The Heart of Adventurers - Part 41
Heart of the Adventurers
By Demod20
Chapter 41 - Come On New World
Home.
It felt like years since those of Earth had embarked on their journey into the stars. What was a little over a week for some and days for others, the weight of all the trauma, heartache and loss of life forever marked those who came to Namek. Though they emerged victorious, it felt pyrrhic, as one less Earthling accompanied them on the trek back.
Regardless, three days felt swift in comparison to the previous starcrossing. Due to current occupancy, anything beyond light workouts and image training was all that the more physically active members of the crew were.
Gokū did this with his brother, with Pan joining in halfway while Nappa gawked at the seemingly mystical means of exercising. Vegeta didn't speak, his whole person radiating agitation and simply exercised away from the others, despite Gokū's constant invitation.
Bulma went over her notes of what she saw on Freeza's ship, hoping that between herself and her father, they might be able to make sense of the alien technology; perhaps even reproduce it. In the meantime, she deactivated her implant, planning to upgrade them later due to how dangerous it was to have tech capable of hemorrhaging her brain, frying her eye sockets and who knows what else. She had to figure how to make implants more useful, and perhaps find a way for her to be helpful in combat.
Thanks to Nail, the Grand Elder managed to make do with incredible patience despite his brethren being in a cramped space. Using his skill in conjuration and transmutation, the Nameccian provided rations and bedding for everyone flying the vessel, making their movement across space more bearable due to his pragmatism and compassion. Meditating in his own corner of the main deck, Dende spent his own time visiting with Pan and the others while keeping a wide berth from Vegeta, Nappa and caution around Raditz.
"Mama! I see Earth!" A sudden voice broke the routine everyone had. Turning to look, they saw Pan at the nearest viewing port of the spherical ship, her hands and face pressed against the viewing port while her tail wagged excitedly through her gi. "It looks so small from here!"
"That's because it is small," Raditz snorted, striding over to his niece ahead of Bulma, giving a stare at the terrestrial planet. "But it's more preferable than the burning rock we just barely escaped from."
"Small or not, Earth is home," Bulma chided her brother-in-law, rustling her daughter's head and smiling at her innocence displayed; given all that had happened, she was grateful that wasn't stolen from her either. Turning to look up at him, she gave the Saiyan a teasing wink, "I recall that you have a special someone waiting at home for you."
The Saiyan immediately went flushed, face turning red and eyes shrinking.
"Your sister is not looking forward to seeing me!" He yelled, his fists balled at his side while everyone gathered to watch the spectacle, instead of the approaching planet. "She wants to lecture me as she has constantly! No rest around her, she'll find a way to make my life miserable!"
"It's just her way of showing how much she cares," Bulma remarked with a genuine smile. "She may be more mischievous than I am, but were not that complex women. If you find her annoying, it means you like her too."
"Why-! You-! She-!" He tried to rebuke, his face crimson as he steamed visibly. Gathering what little composure he had, he looked over to see his brother pat him on the shoulder.
"Relax, Raditz. She's not wrong. You two make a great couple," He commented, then cheekily adding. "Though seeing you blush is just priceless, hehe!"
"KAKARROT, YOU BASTARD!" Raditz bellowed, much to all company's chagrin as they winced at his shout's volume. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BROTHER! HOW COULD YOU ADD FIRE TO AN OPEN WOUND LIKE THAT?!"
"Don't you mean salt-?"
"DAMMIT, KAKARROT!"
A pair of gloved hands grasped the pair of brothers and pushed them apart by the chests. Interrupted, the pair looked over to see Vegeta visibly twitching, dark circles seen around his eyes and hints of bloodshot in his sockets.
"Keep your squabbles down, you're giving me a headache," He sneered dangerously.
"Alright, Vegeta, we'll quiet down," Gokū replied disarmingly with raised hands. "You don't look so good. Did you not sleep well?"
"I haven't slept since I got on board," He replied, gnashing his teeth and sweeping an arm about. "How can I, when I - the Prince - am denied immortality, subordinates and the birthright of ruling the galaxy when your bastard uncle is seizing power?!"
Gokū opened his mouth only to have Vegeta walk away towards the exit hatch, crossing his arms and tapping a foot expectantly.
"The moment you leave this ship, I'm taking it to go kick that backstabbing traitor off my throne. Does anyone have a problem with that?"
After he asked, Bulma felt the knee jerk reaction to tell him 'No, my family built it, so you're not taking it', then remembered days ago she said the opposite. With him leaving, she assumed there could be some genuine peace on Earth.
"No, but I have a favor to ask," Gokū began to say, earning an icy stare from the Prince. Undeterred he continued, "We're going to use the Dragon Balls to fix all the harm you people have caused. But, in case it doesn't work, since you'll be in space…can you look for Chi-Chi?"
Bulma quieted.
She figured Gokū had been internalizing what she vocalized during the eve of their escape from Namek. Over the possibilities they thought over, one that superseded death was that for whatever purpose, Tullece was keeping her captive. If Vegeta was going after him, then she knew why he now decided to ask if he had planned on leaving so quickly.
The Prince of the Saiyans looked at Gokū long and hard, maintaining a stony expression none could read. Turning his head away, he let out a scoffing huff.
"I make no promises. That woman is far from my highest priority," He intoned stoically while staring at the door in the wall. As the ship buffeted through the atmosphere, swiftly descending to the lawn of Capsule Corp, it shuddered and the ramp opened ahead of him. In a waft of air and light that cascaded over him, the Prince sighed, unfurling his arms and descended the stairs. "I'll forgo my departure, long enough to see these Dragon Balls do their magic in person. After that, I'll leave and do what must be done."
The ship touched down a minute later, rocking the interior. And as the Prince left first on the ramp, Gokū and the others could only glance at each other in silence.
Nail himself stood up, walking over and opening the storage hatch containing his people.
"Children, it is time to emerge," He announced with subdued compassion. "We have arrived."
Dende, roused at the sight of his father and the others of his kin rising out, ran out with them to the outside. The Saiyans and Earthling walked out after them, greeted by the smells of freshly trimmed lawns, the heat of a singular Sun and the sight of Panchy with wide open eyes at the assembly's arrival.
