Chapter Text
As the artificial morning sunlight stretched over Conton City, hundreds of young Time Cadets gathered outside the Time Nest in marvelous anticipation—for today was the day they would be assigned their own Time Squadron and Mentor. It was a day every Cadet dreamed of from the moment they passed their preliminaries. Their first real step in becoming fully fledged members of Conton City’s Time Patrol was only a few moments away!
But for Cadet Kole, her dreams of joining the Patrol may remain just that: dreams.
—
Meep meep! Meep meep! Meep meep!
With the flick of a finger, the chirping alarm clock was reduced to little more than smoke and debris. Satisfied, the Saiyan clock-slaughterer settled back underneath her covers, her umber tail coiling loosely around her leg as she drifted back to sleep.
For about two minutes.
Kole frowned deeply. First her alarm decided to have the audacity to wake her up, and now her communicator was ringing? If Conton City didn’t have such a strict rule against fighting within city limits, she would have surely zipped to the damn fool who woke her a second time and beat the living shit out of him. Groaning, the Saiyan sat herself up and reached for her communicator, angrily rubbing the haze of sleep out of her eyes. Flipping the communicator open, Kole snarled into the camera. “The hell you want? It’s too damn early to be callin’ someone, you know.”
“Aw, c’mon Kole, that isn’t any way you should talk to your dear twin brother, now is it?”
At the sound of her brother’s voice, Kole’s sleep-fogged brain snapped completely awake. Her pissed off expression melted into one of gleeful joy. Her brother, Rubé, had been her longest friend. As hard as she tried, Kole couldn’t stay mad at him, even if he woke her up before noon.
“Well,” she said, lowering her hackles, “why didn’t you say so? It ain’t like I have caller ID on this thing, Slah.”
The tinny sound of Rubé’s chuckling filled the room, spurring Kole to laugh as well. “It’s not like you gave me the chance to, sis.” Rubé sighed, momentarily glancing at something off camera. “Say, Kole,” he continued as he pulled the communicator closer to his face, “did you seriously just wake up?”
Kole blinked and gave her brother a puzzled look. “Uh, yeah? Ain’t that obvious?”
Rubé grimaced, puzzling Kole even further. It was the weekend, wasn’t it? Classes weren’t in session on the weekends, even in a place with time as topsy-turvy as Conton City. Kole had all the time left to snooze as she pleased. Why was Rubé so damn concerned?
“Well, uh...” Rubé replied after a beat of silence, his voice sounding small, even through the communicator’s speakers. “Its just that... you’re missing the assignment ceremony...”
.....oh.
Oh, that’s why.
“Fuck!” Kole yelled, bolting upwards. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner! I studied my ass off for those exams, now it’s gonna all be for nothin’!” Jumping out of bed, Kole tossed her communicator onto her desk and set to work getting herself dressed for the ceremony.
Rubé gave his sister an apologetic look and raised his hand in surrender. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! If you hurry, you might still make it in time!” Closing his eyes to give Kole some privacy, he continued. “I should have called you earlier, I know how much you like sleeping past your alarm, I’m sorry.”
Kole scoffed, though not loud enough for Rubé to hear. “You sound like a broken record, Slah. Quit apologizin’, I can get there in time, just you watch!” Pulling on her cleanest gi, Kole stood and admired herself in her mirror. Yeah, Time Patroller Kole sounds about right, she thought. I sure do look the part!
Grinning, Kole gave her reflection a wink and snatched the communicator off her desk with her tail. “Thanks for the wake-up call, by the way. I’ll call you back once I’m an official Time Patroller!” Flashing him one last smile, Kole clicked her communicator closed, ending the call. “Alright!” She said, stuffing the device into her pocket. “Time to finally show Conton City what Kole is really made off!”
—
“What do you mean I’m too late? There’s gotta be somethin’ you can do!” Kole was on her knees, begging like her life depended on it—and it quite honestly did in her eyes. She glanced up at the Saiyan woman towering above her. Her name was Parsleigh, and as the Champion of Time, she could pull a few strings, right?
