Vados and Whis were waiting on the roof of the only tavern in the village where they sat trying out the local food offered there. Bills had been surprised at how welcoming the owner had become when Shamz said they were with Vados. No doubt they were wary of the brothers and their reputation for having nothing.
Vados smiled when she saw them, knowing that Shamz wouldn't be here if he wasn't accepting the offer. She motioned for him to take a seat and eat to his heart's content.
Bills walked towards the table slower, making sure he wasn't going to regret his next words.
"Have you decided?" Whis asked.
"One question," Bills said, "Are we both getting the job?"
"Yes."
Bills nodded. "Then I'm in."
Whis beamed and Vados gave a couple of claps. "Well done, brother. Our work here is done."
"Let's finish this and go then."
"We're just going to go?" Bills asked.
"Yes," Vados said matter-of-factly. "There's nothing else you could possibly need here."
He didn't feel ready. Where were they going? Was he starting the job immediately? What happened next? He did not ask these questions. It was too late now. He had said yes and he was going to do whatever these strangers told him to do. Shamz seemed rather calm about the whole thing.
Once the last fried scorpion was consumed Vados stood and pointed her staff at Shamz, new clothes adorning him – a robe and headpiece that looked strange to Bills, but then he noticed the pattern matched that of what Vados wore. It looked expensive, something he never would have dreamed he'd see on his brother. Whis did the same for Bills, finding his vision partially obscured by the thing hanging from his head. The fabric felt gorgeous – so smooth and soft against his skin.
Vados tapped her staff on the ground. "Father, we're ready."
One moment Bills was sitting under the bright sun, the next he was looking up at a giant building, surrounded by a black sky dotted with stars. No, it wasn't a sky…this was an abyss. There was no end to the darkness.
"Welcome, my children," a short blue man said.
Bills drew his attention away from his surroundings to focus on this new face. Did he say 'children'? Was that literal? Surely not? Bills noticed the blue ring that hovered behind his head as he turned to lead them, not around his neck like Whis's. Was there a reason for the difference? Wait – were they going into that strange-shaped building? Where were the -?
Suddenly they were transported and Bills could only assume this was inside. There were pillars that seemed to extend forever, but otherwise nothing, just darkness, themselves somehow lit despite it.
"You're about to meet the omni-king," Whis whispered. "Please be respectful."
"The what now?" Bills asked.
"He is the highest power in all the universes. Don't anger him or you may find yourself destroyed."
Before Bills could ask why Whis had said 'all the universes,' they were walking through a door, the short man introducing them. Bills missed the introductions, too busy staring around at everything, then suddenly at the floor as Whis forced him to bow.
"Hello!" The voice was child-like. Bills looked up to see it belonged to a very small being, unlike any he'd ever encountered.
"Is that him?" Bills whispered to Whis.
There was a fractional incline of the head from the man.
"What did you say?" the child asked. "I couldn't hear you all the way over there."
Bills didn't see the harm in talking to this kid, even if he was the ruler of the universe. "I was asking if you're the omni-king."
"Oh?" The child seemed confused. "Weren't you listening? The Grand Priest clearly introduced me."
An introduction to the one known as the Grand Priest would have been nice on arrival, still this kid was clearly not going to take any shit. "Sorry, I was distracted by your wonderful…palace?" Was that what it was?
"It's nice, isn't it?" He looked around as he kicked his legs, too short to touch the floor from his throne. "But I get bored of it. You two are the most interesting things that have been in here for a while." His eyes flicked between Bills and Shamz. "Well, who are they?"
"My apologies, Grand Zeno," Whis said, intentionally using the appropriate name in the hope Bills would pick it up. "This here is Bills, the candidate for God of Destruction for Universe 11."
"And this is Shamz," Vados added, "Candidate for Universe 8."
Zeno hummed loudly, as if he was thinking. "You can be Beerus!" He pointed at Bills first. "And you can be Champa!"
"But…our names are Bills and Shamz…?" He was confused as to why that wasn't good enough for the omni-king.
Whis wanted to hit his candidate and silence him. At least his brother knew when to shut up, or perhaps he was still too busy looking around at everything.
"Not anymore," Zeno said cheerily. "You're Beerus now. I like that more. Mm, Beerus and Whis has a good ring to it! Champa…that was too easy! This is fun! I want to name more people!"
The Grand Priest stepped in. "Maybe later, your eminence. Do you agree to let these two take on the roles of destroyers?"
"Yeah, they look good."
"Wait –" Beerus butted in. "What did you mean Universe 8 and 11?" He looked round at the angels for answers.
"There are 18 universes," the Grand Priest said. "They come in pairs, Universes 8 and 11 being one of those."
"You didn't tell them this?" Grand Zeno asked, cocking his head.
