The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 16: Escape From Punishment
The thunderous roar of supporters echoes around an open-air arena; only the natural light of the sun despite the cloudy skies lit the Ring where Raijin and Hercule Satan circled each other.
Raijin threw himself backwards to the edge of the ring's edge; only his tail mockingly supporting him from falling over the edge after taking a fist to his jaw; smiling at his opponent as he spat to the tiled floor, "Got another one?".
The cheers and jeers of the crowd boomed in the open-air arena for the exhibition match between Raijin and his opponent.
Hercule grinned through his thick black moustache; having both his fists raised like a boxer would during a stare-down as he carefully stepped circles around Raijin while trying his best not to showboat too much for the crowd cheering his name in the televised exhibition match.
"Oh you know I got another one for you" Hercule spoke in a boomingly deep voice; repeatedly punching at the air in a feint to intimidate both the crowd and Raijin; though the whole match as just pretend for them both.
Raijin took a single step forwards just so the crowd would see him move before taking his second step and moving with high-speed to punch Hercule square in the ribs and winding The Champion with only one solitary strike and drawing a gasp from the crowd due to his incredible speed.
"Hey… I thought you were going easy on me" Hercule wheezed; his voice a slow and quiet whisper between only himself and Raijin.
"I am going easy" Raijin whispered back; grinning as Hercule countered Raijin with an elbow to the back of the neck, Raijin dropping to the ground in fake-unconsciousness as The Referee performed a quick ten count and declared Hercule the winner.
"There you have it folks! Hercule Satan wins against his rival Raijin once again!" The Announcer proclaimed after taking over from a Referee; his sunglasses shining brilliantly in the spotlights as Hercule raised his fists in victory.
"YEAH! Let this be a message to all those who think they have what it takes to defeat me at the next World Martial Arts Tournament!" Hercule made a sweeping motion with his hands to point to any and all martial artists and fighters sitting inside the stands or in the standing-room-only seating.
Raijin slowly rose to his feet in the act of a defeated foe; the jeers and boos of those who supported him in hopes of seeing their side finally defeat Hercule Satan resounded around the open-air Ring.
Hercule reached out and seized Raijin's right hand and raised it alongside his own; the jeers and boo's instantly turned to cheers as the two friends and stage-rivals stood together in the spotlight.
An hour passed before Raijin and Hercule began the trip back to Capsule Corp via limousine.
"Signed a lot of autographs today?" Raijin smirked; crossing his arms and legs while seated within the limousine.
"Oh yeah; my wrist hurts just from signing my name so many times… I swear these fans get more ravenous every year" Hercule moaned; cradling his right wrist in his left hand while gripping a cold canned beer.
"So why don't you retire?" Raijin enquired; knowing that Hercule was getting on in years for a human and was not taking the hits as well as he used to do.
"I couldn't do that yet; I still need the title for just a few more years before I'll be remembered as the longest reigning champion of all time!" Hercule wore a proud smile as he imagined accomplishing his dream and retiring to a life of comfort and royalties.
"Fair enough; sorry I winded you so badly; holding back has gotten harder since becoming a Super Saiyan 4" Raijin spoke; taking a drink from a Mr Satan-Brand strawberry flavour protein shake.
Hercule looked up from his frosty and cold beer; laughing hard upon hearing Raijin's apology, "Don't be foolish; it's a joy to have these mock-fights with you… Goku gets way too carried away and I think Vegeta wants to kill me".
"Vegeta wants to kill everyone… he just keeps it really well hidden" Raijin confirmed a long-held suspicion of Hercule's; finishing off his protein shake.
Hercule and Raijin both laughed over their drinks as the limousine turned into the long stretch of road towards the main entrance of Capsule Corp.
"I wanted to ask; what story did you give the fans about that Tail of yours?" Hercule asked; his eyes lowering to Raijin's tail, Raijin's tail harmlessly flicking from side to side on the leather seats of Hercule's personal limousine.
"I told The Referee and The Announcer that it was an animatronic prop… they seemed to buy the excuse" Raijin confessed; realising that he was talking like Trunks.
"Say; what happened with Trunks? You said before the Match that he was being punished rather severely" Hercule asked as he set down his beer can; a concerned look filling his wide eyes after finally taking his eyes off Raijin's Tail.
An evil smirk spread across Raijin's face as he thought about the punishment he, Bulma and Ewan agreed on and had assigned to Trunks, Pilaf and Shu after the situation they'd caused at Bulma's labs, "Thanks for the ride Hercule; have a safe trip back to Satan City".
