The Three Legendary Saiyans.
Chapter 90: The Connection Between Raijin and Cress.
Running across a scorched and rubble-strewn battleground; Future-Mai carried her Modular Gun in her arms as she arrived at Demigra's corpse as it lay spread-eagled, his vacant eyes staring out at the fading Time Gate as it vanished from the sky above leaving only a pitch-black sky.
Looking up from the body of their target and spotting Future-Trunks along with Raijin but both knelt down in the mud and sewage-soaked ground, both in bad shape with bruises and wounds from the battle but Raijin was even more worse for wear with his Tail gone and the bloody gashes across his stomach and chest, the scorched flesh on his shoulders and a deep cut under his left eye that would undoubtably leave a scar.
"I don't believe it; you killed him!" Future-Mai stuttered with shock and sheer happiness; surprised that they'd managed to kill a foe who could regenerate from any wound including having his head severed, spotting Future-Trunks' Sword laying in the mud still glittering with remnants of God Ki burning away on the surface of the blade.
"Did you really doubt us?" Raijin remarked; the adrenaline from using an Omen Stage Ultra Instinct, Super Saiyan 4 and Golden in consecutive fashion wearing off, grinning widely as he lay back against an overturned car with Future-Trunks sitting beside him.
"To be honest with you, no" Future-Mai giggled softly after Raijin's remark; tucking her Gun away in a holster under her coat-tails before seating herself between Raijin and Future-Trunks but sitting slightly closer to Future-Trunks as Raijin smirked at the sight of them together.
Future-Trunks, Future-Mai and Raijin all shared a laugh as the cold air blew past them; enjoying a minute of silence after the chaotic few hours they'd just endured, their moment of quiet broken by the skies growing even darker.
"Wait… what time is it?" Raijin tilted his head as he watched the skies get darker; when he'd thought it was the middle of the night if not past midnight when they had arrived and their long battles had begun but it seems as if the first signs of sunrise were on the horizons but the sky was still getting darker.
"Almost 5am, why?" Future-Trunks glanced at his watch/communicator before answering, looking at Raijin with a curious look when as far as he was concerned; the mission was over and they could finally leave this Timeline to march into a new day.
"Then shouldn't the sun be rising soon? Why is it getting darker?" Raijin posed his question as he'd watched many sunrises with Bulma by his side, feeling it was odd that it was so close to Sunrise but the sky was still pitch-black.
"The Dragon Balls!" Future-Trunks shouted; wincing in pain as he shot up to his feet upon realisation that the black skies were the telltale sign of Shenron being summoned.
"How? Nobody can gather all seven orbs that quickly?!" Future-Trunks shouted; rising to his feet alongside Future-Mai, stating that nobody in this Time can search an entire planet for seven orbs and gather them up so quickly when it had barely been thirteen months since Cress took over Earth.
"Cress… he had a plan that he kept extremely hushed up; he had gathered the seven orbs to use when the time was right" Raijin namedropped his Alternate-Self, knowing that he had gathered the seven orbs in advance for his own machinations.
"How do you know this?" Future-Mai exclaimed with curiosity; wondering how Raijin could possibly possess such knowledge when they'd only been present within the Timeline for five hours.
"While Future-Mai treated me head wound; when Demigra had knocked me out temporally I saw Cress' mind and realised the full scope of his minds inner workings and the goal he's aiming for" Raijin revealed; speaking on when Demigra had knocked him out briefly, having been privy to a glimpse into Cress' mind and vice versa.
"Then if its Cress who's using the orbs then we have to stop him" Future-Trunks spoke with resolve; grabbing the Sword from the dirt, Future-Mai noticing that the remaining scarlet flames of Raijin's God Ki ran from the blade's surface only to seep into the exposed flesh of Future-Trunks' fingertips.
"I agree; though I'm not certain it's the wish I think he's going to make, but considering how much of a defeat he's suffered… I'm fearful of the choices he'll make" Raijin answered with a tone of caution; rising back to his feet though his body still ached from his experience with Ultra Instinct, floating up as Future-Trunks returned his weapon to the scabbard on his back and took Future-Mai in his arms so the three of them might fly to Shenron's summoning.
