Apologies for the slow update! I promise to upload as many chapters as I can.

/DB_ don't belong to me. You know the drill.

/

Chapter IV: The Tournament For the New God of Destruction

Pan stared groggily at Rupa standing over her. That fall was a little painful than she's used to. She stared at the sky and saw that Trunks is trading blows with the same person leering down at her now. She tried to look around and saw Marron sprawled near her, still unconscious but barely breathing. Beside her, Bulla groans in pain. Pan managed to protect them from the fall but the impact must have hurt for someone like Bulla who's not used to rough physical beatdowns.

Of all the opponents she faced, Rupa's got to be the toughest so far. She can make copies of herself! If she isn't so busy trying to knock them out, Pan would have stand awed at that technique. Might even force her to teach it to her. She and her friends are not fighting just a regular clone or a shadow, but a living, breathing creature, the same as the original Rupa. That can fight as the original Rupa. It almost doesn't sound fair!

But then again, they ganged up on her. Not that they have any choice anyway. Rupa proved to be a worthy opponent only the older Z fighters can handle.

"Are you going to cooperate now?" Rupa pressed her foot harder on Pan's chest. Pan just glared at her, her arms locking around Rupa's foot to stop it from stepping on her any further.

"We won't go with you!" Pan declared, feeling a surge of bravery coursing through her from an unknown source.

"In our current position, I believe you don't have much any choice for the matter." Rupa said dryly.

"Oh yeah, wait until Trunks takes care of the other You. And then he'll kick your ass!" She would have to wait just a bit longer for that as Trunks, now in his Super Saiyan Form, still struggling to hit a blow on the other Rupa. The sword he'd been using earlier is impaled uselessly several meters away and Pan itches to clasp her fingers around it and swing it to Rupa just to erase the goading smile off her face. Great. Now that Goten's out of the game, Trunks is badly out-of-shape.

"You are one spunky little girl, aren't you?" Rupa delivered a swift kick under her chin, the sudden pain temporarily blackened her vision. When Pan opened her eyes again, Rupa is sauntering towards her, her back raw from the friction against the ground. She may have skidded a few meters before coming to full stop. "I admire your courage, but you are still weak. You will remain weak as long as you're here." Rupa glowers down at her before stomping her foot down on her small chest repeatedly.

Pan tried to fight away, to block, but with each force, her body is weakening. She is slightly aware of sputtering out blood but Rupa never stopped. Dimly, she saw Trunks' golden form, diving from the sky to her rescue, but the other Rupa roughly tackled him in mid-air.

Pan immediately didn't think of dying. If Trunks couldn't make it, her father will rescue her. Or surely her grandpa….

Before she lost consciousness, Rupa's torture stopped. She slowly turned her head and it took a while for her red-streaked vision cleared. Bulla is sitting on the ground not far from them, a small laser gun pointed at Rupa. She steadily pointed it to Rupa but Pan can see how her knees quiver as Rupa fully turned to face her.

"Bulla," she coughed out, weakly. She tried to smile but what only come out is a wince as the slightest movement caused a sharp pain in her side. She might have broken a rib or two. "Bulla, run!"

Bulla, of course, didn't seemed to have heard her. Hands slightly trembling, she fired off at Rupa again. As expected, the laser beam hardly cause any damage to Rupa whose full attention is now focused on her.

"Do you not know how to fight?" Rupa asked her calmly. "Why do you rely on useless toys like that?"

"She's not a….fighter." Pan desperately cried out, trying to sit despite the piercing pain. "She's an ordinary Earthling. Can't you read her energy? It's weak. We Saiyans are what you want!"

"She's a Saiyan too. I can see she resembles the other young man with ridiculous hair color." Rupa cocked her head towards Bulla. "Yes, she is weak but I can see she is also untrained."

Pan's heart lurched as Rupa begins charging an energy ball on her left palm. "Uncle Goten! Trunks!" She called out frantically, though Trunks is still up in the sky desperately fighting and Goten is lying on the ground, sleeping.

She strolled towards Bulla, the energy ball on her palm growing larger at each step. "You have to learn how to fight, little girl. You wouldn't survive with petty toys in the place I'm taking you."

Overheard, Trunks sensed his sister is in danger and tried charging down again. He fired off a quick Galick Gun but Rupa flicked it away with a movement on her cape. The other Rupa got behind him and locked his arms from behind.

"I will show you how powerful this attack is." Without hesitation, Rupa threw the energy ball at Bulla, who can only close her eyes. A white light surrounded Pan for a second, her scream of Bulla's name muted by the sound of the blast crashing down the earth.

When Pan opened her eyes, Bulla is already lying on the ground, facedown, her body barely moving at the center of a small crater. Pan's own body tensed, her hands twitching before curling into a fist. A strange energy akin to lightning seemed to strike her, making her flinch. The pain on her chest has disappeared, everything around her faded into white, as she only focused on Rupa standing in front of her.

Rupa turned to her, sensing her power, but she only smirked in anticipation.

"I'm not going to forgive you for hurting my friend!" Pan bit out through gritted teeth, her energy brimming to the surface like a lava pressing up to the mouth of a volcano. Slowly, she stood, her Ki cackling in energy. In a far distant of her mind, an unfamiliar voice whispers to release this energy, this power, she never experienced before. Suddenly, Rupa's presence has shifted into a different thing. This is not just a test of her current strength anymore.

This is survival.

"Stay down," Rupa said quietly, her palm lighting up another energy ball and pointed it to Marron who's still knocked down. "Or she'll be next. Unlike the other one, she probably wouldn't survive."

Biting her lip until it bled, Pan struggled to remain where she is. She knew what's at stake. Marron may have been trained to endure these attacks but she's still an Earthling. She's used to do reckless things on her own, but she had to consider all the possibilities if her friends' lives are at stake.