"No trouble my friend; take care" Hercule spoke; giving a wave before the limousine drove back up the road and turned out of view.
Raijin made sure that he walked through a patch of muddy grass before entering the lobby of Capsule Corp; Raijin continued to smile an evil smile as his sports shoes and left muddy footprints across the floors.
"Good day Mr Raijin, Miss Bulma and Doctor Ewan are waiting for you" spoke the receptionist; a pretty young woman with long red hair that Pilaf and Shu often fawned over when doing odd-jobs around Capsule Corp.
"Good day… and thank you" Raijin spoke back; giving a brief but friendly smile to the receptionist.
"DAD! I just mopped those floors… please don't tell me your going back home?" Trunks complained and protested; a soaked mop in hand and a bucket full of muddy water at his side.
"Yeah; we are… be sure to mop all the floors again" Raijin ordered his son; a look of satisfaction in his eyes and in his smile while looking at his punished son.
Trunks merely grumbled and cursed under his breath as he walked back over to the lobby floor and began re-mopping the floor of muddy footprints.
"So; why is he mopping the floors" The Receptionist asked with a look of concern; feeling like the punishment given to Trunks was rather relaxed.
"He and his friends did something really bad; so Trunks, Pilaf and Shu are sentenced to mopping every single floor, mowing all the grass and weeding every flower bed in the Gardens, scrubbing between every tile in Bulma's Lab and feeding all of Doctor and Mrs Briefs animals for a week" Raijin counted off the list of tasks and chores Trunks and his little friends had been punished with.
"That'll take forever to finish; your Gardens are huge and they have to clean every single floor? When there are hundreds of people walking around and working at all hours of every single day" The Receptionist spoke with wide eyes; a cold shiver running through her spine as the cruel punishment had been set by the boy's own parents.
"Exactly" Raijin chuckled to himself; smiling to both himself and The Receptionist with the sense of glee in how long it'll take Trunks, Pilaf and Shu to finish their punishment.
Raijin crossed up to The Briefs Family Apartment while making sure he was leaving footprints for Trunks to clean up; crossing through the doors and taking off his sports shoes before stepping onto the carpet so not to anger Bulma.
"I'm home" Raijin called out; crossing into the living room where Bulma and Ewan were working over a sheet of blueprints, both standing up as soon as Raijin entered the room.
"Welcome back; we watched the match on television" Ewan always stuttered as he talked; the glasses on his face still bore a cracked lens after the incident involving the Bio-Warriors.
"Good to see you again Ewan; did you not replace your glasses?" Raijin cocked an eyebrow at Ewan upon noticing the cracked lens.
"No; I rather like it this way… like how you have that scar on your chest" Ewan admitted; revealing that he seemed to admire Raijin as more than just his employers life partner but as a hero after the Bio-Warrior incident.
Raijin's line of sight glanced down at his chest in a mirror; thinking of the acid burn he'd received when fighting Imperfect Cell, a wound that remained to his day in the form of a scar.
Bulma smiled as she watched the brief exchange between Raijin and Ewan; she had already known that Ewan held Raijin in a high regard ever since that incident had been resolved without destroying the subjects.
"Well; it looks good… so what are you working on?" Raijin asked; crossing the room and taking a seat beside Bulma, his eyes scanning the blueprints and figuring it was some type of energy/fuel generator.
"It's a generator for a new type of energy fuel; we haven't quite figured out how to get it working so I asked Whis for assistance and he's contacted someone to send us the parts needed for the machine" Bulma summarized; her fingers tapping at the edge of the blueprint indicating that she was getting impatient in waiting for the delivery.
Raijin nodded along to Bulma's words; happy that his initial assumption was correct, "So; whose bringing them over? Whis?"
"Don't know yet; but how is Trunks managing with his punishment" Ewan cut in; his expression one of curiosity after he'd had a hand in deciding the punishment.
"He's managing; I left him a few extra footprints on my way up" Raijin grinned as he spoke; his grin causing Bulma and Ewan to both break into laughter at Trunks' expense.
"You're so mean; though the boy does deserve it" Ewan spoke through his laughter.
"How are recovery efforts at The Research Laboratory?" Bulma cut into the conversation; turning away from her study and the blueprints and seeking a distraction from whoever would be delivering the parts for the new generator.