“You were late and that is final,” Parsleigh droned, folding her thick arms over her chest and glowering down at the groveling girl at her feet. Her stony features twisted into an expression of disgust. “Come on. You are a Saiyan, have some dignity. You missed the ceremony and thus missed your chance. Now you must retake the exams just like everyone else who missed the ceremony today.”
Kole ground her teeth as her superior spoke. Though she held her tongue, it was only a matter of time before she snapped and said something she might regret. Thankfully for the young Saiyan, the Gods seemed to be on her side.
“Aw, Parsleigh, I’m sure we can bend the rules just this once!” Chirped the Supreme Kai of Time. “After all, I made them.” Parsleigh’s expression faltered for a moment before she turned to face the small Kai.
“Ah! Supreme Kai of Time.” Parsleigh acknowledged the goddess with a curt bow. “My apologies, I didn’t know you would be making an appearance.”
The Kai giggled. “Come on, Parsleigh, you don’t have to be so formal,” she said cheerfully, giving the large woman a warm smile. Parsleigh jolted and straightened herself, lifting a hand to cover her face.
“Y-yes, Supreme Kai of Time..”
Kole sat back on her heels, completely speechless. Sure, she’d seen the Supreme Kai of Time plenty of times before during assemblies, but she could have never imagined how informal the Kai would be outside of any formal setting—especially with the walking example of formality that was Parsleigh. All the young Saiyan could do was sit and stare in awe at the spectacle.
Having given Parsleigh a friendly punch to the arm, the Supreme Kai of Time turned her attention to Kole, her gentle smile never leaving her face for a second. “You must be Kole. It’s so wonderful to meet you!” She greeted, folding her arms behind her back. “I saw your test scores—very impressive! You scored higher than anyone else in your class, believe it or not!”
Yeah, I believe it. I all but studied my tail off for that exam, of course I passed it. “Uh, th-thank you.”
“You really would fit in with the Patrol, Kole, you really would,” the Kai continued, “so I’m sure Parsleigh and I can pull a couple strings to squeeze you into a Squadron. Bear in mind, it’s a little unorthodox to have more than three members in a Squadron, but hey!” She clapped her hands. “I’m the Supreme Kai of Time, so I have the final say here, and I say to hell with orthodox!”
Parsleigh balked. “S-Supreme Kai of Time, are you really certain about all of this? Yes, she might have potential, but is that really worth bending the rules? There will be plenty more Cadets like her asking for second chances in the future—will you bend the rules for them as well?”
The Supreme Kai of Time nonchalantly waved the Saiyan off, much to Parsleigh’s chagrin. “Well, I suppose that’s future me’s problem,” she said, smiling at Parsleigh’s strangled noise of surprise. “Right now, I see a woman with some real potential to protect the flow of time.“ Crossing her arms, the Kai glanced up at Parsleigh. “If I recall, I saw the same potential in you and bent the rules to allow you to become the Champion of Time, despite you being from the past. Right?”
Parsleigh blinked, her one good eye widened in shock. “I... I suppose you’re right,” she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. Steeling her expression, she bowed once again in apology. “Forgive me for doubting you, Supreme Kai of Time.”
“Hey, hey!” The Kai chirped, cocking her brow. “What did I say about being so formal all the time!”
“Ah- forgive me.”
Kole shook herself out of her stupor. “Wait,” she began, finally rising to her feet, “so.. What does that mean? Am- am I being assigned to a Squadron, or..?”
The Supreme Kai of Time pulled her pouty gaze from Parsleigh to rest on Kole. She smiled and turned to face the young Saiyan woman, promptly placing her hands on her hips. “Of course you are!” She cheerfully said. Raising a godly finger, the Kai pointed to the still-stupefied Parsleigh. “And I assign you to Parsleigh’s Squadron!”
“Wait- What?”
“Excuse me-?”