Chapter 30 – "Vegeta vs. Kelerot! The fate of the future at stake."
The Ripple effect…
The destruction of Beerus had not gone unnoticed. All across the multiverse, the gods felt something had happened and Vados from the sixth universe was the first to sense it. She was watching Champa play around with a nutritious salad she had prepared, scoffing at the greens and cherry tomatoes she picked out from a garden she grew herself and he batted the tomato around with his fork like it was a ball.
She put a hand to her chest and blinked a moment, feeling weak in the legs and she had to sit down.
"Eh?" Champa noticed out of the corner of his eye and he stood up from his chair. He cleared his throat.
"I'll have you know I managed to eat a third of your salad, so at least be proud of my accomplishment," he said, puffing out his chest but Vados didn't acknowledge him. She held a hand to her head.
"You could at least be more enthusiastic about it, Vados," he told her but she shook her head.
"It's not that, Lord Champa. Something terrible has happened, something from the seventh universe."
"Seventh? What's Beerus been up to this time? Food poisoning?" he said, laughing and Vados shook her head.
"I wish I could share in your humor, Lord Champa but this is far worse than I expected. I think Lord Beerus has been destroyed."
Champa's ears twitched and he paused for a moment before gasping and staring at her wide-eyed.
"Destroyed?! You're kidding!"
"I don't know. But I did feel something happen to Whis and he 'stopped', which must only mean one thing."
"Has someone in the seventh killed the Supreme Kai?" Champa asked and Vados shook her head.
"I honestly wish I knew. I'll have to look into it to be sure."
Champa didn't show it in his face but losing his brother did hit him in the gut when he heard the news from Vados and he scoffed, crossing his arms. He glanced back at the salad and made a disgusted face, walking over to their cabinet to retrieve a jug of juice. He took a few sips and glanced back at Vados and her expression grew even grimmer and he swallowed.
Each of the other universes experienced the same effect as the angels felt a sinking feeling in their gut and stared outward. Awamo of the first universe stared outside the archive doors and his eyes widened. He rushed back inside and ran to the network room and brought up the network on display and gasped when he saw that Beerus and Shinkai's lines were no longer there, deleted from the Network. Normally when a person dies, their network thread shuts off and it displays as a gray line rather than a white "active" line, but when a person is destroyed by a God, their line is deleted completely from the network, as well as their archive book and Awamo brought up the other grid, the one he had been more concerned with and it showed Kelerot and Vegeta's lines criss-crossing each other.
"No…it's happening far sooner than I expected. Oh Whis, I'm so sorry." Awamo said, closing his eyes and staring down.
In the twelfth universe, Geene and Martinu were supervising one of his forges when the plump female angel felt a pressure in her chest and she put a hand to it.
"Something wrong?" he asked and she examined her staff, looking through it at each of the other universes.
"Yes, my lord," she said, studying each universe that appeared and paused when she saw the seventh and Whis's body on the ground. Geene glanced and his eyes widened.
"What the? Why is Whis on the ground?!"
"He's been 'deactivated', my Lord. Which could only mean that Lord Beerus and the Supreme Kai are dead."
Geene gulped and started to sweat a bit. In all this time, he never would've imagine that Beerus of all Destroyers would be killed. Martinu's face grew serious and she walked forward.
"I must speak with the Grand Minister," she said and turned to Geene, who nodded and she summoned their Supreme Kai to usher them to Grand Zeno's palace to visit the Grand Minister.
Heles of the second universe sat on her golden throne with heart shaped ornaments decorating the back as servants fanned her with large heart-shaped feather fans, Sour with a neutral expression on his face standing to her left. His frown increased and Heles picked up on the shift in emotion and she glanced at him. Pell, her Supreme Kai, observed the shift and looked up at him.
"Goodness, Sour with a sour look," he said and Sour sighed momentarily.
"Has something happened?" Heles asked and she dismissed her servants with a wave of her hand.
"I sense something has happened that has likely reached my siblings. We must go see the Grand Minister at once."
Heles and Pell exchanged looks and she stood up. "But this will cut into my bath scheduled to happen in a few minutes. Can it wait?"
"I'm afraid not, my Lady. We must proceed at once otherwise we'd receive a summons from the Grand Minister himself if we do not act accordingly."
