I made a thing. No self-insert. Expect lots of 4th wall breaking.
These are not my clothes.
Deep breath. Rush forward. Palm strike,palm strike, cut, knee, palm strike. “So, I have to ask…" The wooden target shook with the strength of his blow. "Exactly who do you plan to fight?"
Breath out. Step back. "I don't plan to fight anyone." Deep breath. Rush. Palm...
"Why do you always train so much, then?" ... out. Step back.
"Because someone may want to fight me, someday. Or harm something close to me." Hands joined in front of the chest. Bow. "I will fight then."
"But you're strong enough already. You won that tournament, didn't you? Doesn't that mean you're the strongest in the world?" He brought a hand to his forehead. Then he raised his head, staring at the clear sky above.
"... There's always someone stronger."
I was referring to him in the third person. But that was me. I know he was. But that's all I know. I know nothing else... Well, not exactly. Let's not be completely melodramatic.
I don't know who I was talking to. I don't remember who I am, how I ended up where I am or where I came from. I don’t know who the guy with a sword strapped on his back is, nor what a dragon is doing hovering up in the night sky.
What I do know for certain is: these are not my clothes.
Talk about selective memory! “Your wish has been granted.” Shut up, giant hovering dragon! I’m trying to understand why, of all the things I could have been left with from an otherwise completely swiped clean memory, it was the fact that I’m not wearing my clothes!
… Because it brings the question of: who the hell changed me into them and how? Jesus, whoever did this to me is an a-grade troll. I swear- “Farewell.” GAH! IT BURNS! TOO BRIGHT! What’s the big idea?! Jesus, I will have spots in my eyes the whole day-Day? Huh? When did-The sun is up again?!
“You’re surprised, I’m sure.” No shit, black and purple blur-Wait, no. That’s a person… Isn’t it? Gah, I can’t see clearly… “I’ll have to explain it all to you later.” Explain-Wait, you mean you know what happened?!
“W-What do you mean, later?! I want-”
“For now… Let’s see how much power you have.” … Is that a sword? Why would anyone wear a sword- “AAAAAH!”
Slash. Spurt spurt spurt. Thump.
… At least I have an excuse to keep my eyes closed, now. But passing out from bloodloss doesn’t exactly tickle.
“...ent easy on him!”
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” Uuuugh, my head… Keep it down, kid. But wow, who put a warm blanket on my chest? Feels so nice… “You can’t attack people with a sword the first time you lay eyes on them!”
“It was to test his strength! I would have apologized later!” Huu, that voice-Purple. Black and purple blur. God, I hate that black and purple blur. Too stabby.
“Of all the times to start acting like a Sayajin…” The kid mumbles. I wonder what a Sayajin is…
Also, wow. I can open my eyes. And my body doesn’t feel like chicken curry anymore. “Uuugh…”
“H-He’s coming to!”
“Stay back! You’re probably the last thing he wants to see, right now!” Yeah, you tell the black and purple blur, kid! A purple skinned kid with red hair, pointy ears and large black eyes. “Hello? Can you hear me? How do you feel? What’s your name?”
“... Yes, fine but dizzy, and haven’t the foggiest, kid.” The kid’s eyes go wide and she pulls back.
“K-Kid?!” And the warm blanket is gone. Aaaaw… Oh, whatever. Upright position, here I come. I groan. Jesus, I’m really dizzy… Okay. Gather your thoughts. I bring a hand to my face, steeling myself. “Who are you calling a kid?!”
“He’s just confused, Kaioshin-sama! Please calm down!” … Bluuuuur.
“Are you the idiot who cut me open with a sword?” I feel the loud sound of someone choking on air. As I lower my face, I see that the black and purple blur is actually a young man with violet hair wearing a black coat. He’s holding back the kid, who looks murderous at the moment. “... How am I alive, anyway?”
“Ka-Kaioshin-sama healed you! And I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to… You know!” Kaioshin-sama? So the kid is some kind of noble? “I’m Trunks. And this is the Supreme Kai of Time!”
“And I’m 75,000,000 years old, for your information!” Wait, what? I blink, and rub my eyes. I'm sitting up on a pretty small bed, in a mostly pink house. It's just the three of us. I can see the sky outside, but it's a different shade. "Hmph! Ungrateful sod!" The... Loli, I guess? She gets out of Trunks' grip -who names a kid after swimwear?- and turns around, nose up in the air. I guess it's a sore point.
