The Prince Ascendant
Chapter Twenty Eight: The Conquering God
"Aah," Cell said with relish. "The man of the hour finally deigns to make his appearance!"
"How the hell did you come back?" Vegito demanded angrily. "I'm certain Vegeta killed you a long time ago, and we'd know if someone used Earth's Dragon Balls to bring you back, I doubt the Namekians would let someone use theirs to resurrect you. Explain."
"Giving orders now, are we?" Cell responded with a laugh. "Well, you certainly retained Vegeta's arrogance. Does it really matter how I came back to life? I'm here now, after all."
"You're evading my question," Vegito said testily. "How. Did. You. Come. Back?"
"I don't know all the details," Cell replied honestly with a shrug. "I didn't bother to ask, all I know is that someone called me from this side and brought me over to a new body. Oh, what a body it is, too! Can't you feel the power? Its amazing, is it not?"
"Who?" Vegito asked, eyes narrowed. "The only kind of person who would want you back would be an ally of Dr. Gero, but they all died long before the cyborgs and you showed up, the man himself is dead, and the remaining cyborgs are on our side."
"Ooh, you're close!" Cell said happily. "But, alas, no cigar. The good doctor was many things, but a fool he most certainly was not. Never did anything without at least three backup plans. I should know, my old body, as well as this one, has a nearly-complete set of the good doctor's memories, if not his...personality. I believe his intent was to keep some part of him alive in case he met his demise."
"His own perverse kind of son," Vegito commented, shaking his head. "Why am I not surprised? Though, you still didn't answer my original question: who brought you back?"
"How about we make a wager?" Cell replied with a grin. "If you draw first blood, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
"Fine by me," Vegito replied, closing his eyes remembering his training with Whis.
Remembering the mist, the strange fog that held him in place, Vegito calmed his mind and let his ki flow through his body. Quietly, his divine power throbbed into being, sending ripples into the air around him. Letting it fill him, Vegito's power rose dramatically, and as he opened his eyes, his hair stood up, turning an almost luminescent white as his eyes went silver. His heart calm, Vegito felt his power stabilize naturally, the Super Saiyan transformation had taken far longer than he'd anticipated to master when using his divine ki. Now, however, Vegito stood before Cell, his eyes relaxed and focused.
"Well, this is certainly new," Cell said, mildly surprised. "I don't think I've ever seen a Super Saiyan with white hair before."
"I'm the only one, so far," Vegito replied simply. "I'm no longer a mere Super Saiyan. After I ascended to godhood, I learned to master my new power and to mingle it with my transformation. What you see before you now is a Divine Super Saiyan."
Cell laughed. "You Saiyans, always another trick up your sleeve," he said, a happy growl in his voice. "Good, I was hoping this wouldn't be boring!"
Cell launched a punch towards Vegito, which the Fused Warrior blocked, grim-faced, as the shockwave sent out a thunderous crash, uprooting trees and causing the earth beneath them to buckle. Pushing hard against Cell's fist with his forearm, Vegito gauged the creature's new-found strength. His eyes widened a bit in surprise, by his estimation, this new Cell was stronger than Beerus! Cell grinned, obviously aware of Vegito's surprise.
"No need," Cell began, forcing his whole body forward. "To hold back!"
Vegito was launched backwards, careening through the forest as a shockwave was left in his wake. As Cell sped towards him, Vegito left behind a cloud of shimmering dust and, as Cell flew through it, he clenched his fist.
"Searing Cloud!" Vegito yelled as the dust began to radiate massive amounts of heat, liquefying the ground beneath it and incinerating everything around it, including Cell. For a moment, Vegito thought he'd managed to deal a serious blow to Cell, but as the cloud cleared, beneath the rippling waves of heat as the molten ground cooled to a charred black, the creature stood, arms outstretched, surrounded by a ki barrier, more surprised than wounded.