Without need for any more words; the trio of Time-travellers spotted Shenron's descent from the blackened clouds, though Raijin didn't have much energy left to hasten his flight; he flew directly behind Future-Trunks to utilise the slipstream from his faster pace and thus kept up until reaching the location of the seven orbs at an open-aired room where two figures stood but flanked by several green glowing Healing Chambers and a third figure sitting beside the chambers.
Standing at the base of Shenron's mighty form were none other than Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo; with a barely-conscious Cress tied and bound in thick cables connected to the Recovery Chambers in which Alternate-Bulma rested in suspended animation alongside two others that the trio did not know, their intention to heal all the friends and allies that Cress had hurt only a single sentence away.
"Stop! Don't make your wish yet!" Raijin yelled with as much air as he could gather in his lungs; his words loud enough for Alternate-Piccolo to hear as Alternate-Gohan too stopped his imminent wish to bear witness to Raijin's arrival along with other allies who'd fought alongside him.
Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo both looked up from their immediate use of The Dragon Balls to spot Raijin come dropping out of the sky like a rock only to stumble upon hitting the ground, even Cress glared at the Saiyan as he emerged from the skies bloodied and beaten from battle but still alive.
"Good Sir; I applaud you for defeating our foe on our behalf but we do not know you well enough to let you dictate the future we must tread" Alternate-Piccolo spoke with politeness but in a demanding tone as the future was theirs to forge, and the rudeness of Raijin gave little reason to heed his demand.
"On that I agree; Raijin… we can't force the path of this Timeline to be changed, you've already affected it too much" Future-Trunks spoke up; tilting his head as he glanced to Raijin, warning him on meddling too much when he'd already gotten involved too much and would have lasting consequences.
Raijin glanced around at the prying eyes of Future-Trunks and Future-Mai; he might have been getting too involved but he knew what Cress had planned and he wanted to guide the Alternate versions of his friends towards accomplishing that plan with or without the devisor of said plan.
"I know you want to save those you care for; but another wish is needed but its not you who needs to make it" Raijin took a deep breath before answering; his words drawing the response he expected with the wide-eyed annoyance from Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo.
"Well if we can't make the wish then who will?" Alternate-Gohan spoke; bringing up a valid question as Shenron stared down at them with great patience, those gathered standing in silence until a voice broke the quarrel.
"Then why don't you let me use the wish?" Cress spoke suddenly before anyone else could answer the question; the argument stopping immediately as all those gathered turned to stare at Cress, each one looking to kill him where he sat for his brazen audacity when so much death and destruction had been wrought by his previous use of a wish.
"Are you mad?! We're using this Wish to correct the damage and you and that tyrant have caused on our World? The countless people suffering from life-altering wounds that you inflicted!" Alternate-Gohan twisted around so fast he almost seemed to be a blur; marching to Cress and almost punching him in the throat for his audacity to request the use of a wish.
"And what of all the other worlds? Do they not matter?" Future-Mai chimed in; though she knew not to interfere now that their mission was accomplished but couldn't help herself when the plans of the alternate versions of Gohan and Piccolo were both thinking too smally.
"Of course they do, Earth is only the first step in our plan! We aren't stopping with Earth and take down this evil empire one brick at a time" Alternate-Piccolo shouted; the vein in his neck and his temple throbbing with irritation as these strangers though crucial in the defeat of Cress were attempting to derail their own plans to restoring their world.
Even Raijin felt a pang of guilt for intervening in the usage of a wish; though he knew of Cress' pan he still felt bad that Tien, Yamcha and others would have to live with their life-altering wounds for another year, glancing into the Healing Chambers and spotting Bulma through the green-tinted glass; a sight that brought a twinge of anger to him but quelled the feeling for the sake of the present.
Future-Trunks felt aghast by Alternate-Piccolo's words; though Earth's path would be changed and recovery would be slow, there were countless other planets in this Timeline also suffering under the foot of Immortal Frieza and his appointed leaders.
"Do you really think Immortal Frieza will just sit back while we defeat his underlings on planet after planet?" Raijin remarked with a morbid tone; knowing too well that Frieza whether Immortal or not would not just sit back while the banner of rebellion was raised against him.
At that moment while the others argued; Raijin's eyes widened as he made eye contact with Cress, the thoughts of the Evil Equivalent rushing into his mind as the scope of Cress' Plan dawned on him and he smiled, "Let him use the Dragon Balls".