"Ehm, sorry. I didn't know." Better appease her if she’s really calling the shots around here. Wherever the hell here is! “And thanks for saving my life... Kaioshin-sama?"
“Hmmmmmm…” She turns her head to the side with a small pout, staring at me. I give her my best smile... And I probably look like a rapist. Still, she smiles and shakes her head from side to side. “This one time, you’re forgiven.” I sigh in relief.
“Thanks. Now…” I whip my head towards speedo-boy, who flinches. “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!”
“IM SORRY!” Wow. Never seen someone grovel so fast-No! Anger! Grrrrrrr! “I didn’t mean-I thought you would have dodged that!”
“Why. Did. You. At. Tack. Me. With. A. SWORD!” I get off the bed and stand up. I’m not so dizzy anymore. Apparently righteous anger boosts the production of blood cells. Who knew!
“Because I wanted to see how strong you were! A test of your skills!”
“Couldn’t you have just ASKED?! ‘Hey, bud. Nice ‘ceps, there. You work out?’ SOMETHING LIKE THAT! Just…” I groan and grab my face with both hands. The loli is chuckling. The whole situation amuses her? Evil. “Why do you think I’m strong? I’m pretty sure…” No, wait. I can’t be. “... Do we know each other?”
“N-No. I summoned you here using… Well, it’s not important.” He raises his head, still looking as if I could him at anytime. HE’S FUCKING RIGHT. “I asked for a great warrior to be summoned. One who could help me in my quest.”
“Does it have something to do with that…” … Holy shit. THAT WAS A DRAGON?! “HOLY SHIT! THAT WAS A DRAGON!”
“Ehm, yeah. That was Shenron. It’s a magical dragon, and grants wishes.” Holy shit holy shit holy shit A DRAGON! “And I asked for a strong ally. That’s why I thought you’d dodge that basic telegraphed attack… But I guess I surprised you! Sorry!” Sure, laugh it off, jammer-kid...
“More like: the suddenly disappearing DRAGON!” Dramatic pause. Because… Dragon. “Flashed a bit too bright for my eyes to bear. I only saw a blur.”
“O-Oh! I see! Sorry, I didn’t notice…”
“NO SHIT YOU DIDN’T.” I let out and he laughs nervously. I groan and shake my head. “... You say summoned. Summoned where, exactly? What’s this place? And…” I think about it. Yeah, that’d be the most pressing question on my mind. “Exactly who am I?”
The Loli and the Fundoshi lad blink. They stare at me. Then they stare at each other. Then back at me. “Huuu…” Well, doesn’t that sound good.
“You don’t remember anything at all?"
"Not a thing... Except that I wasn't wearing my clothes." I say, putting on the black muscle shirt of the new outfit. The old one was cut and bloody. Then a wine red vest, same colour for the slacks, black bracers and boots. I walked outside the house, finding a worried looking Trunks and pensive Kaioshin. I narrow my eyes at the former. "You sure you didn't screw the wish up or something?"
"Positive. There's nothing in my wish that could have affected you this way. I just asked for a strong ally." So I guess I'm strong?
"I have no memory of ever fighting anyone, though." I stretch my limbs and flex them... I do have a body that screams 'HEAVY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY' though. Good thing I'm tall, or I would be so bulky. “You sure I’m strong?”
“Well, even by just standing in front of you I can feel your Ki. You're strong..." Trunks says, his arms crossed and a smile on his face. "And if Shenron chose you, it means you're only going to get stronger."
"... You still have to tell me exactly what you need me for. Or where we are." I've only seen my blood and the loli's house... And that huge dome-like construction over there. Wonder what it is.
"Trunks will answer those questions. Provided he can keep his sword in the scabbard, of course." More nervous laughter. I smirk. I'm liking the loli more and more-NOT THAT WAY! Okay, I mean sure, she's WAY legal, but ew! I mean, she looks cute, but she looks like a kid! Not that there's anything wrong with kids but, huuuuu...
"Please, follow me." Phew! A distraction! Please lead the way through the magic portal, Trunks.
"This is TokiToki city, home of the Supreme Kai of Time and headquarters of the Time Patrol."