"Goodness! I didn't expect to see so many of those Piccolo fellows," She said airily. Dropping her garden trimmers, the curly blonde woman adorned in a Sun hat and garden gloves peered past her squinting eyes to see what she thought she saw. Treading over in mini-steps, she embraced her daughter and granddaughter simultaneously as they parted the green sea of Namek to meet each other.
"You're back home! So nice to see my two little angels," She declared with a jubilous tone. "How was your trip? Did you bring back any souvenirs? Apart from these fine green folk that is."
"We beat up bad guys, nana!" Pan exclaimed with innocent joy, separating from her mother and grandmother while shadow boxing the air rapidly in emphasis. "I went, raaah! Papa went, grrrr! And Uncle Raditz made a waaaagh! We kicked so much butt!"
"Pan is pretty spot on," Bulma smiled, rustling her child's head - much to the daughter's smiling glee - before gesturing to Gokū and Raditz. "The boys helped out a lot. I have to thank dad for making this Capsule Pod so quick, otherwise we would have needed a wish just to escape the planet."
"Ho boy, the dragon would've been mad about that," Gokū spoke as he grinned nervously imagining how irate the mythical being would have been at such a task.
"Given our ship's speed, we probably have to wait another three to four days before your sister and the dwarf arrive with that useless bug cop," Raditz surmised aloud, ignoring the deceivingly young looking mother of his sister-in-law. Crossing his arms, he rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Looking forward to her coming back and chewing me out."
"She doesn't have to know Bulma died-oops," Gokū commented, suddenly realizing what he said aloud. Grimacing, he turned to see a pair of golden eyes coming from his brother who suddenly looked much larger and looming over him in a featureless silhouette. "Uh...my bad?"
A series of thundering punches crashed the ground, leading into a dust cloud as Gokū flew off with Raditz in hot pursuit in a trail of coral orange after him. Their dance echoed trails of flashing lights and thunder, causing a few people in the neighbourhood to raise umbrellas overhead expecting rain.
As this continued, Bulma sighed as she palmed her face as Pan blinked owlishly at the lavender haired mother.
"Sweetie, did your husband say you kicked up daisies?" Panchy asked with bewildered blue eyes.
"Yes, but I got better," She stressed with an emphatic wave of her hands, forcing a smile for Pan's sake. "Really, it wasn't a big deal. I was barely gone for more than an hour."
"Mama died?!" Pan cried out, clenching her hands and gritting her teeth, hair standing on end. "I'mma beat 'em up!"
"Your father already did," She calmly assuaged her child.
"You promise?" Pan looked up with a pouty frown.
"Pinky swear," Bulma said with a smile, extending a pinky finger to her half Saiyan child. Relaxing, Pan used her own finger to grasp her mother's and smiles back in reassuring relief.
"Well, it seems you all could use some tea," She said, glancing around at the gaggle of Nameccians and the nearby fighting pair of brothers in the sky. "I'll make sure to bring plenty of pitchers. You all look like you could use some."
"That's appreciated. Thanks, mom," Bulma said, watching her mother disappear back into the spacious home and headquarters of Capsule Corp. She gave a brief look at Vegeta leaning next to the side door but gave a simple shrug as he kept his eyes closed and almost appeared asleep with how still he was.
"Apologies for being forward," Nail spoke, stepping away with the Elders behind him and Dende at his left side. Bulma looked ahead at him, ignoring the comical battle taking place over their heads in the sky above. "But I think it is time to summon the Dragon Balls here from our planet. Rebuilding Polunga's body shall be easy, as I have the memories of the Grand Elder. However it shall take time and I wish to know if there is a proper place for my children to stay in the meantime."
"You guys can stay here," She gestures to the rest of the backyard, spanning an immense amount of acreage including a spacious greenhouse. "As long as it takes, you can feel home here. It's the least we can do, given we need your dragon to wish back our friends."
"Your graciousness is only matched by your humility," Nail spoke back, bowing his head. " For it is us who are indebted for saving our race."
With that, Dende, the Elders and then the rest of Namek bowed reverently to Bulma and Pan. She recoiled in surprise, not expecting such a solemn sign of thankfulness to her for anything. She had admitted she was using their artifacts for ulterior motives, yet she was being thanked this much?
Overwhelmed, Bulma teared up, sniffling as she forced her emotions under control.
"Y-You don't n-need to bow," She choked out, her daughter hugging her leg as she failed to keep the tears from flowing by swiping hands. "It w-was the right thing t-to do. That's all."
Despite the horrors they all faced, she knew the good had far outweighed the bad. And with the Dragon Balls' help, she was going to ensure everything was put back right.
Not long after, Nail and Dende set to work on gathering their Dragon Balls.
Dende had performed an incantation in Nameccians, calling out to the sky with raised expected hands. Minutes passed and comets of light surged into the noon sky and landed with a quaking impact in a perfect circle around the young green child.
Nail himself gathered the stone orbs and left, his people soon were escorted to the greenhouse where they'd make their current stay. From there, Dr. Brief was introduced to the Elders and conversations were made in between his many ongoing projects. Apart from the science of Earth technology and more recently adopted Freeza Force tech, there was an exchange of language, traditions and social cues of both peoples to the Brief family and them.
Tights arrived back with Jaco and Kuririn, much to Kashiko and Panchy's joy at their reunions. Raditz didn't receive a tongue lashing. Instead, the two left together and for a while no one knew why except save Bulma or Gokū. They eventually returned and the family continued their cultural and social exchange with their Nameccian guests while they waited for the Dragon Balls to be fully charged.
Gokū, Raditz and Pan filled in time by training together near home when they weren't dragged by the ear by either of the Brief sisters. Nappa himself waited inside the ship, afraid to show his face inside and just kept himself scarce from everyone for the time they all had harmony with one another. Vegeta maintained a near complete absence from the rest of them while sojourning to abandoned places of the planet. It was unknown what the Prince was thinking yet everyone respected and feared him enough to maintain the distance he sought out.