"We were a little pressed for time," Whis said. Beerus could have sworn he saw a hint of anxiety for the first time. "There will be more than enough time to explain fully once balance is restored."
Zeno nodded, suddenly looking very serious. "Your predecessors were very naughty. They made a real mess of everything. So I forbid you two to ever fight! It's not allowed, okay? If you promise that I'll make you gods."
Beerus put an arm around Champa. "I'd never fight my brother."
Champa smiled. "Never!"
"Okay, come here then." Zeno motioned for them to come forward and kneel before him. The kneeling was only because he couldn't reach their heads from his throne otherwise. He removed their headpieces, placing a hand on each of them. There was a moment of waiting, and then they felt it. A feeling that something had changed within them. Neither could put a finger on it, but this child had done something to them.
"You'll live a long time now," Zeno said, "So try not to die too quick. But if you do anything stupid, like fight each other, I'll erase you."
Both men looked at each other, and back to Grand Zeno, realising he was quite serious. "Thank you?"
Zeno looked over at the Grand Priest, ignoring the thanks. "Have you got it?"
The man walked over and placed a small orb in the tiny hands.
"Do you recognise this?" Zeno held it up to them. "It's your planet, right?"
Neither Beerus nor Champa had seen their planet as a whole. Technology wasn't advanced enough for such an image to be produced. They peered close, trying to pick out geographical features. Zeno got off his throne and placed the orb gently on the floor, the ground beneath them looking like an aerial view of the planet they called home.
"There's the forest!" Champa pointed.
"And the river."
Zeno smiled, glad they could recognise it. He touched the floor and once more it was blank and the orb was in his hands. Once he was back on his throne he asked again, "It's your planet, right?"
This time the newly-minted gods agreed, the planet also appearing larger behind the throne, a live view, not that they'd realised yet. Zeno spent a moment inspecting the orb, as if it meant anything to him, then he crushed it. There was a moment's delay before the image behind the throne blasted into fragments.
Beerus and Champa looked to each other, at Zeno, and back to each other.
"Excuse my rudeness," Champa said, "But did you just blow up our planet?"
"Uh-huh."
"Why?" Beerus asked, finding it hard to keep the anger out of his voice. Was this real? Why would he do something like that? Shouldn't this have been in the job contract along with not fighting with his brother?
"That planet only exists like that in Universe 11," Zeno said. "You two would probably fight over it eventually, so I destroyed it."
Beerus clenched his fists. Now their home was gone. They were on their own again, but this time homeless in a different way, and no way to go back to what they'd once known. Not only that, but all those orphans they'd been helping – they were gone too?! This child had just destroyed people as well. Without batting an eyelid, with a 'uh-huh.' He wanted to throttle this 'omni-king.'
He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Shamz…" If it would have meant keeping the planet, he would have given it to his brother, moving it across universes somehow if needed.
"No, his name is Champa now!" Zeno said, breaking the moment.
"Well, with the formalities over with, I think it's time for you two to begin teaching your pupils." The Grand Priest stepped forward, placing himself between the destroyers and Zeno.
"Thank you for your blessings, Grand Zeno." Whis bowed. "We look forward to meeting you again when our lords are better informed about the universe."
Zeno hummed and waved goodbye. Whis and Vados made sure the boys bowed before walking out with the Grand Priest leading.
"Not much of a king if he goes around destroying planets like that, is he?" Beerus huffed.
"My lord, please keep calm."
For a moment Beerus was taken aback by being called by such a title, enough time for Vados to chime in.
"You two should be happy for such a good reason for his destruction. Grand Zeno usually destroys a new destroyer's planet for no apparent reason at all."
"There is always a reason," the Grand Priest explained, "Leaving a destroyer's planet can lead to bias, for destroyers are known to become selfish and greedy. Best to take it out of the equation at the beginning or it may become a distraction."
Beerus reflected on these words a lot, wondering if in their instance they would have agreed to leave the planet be, neither of them coveting it. With another destroyer watching, surely it would stop problems arising. Ah, but that's what Grand Zeno feared.
"I'm sure we'll see each other around," Whis said to Vados. "Best of luck in your training, Lord Champa."
Champa beamed. "Thanks!" He could really get used to being called 'lord' all day.
"My lord, you probably won't see your brother for a while," Whis whispered.
Beerus walked up to Champa and pulled him into a strong hug. "Don't do anything stupid while we're apart. You've got this lady looking after you now, so be good and don't get into trouble."
"Same to you, brother. I'll visit you soon. I want to see where you end up living."
"Are you ready then?" the Grand Priest asked. With a nod from both parties he held out a hand and transported each pair back to their respective universes.
Ooo
"So, you lied." Beerus stared daggers up at Whis.
"About what?"
"You said I could stay on my planet if I wished. You said that when you knew that brat would destroy it."
