From the looks and sound of it, Parsley's team was already back from their mission. It was quick, so it must have been exactly as Zurvan said. Sarada nodded; that meant that it was time to face the final and most difficult of the errant timelines, and Ishtar's alternate. Thanks to the damage she had taken during her fights at the tournament, she was likely stronger now than she was when she first started, but she still couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness.
Despite what she said to Ishtar, she knew that fighting the Goddess of Ruination wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded. Hakai wasn't a force to be taken lightly. She had only faced it one time, and that was in an extremely controlled environment. Against Alt-Ishtar, she would be facing the full brunt, nothing held back. Fuck, I don't know how any of us are going to survive that.
Now wasn't the time for doubts, but damn it, they were there anyway. The chances of one or more of them dying and not coming back were high. Real high.
She sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the Lookout, away from the others. The pain of losing Jack and Eva had long since dulled into nothingness since they were brought back, but she still remembered well the initial agony. It was heart-wrenching, and a sinking feeling ebbed through her chest every time it hit her. The very possibility of someone dying for good was too much to bear, not after growing accustomed to having the dragonballs as a backup. Hakai didn't just kill a person, it erased them from existence completely in a way that the dragonballs couldn't reverse. Once they were erased, that was it. They were nothing more than a memory.
Additionally, she wasn't sure if there were even dragonballs in that timeline anyway; so, it someone was just killed the regular way, they likely were dead for good anyway.
So many ways this could go wrong, and only a few it could go right. With so much riding on their victory, they had no choice but to overcome those odds no matter what. Meaning that if someone should die, that death should have counted toward the greater goal.
She didn't want to lose anyone, but it was stupid and foolish to believe that everyone was going to make it back. It was just a foolish to believe that she was going to make it back.
"What's your problem?"
Avoca's voice made her jump slightly. There was no point in lying. "A lot of us may die in this last mission. Ishtar's alternate self is in this timeline, and she has an energy that can erase a person completely from existence."
The older Saiyanness sat down beside her. "That sucks."
If Sarada was expecting more, she was disappointed. She wasn't. Avoca didn't know who any of these people were aside from a scant few. To expect anyone, least of all a Saiyan, to express anything more than the bare minimal empathy required to be considered a decent person was ludicrous, bordering on disingenuous.
"As long as you and Parsley make it back, I don't really care who dies. Oh, and Ishtar too, I guess, but mainly you two." She sighed and looked down at the clouds below. "I guess this mission is too important to just shrug off to someone else, so I won't bother asking."
"It is. There's a lot riding on this, Avoca. I'm not kidding." She frowned and tucked her knees up to her chest. "If we lose, then a lot more people are going to die." Though, The Doctor was going to make sure no one remembered it.
"Oh."
It was hard enough for her to wrap her head around, and she had been involved with this crap from the outset. Trying to understand that without even a nominal understanding of time travel or the stakes was impossible. But, she wasn't looking for reassurance from Avoca; she only wanted her to understand what happened if she or Parsley or anyone else in the group didn't make it back. The consequences were going to be beyond the scope of anything they had undergone up to this point, and would extend far beyond the Saiyans being without their Queen.
Sarada rose to her feet. Sitting around moping wasn't going to solve anything. "Well, better start planning."
"Planning." Somehow, that was when it clicked for Avoca. "You never plan anything."
"I do too! I make plans all the time."
"Name one time."
"..."
"That's what I thought." She stood and punched Sarada in the arm. "Better start planning shit for the very first time in your life. Maybe with some luck, you can stick to it. By the way, what happened to your hair?"
Sarada frowned, then remembered. "Oh, yeah. I got hit with literal acid rain, so I had to cut my some of my hair out."
"Looks nice. Never seen you with your hair down." It was true. Sarada more often than not always had her hair in a ponytail. It felt good to have it waving around free and stuff. "Open a portal. I'm going home. I'm sure this place is decent and all, but I've been bored out of my mind since those things were killed. Sitting around not doing anything isn't nearly as riveting as it sounds."
Sarada chuckled. "Figured you'd duck out eventually." She tapped her wrist to activate her PDD and then opened a portal to Vocado. Upon seeing the swirling wormhole of energy, her smile faded a little. I really miss home. It had only been a few days, but a few days was a long time when away from her people. Earth was nice, but it wasn't home. Humans were fine, but they weren't her responsibility. The Saiyans were, and she had been away from them long enough. There was still a lot of work to be done, including sorting through the mess that was Callion after the civil war. That was a thing she had forgotten about. "I'll see you soon. When I'm finally done here, I'll come home."
Avoca nodded. "Tell Parsley I'll see her at home."
"Okay." With that, Avoca was gone.