A New Crisis
It was a quiet day in Conton City. Relatively quiet. Time Patrollers were going about their days in peace. There had not been any major time rifts to worry about for quite some time now, and as such the patrollers were enjoying a well-deserved period of peace. Some were browsing the various wares at the shops to see what was in stock for the week, while others were pitting themselves against their friends to see who was the strongest and some were simply flying around and seeing the sights that the beautiful city had to offer.
One patroller in particular was enjoying the spoils of his most recent quest. His name was Korkhan, a Saiyan from their heyday of planetary conquests. He had died some time before the Saiyans were exterminated by Frieza. He never enjoyed their conquering of other races and instead wanted to settle down on a planet of his own, but such is a Saiyan's lot in life. After his death he was recruited into the Time Patrol by The Supreme Kai of Time and the head patroller, Trunks. He was offered another chance at life and all the opponents he could ever want to fight and the Saiyan inside him just couldn't say "no" to an offer like that. Plus he could finally stay in one place for more than a year, and Conton City certainly was some place to live his second life.
"YES! Finally, I have enough of these damn medals for one of those cool new mascots." He immediately rushed from the reception area to the TP medal shop. "But which one should I get, they're really expensive and I want to get a good one." As he took his time looking over every detail of each different mascot he didn't notice the footsteps approaching him from behind.
"Hey Korkhan, there you are. I've been looking for you. The Supreme Kai of Time needs to see you at the Time Nest right away," said a familiar scratchy voice that Korkhan would recognize anywhere.
Korkhan spun around and the first thing he noticed was a head of purple hair that would look pretentious and just downright stupid on anybody, save the person in front of him. "Trunks, what's up? Are you sure it can't wait just a little bit? I've been waiting to get one of the new mascots and I just got enough TP medals to afford one."
The stoic face of his friend and superior told him it wasn't good news. "Sorry Korkhan, something important has come up and we need a veteran Time Patroller to look into it. And we don't have any time to waste so let's get moving." Trunks turned and started flying towards the portal to the Time Nest, not bothering to check if Korkhan was following.
With one last somber look at the mascots sitting in the shop, just asking to be bought, Korkhan begrudgingly took of after Trunks.
In no time flat they were through the portal and walking towards the Time Vault.
"So Trunks what's so important that you had to come and get me right away?" asked Korkhan, still slightly peeved that he would have to wait further still to get one of his coveted mascots.
Trunks was walking quicker than normal and his brow was sweating, these details were not lost on Korkhan. "I don't know, she wouldn't tell me, which has me worried. Normally when something big comes up I'm the first to know about it, but this time she hasn't said a word to me, just told me to go get you as quickly as possible. Either this is catastrophically bad... or it's something we've never seen before. Honestly, I'm not sure which is worse."
Immediately Korkhan's previous frustrations were forgotten and were replaced with shared worry. He quickened his pace to match Trunks' "Alright then I guess it's a good thing you got me then."
They climbed the steps into the vault and upon entering were met with the sight of The Supreme Kai of Time pacing back and forth and Old Kai standing beside her rubbing his chin, deep in thought. They rushed down the steps but were hardly noticed by either of the Kais, as they were too busy contemplating this latest problem.
"Supreme Kai of Time," said Trunks. She stopped pacing and looked up frantically at the two new arrivals. It was at this point that Korkhan understood the true magnitude of their situation. The Supreme Kai of Time's eyes were wide open, her pupils where the size of pinpricks, and she was sweating bullets. Simply put she was panicking, never before had Korkhan or even Trunks ever seen her this worried about anything before.
"Good, you're here, then I can explain the situation. Roughly two hours ago a small new time rift appeared in Conton City. We had sent a patroller to take care of it but they were unable to enter it, as if there was some kind of forcefield around it preventing entry. We tried sending in four other patrollers but each one was met with the same results. Since then the rift has tripled in size. In all of the eons that I've been Supreme Kai of Time I've never seen anything like this. If it keeps expanding at this rate all of Conton City will be consumed by this time tomorrow. Unless we can stop it." She motioned for Trunks and the others to follow her out of the Time Vault. "I've had the rift brought into the Time Nest so no other patrollers can investigate it, and I've made sure the five patrollers who did won't speak of it, if the people knew they were less than a day away from dying there would chaos." They arrived at the rift just outside the Time Vault. It was already as big of some of the expert rifts.
This was starting to sound pretty bleak to Korkhan and he had no idea what they wanted him to do. If other patrollers couldn't enter it what made them think he could. "Supreme Kai of Time if we can't enter the time rift why'd you bring me, if I can't get into it then I'm just as useless as the others you sent." He thought he could see the slightest hint of a smirk on The Supreme Kai of Time's face.