After four months, the Dragon Balls of Namek were assembled and the Dragon ready to be summoned.
Everyone was present. The Saiyans, Gokū, Raditz, Pan, Nappa and Vegeta. The Nameccians, the Elders, Dende and Nail. And the Earthlings, Bulma, Tights, Panchy, Dr. Brief, Kuririn, Kashiko. And there was Jaco.
Even the God of Earth and Mr. Popo was there.
Dende, being the keeper of the Dragon - Polunga - raised his hands and spoke in Nameccian, "Oh Polunga, Dragon of Dreams, arise!"
In a mighty flash of light, a towering bolt of luminous divine glow speared into the heavens. Emerging in a solid muscle frame of a hybrid of Nameccian physiology and a draconic serpent emerged Polunga. The hulking body lowered itself down and spoke to its summoner.
"I AM POLUNGA, DRAGON OF DREAMS. SPEAK YOUR HEART'S DESIRE FOR I SHALL GRANT SIX WISHES!"
Bulma gawked along with the host of Earthlings. This didn't sound right.
"We learned to teach the Dragon how to speak your common tongue," Nail began to say, earning a dubious stare from Raditz. He gestures calmly to Dende. "Your planet's rotation is also faster. Not only is it spinning much faster than ours, we have two cycles worth of wishes that I ensure we're stockpiled in case of an occasion such as this."
"Oh that's handy!" Gokū exclaimed giddily. "We should start with bringing the guys back."
"Their names, if you please," Dende asked in a quiet tone.
"Tenshinhan, Chaozu, Piccolo-"
"We already brought Piccolo to life," Bulma said.
"Ahem," God cleared his throat, catching Gokū's wide eyed stare with sudden realization.
"Shoot! I thought that he was still dead given he wasn't here!" He shouted, ending with an apologetic wave and smile. "Hehe, my bad. Then, just transport him back here."
Nodding, the child keeper of the Dragon made his request up to Polunga for each individual resurrection, and the transportation of the one named Piccolo.
The Dragon nodded in compliance, its eyes aglow in a bright ray of crimson down to the ground a flicker of swift materialization, one figure after the other appeared. Eventually all three mentioned individuals manifested before everyone amidst the base glow of the spherical artifacts.
"We're back!" Chaozu shouted happily in a leaping aerial spin. "Tenshinhan, we're back!"
"That we are," He said, the Crane Fighter looking back at Gokū, then Raditz with a smile, then-
"You two!"
All eyes turned to where he shouted angrily at. There was Nappa, doing his best not to shrink under the judgemental looks and giving as much a berth to Vegeta as he could. The Prince on the other hand, simply smirked and closed his eyes.
"So, the dead really can be brought back to life. I may have experienced it myself, but I wanted to see it for myself," He reopened his eyes, his smile intact at the furious Earthling standing apart from him. "Count your blessings, three eyes, that you're in the company of so many capable warriors. Otherwise I'd repay that look you're giving me for another trip to the Afterlife."
"You bastard-!"
A four fingered hand grasped his shoulder, stopping him from moving forward.
"He's not worth it. Not right now," Piccolo calmly intoned, stonily staring at Vegeta coolly. "But next time, expect a good thrashing from yours truly."
"Entertaining as that sounds, I'll pass for now," Vegeta admitted, walking past the rest of the assembly to the nearby parked ship. "For now, I must settle the score. I'll return not as an invader, but as the galaxy's new king," he leered over one shoulder at Gokū and Raditz, singling them out as he walked up the ramp. "Expect to bow properly."
As the ramp retracted and the door sealed behind him, it took less than a minute for the orb to shoot off from the Brief home's lawn in a streak of FTL movement. Vanishing into the sky with a roar and a twinkle behind its wake, Nappa sighed with relief and took a defiant step forward to shake a hand at Tenshinhan.
"Listen here you trash! I'm done being cooped up and waiting for permission to do anything around here. I promised I won't cause problems, but if you want to pick a fight, we can settle it right here and now. If not, then piss off!" He declared, veins throbbing along his jaw and clenched fists. "I'm a General, a Saiyan Elite! I refused to be bullied by weaklings or intimidated by everyone here!"
Raditz scoffed, eyeing up Nappa as he turned to glare at him.
"We can settle things in a proper time or place, Nappa. For now, just hold your damn tongue until the dragon is gone. I don't want you accidentally wishing for something!"
Realizing he almost made a blunder, Nappa clenched his teeth and turned his face away in reddened anger. Plopping down on his haunches with a thud, he grumbled with arms crossed over his large chest.
"I see a lot has changed since we were gone," Tenshinhan spoke lowly, walking forward to Gokū with Chaozu floating nearby. "Thanks for wishing Chaozu and I back. As soon as business is done here, we'll take our leave to renew our training. Kaiō taught us quite a bit while we waited for your wishes."
"Looking forward to it," Gokū said with a smile. "Good to have you guys back with us."
Smiling in return, the pair of Crane Fighters took spots among their midst just as Piccolo wordlessly joined the side next to Raditz. Neither spoke a word to each other but nothing needed to be said. Relief could be felt between the pair of strong warriors and now reunited, a part of them had been restored.
"Is there anyone else you want us to bring back?" Nail proffered on Dende's behalf to Gokū.
"Well, we plan on using the Earth's Dragon Balls to bring back everyone from the time the Saiyans attacked," Gokū admitted, unknowingly causing Nappa to flinch at him being mentioned. Then, he raised his hands up to clench his head with sudden realization. "Oh man! I almost forgot! We have to bring back Yamcha too!"
"To be honest I forgot him too," Bulma said dryly.
"That's mean, guys!" Kashiko proclaimed before Kuririn could, the bespectacled brunette woman with a glare. "He fought hard to save Earth too. He can't be forgotten!"
"It's okay, honey, Gokū is just bad at remembering things," Kuririn assuaged his beloved, laughing a little. "And Bulma is his ex, so it makes sense."
