The Three Legendary Saiyans.
Chapter 84: Identical Faces, Raijin vs Cress.
"I never imagined this… this is horrific" Future-Trunks spoke with a haunted tone; having lived through the destruction of his own West City by both The Androids and again by Goku Black; his hands frozen on the controls until Future-Mai placed her warm hand on top of his own.
"I'm here for you" Future-Mai spoke with care and love in her voice; smiling gently as she too felt horrified by the sight of what had once been West City, seeing yet another Timeline where his beloved city had been turned into a shadow of its former self.
"Where can we land?" Raijin spoke; snapping Future-Trunks out of his shock as he too looked for a place to land and hope they didn't draw too much attention.
"Here seems like as good a place as any, we'll hide The Time Machine in Capsule Form and we can begin our search for Demigra" Future-Trunks spoke; coming down for a landing atop a building that had once been a school but appeared to now be another prison ward based on the bars covering every window and tall fences around the yards, the group getting out and setting foot on the cold ground while Future-Trunks quickly pushed a switch and shifted his Time Machine into a small yellow Capsule.
In the mean while Raijin looked down into the yard as hundreds of humans walked around the yard in grey jumpsuits and shackles, clearly the uniform of a prisoner under the tyrannical rule of Immortal Frieza and Cress, through his line of sight Raijin recognised some of the prisoners to be alternate versions of Hercule Satan: a much skinner man who'd clearly not pursued martial arts, to Raijin's shock stood Spopovich: still a large and muscular man but with a thick mane of orange hair, but sat in the centre of the prisoners was none other than Master Roshi; a defeated and broken man who'd lost everything.
"Wait a second; I supposedly look like Cress but what about you two?" Raijin glanced up from the prison yard and in the direction of his two comrades; having donned a disguise for himself but two agents of The Time Patrol stood out like sore thumbs against the prisoners clothes and the armoured uniforms of the soldiers and guards.
"We've got cloaking devices that will hide us from sight" Future-Mai spoke; lifting her coattails and revealing a device attached to her belt which once she pressed the switch, she quickly became completely transparent though Raijin could only just make out her outline figure as she twirled on the spot to show off her transparency.
"So… Invisibility; neat" Raijin spoke callously; a tone that did not go unnoticed as Future-Trunks and Future-Mai had clearly neglected to share their equipment with him when he'd decided to dress akin to that of his Evil-Self, Future-Trunks in the meantime placing his Time Machine Capsule into his jacket as he too activated his cloaking device.
Looking out through the shadowy-scape of West City now dubbed West Prison, the guards not giving them a second glance as Raijin whom they thought to be Cress himself flew through the air with the invisible Future-Trunks and Future-Mai in tow, Future-Trunks couldn't help but draw a comparison to the city he'd lived and grew up in, watching as Earthlings went about their imprisoned lives under the thumb of a tyrant who could destroy their entire world on a mere whim.
"I knew you would come agents of the Time Patrol" Spoke a disembodied voice; the air itself folding as if space/time itself was opening to reveal a tall, pale-skinned man, his sleek crimson hair, blue robes and white and red-jewelled staff, the man standing in the air over the trio.
"Is that him?" Raijin asked as Future-Trunks and Future-Mai both became visible again after having switched their cloaking devices off; locking eyes with the demon but felt ignored as Demigra turned his attention to Future-Trunks and Future-Mai even though he was standing right next to the pair.
"Yeah; that's Demigra" Future-Trunks confirmed with a furrowed brow; having met the demon several times but had failed to arrest the being on each occasion, the pair having also fought on many occasions but Demigra would always escape before any final blows could be landed.
"So; what do you think of this world? Does it remind you of your time? Its only slightly less devastated than the damage The Androids or Zamasu did" Demigra spoke; his voice cold as ice and lacking any empathy for the people imprisoned beneath his feet, his red robes floating around his body rather than being worn as the black staff he carried floated by his side until he needed it.
"It pains me to see another Earth fall to desolation" Future-Trunks spoke glumly; staring out at another war-torn ruin of what used to be West City, The Capsule Corp Building having been completely levels and turned into a gigantic landing/launching pad for Space Pods.
"I imagine this sight does pain you; and yet you still come to behold this world and its history, but to think you'd bring Him here…" Demigra spoke to Future-Trunks with an understanding when it came to coming from a desolated home-world; turning his eyes to Raijin as if he finally noticed he was here.
Raijin simply crossed his arms; not impressed with the demon's appearance, instead viewing him as a mere coward for fleeing his battles instead of facing The Time Patrol; but most of all he disliked just being referred to as a mere "Him".
