The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 22: Back To The Future
Raijin again had to rub the black spots out of his eyes after being practically blinded by Whis once again; though when his vision returned the sight he bore witness to took his breath away, standing in front of his eyes was fully repaired and refuelled Time Machine; ever aspect of the machine had been repaired from the blown out canopy and not a trace of moss remained on the outside plating.
"Wow; Bulma and Ewan really outdid themselves on this… and in under twenty-four hours" Raijin spoke to himself; thoroughly impressed with the quality of the work that had gone into the repairs.
Bulma and Ewan both stood at the opposite side of The Time Machine along with Future-Trunks; the trio were making the final adjustments to the destination settings when Raijin stepped into view.
"Raijin! Whis said he had you training… I'm happy to see you're alright" Goku spoke up in his usual cheery voice; his eyes immediately looking Raijin over, spotting the bloodred dirt stains and the burns to his gi; amazingly figuring out exactly where Raijin was training.
Bulma shouted; abandoning her work to Ewan and running over and flinging herself into Raijin's arms, not caring how dirty Raijin was as the mud stains from his gi were quickly smudging over her jeans, green top and lab coat.
"Sorry I was gone so long… it took a while to learn the lesson" Raijin remarked; patting his left hand on top of Bulma's blue-haired head while shooting a glance towards an aloof-looking Whis.
"You Saiyans… always training" Bulma smiled warmly while in her husbands arms; only then noticing how dirty Raijin was, "Where were you? You need to clean up… and quickly!".
Raijin laughed as Bulma slapped him in the backside and pushed him into the washroom adjoined to her Lab, leaving Bulma to work alongside Ewan and Future-Trunks; both of whom felt a little uncomfortable after watching Bulma slap Raijin's butt.
Raijin enjoyed taking a shower after training sessions or fighting strong opponents; the hot water running down his hard-muscled body felt relaxing while the water washed his body clean of the sweat and dirt that had stained his body throughout the last day, once washed and dried; Raijin stepped out from the shower to find a new suit laying on a table for him, a brand new version of the armour Bulma had made for him when he faced Cooler; the white and green-lined armour felt light to the touch and yet harder than it was before, Raijin couldn't help but smile as he put the black bodysuit and armour on in preparation for the coming battle.
When Raijin finally returned from the shower and dressed in his new armour; Raijin was met by the ever-smiling face of Goku, a stern but confident Vegeta, Future-Trunks sat in the cockpit of his Time Machine and performing the final checks.
"Took you long enough" Vegeta sneered in Raijin's direction; shooting a look of dislike in Raijin's armour, Raijin knew through Bulma that he did not like anyone but him wearing armour into battle even though Raijin's white/green armour was of a different design to Vegeta's white/gold armour.
"Shut up Vegeta; and Goku… what have you been doing?" Raijin shot at Vegeta before turning his attention to Goku; his eyes sparkling with interest in what had happened in the time that he'd been absent.
"Oh me? I went to Zeni's place!" Goku widened his smile; happy that he got the chance to travel to a place that only the Gods had access to; The Grand Palace of Omni King Zeno.
"NEVER SPEAK ABOUT OMNI KING ZENO LIKE THAT! He could erase us all with a snap of his fingers if you disrespect him" Beerus bellowed into Goku's face; droplets of spit splattering across Goku's cheeks as Beerus shouted.
"Zeno? Oh you mean that Omni King guy you're so afraid of" Raijin cracked a smirk while he spoke; enjoying the sight of an infuriated Beerus; deciding to provoke him even more with his chosen words.
"NEVER CALL THE OMNI KING A GUY! Do you want us to get erased out of existence?!" Beerus continued to bellow out warnings about Zeno while Whis merely sighed at the futility of educating Saiyans in good manners.
"So what did Zeno want with you Goku?" Raijin asked; realising how out of the loop he was after having pent a full day training, though Raijin had not spotted the look he was getting from Vegeta; Vegeta stared at Raijin with no clear intent as if he was sizing him up and measuring him for the coming battle.