"Still though…"
After she settled down, Dende asked for Yamcha to be revived. The long maned warrior emerged in a burst of light, a straw hat on his head and a crimson cloak wrapped around him. Swinging an arm around, he gestures his hand forth and declares in a boisterous tone.
"Behold, the Great Wolf has returned back from the land of the dead-!"
"Yamcha, you're facing the wrong way!" Kuririn shouted.
"Behold!" Yamcha repeated, spinning around to gesture at the group properly that all stared dryly at him. "The Great Wolf has appeared from the land of the dead!"
A slew of crickets sounded in the wake of his arrival. What broke the silence was Pan waving at him and saying aloud, "Welcome back, Yamcha! I missed you!"
Sighing, Yamcha took off the hat and cloak, tossing them away.
"I missed you too, kiddo," He admitted with a sloppy grin.
"We all missed you," Gokū confessed with a grin of his own. "Good to see ya, buddy."
"Yeah, Kaiō's planet was getting a bit cramped. Learned a lot from him, but didn't like his jokes...or being harassed by his pet monkey."
"How is Bubbles?"
"A damned menace!" Yamcha exclaimed with visible frustration. "I don't know about you, but I don't like chasing a monkey as part of training, especially one that antagonizes you!"
"He's just jealous we all caught the monkey before him and he took an extra week to do so," Tenshinhan added wryly.
Yamcha sighed, joining their midst while casting a stink eye at Tenshinhan.
"Alright, we have two wishes remaining," Dende spoke up, looking over his shoulder at the others. "Who else needs help?"
Gokū steeled himself. He had been putting off thinking about it, keeping his peace. But now that all of his friends were back, he had to make sure she could come back too.
"Ask him to bring Chi Chi back to life," Gokū asked, solemnly to the Nameccian child.
He nodded with understanding. They all knew. Turning, he spoke to the dragon and imparted Gokū's wish to it.
Polunga's eyes glowed an ominous red and a few seconds passed. Dimming, it spoke aloud, "I CANNOT DO THIS. THE ONE CALLED CHI-CHI STILL LIVES!"
His heart surged. Death had not claimed his childhood friend. The one who saved him from Vegeta and helped aid in their victory. She wanted to ask him for a favor for helping protect his wife, child and best friend when going into space and he wanted to know what it was, for better or worse.
"Then ask the dragon to bring her here!" Gokū exclaimed with excitement.
"Polunga, bring Chi-Chi here!" Dende implored once more.
The Dragon of Dreams has eyes aglow of crimson once more. Seconds passed, time elapsing even longer than before. Unlike before, the dragon sweated over its scales and cleared his throat nervously.
"I CANNOT DO THIS EITHER. THE ONE CALLED CHI-CHI DOES NOT WISH TO RETURN!"
Just as quickly as he dared hope, a terrible weight crashed with the fear he had since noticing her absence. There was only one possibility where she could be. And if she didn't wish to be here, then it meant the worst outcome.
"Then...give her a message," Gokū asked, lowering his head with gritted teeth and hands curled into clenched fists. "Tell her, I'm sorry I couldn't do the favor you wanted from me, and that I'm sorry I couldn't protect you...or marry you. You would have been a great wife to someone!"
Tears fell from his eyes as Bulma pulled him into an embrace. She felt sadness wash over him in waves. A dear friend was forever lost to him and to a heinous person too. Feeling his arms wrap around her, he sobbed into her shoulder as the wish was conveyed.
While all held a moment of silence, the dragon's eyes glowed as it conveyed the desired wish. When this was done, the mystical being quietly looked to its summoner for the last command in store for him to fulfill.
"Apologies, but I have a selfish request to make," Nail said, looking at Bulma and Gokū in particular. A smile adorned on his face, his eyes sincere as he gently spoke to them. "I know my people wish to live in a place free of the turmoil that has been found on our land since the end of the calamity. During our brief time spent here, I wish to have us live here; to do so, I will use the last wish to create a place that is suited for our needs on this planet."
As shocking as it seemed on the surface, Bulma expected this to potentially happen. Bonding with her family, and those who visited, they must have been truly yearning for a place to start over where they aren't completely alone. And given the trials and tribulations they endured, she couldn't deny them this simple request.
"We would be honored to have you as neighbors, Elder," Bulma nodded with approval.
Seeming to light up at this, with varying degrees of acceptance by the resurrected warriors and gathered assembly of acquaintances, Nail turned to Dende. Placing a palm on the young Nameccian's head, he looked up and asked the dragon directly rather than through his son.
"Polunga, old friend," He began to say with a tinge of sadness in his voice. "This will be our final wish."
The dragon paused, its mouth closed and humming aloud to process the declaration. Then it nodded, rumbling out loud, "VERY WELL. SPEAK YOUR FINAL WISH, GRAND ELDER!"
"Oh Polunga, create a land suitable for us sons of Namek to begin again in this world. Once upon the water, removed from the taint of industry and the spoils of pollution, fruitful in abundant fertility and tranquility. Do this for us, sons of Namek!"
As Nail said this, the Dragon of Dreams smiled and had his eyes glow a bright crimson whose rays washed over them. In moments, it was finished, and the glow of the dragon cast over its immense frame.
"FAREWELL, NAMEK! MAY YOU LIVE ABUNDANTLY AND ETERNALLY!"
With its final words, the dragon disappeared in a spiral of light that transcended the heavens. The seven spheres, fell inert once more to the ground with loud thuds before turning to dust upon the large lawn.
"Wait!" Kuririn exclaimed in alarm. "What happened? Why are your dragon balls dust?"
"Their power came from Namek. The world was gone and what may have been left of it I could not sustain forever," Nail explained to Kuririn, glancing at other questioning eyes. "Freeza taught us a harsh lesson that it provides too much of a temptation for those with evil in their hearts. With its use spent, I chose to let go of its power and release us of that burden."
"But, still…" The dwarf sighed, bowing his head. "We finally had two sets, and one to help bring the dead back no matter what. And now…"
"If you wish for better dragon balls, I can assist," Nail reconciled with a gesture to Earth's God. "Seeing you as caretaker of them, I can help improve them, should you desire."
