Chapter Thirteen- Down the Rabbit Hole

(Author's Note: Dragon Ball Super is owned by Akira Toriyama.

The only things the author owns is the OC and story.)

The pair stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Corsa sighed, growing weary of these long, awkward pauses, hanging over the two like the angst akin to attending a funeral. She tapped the side of the bed, motioning for him to sit down.

"You're making me nervous," she said.

Beerus accepted the invitation, taking a seat next to the goddess. Another moment passed with no word. She suddenly scratched her head with both hands in frustration.

"Oh for the love of- I can't take it anymore. Speak!" she exclaimed, pleading with her mute companion. He inhaled sharply, exhaling slowly as he began his rehearsed speech, "I feel you deserve an explanation regarding Heles' behavior."

She stared at him blankly, turning to face him cross-legged. "I'm listening."

He reclined back onto the silken sheets, hoping the change in position might calm his nerves.

The destroyer began his tale, saying, "A long time ago, Champa and I got into a spat over something trivial-" "Hold on, who's Champa?" she interjected.

"My twin brother. He's the destroyer of Universe 6."

Corsa leaned in, intrigued by the new information. "You have a brother? You never mentioned that before."

He scoffed at her, finding the interest in his twin misplaced.

"Yes, I have a brother who's also a god. Can I get back to my story now?" he inquired.

"Sure, sorry," the goddess sat back, ready to listen once again.

He sighed, continuing, "Anyway, our fight got a little out of hand. We ended up in the second universe, wiping out a galaxy during our battle."

Corsa interrupted, holding up her index finger, "And that's Heles' realm, correct?" The destroyer confirmed her inquiry. "Hm," she responded, holding said finger to her chin, deep in thought.

"So if your brother rules the sixth universe, and Heles the second, which one does Quitela-"

"Will you let me finish?!" Beerus exclaimed, glaring indignantly at the constant interruption.

She let out an awkward chuckle. "Sorry."

Beerus went on to explain that due to their fight leading to the destruction of another god's galaxy, trespassing without notifying them, the brothers had found themselves in some massive trouble with their superiors. The Omni King had them await on their home planets, ceasing all activity until the Grand Priest contacted them, notifying them of Zeno's determined punishment. Corsa was dying to know who these two 'superiors' of the gods were, but decided against asking, not wanting to irritate Beerus with her menagerie of questions. He further elaborated, stating that a possible option for the Omni King was to decommission the twins from their positions, most likely by way of erasure. He glanced over, judging by the look on her face, he needed to explain what that meant. He described erasure for what it was: wiping them completely out of existence, their souls wiped out along with their bodies. After that, Zeno could go about the process of finding new gods to fill their places.

He paused, Corsa taking this as a cue to ask, "So, what happened? Apparently, he didn't end up erasing you."

Beerus chuckled under his breath, "Apparently not. Heles came to me, offering to talk to the Grand Priest on our behalves. She said that the whole situation would be negated if the destroyer from the assaulted universe stepped in and voiced their acceptance of the offending gods' apologies."

"So, like wiping the slate clean, no harm done?" she asked, attempting to show she understood.

"Right," he responded. He continued, confessing, "I was thankful beyond words that she'd be willing to help us avoid erasure, and I was stupid enough to voice it, telling her if there was anything I could do to make it up to her, just to let me know."

The god paused again, feeling his stomach turn at the thought of telling the next part.

"And ask she did. I owed her me and my brother's lives, after all. A deal's a deal, and I accepted before hearing the terms…"

He trailed off as Corsa awaited what came next, asking, "So…"

Beerus put his arms behind his head, closing his eyes. He really didn't enjoy reliving this memory.

"I…had to sleep with her, before she would even consider going to the Grand Priest."

The goddess looked to him, horrified. "So she coerced you into bed before helping you out? That's exploitation! That's extremely unethical! How'd she get away with that?!"

He scoffed at the question, "Simple. I didn't say anything."

Her mouth hung open at the confession. "How long ago was this?"

The god looked up to the ceiling, doing some calculations before stating, "Uh, about ten thousand years after I became a destroyer, give or take."

She leaned forward on the bed towards him, looking down at him. "So you've been sitting on this for millions of years?!" He glanced up, perplexed, "Yeah, why?"

Corsa was dumbfounded, proclaiming, "Why? Why?! That's a really long time!"

"You act as though I don't know that. Anyway, she kept her word. The Grand Priest contacted us and said there was no problem. We were given permission to go about our duties."

She waited for him to open his eyes, lavender orbs staring down at him. She asked, "Does Champa know what you did?"