"I can't guarantee anything at this early stage, but I might have found a way that would allow us to "force" the rift open long enough to get someone through, but it'll most likely close right after. It would require a tremendous amount of my own power, as well as some from Tokitoki." She sighed heavily and looked over to the bird in question, who was perched on top of one of the miscellaneous pieces of junk strewn outside the small hut in the Time Nest. "There is a catch however, Tokitoki is not used to using his power like this and if he uses too much he could overexert himself and could erase all of history as we know it. And on top of that, we don't even know how much power will be needed to force open the rift, we might even not be able to generate enough to open it. But if we fail then Conton City will be destroyed and the Time Patrol along with it, so I don't think we have much of a choice."
"I'm going through? Are you sure? And what about getting out? I mean there must be someone more qualified. Like trunks, you could send him, he could go, right." Korkhan continued to ramble incoherently to himself. This all seemed so surreal to him. The Time Patrol had its fair share of close calls, some of which he had a hand in stopping, but this one seemed to take the cake. He wasn't the best option they had right? There were so many better options, patrollers who had been around longer, done more than he had, there had to be someone.
It was at this point that Old Kai finally spoke up. Having seemingly finished his train of deep thinking. He leveled a finger at Korkhan. "Now you listen here young man, you don't give yourself enough credit. When I was your age I wasn't even a supreme kai in training. I was a simple kai of the lower worlds, well it's been so long now I don't even remember which one, maybe west." He shook his head and continued with his main point. "Anyway we picked you because we have absolute faith in you and we know you can do this kiddo. Now you just have to have faith in yourself. And besides, it's too late to choose anyone else."
"The old man's right, we chose you for this task because we know that you're capable of doing this." The Supreme Kai of Time looked up at Korkhan earnestly and despite her apparent worries smiled warmly at him. She glanced at Trunks for help in dissuading Korkhan of his uncertainty.
He caught the look she gave him and gave Korkhan the best smile he could muster despite such grim circumstances and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, I know you can do this Korkhan. And while I may have more experience as a Time Patroller, I think you might've surpassed me in power some time ago. You're probably one of the strongest Time Patrollers we have, but you keep yourself calm and focused. You kinda remind of Goku in that regard actually," Trunks says half-jokingly.
The Supreme Kai of Time silently thanked Trunks for his words. They might not have seemed like much, but to Korkhan they were just the confidence boost he needed. After having worked together to defeat some of history's baddest villains Korkhan had grown closer to Trunks not just as a fellow patroller, but also as a friend. Ever since his involvement with the more threatening changes to the various timelines and after having worked together they had become nearly inseparable comrades. The supreme Kai of Time spoke up, "As for getting you back, we believe that once the disturbance causing the rift has been dealt with the barrier should disappear and we should be able to pull you back like usual." She could see that her words had not had as much of a calming effect on Korkhan as Trunks' had, but they still helped in dissuading his doubts bit by bit.
Korkhan was still silently panicking on the inside. How could he do this? Sure he was an above average Time Patroller, but that didn't qualify him for stuff like this by default. He thought back on what the Kais and Trunks had said. They believed in him, that he could do it. A sudden determination grew within him. He had faced threats that could've ended history as they knew it before, but he didn't back down then and he certainly couldn't do it now. Korkhan smiled back at Trunks and nodded with certainty. He couldn't doubt his own abilities at this late stage. And like Old Kai said it was too late to get anyone else. "Alright then I'll do it." He turned to the shorter kai "Supreme Kai of Time what do we know about this rift and what's on the other side? Where and when will I be going?" he asked inquisitively.
The Supreme Kai of Time shook her head solemnly. "That's just it, with this barrier protecting the rift-" she motioned to the large, floating purple sphere "-we can't get any information on it at all. We have no idea what time period you'll be going to, or if you'll even be in our own universe. I'm sorry, I wish there was something more we could do but you'll be flying in blind this time," said The Supreme Kai of Time. She turned towards Korkhan and took a more determined stance. "But you're as prepared as we can make you, and we don't have any time to waste. Now let's get this show underway!"
Korkhan froze like a deer in the headlights. "Wait, right now? But I still need time to prepare, and get ready and stuff. Like I gotta go get some... uh." He stops to scratch his head and contemplate a worthy excuse to delay the inevitable. "Capsules! Yeah I need some regen capsules before I can go."
Trunks smiles at him, knowing what his friend what trying to pull, and produces a brown cloth bag tied closed with a string from one of his jacket pockets. "Way ahead of you there Korkhan." He tosses the bag to the Saiyan who reflexively catches it before weighing it in his hand.
Korkhan shoots Trunks a surprised look. "Really, Senzu Beans? I thought The Supreme Kai of Time didn't want patrollers to bring these on missions. That's why we're only allowed those capsules with Senzu essence inside of them." He looks to The Supreme Kai of Time for an answer.