"Sneaky!" Cell laughed. "It would seem you don't use typical Saiyan tactics..."
"Typical Saiyan tactics got my friends and family killed," Vegito said calmly. "I've since learned to adapt."
"This is going to be a lot more fun than I'd originally anticipated," Cell responded, smiling broadly.
Vegito dodged a swift punch from Cell that left the air blistering hot. Out of the corner of his eye, Vegito saw Whis floating nearby, watching the fight with his now-trademark faint grin. Narrowing his eyes, Vegito let go of his surprise and simply let his power flow. As he did, Cell's movements began to appear an almost normal speed and wispy, ethereal threads were beginning to materialize around his body. There was a great deal of divine ki coming from him, whoever had made his new body had apparently gone through the trouble of updating the creature's...database, as well. However, as he deflected a hard kick to the right side, something seemed off about Cell's ki. Following its flow, it wasn't seated near his stomach like every other living creature Vegito had observed, but was focused on a small portion of the inside of his head, just behind his eyes. Vegito's own eyes widened, this was unnatural, even by Cell's standards. Something was very wrong, here.
Far away, Twenty-One was flying to the scene. His monitors could only show him so much of what his creation could do when put to a real test. Empirical evidence must be gathered. His scanners, retrofitted to pick up the new kind of ki he'd discovered when he finalized Cell's new body, were detecting an awful lot of power being thrown around. Flying to the scene, doing his best to remain hidden, he observed as Vegito and Cell battled. His heart pounded, here was his creation, vast improvement on Dr. Gero's original design, holding his own against the most powerful being he'd ever encountered. That was when a finger tapped on his shoulder.
"Excuse me," a light, almost whimsical voice said as Twenty-One turned around, the shock nearly causing a heart attack. "I couldn't help but notice you watching the fight. What do you think of my pupil?"
"What the-?" Twenty-One stammered. "How'd you get behind me?"
"Wait a sec," Whis said, getting a closer look at the young man. "Aren't you one of young Sakura's friends? What was your name again? Ein?" The last word came out at an unusually high volume. That's when Ein's eyes widened in dawning horror, he'd been had. Sakura was approaching.
"Ein?" Sakura said in amazement. "Since when can you fly? And what are you doing here?"
"He's sweating quite a bit," Whis said lightly. "I get the feeling that he doesn't want to answer. I wonder why that is..."
"Ein..." Sakura said warningly. "What are you hiding from me? Out with it!"
"I could tell her, if you want," Whis said, taking his hand off Ein's shoulder. "I've already read your memories. I'll have to thank Vegito for showing me that one, its quite handy!"
"No!" Ein demanded loudly.
"No?" Whis asked, laughing. "Well, then, tell her yourself. Go on, she's waiting."
"Ein," Sakura said plainly. "What is Whis talking about? What do you have to tell me?"
Twenty-One couldn't answer. Try as he might, he actually had grown somewhat fond of Sakura, even if she was, ultimately, a tool to complete Dr. Gero's ambition. Hanging his head and sighing, he resigned himself to whatever fate awaited him.
"Ein Viginti," he began quietly. "Is just a name I made up. My designation, is Cyborg Twenty-One."
"Cyborg?" Sakura said in disbelief. "Like Seventeen and Eighteen?"
"I was the last of the numbered models," Twenty-One continued. "Before the creation of Cell. Much of my design was used in his creation, that's why you can sense me: I have minimal mechanical implants, I was meant to blend in and, if necessary, infiltrate Goku's ranks and destroy him from within."
"That's not all," Whis said, a very slight, almost imperceptible edge to his voice. "Twenty-One created his new Cell using genes from almost everyone you've all encountered since his first defeat, including updates for Vegeta and Gohan, as well as entries for yourself, Goten, Trunks, Bra, and even Lord Beerus. He's been quite a busy little bee, hasn't he?"
"Why are you doing this?" Twenty-One yelled at Whis.