"He just wanted to meet me; and I kinda suggested a Tournament with all the other Universes" Goku explained in brief fashion; scratching at his head as he recalled the experience but skipping the description of what Zeno's Palace looked like.
"And what did he say?" Raijin asked; his interest picking up.
"He said that it was an interesting idea" Goku announced with a wide smile; not noticing the displeased looks on the faces of Bulma, Beerus and Whis.
"I too am curious about the warriors of other Universes" Vegeta commented; floating up into the air and trying to situate himself inside of The Time Machine.
"Can we get a move on?" Future-Trunks shouted; the control panels lighting up as The Time Machine hummed to life upon activation.
"Is there going to be enough room for us all?" Raijin asked; giving a look of concern for how compact The Time Machine typically was.
"There's enough; we enlarged the canopy to fit at least three to four people… though it'll be a tight fit" Ewan explained; his eyes having an odd glint to them from behind his work-goggles.
Raijin wasn't sure he liked the look in Ewan's eyes; he looked like a mad scientist who'd just invented the perfect death-trap, turning on his heels and floating up to the cockpit along with Goku and Vegeta; the two rivals squeezing in on either side of Future-Trunks while only giving the slightest amount of room for Raijin to get in.
"I told you it wasn't big enough… oh! Almost forget; Raijin… you better take these for the survivors" Bulma commented; taking a small box of Capsules and tossing them up to Raijin, a wide smile on her lips.
"Thank you Mother… for everything" Future-Trunks smiled warmly towards Bulma; having recovered from his pain of losing Bulma in his own time and after meeting Gohan and 18 forced him to fight to defend all the remaining living people of whom he held dear.
"You can thank me by beating up Black and saving your Timeline" Bulma shouted after The Time Machine; watching alongside Ewan, Whis and Beerus as the machine slowly faded into the skies.
The Time Machine hurtled down the stream of Time; the green and red flows of converging timelines overlapping with the yellow path The Time Machine was being guided down, Raijin and Vegeta both stared out at the incredible view while Future-Trunks stared down the path laid before them with a look of intense determination in his eyes.
"You know I trust you Future-Trunks; we are going to the right Timeline… right?" Raijin posed a question; though his trust in Future-Trunks was unshakable but he did feel a little insecure while travelling across Time.
"Yes; we are following the path that Mother left us in her diary" Future-Trunks quickly replied; making a silent prayer for his mother's soul after being killed by Black.
"Good to know" Raijin nodded; staring out at the various Timestreams.
"Guys… I don't feel good" Goku murmured; his eyes swirling around in a state of dizziness and his cheeks swelling up indicating that he might throw up.
"Dammit Kakarot; don't you dare throw up!" Vegeta barked; veins popping in his temples in a shout of anger.
"Goku; you throw up and not even The Supreme Kai will be able to fix what I do to you!" Raijin barked to Goku; warning Goku on what would happen if he dared to throw up while inside The Time Machine.
"Get your damn tail out of my face before I cut it off!" Vegeta turned his anger onto Raijin as Raijin's Tail kept batting him over the head.
"Try it! see what happens!" Raijin smirked at Vegeta; challenging Vegeta right there and then.
Future-Trunks just grumbled; wishing that their journey would end quickly while Raijin and Vegeta bitterly bickered.
Though it took only a few minutes to travel from like Timeline to another; it felt like an eternity to Future-Trunks until the Timestream carried them all to the West City Ruins of which Future-Trunks called home, The Time Machine quickly landing and the canopy opened just as Goku barrelled out from the cockpit and rushing over to a pile of rubble of which contained a strange-looking car with wing-like doors.
The only sound that Goku made while hiding behind the rubble and the strange car was the unmistakable sound of somebody throwing up.
"Charming… so this is your Time? Did Black do all this or was it The Androids?" Raijin spoke; his eyes cast on the crumbling skyscrapers, ruined statues and roads torn up from battle.
