22.0

After opening the capsule within the Parallel mission Rhuda was taken from, a purple portal opened.

Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Shallot and Trunks entered that portal. It shut behind them.

They found themselves floating in a purple abyss of time, made entirely out of Data. Trunks looked around, seeing a thin trail of what appeared like binary numbers floating towards one particular worm hole. He pointed, "There! Look, that has to be where they've taken Rhuda."

Shallot was the first to descend into it, followed by the others.

What they saw was surprising.

Rhuda was being held in the arms of Turles, and her eyes were shut. It was easy to see she'd spent the last bits of her strength fighting, and dried blood decorated her outfit and face, knees, arms. Not too far was a fallen Nail, in front of him the mysterious stranger who looked exactly like Shallot.

Shallot moved to dash forward but was held back by SS4 Goku, who shook his head. Inside Gokus onyx eyes were a dark flame. He stepped to Turles and warned, "Give us Rhuda."

Turles sneered. "Anddd why, would I do that? Kakarot, my man, you've got it all wrong. You see," he stroked his hand down Rhuda's tan cheek, "she's been mine from the very beginning."

All eyes widened, wondering exactly how that was so and what that even meant.

Trunks said to Turles, "Whatever happened in the past is just that. The past."

Shallot moved in front of Goku. His Ki was beginning to rise, rolling off of him dangerously. "Last chance." Shallot threatened.

The newcomer vanished and appeared in front of Shallot. He smirked with a lifted brow and mocked, "What will you do, o brother of mine?"

Without a seconds pause Shallot punched his fist into the cloaked man, who went flying back and wiped off the scuff from his cheek and glared back. "You'll regret that. It's a lucky thing my mission today isn't to end your life. The one we want is right here. Turles, why don't you play with them while I take her to Fu?"

Turles nodded. "This time, my fruit will be more than enough!"

No, Trunks thought, if they take her somewhere else we might not make it in time!

Thinking that he drew his sword and appeared before Turles and growled out, "I don't think so. It ends here."

It was that moment Rhuda opened her green eyes. They fluttered a moment before the blurriness cleared. She could see Trunks and the others, even Shallot. "...You've all came," she weakly said.

"Rhuda!" Shallot yelled her name out, and Turles saw his chance. He flew away to the green sky above, tossed Rhuda to the stranger, and at a spiked fruit. All watched as his body mass grew in size. Veins popped out. His scouter busted. Finally, with a burst of dark purple energy he chuckled. "...It's been too long!"

Goku could see that Turles' power was intense. Using Instant Transmission he made it to the new and improved Turles in the sky and said down to the others, "You guys take him on. I'll handle Turles."

But Vegeta didn't like that one bit. "Move aside; I'll finish him myself. He's been more than a pain in the ass for years."

While they were discussing whom should fight whom Giblet took from his cloak several capsules. He threw them into the sky, shot them open with energy, and three portals of Data opened. Out from these portals came forth Maijin Buu, Freiza, and Cell. They were all looking incredibly beefed up with dark energy swirling around them. Their eyes were red as if controlled.

"You three, take care of these rodents," Giblet instructed.

Rhuda escaped Giblets arms just long enough for him to yank her back by the tail. Her Stamina drained down and she grit out, "...No...!"

Broly had saw enough. His little sister was being manhandled by some evil creature. His anger began rising higher and higher until Goku quickly looked down at him and said, "Broly! Hold it together!"

"...I'm trying," he growled.

Trunks and Shallot jumped up to Giblet. Shallot could see how many bars of health Giblet had but wasn't concerned since he was maxed out, but worried for Rhuda and her lack of Items. "Noodle head, hang in there, we're coming," he said to her.

Giblet swung Rhuda like a pendulum in front of them. It was as though she were the bait and them the sharks. She strained her head up to find Trunks' blue eyes. He looked tense but calm, and she found herself believing he would save her in due time. Shallot, however, was seething and looked ready to murder Giblet.

"Bastard! You don't know who you're messing with," Shallot said tightly. He drew on his anger and his Ki began to climb higher and higher, until the tips of his hair began turning yellow. With a yell he became a super saiyan.

Rhuda was in awe. She'd never saw Shallot that way before. He was always a careful fighter, lazy even--but she didn't get to see much for long, as Giblet dove them both into the nearest portal.

"No!" Trunks yelled.

All hope wasn't lost however, as Shallot realized he had to move quickly to make it there. "I'm going!" He shouted to Trunks before disappearing into the purple portal. It closed.

The grip Trunks had on his hilt tightened in anger. "Dammit! I was too late!"

Three very serious energies behind him caused Trunks to turn, seeing Cell, Maijin Buu, and Final Form Freiza looming in wait.

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Rhuda, Giblet and Shallot entered a darkness. It shifted, swirling, until Rhuda could see the makings of a destroyed city. It was primitive in design. Huts with wooden thatch roofs, horse drawn carriages, and the large ruins of a castle at the top of the mountain. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy. There were mud puddles and damp grass.

Where in the world am I? Rhuda thought.