"So what if we did?! but you made a mistake coming to a closed off Timeline, this time there is nowhere for you to run!" Future-Mai shouted up at the evasive demon; pulling the Shotgun out from behind her back and cocking the weapon for firing.
"You are most welcome to try! However if you wish to capture me then you will have to go through my agent in this Time" Demigra shouted; a pair of demonic wings sprouting from his back as he flew away, leaving only a laughing trail as he vanished into the horizon.
"Shouldn't we give chase? Who knows where he might be able to escape to in this world!" Raijin stated with urgency; lifting into the air and about to give chase after Demigra when he sensed somebody nearby, somebody with an energy far too similar to his own to be called identical but felt much darker and colder than anything he'd sensed from any enemy he'd faced.
"Don't worry; we'll stop Demigra and correct the flow of time" Future-Mai spoke with encouragement; linking her fingers with Future-Trunks' own, the pair lifting into the air alongside Raijin who gave them both a knowing smile.
"I know… it's just we've lived through this before and it hurts to see it again" Future-Trunks spoke again; speaking more confidently only for Raijin to push him out the way with a push of energy as a black-yellow energy beam tore through the skies, the three Time-Traveller's searching for who fired the beam.
"The hell? Where'd that come from?" Raijin cursed loudly; looking for the source of the energy attack, only for his eyes to widen in surprise when he found the person who'd fired the beam as well as finding the energy that felt so close to his own.
"Down there… isn't that?" Future-Mai declared with a tone of shock; tracing the black beam's path to its point of origin and locking eyes with a man stood atop a building who bore a terrifying likeness to Raijin only he stood in the black battle armour and uniform of The Frieza Force but also a strangely familiar orange battle-skirt except we had a series of claw scars on one side of his face.
"Oh crap! That's Cress… the one person we didn't want to meet before finding where Demigra has gone to" Future-Trunks confirmed their worst fears; looking down to see the alternate evil version of Raijin himself, glaring up at them with an amused expression.
"Future-Trunks… leave him to me" Raijin answered slowly after setting eyes of Cress; lowering his arm from blocking Future-Trunks' advance as he stared at her alternate self from high above, already lowering down to the rooftop where Cress stood in wait.
"Are you sure? Your abilities are powerful but you're still limited by that anklet" Future-Mai questioned; fully aware that Raijin was powerful but limited due to the anklet they'd forced onto him.
"I'll be fine, I'll catch up when I'm done here" Raijin replied without so much as a speck of hesitation, dropping down from the post-dusk sky as his feet touched the cold concrete of the same rooftop where Cress stood in wait, his eyes staring with fascination in Raijin's existence.
"So you're Cress… I've heard a lot about you and I'm not impressed by the path your life has taken" Raijin spoke as soon as he set foot on the rooftop where Cress stood; his choice in outfit wasted as the assumed soldiers would never have thought him to be Cress when the man himself stood dressed in a black bodysuit and black armour with an orange rag wrapped around his waist.
"Strange that you know who I am but I don't know you seeing as you're also a Saiyan" Cress remarked as he tilted his head; matching Raijin's steps as the pair walked a circled around each other, only stopping when Cress stood next to a series of construction materials and tools.
"My name is not necessary" Raijin answered; choosing not to reveal his identity to Cress, making an attempt to do as little damage to the future of this world as much as he could though he still wanted Cress to know his name at least before he could tear the enemy limb from limb.
"Fair enough however it's like… looking into a mirror; a very warped mirror but a mirror none the less, seeing myself but who led an entirely different life" Cress spoke carefully; his cold eyes locking into Raijin's, the rooftop around them littered with random pieces of metal and construction equipment all of which he intended to use to slaughter his newest foe.
"I couldn't agree more… I'm sickened that there is a version of me who bent the knee to a fiend like Frieza much less murdering people that I call friends" Raijin countered; lowering his line of sight to the battle-skirt, only then realising that it was the ragged remains of Goku's own orange Gi.
"Oh; do you recognise this? It's a trophy I took after I'd slain Son Goku last year, I wonder what I'll take when you're dead too" Cress spoke with a sick pleasure as he twirled a piece of the orange Gi around his fingers; tearing off a piece and letting it blow away in the breeze, his eyes sizing up Raijin as he sought for something to add to his collection of battle trophies.