"It would be of great help to us," Earth's God nodded in acceptance with a gracious bow of his head.
"Then it's settled," Nail affirmed with a smile. Turning his gaze to Piccolo, he gestures to him and the emerald skinned warrior raises a dubious brow. "Come. I wish to impart a gift to you before our people depart to our new home."
"What gift?" The former Daimaō asked brusquely.
"I can see great potential in you. Your time spent among the gods has strengthened you, made you focused and calmed. But you still have a ways to go. I can help push you to the place you are seeking," He explained with an outstretched hand.
"It's okay, you don't need to be scared," Kuririn said cheekily, earning a glare of ire from him. "He's just going to unlock some of your potential. You'll be even stronger than before!"
"Tch!" He clicked his tongue, walking over reluctantly to the other Nameccian. He felt a strange kinship just by being in the other's presence. Even his face bore familiarity, and deep within, something more paternal.
Feeling softened by aura alone, he barely noticed the hand placed on his shoulder until a squeeze was felt.
"Son of Katat," Nail spoke in a more graveled voice, eyes aglow as a deep sensation poured into him. "It was a mistake for you to split apart. Should you return as whole, you will become far more in not just strength but of self as well."
An undulating wave of power surfaced from him. His eyes wide and his mouth agape, Piccolo looked down at the snow colored flames ebbing off him from his pores. It was a majestic and serene thing, unlike the violent eruptions most of the Earthlings have come to expect.
Releasing his hold on Piccolo, Nail nodded to Earth's God, "I shall visit you shortly," turning to wave at all the people gathered on the lawn sans his own people. "Until we meet again, champions of Earth, farewell!"
A cascade of ghostly white lights emerged from all the Nameccians present. Hundreds of them shot into the sky with Nail leading them on. Dende, giving Pan a wave goodbye, was the last to leave as he joined his people in the sky.
Disappearing as twinkling stars in the horizon.
A/N:
Demod20: I liked this chapter. Giving our protagonists a much needed breath of fresh air, and allowed them to just be themselves. Adding the weight of Nail's new role, Vegeta dogging Tullece, and Gokū's grief of losing Chi-Chi to unforeseen developments, it is a new chapter for our story as it is for their lives. Can't wait to see what you think of our next chapter coming after this as we enter (The Emperor of the Universe Arc.).
LastationLover5000: So I didn't write this chapter, but I was definitely very present. This is a unique way for us to do our chapters - we normally do them half and half, but the original chapter seemed best to be split up, kind of like how Dragon Ball Super ought to be split from being actively added to V-Jump. Anyway, I very much enjoyed this chapter - my partner excels in writing casual and heartfelt moments in ways I just can't really manage, so he brought this entire chapter to life fantastically. The decision to leave the Nameccians here was a mutual one, but Polunga had to go of course. I hope you all enjoy our next arc: The Emperor of the Universe Arc.
The Erased Chronicles - Part 101
The Universe, Nebula of God, Foot of the Winding Tree Palace
"So what is this then?" Beerus' chopsticks went slack in his hand, and he carefully lowered the bentō he was holding. The Hakaishin's yellow eyes monitored Whis' projection carefully. "God ki...but it feels augmented by that thing they called a Super Saiyan...am I right?"
"That's exactly correct!" replied Whis. "Strictly speaking, such a form is difficult to accomplish - not impossible, but hardly anything I expected from the young Gohan here. Attaining the power of a Super Saiyan God, and channeling it through the haphazard state of a Super Saiyan." His purple lips curled into a smile. "Truly something beyond the reach of a normal Saiyans."
If Beerus was impressed or amazed, he did not allow his face to betray those emotions. His eyes remained locked, however, on the scene playing out before him: Gohan taking Super Saiyan God for himself and making surpassing it.
"This is the man you call your rival, Lord Beerus."
"Hmph!" Beerus said nothing, hastily picking his bentō back up and beginning to feast anew. As if to change the topic, through fans full of food, he jabbed his chopsticks towards Cell, who had come into view in the sphere as well. "What about him? I feel God ki coming from that form as well."
Whis placed a thumb to his chin, analysing the Bio-Android through his staff. "The principle behind his transformation is similar, though the order is reversed. I think it has something to do with the cell's he's accrued from Cold and Freeza. Though, Cell is an anamoly all his own: Gohan, on the other hand, is remarkable for naturally born being."
Two individuals who had become gods, each transcending that divine state in their own way. This was the battle Whis and Beerus bore witness to now, and it was a rare priviledge in the history of all of creation. Even their exalted compatriots did not often observe these occurrences.
"Should we go pay audience in person, Lord Beerus?" inquired Whis, practically expecting agreement, ready to tuck the projection back into his staff.
The Hakaishin shook his head. "No. This is their problem. I can't have their acquaintanceship with a Hakaishin going to their heads, after all. I coddle no one - especially a Saiyan."
"Hm...right you are, Lord Beerus," Whis agreed readily. "Though are you not worried about losing your new smorgasbord of delicacies, my Lord?"
Beerus' grimaced. He'd been so concerned about looking impressive, that he hadn't actually been forward thinking in that regard. Controlling himself, he stuck to his guns. "We'll find somewhere else to eat if it comes to that."
And so the Hakaishin and his attendant continued to watch the battle unfold.
The Afterlife, Heaven
"W-What?!" The Northern Kaiō gasped, his antennae twitching violently. Like a radio, he was tuning into the events on Earth - deceased Kaiō or not, he was technically not relieved of his duties - and the shock of what he'd seen had nearly sent his sunglasses askew. "Do you see that, Gokū?!"
"I'm watching right along with you," Gokū said pointedly. "But still...that son of mine is amazin'! I still can't sense his ki, but that looks like some new Super Saiyan form, isn't it?" It was amazing how Gokū - a man physically in his early 30s, but in truth over 50 due to the quirkiness of an unaging body in death - could sound as excited as a child over something like a new transformation. "Is it related to that Super Saiyan God?"
"You're right," replied the lord of the Northern Galaxies. "He really is something else. I don't know how he did it, but I believe this form is a step above Super Saiyan God. Gokū...your son might be the strongest human alive in our Universe."