"Because," Whis said, dropping the act. "I cannot abide liars."
"You," Sakura ground out through the tears of rage and betrayal. "You've been lying to me. This whole time."
"Thing is," Twenty-One said with a sigh. "I'd actually grown fond of yo-"
"Shut up," Sakura said, baring her teeth. "You don't get to speak, not anymore! You lied to me, made me think you cared! You...you made me think that someone cared for me like a...like more than a friend," her eyes practically glowed with fury. "I will never forgive you."
"There's nothing that can be done about it, anymore," Twenty-One replied, running his fingers through his hair. "This is how it had to turn out, I had orders: destroy Son Goku. Even now, that directive is burned into my mind, I won't stop until he's gone."
In a flash, Twenty-One was flat on his ass in a small crater, a throbbing ache in his chest where Sakura had punched him. Looking up, he could tell that she was trying her hardest not to cry, trying to fight her emotions. How stupid he'd been, he'd led the girl on and made her think she could love him. He knew that she outclassed him by leaps and bounds. Either way, his work was done, Cell could destroy Vegito and, no matter what happened next, his job would be done.
As Sakura moved in for the kill, a hand stopped her, grabbing her gently by the collar of her shirt. Looking behind her, she saw Whis, his normal smile gone, replaced by what could only be called a scowl.
"What are you doing," Sakura screamed furiously. "I'll kill the bastard!"
"Now now," Whis said, looking at Twenty-One, his scowl deepening. "I know he's hurt you, but there are far more fitting punishments than death."
"Let me at him, damn it!" Sakura yelled. "I don't care! I'll wring his fucking neck!"
"How about we let him watch," Whis said in a detached voice. "I can imprison him, and he can watch as Vegito destroys everything he ever worked for. Then, if you still want to, you can send him to Hell yourself."
"You actually think," Twenty-One said with a harsh laugh. "That Vegito can beat my new Cell? He doesn't stand a chance! I gave Cell the power of a god, he's even got cells from Beerus himself!"
"You poor, deluded fool," Whis said, shaking his head, as he bound Twenty-One by magic and floated him closer. "You made a critical mistake when you brought Cell back."
"What are you blathering about?" Twenty-One spat. "Cell has Vegito's abilities, too!"
"You only gathered samples from shortly after the battle with Lord Beerus, did you not?" Whis asked.
"How could you possibly know that?" Twenty-One demanded.
"I didn't," Whis said with a cold laugh. "I was bluffing."
"Damn you!"
"I've been training Vegito personally," Whis said, bringing his face close to Twenty-One's. "And, let me be frank, he's stronger than Lord Beerus, now. He's leaps and bounds ahead of where he was when Lord Beerus first fought him."
Sakura couldn't help but stare. She'd never seen this side of Whis before. Normally, he was almost whimsical, asking for different desserts and foods and generally coming across as more of a goof than anything else. But, now, Sakura could see that there was another side to Beerus' attendant. This was what Whis was like when he was angry. To be honest, were it not for the anger still burning inside her, Sakura would be almost frightened. She knew that Whis was to Beerus what the Destroyer was to the rest of them. That Ein had gotten on his bad side showed just how badly he'd fouled up. That's when a realization hit her like a lightning bolt. Whis was angry on her behalf. Ein had hurt her in ways he could never understand, Whis knew that, and he was angry. Did...did Whis actually like her? She honestly didn't know, he was a hard man to read, but she supposed that, as a daughter in everything but name to one of his students, it made sense for Whis to feel a sense of camaraderie with her.
"I see you've put it together," Whis said to Sakura, knocking the young woman out of her reverie. "Yes, I do see you as a friend, Sakura. I've seen your history, and I know you mean a great deal to Vegito. Someone that would willingly hurt a person like this thing has hurt you makes my blood boil. You deserve better."