"Also known as the floating city, I bet?" I say, my eyes widening as I look past the canals and gardens of the plaza into the sky, where pieces of the city stand tall on inverted domes, high above or low below us. "How is that possible?!"
"Well, they don't exactly float... They just exist like that." Trunks explains, smiling at my dumbfoundedness. You know what would be funny? If I had already seen this before, got used to it and had just forgotten. I know it is! I bet whoever did this is looking and laughing! I'll get you, mind controlling troll! "Anyway, the Time Patrol-"
"Patrols time?" Trunks pauses and then laughs. "You have the most self explanatory name ever."
"Yeah, I guess we do!" He shakes his head, his merriment dying down. "We protect the timeline from anyone who would abuse or damage it."
"Is that a lot of people?" Because I'm seeing a lot of people around. Young, old, human, tall green men with antennas, short things with horns, pink blobs of flesh... Huh? Why am I not gaping and pointing fingers? Boys, the first thing I saw when I appeared here was a motherfucking GIANT DRAGON. Pretty hard to top that.
"There was an entire organization of them: the Time Breakers. We dismantled it, but many of its members escaped, and they’re still active.” Trunks continued as he brought me to another portal. Once through it, we found ourselves in a more lived in area. It had a smaller central plaza, and lots of shops, with small robots as clerks. And even more people. “This is the Industrial Sector. This is where Time Patrollers stock up on items and equipment. There’s also a few recreative areas.”
“Listen, I’m enjoying the tour, but you seem to have a lot of people here.” I say as he leads me to one such recreative area, a bar. The robot waiters wave at him in greeting. “Why did you need one more? What difference does that make?”
“Well, thing is… Something came up. Something really delicate.” He explains as we sit at one of the small tables, his voice for the two of us only. “So delicate that only a handful of Time Patrollers know about it, apart me and Kaioshin-sama… And I didn’t want to take any chances. That’s why I asked Shenron for a strong ally, one who I could count on for this mission.”
“Yeah. Again, I’m a complete stranger. An amnesiac one, too. I know nothing about Time Patrolling. You sure your dragon didn’t blunder up?”
“No. Shenron doesn’t make those kind of mistakes… And time patrolling isn’t exactly complicated. We’ve gotten pretty good at pinpointing exactly what the problem is… Ah, thanks.” One of the robots brought us two glasses filled with some… Kind of ice cream? I don’t recognize this. Trunk’s favourite, maybe? “Listen. I’m sorry about your memory. I promise we’ll help you with that, but if Shenron said you’re the perfect guy for the job, you are. Could you please help us?”
“... It’s not like I have much of a choice, do I?” I groan, grabbing onto the ice cream and neighbouring spoon.
“Thanks! Sorry to put you on the spot like this.”
“Well, at least you didn’t stab me, this time.” I scoop up a bit and bring it to my mouth. Seems like I have no-! I freeze, letting go of the spoon, which hangs dumbly from between my lips. “Holy crap!”
Trunks blinks, staring. “What’s wrong? Too cold?”
“N-No! I mean, it’s good! Very good!” I take another big scoop, and I feel my whole body shiver. “Oh, god! The texture, and the flavours mixing together-! What’s this?!” I exclaim before starting to scarf it down like I haven’t eaten in centuries. Jesus christ, whoever invented this is a genius! Maybe the situation is not so bad! If I can enjoy stuff like this!
“I-It’s just a chocolate parfait…”
“Okay-slurp-, Trunks! -Chomp- Keep offering me these -Lick- and you got a deal!” I mean, I don’t have a choice to begin with, but better to milk his guilt about turning me to sushi for all I can!
That. Was. Amazing. I had three of those chocolate parfait things. I’m stuffed. I feel alive! I think I could take that dragon too, now! Come get me, dragon! THE POWER OF CHOCOLATE GOODNESS COMPELS YOU! “Alright! Let’s do this! Throw me at something right now, cause I feel like I could benchpress Canada!”
“What’s Canada?” Trunks asks while opening the door to that dome from before.
“Don’t know. Some kind of overly nice thing constantly compensating for the fact that it forced females of a certain race to be neutered until the mid 90s?” Trunks stares. I shrug.
“... Aaaaanyway.” The swordsman beckons me in. We’re in a circular room, with pedestals and mirrors. On the pedestals, scrolls. “This is the Time Vault. The scrolls in here contain all of history. Past. Present. Future.”