Gokū grinned broadly. "I knew this would happen before he could even come up to my knees!" Gokū exhaled slowly, an admittedly pointless action for a dead man but it helped steady the laughter rising in him. "I wish he could have had the peaceful life he wanted...but you're doin' great, son!" His onyx eyes glinting with pride and joy, Gokū kept an arm firm on the North Kaiō's back.
"I'm watching you, Gohan. You've already made me so proud, son."
Son Gohan had entirely transformed.
Cell could see that much. Anyone with eyes was able to see the physical changes. But he believed he was the only one right now who could truly feel the changes. Gohan's ki had leapt immensely, leaps and bounds beyond what he'd showcased as a Super Saiyan God.
"What is this, Gohan?" Cell tried to keep the veneer of his vanity up, putting on a facsimile of his former sneer. He knew, however, that this was more than an aesthetic change. What riled him the most was that his benefactor's information had been incomplete. She hadn't had anything to say about this.
"You saw it for yourself, didn't you?" Gohan's voice came out slow and steady. Adopting this form had calmed his stressful mind entirely; no, it could be said a calm mind was required to properly transform into this state at all. "I'm a Super Saiyan God. This power is merely the power of a Super Saiyan that has ascended past the God level." Thinking, Gohan realised he hadn't named the form at all. "I suppose Dad would call it Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, but I'll workshop that later."
Super Saiyan combined with Super Saiyan God. Almost identical in principle to what Cell himself was doing: this copper-hued form was a result of his own Super Saiyan God form, combined with the results of an induced evolution from his Freeza cells. "Were you actually holding back on me, Gohan?"
"You have Piccolo's sense of hearing," Gohan said sharply. "So I know you heard me. I wasn't sure I'd even be able to pull this off. This is only the second time."
Beerus' Planet, One Week Prior
It was the middle of the night, and Gohan found himself staring out into the horizon - such as it was- of Beerus' palace. Another day of training with Whis was over, and traditionally, rest is what followed. His father would encourage it, and Gohan knew returning to his regular work shift would wreak Hell on his sleeping scheduling after this training endeavor.
But he felt the need to keep striving forward. During his training sessions, repeatedly being subjected to the might of the gods, as well as undergoing multiple transformations into a Super Saiyan God, freely wielding the God ki that was now his, Gohan felt it. There was something beyond God. Gohan had come close, multiple times, now that he was beginning to touch the ceiling of divinity.
Whis' had new words for them during their training recently.
"Try to visualise yourself stronger than you are now. Imagine what lies beyond your current level - beyond simply settling for 'god'."
Goten had pointed out how childish it all sounded: imagining yourself stronger would make you stronger? It wasn't until Whis reminded them that god-given energy was used for purposes otherwise considered impossible. The Kaiōshin could literally create worlds. He, Whis, was even capable of turning back time, albeit briefly.
So here Gohan stood, in the middle of the night, trying to visualise a self beyond God. To a Saiyan, the answer was simple. So simple he was surprised it eluded him this long. Super Saiyan with Super Saiyan God? Could it even be done?
"You're overthinking things, aren't you?"
A soft voice at his side distracted Gohan, who looked to his right to see Erasa standing there. His wife smiled breezily, as if being awake at this hour was normal for anyone. "You've been getting up this early to continue your training for quite awhile now, haven't you?"
"Well, I—" Gohan was caught off guard. He thought he's been relatively secret about it, but here he was, found out. "I wanted to review Whis' teachings while they're still fresh, so I've worked in a few extra hours."
"I see," Erasa replied knowingly. "From the looks of it, you just figured out what Whis' words mean for you, didn't you?"
Gohan blinked. "Yeah. He really expects us all to reach a different conclusion."
"Or the same conclusion in different ways," offered Erasa.
"Very true," Gohan nodded. He inhaled slowly. "Stand back, then. Let's see my answer." Gohan took a stance, clenching both fists at his sides. An updraft kicked up from his feet, rushed high above him, kicking up rocks. Gohan's aura began to flicker and flare, funneling upwards in a large pillar of crimson flame. The Saiyan let out a mighty yell, a vein beginning to throb in his forehead; Gohan reached into the depths of his body, drawing from a vast well of ki. A deep, blue glow began to emanate from Gohan, immersing his entire body in light.
Despite this display of ki, the planet remained untouched, the ground beneath Gohan's feet undisturbed.
The blue encasement of ki surrounding Gohan cracked, and began to peel away, scattering to the wind. Gohan's hair now stood fully rigid, having become a dark blue, and his eyes, formerly soft and red, were sharp and cyan. The aura was no longer an ethereal flame; it now resembled a raging blue inferno, with a soft golden glow at the very edges of the flame.
"That's—" Erasa's words fell short of an actual descriptor. She wasn't in a God form, so she couldn't feel her husband's ki. The pressure he exuded was eclipsed now only by what she had felt from Beerus, and even standing next to this made her feel weak in the knees. "Gohan, you did it!"
Gohan looked down at his hands, which were brimming with blue flames. The difference between God and this form were amazing. God made him feel serene, but this state, this form beyond God, made him feel a sense of overwhelming power. "This...is Super Saiyan God's Super Saiyan form?"
"This is the answer I came to," Gohan said. His dark blue eyes bored into Cell's crimson ones. Standing firm and tall, Gohan raised a palm upwards, interior flat and facing himself, beckoning his opponent forward. "Come, Cell."
Cell's eyes narrowed, visibly confused. Where Gohan had been on the back foot mere moments, be now exuded complete and utter confidence. Cell crouched; they would get nowhere standing here, so he prepared himself. Launching forward, the copper-hued Bio-Android rocketed towards Gohan, zeroing in on him with immense speed.
Gohan reacted quickly. With one hand, he rent the ground asunder, using Piccolo's technique - which itself was inspired by a Freeza technique that Cell had wielded himself - to rip the ground up into huge chunks. This was a diversion, used at the exact moment Cell had closed in. His vision obscured, the Android failed to see Gohan's follow-up: a powerful punch that collided with Cell's jaw. He flew backwards instantly, feeling his face cave under the pressure.
