"Don't put it like that, Vegeta," Goku said before Merus could answer. "Moro is a demon, so Merus isn't supposed to fight him directly."
Vegeta immediately found that suspicious.
"There's a rule for that too? Sounds like another setup. Ken used to be the one tricking us into these things, and now Merus is taking over?"
Merus wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
Vegeta was much harder to fool than Goku.
Goku, meanwhile, was genuinely curious about the restriction.
"What actually happens if you fight Moro?"
"I could disappear."
That answer finally wiped the skepticism from Goku's face.
"Disappear?!"
"Angels interfering directly with demons can affect the stability of the timeline. The rules prevent us from using Angel power against them for that reason." Merus softened the explanation before Goku could become completely lost. "I can still fight using abilities that belong to the mortal world. As long as I don't use Angel power, there won't be a problem."
Vegeta gave him a look that made it very clear he believed approximately none of that.
Goku accepted every word.
Merus smoothly moved on.
"In that case, I'd like to formally recruit both of you into the Galactic Patrol for the duration of the Moro operation."
"You want us to become Galactic Patrolmen?"
"It will make things much easier while we're pursuing him."
"Sure. Why not?"
Goku agreed immediately, while Vegeta's silence served as reluctant consent.
"Then we should complete your induction first. The Galactic King is waiting for us."
Vegeta was already regretting this.
"We need a ceremony just to chase one criminal?"
"One more thing before we leave." Merus lowered his voice. "Nobody in the Galactic Patrol knows that I'm an Angel. Please keep my identity between us."
"Got it."
Vegeta had no intention of discussing Merus's secrets with anyone anyway.
"Good. Let's not keep the Galactic King waiting."
Goku followed him into the corridor.
"Have I met this Galactic King before?"
"I don't believe so."
The main hall of Galactic Patrol Headquarters was considerably busier than Merus's quarters. Patrolmen of dozens of species moved through the station, and waiting near the center of the room was a large pale-green alien whose head and dangling appendages immediately reminded Goku of one thing.
Merus presented him properly before Goku could say anything unfortunate.
"This is the Galactic King."
Goku leaned closer.
"Are you an octopus?"
Jaco's voice came flying in from the side.
"Idiot! That's the Galactic King! Show some respect!"
Goku finally noticed him among the other officers.
"Oh, Jaco! Hey! Haven't seen you in a while."
Jaco looked personally offended.
"You only noticed me now?"
He had been standing practically beside the Galactic King the entire time.
The Galactic King was equally unimpressed by his introduction.
"And I am not an octopus." He looked toward Merus with growing concern. "This Saiyan reminds me of that Broly boy."
Merus could not really argue.
"He does have his moments."
"You know Broly too?" Goku asked enthusiastically.
Before anyone could stop him, he reached out and grabbed one of the Galactic King's dangling tentacles in what he apparently intended as a handshake.
The Galactic King's face turned bright red.
His voice became noticeably strained.
"What exactly is your relationship with Broly?"
"We're both Saiyans."
The Galactic King now understood far more than he wanted to.
"Do all Saiyans grab people there?"
Goku looked toward Jaco for help.
"What's he talking about?"
Jaco nearly exploded.
"You moron! That isn't his hand! You're grabbing one of his private parts!"
Goku released it so quickly that his arm snapped back against his chest.
"Oh."
Then he looked at his palm.
"Ohhh."
He immediately tried to wipe it on Jaco.
Jaco had clearly learned something from dealing with Broly and jumped backward before Goku could reach him.
"Absolutely not! Broly already pulled that trick on me once. I'm not falling for it again!"
Goku vanished from where he stood and reappeared beside him.
By the time Jaco realized what had happened, Goku had already wiped both sides of his hand across his uniform.
Jaco looked down at the offending marks, then up at Goku, his entire existence suddenly feeling unfair.
The Galactic King raised his voice before the situation deteriorated any further.
"Enough!"
Goku returned to Vegeta's side with an innocent smile and, apparently deciding his hand still did not feel clean enough, rubbed it across Vegeta's shoulder.
Vegeta slapped the hand away.
"Kakarot! You already wiped it on Jaco!"
"It still smells weird."
Goku sniffed his fingers.
The Galactic King decided not to participate in this conversation.