“This is how you get wind of changes?” The mirrors don’t reflect nothing, for some reason. What’s up with that?
“Yes and no. I’ll explain later. Now…” Trunks picks up a specific scroll… Which is currently shining with purple aura. Okay, that can’t be good. “This is the problem I need you to solve.” He said and opened the scroll for me to observe…
Well. That was pretty gruesome. “... Never seen someone get his chest pierced open, before.”
“Maybe you did. Amnesia, remember?” Didn’t take him for the guy to do dark humour. “History has been changed. The man with the long hair, Raditz, was changed.”
“Yeah, the fact that he was shining with the same aura as the scroll kind of gave it away. I suppose he was supposed to lose?”
“Yes. But now he’s stronger than he’s supposed to be, and without help they’ll both die.” He hands me the scroll, and… Remember that warm blanket? This feels kind of like that… If the blanket was soaked in pure evil, that is. “To fix the timeline, I need you to weaken him enough so that the two of them can finish him.”
"That's what's supposed to happen, I guess?" Trunks nods. “... Well, I hope for the both of us that my amnesia didn’t also make me forget how to fight.”
“Not that easy to rob someone of fighting instinct. The body remembers in your place. It’s like cycling or… Breathing. And you’ll have Goku and Piccolo helping you. You won’t be alone.” Deep breathe in. Slow breathe out. Hey, that does remind me of something… I nod in return.
“Oh, whatever. How do I do this?”
“Just focus on the scroll. On the scene you saw.”
“Surprisingly zen. Don't even have to hit 88 miles per hour.” Okay, enough jokes… Which I don’t remember. I close my eyes and bring the scroll in front of my chest, focusing on the scene I witnessed not even five minutes ago.
The purple light piercing through flesh. The look of shock and surprise on… Goku? Goku’s face.
The look of resignation on the green guy’s -Piccolo- face.
The small body laying lifeless on the ground.
I grip the scroll harder and I feel it fade like butter in my grip as my whole body is once again enveloped in a warm blanket.
These are not my clothes.
-Xenoverse-
Deep breath. Rush forward. Palm strike,palm strike, cut, knee, palm strike. “So, I have to ask…" The wooden target shook with the strength of his blow. "Exactly who do you plan to fight?"
Breath out. Step back. "I don't plan to fight anyone." Deep breath. Rush. Palm...
"Why do you always train so much, then?" ... out. Step back.
"Because someone may want to fight me, someday. Or harm something close to me." Hands joined in front of the chest. Bow. "I will fight then."
"But you're strong enough already. You won that tournament, didn't you? Doesn't that mean you're the strongest in the world?" He brought a hand to his forehead. Then he raised his head, staring at the clear sky above.
"... There's always someone stronger."
-Xenoverse-
I was referring to him in the third person. But that was me. I know he was. But that's all I know. I know nothing else... Well, not exactly. Let's not be completely melodramatic.
I don't know who I was talking to. I don't remember who I am, how I ended up where I am or where I came from. I don’t know who the guy with a sword strapped on his back is, nor what a dragon is doing hovering up in the night sky.
What I do know for certain is: these are not my clothes.
Talk about selective memory! “Your wish has been granted.” Shut up, giant hovering dragon! I’m trying to understand why, of all the things I could have been left with from an otherwise completely swiped clean memory, it was the fact that I’m not wearing my clothes!
… Because it brings the question of: who the hell changed me into them and how? Jesus, whoever did this to me is an a-grade troll. I swear- “Farewell.” GAH! IT BURNS! TOO BRIGHT! What’s the big idea?! Jesus, I will have spots in my eyes the whole day-Day? Huh? When did-The sun is up again?!
“You’re surprised, I’m sure.” No shit, black and purple blur-Wait, no. That’s a person… Isn’t it? Gah, I can’t see clearly… “I’ll have to explain it all to you later.” Explain-Wait, you mean you know what happened?!
“W-What do you mean, later?! I want-”
“For now… Let’s see how much power you have.” … Is that a sword? Why would anyone wear a sword- “AAAAAH!”
Slash. Spurt spurt spurt. Thump.
… At least I have an excuse to keep my eyes closed, now. But passing out from bloodloss doesn’t exactly tickle.
