The Three Legendary Saiyans

Chapter 18: Future-Trunks Returns

Raijin smiled a warm yet fatherly smile while his son had his back to him but spotting Goku and Vegeta walking back to the group; returning after their hushed exchange of words, "Hey Vegeta; how about a thank you for saving your existence".

Vegeta's eyes widened at the very mention of the idea of him giving his thanks for anything.

Goku laughed at Vegeta's reaction; scratching at the back of his head, "Yeah; Vegeta isn't really the type to say thanks for anything".

Vegeta growled under his breath; sneering directly at Goku, "Shouldn't you be using that Instant Transmission of yours to get us back to Earth?!".

Goku blinked several times before realising that he was their ride back to Earth, "Oh yeah; sorry about that… everybody join hands!".

"Took long enough!" Trunks yelled at Goku and Vegeta with a temper resembling that of Vegeta's own; taking Raijin's left hand in his own right hand.

Raijin merely smiled a fatherly smile as he held hands with his son; his right hand grasping at Goku's left hand, "Are you both not coming?" Raijin spoke as he turned to meet the eyes of Potage and a suddenly conscious Monaka.

"No; this place is my home and this is where I must stay" Potage sank down on top of a large stone for a seat; the dark shadowed over his eyes masking his tired and worn out eyes from view.

"No thanks Sir Raijin; though I appreciate the offer" Monaka bowed his head; silently praying that his truck survived the battle with Copy-Vegeta.

"Fine; good luck to you both!" Trunks spoke and waved just as they all vanished from the surface of the Planet and leaving Potage and Monaka to themselves; the next thing he saw was the large yellow dome-shamed building of Capsule Corp and the sudden impact of Bulma's motherly hug.

"Mom! I can't breathe!" Trunks yelled; his arms flailing in the air while Bulma gripped him tightly.

Raijin wrapped his right arm around Bulma's waist while placing his left hand on Trunks' head, "I hope you know that you are not getting out of your punishment".

Trunks frowned while pressed against his mother in an embrace; spotting Pilaf, Shu, Mai and Goten out of the corners of his eyes, "What do I have to do this time?"

"I'll handle it this time" Bulma spoke to Raijin; knowing that Raijin would issue a punishment even worse than what he'd been doing at the time of his running away, "Finish the mopping of the floors one final time and then you will be confined to your studying and furthering your education… got it?".

"Got it; but let my… friends go from their punishments, they had nothing to do with my escape" Trunks bowed his head after stepping away from Bulma; his hands relaxing instead of curling into fists like they usually did in the company of his parents.

Raijin smiled an impressed smile; in the short time he'd been away from Earth; Trunks had matured somewhat as well as learnt a hint of responsibility for the Copy-Vegeta Situation.

Pilaf and Shu wept rivers of tears while watching Trunks bear the responsibility of his running away from home; Mai and Goten however both breathed sighs of relief for their friend.

"Well its about time you learnt something boy" Vegeta stepped towards Raijin after reprimanding Trunks; giving a dangerous look towards Raijin, Vegeta's lingering gaze piercing and seemingly trying to find something in Raijin.

Bulma turned her son away from Vegeta; guiding him away from the imminent explosion of anger that always came when those veins popped in Vegeta's forehead, "Come on all of you; its time for your tutoring session and she's been waiting for some time now".

Trunks sighed; he disliked his personal tutor more than the hard labour punishments he'd endured, Trunks watched Raijin, Vegeta and Goku stand together as a trio until he had walked back into the main Capsule Corp building along with Goten, Mai Pilaf and Shu; all of whom were patting Trunks on the back for returning back to Earth and demanding to know what happened up in Space.

Goku nodded his head; somewhat agreeing with Vegeta's statement, "What you did was amazing; I wanna know what that sudden change in your power was too!".

"As for you! That power you used was different than normal and unlike how we use that same power" Vegeta demanded an answer from Raijin regarding the sudden power he'd displayed at the end of the battle with Copy-Vegeta.

"Well duh; its called Super Saiyan 4… not Primal Super Saiyan or Super Saiyan Beast, but what do you mean?" Raijin bragged about his own unique powers; though he was curious by what Vegeta meant, Raijin had dug deep within himself and found a power he didn't know about no had felt since their first encounter with Lord Beerus.

"What Vegeta is trying to say is that you… Sir Raijin possesses the power of God Ki; something in all this time that I did not expect from you" spoke a calm, understanding voice; a voice that could only belong to one man.

