The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 36: The Team Assembles
An hour passed since the clash Raijin had fought in against Goku; having returned to Capsule Corp to Bulma and his family, watching as Gohan of whom as dressed in his Great Saiyaman outfit only without the helmet or the turban and sunglasses mask sat on the couch with Bulla cradled in his arms, Piccolo stood behind Gohan while Krillin and 18 sat at the dinner table each with a cup of coffee in hand while 17 and Vegeta merely watched the sunset from the balcony.
"So… anyone have an idea as to who this mystery tenth member is?" Krillin asked; bringing up the question that everyone had on their mind, having dressed in his old orange gi and shaven his head.
"Any chance it's that tribal kid Goku's had an eye on?" Raijin asked; mentioning a child that had been born in The Southern Islands with an abnormally high power level, opting to have dressed in his white Namekian clothes as a tribute to his past but with a blue Capsule Corp branded obi around his waist and a pair of blue sports shoes.
"No; that child is still unaware of his abilities or potential" Piccolo spoke; his blunt voice shot down the idea with only a few words, dressed in his usual purple gi and cloak with a turban.
Raijin murmured under his breath; a sense of nervousness falling on his shoulders, looking over to the balcony only to notice that Vegeta was in fact listening in on them; still dressed in his blue bodysuit and armour.
"How is Pan doing?" Bulma asked; bringing in another tray laden with cups of coffee as well as a platter of cookies and setting in down on the coffee table, Bulma was still dressed in her jeans and a green blouse under her white lab coat.
"She's doing good now that she's walking; Videl was taking her to Hercule's mansion while we're off competing in this Tournament, Hercule and Buu love playing with her" Gohan smiled widely while talking about his daughter; passing Bulla back over to Bulma when he'd finished speaking.
"What about Goten and Trunks?" Krillin asked; noticing that the two young teens were nowhere to be seen.
"Apparently Goku brought them to The Nature Reserve to protect endangered animals from poachers while 17 is joining our team" 17 noted; having allowed the two to take on a part-time job, 17 having dressed in skinny jeans, a long-sleeved white and green shirt with an orange armband that read Park Ranger; he and Piccolo locking eyes for a brief but tense moment before smiling to each other and shaking hands as comrades.
"I bet they wanted in on this Tournament too" Gohan smirked; knowing how Goten and Trunks would react to this Tournament all too well.
"Yes they did; but their Fusion would count as two eliminations, however this task they've been given is very important" 17 spoke solemnly; having reluctantly walked away from his duties for the good of his Universe.
"More important than the survival of our Universe?" Piccolo spoke him; his gruff tone and tense expression hammering in what he said must be true.
"What are you talking about?" Krillin chimed in; his face expressing a cautious smile though a bead of sweat was already dripping down his bald head.
"Did Kakarot not tell you? Any Universe that loses all ten of their team members in this Tournament is going to be erased from existence" Vegeta cut in; confirming Piccolo's facts with his own gruff and annoyed voice.
"That cannot be right… if we lose? We all get erased? Like Future-Trunks' Timeline!" Raijin stuttered; the memory of witnessing Other Zeno erasing an entire alternate timeline causing a cold sweat to bead down Raijin's back.
"Vegeta speaks the truth; we cannot afford to lose this Tournament" Piccolo confirmed; his eyes closing in a tense expression.
"Then… what did Goku tell you the prize was for winning?" Bulma enquired; her eyebrows raised in suspicion.
"Prize Money; ten million Zeni to be exact" Krillin and 18 both spoke at once.
"A round-the-world cruise for my family" 17 spoke up; his eyes giving his old blank stare.
"For god's sake…" Bulma sighed; her face sinking into her hands.
A long silence passed over the group until Supreme Kai's: Shin and Elder Kai along with Beerus and Whis arrived; the four divine beings merely glanced over the group and instantly read the situation.
"Good evening all; are we all set to go? We only have ten minutes before we must leave for The Null Realm" Whis chimed in; his voice full of excitement for the coming events.
Shin stood by Whis' left side with Beerus stood on Whis' right; both of which counting up the team members and only counting seven, Beerus giving a deep sigh before sinking down into a seat; his eyes on the coffee and cookies before helping himself to the serving.