"It's going well; we re-programmed The Bio-Warriors to work as labourers so all the heavy lifting is accounted for, the fire damage was extensive but all those destroyed files were backed-up; and the work on the new Recovery Chambers and the Auto-Cars have been completed" Ewan surmised; counting the topics on his work-gloved fingers as he spoke.
"That's good; I'm glad The Bio-Warriors are proving their worth in more ways than just being training partners" Raijin spoke; though his mind was on the cover story that Bulma personally gave to the reporters on that the situation had been nothing more than a miscalculation in ongoing public projects that had caused the explosions.
Bulma nodded; mentally noting to check on their artificial intelligence on the next occasion she travelled to The Research Laboratory as well as picking up a report of the public consensus on Capsule Corp's recent incident.
A moment of silence passed between Raijin, Bulma and Ewan before the intercom buzzed; the voice of the pretty Receptionist called out, "Lady Bulma; there is a delivery waiting for you; and Jaco of The Galactic Patrol is also here".
Raijin grimaced; he hated it whenever Jaco visited.
Raijin, Bulma and Ewan collectively walked down to the lobby; finding Trunks, Shu and Pilaf hard at work polishing the main desk and cleaning the glass doors while Jaco stood in wait alongside none-other than Monaka.
"Monaka… how good it is too see you again" a wide smile spread across Raijin's face; extending his hand out and shaking Monaka's hand.
"It is good to see you too Sir Raijin; you were most impressive during the tournament" Monaka spoke in his slow but low voice upon shaking Raijin's hand; his half-awake eyes looking directly into Raijin's.
"Ahem… I'm here too" Jaco coughed into his hand; his bulbous yellow eyes looking for a greeting from Raijin.
"Yes; and its nice to see you too Jaco" Bulma cut in and stepped in front of Raijin before he could do something he'd regret; the look of hate in Raijin's eyes as he stared at Jaco was not unnoticed by anyone but Jaco himself.
"As I understand you have ordered some machinery parts that are a class higher than Earth's current level of technology; I will have to confiscate these devices"
"Oh come on Jaco… Ewan and I just want to research them so we can raise the class of Earth's technology and provide the people will better medical and power services" Bulma pressed her hands together; knowing that Jaco would never say no to her.
Raijin turned away from Jaco; he hated how ignorant Jaco was as to how advanced the technology that was inside The Research Laboratory and the advances made to the medical field since reverse-engineering The Frieza Force's own Recovery Chambers.
"Alright; I'll overlook it this once" Jaco bowed his head, Bulma happily signing the delivery note for Monaka.
"This once… you've overlooked a hell of a lot" Raijin muttered to himself; drawing a knowing smile from Ewan.
"Thanks Jaco; thanks Monaka, Raijin… would you take the crates out from Monaka's truck?" Bulma called out; handing the papers back to Monaka and waving to a clearly irritated Raijin of whom was still shooting death glares in Jaco's direction.
While Raijin singlehandedly lifted out two large crates of parts and components for the new generator; one shipping crate in each hand and without using any Super Saiyan Form to enhance his strength, Trunks stood amongst the bushes and trees that lined the long road connecting Capsule Corp to West City.
"So where are you heading next Monaka? Another meeting with Lord Beerus or Whis?" Bulma enquired; passing the signed papers back to Monaka.
"No; I have an urgent delivery for Planet Potaufeu" Monaka spoke in his usual slow tone of voice; his sleepy eyes giving nothing away regarding his own thoughts about Lord Beerus or Goku's attempts to fight him before the Tournament against Universe Six.
"Well; don't let us keep you when you got an urgent job to do, drop by any time you please" Bulma gave a friendly smile; walking back into Capsule Corp with Ewan and Jaco in tow.
"Thank you; you are most kind" Monaka bowed in thanks before returning to his Trunk; hopping into the drivers seat and hitting an automated switch to close up and seal the backdoors upon launching back out into Space.
Just as Monaka bowed his farewell bow to Raijin, Bulma and Ewan; Trunks carefully and quickly snuck into the back of Monaka's truck, opting to hide behind the only remaining object contained inside; a large urn-looking pot.
"Hehe; so much for that stupid hard labour crap… so long old man" Trunks laughed to himself as he laid down behind the large urn-looking pot; disregarding the
Back at Capsule Corp; Raijin dropped the two crates inside of Bulma's Lab and left Bulma and Ewan to sort the organize the contents for their work. Finding Pilaf and Shi hard at work weeding the flower beds in The Gardens; the pair frowning though sitting amongst some of the most beautiful flowers Raijin had seen grow in these Gardens, "why the long faces kids… are you not enjoying your work?"