Raijin span on the spot upon hearing the recognizable voice; two people he had not seen since the Tournament against The Sixth Universe and often had little to no contact with, Raijin bowed in greeting to Lord Beerus and Whis once coming face to face with the divine duo.

"Great; another Saiyan with Divine Powers… you better not be planning on trying to overthrow me from my position as Destroyer God" Beerus complained though he always spoke with his eyes closed; one of his large yellow eyes opening and glaring directly at Raijin when speaking on Raijin's intentions with the power of God Ki.

"No Lord Beerus; I didn't even know I had God Ki until only seconds ago" Raijin dropped down to one knee when speaking to Beerus; the Destroyer God and Whis both narrowing their eyes upon gazing at Raijin as if they were looking deep down inside of Raijin's very being.

"You're not very bright are you… if obvious that like Vegeta and Goku; your body absorbed some of the God Ki during that whole Super Saiyan God fiasco, and it seems that you learnt to use it during your last fight" Beerus again complained as well as insulting Raijin's intelligence, turning on the spot and floating towards the Briefs Family Apartment with clear intent to find some delectable food.

Raijin huffed; disliking Beerus insulting his intelligence while feeling an urge to challenge to God to a fight at this very moment even though he knew Beerus would wipe him out on the spot if he even tried.

Goku suddenly patted Raijin on the shoulder, "Don't feel so angry; if you do… you'll end up like Vegeta".

"And what is that supposed to mean!" Vegeta shouted; shooting his famous death-glare directly at Goku for his remarks about anger.

Raijin couldn't help but laugh; the urge to attack Beerus lost in the moment of laughter.

Even Whis have a chuckle at the moment between the three Saiyans; tapping his staff on the ground to catch Raijin's attention, "Well now that you've awakened your own God Ki Raijin; I will extend this invitation once again… will you come to Beerus' World to learn to use God Ki and pursue an even greater strength?".

Before Raijin opened his mouth to speak; a loud humming noise resonated from the skies, a burning yellow and black coloured craft hurtled seemingly out from nowhere and crashing directly into the ground right outside the vicinity of the landing pad outside of Bulma's Lab.

"Isn't that the Time Machine?" Goku began to speak when Raijin and Vegeta exchanged a brief nod to one another; Raijin and Vegeta running away from a very confused but stoic Whis and making a direct path for the burning craft.

Overlooking the crashing vehicle; Trunks, Goten as well as Pilaf, Mai and Shu watched while their Tutor: a large woman with red hair and thick-rimmed glasses and wore too much makeup looked at the crash in horror, Trunks and Goten quickly flying down to the crashed vehicle and arriving at its transparent dome even before Raijin, Vegeta and Goku could.

"What happened? Where did that ship come from?" Pilaf shouted; his high-pitched voice screeching when he spoke at a faster pace of speech.

Trunks and Goten both ignored Pilaf, Mai and Shu; daring not to touch the burning hot dome of the craft's cockpit, though they could see somebody lying unconscious inside; somebody that bore an almost identical resemblance to Trunks.

"What is this machine? Who is that Trunks? He looks just like you… only older" Goten muttered; the sight of the unconscious man shocking him to his very core.

"I don't know… who is he?" Trunks muttered; the unconscious man having also shocked him to his very core.

Raijin and Vegeta instantly pushed the two boys backwards; Raijin quickly remembering where the access panel was on the machine, striking the panel as the machine whirred to life and the domed canopy began to open allowing Vegeta to drag the unconscious man out from the burning machine.

Trunks couldn't take his eyes off the unconscious man; the man was dressed dark blue jacket with a red scarf, dark and torn pants with dirty combat boots; but the two shared the exact same blue hair and the same exact hairstyle, "Who is that?".

"Go and get your mother; tell her exactly what happened" Raijin spoke in a commanding tone; looking inside the cockpit of the machine and pulling out a sheathed broadsword; along with a strange blue-cover book tied to the sword's scabbard.

"But.. who is this guy? And why does he look just like me?!" Trunks yelled; his tone of voice demanding an answer at this very moment.

"Do as your father says; brat!" Vegeta shouted at Trunks in an aggressive voice; shooting a look of fury at Trunks' disobedience.

Trunks gulped down what few words he would dare say to Vegeta; merely floating off the ground and flying in a direct path for Bulma's Lab, Goten wordlessly following after him.

Goku along with Whis ran over; Goku rushing to the side of the unconscious man, "Is that Future-Trunks? What's he doing back here in our time?".

