Real World - Tokyo
"Ka..me..ha...me...haaa!"
Shallot let loose his blast and watched it sail away, to the target named Perfect Cell, whom Fu had just conjured from nowhere. After Shallot had locked onto Matsuris' energy and it suddenly vanished, Shallot knew that he'd found Fus' lab, and thus was eager to destroy it. The only issue with that was Fu himself, who had brought the Perfect Cell there just a few minutes ago.
*Boom*
Dropping his arms, Shallot took breathes to calm down. He was using a lot of power, staying as a SS2, and couldn't help but worry that if he were defeated here, the result would be catastrophic.
As the dust settled down around the building, Cell flew out of it unharmed. He was glowing purple, having eaten the spiked fruit Fu offered, and Shallot readied another attack.
"So eager to waste all of your energy." Cell said, hovering closer.
"Shut up. I've got plenty more where that came from!" Shallot yelled. He lifted his hand to the sky, and an yellow blade formed, twirling around at a high velocity of speed.
"Destructo Disc!"
Shallot threw it to Perfect Cell, and the enemy jumped once to avoid the attack. "I haven't saw that in awhile." Cell said.
"Tch!"
Cell quickly made it to Shallot in the air, and the two began fierce melee combat. Then, seeing an opening, Cell kneed Shallot in his chest, harsh enough that the saiyans' form of SS2 faded away. Shallot grunted, falling in the sky, when he was caught in someones' arms.
It was a teenage boy. He had dark brown hair, long, spiked bangs in front, and it was tied with a low pony tail. Blue eyes, tan skin, and a lip ring. He also appeared to be quite fashionable.
"Hey. Thanks for the save, random person in the sky." Shallot said.
"It's Tie."
"Tie, huh?" Shallot hauled himself up, eyeing Cell who hadn't made a move and appeared to be judging the newest fighter. "What brings you to the real world, Tie?"
"I'm helping you, Uncle Shallot."
"H-Huh? Uncle?!"
Tie smirked and punched Shallots' bicep, saying, "Now stand back while I show you my power."
Shallot rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. Have at it. I'll just stay over here until you get beaten."
With a chuckle Tie hovered nearer to Perfect Cell. The boy spread his feet and arms apart and rose his Ki. "Haaaaa...ahh!"
Wow. A SSGSS?
Shallot was impressed.
A hand on his shoulder made his jump out of his skin, but he quickly saw that it was Zamasu and not Fu. "Damn, dude!"
Zamasu now 'dude' glared at Shallot in a disapproving way and motioned to the boy. "He wouldn't be quiet until I brought him along."
"Huh? You mean, you know that kid? And hey--how the hell did you get here, anyway? Weren't your powers taken away?"
With a sigh Zamasu lifted his hand. On that hand, there was a glimmering silver ring. "Yes. My powers had been taken away, however, after I proved my 'worthiness' to those insignificant mortals, they were returned. It would seem by keeping Rhuda alive, I gained their trust."
"...Am I missing something?" Shallot scratched his dark head, watching Tie pummel Perfect Cell.
Zamasu smirked. "You're so feeble minded. Can you not tell where that boy comes from? Must I spell it out for you?"
"Tch...." Shallot watched Tie some more before it dawned on him. When he realized, his brows drooped with aggravation. "Dammit. So noodles and Trunks had a kid. This brat is from the future, and you, too I'm guessing?"
"Finally. Perhaps you do have a brain in there somewhere."
"Ha ha."
Tie kicked Cell from the sky, where the oversized green cockroach drove like a bomb into the roadway. Cars blared their horn, and people ran screaming, some even leaving their kids behind to get away from the blast.
"But wait---he called me 'Uncle Shallot'..." Shallot tapped his fingers on his arm, until his face grew red. "N-No! Not with 'HER'!?"
Zamasu looked a little amused by Shallots' reaction, and placed his arms behind his back, watching the fight end. "...No, not with her, entirely. You're far too busy with other things to stay at home."
"I-I am?"
"Curious, are you?"
"Just tell me man!"
"I am not 'man'. I'm a Kai. Have some respect." Zamasu growled. He motioned to the boy, "I'll only give you a few clues. If you're too stupid to figure it out on your own, that's entirely your fault. The boy, Tie, is your student...and, as you can see, he's quite talented for his age already. However, his true power lay dormant within him. That's why he sought 'you' out, to bring that forth. It takes someone of much higher power to train a Legendary Super Saiyan, after all."