He rolled away, laughing as he said, "About me and Heles? No way. Like I'd tell that idiot such delicate information." She pulled him back over, "Then why tell me?"

"Simple. I thought you needed to know. Isn't there an oath in your profession? You know, protecting what people tell you, keeping things confidential?"

"Doctor- patient privilege?"

"Yes, that."

Corsa rolled her eyes at the mention, stating, "You know I'm not a doctor anymore." He glanced up, giving her a serious expression as he said, "So? Are you saying you don't hold yourself to those ethics?"

The question of her morality caught her off guard. Of course she still believed in them. Those guidelines had been part of her identity for the last decade. Part of those policies also stated that she had the obligation to say something if her patient was at risk of hurting himself or others. She had been subpoenaed before, forced to give objective testimony on details pertaining to a legal case. If this situation had happened on Earth, this would definitely qualify. It was so wrong, what happened to him. Her chest felt tight, pained with grief over what he had shared with her. The goddess wanted nothing more then to go back in time and slap that bitch right across her smug little face, possibly force feed her some of that makeup she plastered on. She clenched her jaw, sarcastically thinking that maybe if she ingested some cosmetics, Heles could make her insides as pretty as she was on the outside.

Beerus noted her pained expression, watching as frustrated tears streamed down her cheeks, her face becoming flush with emotion. He reached up, placing his opened palm on the side of her cheek. The action made her flinch, surprised at the contact bringing her back to reality. Corsa looked into his eyes. She realized that she wasn't on Earth anymore. It was a different ball game to what she was accustomed. There were infinite rules to this new world she found herself in, making her inept to play her hand, unsure whether she'd come out high or low. She sighed, relenting to his silent request to keep his secret quiet, no matter how much it pained her to do so. It was all said and done, settled eons before she was even born. It was none of her business to get involved in. All Corsa had to do was keep her mouth shut and be thankful he even confided in her.

He tilted his head to the side, curiosity getting the better of him, asking, "Why does it bother you so much?"

"Huh?" she replied, confused. "Well, of course it bothers me. She took advantage of you."

Beerus laughed, still holding his hand to her face, strands of her hair streaming down on him, shading them both from the blinding suns outside.

"I know that much. You misunderstand the question. What I mean is," he said, propping himself up with an elbow, dangerously close to grazing her pale lips. His voice turned low and husky as he asked, "How is it you care so much about something that happened so long ago?"

She blushed, either at his closeness or the question, she wasn't certain. Corsa hadn't given it much thought, if she was honest. Did she care? Yes, she was outraged at his story, Heles' tactics angered her beyond belief, but was her rage all based on a matter of principle? She stared silently down at him. There was no alternative answer coming to mind. Nothing concrete, anyway. The goddess decided the more reasonable explanation would have to do for now.

"On a matter of principle-"

"Liar," he said, cutting her off, "try again."

She stammered at his words, "But, but that's, that's a reason…"

"Not thee reason, though," he quipped flatly.

Corsa glared at him, irritated at his disbelief. "I'm not in the mood for games, Beerus."

Her irritated response got his attention.

"And what game, pray tell, am I playing, Corsa?" he asked, imitating the inflection she used at his name.

Shrugging her shoulders, she held her gaze on him as she replied, "I don't know, whatever this is. It's childish and insulting. I don't appreciate it."

The goddess made room for him as he sat up, tension building in his muscles. 'Oh boy,' he thought, 'here we go.' Resting his hands on either side of him, the sheets soft to his touch, he turned his head to her, saying, "I not trying to play anything. I just want to hear you say it." Corsa looked at him, perplexed.

"Say what?"

"That you care."

"I do care."

"Not the way you mean, woman. I understand that way of caring, anyone can do it. It's sympathy, and it's wasted on someone like me, or do you forget who I am?"

She shrunk at the question, feeling the intensity in his words, replying, "Of course not. Be kind of hard to."

He gave a half smile, fading away as quickly as it appeared.

"Glad we're on the same page. Just say it."

"Why?"

"So I know you care about me."

Her brain went blank. It was not ready to process that.

"Uhhhh…can I get back to you on that?"

Beerus glared daggers, the atmosphere suddenly going tense around them. Her response was clearly not the one he was waiting for.

"No, I can't 'get back to you on that.' It's a simple phrase. Why can't you just it?"

She began to rise from the bed. "Leave it alone, Beerus..."