Giblet dropped Rhuda to the mud. She looked around. It was a field with missing grass and craters populating the vicinity. She pulled herself up until standing and held her broken ribs with a grimace. "...Where...is this place?" She asked.

"My homeland."

"Its...destroyed," she grit out. Even talking hurt to do, and she fumbled her feet unsteadily. A hand went around her waist. It was Shallot, who looked down at her in concern. "Noodle head..." he growled, tucking her to his blue armored chest, "You're so stupid, you know that?"

"S-Shallot...you came for me." Rhuda smiled through her pain at him.

His hair is so pretty, she thought, wanting to touch its platinum spikes.

"What? Never saw a super saiyan before?" He teased.

Giblet looked across the remnants of his world and said to them, "You spoke of good and evil. This...is what happens when good tries to win."

There was sadness in Giblets voice. Rhuda watched as Giblet clenched his black gloved hands. He turned to face them and said to Shallot, "Brother. You're entirely too late. What was once righteous has been destroyed. There's nothing left for us but to give in to Fu."

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." Shallot answered. "But I'll never give in to Fu. You must be under some kind of control."

Giblets eyes tightened. "...Mind control? Hardly. While you escaped to the future, I was left here to fight alone. Look! All we needed then was the power of a super saiyan god, and this could have been avoided!"

"SSG, huh." Shallot smirked.

"Five," Giblet said, "We needed five pure hearts to make a SSG. With no other choice, we gave in to the darkness around us. It brought you to Conton...and gave you amnesia, while I was left to mourn our race alone."

"Yada yada yada. Are we gonna fight or not?" Shallot asked. He set Rhuda down and walked the feet to Giblet.

His twin brother didn't like Shallots tone, attitude, and disregard for their shared history. Giblet set his jaw firm and stuck out his hand. "Fine. I've met you once more only to take your life. Don't worry; I'll keep Rhuda for you."

"Like hell you will!"

Rhuda watched as the two began to fight. Giblet shot a beam from his index finger, aiming for Shallots chest. Shallot moved aside to avoid it and punched Giblet over and over, finishing with an overhead blast at point blank.

Did he get him? Rhuda wondered.

Shallot looked over at Rhuda and said to her, "Don't worry. You'll get EXP from this too."

"R-Right." The girl had all but forgotten about this being a game, but Shallots reminder brought attention to the fact that all they needed to do was defeat Giblet to win this battle. She stood. "Ano..I'll help."

"Wha-?"

Giblet came from the smoke and punched Shallot over and over. His health bar was dropping from it's prime green, and Rhuda could see the beginning of yellow emerge. "Shallot!" She yelled out.

Rhuda flew over to Giblet and began kicking at his back but was repelled by his energy field. She formed her Divine Sword and swiped at him instead, and he grunted as his back was being sliced at.

One, two, three, four slices Rhuda performed with her Divine Sword until Giblet smacked her away with his tail. She landed in the mud on her side, wincing as the pain from her ribs began again.

50% Health.

"Rhuda--I'll take him! Stay out of this!" Shallot instructed.

But the tiny saiyan in the mud hauled herself up and swiped a dollop of dirt from her eyes. "It's all my fault, Shallot." She said, "I can't just stand back."

Giblet began funneling power. White and yellow Ki burst off as his hair began to match Shallots' blonde. He then began moving so fast Rhuda couldn't see, attacking Shallot who could barely avoid the blows. They traded attacks until Shallot jumped back and put his hand to his forehead. "Special Beam Cannon!"

It was too slow--

--Giblet moved around the twirling ray and kneed Shallot in the back. He fell to the mud.

"Shallot!" Rhuda jumped over to him and saw that his SS had faded back to black. His Health was now in the yellow a quarter of the way.

She turned him over, and he growled. "Man. This boss battle is annoying. I thought I'd be able to slide by but looks like I'll have to get serious after all."

"Eh? You...weren't serious before?" She asked in shock. He gave her a grin. "...Well, I was testing out his moves. Looks like he's mostly offense."

"I...see. So that was what you were doing."

Giblet grew tired of hovering. He lowered back down to the ground and grabbed Rhudas' tail, but Shallot kicked him away so hard Giblet smacked into the mountain behind him. It blew apart.

"Shallot is so strong," Rhuda remarked.

He sat up and flung mud from his hand with a look of disgust. "Ugh. Great. Now I'll have to shower."

The fact that Shallot had calmed down and was joking put Rhuda at ease. She giggled. "That makes two of us."

"Hey--there's an idea, let's just bath together then." He smirked and stood up to wait for Giblet to emerge from the debris. "He's got two Health Bars left."

"Right."

"Stand back. When I begin spamming my special attacks, he's gonna pull out a new move." Shallot said.

Rhuda nodded. "Okay."

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Trunks parried Cells blast by smacking it to the sky with his sword. He watched as his father blasted Maijin Buu with Final Flash, and tightened his hold on his sword. "Rhuda...Shallot, I hope you can take that guy down."