Shallots' eyes widened. He looked from Tie, to Zamasu, and back again. Then roughed his spiked hair up. "Argh! That doesn't help at all!"
"Hm hm." Zamasu smiled. With a sigh he added, "One final clue, then. Currently, what is lacking within Universe 13?"
"Urgh! Just tell me already!"
"...I did tell you. Think on that for a time. Although, I'll say this: You're more like his father than his own."
Shallot swallowed. He had no idea how far in the future those two came from, but Tie had brought a Kai like Zamasu, who used to be evil, to help him fight Perfect Cell in the past. Which meant the boy must really care for Shallot. But why? If he had Mr. Perfect as a Dad, why would Tie ever want to be around Shallot?
It didn't make sense at all.
"Tch. You're just trying to confuse me."
The match was over. Perfect Cell was blasted away with a Super Kamehameha, after Tie had finished playing with him. The boy turned, seeing if Shallot was watching, and gave him a thumbs up. "Did you see me, Uncle?"
Shallot nodded. "I uh, I did. Nice job kiddo."
Tie flew over to them. He checked his watch, and that's when Shallot spotted that Tie, too, had a silver ring on his hand. Time Rings.
Just what was a saiyan kid doing, wearing one of those?
"So, what made you come here, Tie?" Shallot asked.
The boy flushed and looked away after crossing his arms. "Can't say! Hmp! I just wanted to help you out. 'Cause, you know..."
Zamasu gave the boy a glare. "You can't interfere anymore, child. We should leave."
"Yes sir..."
Tie flew over and clapped his hands to his thighs, bowing to Shallot, and said, "I--I'll try super hard! So--so when you meet me, make sure I go along with you. Okay, Uncle?"
"Uhh....o-kay?" Shallot shrugged, "I have no idea what the hell is going on, but sure, kid."
Shallot watched Tie pull out a Capsule and toss it. Out came a Realm Time Machine, and the Tie quickly got into it, punching in a few things, and closed the lid. Zamasu grabbed one of the machines legs and nodded to Shallot in farewell. Then, with a 'blip' they were both gone.
"Man...just what the hell is the future like? Zamasu helping Tie come here? Me, training a Legendary Super Saiyan?" Shallot shook his head in wonder. "I'm gonna go crazy trying to figure it out."
He looked to his surroundings, not sensing anyone. It would seem Fu was busy again, then. Shallot would wait for night fall before going back to the game world and updating the SKOT on things. For now, he was hungry, and pizza sounded wonderful.
***
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Present - Capsule Industries
Broly knocked on Trunks' bedroom door. After a moment he heard, "Come in."
Trunks was at his desk, beside the doorway, and appeared to have been attacked by wires. He was wrapped up in them, and looked sheepish. "Heh. Want to uh, help a guy out?"
Broly helped Trunks get free of the wire trap. Trunks stood up and bowed, "Thanks. I owe ya one. So, whats up?"
"...Where is my sister?"
"Er--well, she uh...she's at Gokus' place."
"Her energy has been gone for over a day. What is Kakarot doing, making her stay away?" Broly frowned.
"It's kind of a long story. Sit down, I'll tell you."
After Broly found a spot on the bed to chill, Trunks began going over the details of just where his little sister had gone to. As he listened Broly grew more solemn. Finally he nodded and found a spot on the floor to look at. "...Kakarot has taken her from me."
"Now I wouldn't say that...! He just wanted to uhm, watch over her. Because she's still young and everything." Trunks said.
"It is my job to watch over Rhuda."
"Yeah, that's true, but...well, look at it this way. She now has even more family. And that's what she always wanted. A loving family."
Brolys' thick brows pinched together. He nodded. Then said, "I wish to go with her next time. To that place."
"Oh, you mean the HTC? I'm sure she'd love that."
"...You were making something. What was it?" Broly asked.
"Er--I just uh, trying to make her a gift. You know, since she had a birthday. She's eighteen now...but, I really don't think I can top what Goku gave her."
"Kakarot gave sister a present? What was it?"
"His power pole. He had it forever, but it didn't want a new owner until Rhuda came along. Anyway, it's super powerful and will help her out to be sure."
Broly and Trunks frowned at once another. Both were thinking the same thing: I need to get her a better present!
"I must...find something." Broly stood. "Come with me. We look together."