"What? You must be joking!" Future-Trunks and Alternate-Gohan shouted in unison; both staring at Raijin in shock as even Cress stared in wide-eyed shock, Alternate-Piccolo actually raising his hand to blast Cress into oblivion where he sat.
"Trust me… let him make his wish; you won't regret it" Raijin repeated as he shifted and stood between Alternate-Piccolo and Cress thus halting his charging beam attack; Raijin's line of sight following the cables wrapped around Cress until finding a loop in the coils where he could untie the defeated foe.
"Alright; I trust you but if he tries anything… I'm killing him where he stands" Alternate-Piccolo spoke and delivering a threat on Cress' life, though Raijin agreed that Cress would have to die once the time was due for punishment but that time had not yet come as far as he was concerned.
"Fine by me, I'll just go ahead and release Cress from these bindings" Raijin nodded his head in acknowledgement to Alternate-Piccolo, even Shenron glared down at the group gathered with curiosity while Raijin took his time in kneeling down and worked on freeing Cress from his bindings.
"What are you playing at?" Cress muttered as he glared out through a pair of bloodshot eyes; his blood dripping from his head wounds and into his eyes, staring blankly as Raijin released him from the cables that tied him down and allowed him to ruse back to his feet much to the aggravation of Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo.
"I saw your mind, and I'm sure you saw mine" Raijin spoke solely to Cress; almost whispering to him in the ear, giving him a grin as Cress stared with an astounded expression as he'd also seen into Raijin's mind; though he didn't know how they'd mentally connected but could assume because they were two sides of one person given their identical faces and energies.
Cress had indeed seen into Raijin's mind; seen the memories and the bonds he held with those that Cress had fought, used and killed, rising to his feet once freed from his bindings but ignored the things he'd seen as the moment had finally come after a long year of waiting.
With Shenron floating high above the city; the black skies stretching on for an eternity, Alternate Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo stared at Cress ready to kill him if they had to while Future-Trunks and Future-Mai both stood behind a confident-looking Raijin with confused expressions, Raijin and Cress locking eyes before Raijin gave a nod to allow Cress to enact his plan's next step.
"Eternal Dragon; I wish for the immortality bestowed upon the one called Frieza to be taken away, but in a way that he still believes himself immune to death!" Cress spoke slowly; dictating his wish clearly so his true plan might be realised even without him making the killing blow.
Shenron looked down upon Cress; fully knowledgeable that this was this same man who's wished for the gift of immortality for Frieza the year prior but was now taking that gift away but allowed the wish to be granted with a crimson flash of his eyes before vanishing without another word leaving those gathered in abject shock except for Cress and Raijin.
"Explain something for me; it was you who made Frieza immortal last year, and now you take that immortality away? Why would you do that?" Alternate-Piccolo demanded an explanation for Cress' actions; breaking the still silence as all heads turned to him and then to Cress for his answers.
"I can answer that; Cress was planning on removing Frieza's Immortality after one year so he'd be complacent and wouldn't guard against a life-threatening assault, killing that tyrant and usurping the tyrant's throne for himself" Raijin cut in; spotting that Alternate-Gohan staring daggers at Cress, speaking on Cress' behalf as he'd seen the inner workings of Cress' mind during their mental connection.
"You planned that? You caused so much death, destruction, and pain just so you could fulfil that plan?!" Alternate-Gohan yelled at the top of his lungs; marching over and punching Cress hard in the gut, Cress allowing the blow when he'd normally dodge and strike back at a vital point but just stared down at the child soldier.
"Yes; he did and he had done terrible things, even I'm struggling to not end his life" Alternate-Gohan spoke, confessing to his own desires to see Cress die when he'd been witness to the very same man brutally executing his father: Goku and a good friend: Krillin, not only paralysing Tien and Yamcha who now were imprisoned awaiting their freedom once their own wish would have healed their impairment.
"Then why don't you do it? Why haven't you killed him?" Alternate-Gohan turned his anger towards Raijin; shouting so fiercely that his short black hair began to stand on end, only flattening out as Raijin raised his hands to cut Alternate-Gohan off so he might speak.