"You shut up; I've seen what you've done to this Universe, to multiple worlds, to Vegeta… and to Earth" Raijin shouted; cutting Cress off before he could remark on what he wanted as a trophy for a victory over Raijin, casting his hands out in a gesture towards the city itself before pointing at Cress and poking him in the chest.
"You actually concern yourself with The Fallen Prince?" Cress spoke with a grin so wide it made him appear to be a clown; almost incapable of holding in the laughter at the prospect that there was a version of Vegeta who had friends who cared for him when most who knew him now considered him dead.
"Yes; I do; he's a friend and a worthy rival, you paralysed a proud man and destroyed his fighting spirit and then killed a man I look up to and admire, someone I intend to surpass with my own power!" Raijin shouted with frustration; stepping closer to Cress as he spoke, speaking on his admiration and desires to be stronger like any Saiyan should aspire.
"I assume you mean Son Goku; I ensured that his child would never rise up against me… no amount of therapy will get him over the trauma of watching me bury a blade in his father's back" Cress disgustingly recounted how he killed Son Goku in front of Gohan's eyes; speaking with a look of sick pleasure while revealing in the memory.
"You killed Goku… in front of Gohan's own eyes?" Raijin stuttered; even though he'd heard about Goku's death from Future-Trunks he couldn't believe what he was hearing, about how Cress had slaughtered a man that Raijin respected in front of the eyes of his only son.
"Yes; that was the kids name, him and the Namekian watched helplessly as I plunged the sword of that fat man into Goku's flesh, the pretty boy and the three-eyed one watched too"
"Bulma… Yajirobe… Piccolo… Yamcha… Tien… Vegeta… and Goku, you've taken something from them all that no one has the right to take! Life!" Raijin barked with resolve; echoing the same words that Goku had spoken to Frieza after Raijin had been teleported to Earth from Namek.
"Why does that matter to you? After all; you'll to be dead soon too!" Cress smirked as he lifted a metallic spike from the floor merely by stamping on it and catching the spike from mid-air, pointing the sharp weapon directly at Raijin.
"All of those names; they are my friends! You will pay for what you have done!" Raijin roared angrily; his hands balling into fists as his energy flames burst into life, the loose tiles and metallic robs and spikes lifting into the air with the force of will Raijin exhorted though Cress merely kept smiling.
"My my… quite the temper; I see the Saiyan Blood in you hasn't been completely rejected" Cress commented with a tone of confirmation like he already knew about Raijin; his fingers caressing the metallic spike he held in his hand, launching himself off the concrete rooftop with the spike primed to run Raijin through.
With the instincts honed from multiple battles as well as The Tournament of Power; Raijin brought his forearm up and snapped the spike's pointed head from the bar leaving Cress in a stunned state for a moment as Raijin struck back with a quick punch to Cress' face, following up his punch with a knee kick into Cress' armour just as Cress drove an upward punch into Raijin's abdomen.
Raijin took the punch to his abdomen; using the backward force to propel himself off the side of the building and drop down to the street-level, Cress following behind him with another sharp piece of metal in-hand; the murderous look in his eyes glinting with his desire to impale Raijin on the metal spike he carried.
With the metallic spike in-hand; Cress attempted the drive the lethal weapon through Raijin's chest but Raijin narrowly dodged with a ducking backflip, Cress staring in shock as Raijin should not have been able to dodge in the short seconds it took for him to grab the deadly object; Raijin grinning as his Animal Instinct allowed him to sense the killing intent and dodge accordingly.
Raijin hesitated slightly as he thought he sensed somebody else entering The Stadium but saw nobody other than the two of them present; shaking his head and following up with a forearm block as Cress twisted around and attacked with the spike only for Raijin to grab the spike and remove it from Cress' grip.
Winding back his right fist as Cress wound back his left fist; the two Saiyans thrust their fists forward in a powerful punch that clashed between their two fists, the impact of two Saiyans clashing sent a shockwave resonating throughout the air, glass shattering as watch towers fell from the forceful air, Raijin and Cress staring at each other with enjoyment in their fight as Raijin with his great speed wound back his right arm and delivered a heavy punch directly into Cress' armour.
Recoiling form the heavy blow; Cress grinned widely in the thrill of fighting a new foe, turning in the air with a scissor-kick that Raijin blocked with a cross-arm block; but Cress flattening his feet against Raijin and pushed him backwards causing Raijin to fly backwards and crash through a Guard Tower, the human guards falling to their deaths screaming as Cress again rushed Raijin preventing him from trying to save the human's lives.