Whis raised his eyebrows at the disrespect for Grand Zeno his pupil was already displaying – something he would need to curb sooner than later. "Forgive me, my lord. There was always the possibility he wouldn't destroy your planet on day one. Besides, I had already figured you for the type that would much prefer this place."
Beerus finally took a moment to see where the Grand Priest had sent them. It was more green than the forest back home, with a large tree – really, really large now he looked at it again – up ahead. "This is the destroyer's planet then?"
"It belonged to the previous destroyer, yes. You can chose to build on it, change it to suit you, or even destroy it and start afresh."
"I'll build on it in time I'm sure. Now, you have more explaining to do."
Whis nodded. "Shall we go inside?"
Beerus looked around, not sure where that was exactly.
"There's a home built into the base of the tree."
"Let's go. You can explain on the way about these universes."
"On the way? How long do you think it will take?" Whis laughed. "Place your hand on me and I'll give you a taste of how you'll be travelling from now on."
He grabbed onto Whis's arm and with a tap of his staff they flew through the air at light speed, Beerus gripping Whis's arm with both hands, feeling he would fall and hit the ground hard at any moment.
The angel laughed as Beerus felt his feet touch the ground again, ears and tail standing straight up, betraying his fear. "You'll get used to it."
"You'll teach me how to fly, right?" It would be a lot less frightening if he knew he would be able to zoom away should he fall from safety.
"Of course. That's one of the first things you'll learn." Whis pushed the door open and motioned for Beerus to go inside.
It was a cosy place – velvet chairs, silk drapes, marble tables, and lots of gold. The previous destroyer knew a life of luxury it seemed. Beerus slid into one of the chairs, feeling like a king in it. Whis pulled up another across from Beerus, laying his staff across his lap.
"As the Grand Priest said, there are 18 universes, all numbered, with the pairs adding up to 19. Hence why Universes 8 and 11 are a pair. We are in Universe 11, and you are the destroyer now. Your brother has gone to Universe 8."
"What does that mean though?"
Whis tapped his staff, 18 spheres projecting out from it. "Perhaps you noticed these while we were outside Grand Zeno's palace. They are just as described – separate universes. Some have similarities, particularly between the paired universes, but largely they are different, and the differences come from how the gods cultivate their universe." Beerus still seemed a bit lost. "Don't worry, this is only the first day. You'll understand it more as time goes on."
"Not much to cultivate if I'm going around destroying, right?"
"Yes, much of that is left to the Supreme Kais, but your job is to cull things that aren't growing as intended, or hindering the growth of others."
"You mentioned this 'Supreme Kai' before. My…colleague, right?"
Whis nodded. "I suppose that's one way to call them. They are your opposing force, the creation that comes after your destruction, your other halves, and your life-links. There are five Supreme Kais at present, but the one you'll be corresponding with is the Grand Supreme Kai."
"When do I meet this Grand Supreme Kai?"
"Soon. I figure that meeting Grand Zeno is enough fun for one day. I thought you'd be more interested in settling in here."
Beerus stood up. "I suppose I should have a look around. It's been a long time since I lived in a proper house."
Ooo
"How did you sleep, Lord Beerus?"
It took him a moment to realise that was him – he was Beerus now. And a lord too! "Yeah, it was alright. Lots to think about. Thought I might wake up back home and this whole thing had been a long dream, but here I am." He fell into the armchair he'd occupied for a long time last night while he drilled Whis for more information.
"What would you like for breakfast?"
"Anything. What have you got?"
"It would take too long to list. Are you in the mood for something sweet? Savoury? Light? Heavy?"
"Sweet sounds nice."
Whis nodded and disappeared, likely to the kitchen Beerus had found yesterday. He remembered opening a few cupboards, some stocked with utensils, one full of spices and condiments. It hadn't really sunk in that those were all things he had access to now. The idea that Whis was about to provide food that wasn't hard-won was baffling still.
Fruit and pastries. Not just one kind of fruit – there were at least 10. Pastries he'd never seen before – their fillings unknown. And Whis offered them all to Beerus.
"Aren't you having any?" Beerus asked, unsure if Whis expected him to eat all of this.
"My lord, you get to pick first." Whis needed to make sure Beerus understood the gravity of his position. He'd never survive among the other destroyers if he didn't take what he wanted when he wanted it.
Beerus took one of everything, still not sure if he could eat everything on his plate. "So, uh, what's my first day at work going to be like?" he asked as he began taking a bite of everything just to figure out which was best.
"We're going to the Sacred World of the Kais first. It's all a formality really, seeing as Grand Zeno has already accepted you as this universe's destroyer, but you should meet your kai in the flesh. Ideally you'd go to get a feel for their ki, but I'm guessing you haven't developed that sense yet."
"Can't fly, can't sense ki… Why'd you pick me for this job if I'm so unqualified?"