Skipping like a stone, Cell forcibly righted his body, glaring at Gohan through the one eye that had not been struck by the blow. Cell trust a finger forward, releasing what first appeared to be a single kikōha from his fingertip, deep crimson in hue. It was, in fact, multiple kikōha concentrated into one blast. The land split under the force, but this was not aimed at destroying Earth.
No, its goal was Gohan's heart. Beyond God or otherwise, he was still dependent on that organ. This would pierce it directly.
Gohan stood his ground, raising a hand towards the incoming flurry. Palm wide, the multiple kikōha barrage crashed into it...and was crushed under the pressure of his fist. Gohan shook his arm off to his side, shaking off excess ki like one would blood from blade.
How?! Cell felt anger rush his body. How could that be stopped so easily?! Recovering himself, the Bio-Android placed two fingers to his forehead, and vanished instantly. Son Gokū's Instantaneous Movement. He materialised behind Gohan, only to find his arm blocked by the flat side of Gohan's own.
"Cell, where else would you strike but from my blindspot?" He snapped his arm over Cell's, bending the Bio-Androids limb forward; following this, Gohan landed a powerful punch in the centre of Cell's torso. His body rocketed backwards, ripping itself from the limb still in Gohan's grasp. Casting it aside, Gohan blew the arm apart with a kiai.
Cell expelled his own kiai, stopping his trajectory and rushing upwards. "Damn you! Damn you damn you damn you!" The copper-hued menace raised his arm high, swinging it in an arm over his head. A multitude of javelins manifested behind him, the arrows of light position at his back in a way that mirrored a halo. "I'll rip you to shreds, Saiyan!" The javelins rained downward, each of them packed with the necessary power to pierce the crust and destroy the core of the planet. "Even if you dodge all of these, your planet is finished, Son Gohan!!"
The Super Saiyan Beyond Super Saiyan God eyed Cell closely; his dark blue eyes took in every detail. There were twenty javelins in total. "You're right Cell. These certainly will destroy Earth..." What occurred next was a flash of blue, streaking from the surface into the air. Gohan streaked through the sky, using pure brute force to send every javelin flying in reverse. They burst into the sky like inverse meteors, flying into the deepest reaches of space. "...and if you'd used that before I'd broken past the God barrier, I'd have been finished."
Erasa had come to, feeling immense pain in her entire body. She groaned.
"Erasa!" A female voice caught her attention. Erasa's blue eyes came to rest on a young girl with hair the same colour as Trunks, who was standing over her holding a spray bottle. "You're alright, thank God!"
"P-Please don't say that, Bulma, I've got enough pressure on me right now," another familiar voice came from her far side. Dense, the God of Earth, was busying himself reattaching body parts the same colour as his. Piccolo's dismembered body.
Seeing this brought everything back into sharp relief for Erasa. The last thing she'd remembered was Cell's attack shattering her barrier, before everything had gone black. Erasa groaned again.
Did he get lucky...? Erasa wondered. Her barrier had one sole weakness; the spheres used to create it where how it existed. It could deflect nearly any blow, so long as the spheres were connected to create the necessary planes. His attack...it ruptured every sphere at once. We weren't getting out of that in one piece.
Erasa tried to get for what was going on. She hadn't been the sole casualty of Cell's attack; Trunks, Goten, Videl, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Piccolo all lay around her in staggering states of damage. She could still feel their ki, however, so she knew they weren't dead, and Dende was busying himself over their bodies. The bastard held back, she thought. Which means he was confident enough to want an audience. Well, he was going to get that. Erasa tried to move, but the girl Dende had called Bulma placed a hand on her chest, pushing her back down.
"Erasa, wait a moment and take this," Bulma held out a bottle. Erasa took the proffered item, realizing it was Bulam's patented Senzu extract. She opened it, consuming the liquid and feeling her body begin to stitch itself back together.
Bulma and Dende got to work, using medicine and magic to restore the damage Cell had done. Gasps of air, rough intakes, were heard as the team regained consciousness. Each of them roused at different moments, depending on whether Bulma or Dende had tended to them, until the entire party was back on its feet.
"Thanks, Dende, we owe you one," grinned Goten sheepishly. "And..." Goten blinked at Bulma. "Trunks, did you have a sister I was never introduced to?"
Trunks shook his head, looking equally puzzled. "Uh...who are you?"
"Trunks..." Bulma intoned threateningly. "How can you NOT recognise your own mother?"
"W-What?!" Trunks' jaw gaped. "You're not my mother, she's—" Trunks searched for any variety of "getting on in years" that wouldn't hurt Bulma's feelings in the conversation got back to her.
"I'm what, Trunks dear?" Bulma's voice dropped dangerously low.
"Uh...nothing, Mom," Trunks needed no further convincing. "I seem to have made something resembling a mistake."
"Your ki is unnaturally mixing," Piccolo said, a disapproving note in his voice. "I'm reminded of Cell. In fact, your ki feel's like Vegeta's and Son's." His eyes narrowed.
"Don't sweat the details for now," replied Bulma breezily. "I'm using myself as a test for a new experiment, one that will be open to other Earthlings later if my body doesn't...y'know, reject the entire thing."
"It's kind of jarring," Yamcha chuckled, remembering their younger years. "Like seeing a ghost."
"I'm glad you guys made it to us," Videl was less surprised by Bulma's scientific ventures and more the fact that Piccolo had come back from literal pieces, though she decided this was a question to save for after the debacle. "It all happened so fast."
"Where's Gohan now?" Goten asked, searching around as if he expected to see his brother nearby.
"Fighting Cell," replies Erasa, grinning. "I bet he's revealed his trump card now."
Gohan vanished from Cell's vision. Cell spun, predicting accurately where the attack would come from, but finding himself unable to properly counter. Gohan's knee solidly connected with Cell's head, and the next thing the Bio-Android knew, he was surrounded by water. Gohan had kicked him away from their island battlefield entirely, into open ocean. Water, which had erupted into the sky on his impact, pattered down like rain. Pulling himself out of the water, Cell found his breathing ragged, and tried to widen his senses to parse for Gohan's ki.