"Black… we'd finally managed to rebuild and repair our civilisation when Black came… and now its all in ruins again" Future-Trunks explained in a hollow voice; the ruins of a civilisation that had finally gotten back onto its feet stood around them all.
Vegeta finally climbed out from The Time Machine; his eyes scanning and scoping out the ruined remains of West City, Vegeta's gaze lingered on the half-collapsed ruin of Capsule Corp that stood half a mile in the distance.
"Where is Mai? She was laying right here when I left" Future-Trunks snapped; running to a pile of rubble; of which showed no sign of the body of whoever this Mai was.
"Whose Mai? You mean the little girl that my Trunks hangs out with and is supposedly dating" Raijin posed his question; raising an eyebrow to the idea that there was a Mai in this Timeline too as well as Future-Trunks showing such concern for her.
"Mai, she is the one who gathered the remaining survivors and rallied us together to resist Black" Future-Trunks explained; a soft concerned smile lighting up his face, a smile that Raijin quickly noticed.
Before Raijin could speak on the clear concern Future-Trunks had for Future-Mai there was a resounding boom like that of heavy artillery being fired very close by, turning on the spot and spotting two rocket-propelled missiles heading directly for Goku.
"Guys stop! This is not Black! This is the real Goku who has come to help us defeat Black!" Future-Trunks cried out to the two soldiers carrying out the attack, Goku instantly batting away the two rockets with just the backs of his hands; the two rockets flying off and exploding against an already-ruined building causing it the crumble into the road.
The two Soldiers; one middle-aged and one barely out of his teen years stopped and stared intently at Goku; Goku just smiled widely with his typical friendly smile until the pair finally stopped staring him in the face.
"My apologies; you just look almost identical to Black… and your friend has that mean-looking face while the other has a tail!" the middle-aged soldier bowed in apology; dragging the younger soldier down into the bow with him.
Raijin smirked at the two soldiers while his tail flicked and waved in the cold air, while Vegeta merely sneered and glared at the pair; intimidating them more.
"Ahh its alright; don't worry about it" Goku brushed off their attack like it was no more than a common mistake.
"I think we should get somewhere safe before Black notices that explosion… and quickly" Vegeta finally spoke up again; his harsh voice making his words sound less like a suggestion and more like an order.
"That would be wise; I concur" the Middle-aged Soldier agreed; lifting his rocket launcher up and over his shoulders while his partner did the same with his own weapon.
"Follow me" Future-Trunks spoke as he took the lead; the two soldiers following closely behind their leader while Goku, Vegeta and Raijin followed closely behind and making sure that their energies were suppressed do not to draw Black's attention, the group ran through the empty and torn up streets until reaching a downward staircase than led underground; a ruined illegible sign hanging over the entrance though Raijin instantly knew where they were.
"The West City Subway? Smart to hide everyone in someplace as sturdy as the underground" Raijin nodded his head; agreeing with the plan to hide in the one place in West City built to survive battles like those between Saiyans as well as bombings.
Before either The Two Soldiers, Goku, Vegeta or Raijin could fully descend the stairs; Future-Trunks ran down to seek out his comrade, Raijin finally stepped down and bore witness to quite a sorry sight; dozens of soldiers lay asleep or resting from bandaged and patched injuries, elderly citizens and children huddled around fires while eating and drinking what little provisions and water they had.
Raijin and Goku both grimaced at the very sight and thought of how these people had been living for so long.
"Mai! I thought you were dead" Future-Trunks shouted; immediately taking Future-Mai's gloved hands into his own.
"I thought the same about you! I'm so happy you've returned" Future-Mai spoke in a happy voice; practically pulling Future-Trunks into a loving embrace with how she was holding his hands.
Future-Trunks grasped her hands tighter; his shoulders quivering as he fought back tears, "I thought I'd lost you forever… seeing you here alive is like waking up from a nightmare", Future-Mai's cheeks blushed red after hearing Future-Trunks speak; her own hands caressing Future-Trunks' in response.