"Oh very well," she said, clapping her hands. "Postpone the bath until my return!"
The servants, two dozen of them, all bowed and left her grand palace lobby and closed the doors behind them. She crossed her arms and sighed, glancing at Sour.
"I hope your intuition is accurate, Sour. I don't want a foul mood to mess up this visage of beauty."
"Of course not, my Lady. You are forever stunning and loved by all," Pell said, bowing at her and she couldn't help but go red in the cheeks, smiling down at the Kai.
They left shortly afterwards.
In the Third universe, Mule, leaning on the opened hatch of his robot suit, Mosco, was playing a holographic game of 3D chess with Camparri. The holographic projection of their game was one of only a few sources of light, with computer monitors and a dimmed light from outside the door's window illuminating the room. Camparri went to move his piece but stopped and hesitated a moment.
"That doesn't look like a hesitation to move your piece," Mule noted and Camparri shook his head.
"A terrible feeling just came over me all of a sudden. I'm overcome with a sudden urge to meet the Grand Minister."
"Eh? So soon? It's not another Tournament of Power, is it? I'd rather not experience being erased a second time if it came to that, those fighters were a handful," Mule said but Camparri shook his head.
"No, it's something else. I'll summon Ea at once to take us there," he told the Destroyer and used his staff to contact him.
The fourth and ninth universes responded in haste, Cognac and Mojito wasting no time to gather their Destroyers and Kais respectively to teleport to Grand Zeno's palace. Arack and Liquir were in the middle of a conference call when they were interrupted by their angels, Cukatail and Korn, informing them of their need to meet with the Grand Minister and they took their leave at the same time with their Kais.
Marcarita and Barbon waited for Cae to appear and he saw a grim look from Barbon which meant something terrible had happened.
"It can't be…" Cae said, eyes wide in shock.
"The mortal named Kelerot has somehow destroyed Lord Beerus and the kai by extension. We must meet with the Grand Minister immediately."
"Has he summoned us to Grand Zeno's palace?" Cae asked and Marcarita shook her head.
"No, but I don't doubt he is aware of what has happened and will be expecting us to meet him shortly. We mustn't waste any more time."
Cae felt his heart sink as he nodded, putting his hands behind Barbon and Marcarita: "Kai-kai."
Vegeta's new form…
Sparks flying around him, Vegeta's rage was calm yet focused on Kelerot as he approached him. Kelerot steeled his nerves and stared back at the Saiyan prince, grinning at the new hair color.
"Purple hair. I was honestly not expecting this from you, Vegeta. Though I haven't delved you enough to satisfy my curiosity," he said but Vegeta didn't respond, only staring at him with the intensity of a predator ready to strike and kill its prey.
"No more words then? Just scream about your 'pride' like you have something to gain from this? I don't want to have to put myself in a position where I need to kill a fellow Saiyan. I've come to admire this universe and all of you who live in it. I could learn a lot from you, Broly, and Goku, and how motivating your lust for battle is."
Still no words came from Vegeta and Kelerot frowned. He disappeared in front of him and Kelerot gawked, eyes wide and Vegeta was right behind him, fist an inch from Kelerot's head. He then made one quick flick of his fist and Kelerot was knocked forward into the tree, crashing through it to come out on the other side and he flipped around, grabbing the ground to drag and slow himself down before he fell off the other side of the planet and he shook his head, holding the back of it with his hands. Grunting and hissing a bit, Vegeta re-appeared right in front of him and Kelerot's eyes widened again as he blocked a chop coming down with his arms crossed and both of them moved like blurs across the planet.
"I held back against Beerus on purpose, you know! I knew he had no chance when I had that unique ability of mine standing by in case he was going to use the hakai on me and I gambled on seeing whether it worked or not!" Kelerot yelled as the two were fighting in the air and Vegeta blocked a few punches from Kelerot and kicked him down into the lake. Kelerot burst from the water and fired several energy blasts that Vegeta deflected with one hand and he growled as he extended his arm, palm facing up.
"Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta yelled and shot out a powerful purple colored energy sphere at Kelerot, who had no choice but to dodge it and it plowed through the planet completely, the water from the lake draining into the makeshift hole. Kelerot glanced down at it and gulped.