Shocked by such a blatant admission, Sakura couldn't help but stare at Whis in mute amazement. Turning to the battle, Vegito appeared to be handling Cell quite well, despite the latter's upgrade to god status. Vegito blocked a hard left hook from Cell and countered with a right of his own, straight to the creature's chest, which landed with a deafening crash. It was clear that Cell was a great deal more powerful than before, but it was also plainly evident that he didn't fully understand how to use his power. As Cell grew more frustrated, his ki began shifting between normal and divine. This was something hammered home to him during his training with Whis: the use of divine ki requires clear, reasoned thought and definite purpose. For all Beerus' arrogance and moodiness, he always had a well-defined role to play when exercising his power, and that allowed him to utilize a great deal of divine ki. It didn't hurt that he had been born a god, as well. Cell, on the other hand, had barely had time to adjust to his new abilities. Once again, he was going in half-cocked against a foe he grossly underestimated, just as he had all those years ago against Gohan.
In a way, it made sense, Cell did have Saiyan blood, after all. Mix that with Frieza's genes and arrogance, and you have a mixture just asking for failure. Gero really had no idea when he'd melded the imprint of so many creatures into Cell's makeup how badly he'd screwed his own plans over. The good doctor had gotten lazy and never gave his "magnum opus" a personality of his own, a way to fight his biological programming and stand a chance of actually learning something. This fight, Vegito realized, had been lost by Cell before it'd even began.
"Take me seriously, damn you!" Cell ground out angrily. "I came back just so I could kill you!"
"No, you didn't," Vegito said plainly. "You came back because Gero left behind another cyborg to finish what he started. I heard everything back there with Whis, Sakura, and the boy I thought was named Ein."
"So, you heard that, huh?" Cell said, straightening up. "Yes, he recreated me and brought me beyond perfection!"
"You know, if he'd have been paying attention," Vegito said loudly so the others could hear. "He would've given you a will of your own, instead of just making you an amalgam of all the people from whom you're made."
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Cell demanded.
"Your mind," Vegito explained. "Its just a mishmash of personalities stolen from various warriors, I'm surprised you're not less stable than you are, mentally speaking. If your creator had been actually trying, he'd have given you a distinct personality or let one develop naturally, instead of just slamming all of ours' together and calling it a day."
"I am the amalgamation of the finest warriors in the universe!" Cell protested, raging. "I am perfection reborn and I will destroy you for your insolence!"
"You're welcome to try," Vegito said, preparing for what would likely be Cell's last, desperate attempt to defeat him.
Cell flew into the air, Vegito could feel all his ki raging. As Cell drew his arms back and prepared his Kamehameha, flooded with massive amounts of divine and mortal ki, Vegito left his arms at his sides, letting the power flow into them like monsoon rains into a fast-moving river. It was a technique he'd developed during his training with Whis, using everything he'd learned about divine ki and its manipulation. Vegito made his mind crystal clear, save one overarching driving purpose: the protection of the Earth and its people. His power responded readily, a tidal wave of divine ki began pouring out of him, and into his hands.
"This blast has enough power to reduce this pathetic solar system to nothing!" Cell screamed, throwing his arms forward. "Kamehameha!"
Vegito placed his palms side-by-side, staring into the oncoming blast, yelling, "Supernova!"
When the two ki waves met, it was as if the universe itself was rebelling at the amount of godly power being thrown around. The crash was deafening, and the shockwave sent arcs of electricity everywhere. Nearby, the forest began to distort, at first just visually, as if there were a massive heat wave, but soon, the changes became clearly evident. As the Fused Warrior battled with "Perfection Reborn," reality itself began to break down as the concentration of power in such a small area began to take its toll. Small pockets of black void began to appear, the ground began to shift like waves. For a moment, Whis worried: the problem with gods throwing around their true might was that reality itself couldn't cope with it, on a local level; if it persisted for too long, a hole in the fabric of everything could open, and that would spell devastation on a massive scale. However, the distortions and holes began to waver as Vegito pushed back Cell's attack, slowly at first, but quickly accelerating. Cell tried as hard as he could to reinforce his attack, but it was all for nothing. Soon, he was enveloped, and Cell's body was reduced to nothing. As the ki dissipated, the distortions ceased, the small holes closed.