Merus could only sigh as an old wave of nostalgia hit him. Years ago, traveling with Ken and the others had produced exactly this kind of nonsense.
Some things apparently followed Saiyans wherever they went.
The Galactic King forced the ceremony back on track.
"Son Goku, also known as Kakarot, and Vegeta IV. Effective immediately, I appoint both of you as special members of the Galactic Patrol. Your commissions will remain active until Moro is successfully recaptured."
He fixed both Saiyans with a stern look.
"If either of you abuses your authority during that period, your appointment will be terminated immediately."
Goku raised a hand.
"What counts as abusing it?"
"For example, using an investigation as an excuse to cut in line for ice cream, or flashing your Galactic Patrol badge to impress attractive women."
Goku could not imagine why anyone would bother doing either of those things, but the Galactic King seemed serious enough.
With that, the ceremony was over.
Jaco immediately recovered his enthusiasm and produced a Galactic Patrol uniform.
"Welcome aboard! Here's your uniform, Goku."
"I don't want that."
Jaco clutched the outfit as though Goku had insulted a sacred artifact.
"What?! This uniform is the pride of the Galactic Patrol! Look at it! The design is incredible!"
"I'm good."
Vegeta did not even bother pretending to consider wearing one.
Merus stepped in before Jaco began defending the stitching.
"The uniform isn't mandatory, but you should at least display the Galactic Patrol emblem while you're working with us."
That compromise was accepted, and another patrolman quickly added the insignia to Goku and Vegeta's existing clothes.
Both Saiyans examined the new symbols with roughly the same enthusiasm they had shown for the uniforms.
Jaco, however, was thrilled.
"Now that you're officially Galactic Patrolmen, I can teach you everything I know as your senior! First, every elite patrolman needs a victory pose."
He launched into an elaborate stance.
Goku stopped him before the demonstration could develop into choreography.
"We can skip the pose."
Vegeta cared even less about Galactic Patrol traditions.
"I still want to know why you came all the way to Universe 6 for us. Moro is a Universe 7 criminal. Don't you have anyone useful in your own universe?"
Merus declined to answer that particular complaint.
Before Ken swapped the two Earths, Goku and Vegeta had been Universe 7 fighters. More importantly, Universe 7 was not exactly overflowing with people suitable for chasing Moro.
A group of Galactic Patrol officers suddenly hurried through the hall toward the launch bays, and their urgency gave Merus an excuse to change subjects.
Goku watched them rush past.
"Something happen?"
Merus called to one of the light-green officers.
"Irico, what's going on?"
Irico slowed long enough to answer.
"It's the Macareni Gang. They're robbing people again."
Merus knew the name immediately.
"They never learn."
Goku leaned toward Jaco.
"Who are they?"
"Repeat offenders. They break Galactic Law, we arrest them, and somehow they always end up causing trouble again."
Merus considered the timing. Moro remained the priority, but their preparations were not yet complete.
"We still have a little time before we leave. I'll help Irico deal with this first."
Relief washed over the patrolman.
"With you coming, this should be easy."
Goku followed Merus toward the hangar.
"Where are you going?"
"To handle Irico's case. We'll be back shortly. You and Vegeta can wait here."
"I'm coming," Vegeta said.
That settled Goku's decision as well.
"Then I'll come too."
Merus had no reason to refuse. A routine Galactic Patrol operation would at least give the two new recruits something to do.
Jaco invited himself along for the entertainment.
Soon a small patrol ship left headquarters and accelerated into deep space with Merus, Goku, Vegeta, Jaco, and Irico aboard.
Goku looked across the cabin at Jaco.
"You came too?"
"I felt like seeing what happens."
That was as good a reason as any.
On Planet Jung, a freight train raced across the surface at full speed.
Its cargo cars were packed with Blue Aurum.
Local officers on flying bikes had already intercepted the stolen train and were attacking the engine from the front, but the criminals controlling it were prepared.
Pasta Macareni leaned out from the locomotive and opened fire.
The first energy shot knocked one officer from his bike. Another two followed before the rest could scatter, and within seconds the entire pursuing squad had fallen from the sky.
Pasta lowered his weapon with a satisfied grin.
His two siblings were waiting nearby.
"Looks like that was the last of them," one said.
