Ki, of both myself and my opponent."
"If you'd wanted to, you could have made that explosion far bigger and injured me more significantly… So, I suppose you really don't want to kill me," said Future Trunks more calmly, although he hadn't let down his guard and remained in his transformed state.
"That is correct. It is our wish to forge an alliance with you. Considering that you must desire Mu's downfall as well, I do not think it would be an offer you would refuse haphazardly," said Dabura as he moved to Future Trunks' location.
"Bra! Keep your eye on that thing! We can't trust them, not yet!" yelled Future Trunks.
"So, you're cautious to the bitter end… Very well, an explanation is in order."
"Yes! Explain yourselves, now! Rild may have acquired himself this ability, but his brittle little barrier doesn't provide nearly enough of a defense to defend against his own explosions, when they're triggered by a massive Ki blast! You guys may think you've the upper hand, but you're in no position to bargain!"
"Is that so? Wouldn't you say that if an explosion were to be triggered here, the Kaioshin and his assistant that you've convened with would be in equally as much danger?" said Dabura brashly.
"Gr…" said Kaioshin and Kibito, grinding their teeth.
"In any case, our wish is not to fight you. That would merely be in conflict with our interests. So allow us to explain… Months ago, Babidi-sama scoured Earth, trying to see if he could find fighters powerful enough to gather energy for Majin Boo's revival. However, he could find no energy signature nearly large enough for his purposes… Other than some of Mu's agents, who had been spying on the planet. Brainwashing them, the great Babidi-sama learned of Mu's empire, and decided that absorbing them into his forces would both strengthen his power and fuel energy for Majin Boo's revival."
"But I see there must have been a hitch," said Future Trunks.
"Yes… Unfortunately, among Mu's forces was the mighty general Rild, who proved to be too much for me to handle at the time. However, I was able to bring him within close enough range of this spaceship for Babidi-sama to brainwash him into becoming his progeny, cornering Mu. Mu, however, had a contingency plan and severed Rild's connection to the metal of this planet. Afterwards, he deployed a powerful Machine Mutant to corner us in Rild's stead, one that was completely synthetic. She easily defeated us both and nearly killed Babidi-sama, who had to split himself in two to serve as a decoy."
"And knowing Mu… He captured one of the halves of Babidi, hoping to acquire his powers for himself, am I right?" said Future Trunks.
"Ah… Yes, you catch on quick. Babidi-sama's main body managed to escape the onslaught with our help, but he has since hidden himself from even our knowledge, and has informed us that the most he can do in his divided state is maintain the barrier around the spaceship so that our hideout cannot be found. Mu himself has destroyed all of the spaceships on this planet, no doubt to prevent an escape, and is hounding us down as we speak. Even now, we are not safe."
"Destroyed all the spaceships, huh… Knowing Mu, they've probably gone and procured the warp panel technology that we developed on the other side as well, and gotten agents to install them on opportune planets! But I'll keep that to myself, these two are as much of a danger as Mu is!" thought Future Trunks.
"So, in other words, you've no way of escaping this planet now that Babidi cannot be found, and starting up the spaceship would merely be notifying Mu of your current location, so you've refrained from causing too much of a fuss, is that about right?"
"Not quite. We're privy to locations that the Resistance of this planet, once named the Mother Planet, are prone to wage wars with Mu's forces, and have chosen a site far removed from either of their headquarters to hide this spaceship in, as well as changed its location by communicating telepathically with Babidi-sama now and then. We've also been training by sparring with each other to enhance our powers."
"There's one other detail you've omitted. Where is the ball Boo is sealed in? I am aware that he isn't here, I was in the spaceship just now," said Future Trunks.
"Hmph. There's no getting under your nose, is there? Boo's shell has been taken by Mu. It is believed that he desires our spaceship to find his way to New Namek and awaken Boo, without wasting his precious resources on fueling the creature."
"No. If it's been months since they acquired half of Babidi, that should have been ample enough time to go to New Namek. Boo isn't one of Mu's priorities, at all. If I had to guess…"
Before Future Trunks could finish this train of thought, Babidi completely took over Dabura's mind and said, "So… Do we have an agreement? We take down Mu together, and reacquire my other half… Or, we end up killing ourselves in battle. What do you say?"
"Fine. I accept your terms. But answer me this, Babidi. Do you know where the Resistance has placed their current base of operations?"
"Yes. Nothing gets by the great Babidi."
"And… I suppose that's where you've hidden yourself, am I wrong?" said Future Trunks with a snidely tone.
"Fufufufufufufu… You're sharp, indeed, very sharp. Yes, it is indeed the site in which I've found refuge in, and I'd hazard a guess as to say you want to be teleported there, right now?"
"Yeah. And be quick about it, because odds are, that new machine mutant that handed your henchmen their asses is headed here as we speak."