Vegito saw something glisten in the light, falling from where Cell had been destroyed. Flying over and catching it, he saw a smooth, black gem, almost like a translucent black pearl. Inside the pearl was an unearthly light. Looking closer, his eyes widened, this felt just like Cell! But, that was impossible! Cell's soul had been locked into this gem? The surprise of such magics existing were nothing to what came next, however. Slowly, the gem began to sink into Vegito's hand. The Fused Warrior screamed, clutching at his wrist.
"Your body is mine!" he heard in his mind. "Then, I will be the strongest being in the universe!"
Just as Vegito was considering tearing his own right hand off to stop the painful invasion, he heard the sound of someone closing in on him. Whis appeared next to Vegito and grabbed his arm firmly. Smacking the back of Vegito's right hand, the pain ebbed and the hateful gem dropped a few centimeters before being enveloped in a purple field of magic.
"That was a dirty trick," Vegito spat. "Thanks, Whis."
"I can't very well let my star pupil be possessed, now can I?" Whis said in a friendly tone. "It seems that whatever magic our little friend over there employed to bring Cell back couldn't properly resurrect him, so he settled for the next best thing, treating him like any other powerful spirit and binding him to a gem, then binding that gem to a body. I didn't think this planet had that kind of magic, but I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, humans are an inventive lot."
Whis and Vegito flew to where Ein, outed as Cyborg Twenty-One, was floating, still confined by Whis' magic. He looked angrily at Vegito, who had just destroyed his greatest achievement. Whis floated the gem that still contained Cell's spirit in front of Ein's face and, with a vindictive smile, crushed it into powder with his magic.
"No!" Ein screamed. "All that work! You'll pay for this!"
"Its you who will be paying for your crimes," Vegito said, staring Ein straight in the eyes.
"Please, no!" Ein cried. "It wasn't my fault! I was made this way! I couldn't go against Dr. Gero's orders, even after his death!"
"Bullshit," Sakura said angrily. "Seventeen and Eighteen managed it! I guess whatever "fondness" you felt for me just wasn't strong enough to break through your programming, was it?"
"I can change!" Ein begged. "I'll be good, I promise!"
"How the hell can I, we, trust you?!" Sakura yelled. "You lied to me for years! You said you cared, claimed you were my friend, fooled me into thinking there could've been something between us! You remade that abomination and set it loose! You knew he'd try to destroy the world, try to kill us all, myself included! You knew all this, and yet, you still went through with it!"
"Now that your planet is safe," Whis said, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder in an attempt to calm the furious woman. "What do you feel we should do with him?"
"I want to kill him," Sakura spat before floating towards Ein, looking him straight in the eyes. "But, that's too kind. Whis, can you imprison him? Somewhere from which he can never escape, not until the universe itself ends."
"If that is what you wish," Whis began, straightening up, looking the world like a judge about to pass a sentence. "Cyborg Twenty-One, alias Ein Viginti, I hereby sentence you to imprisonment in the heart of this galaxy, the galaxy your foul deeds could've doomed. There you will remain, until the end of time."
With that Ein screamed as he disappeared in a flash of brilliant light. Sakura let out a heavy sigh. It was done, the liar was being punished for his crimes. The pain still raw and evident on her face, Vegito scooped up the young woman into a tight hug. Unable to hold back any longer, Sakura sobbed into Vegito's shirt. Ein had no idea how much he'd hurt her with his treachery. Her feelings for the bastard had just begun to develop, she was so close to asking him out. For the first time in her life, she felt like she could be an almost normal person, and he had to go and take that from her. Vegito held on, quietly reassuring Sakura that all would be right, in time, that he would be here. Two other hands were firmly planted on each shoulder, and she could feel that one of them was Gohan, and assumed that the lack of presence in the other was Whis.