Rupa sneered in satisfaction before completely extinguishing the energy ball on her hand, noting Pan's hesitation. Before Pan could react, Rupa has teleported behind her, her large hand curling her neck. She felt a sharp pain at the top of her spine, so sudden that she had no time to cry out.

"I promise you will fight me again, but not today."

The words barely reached her ears when her vision suddenly clouded and she felt her body weighing down like an anchor. The last sound she heard before falling into unconsciousness is Trunks shouting her name.

/

As a disciple of no less than Earth's greatest warrior, Son Goku, Uub can easily tell the difference between a serious fight and a farce - a fight to prolong time and waste his energy. Five minutes into the battle with Rupa, he knew the alien is toying with them.

But unlike his master who would fight them while fully reining in his true strength to test their current level, this one has no intention but to annoy the heck out of him. Rupa didn't even try to block his attack, she just stood there with a maddening smirk, gracefully dodging his attacks. Even Piccolo realized this and he's just watching the fight with wary intensity.

Uub fired off a weak Kame hame ha to distract her but Rupa seemed to plan two steps ahead of him. She deftly slapped away his attack and dove towards him, then faster than he can blink, she charged an energy ball and blasted it directly to his face.

Uub crashed to the ground, his face burning. It only took him a second though and he's back in the air. Despite everything, he couldn't help but to feel a strange sense of elation. It has been awhile since he faced an opponent like this. He flashed Rupa a cocky smirk, idly rubbing the tip of his nose.

A brief flash of surprise crossed Rupa's face at his fast recovery, but it gave way to a thoughtful expression.

"Your Ki seemed familiar, boy. You may be weak now but I sense a great power hidden within you." She turned to Piccolo. "Who is this boy? Is he just another Earthling?"

"We ask the questions here." Piccolo replied. "Where are Pan and the others?"

In response, Rupa cocked her head to one side as if straining to hear something. Her eyes turned glazed and distant. "It's time for me to leave. I have enjoyed our brief encounter." She made a small bow. "Kindly send our regards to the Saiyan Gods. I have no doubt I shall see them soon." Her eyes landed on Uub. "Train well if you want to see your feisty friend once again." She flicked a stone on Piccolo's direction and he caught it before it struck his face.

"Wait!-" Piccolo rushed towards the alien but she disappeared right before their eyes.

Uub turns to Piccolo. "Master Piccolo, can you sense them?"

Piccolo hesitated, teeth gritting. "No. I...I can't sense their energy anymore. It's like they disappeared in the face of the earth."

"We can't give up yet!" Uub turned his back on him and blasted off.

Piccolo remained on the spot, his hand gripping the stone Rupa left behind. It was seemingly an ordinary stone but on its golden flecked letters inscribed the word "Tournament of Succession"

At once he knew they are too late.

/

In the far reaches of the Universe, Cuber clicked his Scouter off and stared at the vast space at the deck of his ship. His long sharp fingernails drummed idly at the metal railings as he consider his next move.

Cuber prides himself as a cautious man. It took him years to formulate this plan and he risked everything for this, even the wrath of the Gods and Kais. He already spent a large amount of energy to travel through the Universal Path of the Gods to bring his ship here. The stakes on his side are high enough as it is. They must get what they want in this Universe within the allotted time agreed by the Gods.

He tipped his head when Cacha appeared behind him. Cuber turned around to face his would-be master, giving a small bow of respect upon his arrival.

Cacha, like most Guardians, appear Humanoid, but he's tall and spindly, like a flower stem and skin give off a warm bluish color. Cuber cannot tell whether it's his Ki or his natural color. His face is half-covered with a steel mask apart from his eyes which appear as narrow slanting slits. His limbs are also covered in bronze, but as heavy as he may look like, he floats in the air like a mist. On his left hand, he holds out the Guardian Staff, the yellow orb at the top giving off a warm, soft glow.

"It is done." Cacha informed him, his voice smooth and flat. "I have informed Lord Beerus of your intention and he agreed."

Cuber grunted. "That easily?"

"With conditions, of course." Cacha flicked his long bronze hair behind him. "The Saiyan Gods are allowed to interfere with your plans during the Tournament. That means if they found the Universal Path, they are free to use this and take back their children."

Cuber shrugged, already expecting that. The God of Destruction of the 7th Universe has planned a different test of his own for his successors. Rupa is already in Earth, battling the Saiyan Hybrids while the Saiyan Gods are somewhere in this Universe. She better make this quick. Facing the Saiyan Gods this soon is the least thing Cuber wants to happen.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"That you will not destroy Earth. His Lordship is rather fond of its culinary gifts."

"I have no intention to." Cuber frowned. "I only came to get the Saiyan Hybrids."

"All of them?"

"Only what my sister can bring to me."

"You are allowed to train them for the Tournament for six months." Cacha continued. "They are only allowed to be in the 10th Universe for two months until they lose the memories of their Home Universe. Until that happens, you are obligated to return them no matter what or the Lord of all Universe would be compelled to intervene. None of us would ever want that."

Cuber nodded, agreeing at once on what his master is pointing out."Two months...One month here is one year passed at my Home Universe."

"Then the Saiyan Gods have two years to retrieve them." Cacha smiled humorlessly. "Lord Beerus seemed to think that this is worthy of a challenge for the two Warriors."

"Just as with the Kais and their ridiculous demands." Cuber observed. "It seems all Gods in each Universe have one thing in common."

"And that's why we exist." Cacha agreed placidly. He tapped his staff and a circle of light appeared underneath him. "We shall see you in one month. I wish you good luck until then."

In a wink of light, he left Cuber alone with his thoughts.