Raijin along with everybody else present stood in silence; the revelation of their Universes untimely fate if they were to lose having dampened their spirits and lowered morale by an exponential degree.
"What happened? Goku?" Beerus spoke first to break the unnerving silence; sighing in exasperation in predicting the probable cause for such silence.
"Yeah; he saw fit to not tell us that the fate of our Universe rests on us winning" Raijin spoke up; thrusting his arms out in frustration at Goku withholding the vital details of the Tournament.
"Well that is true for all the competing Universes" Whis confirmed; barely even a hint of compassion for their Universe sounding in his voice which struck many as being very unlike Whis' usual demeanour.
Another long moment of silence hung over the group of fighters; only broken by the sound of Bulma's voice, "So who's the tenth member".
"The tenth fighter is Frieza" Beerus and Whis spoke at once; not even looking up from their coffee, Beerus pouring some cream and sugar into his coffee to remove some of the bitter taste.
"WHAT!" Raijin, Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin and Vegeta all screamed at once and in perfect unison.
"Yes; Goku should be down in Hell right now making him an offer that he cannot refuse" Whis chimed in; sipping at the coffee only to find the bitter taste very enjoyable.
"What is Goku thinking? Recruiting that monster" Piccolo growled through clenched and grinding teeth.
"Exactly; Frieza is a monster that indeed did stand off against Goku's own Super Saiyan Blue and evenly match it with his Golden Form, Frieza would be a very valuable asset" Whis spoke up again; recalling how Golden Frieza and Super Saiyan Blue Goku were on even ground during their last battle.
"Maybe so; but that tyrant killed me and Vegeta back on Namek!" Krillin exclaimed; pointing to himself with his left hand and pointing to Vegeta with his right, Vegeta shooting a glare over at Krillin for even daring to point at him.
Vegeta merely turned away; his arms crossed as usual but the memory of his death haunted him whenever it was brought up.
"Shall we just wait until Goku arrives? We can hear his reasoning before you all leave" Bulma cut in; raising her hands up in-between the Gods and the team members before somebody threw a punch or Beerus decided to destroy somebody.
"Fair point Miss Bulma; we shall wait" Whis chimed in; dipping a cookie into his coffee before taking a small bite.
The few minutes that they waited for seemed to last hours; the only sounds present were the infant murmurs of Bulla and the chomping slurps of Beerus and Whis sampling the coffee and cookies that had been laid out on the coffee table, Raijin along with Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo all waited silently for when Goku would teleport in with Frieza in tow.
The group didn't have to wait long as Goku materialised into being; dressed in a tattered and dirty orange gi and blue undershirt after a dozen battles to test his team members, but that wasn't what everyone was laying eyes on; Frieza stood directly beside Goku in his Final Form, a cold smile on his black lips while his ruby red eyes gazed upon all those present.
"Well… I would have liked a grander welcome party; but this will have to do" Frieza spoke in his typical cold and shrill voice; his eyes shooting a murderous glance towards Vegeta.
Vegeta's brow furrowed at the very sight of the former galactic tyrant; his fingers clenching at his biceps while he had his arms crossed.
"I must say that it is so nice to see so many old faces, the bald one, the Namekian… and of course that other Super Saiyan from Namek" Frieza smiled a sick grin as his eyes narrowed on a nervous Krillin, an anxious Piccolo and a furious Raijin.
"Now Frieza; remember our deal" Goku reminded the tyrant before patting him on the shoulder.
"Yes; very well… I shall assist you in this Tournament and you shall resurrect me with the Dragon Balls" Frieza spoke openly; taking a sick pleasure in the shocked expressions dawning on everyone stood before him.
"That's the offer you made to him?! I'm out!" Krillin held his hands up as he turned to walk away only to walk into the living room along with 18.
"I never thought you could be so stupid Goku" Piccolo grumbled through his gritted teeth, turning his back on Goku.
"Kakarot… you truly are a fool for believing that we'd go along with this asinine idea; I will not be on the same team as that tyrant" Vegeta declared; turning and following Krillin back into the living room.