Whis felt sorry for the young woman still bawling into the shirt of her adoptive father. When he reached into Ein's mind, he saw how plainly smitten she'd become towards him. The words he'd heard her say, the burgeoning love laced within them...that one would take that and destroy it without a second thought, it offended him on a very basic level. Whis almost wished that she'd asked him to kill Ein, but he realized that the punishment he was given was well beyond mere death. Ein would have a very, very long time to think about what he'd done. In the meantime, Whis knew that Sakura would heal, her friends and family would see to that. More than culinary geniuses, the people of Earth had a way about them that was rare in the universe. While they fought and warred like many other species, there was a kindness in them that had few, if any, rivals. Though he'd never say it, their compassion was one of the reasons he kept coming back to Earth after Beerus' battle with Vegito.
Back on their world, Beerus watched the events unfold through the crystal ball Whis had left lying around. The God of Destruction might not be the most adept with magic, but he knew enough to get such things to show him current events, if not create them himself. Vegito had managed to keep the promise he'd made to protect the Earth, and in a remarkably spectacular fashion, at that. He'd thrown about enough power to rival the Destroyer himself, and Beerus grinned. His new friend was advancing at a phenomenal rate as a god, no doubt due to the adept training of Whis. What's more, even with his immense power, Vegito was still kind to his friends and family, he still very obviously cared deeply about them. Smiling at the thought, Beerus continued to watch as Vegito, Sakura, Gohan, and Whis departed the battlefield for Gohan's house. Apparently, Videl had some announcement she'd wanted to make to her family later that day.
"Vegito," Beerus said quietly, tapping the crystal ball with a finger. "I wonder...what kind of god will you become?"
Back at Gohan's home, the group told Videl and their family and friends that had gathered of what had happened. They were all visibly shocked, not only at the creation of a god-like Cell, but of the base betrayal of Ein, which caused an outpouring of sympathy towards Sakura, something the girl appreciated immensely. After things settled down, Videl sat down in a nearby chair, calming herself for the bombshell she was about to drop on those who'd come, especially her father, who was becoming increasingly worried as the silent seconds passed by.
"Everyone," Videl began, breathing deep to steady her nerves. "I'm...I'm pregnant."
"What?!" Gohan said, both surprised and excited. "When did you find out?"
"Shortly before Lord Beerus and Whis showed up," Videl said, having prepared for this question long in advance. "I wanted to wait to make sure everything was going to be alright with...with the baby. The doctor confirmed, last week, that everything was going just fine."
"Videl!" Mr. Satan said as he fell to his knees, crying in joy. "My little girl, a mother!"
"That's great, Videl!" Chi Chi said happily. "Have you decided on any names?"
"I was thinking," Videl said, tapping her chin with a finger. "If its a boy, I was thinking we'd name him Mark after you, dad," she said, turning to her father. "But, if its a girl, I was thinking of going with Pan."
Mr. Satan put his hands to his eyes, still bawling. "Oh, dear, if only you could see our little girl, now!" he said, torn between sadness and happiness. "You'd be so proud of our daughter!"
Everyone was overjoyed at the announcement. After Mr. Satan had gathered himself back up, he picked up his daughter into a massive bear hug, exclaiming how he was going to be a grandfather. Bulma had offered to throw Videl a shower, to which she agreed with obvious relief, as well as the care of the best doctors Capsule Corp had at their disposal, stating they'd helped massively with both Trunks and Bra when they were born. Gohan was left speechless, overjoyed at the prospect of being a father. All he could do was embrace his wife with a smile so wide, it threatened to split his skull in two.
"Reminds me of when Lord Beerus was born," Whis said quietly.
"You were around when Beerus was born?" Videl asked, amazed.