Whis felt his curiosity being picked at; the version of Trunks from a separate timeline laying in the grass at his head, "This is most interesting… might I ask who this man is and where he came from?".

Raijin lifted the unconscious Future-Trunks onto his shoulder; along with assistance from Vegeta taking Future-Trunks onto his shoulders too, "I'm sorry Whis; but can we get into this later… right now Future-Trunks' safety is top priority".

Whis puckered his blue lips and narrowed his observative eyes; clearly displeased with Raijin's rudely-put answer to the question and not answering the invitation.

Bulma came bursting out from her Lab; a medical kit in one hand along with Trunks and Goten running at her heels, "Did the other Trunks come back? How is he?!".

"He's unconscious! We need a place to let him rest and wake up on his own!" Raijin called out to his wife; He and Vegeta carrying Future-Trunks all the way to the Gardens and set the young man down on a recliner to rest.

Beerus watched the entire procession enter the Gardens from a lawn chair with a vanilla ice-cream float in one hand; a curious look in his yellow eyes as a very displeased Whis teleported to stand by his side.

"Will somebody tell me who this guy is now?! I'm sick of being given the run-around!" Trunks yelled; his hair spiking and changing into that of a Super Saiyan in his burst of frustration which bubbled over into anger.

"I too would like to know who this man is and what that strange craft was" Whis spoke' the displeased look lingering in his eyes; casting his staff in an arc just as the burning machine Future-Trunks arrived in was teleported into the Gardens.

Raijin, Vegeta and Goku looked between each other; neither one of the three Saiyans knowing how to explain the existence of Future-Trunks or the invention of the Time Machine.

Bulma slapped each one of the three Saiyans in the back; sighing at how hopeless they were in this situation and stepped forward to explain Future-Trunks herself, "Fine; you'll tell you… this Trunks resting is from an alternate Timeline where he was fathered by Vegeta while the Trunks here was fathered by Raijin; a Me in the Future built a Time Machine so Future-Trunks could come to our Timeline to warn us about a dangerous threat as well as give us a cure for the Heart Virus that Goku would've died from, and now it seems he's returned for some reason.

Trunks looked dumbstruck at the revelation and the existence of a Future Version of himself.

"I should destroy each and every one of you for meddling with the flow of Time; its is extremely dangerous for Mortals to meddle in these affairs" Beerus spoke; the veins in his forehead popping in irritation caused by the very mention of the Time Machine and Alternate Timelines.

"Hey! I am not the Bulma who built the Time Machine! My Future-Self was the one" Bulma shouted; poking Beerus in the chest after snatching the ice-cream float from Beerus' hand.

"That is irrelevant! You are just as guilty as your so-called Future-Self" Beerus shouted at Bulma; a dark purple energy shimmering around Beerus' body once his anger had grown to its bursting point.

"Though it is interesting and confusing that two versions of the same person has two different fathers over the two Timelines" Whis spoke softly though he was also displeased with the meddling of the Timelines; his soft voice breaking the tension between Bulma and Beerus.

"Whis… can we please not do this again; it was too confusing the first time" Raijin sighed; recalling the perplexing and confusing matter of Future-Trunks' and Present-Trunks' parentage.

"OOH! How scandalous; two versions of Trunks with Raijin and Vegeta as each one's father, we could sell this juicy info to the tabloids for some pretty hefty money!" Pilaf snickered; developing another one of his hair-brained get-rich-quick schemes.

"Do so and you'll no longer be welcome here before you can even get back to the front gates" Raijin spoke; shooting a threatening look to Pilaf and Shu as they both had begun trying to sneak out, Mai on the other hand stood by Trunks in wait for Future-Trunks to awaken.

"Why don't you two do something useful and put out those flames!" Bulma screamed directly at Pilaf and Shu; the pair instantly standing to attention in fear of Bulma's wrath, Pilaf and Shu quickly running off and returning with a fire extinguisher each; Pilaf and Shu quickly used their extinguishers to put out the flames but feeling shocked to find the Capsule Corp Logo on the side of each pylon of the machine.

"Goku; do you have any Senzu Beans on hand?" Bulma asked; her hand resting on Future-Trunks' forehead, taking her hand away upon feeling his high temperature as well as his shallow breathing.

"Sorry; I don't" Goku stared down at Future-Trunks while speaking.

"Then go get some; surely Korin has some ready" Raijin added; crossing his arms in wait of Future-Trunks waking up.