"I-I was trying to make something, but that works too. Where should we look?" Trunks asked, standing as well.
The two put their thinking hats on and shrugged. Trunks pointed, "Oh. I know! I'll go ask mother what kind of present we should get her. Let's go!"
Capsule Industries -- LAB
Bulma appeared to be frazzled. She was knee deep in papers at her work station as Trunks and Broly came in, shuffling them around in a mess. Her face grew more angry as she continued to search. The LAB door shut behind Broly and Trunks, and she looked up. "Oh! Broly! Son! It's about time you come back. I've got a real doozy of a hangover from last night. My heads killing me! And I can't find my pen anywhere! I know I just had it!"
Trunks walked over, chuckling, and pointed to her head. "Its uh, behind your ear."
"Arrgh! The one place I didn't look! So, what's up? You here to talk about the new invention I've been working on?" Bulma asked.
"Not exactly. I was hoping to get some advice. From a woman."
"Ohhh, I see. Well you've came to the right place! It doesn't get more womanly than me!" Wink.
"R-Right. You see...Rhuda had a birthday, and Broly and I are a little clueless about what to get her."
Broly nodded to confirm. Bulma blinked then smirked. "You two want me to help you pick out a present, is that it?"
"Y-Yeah." Trunks said.
His mother laughed and walked to them, putting a hand on her hip. "One thing to know about women is that we 'love' jewelry. We also love trips, and romantic dinner dates, and little love notes put on our pillows."
Trunks and Broly looked at one another. Those things were way out of their comfort zone. They were thinking along the line of some kind of weapon or upgrade, not jewelry or love letters.
Bulma, seeing their expression, shook her head. "Oh what am I saying? You two are both saiyan through and through. Why don't you just ask her what she'd like? It isn't too hard. And from what I know about Rhuda, she's not used to anything fancy, anyway."
They hung their heads in defeat. Trunks sighed, saying, "I guess you're right."
"Well...there is 'one' thing you could do."
Their heads lifted, eyes brightening. Bulma smiled. "Make her a cake!"
"C-Cake?" Broly repeated. He blinked. "What is this, cake?"
"It's a food Broly. You've had it before, but...oh, never mind. That's probably impossible for you two."
Trunks and Broly looked to each other before slowly nodding. Trunks said, "We'll do it. I've never cooked before, but it can't be too hard. Where do I start?"
His mother laughed and patted her sons shoulder. "You're so sweet, Trunks. She's going to remember it forever. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best. Now...first things first. You're going to both need aprons!"
***
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Present Earth -- Gokus' Home --
"HAH! I won!"
Rhuda dipped her head. "...I was close, though."
"Yeah but my foot touched the door before yours, sis. So I win!" Goten smacked her back, almost knocking the bags from her arms, and headed on side. "Mom! We're back!"
Instead of an answer they heard pecking noises. 'tap' 'tap'
"You hear that?" Goten asked.
Rhuda nodded. "Yeah. It sounds like a hammer."
They set down the goods on the round kitchen table and left to investigate the strange noise. It appeared to be coming from within Gotens' room, just ahead of the kitchen, and as they poked their heads in the sight was shocking.
Goku was holding up beams of wood and nailing them together in the floor, behind him a stack of different sized wood. Chichi stood watch over him, arms crossed, and was barking orders. "That piece doesn't go there, Goku! It says 'A', not 'B'!"
"Aw man. That means I have to take it apart again, doesn't it?" Goku sighed and scowled at the white paper beside his boot in the floor. "Why do they have to use complicated letters for, anyway? And why so many screws?"
Chichi sighed. "Those aren't complicated! It's not 'my' fault you don't want to read the instructions! Oh, hey Goten, Rhuda. I see you made it back."
Goten and Rhuda slowly stepped into the room, puzzled. Just what was Goku working on?
"Dad...what are you doing?" Goten asked.
Goku sighed and flopped down onto his bottoms, crossing his arms. "I'm trying to make a bed. Only it's super annoying, and Chichi keeps making me take it back apart!"
"Well maybe if you got it right the FIRST time we wouldn't need to!" Chichi yelled. She sighed and said to her kids, "...Help your father, kids? We'll be here all night if you don't."
Both nodded.
Goten grabbed the paper and read over the directions. He began pointing to the required wooden beams, and Rhuda stood watch, until Goku smashed his thumb on the hammer. "Yeowch! That smarts!" He held his swollen thumb with a tear in his eye.