"Of course!" Whis said with a smile. "His father, Set, was a friend of my student before Lord Beerus."
"Its so weird," Vegito said with a laugh. "Thinking of Beerus as a baby, or even a child, for that matter."
"Lord Beerus would kill me if I went into details," Whis said, laughing. "But, needless to say, he was a very...active child."
Looking at the crystal ball, Beerus growled lightly. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Whis!" he said, poking the crystal ball. "Making my rival imagine me as a baby, you'll pay for that!"
"Well, I'm afraid I must be going," Whis said, looking up. "Lord Beerus is probably awake, by now, and he'll no doubt be demanding his breakfast," he continued with a laugh. "Though, at this point, its probably closer to lunch!"
"Thanks for everything, Whis," Vegito said with a smile. "I owe you one."
"Me, too," Sakura said, surprising Whis with a hug. "You didn't have to do what you did, and I'll never forget it."
"You just keep training to rival Lord Beerus," Whis said to Vegito before turning to Sakura. "And you, just don't let this keep you from moving forward in your life. Remember, there's always someone worth your time and attention."
With that Whis tapped his staff and waved as he disappeared in a column of light. Sakura vowed she'd take Whis' words to heart. She'd never expected the god to be so friendly, let alone helpful, and the fact he was meant that every word he said was to be taken at face value. Perhaps it was Whis' fondness of Vegito that warmed him up to them. Whatever the case, she knew he wasn't wrong. Though the wound was still fresh, Sakura knew that, in time, she'd be able to move on and that she needed to if she ever wanted to become a normal person. Sakura knew she was still young, she was only a little younger than Gohan, and that she had plenty of time ahead of her to find someone to love her like Gohan loved Videl. No matter which way the wind blew, Sakura knew that, for now, it was time to rest and recuperate.
Author's Notes
Wooh! Took a bit longer than I'd wanted, but hey, still did it, so hey, good times! Finals week is coming up, so a lot of my time is going to be taken up by studying. Thankfully, that also means little to no homework, so hopefully, that means things will balance in favour of me having just a little bit more writing time than usual. For now, let's answer some reviews!
Andre: Yup! I have a link in my profile to a Google spreadsheet that you can use to track my progress. I update it whenever I write, so as soon as I get a section done, you'll see it and know how far along I am in the process! Bonus: its colour-coded for your convenience.
Anlmoon: Aye, that was kind of the impetus for this whole story. Vegeta tries so damned hard to surpass Goku, but always ends up getting left in the dust. Part of this is due to his arrogance, but I think a big part of it is also how much he clings to the past. This Vegeta has learned that its the present that matters the most, that he can learn from the past while not being mired in it, thus speeding his progression as a person and a fighter.
Jack905: Beerus isn't one that's easily impressed. Goku was stated to be, at his best as a god, around 60% of Beerus' maximum, and actually managed to wear the god out a bit, though whether or not that was to spur Goku along to training even harder, I'm not really sure, but given that Vegito is basically the single most broken character in all of Dragon Ball (with the exception of certain gods and magical wish dragons), it stands to reason that he, as a god, would damn near rival Beerus. Honestly, the only reason he didn't quite win in this fic was because he was inexperienced in utilizing his divine power. As it stands now, Vegito could likely defeat Beerus in a one-on-one fight.
For those wondering about the Divine Super Saiyan transformation...yeah, I changed it from the SSJGSSJ (aka: SSJ Blue) mostly because, and this is just my opinion, I found the transformation to be not as impressive as the status it implied. I mean, this is a Super Saiyan who has access to literally god-like power, which has been amplified by said Super Saiyan state. Just going blue doesn't seem to be all that fitting, which is why I changed it to a white hair/silver eyes palette. Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but the Divine Super Saiyan aura is white; think Ultimate Gohan. Well, that's about it for this chapter! I'll catch you guys later for Chapter Twenty Nine of The Prince Ascendant, Vegito's Farewell. Take care!