She looks between Trunks, Korkhan and the bag a few times before hanging her head in submission. "Normally you'd be right, but this rift presents a lot of unknowns and dangers to Conton City and its people. So, just this once, I'll allow it." She shoots Trunks a teasing smile. "Though I do wish Trunks had asked me first, but ultimately I suppose it is his call, as those are his beans." She gives Trunks a thankful smile.
Korkhan looks at Trunks quizzically. "Really Trunks, you'd give me all of these just like that? I know how hard these are to come by around here, even harder than the Senzu essence we use, and that's rare enough as is. Are you sure?" He starts to offer the bag back to Trunks but is stopped by a hand pushing the bag back towards him.
"I'm sure. You certainly need them more than I do right now. And if you fail then it won't matter anyway so you need every advantage you can get. Keep them, and if you do end up using them then you'll thank me." Trunks held out his hand and Korkhan shook it with his free one.
Korkhan goes to thank Trunks again for his generous gift but is interrupted by The Supreme Kai of Time before he can speak. "Look I love a heartwarming moment like this as much as the next Kai but we really have to get started. You'll need as much time in the rift as possible. I'll go get Tokitoki and get him ready, you do any last minute preparations you need to." The Supreme Kai of Time quickly goes over to the hut and calls over the bird in question before returning with him.
The Supreme Kai of Time sets down the bird gently in front of the time rift. "Alright Tokitoki, you know what you're doing right?" The bird nods at his caretaker understandingly and looks up towards the floating time rift, awaiting his time to perform.
The Supreme Kai of Time walks over to Korkhan, Trunks and Old Kai, looking nervous but also almost eager. "Alright Korkhan, are you ready.-" He readies to answer her but is immediately cut off "-Because you had better be, we're only gonna get one shot at this so get over to the rift and wait for my signal" She points him over to the time rift and bird waiting patiently by it while Trunks and Old Kai stay put and watch from a safe distance.
The Supreme Kai of Time follows behind Korkhan and stops several feet from the rift. She motions for him to get closer to it. "We can only hold it open for a moment so you have to be as close as you can." Korkhan slowly makes his way towards the time rift, standing less than a foot away. The Supreme Kai of Time looks down to The Bird of Time. "Alright Tokitoki, you ready?"
"Toki!" the bird screeches back.
"Alright then, here we go." The Supreme Kai of Time raises her hands towards the time rift. Quickly her hands are surrounded by a green glow, the glow then moves to the outside of the rift. "Hnng!" The glow outside the rift starts to pulse in time with the glow around the hands of the Supreme Kai. It's obvious that she is straining herself greatly, her forehead is quickly lathered in sweat and she is shaking with exertion. "Alright Tokitoki, NOW!"
The bird quickly acknowledges her. He outstretches his wings, his wingspan is much larger than one would think from looking at his small stature. "TOKI! TOKI!" After a few moments Tokitoki's eyes start to glow the same green as the glow around the time rift. The pulsing around the rift increases in speed dramatically. Tokitoki brings his wings around him, as if to shelter him from the onslaught of energy pounding the rift, before quickly bringing them out again.
"TOKI!"
The green aura around the rift shatters like glass with the shards disintegrating before they can get anywhere near the ground. "NOW Korkhan! Go now!"
Having been distracted by the amazing display going on right in front of him Korkhan almost didn't hear his name called. He gives one last look at the Supreme Kai of Time before diving into the time rift when suddenly his whole world goes black.
It was a quiet day at Canterlot High. Relatively quiet. Granted the school had seen more than its fair share of action lately. It has been a few weeks since the incident involving Sunset Shimmer's attempt to take over the school. Since then the students have been slow to forgive her, many are still giving her the cold shoulder. Everyone, except for her newfound friends. Thanks to Princess Twilight, Sunset has had a head start on making new friends and changing her ways with the help of Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Now, though, the school was abuzz with talk of the upcoming musical showcase. Nearly every student group was participating, and the entirety of the student body was looking forward to it.
In the music room were the girls in question, all playing an instrument save for Sunset.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwuIcYHpaEg
As the girls finished their song their various magical extremities disappeared. and Sunset gave them a round of applause.
"Aha! I still can't believe that happens when we play," said Rarity as she put down her Keytar "Oh, I've got to look into some new accessories, something that looks good in a longer ponytail. Ooh! Maybe some clip on earrings for when I get those adorable pony ears."
"I just wonder why it happens," said Applejack. "Princess Twilight took 'er crown back to Equestria. Shouldn't that mean she took all the magic back with her."
"Who cares why it happens," Rainbow Dash said. "It makes my band totally awesome!"