"How can we enjoy this? You're forcing us into hard labour! All I did was change a few lines of code!" Pilaf rambled out his complaints; talking like a much older man than the child appeared to be.
"Yes; you did… and rather badly" Raijin crossed his arms as he talked down to Pilaf.
"When can we take a break? I really need a nap" Shu whined; desperate for a long nap due to living the lifestyle of the average dog.
Raijin let out a sigh as he knew he was working the boys too hard and Mai and/or Goten were always nearby giving them food or water when nobody was around; though something nagged in the back of his mind, "Pilaf, Shu… when did you last see Trunks? He should be here with you".
"I have no idea… he was with us when we put away our mops and buckets; but he vanished about five or ten minutes ago"
"Yeah; I'd say about ten minutes ago too" Shu concurred with Pilaf; a nervous sweat budding through his brown and white fur.
Raijin felt a sense of dread; ten minutes ago was exactly when he took the crates out from Monaka's truck and Monaka had already left for his next job to an entirely different planet, "God dammit… Pilaf, Shu… take a break; a long break while I find Trunks".
Raijin left Pilaf and Shu praising his name while Mai rushed over with foot and water; Raijin did not care for what those three did now for he only thought about bringing Trunks back, storming through to the Lab and finding Bulma, Ewan and Jaco all looking over a separate machine piece each; Bulma looking up and spotting the concerned look on Raijin's face, "What happened?".
Raijin let out a deep breath when he spoke, "Trunks is gone; Pilaf and Shu said he vanished around the time Monaka was here".
"This is not good; you are a bad father Raijin" Jaco scolded; waving his hand dismissively at Raijin.
Raijin's eyes glazed over with a look of pure bloodlust; he felt an intense desire to kill, maim or just seriously injure Jaco at this very moment, the blood-thirty look drew the attention of Bulma and Ewan; both rushing over in an attempt to hold Raijin back.
"Raijin! Calm down; Trunks is what matters right now"
"Yes… Jaco; do you know where this Planet Potaufeu is or how to get there?"
"As a matter of fact; I do know where this planet is and could take you there… but I will not"
Raijin's eyes widened; the sense of desire to attack Jaco instantly returning, "and why not?".
Jaco stood as tall as he could; placing his hands on his hips when he spoke again, "Because I have seen the way you stare at me… you Saiyan; and I dislike it quite strongly, it is only because of Miss Bulma that I do not arrest you".
As soon as Jaco finished speaking when a fist suddenly collided with his light-blue face; Raijin and Ewan both stood stunned as it was not Raijin himself who'd thrown the punch that left Jaco sprawled out on the laboratory floor but it was Bulma who'd thrown the punch.
"You like that Jaco? I can dish out as many punches as a Saiyan can!" Bulma screamed as Jaco rose to a sitting position; Bulma shook her fist in Jaco's face when grabbing a hold of his collar and hoisting the Officer to his feet.
Jaco smacked away Bulma's hand; wordlessly walking away towards his private Space Pod and flying out into Space, leaving Bulma, Raijin and Ewan standing in stunned silence.
"He's not coming back… is he?" Ewan blinked out from behind his cracked glasses; feeling a sense that matters with the Galactic Patrol would only get worse when Jaco made a report to his superiors.
"Not likely… how will we get to Planet Potaufeu now?" Raijin crossed his arms; not caring about Jaco or The Galactic Patrol in the slightest.
"Well; we burnt the bridge with Jaco now… what about Goku? He can teleport you to this Planet in no time" Bulma shrugged her shoulders; pointing up t the root and therefore the sky as he thought of the single other person who could get Raijin to Planet Potaufeu.
"Wait… Goku is on Earth? I thought he was still on Beerus' World" Raijin uncrossed his arms; Goku's presence on Earth being a surprise to him as he'd not thought of trying to sense the energy signatures of Goku or Vegeta for days.
"Yes; he came back days ago to tend to his Farm's crops and sort the harvest in time for market" Bulma spoke; recalling what Chichi had said during the last time they'd met for tea.
Raijin was stunned silent yet again; why had Goku been so secretive when he could have helped with The Bio-Warriors, helped with the evacuation with his Instant Transmission, or even put the kids to work on his crops for punishment.