"I picked based on your person, not your physical skill. Not everyone has what it takes to do this job well, you know. Anyway, your kai will be most interested to meet you too. They'll be able to sense you at least. Normally I'd have used the Supreme Kai's help to pick the next destroyer, but we were in an unfortunate situation."
"You mean trying to find two new destroyers at the same time after the others wiped each other out?" Although Zeno hadn't explicitly explained the details, he'd picked up that much.
"Yes, but I meant that there was no Supreme Kai to help me, because they were dead too."
"Didn't you say there were five of them?"
Whis nodded. "And the previous destroyer was linked to all of them, so they all died."
Beerus cocked his head. "So when you said life-link, you were being quite literal?"
"Yes, if one dies the other dies. Universe 8's destroyer at least left the lower kais to make things easier. I do wonder how my sister didn't manage to find a replacement before me."
"Whis, wait. You're telling me that this kai could die and I would die too?"
"Yes. I suppose it will be nice for you and your kais to all start on the same foot –"
"Can we bring the kais here and keep an eye on them?"
"No, that would be… I doubt they would agree. Please, don't worry, they live in Otherworld, and it's quite safe. In fact, I've never known a destroyer to be killed via the link. Unfortunately for the Supreme Kai it's always the other way around."
That placated Beerus. "Say, how many destroyers have you known? You don't seem that old."
Whis laughed behind a hand. "Why, thank you, my lord. I've been around since there was a need for destroyers to have attendants and teachers, so I've seen them all. All four of them."
"FOUR?!" That was a much smaller number than expected.
Whis hummed, thinking about his previous charges. "The first didn't last long. We didn't consider that mortal life-spans were far shorter than that of the kais. The second one was granted the longevity you've been given. The third –"
"What happened to the second one?" Beerus said before Whis could skip ahead.
"Grand Zeno. Took the whole planet too."
"What did they do to get destroyed by him?" He didn't want to make the same mistake.
"My advice to you, sir, is that you give Grand Zeno all the respect he deserves at all times. He could be watching and listening even when you're not aware."
Beerus nodded gravely. Perhaps he wouldn't be getting any kind of revenge for his home any time soon. "So, the third?"
"She's the one before you, you know how that ended."
Beerus looked down at his plate. He'd done a good job, but he couldn't bear to waste any of it.
"You don't have to finish it," Whis said, noticing his expression.
"Yes, I do. There are people starving out there. I knew a few. I've been one."
"This planet has wildlife. I can throw the leftovers out for them."
Beerus agreed. "So, when are we off?"
"When you're presentable."
He looked down at the nightgown he was wearing. "This is the second-most luxurious thing I've ever worn." No one back home would have known it was nightwear.
"And what's the first?"
"The stuff I wore yesterday."
Whis nodded. "Exactly. Your kai will be expecting to see you much like that. I've left a fresh set in your room with some additional pieces you may or may not wish to don."
Beerus soon discovered the golden bands Whis had been referring to. "Do the other destroyers wear this much gold?" he asked as he looked down at his arms.
"Oh yes, it's almost like a competition to see who can wear the most sometimes." Whis looked Beerus up and down, tutting. "Come here."
"Hey, what –"
Whis pulled the black sash from where Beerus had tucked it into the blue one. "This should be tucked into your pants like so."
"Yeah, ok, I can –"
"And this is how to tie a waist sash properly."
Beerus realised there was no use in fighting, instead letting the angel fix all his clothing faux-pas. Whis straightened the regalia around his neck before deciding he was perfect.
"And, uh, while we're on the subject of clothes…" He turned around. "Is my ass hanging out?"
"Not if you keep your tail low. You'll find these pants will be beneficial when we begin training and there's nothing restricting your movement. Don't worry, the Supreme Kai won't be looking."
Ooo
With a title like 'supreme' Beerus had been expecting the kai to be a bit more to take in. He'd been expecting someone tall and powerful-looking. Someone who at least gave off the same kind of aura as Whis. Instead he was looking at a short, plump man with a kind face. He shouldn't have been surprised after the odd appearance of Grand Zeno.
This Grand Supreme Kai had only recently been chosen to be an apprentice to the North Kai, so he had some handle on the situation – for that Whis was glad. But he was still so young and fresh-faced, his other four kais fresh off the tree.
There wasn't much to be said for their visit. The gods were amicable to each other, neither entirely sure what to say. Whis ended up filling a lot of the awkward silences with questions about how things were progressing on the Sacred World.
In the end they left when there was nothing else to be said, Beerus parting with a 'don't you dare die.'
A/N: Remember when all the artists were drawing Beerus in this kind of attire? member_ ?mode=medium&illust_id=62081296 I never figured out why or where this came from. But that's what Beerus and Champa are wearing at the start of this chapter.