"That's all Planet Jung could send after us?" Pasta laughed. "Pathetic."
The other sibling could barely contain his excitement as he looked back at the cargo.
"With this much Blue Aurum, we're going to be rich!"
Their celebration ended when a Galactic Patrol ship appeared in the distance and rapidly closed on the train.
One look at its markings told them exactly who had arrived.
"The Galactic Patrol! Already?"
Pasta did not share his sibling's panic.
"I'll shoot them down. You two keep an eye on the hostages."
"Got it!"
The Galactic Patrol ship descended over the train and matched its speed. When the hatch opened, Merus stood at the edge and surveyed the cargo below.
"So they really were after the Blue Aurum."
Goku looked past him at the glowing blue mineral filling the cars.
"What's Blue Aurum?"
Jaco answered from behind him.
"It's an extremely valuable energy source used to power all kinds of advanced machinery. Earth has something similar called Sky Gold."
Goku's priorities immediately shifted.
"Valuable as in expensive?"
"Very expensive. Which is exactly why we can't let criminals steal it."
Goku brightened.
"Can I take some home? Chi-Chi told me I'm supposed to earn money while I'm out."
Jaco almost choked.
"No! You're here to stop the robbery, not join it!"
"Stingy."
Merus left that conversation behind and jumped from the ship.
He landed cleanly on one of the cargo cars as the train continued racing along the tracks.
"You're under arrest. The Galactic Patrol isn't going to let you steal this shipment."
Pasta answered with a gunshot.
Merus tilted his head just enough for the blast to pass beside him.
Vegeta watched from the patrol ship with barely concealed disdain.
An Angel pretending to be an ordinary Galactic Patrolman was ridiculous.
Goku understood the reason, though.
"This is part of Merus's training. Ken told me about it."
"He's restricting himself to mortal techniques," Vegeta said. "No Angel power."
Jaco caught enough of the conversation to become suspicious.
"What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing important."
Goku's smile was sufficiently innocent that Jaco became even more suspicious, but he had no useful information to work with.
Down on the train, Pasta lowered his smoking gun.
"Been a while, Merus."
"Pasta. You're going back to the Galactic Prison today, so make this easy and surrender."
"Hold on. That shot was just my way of saying hello." Pasta raised both hands as though the confrontation had already ended. "I'm not looking for a fight."
Merus's eyes went to the weapon still in his hand.
"Drop the gun."
"Sure. No problem."
Pasta appeared cooperative, but a small pulse of energy slipped from his fingertips and entered the weapon.
He tossed it toward Merus.
"Here."
The gun spun harmlessly through the air.
Pasta snapped his fingers.
It exploded.
The detonation tore through the coupling between the train cars, separating the three cars carrying Merus from the locomotive and the rest of the stolen convoy.
"Switch the track!" Pasta shouted.
One of his siblings stretched an arm several times its normal length, caught the distant rail switch, and yanked it into position.
The locomotive carried the Macareni Gang and their hostages onto one route while Merus and the detached Blue Aurum cars were diverted onto another.
Pasta was not finished.
He pulled out a larger rifle and fired past Merus.
The blast destroyed the track ahead.
Jaco watched the broken rails approaching and immediately understood the trap.
"That bastard!"
Pasta leaned from the escaping train and laughed.
"Goodbye, Merus! Enjoy dying with the rest of the Blue Aurum!"
His train vanished into a tunnel.
Merus found himself in the uncomfortable position of having been outmaneuvered by an ordinary criminal while two of the strongest Saiyans alive watched from above.
Ken would never let him forget this if he were here.
There was no time to dwell on the embarrassment. The detached cars were seconds from reaching the destroyed section of track, so Merus launched himself ahead of them and brought the entire load to a controlled stop before it could plunge from the rails.
He opened a channel to the patrol ship.
"Jaco, take care of the recovered Blue Aurum. I'll intercept Pasta at the other end of the tunnel."
"Got it!"
Merus accelerated away before Jaco had even finished answering.
Vegeta tracked him until the white-haired patrolman disappeared from sight.
"Kakarot, did you see that? He's still that fast without Angel power."
Goku had been wondering the same thing.
"Yeah. Merus is incredible."
Whatever limitations the Angel had placed on himself, he was clearly nowhere near an ordinary Galactic Patrolman.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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