DRAGON BALL Z – XENOFIGHTER
Scroll I – The Sabin Special
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” Uuuugh, my head… Keep it down, kid. But wow, who put a warm blanket on my chest? Feels so nice… “You can’t attack people with a sword the first time you lay eyes on them!”
“It was to test his strength! I would have apologized later!” Huu, that voice-Purple. Black and purple blur. God, I hate that black and purple blur. Too stabby.
“Of all the times to start acting like a Sayajin…” The kid mumbles. I wonder what a Sayajin is…
Also, wow. I can open my eyes. And my body doesn’t feel like chicken curry anymore. “Uuugh…”
“H-He’s coming to!”
“Stay back! You’re probably the last thing he wants to see, right now!” Yeah, you tell the black and purple blur, kid! A purple skinned kid with red hair, pointy ears and large black eyes. “Hello? Can you hear me? How do you feel? What’s your name?”
“... Yes, fine but dizzy, and haven’t the foggiest, kid.” The kid’s eyes go wide and she pulls back.
“K-Kid?!” And the warm blanket is gone. Aaaaw… Oh, whatever. Upright position, here I come. I groan. Jesus, I’m really dizzy… Okay. Gather your thoughts. I bring a hand to my face, steeling myself. “Who are you calling a kid?!”
“He’s just confused, Kaioshin-sama! Please calm down!” … Bluuuuur.
“Are you the idiot who cut me open with a sword?” I feel the loud sound of someone choking on air. As I lower my face, I see that the black and purple blur is actually a young man with violet hair wearing a black coat. He’s holding back the kid, who looks murderous at the moment. “... How am I alive, anyway?”
“Ka-Kaioshin-sama healed you! And I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to… You know!” Kaioshin-sama? So the kid is some kind of noble? “I’m Trunks. And this is the Supreme Kai of Time!”
“And I’m 75,000,000 years old, for your information!” Wait, what? I blink, and rub my eyes. I'm sitting up on a pretty small bed, in a mostly pink house. It's just the three of us. I can see the sky outside, but it's a different shade. "Hmph! Ungrateful sod!" The... Loli, I guess? She gets out of Trunks' grip -who names a kid after swimwear?- and turns around, nose up in the air. I guess it's a sore point.
"Ehm, sorry. I didn't know." Better appease her if she’s really calling the shots around here. Wherever the hell here is! “And thanks for saving my life... Kaioshin-sama?"
“Hmmmmmm…” She turns her head to the side with a small pout, staring at me. I give her my best smile... And I probably look like a rapist. Still, she smiles and shakes her head from side to side. “This one time, you’re forgiven.” I sigh in relief.
“Thanks. Now…” I whip my head towards speedo-boy, who flinches. “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!”
“IM SORRY!” Wow. Never seen someone grovel so fast-No! Anger! Grrrrrrr! “I didn’t mean-I thought you would have dodged that!”
“Why. Did. You. At. Tack. Me. With. A. SWORD!” I get off the bed and stand up. I’m not so dizzy anymore. Apparently righteous anger boosts the production of blood cells. Who knew!
“Because I wanted to see how strong you were! A test of your skills!”
“Couldn’t you have just ASKED?! ‘Hey, bud. Nice ‘ceps, there. You work out?’ SOMETHING LIKE THAT! Just…” I groan and grab my face with both hands. The loli is chuckling. The whole situation amuses her? Evil. “Why do you think I’m strong? I’m pretty sure…” No, wait. I can’t be. “... Do we know each other?”
“N-No. I summoned you here using… Well, it’s not important.” He raises his head, still looking as if I could him at anytime. HE’S FUCKING RIGHT. “I asked for a great warrior to be summoned. One who could help me in my quest.”
“Does it have something to do with that…” … Holy shit. THAT WAS A DRAGON?! “HOLY SHIT! THAT WAS A DRAGON!”
“Ehm, yeah. That was Shenron. It’s a magical dragon, and grants wishes.” Holy shit holy shit holy shit A DRAGON! “And I asked for a strong ally. That’s why I thought you’d dodge that basic telegraphed attack… But I guess I surprised you! Sorry!” Sure, laugh it off, jammer-kid...
“More like: the suddenly disappearing DRAGON!” Dramatic pause. Because… Dragon. “Flashed a bit too bright for my eyes to bear. I only saw a blur.”