Gritting his teeth at the indifference Cress displayed as his own guards fell to their deaths; driving his knees into Cress' abdomen, Cress recoiling from the quick blow but countering with a quick backhand fist to Raijin's jawline, the blow knocking Raijin back as the fight paused.
"So that's what that feels like… try mine" Raijin spat out a saliva-mixed blood wad; taking Cress' sudden backhand fist only to counter with a spinning backhand of his own and striking Cress hard across the face and crashing through the wall only for Cress to rise from the rubble with a maniacal grin indicating that he was greatly enjoying the fight.
"I take it that the backhand is your signature move?" Cress decided to enquire; rubbing his jawline that had taken a slight bruise, Raijin lowering down from the air to meet Cress eye-to-eye; Cress' eyes following his every move.
"Yes; you're correct… do you have one of your own?" Raijin paused for a moment before confirming Cress' question; annoyed by the foresight that Cress held on top of being so evil to the point of massacring The Z Fighters but was also so insightful that he could recognise a foe's moves and pinpoint their strengths.
"I do have a signature of my own… it ends every foe I face" Cress spoke snidely; letting his evil tone of voice seep in before acting, rushing Raijin with quick and silent steps before crashing a knee into Raijin's gut again and winding him before sliding around Raijin and striking with a slashing chop directly to the lower vertebrae of Raijin's spine.
With blood spilling from his mouth as Raijin felt like his back was going to break; the heavy blow to his lower spine had been a surprise to him and gave him plenty of information on how Cress fights: by disabling and crippling his foes, using his Tail to grab Cress by the hand and pull him in as Raijin wrapped his arms around Cress' neck and drove him down into what had been an office complex, driving The Evil Saiyan into the floor only for that floor to give way as they crashed, the two Saiyans ploughing through floor after floor until Cress blasted Raijin with an Unspoken Dark Shine that shot him back through the windows and into the open air.
Glancing down at the ground beneath him as he'd passed through the window with glass in his shoulder; spotting the ruined remains of The West City Baseball Stadium out the corner of his eye, feeling that would be the ideal place for a face-off with Cress, Raijin dropped out from the night sky with Cress hot on his heels; coming to a stop on The Batter's Box while Cress chose to land atop The Pitcher's Mound.
"A ruined stadium? You picked a fine place for a grave" Cress remarked; glancing around as the flood lights lit up, the empty stands still with an eerie silence, old and empty beer cans littering the adjoining steps between seating blocks, the floodlights activating upon detecting motion.
"A grave? I was thinking more along the lines of a tomb" Raijin countered; writing Cress' name in the dirt with the tip of his boot, letting that message sink in before kicking off the Batter's Box and launching himself at Cress.
Cress smirked so widely that he burst into laughter; the empty stadium allowing for better acoustics making his shrill laugh louder, "Well said; we'll see who buries who!".
Raijin lifted his right arm to block just in time as Cress launched himself at him and striking with a forearm blow; whipping around Raijin's guard to catch Raijin across the face with a pointed palm, his nails scratching Raijin's cheek as he countered with a sudden whipping strike of his own catching Cress in the cracks of his armour and following up with a quick punch to Cress' face.
With a fist crushing his jaw; Cress grit his teeth against the blow, trying to counter with an Unspoken Dark Shine but Raijin's left leg whipped around and struck Cress' firing hand and halting his beam attack, Raijin smirked as he drew on his experiences from training with Vegeta; keeping distance to a minimum and striking hard with as many blows as he could before the opponent could counter; Cress expressing a slight panic while Raijin kept hammering at his torso though protected with armour but that armour was quickly breaking under Raijin's assault.
Cress felt the pain of the blow through his damaged armour; pieces of the black armour falling away though some fragments poked at his flesh after Raijin's hard blow as his armour was beginning to fall away after suffering so much damage, grimacing as he felt the warm sensation of blood being drawn from both his bottom lip and his nose.
"Stop holding back Cress! Show me what you can really do!" Raijin remarked; looking down at his feet and noticing that Cress' attacks had caused him to slide back slightly, coming to the realisation that if he wanted to win then he needed Cress to realise his full abilities if he was to at least use a transformation.
Raijin's demand went unanswered as Cress came at Raijin once again but with a metallic baseball bat in each hand; striking Raijin hard in the arms with both bats as Raijin flinched with pain from the blows, that brief moment of flinching giving Cress ample opportunity to throw the bats aside and strike Raijin hard with a series of punches to his chest and only stopping as he forced Raijin to crash into a rusted hetap sponsorship sign.