"Had I taken that head on, that would've been a problem," he said and Vegeta grinned. He turned his hand upward and made a "come here" motion with his hand and Kelerot looked at him suspiciously. The sphere from the Big Bang flew back up through the hole and Kelerot reacted quickly, catching it in his hands and Vegeta flipped his hand back around, grinning.
He belted out a yell and a second Big Bang sphere shot out from his hand and Kelerot reacted in panic, holding one sphere with his hand and blocking the second with his other hand. The two pushed against him and he growled, closing his eyes, and gritting his teeth.
Vegeta put the pressure on Kelerot as the two spheres drove themselves further inward, forcing Kelerot to unleash a powerful shout that destroyed them both with his energy and he disappeared, flickering around in several places before he appeared before him, surprising Vegeta with his sudden burst of speed and their fists collided, causing a wave of energy to shoot out and hit the barrier above them, shaking it with intense vibration. It held on as Kelerot pushed Vegeta down as their fists were still collided against each other and he stared at him wide-eyed with fury on his face, Vegeta responding with his other hand and their hands clasped in a test of strength.
"You shouldn't have this much power, I made sure of that when I delved you!" Kelerot said and Vegeta grinned, chuckling a bit.
"Then you really don't understand Saiyans after all," he said and pushed back against him.
"Tell me what this power is!" Kelerot said, noticing that it was actually blocking his attempts to delve him and he looked a bit more flustered.
"Ho? Can't poke around, can you?" Vegeta said with a confident air and he hit Kelerot several times with pinpoint punches to his chest, abdomen, and face, knocking him down to the ground with a double-ax handle. He followed up with several energy blasts he fired consecutively that rocked Kelerot as the landed on the ground and put his hands together, setting himself up for a Galick Gun.
Kelerot looked up and saw that Vegeta was ready to fire and he yelled, powering up, his dark purple aura surrounding him and he conjured up black hole bombs in his hands.
"Your strength is nothing to the power of gravity!" Kelerot cried out and launched the bombs up at Vegeta. He snapped his fingers and they burst open, their gravitational field drawing them closer to become an even bigger cluster of intense gravity and Vegeta fired the beam straight into it. He fed the energy into the vortex and screamed as he put forth another burst of power that destroyed the gravity well and the beam continued onward down to Kelerot.
"What?!" he cried and teleported out of the way, appearing away from the beam's trajectory and he stared at it, flustered. He examined his surroundings for a moment.
"At least I can teleport within this space, but as long as that damn barrier is up, I can't get out of here," he said and glanced down at Whis's body and grinned.
"It's now or never," he said and teleported towards Whis and Vegeta caught him at the last second. He fired a blast at Whis's body and the explosion sent his body flying upward from the energy and he flew to grab him, throwing him far away. Whis passed through the barrier and floated off in the space beyond it and Kelerot leered at Vegeta, grinning back down at him.
"It seems Whis is able to pass through his own barrier, no surprise there," he said and Kelerot growled, but chuckled a bit afterwards.
"You're stuck here too, you know that, right?" Kelerot noted and Vegeta crossed his arms.
"And? If it means killing you to prevent you from escaping, then so be it."
Kelerot couldn't help but laugh. "Kill me?! Kill…me?!"
He clenched his fists and unleashed an explosion of power from his body.
"I AM A GOD NOW, VEGETA! I WILL BE THE SAIYAN THAT STANDS ABOVE ALL SAIYANS!"
He's lost his sense of reason, Vegeta noted in his head and he clenched his fists, preparing himself for Kelerot's next attack and Kelerot's face looked just as unfurled as his personality now. Through his smile, he began shifting his body to a different form and Vegeta gasped when he saw who he was changing into.
Goku.
Saiyans fall…
Jaw and right arm shattered, Goku was left with only his thoughts as he watched this Crystal-like form Freeza had transformed to and he tried for a scowl but it was too painful to even try. Crystal Freeza. It doesn't matter what he calls himself if I don't have something to take him down. C'mon body, why won't you cooperate?
He powered up again and built up energy in his good hand for a Kamehameha blast and Freeza floated in place, not moving.
Kamehameha. That is what you call that attack, correct?
Goku narrowed his eyes as he fought the urge to pass out. The blood loss and the numbness combined with waves of pain shooting through his body made him feel fatigued and Freeza could see it on his face as the energy in his hand grew larger.