“O-Oh! I see! Sorry, I didn’t notice…”
“NO SHIT YOU DIDN’T.” I let out and he laughs nervously. I groan and shake my head. “... You say summoned. Summoned where, exactly? What’s this place? And…” I think about it. Yeah, that’d be the most pressing question on my mind. “Exactly who am I?”
The Loli and the Fundoshi lad blink. They stare at me. Then they stare at each other. Then back at me. “Huuu…” Well, doesn’t that sound good.
-Xenoverse-
“You don’t remember anything at all?"
"Not a thing... Except that I wasn't wearing my clothes." I say, putting on the black muscle shirt of the new outfit. The old one was cut and bloody. Then a wine red vest, same colour for the slacks, black bracers and boots. I walked outside the house, finding a worried looking Trunks and pensive Kaioshin. I narrow my eyes at the former. "You sure you didn't screw the wish up or something?"
"Positive. There's nothing in my wish that could have affected you this way. I just asked for a strong ally." So I guess I'm strong?
"I have no memory of ever fighting anyone, though." I stretch my limbs and flex them... I do have a body that screams 'HEAVY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY' though. Good thing I'm tall, or I would be so bulky. “You sure I’m strong?”
“Well, even by just standing in front of you I can feel your Ki. You're strong..." Trunks says, his arms crossed and a smile on his face. "And if Shenron chose you, it means you're only going to get stronger."
"... You still have to tell me exactly what you need me for. Or where we are." I've only seen my blood and the loli's house... And that huge dome-like construction over there. Wonder what it is.
"Trunks will answer those questions. Provided he can keep his sword in the scabbard, of course." More nervous laughter. I smirk. I'm liking the loli more and more-NOT THAT WAY! Okay, I mean sure, she's WAY legal, but ew! I mean, she looks cute, but she looks like a kid! Not that there's anything wrong with kids but, huuuuu...
"Please, follow me." Phew! A distraction! Please lead the way through the magic portal, Trunks.
-Xenoverse-
"This is TokiToki city, home of the Supreme Kai of Time and headquarters of the Time Patrol."
"Also known as the floating city, I bet?" I say, my eyes widening as I look past the canals and gardens of the plaza into the sky, where pieces of the city stand tall on inverted domes, high above or low below us. "How is that possible?!"
"Well, they don't exactly float... They just exist like that." Trunks explains, smiling at my dumbfoundedness. You know what would be funny? If I had already seen this before, got used to it and had just forgotten. I know it is! I bet whoever did this is looking and laughing! I'll get you, mind controlling troll! "Anyway, the Time Patrol-"
"Patrols time?" Trunks pauses and then laughs. "You have the most self explanatory name ever."
"Yeah, I guess we do!" He shakes his head, his merriment dying down. "We protect the timeline from anyone who would abuse or damage it."
"Is that a lot of people?" Because I'm seeing a lot of people around. Young, old, human, tall green men with antennas, short things with horns, pink blobs of flesh... Huh? Why am I not gaping and pointing fingers? Boys, the first thing I saw when I appeared here was a motherfucking GIANT DRAGON. Pretty hard to top that.
"There was an entire organization of them: the Time Breakers. We dismantled it, but many of its members escaped, and they’re still active.” Trunks continued as he brought me to another portal. Once through it, we found ourselves in a more lived in area. It had a smaller central plaza, and lots of shops, with small robots as clerks. And even more people. “This is the Industrial Sector. This is where Time Patrollers stock up on items and equipment. There’s also a few recreative areas.”
“Listen, I’m enjoying the tour, but you seem to have a lot of people here.” I say as he leads me to one such recreative area, a bar. The robot waiters wave at him in greeting. “Why did you need one more? What difference does that make?”
“Well, thing is… Something came up. Something really delicate.” He explains as we sit at one of the small tables, his voice for the two of us only. “So delicate that only a handful of Time Patrollers know about it, apart me and Kaioshin-sama… And I didn’t want to take any chances. That’s why I asked Shenron for a strong ally, one who I could count on for this mission.”
“Yeah. Again, I’m a complete stranger. An amnesiac one, too. I know nothing about Time Patrolling. You sure your dragon didn’t blunder up?”