"Because Cress' life is not meant to end here Gohan, destiny is something that shouldn't be meddled with" Future-Trunks cut in; speaking quickly as the watch on his wrist bleeped, quickly withdrawing from the conversation as he checked on the alert.
"How can you possibly know that?" Alternate-Piccolo and Raijin answered at once with the same words and questioning tone of voice, though Raijin had an idea as to how Future-Trunks knew of the destiny of Cress.
"If Future-Trunks is stopping us from trying to change destiny by killing Cress; then does that mean that Cress' and Alternate-Gohan's destinies might be more intertwined than I thought" Raijin thought to himself; touching his chin as he thought when noticing that Cress had been strangely quiet.
Cress stood silent for the entire conversation; his eyes taking a sudden interest in his own two hands until Raijin, Future-Trunks and Alternate-Gohan turn to him as he opened his mouth to speak, "And I suppose that everyone here wishes to see me dead at their feet? Or did you have another reason to keep my alive?".
"What happened to you? Were you humbled that much by our battle?" Raijin felt surprised by Cress' silence; his demeanour changing even though he had gained new power as a true Super Saiyan, he appeared humbled by defeat whereas even Alternate-Gohan looked shocked by Cress accepting his fate.
"Not by our battle, by what I saw in your mind… your memories of fighting alongside Son Goku and Prince Vegeta, these two and these other strangers, countless opponents that I cannot even believe exist… your life is far different than mine and yet you are far stronger than I thought possible" Cress answered by speaking slowly and clearly; speaking on his interpretation on some of Raijin's memories in which he'd not only seen Raijin stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Goku and Vegeta but also the foes he'd faced such as The Androids, Imperfect Cell, Buu, Hit, Kefla, Agnilasa and Jiren.
Raijin stood motionless as he listened to Cress speak on Raijin's own memories proving that the experience had been mutual, his mouth slowly opening to speak when he was cut off by the angry outburst from Alternate-Gohan.
"You still have to answer for your crimes; the transgressions you have committed have consequences and I would see them fulfilled!" Alternate-Gohan shouted angrily as it appeared to him that Raijin was about to forgive Cress for his crimes on The Earth, while Alternate-Piccolo kept a prying eye on the pair of Saiyans with identical faces though both now looked vastly different when the battles fought on this night had been so vicious.
Cress turned his gaze down to Alternate-Gohan; a mere child of six, seven or maybe even eight years old and yet through his own actions had been forced to mature at a young age, "I think you'll find that killing me won't take away the pain; but will only heighten it as nothing will change except pave the way for another to take my place".
Even Raijin knew too well that whenever a major adversary fell; another inevitably rose up to take the place of the previous villain, he'd seen it first-hand with Mecha-Frieza's death at Future-Trunks' hands brought Cooler to Earth, The Androids brought Cell, Babadi brought Majin Buu, and he wondered what could possibly be worse than Cress in this Timeline.
"Raijin! We have to leave now!" Future-Trunks shouted as he lifting his eyes from his watch up to the skies; his voice sounding panicked as he quickly put his hands into his pockets looking for his Time Machine Capsule.
"Really? Right this second?" Raijin answered quickly while Cress, Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo both looked confused as to where they were going to go, both looking up to the skies but seeing nothing but the black skies, dark clouds, and twinkling stars but they seems out of place from the constellations.
"Yes! We need to go!" Future-Trunks spoke again; staring up at the sky as he lifted the capsule for his Time Machine out from his pocket and hurled it away, The Time Machine expanding out through the smoke of the capsule's explosion much to the keen interest of those present in the strange machine.
"As much as I want to see what becomes of you three, I must leave" Raijin turned back to meet the trio of this Timeline; admitting that he wanted to see what became of them next or even be a part of their battle against The Frieza Force's entire military and watch it crumble as its leader died but he had to leave.
"Wait… thank you for all you've done here" Alternate-Gohan spoke to Raijin as he left, Raijin giving a swift but approving nod of his head to the child as he flew off the ground and into The Time Machine.
"It's fine Gohan, I feel like I robbed you of your fated clash but speaking from my own experiences; a bigger and more dangerous foe is likely waiting for you and you alone, so don't stop training your body or your mind as you'll likely need both in your future" Raijin spoke back; talking quickly while The Canopy began to lower.