"Oh! Your band?" Rarity remarked incredulously.
"Duh, it was my idea to start the Rainbooms so we could be in the showcase. Plus I'm the lead singer and guitarist." Rainbow was then interrupted by a knocking on the door. It was opened by Flash sentry, who was looking quite excited.
"Uh, heard you outside," he said. "You guys are sounding really tight."
Rarity and Applejack both went to respond but were cut off by Rainbow Dash who quickly butted her way in front of them. "Uhh, we're getting there. Rarity's still coming in a little late on the second verse, and Applejack's base solo could use a little work." Both of her friends glared at the back of her head at her comments. "They'll get it together in time for the showcase."
Rarity and Applejack shared an annoyed look while Fluttershy could sense the tension building and tried, unsuccessfully, to hide behind her tambourine.
"Uhh, I-I don't suppose any of our friends from... uh... out of town might come?" Flash asked the group hopefully. "Uh-it being a special charity event and all," He specified quickly to hide his awkwardness.
Applejack got up and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry Flash. Ah don't think Twilight gonna be back at Canterlot High anytime soon."
He gave her a nervous laugh. "Haha. Oh yeah. Okay. I just, you know, thought I'd ask. Uh k-keep on r-rockin' it." He slowly backed his way out of the room only to miss the doorway and bump into the wall. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and corrected his path before quickly taking his leave.
Rarity had a knowing smirk on her face and gave a slight laugh. "Well, someone is quite the smitten kitten," she said before stopping herself and looking at Sunset. "Oh, sorry. I always forget you and Flash used to be an item."
Sunset gave Rarity a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's okay. Flash is a great guy and all, but I never really liked him liked him. I was just using him to become more popular." Her words quickly sank in and she placed her head in her hands. "Ah, the old me really was just awful wasn't she?" asked Sunset rhetorically, looking to her new friends for reassurance.
"Mmhmm."
"Ehh..."
"Sorta."
"..."
"Yep!"
Applejack quickly made her way to Sunset to cheer her up. "But the important thing is that you've turned yourself around." She brought an arm around Sunset's shoulders to show her that her words were genuine and that they were all there for her.
Sunset gave Applejack a thankful smile and moved out of her embrace to face her. "Thanks Applejack, but I'm not sure everyone else at CHS feels the same way." She looked like she wanted to continue but was interrupted by an announcement from the loudspeaker.
"Sunset Shimmer, please report to the main foyer."
Sunset started to make her way out of the music room. "Gotta run, I volunteered to show some new students around the school. I thought it'd be good for them to get to know the new me before they heard all the stuff about the old me." She gave her new friends one last weak smile, hoping for encouragement. She got smiles all around and a wave from Rainbow Dash before she left.
Korkhan awoke with a start. The first thing he noticed was that he had blacked out, that doesn't normally happen when he enters a time rift, sure it feels disorientating but you get used to it after a while. He doesn't remember anything after he jumped through the rift. He also quickly notices that he is laying face down in a patch of very soft grass, and as much as he would like to stay, he has a job to do and is against the clock, and he has no idea how long he was unconscious for. He gets up but notices something a little off with himself. Namely his height, he seemed to be about half a foot shorter than he was when he entered the rift. He starts to panic thinking that something has gone wrong, but quickly calms himself, he has much bigger things to worry about than his bodily dimensions right now.
He gets a feel for his surroundings. The first thing he notices is a large building in front of him not dissimilar from the patroller academy back in Conton City, if not a bit bigger. He realizes that he does not recognize it, nor does he recognize any of the other nearby buildings. He turns on his scouter and contacts the Supreme Kai of Time.
"Hello Supreme Kai of Time, do you read." He waits a few seconds for a response but doesn't get one, there isn't even static on the other side. "Supreme Kai of Time do you read me." Again he waits several seconds for a response and again nothing but silence. "Trunks, Old Kai, anyone on this frequency, hello. This is Korkhan, please respond." He waits longer this time, several minutes tick by with him looking around for any sign of what he should be looking for. He eventually gives up on getting a response and removes the scouter, placing it in one of his pockets. He is alone in a strange and unknown place.
It is then he notices that some passersby are giving him strange looks. He looks closer at them until he notices none of them have tails like he does. He looks back and notices his own swishing back and forth. He guesses it must look odd to be the only one with a tail around. He decides to wrap his tail around his waist and slip it under his pants so as not to stick out.
He still has no idea where he is or what kind of time anomaly he is looking for, as he doesn't even know what is supposed to happen in this place in history. Firstly some recon is in order. He deduces that the time rift put him here for a reason so he decides that the best place to start looking is in the academy ahead. With a new goal in mind Korkhan makes his way up the steps and through the main doors.