That might have saved his head. Gohan had come barreling towards him with another kick. Cell managed to avoid it, striking back at Gohan, who in turn danced around his blows, just above the water. Pivoting, Gohan's leg crashed into Cell's side, and the man found himself bouncing along the surface of the ocean at an incredible speed.
Cell steadied himself along the water, suspending himself on its surface with his ki; through the wake he created, he saw Gohan hunting him fiercely. Cell's pale hand parried an incoming blow from Gohan's fist. Gohan wrenched arm free, hitting his next punch home directly in the centre of Cell's chestplate. Four consecutive strikes followed, each hitting the same area and lifting Cell off his feet against his will. Gohan completed the combo with a snap kick to Cell's jaw, kicking him across the ocean's surface.
Spreading his wings to prevent spin-off, Cell burst forward. He prepped an elbow blow, ready to strike Gohan directly in the face. Gohan parried it with the front of his palm, created ripples of concussive force that split the ocean beneath their feet. Blow after blow was fended off and deflected, Cell unable to find an opening in Gohan's guard. Gohan, contrarily, carried a powerful offensive forward. Catching Cell's arm in between the fold of his own, Gohan kept Cell rooted as he delivered a multi-git combination to the Bio-Android's head. Cell's arm enveloped itself in his aura, giving it immense strength, and he swung. Gohan's body inclined left, and the punch, which released a burst of flame-hued ki shaped as a crescent, rushed past him. It sliced the water - the walls of which had been crashing down - back apart, leaving the two combatants in a giant gap in the centre of the ocean.
Gohan cupped his hands at his side, the ki pooling into a swirling storm.
Cell responded likewise, raising two fingertips to his forehead, charging a crackling surge of energy upon his fingers. "This is the end, Son Gohan! I won't let up until I kill you! Makankōsappō!" Thrusting fingertips forward, Cell released a burst of brilliant ki, a powerful beam encircled by another, creating a drilling effect.
The Saiyan-half's response was immediate. Detecting Cell's release of ki, he'd already moved, leaping over the blast entirely. Gohan's own attack still swirling between his palms, he zeroed in on Cell, uttering one word before releasing the technique for a point blank explosion.
"Kamehameha."
The entire ocean was swallowed in light.
"He was holding back?" Piccolo's voice raises in indignation. "What sort of bad habits did he pick up from his father?!"
"N-No, that's not it at all!" Erasa had just finished explaining Gohan's acquisition of a form beyond Super Saiyan God as that group flew towards the battle, and that he was most likely using that to battle Cell now. "He wasn't holding back. Gohan didn't have a handle on that form and probably wasn't sure he could even use it in combat. But this is the very same pressure!"
"Beyond Super Saiyan God...?" Videl thought it sounded ridiculous.
"If anyone can do it, it'd be Gohan," Tenshinhan said.
"Kind of feels like we got left in the dust again," Yamcha said.
The shaking of the planet snapped them out of their casual conversation. The entire horizon was replaced by a semi-circle of blue ki, an artist's rendition of a setting blue sun.
"That's—"
"–the Kamehameha!"
"But whose?!"
The group approached the source of the wave, and saw the transformed Gohan for the first time. His blue hair and aura utterly surprised everyone but Erasa, who'd seen it already.
"That's...a Saiyan beyond God?!" Piccolo said. "This...pressure! It's entirely different than when he was a Super Saiyan God!"
"It doesn't just feel different l," Trunks grinned. "Look at Cell!"
The lavender-haired man gestured ahead. Floating in front of Gohan was the head and shoulders of Cell. The rest of his body, and even parts of his crown, had been entirely blown off in the Kamehameha's aftermath.
"Gohan's got this!" Goten crowed. "Look at Cell, he looks pathetic!"
Erasa was grinning broadly. There was a certain amount of pride to be had in her own husband coming this far. It was just a matter of moments and Cell would be finished.
"How...?!" Cell's floating torso howled, fury evident in his voice. "How can I be losing to the likes of you?! I've come too far, I've outstripped all of Dr. Gero's predicted parameters and more!!!"
"Our transformations are fundamentally similar, but there's a big difference," Gohan replied. "I mastered the Super Saiyan form a long time ago. This new form has its drawbacks, but it's more stable than the form you're using - you combined Super Saiyan God with something else entirely, something you didn't have a handle on." Gloan raised a palm towards Cell's face. "That unpredictable variable cost you. You've been burning out faster than Piccolo's cells can repair the damage. It's over, Cell."
"It is over...for all of you here...!" Cell's eyes flashed red, signifying a rush in ki. Following a horrible squelching sound, his entire power body and upper crown restored themselves, though his ki reserves dropped. Gohan, who expected Cell to have been too wounded to focus his regenerative powers now, was thrown. The Bio-Android's golden flaming aura blazed back to life, invigorated by his rage.
"YOU SLIPPED UP, GOHAN! YOUR LAST BLOW WAS TOO SHALLOW, AND YOU UNDERSTIMATED MY ABILITIES!" The Bio-Android's voice boomed throughout the planet. "BUT THIS WILL END IT ALL! I'M TAKING ALL OF YOU OUT WITH THIS!"
Cell's ki was building, making preparations for his final strike. He had no more need for games. Everything was to be wiped away.
A/N: Now this...this was a chapter to write. I've been waiting to properly unveil Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan for ages. It is my second favourite Super Saiyan form, so just like with Super Saiyan God - my favourite- I wanted to give it a proper showing. I think this chapter did it justice. I know y'all probably want longer battles and chapters but I really feel like this is fine - the gap between Gohan and Cell is massively skewed now. I said this before, but I will say it again: thank you to everyone who helped me get far enough to be able to actually type in the number "101" in the chapter. I never once expected to make it this far. Thank you, everyone!
Thank you all for your patience; I'll see you all in the next exciting chapter of The Erased Chronicles.
Tale of the Sky Maiden - Part 14
Patreon - Ecchi Artwork
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