By now you should realize that anything you do to me will be ineffective, Goku.
Goku began moving around, fighting through the pain to flicker around Freeza, looking for an opening but Freeza wasn't moving an inch from his position. The sheer look of confidence he wore on his crystal face unnerved him but Goku relented and threw everything into his one-armed Kamehameha and he appeared in front of Freeza, launching it at point-blank range. The beam split in half as it drove itself into Freeza, his crystal body cutting through it like a sharp knife through a sheet of paper. When the beam ceased, Goku forced a smile through his shattered jawline and lowered his hand. He closed his eyes, searching deep inside him, searching for that one spark he needed to tap into Ultra Instinct but it was like seeing a wall appear in front of him. A wall he hadn't seen before and in his subconscious mind, he put a hand on it.
I honestly was not expecting this to happen. A literal wall blocking my path, he thought, laughing to himself. I can't believe the day would actually come when my own body has beaten me.
He opened his eyes and stared at Freeza, who landed on the ground and stalked towards him.
Your face carries the resolution of a fighter giving up against insurmountable odds.
Freeza wasted no time and moved in a blur, appearing before Goku to strike at him with hard blows Goku wasn't fast enough to block and his body took a considerable amount of punishment from Freeza's fists, damaging his shoulder, ribs, and back and Goku staggered a few steps yet was still able to remain standing. He wanted to scream in pain but growled through his jaw, the blood gurgling inside his mouth as it spat out and onto Freeza.
Despite all the pain he was in, Goku managed to laugh a bit through his jaw and winced each time he did it. In his head, he was still staring at the wall.
Everyone, I'm sorry. I honestly was not expecting this to turn out the way it did. If somewhere deep inside I realized I was in over my head coming here, I don't blame it. I guess I can't blame my body either. If by some miracle I make it out of this, I swear I will find a way to defeat you, Freeza.
Goku then did something Freeza was not expecting and powered down to his base form, conserving his stamina. He struggled a bit but was able to reach and grab his broken arm and Freeza shook his head.
So you've chosen to concede after all. Shameful that I have trained for this moment only to realize that it wasn't needed.
He floated up to the air and extended his hand down towards Goku and the terrain he was on.
It would be ironic if you were sent to the same hell I was, enjoying an eternity of cute animals and fairies playing annoying music but I know that would never be.
His hand pulsed and Goku's eyes widened in horror as a massive explosion rocked the entire area he was standing on. Broly and Cooler paused their brawl and the massive Saiyan sensed something had gone horribly wrong where Goku was.
"Ka…kar…rot…" he muttered, breathing heavily and he clenched his fists, belting out a roar of defiance.
"It would appear my brother has done away with that monkey scum. A pity that I was not the one to deliver the killing blow!"
He flew in front of Broly to prevent him from engaging Freeza but Broly continued onward and Cooler hit him several times with punches to his body. Broly absorbed the damage like a sponge and retaliated with heavy hits to Cooler's face and he was starting to seriously feel the effects of the cumulative damage Broly dealt to him and he staggered back a few steps.
"Not by a Saiyan…" he muttered, trying to hold himself up and he built up energy in his hands. He fired them at Broly as he was stomping his way towards him and Cooler flew in to punch him but his strikes were considerably weaker now after the damage had worn his strength down and Broly howled, rocking Cooler with more heavy blows and he grabbed him by the face, lifting him off the ground. He was still breathing heavily and he drove Cooler hard into the ground, shoving his body by his head and he continued pounding with heavy strikes: punches, haymakers, double-ax handles and Cooler was becoming more bloodied and bludgeoned until his face was no longer recognizable and Broly clenched his bloodied fists, roaring in the air. He continued breathing heavily as he stood up and stared off at Freeza and Goku and through his berserker state he was still able to recognize Goku lying face first on the ground.
The explosion tore through Goku in a horrific way, leaving parts of his upper body burnt and charred, his legs broken and mangled from the onslaught of energy. Half of his face was bloodied and almost torn off from the energy and his entire right arm was gone, destroyed at the shoulder. He had been completely decimated by Freeza and by some stretch of miracle, he was still able to will himself to move, looking up with one eye at Freeza, who stared down at him.