"Very well. Paparapapa!" yelled Babidi from his hidden location as Kaioshin, Kibito, Bra, Future Trunks, Dabura and Rild were all instantly teleported to the Resistance's temporary base of operations, where Babidi's barrier, translucent, could be sensed next to a large lightbulb. Suddenly noticing the presence of the intruders, several dozens of Resistance soldiers drew their swords and yelled, "W-What is this?! T-They did not even use a teleporta –"
Realizing that Babidi must not have acquired this information about teleportation circles due to the stress of maintaining the barrier around his spaceship at all times if his henchmen remained oblivious, Future Trunks quickly sped behind the henchman and covered his mouth, then whispered in his ear, "It's okay. We are not among Mu's forces. I am on your side. Please, don't unnecessarily divulge information."
"U-Unnecessarily?! T-The one who's unnecessarily making offensive moves is you!" yelled the henchman as he quickly swung at Future Trunks, who took the swing unguarded, allowing the blade to simply snap against his bare skin.
"It's okay… We aren't hostile. How can I convince you?" said Future Trunks, having known this man from the alternate timeline, yet taking care to not say his name as to avoid spooking him further.
Just then, a man with half his head wrapped in bandages walked out of the shadows, with a long, dark bluish tail with its tip colored white protruding outwardly from his behind. He then said, "It is alright. I know this man, he is the hero who destroyed a cybernetic threat that laid waste to his planet."
The man's Ki felt oddly familiar to Future Trunks, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Before Future Trunks opened his mouth, the man who swung at Future Trunks yelled, "Juruse-san! You must be kidding, I've never seen this person before in my life! And with him came more suspicious characters, even that diabolical fiend Rild!"
"And? Did our intel not suggest that Rild has long since betrayed Mu's forces…?"
"G-Grr… But that doesn't mean we can trust these intruders, I think this is a very bad idea!"
"Just what is going on…?! First Rild and Dabura suggest an alliance, then this guy suddenly pops out… And is seemingly fulfilling my role as leader of the Mother Resistance?!" thought Future Trunks, before then saying, "Who are you? I've never seen you before in my life! A-And… somehow or other your Ki is oddly familiar…"
"I am Juruse, the man who currently leads this resistance. I was once an Earthling who fought against the Artifician Humans on Earth, and volunteered to be the subject of a series of experiments combining the DNA of various animals and alien species such as the three-eyed people so that the Earth could produce a warrior powerful enough to battle the Artificial Humans. Unfortunately, my power paled in comparison to yours, so I laid mostly in the shadows and did not make myself known until the day that you supposedly died heroically saving the Earth from the two evil twins. I was then captured by Mu's agents and subjected to more experiments which greatly malformed my Ki signature, but at least provided me with intel on his database. I've since escaped his clutches, and joined this resistance three years ago to fight against Mu for revenge."
"Hm… A fellow struggler against evil? I suppose I can relax around him," thought Future Trunks.
"It almost seems as if you knew we'd be coming. Do you have spies on Earth or something?"
"No. But I was made aware of the time machine that you possess through my followers on Earth who had connections to your mother Bulma. Knowing this, I devised a method to make myself aware of time dilations, and realized that you had come to Earth through the Time Machine not long ago. I hope to be of use to you, compatriot," said Juruse as he extended his hand out to Future Trunks in a friendly manner, albeit with a sullen expression that could be seen even through his bandaged-up face.
"Somehow your demeanor reminds me of my father… I will be in your debt if you allow us to be of use to you, Mr. Leader," said Future Trunks.
Just then, however, the base was suddenly under attack as a massive blast was fired at the ceiling of the underground hideout, and the light went completely dim.
"W-What?! We! We're under attack, sir!" yelled Juruse's henchmen.
"Don't worry. Trunks, you knew they'd be coming, didn't you? That transformation… The Super Saiyan form, you haven't undone it this entire time! You wanted to lure out Mu's mightiest Machine Mutant!" yelled Juruse.
"Yes! With Bra, myself, Dabura and Rild hand-in-hand, we should be more than a match for this being! My plan is clear!"
"To beat back the mutant and have her lead us back into Mu's headquarters!" thought Juruse, Dabura and Rild simultaneously. Rild then fired a white ray from his eyes and undid the metalization of Future Trunks' arm.
And surely enough, Mu's Machine Mutant, the one that had constantly cornered Dabura and Rild, appeared before Future Trunks at last. Her visage…
"I-It's #18-san!" yelled Bra.
"So, just like the #17 in the alternate timeline, Mu's using #18 as his main fighter, here! I have to damage her severely enough to neutralize her as a threat, before she leads us back to Mu! If I am not mistaken, Mu's plan is no doubt to have her fuse, and she'll be far more of a threat once that happens!"
Future Trunks flared up a powerful aura as huge lightning bolts jutted out of his circle of energy, and delivered a powerful kick to #18's chin, which she dodged by a hair using her advanced movement detection. However, Future Trunks then fired a blast from his other leg, which #18 also avoided before aiming her palm toward Trunks' abdomen in order to land a devastating blow. Future Trunks, however, took this opportunity to blast her with a powerful Ki wave forged out of his very aura without any sort of movement, knocking her straight into a mechanical, highly advanced urban area.