"Alright; its time that we left, this world is yours now… do your best to correct it" Future-Trunks spoke to Alternate-Gohan directly as The Time Machine lifted into the air much to the shock and amazement from the Alternate versions of Gohan and Piccolo, even Cress stared at the machine with gratitude for sparing his life as Raijin with Future-Mai both waved goodbye to their brief allies, A Time Gate opening instantaneously allowing The Time Machine to pass into The Timestream and vanishing as if they'd never existed.
Just as The Time Machine vanished; leaving not a single trace of itself nor The Time Gate in its wake but not a single soul would have time to celebrate or mourn their victory or defeat as a new white beam of light burst down from the skies to the ground, the beam fading as two Officers in white and teal Uniforms stepped out and to attention.
"Greetings Earthlings, my name is Jaco of The Galactic Patrol and I have come to put an end to the tyrannical rule of the Saiyan under the name of Cress!" The Galactic Patrol Officer announced himself as if he was a gift from the gods above, a second feminine-shaped Officer wearing a helmet, visor, and mask to hide her identity.
"Umm; you're rather late" Alternate-Gohan spoke calmly but with a bitter tone; his words thinly hiding his disgust that officers from The Galactic Patrol had apparently been ignoring their plight for over a year and only showed up when their work had been done for them by outside sources.
"What do you mean by that? Saiyans are to be arrested on sight, now I ask… what race are you?" Jaco proclaimed as if he was the reigning authority in The Galactic Patrol even though his Uniform was so plain, his bulbous yellow eyes staring at Alternate-Gohan with suspicion until Alternate-Piccolo stepped between his student and the officer while casting a growling expression.
"I'm Human" Alternate-Gohan calmly answered; his brow furrowing with his frustration towards Jaco's laziness towards Earth's situation, speaking on his Half-Breed status but without mentioning his Saiyan heritage.
"And you?" Jaco stated; turning his unblinking and bulbous yellow eyes to Alternate-Piccolo, eyeing him up as if he was itching to slap another pair of cuffs on somebody to heighten his arrest record.
"I'm nothing that concerns you" Alternate-Piccolo answered with his fangs bared to Jaco; forcing the overly-ambitious officer to back away, in truth Alternate-Piccolo only knew the name of his race as a Namekian but still knew nothing until they found or freed Kami from wherever Cress had imprisoned him after attacking The Lookout.
"Very well; the criminal known as Cress is to be apprehended and imprisoned post haste! And before this week is out she shall be executed" Jaco announced with a tone of glee after walking away from Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo; envisioning himself being promoted to a commanding rank for arresting Cress: an infamous criminal known for his savage and gleeful paralysing of foes before killing them or leaving them to suffer.
Even Cress stood silent as the accompanying feminine Officer slapped the handcuffs on his wrists; though he could easily break ordinary handcuffs but these were blocking him from drawing on his energy even if he had any to use after the battle with Raijin, The Female Officer shifting her posture as she effortlessly pulled Cress by the cuffs and down to his knees as they waited for The Teleportation Beam returned to take them away from this planet.
"Wait! The judicial system dictates that he must have a trial and be charged for his crimes by judge and a jury of peers!" Alternate-Gohan shouted for fair conduct even though he was an enemy of the accused; catching the attention of Jaco, The Officer and even Cress stared in surprise at Alternate-Gohan's plea for a fair trial.
"That's not how The Galactic Patrol work kid, when we find a Saiyan they are arrested and imprisoned; a trial is an unnecessary use of our time when it comes to their filthy kind" The Female Officer spoke; the previously-feminine voice sounded violent when speaking to a child leading to make Alternate-Gohan to harbour some resentment towards these apparently-corrupt officers.
"Don't waste your breath; these jackasses…" Cress spoke with a smirk as he locked eyes with Alternate-Gohan only to be cut-off by a sudden slap to the face by Jaco.
"Be quiet you; your arrest will surely assure me a premotion!" Jaco spoke his vain and obvious desires out loud; smiling gleefully as he slapped the cuffs on Cress' wrists and walked him back to where The Teleportation Beam had landed, Alternate-Gohan and Alternate-Piccolo both watched as Cress looked back to their pair; a moment of silence hung between the three as Cress' mouth moved with unspoken words as The Beam came down as he along with Jaco and the other officer vanished on the spot.