Raijin caught a glance at Future-Mai and her beauty instantly caught him by surprise; her long flowing black hair, the camouflage trench-coat and the shotgun hanging over her shoulders, a slight smile crossing his lips upon figuring what feelings definitely were being shared by the two of them.
"Everyone gather around; I've got gifts for you all from Bulma!" Raijin shouted for all to hear; many of the civilians and soldiers looking up at the stranger proclaiming gifts from a woman who'd already been killed by Black, Raijin took the case out from inside his armour and opening it to find several capsules; clicking one and tossing it out onto the ground; watching as the capsule exploded into a long table covered in all sorts of hot food and clean drinking water.
A resounding murmur passed through everyone upon seeing the food and water; all ravenous and thirsty after the small and meagre rations they'd been living off.
Raijin gave a nod to Goku and Vegeta; both of whom were giving him an approving smile, "Alright everyone; eat and drink until your stomachs are full! There is plenty to go around!".
"Raijin? How can I ever thank you?" Future-Trunks spoke in such a thankful voice that it touched Raijin's head; taking Raijin's hand and shaking it profusely.
"You can thank me by dealing to finishing blow to Black yourself" Raijin answered with a brave and confident look in both his smile and eyes; passing the case from his own hands into the hands of Future-Mai, "There is plenty more food and water in there; that'll keep the people going for a good while longer".
"Thank you Sir Raijin; I'll treasure this gift" Future-Mai spoke so honestly that it impressed him; she was a brave woman and she'd done a lot to help these people with very little resource's or access to proper supplies.
"Never mind us; eat up and prepare yourselves for battle!" Vegeta shouted; pushing past Goku and marching back up onto the streets to wait for Black, Goku wordlessly following after him.
Raijin had noticed it but he wasn't sure if Future-Trunks had; Vegeta had been smiling a fatherly smile while he watched Future-Trunks and Future-Mai openly caring for each other as well as their happiness over the gifts of food and water.
Up above the subway; Goku and Vegeta stood side-by-side bickering about who fights Black first, settling on a random game of rock-paper-scissors in which Vegeta won by playing rock while Goku played scissors, "Ha! Looks like I win Kakarot; you're getting too predictable".
Goku pouted sourly as Raijin ascended the stairs and joined them, "Are you two still bickering? You'd think that all our battles together would forge a bond of comradery"
"Not a chance! I fight alone… always have and always will!" Vegeta barked; his temples flaring with irritation at Raijin's implications.
"Father! Goku! Raijin! Let us fight by your side!" Future-Trunks cried out as he and Future-Mai ran by his side; Future-Trunks once again carrying his longsword on his back.
"No" Vegeta gave an instant response; an answer that not only shocked Future-Trunks and Mai but also Goku and Raijin, "It is possible that we cannot win this fight; so if we fall in battle then you and your little girlfriend will survive".
Raijin and Goku both smirked as Future-Mai blushed bright red after being called Future-Trunks' girlfriend.
"Fine; but its our world and I have a right to protect all those people" Future-Trunks spoke; drawing his sword and letting the blade's silvery glow glimmer in the murky light of the ruins.
"Alright; you can come with us but Mai has to stay and keep everyone else safe" Raijin answered; reaching out and grabbing Vegeta by the shoulder before he could protest, though Goku and Vegeta both knew that Future-Trunks would join the battle no matter what they said.
"Alright; I'll do as your order Sir Raijin" Future-Mai answered while bowing her head in thanks; quickly turning on her heels to return to the people still eating and drinking down in the subway, but she still turned and watched at the four Saiyans flew away and whispering a silent prayer for their safety.
As Goku, Vegeta, Raijin and Future-Trunks all stood together; an enormous white flame burst out from their bodies upon igniting their auras all at once, the four Saiyans propelling off the ground and flying over the remains of West City and towards their battleground; where they would once again faceoff against Goku Black.
Author's Note: Chapter title's reference intended.