"Rild! Dabura! Cover me!" yelled Future Trunks, at which point Rild nodded, and detonated a series of powerful explosions around the Machine Mutant which kept her at bay, while Dabura materialized a colossal amount of spears and threw them around the two combatants, depriving #18 of the room to dodge using her advanced sensory recall.
"This is it! Now you're through!" yelled Future Trunks as he landed a massive flurry of punches and kicks that caused #18 severe injuries, as she, still blank-faced, began to falter as one of her arms broke and an eyeball was knocked out. She quickly turned it back to liquid metal and caused it to massively expand and sever the spears, at which point she aimed a blade of cutting wind at Rild to neutralize him as a threat. However, Future Trunks knocked him away with a kiai while simultaneously aiming a powerful Ki blast at #18.
#18, however, regenerated her eye before causing a massive flash to erupt from her eyes, and then began to make her escape.
"After her! Now! We make our way to Mu's hideout, now!" yelled Dabura as he chased after her in high-speed flight, but Future Trunks landed next to Kaioshin and whispered something to him, at which point his eyes widened with an exasperated expression, and he said, "Y-Yes! Trunks-san, you are wise! I will get to this right away!" before teleporting himself to the Kaioshin-kai.
"Feh… That Kaioshin, he must not trust us, even after we helped out in this battle. Oh well, as long as we can go ahead and revive Boo, that's all that matters to me for the time being…" said Babidi as he flew next to Rild and said, "Kibito! It must be your plan to simply teleport us to Mu's hideout after Dabura reaches their location, right?"
"We can't trust our backs to the likes of you, after all," said Kibito.
"Feh. Very well. My crystal ball has been destroyed, and with my powers halved, I can't afford to teleport us multiple times in one day."
"The time is right! Kai Kai!" yelled Kibito as he teleported Future Trunks, Bra, Babidi and Rild to the entrance of Mu's base, at which point he said, "I will stay behind here in wait for Kaioshin-sama. Trunks, Bra, and Rild will then accompany you to the heart of Mu's empire, and we shall join you soon."
"Let them have their way for now, Rild. Your hydrogen-manipulation runs the risk of rupturing Boo's shell and awakening him prematurely, so it's best that we take advantage of their powers to end Mu as soon as possible," said Babidi to Rild through telepathy.
"Yes… This base is different than the one Mu used previously, but I am quite familiar with his Ki signature! If we follow it, we shall be led straight to where he is!" yelled Rild as he quickly punched a hole in the ground and flew into the hole before it repaired itself, at which point Bra yelled, "Wait for me! I ain't gotten any of the action since this whole fiasco started!" and turned Super Saiyan 2 before jumping in. Future Trunks then did a thumbs up to Kibito before also jumping into the hole, which abruptly closed. Babidi then looked nervously at Kibito and said, "W-What's with that look?! W-We're allies!"
"Grr…" said Kibito angrily as he couldn't stand the sight of Babidi's revolting face, but decided to hold back his anger for the time being as the greater objective of taking down Mu was so close to fruition.
Inside the hallway leading to Mu's secret base, multiple copies of the Sigma Cannon Force emerged as obstacles, which Bra and Rild quickly obliterated. Future Trunks then thought to himself, "This is going almost too well… It's almost like clockwork! We can't let down our guard…"
Suddenly, poison spears emerged from the walls and aimed themselves at Future Trunks and Bra, at which point Rild metalized masks to guard their noses and mouths before forming holes in his body through liquefaction and letting the spears harmlessly pass through, as sleeping gas then began to emerge from the walls, which had no effect on Rild. Future Trunks and Bra shielded themselves with barriers in time and said, "So far, so good."
Rild then said, "That's about it for intruder-alert protocol. Now to destroy this floor!" before punching a hole through the floor and creating a passageway to Mu's underground base at last. There, the other half of Babidi was floating in a tube along with what appeared to be Baby, and Future Trunks and Bra, completely losing control, blasted the duo of diminutive hell-spawn and completely erased Baby out of existence.
"Haaah… Hahhh… I-I couldn't risk Baby emerging and threatening everyone ever again…" said Future Trunks.
"Yeah… That thing did some really brutal and horrible things to me and Mom! We couldn't let him live!"
Suddenly, the Babidi that was in the tube emerged from the blast unscathed, having shielded himself with a barrier. He then said, "Well done, Rild… And the two warriors from Earth. You've gone and found me at last."
"Wait, this Ki!" yelled Future Trunks.
"Rild, he's not… He's not the Babidi that you know!" yelled Bra.
"Kya ha ha ha ha ha! It was by Mu-sama's design that you came here, and it's all over!" yelled the converted Machine Mutant Babidi as he paralyzed Rild with a glare, at which point #18 appeared as another light lit up in the wide basement, with a badly beaten Dabura under her heel.
"It is my pleasure to welcome you all to my domain… And it is the place of your funerals!" yelled Mu, as he emerged from behind #18, wearing a massive, blue helmet with electric lights running through patterns of electric seams.
The heroes have found themselves in enemy territory… And it may be what has sealed their fates!
To be continued…