"Are you going to do as he asked?" Alternate-Piccolo spoke calmly; waiting until The Teleportation Beam vanished to speak, casting a concerned look to Alternate-Gohan after his plea; having been surprised himself by the act.
Alternate-Gohan thought for a moment as his eyes sought the beginning light of a rising sun; allowing himself to smile for the first time in an entire year as the new day began to dawn as he finally spoke, "We'll do as Cress wanted in one year, first we revive Bulma from stasis and develop a new Spaceship, then we use The Dragon Balls again to heal the broken spines of Tien, Yamcha and everyone else Cress injured who will side with us, and lastly we'll unite and kill Frieza together!".
"We'll have to refine that plan somewhat; but a path to a brighter future is ours to walk" Alternate-Piccolo spoke calmly; allowing himself to feel relieved as the dawning sun broke through the darkness of the long night, with Cress arrested and awaiting execution, Frieza's Immortality taken away and Bulma revealed to be alive, the future of Earth finally felt like it was in their hands once again after a painfully long year.
The Timestream.
"Do you think we made a difference back there? Raijin asked after a long silence; The Time Machine hurtling down The Timestream for what felt like longer than the trip into The Cress Timeline, posing his question about what was to come now that Demigra was dead, Cress defeated and Immortal Frieza's immortality taken away.
"You broke a lot of rules here Raijin; but Chronoa is eager to meet you once this mission is over" Future-Mai spoke up in Future-Trunks' place, pointing his to right wrist as The Anklet had been removed, he'd powered up into forms unnatural to the denizens of that World, used God Ki in an energy-soaked atmosphere, though her expression was still compassionate to him for assisting in their mission regardless of his transgressions.
"What… what? The Supreme Kai of Time wanted to meet me? You didn't mention that when we left Capsule Corp in my Time!" Raijin nodded for a moment before his brain finally registered what had just been said, looking for Future-Mai and then to Future-Trunks with a look of astonishment that they'd withheld information again.
"It wasn't necessary for you to know that yet, and now that The Cress Timeline is back on the road to a brighter tomorrow" Future-Trunks explained with a low tone; turning his head to meet Raijin's gaze while The Time Machine continued to fly down the infinite flow of Time and narrowly dodging a path that Raijin couldn't help to stare up at.
"So what's going to happen now?" Raijin asked his question again; letting out a deep breath and checking his wounds, the jagged wounds and torn flesh still stinging from where Cress had ripped away flesh with poles and pieces of jagged metal, burns from The Black Dawn Beam, bruises from Cress and Demigra both, but what bothered him most was the loss of his Tail.
"I assume that that Timeline's versions of Gohan and Piccolo will fulfil Cress' plan to kill Frieza, but after that the possibilities are endless" Future-Mai spoke up; speaking on what Raijin clearly wanted to hear instead of the truth being that of endless possibilities where tackling a version of Frieza who thinks he's still Immortal was still a deadly battle and could still end in the deaths of Alternate-Gohan/Piccolo.
"Well I'll be glad if he's dead" Raijin slumped backwards; resting his back against the glass canopy as he stared out at the branching streams in Time, endless realities far more diverse than anything he could imagine.
"Frieza or Cress?" Future-Trunks asked; handling the controls as The Time Machine continued to hurtle down the Rivers of Time until lifting up towards a newly forming Time Gate.
"Preferably both!" Raijin grinned as he answered; causing both his friends to laugh out loud as they passed through The Time Gate and into a vast cityscape with a giant Hourglass with cogs circling the glass high above the buildings, numerous platforms circled the Central Hourglass where a number of other identical Time Machines sat in wait for use while some others floated through the air towards other Time Gates likely bearing Agents to their own missions.
"You've been mass producing, can I get one?" Raijin remarked with a snippet of humour when it came to the higher number of Time Machines.
"No; you cannot have one, and welcome to Toki Toki City" Future-Trunks smirked to himself as he glanced around and saw the look of amazement on Raijin's dirty and bloody face, bringing their Time Machine in for a landing on a platform when a new and different Gold Time Gate suddenly and unexpectedly formed between The Time Machine and the landing platform with the trio within being transported to a simple and small green-grass covered planet with a house situated at the top where two individuals stood in wait.