"D-Dad? Ano...I-I'm fairly good at fixing things..." the girl said shyly.
His dark eyes grew bright. "Really? Sweet! Then you can help me out!"
Thus Goten and Rhuda put together the bed. It took all of ten minutes, and the time passed quickly, as they were both working hard. When it was done Chichi and Goku clapped. "Great work!" Goku said. Chichi nodded. "It looks just like the picture!"
Rhuda stared at her new bed. Her heart was pounding, looking at it. She'd never had someone go out and buy her a bed like that, all because she'd needed one. In fact, the girl had never had a 'new' bed at all.
Slowly it dawned of Goku, Chichi and Goten that their newest family member was getting teary eyed. Chichi pulled Rhuda to her chest and smothered her into her arms. "There, there you sweet girl."
Goku ruffled her head, and Goten flopped onto the mattress, testing it's bounciness. "Hey no fair! Her bed is way better than mine!"
"Hush, Goten! You have homework to do, mister! Get to it!"
"Fineee...."
Goten trudged off to the kitchen to begin his homework. The girl in Chichis' arms leaned away, sniffling, and her mother took the hem of her dress and wiped it away.
"What do you think, Chisato?" Goku asked her. "Do ya like it?"
"Y-yes!"
***
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Present Time -- Capsule Industries -- Cafeteria
Trunks studied the directions, sorry, recipe, for one homemade cake. Eggs, flour, butter...milk...vanilla..
"Okay!" He pounded his flat palm, then remembered he was wearing gloves. Thus he took them off, and retied his hair too, just in case it got in the way. Broly stood beside him at the long stainless steel counter, the hired cook and chefs of Capsule blinking at them. Never before had the young Briefs himself came to the kitchen to cook something. It was a rare sight indeed.
Even more rare was the sight of two saiyan warriors wearing pink heart shaped aprons.
"Tell me what I must do." Broly said, peering over his shoulder.
"We need two eggs. Break them in this bowl. I'll get the other part going."
Broly asked one cook where the eggs were kept, and was shone the double door fridge. He opened it, studied where they were and came back with a dozen eggs. "I have the eggs."
"Great. We need two." Trunks said, pointing to the steel bowl. Broly took two, lifted the first, and gave it a thorough punch. The egg burst and covered his face, shells sticking to his tan hand.
"Er--"
Trunks held back the comment, instead saying, "T-Try again. Gently this time. Like...it's a baby."
"Yes."
Again Broly took another egg, stared at it, and tapped it with his index finger. The egg cracked down the middle, making him frown.
"No, no, that's fine. Just uh, open it over the bowl."
Trunks turned to his own task. He needed a measuring cup, and grabbed one, putting a stick of butter into it. The butter needed to be melted first before putting it into the bowl.
The microwave behind him was quite large, and he placed the butter and cup into it, shutting the door.
"Maybe...one minute?" He guessed, setting the time.
He turned away from it to begin measuring the flour and milk. While he did that, the microwave began popping. And Broly was staring at the bowl where his eggs lay before putting his finger into it and tasting the ooze. He sniffed it and scowled.
The watching cooks bit their mouths to hold back laughing. One cook jabbed the others ribs, and they left the kitchen, only making it to the hallway leading to the cafe before bursting out in a fit of giggles.
Trunks frowned. His butter shouldn't be popping like that, right? Quickly he opened the door and saw it had splattered everywhere. "...This...is harder than I thought."
Again he grabbed a stick of butter and put it into the microwave, this time lowering the setting to less heat, and pressed Start. He watched it carefully, and could see that it had began to melt. When it was done Trunks took the hot cup, still steaming from previous splatter, and it seared his hand.
"Ow!"
The cup fell--
---And shattered.
"..."
Both Broly and Trunks stared at the mess. They gave a sigh.
"It's fine. This is....fine. We can do this, Broly." Trunks said. His companion nodded.
Yet again Trunks repeated the motions and finally had melted butter. With a smirk of confidence he put it into the bowl with the eggs, then spotted egg shells in there, too. He gave Broly a frown. "Broly...the uh...shells...I'm not sure those are supposed to be in there."
"Right." Broly carefully and meticulously picked the bits of egg out of the bowl, but sloshed the entire thing and it fell, covering the floor in butter and egg residue.
They sighed.