He pulled her back down. "I can't do that, Corsa…"

Her chest grew tight with his insistence on admitting her feelings. Feelings she wasn't certain she had for him. She felt like her emotions were on little magnets, both turned at 'positive' as the mini-Corsa in her head tried to force the stubborn magnet-thoughts together, labeled 'Beerus' and 'feelings.' The actual Corsa knew all the mini-her had to do was turn one of them around, uniting the 'positive' and 'negative' ends together. Mini-Corsa, however, was too dumb and naïve to figure it out, fizzling out in her mind's eye, giving up. She blinked her eyes, returning back to reality. 'That was weird,' she thought.

"Why are you pushing this so much?" she countered, feeling defensive.

"Why are you avoiding it so much?" he countered back.

"All I'm asking for is some time to-"

Beerus interjected, his voice raising as he spoke, "What the hell do you need time FOR?!"

She bolted up from the bed, gazing down at him. Her breath caught in her throat, her chest resisting her commands to exhale. Corsa felt something snap within her.

"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT I FEEL OKAY?!" she snapped at him, tears falling freely from her eyes.

Wide eyed, he watched as the goddess stood, sobbing into her hands, her breath hitching, forcing her shoulders to shake. Corsa tried to stop crying, but her body wouldn't listen. She slid down to the floor beneath her, hugging herself against the torrential tide of her own emotions. Her mind was completely overwhelmed. She had never felt like this before, the swirl of conflicting feelings towards her companion forcing her mind to shut down, overstimulated from the stress of his urgency. The goddess continued her outburst, her voice filled to the brim with as much intensity as the tears cascading from her face.

"I don't know how I feel! I don't know anything about this!" she confessed, continuing to berate the stunned god before her.

"Do you know what it's like, watching everyone else around you just get it?! Going about their merry fucking lives, going on dates, finding someone to spend their lives with, having kids?! And coming to me, of all people! Me! Like, just because I'm a doctor, I'm supposed to have all the goddamned answers! But I don't! I have no fucking clue what they're going through! Looking to me to assure them, that everything's going to be alright, telling me their deepest, darkest regrets they have. You know," she paused, glancing at the destroyer, "I had a guy tell me one time that he had had an affair, having a child with another woman, just before I was getting ready to do open heart surgery on his wife! HIS WIFE! And he had kept the affair a secret for TWELVE YEARS!"

Beerus squirmed in his seat, unsure of what to do. She had never talked about such things in detail. He knelt beside her without her noticing. 'What's gotten into her?' he wondered.

"On to top it all off, he was going to tell her after she got to recovery! He had the divorce papers in his briefcase! The only reason that bastard had told me was to make sure that it wouldn't cause her 'too much stress.' STRESS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I had that poor woman's heart in my hands, putting it all back together just so he could tear it apart?! Who does that?!"

Silence fell upon the room. Uncomfortable, Beerus awkwardly asked, "So…what did you do?"

She looked at him, befuddled. "What did I- there's nothing I could do! I just went in and did my job. I'm a surgeon, not a shrink!" He waited for her to finish, sensing the tale was not yet through.

Wiping her tears away, concluding, "The guy did exactly what he said. She died two days later. Her family took me to court, trying to prove I messed up somehow. But they were mistaken, the investigation found nothing wrong with the care she received. My record was perfect. I'd performed that surgery a thousand times. I could do it my eyes closed, if I wanted. The thing that killed her," she said, shaking a finger at the god, causing him to lean back slightly, "was that soulless bastard taking the one thing she thought she could never lose. His unconditional love for her. Twenty years of marriage, gone in a breath."

The goddess looked sternly into his eyes, new tears replacing the old. Beerus was feeling more and more uneasy. He could sense something was incredibly wrong.

"And that wasn't the only one! There were so many stories like that, different in their circumstances, but the results were the same," she continued, hugging herself tighter, staring at the ground.

"I wanted to shake them, bring them to their senses, tell them how lucky they were, how stupid they were being, taking all that love and trust for granted. I wanted to scream at them, 'not everyone gets the chance you have! Not everyone can even get a glimpse of what you're throwing away!'"

Out of nowhere, she slapped herself across the face, catching the destroyer completely off guard.

She started to yell at herself, "What are you doing?! Just stop it! STOP IT!"

She held her head at the last part, trying to calm down the storm inside her head, pleading for it to cease. Corsa felt like her mind was splitting, tearing apart at the seams. No, not like that, more like a mirror, shattering into a thousand pieces. Glass. Shards…What did that remind her of? She swore she'd seen this before…

Her memories wondered to the pain she had felt, recovering from the possession technique Beerus had used to destroy the research facility. The pain overtook her one night, unable to deal with it any longer. Her teenage just wanted the pain to stop, happy with whatever means would take it away. 'Stop it. Stop hurting so much. It burns. Stop it, stop it!'