"Are you serious? I'll destroy you with my full powers but I am willing to bet you aren't showing all you can do either" Cress spat; enraged that somebody with his face was not only keeping up with him when he felt that he was the superior version but Raijin was also beating him.
Raijin only laughed as he climbed out from the rusty metal while Cress bragged about his full powers; even limited he could still hold his own against Cress, striking with a quick jab to Cress' damaged black armour leading Cress to gasp as splinters fell as the damaged armour pressed against his torso, Raijin stepping back as Cress dropped to his knees.
"Yes, I am holding back; show me yours and I'll show you mine" Raijin confirmed what Cress was saying; glancing down at The Anklet placed on his left wrist by Future-Mai, he wanted to at least use his Super Saiyan Transformation and had put Cress in the dirt without needing a transformation but he needed to find out how strong Cress truly was before he could risk using his own powers, much like a poker player waiting until the right time to call.
"Very well then, behold; a power that no other Saiyan holds… for I am a the one and only Super Saiyan!" Cress spoke with a wide grin as he rose back to his feet; his eyes widen as his black hair stood on end and spiking upwards as golden flames burst into life before taking on the Skull-Form Aura he was so proud of, Raijin sensed the sudden and the extremely drastic increase in his Evil-Self's power levels but his eyes lingered on the fact that Cress' black hair remained the same when he claimed to be a Super Saiyan causing him to audibly start laughing.
"An Aura-Form?! I didn't think he could do that; I recall Broly using it with force of will during the fight in The Ice Continent but I didn't think anybody else could use that technique consciously" Raijin thought to himself while he laughed not only to the False Form that Cress exhibited but also to hide his surprise induced by the Skull-Form; keeping that thought process to himself when he'd also considered the technique to be impossible to learn.
"What are you laughing about?! Do you really think your power is greater than mine when I have realised the legend?!" Cress spoke with curiosity; ignoring as his golden flames morphed into the same skull-like face as his powers were being boosted to their maximum.
"Well you're almost there; you have a hand on the door and a foot on the step but you haven't passed through" Raijin spoke with an amused grin of his own; watching as Cress powered-up to his maximum and thus allowing Raijin to match Cress while under The Anklet.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Cress grinned widely; indulging in his full powers, his golden aura blazing while the Skull-Form he emitted when seriously expressing his own strength; the skull's eye-sockets flashing red with Cress' intent to slaughter Raijin as his energy formed a pair of long pale blades in the palms of his hands, "What you are seeing is the mythical power that Saiyans have strived for and failed so I would succeed!".
"Allow me to show you what a true Super Saiyan looks like!" Raijin spoke confidently; ignoring the red-eyed skull Cress was showing off entirely, his body tensing as the air itself felt heavier around him; his aura flaring up into a tempest of golden flames as his own black hair stood on end before flashing gold thus completing his transformation to an awe-struck Cress.
"You… what are you?! Who are you?!" Cress paused for a brief moment as Raijin transformed; staring at the true realisation of a Super Saiyan, realising the power he'd achieved was not only false and incomplete but also a pale comparison to what he was feeling in his very being from Raijin though he was not capable of sensing energy or life energy but he still felt the strength that Raijin emitted; opening his mouth to speak but only demanding to know who and what Raijin truly was.
Raijin let out a deep breath; having Chronoa's Anklet on him was greatly limiting his abilities whilst Cress was present in this Timeline, the might of his Full Power Forms felt like a rush to his body as if he was experiencing the strength of The Super Saiyan for the first time yet again; but that sensation meant little to the satisfaction Raijin got from the state of shock he'd induced in Cress, "I am Raijin: a proud Saiyan Warrior! a Z Fighter and defender of good, protector of life and saviour of multiple Universes, now allow me to put this into words you might understand… Super Saiyan Full Power!".
With the sight of a true Super Saiyan before his eyes; Cress felt his own faith in his powers begin to crumble, the white-hot flash of anger rushing through his mind as his blood boiled under the knowledge that a good version of himself had succeeded where he'd failed, roaring as he wound back an energy-bladed punch only for Raijin to backhand him away with relative ease.
With dumbfounded shock as his Pale Blade technique was parried with complete ease; Cress felt helpless as he fell backwards and crumbled into a heap in the face of Raijin's new strength, while a cloaked and hooded stranger sat up in the seats overlooking the pitch wore a satisfying smile as Cress was being humbly defeated but disliked that it was being done by somebody who bore such a likeness to that of his enemy.
Raijin stood before Cress with golden flames burning fiercely as he spoke, "Cress; get back up because I'm going to show you how outclassed you really are!".