Small talk was over. Cell mechanically began his attack and Trunks, tired of holding back, transformed into a SSG. His hair grew red and curled at the tips as his eyes become crimson. Swirling orange and red energy rolled from his body and hissed with threat. "Okay, Cell. Play times over."

"RRUUUAHH!" Cell began an assault to Trunks who could see every move in slow motion. His sword thudded against the hard shell of Cells backside and sliced into it.

That bought Trunks some time he needed. He punched some buttons on his wrist watch and heard, "Trunks! Is everything okay?" SKOT asked.

"Well, Giblet took Rhuda to another portal. Shallot went in. Goku, father, Broly and I are all stuck here fighting some enemies. They're powered up by the fruit of the Tree of Might."

"Oh no!" SKOT responded. "That isn't good! We need to get Rhuda out of there before Fu gets his hands on her!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. I was hoping you could tell mother to make another portal-- this time for the PQ we're stuck in."

"O-Of course! I'll do it right away!"

Trunks sighed. That was done at least. Now he needed to finish Cell off and help Broly and his father. He turned to Cell with renewed determination.

He had a girlfriend to save.

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Giblet was frozen when Shallot began pulling out one special move after another. "Masenko!" "Destructo Disc!" "Emperors Death Beam!" "Tri-Beam!"

Shallot ran out of Ki for the moment and caught his breath. His arms were sore from releasing so much at once, but it was working. Giblet's health bar was down in the red now.

Rhuda clapped her hands. "Good job, Shallot!"

He smirked down at her, his brown tail waving happily. "Heh. This is nothing."

Giblet burst from the crater Shallot left him in, pulled his fist back and punched Shallot, hard. Shallot was drove to the ground and mud splattered all over Rhuda from impact. She quickly rushed over, "No!"

"...Ugh. Damn. One thing I hate about this game is that the attacks all hurt like a bitch," he groaned.

She watched Shallot recover and put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Let me try, please. I-If that's...okay?"

"Noodle head, no offense but you're like a gnat to this guy. But..." he saw her green eyes flutter down in disappointment and added, "But..fine. C'mon. I'll give you an opening."

"Thank you."

Giblet tapped down to them and charged his Ki higher, and Shallot swore. "Here comes his ultimate attack. Get over there, now!"

He shoved her away and Rhuda nodded, flying as far as the bounds of the fight allowed. She watched in fear as Giblet began letting out red bursts of energy one after another, all heading around Shallot. He was guarding with his hands crossed but still took quite a bit of damage. His Health fell into the red zone.

"No--Shallot..." Rhuda held her hand to her chest as tears began to fill her eyes. She knew it was a game, but seeing her friend get hurt for her sake was hard to bear. She thought of her past life, all the times when she'd been alone, and wanted to weep at the difference. If only she'd met Shallot as Chisato.

What an odd thought to have at such a time, she realized.

Shallot shook his head as if dislodging debris from it and set his sights on Giblet. "Alright, now it's my turn! Noodles, get ready!"

"Y-yes!"

Giblet placed his own guard up, but Shallot broke it with a high kick and knee jab to his chest, and got into the signature stance for a kamehameha. His fingertips bent at the tips as he twisted his hands down, "Ka...me...ha...me..ha!"

The attack worked too well--

Rhuda frowned. Giblet had been defeated before she could get in her own hits, but at least it was over.

Giblet fell to his knee and glared up at his twin brother. "You...don't know what you're doing."

"Pretty sure I kicked your ass."

Rhuda made her way over to Shallot and leaned onto him for support. She was breathing hard but said, "What..do you mean, Giblet?"

"What I mean is..." he didn't get to speak further. They watched as he began to dissipate into coding, fading away before their very eyes.

"What the hell?" Shallot went to the spot Giblet vanished at, swiping at nothing. "He just...glitched out!"

"Yeah...it looked that way. But...I wonder what he was going to tell us." Rhuda frowned in thought.

"Does it matter? This is a game, noodles." Shallot poked her forehead. "Still...gotta say, if this was a new DLC, count me in. But next time I'll be prepared."

"Next time..." Rhuda grabbed his arm and held on, "Next time...I'll be ready, too."

He looked down at Rhuda and leaned, lifting her chin. Shallot stole her lips in his post fight adrenaline, twining his tail around hers without a second thought. She whimpered and pushed him away.

A sound came from beside them. It was a new portal, and as Trunks stepped out in his SSG form, Rhuda quickly put distance between her and Shallot.

"Rhuda!" Trunks dashed over.

He pulled her to him and saw how covered in mud she was. Rhuda, thoroughly embarrassed, hid her face in his thick chest. "...Y-you made it."

"Nothing could keep me away from you." He replied, brushing away the hardened mud from her cheeks. There was such tenderness and relief that she couldn't help but tear up and clutch his leather tightly. Seeing it, Trunks wrapped his arms around Rhuda and rubbed her back. "...You're safe, Rhuda."

"Hey. I'm here too," Shallot said.

"Yeah. Thanks for saving her, Shallot."

"Yeah yeah. Just doing my job." Shallot looked off in frustration. "Let's get going. I need a bath."