She recalled holding herself up in the infirmary bathroom, breaking the mirror, obliterating the sight of the frail, weak girl it reflected back at her. She had sat on the ground, panting heavily at the amount of effort it took her to break one stupid mirror. The teen had eyed the sharp pieces of glass around her, splayed out, patiently waiting for her to pick one up, eager for another use. She had eyed a particularly large sliver, flinching as the object sliced into her delicate skin as she grasped it. She relished the pain it brought her, distracting her from the burning hell fire coursing throughout her veins. The girl watched as small drops of scarlet raced to the white floor below, looking like red flowers sprouting in a field of freshly fallen snow. She grinned, finding a remedy to her suffering. Corsa had decided in that moment to fill that room with flowers. Spring was coming early.

Gripping the shard tighter, she slashed at her arm, continuing to slice until she grew tired of the motion, switching to a more, direct approach. The alien staff had broken in as their patient leaned against the tiled wall, stabbing any part of her exposed body she could plunge the glass into, ripping her skin apart, tearing through muscle, managing to uncover the white bone of her humerus for all to see. Before they could stop her, the teen plunged the shard deep into her thigh, later finding out she had severed her femoral artery. If it wasn't for the advanced technology at the galactic head quarter's disposal, she would have died that night. But she had gotten her wish, that bathroom looked so pretty in red...

The goddess felt like that child once again, dealing with something she couldn't handle, the mental anguish matching the physical pain inflicted upon her all those years ago. Corsa felt in that moment as she had that night in the bathroom, like a kid in a candy store, eager to pick up something shiny to alleviate her pain. She wanted it to end, anything would do. The goddess desperately wished she had a piece of that glass, so she could drive it into her brain. 'Huh, a rustic lobotomy. Hell, why not?' she mused.

Corsa was so lost in the labyrinth of her mind that she didn't notice her aura going red, her energy flowing into the floor below, beginning to crack under the pressure. Whis rushed in, feeling the flux of power flowing out of the unstable diety, pouring out of her like a gutted animal. A bewildered Beerus met his gaze.

"Just what is going on here?!" the angel demanded of his charge.

"I don't know!" the destroyer yelled back to the angel, completely at a loss.

"We were talking, she started crying, prattling on about some nonsense, then THIS!"

The walls of the bedroom suddenly gave way, exploding outward, the two divine beings covering their faces with their arms, wind swirling around them. Lesser beings would have been thrown back from its force. When the dust cleared, the pair looked in their companion's direction, her figure slowly coming into view. She stood in the middle of the crater, the suns blazing down, revealing her form for all to witness.

Her once ocean colored-hair took on a silver hue, not shiny or brilliant, but dull, like hardened steel. The tresses barely reflected any light in the sun. White, porcelain skin appeared sickly, her now blackened veins visible through her pale flesh. Her clothing was covered in dust, scuffed and torn from coming into contact with flinging debris, blood oozing out of open cuts along her body. They watched as her wounds healed quickly, only her blood-soaked clothing giving evidence of their presence.

Her aura whipped around her, a mix of light and dark reds converging, melting into each other. Black sparks, akin to electricity, occasionally pulsing outward to the red, strumming along. They heard her humming along to the strums, like she was accompanying an invisible guitar. Her head was bowed forward, a curtain of steel-colored hair concealed her face.

Beerus felt a dark, heavy pulse in his chest. It was humming through his life link from her, that much he was certain. He guessed Shin could probably sense it too. It would be incredibly hard not to notice. Her head slowly pulled up, the silver tresses blown away by another breeze. The being opened her eyes. Ebony orbs with crimson irises looked straight into their souls, holding a blank expression. They stood their ground, waiting for whatever came next. The goddess' lips slowly curled up in a maniacal smile, giving Beerus the same gut-wrenching feeling he had felt that day at the ocean. The woman finally moved, tilting her head to the side until her neck cracked, her face holding its expression. It finally spoke. With a raspy hiss, she said:

"Let's spray some flowers on that snow, eh?"

Corsa raised up her forearms up, revealing pitch-black claws, the same dark hue soaked up to her wrists.

Her energy flared up to the heavens, cutting a red pillar through the clouds. She bared a wider grin, eyes dancing.

"Spring's coming early."

Author's Note: And that is chapter thirteen! Thank you so much for reading!

I know this one got a little dark, but the OC demanded it! She's…got some things to work through!

Beerus was right, she does have a ton of crap between her and her feelings!

So, how will Whis and himself fair, handling an unstable goddess off her rocker?

Remember, others might be watching too, equally curious how this all pans out!

Stayed tuned, folks!

As always, reviews are encouraged and greatly appreciated!