“No. Shenron doesn’t make those kind of mistakes… And time patrolling isn’t exactly complicated. We’ve gotten pretty good at pinpointing exactly what the problem is… Ah, thanks.” One of the robots brought us two glasses filled with some… Kind of ice cream? I don’t recognize this. Trunk’s favourite, maybe? “Listen. I’m sorry about your memory. I promise we’ll help you with that, but if Shenron said you’re the perfect guy for the job, you are. Could you please help us?”
“... It’s not like I have much of a choice, do I?” I groan, grabbing onto the ice cream and neighbouring spoon.
“Thanks! Sorry to put you on the spot like this.”
“Well, at least you didn’t stab me, this time.” I scoop up a bit and bring it to my mouth. Seems like I have no-! I freeze, letting go of the spoon, which hangs dumbly from between my lips. “Holy crap!”
Trunks blinks, staring. “What’s wrong? Too cold?”
“N-No! I mean, it’s good! Very good!” I take another big scoop, and I feel my whole body shiver. “Oh, god! The texture, and the flavours mixing together-! What’s this?!” I exclaim before starting to scarf it down like I haven’t eaten in centuries. Jesus christ, whoever invented this is a genius! Maybe the situation is not so bad! If I can enjoy stuff like this!
“I-It’s just a chocolate parfait…”
“Okay-slurp-, Trunks! -Chomp- Keep offering me these -Lick- and you got a deal!” I mean, I don’t have a choice to begin with, but better to milk his guilt about turning me to sushi for all I can!
-Xenoverse-
That. Was. Amazing. I had three of those chocolate parfait things. I’m stuffed. I feel alive! I think I could take that dragon too, now! Come get me, dragon! THE POWER OF CHOCOLATE GOODNESS COMPELS YOU! “Alright! Let’s do this! Throw me at something right now, cause I feel like I could benchpress Canada!”
“What’s Canada?” Trunks asks while opening the door to that dome from before.
“Don’t know. Some kind of overly nice thing constantly compensating for the fact that it forced females of a certain race to be neutered until the mid 90s?” Trunks stares. I shrug.
“... Aaaaanyway.” The swordsman beckons me in. We’re in a circular room, with pedestals and mirrors. On the pedestals, scrolls. “This is the Time Vault. The scrolls in here contain all of history. Past. Present. Future.”
“This is how you get wind of changes?” The mirrors don’t reflect nothing, for some reason. What’s up with that?
“Yes and no. I’ll explain later. Now…” Trunks picks up a specific scroll… Which is currently shining with purple aura. Okay, that can’t be good. “This is the problem I need you to solve.” He said and opened the scroll for me to observe…
Well. That was pretty gruesome. “... Never seen someone get his chest pierced open, before.”
“Maybe you did. Amnesia, remember?” Didn’t take him for the guy to do dark humour. “History has been changed. The man with the long hair, Raditz, was changed.”
“Yeah, the fact that he was shining with the same aura as the scroll kind of gave it away. I suppose he was supposed to lose?”
“Yes. But now he’s stronger than he’s supposed to be, and without help they’ll both die.” He hands me the scroll, and… Remember that warm blanket? This feels kind of like that… If the blanket was soaked in pure evil, that is. “To fix the timeline, I need you to weaken him enough so that the two of them can finish him.”
"That's what's supposed to happen, I guess?" Trunks nods. “... Well, I hope for the both of us that my amnesia didn’t also make me forget how to fight.”
“Not that easy to rob someone of fighting instinct. The body remembers in your place. It’s like cycling or… Breathing. And you’ll have Goku and Piccolo helping you. You won’t be alone.” Deep breathe in. Slow breathe out. Hey, that does remind me of something… I nod in return.
“Oh, whatever. How do I do this?”
“Just focus on the scroll. On the scene you saw.”
“Surprisingly zen. Don't even have to hit 88 miles per hour.” Okay, enough jokes… Which I don’t remember. I close my eyes and bring the scroll in front of my chest, focusing on the scene I witnessed not even five minutes ago.
The purple light piercing through flesh. The look of shock and surprise on… Goku? Goku’s face.
The look of resignation on the green guy’s -Piccolo- face.
The small body laying lifeless on the ground.
I grip the scroll harder and I feel it fade like butter in my grip as my whole body is once again enveloped in a warm blanket.