Goku snapped to the task without a second thought; utilising Instant Transmission to head to Korin's Tower within moments.

"Clueless as ever… how on earth has he survived against so many world ending threats" Raijin questioned; the thick-headed Goku always seemed to be so strong and able to survive anything the Universe threw at him and yet Goku always failed to use any kind of brain power in emergency situations.

Vegeta remained leaning against a wall; his emotionless face revealing none of his thoughts regarding the sudden return of Future-Trunks, but most surprisingly was Vegeta not saying a word regarding Goku's lack of any forethought.

"Your guess is as good as mine" Trunks surprisingly agreed with his father; though he still remained perplexed by his Other Self from another Timeline just laying in a recliner chair.

Mai's cheeks blushed pink at the mere sight of Future-Trunks; her eyes projecting looks of concern for Future-Trunks' health.

"What could have happened to cause this… why would Trunks return when his Timeline is supposed to have been saved?" Bulma spoke; her fingers running through Future-Trunks' hair in an attempt to comfort him.

Goku quickly returned with a single Senzu Bean resting in the palm of his right hand; handing the bean immediately to Bulma to be fed to Future-Trunks, though Trunks stared at Bulma's caring of his Future-Self with a look of aghast horror.

"Here… please eat this; it's a Senzu Bean" Bulma held the Bean between her two fingers; urging Future-Trunks to eat it.

Future-Trunks' eyes opened a crack; muttering the word "Mother…" before Bulma fed him the Bean, Future-Trunks slowly opened his eyes to the smiling faces of Bulma, Raijin and Goku standing over him; a bubbling rage overcoming his mind at the very sight of Goku.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU MURDER MY MOTHER!" Future-Trunks leapt out of the recliner chair and making a beeline for Goku; his fists grabbing Goku by his orange gi and lifting him off the ground.

"Whoa! Trunks… I don't remember ever killing Bulma!" Goku spoke with a nervous tone of voice; Future-Trunks had never suddenly attacked like this in his memory except for the time they all met Androids 17 and 18 for the first time.

Future-Trunks' anger slowly faded as he gazed into the cheery and friendly expression that Goku always wore; his fists releasing Goku's orange gi as he bowed his head in apology, "I'm sorry… you just look just like… wait: how are you alive again? Last time you decided to stay in the Afterlife?"

"Yeah… it's a long story" Goku spoke while scratching his head; spotting a distasteful look he was receiving from Vegeta.

Raijin placed a hand on Future-Trunks' shoulder; guiding him back down to the recliner chair to rest, "Tell us what happened in your time?".

Beerus and Whis remained silent during the entire exchange; about how Future-Trunks had teamed up with the Supreme Ki of his Timeline and successfully stopped Majin Buu from awakening after cutting down both Babidi and Dabura, his world had finally begun rebuilding and establishing a new society after all the years of destruction at the hands of The Androids; but a new foe arrived and wiped out the majority of the population within an hour of arriving: a foe they'd named "Black".

"And who is this Black" Vegeta finally spoke; alerting Future-Trunks to his presence, Future-Trunks finally showing a comforted smile when knowingly in the presence of his father.

"Never mind that! How are you me and I'm you?" Trunks shouted; having had enough of being ignored and wanting to know exactly

Future-Trunks blinked as he locked eyes with Trunks; remembering the baby Bulma constantly carried around during the last time he was in this Timeline, "Its natural that you don't remember me; as you were only a ten-month-old baby at the time".

"That doesn't answer my question!" Trunks shouted; tired of being given the run around; but oblivious to the increasingly pink blush that spread across Mai's cheeks while she gazed at Future-Trunks.

"Excuse me; but I'm still rather confused… you say this Black-person has the same face as Goku?" Raijin question; glancing at the eerily quiet Beerus and Whis of whom were just standing adjacent to Vegeta.

Before Future-Trunks could speak; a crackle of lightning coursed across the clear blue skies, a black dimensional tear cracked through the horizon directly over Capsule Corp; standing in the centre of the dimensional fissure stood a man dressed almost entirely in black except for a pair of white boots and a red sash around his waist.

"That's Black" Future-Trunks spoke; rising up to challenge the man once more though Bulma and Raijin both grasped his shoulders and pushed him back into his seat as he was not well enough to fight even after eating a Senzu Bean.

Goku, Vegeta and Trunks took a step forward; catching a look at Black's face: the face of Goku.