"...This...is hard. Harder than fighting." Broly stated. Trunks nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We can't give up, though!"
"Mhm. Yes. I want sister to have a cake."
Thus the pair redid everything, melting the butter and cracking the eggs. Perfectly. Afterward, Trunks put in the required amount of flour and milk, and Broly said he would mix them together.
"Are you sure?" Trunks asked.
"Yes."
Broly grabbed a whisk and began stirring. His stirring was rather aggressive, however, and everything flung out the sides of the bowl.
They sighed.
"...One more time."
Again they performed the steps, all until whisking. Trunks grabbed the bowl and showed Broly how to stir it, and he nodded in understanding. Trunks watched Broly stir the batter until no clumps remained.
"It's done," Broly said with a pleased sigh. There was sweat on his brow, along with various ingredients.
Trunks nodded. He wiped his cheek, coating it in flour, and sighed as well. "Yeah. Now all we have to do is pour it in the pan and cook it."
Carefully Trunks read the oven directions, and Broly slowly poured the mixture into the greased pan. All was going well finally. They were both waiting patiently for the oven timer to go off, and when it did, Trunks opened the oven door and grabbed the hot cake pan. He grimaced, but was determined not to drop it at any cost. Thus he thoroughly burned his hand and sat the pan down on the counter, staring at the enemy.
"....Your hand. It is very red," Broly said, staring at it. Trunks looked down, seeing that it was indeed swollen and throbbing. He shut his eyes a little, "J-Just a battle wound."
The two saiyans sighed. Making a cake was hard. The last step was icing, and they both took turns with a butter knife, smearing the pink frosting all over it in a messy fashion. Overall the cake looked like a child had made it, but the proof was in the pudding so to speak.
"...Do you think she will like it?" Broly asked, staring at the pink blob.
"I--I hope so."
***
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Present Time Earth -- Paozu Mountains
Rhuda swung her power pole around, whapping a tree. "Hyah!"
The tree quivered before falling over. She smirked triumphantly and turned to Goku, "It's pretty strong!"
"Yup! I used it to take down lots of baddies." Goku said. His eyes glanced up, sensing Trunks. "Your ride is here."
Rhuda sensed it too, and couldn't help but grin in anticipation. She placed the power pole onto her back and watched as Trunks flew down. In his arms was a...cake? At least, it appeared to be something in a pan with tons of pink frosting. He landed, and she saw Broly not too far behind.
"Sorry I'm a little late." Trunks said, walking over. He bowed his head and extended the cake, "W-We uh, had a little trouble."
Trouble? Just what had it been? A fight?
Hearing her thoughts, Trunks shook his head. "Not exactly. Er...well, you'll see."
Broly flew down and tackled his sister. She was pinned beneath his weight and huffed a little, flustered and happy. "Brother! It feels like I haven't saw you in so long."
After greetings they made their way into Gokus' home. Chichi and Goten were in there preparing dinner. Trunks sat the pink blob in the middle of the table and pulled from his jeans a capsule. It popped, revealing an ''18'' candle. He stuck it into the blob.
A--A cake?
Oh! For my birthday? Trunks bought me a cake?
She stared at it, wondering why it looked so strange, when Trunks sighed. "If you can't tell, we made it."
Chichi hid a smile behind her hand. Goku chuckled, and Goten poked it. "...Looks alive. You sure this isn't Buu?"
Rhuda giggled--laughed--and ran to her boyfriend and brother and pulled them into a tight hug. "Thank you! I love it!"
The group gathered around. Goten lit the cake, and all sang 'happy birthday' to the flustered girl. She wore the brightest smile they'd ever saw, and blew the candles out, wishing.
Of course Trunks couldn't help but hear the wish.
'I want to be here like this with everyone, forever'.
He smiled and cut her the first slice. She dug into it, wearing the excessive frosting on her lips, and the others joined in. Soon the cake vanished. As they pat their bellies, Trunks pulled her outside the home. He tightly grabbed her to him. "Happy birthday, Chisato."
"T-Thank you."
She grew teary eyed until Trunks swiped some frosting from her face and licked it. He smirked. "Tastes better on you."
"Kya~"
He chuckled and grabbed her hand, wincing at the pain from his burn. She saw it, and lifted his injury to her mouth, kissing it. "...You fought hard."
"Yeah. I think I'll stick to enemies I can handle next time."
With a laugh they set off for West City.