"What are you waiting for? Go get help from Goku!" Bulma screamed; shoving Raijin out from her workshop and pointing in the exact direction of Goku's Home.
Raijin nodded; realising that there was no time to waste and drawing on his energy to trigger his transformation into a base-level Super Saiyan, utilising the enhanced speeds of Super Saiyan; Raijin could travel to Goku's Farm in less than a half-hour but he'd need his energy to bring Trunks back by force if necessary.
Raijin flew across the continent while leaving a single blazing trail of golden light in the grey cloudy skies; passing by the repaired Amusement Park where he'd once fought against Imperfect Cell but had failed in both delaying or stopping the monster, passing by the cliffy plateau where He, Goku and Vegeta had first laid eyes on Kid Buu; the thought sent a shudder down Raijin's spine as he had sacrificed his life to bring down Kid Buu once and for all.
Finally Goku's Farm came into view; the arcing streams of cabbages, radishes, cauliflower's and carrots being hurled into the air and failing neatly into storage containers on the side of a Capsule Corp Truck brought a smile to Raijin's face.
"Hey; check it out, what brings you here Raijin?" Krillin called out; waving his arms wildly to signal Raijin down from the skies.
Piccolo looked up with a confident smile; using the back of his right hand to wipe away the sweat from his brow after a surprisingly effective training session in the simple act of harvesting crops, "Good to see you again; I was watching your battle with those Bio-Warriors… good work".
Raijin landed on the grassy fields of Goku's Farm just as Piccolo spoke to him; a look of surprise taking over his eyes, "Wait… how did you know about…" Raijin realising he already knew the answer as Piccolo could see over great distances during his meditation.
Goku stepped out from behind the storage containers; having sealed them up for delivery to his buyers, "Raijin; nice to see you but what brings you here?".
Raijin felt stunned when Goku spoke; Goku talked so coldly towards him when Goku was normally so warm and friendly to everyone around him, "I need your help; Trunks has run away and stowed away on board of Monaka's truck to Planet Potaufeu".
"And you want me to teleport you there" Goku spoke with little to none of his usual warmth and friendliness; a lack of emotion that drew Piccolo's and Krillin's attention.
Raijin felt disheartened by Goku's bluntness; his tail reflecting his feelings by dropping and hanging loosely with little to no life.
"Goku… tell Raijin what you told us" Piccolo spoke; crossing his arms and bowing his head as he always did in either difficult situations or when deep in thought.
"Tell me what?" Raijin demanded; a look of determination passing through his already concern-filled eyes.
"Ok Piccolo; it's the way you fought during the Tournament… don't get me wrong I want to fight you myself someday, but you could have been as strong as Vegeta and I are"
"Then give me a way to prove that I am as strong as you or Vegeta!" Raijin demanded again; feeling a sudden urge to strike Goku and challenge him to a one-on-one fight.
"He's right; fighting Hit showed us what Raijin's new powers were… but he hasn't fought anyone on the level of a God" Piccolo guessed; though having been witness to Raijin's ascension and secretly trained and assisted Raijin to use and call upon the powers of Super Saiyan 4 at will.
"Thanks Krillin" Raijin whispered under his breath; thankful that Krillin was still on his side as Goku had been acting and speaking quite distantly.
"Alright; let's go" Goku shouted; extending his left hand solely to Raijin.
Goku extended his left hand as his right hand pointed to his forehead; allowing Raijin to grasp Goku's left hand with his own right hand, Goku's eyes closed to focus on where in Universe Seven this previously unknown Planet Potaufeu is.
"That's strange… I found Trunks but there's also two Vegeta's" Goku spoke in a low voice; his brow furrowing at the ominous power he sensed from Planet Potaufeu.
"You mean like… another Cell?" Krillin felt a shudder down his spine; dreading the idea of another Cell rising up after having Frieza return from the dead only a few months ago.
"No; it's not like Cell at all… its like one Vegeta is getting stronger while the other is getting weaker" Goku's eyes reopened as he spoke; his eyes locking with Raijin's; the pair of Saiyans nodding to each other.
"Then we have no time to lose; let's go" Raijin spoke; smiling with confidence in the fact that he, Vegeta and Goku together could take down anything or anyone.
As soon as Raijin spoke his sentence; Goku and Raijin vanished with the use of Goku's Instant Transmission on route to Planet Potaufeu.