"Father…" Gohan spoke slowly; his eyes locking with Goku's as if to find some reason for this decision; but turned and followed after Krillin and Vegeta.
"My my… your friends are not big on loyalty" Frieza spoke with a snide tone; hiding a sick satisfied smile behind his left hand, his red eyes resting solely on Goku.
Goku felt a pang of guilt as he watched his friends and comrades walk away one after another until only Raijin was still standing before him; Raijin's eyes stared at Frieza with such hostility that he simply radiated murderous intent.
"So what choice words do you have for Goku" Frieza spoke in his snide tone again; giggling away behind his hand, his eyes line of sight shifting from Goku to Raijin.
Goku looked to Raijin with a hopeful expression; hoping that Raijin wouldn't abandon the team when the Tournament would start in only mere minutes.
Whis and Beerus also turned to watch Raijin; having silently observed the dissembling of their team with doubtful expressions.
"Goku… I won't ask why you chose to make a deal with this monster after he wrought such havoc on Namek, Earth and countless other worlds, but I still stay by your side on one condition" Raijin spoke; turning his attention to Goku while he spoke but returning to a stare-down with Frieza after speaking his request.
"And what condition is that?" Frieza answered for Goku; his red eyes locking with Raijin's.
"That if Frieza does return to life… and he threatens either Earth or New Namek… then I alone will put him back in Hell where monsters like him belong" Raijin spoke; his voice clear, resolute and precise on his conditions, his fists clenching so tightly that his nails dug into his palms and drew tiny beads of his blood while his black hair stood on end; spiking upwards as if he was about to transform.
Vegeta along with Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, 18 and 17 all shared a smile after listening to Raijin's speech; all rising from their seats around a dinner table only to walk back out onto the balcony and stand alongside Raijin, their collective eyes locked on Raijin's broad shoulders.
"I have to say… Raijin's words appear to have united the team once again" Whis smiled from behind his coffee; his eyes narrowing on the group forming around Raijin.
"If you say so… however this team still needs a Captain to lead it into battle" Beerus spoke; finishing his coffee; looking towards the group with narrowed eyes.
"C'mon Beerus… you never mentioned that before" Goku finally spoke up after being quiet for what felt like forever to his mind.
"Well I'm mentioning it now; so whose is going to be?" Beerus countered with a menacing glare like he was looking to destroy somebody after the team nearly fell apart.
"I nominate Raijin; his determination and resolve inspired all of us to band together again" Gohan called out; raising a hand as he would when speaking at a conference.
"I second that" Piccolo spoke up; his tense frown finally turning to a confident smile when he set eyes of Gohan and Raijin.
"As do I" Krillin gave a thumbs-up to Raijin as he spoke.
"So do we" spoke Androids 17 and 18; their voices speaking in perfect unison.
Raijin felt a swelling feeling of happiness in the support of his friends and comrades build up in his chest; the trust he'd gained from so many friends and former foes, "Thank you; I hope i can live up to your expectations".
Frieza gave another shrill giggle from behind his hand; his facial muscles curling into an even more sinister smile while he watched.
"Hold on… where's Master Roshi?" Krillin exclaimed; looking around frantically after doing a quick headcount of the team and only counting nine out of ten.
"Heh heh… hold yer horses, I'm here" cackled the elderly voice of Master Roshi; arriving in his typical Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirt along with a pair of sandals.
"And thus; the ten have gathered" Whis chimed in; appearing much more cheerful now that the division had come to an end.
"About time" Beerus scoffed; biting down on the last cookie.
"Alright then; everybody gather into a circle so we may transport you all to The Null Realm" Shin spoke up; having stayed silent during the entire ordeal, his wide eyes watching as each member of Team Universe Seven stepped into a circle except for Raijin; of whom was walking over to Bulma.
"Bulma, Bulla, we will return with victory in our hands" Raijin swore; taking his wife's hands in his own; casting a loving and fatherly smile towards his baby daughter before stepping back into the group; grudgingly standing beside Frieza just as the group of ten fighters as well as three divine beings all vanished at once; leaving not a trace behind.
Bulma cradled her daughter in her arms; casting her eyes up at the skies and saying a silent prayer for their good fortunes.