"Ka…kar…rot…" Broly growled again with concern in his voice and he stomped towards Freeza. Freeza glanced behind him at Broly and saw the hulking Saiyan launch himself from the ground.
"FREEZA!" Broly screamed and he clenched his fists as he flew in a pure rage, his full-powered form making a bee-line towards Freeza and Goku raised his hand towards Freeza.
No, Broly, don't… Goku cried in his head. He still had some reserve of strength left to move his arm and make himself move on the ground as he tried to approach Freeza but he was entirely focused on Broly now to even care about Goku moving.
Freeza casually raised an arm and aimed his hand outward towards Broly as he charged at him like a bull ready to strike and Broly didn't even care what Freeza looked like, only that there was a target in front of him that he needed to attack and he was going to destroy it no matter what.
When Broly was within striking range, Freeza fired a huge beam of energy from his open hand and it pierced through Broly, stopping the Saiyan mid-flight and making him recoil from the damage and the force of the beam. It all happened in one swift motion as Broly fell to the ground, out of his berserker state with a completely surprised look on his face and he landed awkwardly on his side, his eyes glazed over with his mouth open in shock as Goku stared in horror. His face became a picture of fury as he struggled to his feet and Freeza powered out of his Crystal form and back to his normal form, glancing behind him at Goku. Goku's legs shook as he took one step towards Freeza, who waited with his hands on his hips. Looking down at Broly, then at Goku, he simply turned around and started flying up slowly in the air. Goku could barely make an energy ball in his hand and he fired it at Freeza, but the ball flew awkwardly and missed its mark, flying out of range and falling to a random place on the ground, exploding. He collapsed again on the ground and crawled towards Broly.
Not too far off, out of the range of the destruction he had witnessed, Esca's face was pale, as though all the blood left his face. He willed his legs to move, despite all the damage done to him and he hobbled his way towards Goku and Broly, hoping and praying that Freeza wouldn't spot him. Freeza wasn't paying attention to anyone else but Cooler as he made his way to him. Esca breathed heavily as he hobbled and channeled enough power to allow himself to fly off the ground to reach the Saiyans. When he arrived beside Goku, he looked aghast at Goku's mangled body, nervously putting his hands on him.
"Bu…" was all Goku could get out of his mouth before he passed out and Esca shook his head.
"I don't understand what you mean, Goku. I'm so sorry," he said. He tried to heal his body as much as he could but there was far more damage done to him than he realized. He saw Freeza grab Cooler's arm and lifted him off the ground. As he floated upward, he turned and aimed an energy ball down at the planet's surface, his expression remaining serious and focused.
"Goku, please wake up. I can't heal you fast enough, you need to help me! Please!" he cried and continued healing up Goku's body as much as he could. He knew he couldn't regrow the arm Goku had lost but he was able to fix Goku's jaw for the most part and Goku's eyes fluttered open. Esca restored some strength to his legs and his face but Freeza then fired the large energy ball that plowed through the planet's surface, cracking the ground and pillars of fire and magma erupted from within the planet. Goku could make out what was happening and he struggled to reach into his gi as a bright flash of light enveloped the whole planet.
Freeza held onto Cooler's arm as he left the planet's orbit with him, flying to his brother's ship and the hatch opened on top. As Freeza entered the ship, the backdrop of New Namek cracked and underwent its destruction. Seconds later the planet exploded as the ship left to enter hyperspace. All that was left was debris and planetoid fragments that floated around in the vacuum of space, a few lone shards of what were once the Dragonballs drifting away.
Far away back on Earth, Chichi was wiping a plate dry as her father, the Ox King, watched a program on television. Her hands began to shake and crack the plate in her hand as she felt a sudden wave of panic overcome her.
"Goku?" she muttered and didn't realize tears were streaming down her face. Out of instinct, she felt something horrible had happened to her husband and she felt faint, dropping the plate as she passed out on the kitchen floor.
Cheelai too felt that something had happened and she went pale in the face. She turned and saw Arugula's face with a freaked out expression, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open, wanting to scream and Cheelai sank to her hands and knees.
"No…"
She bundled up her fists as she too began crying.
"NOOOOO!" she shrieked out into the open and Lemo took his toque off, holding it against his chest. He closed his eyes tightly as he found it difficult to witness Cheelai break down like this and he gritted his teeth. Dammit.
Last ditch effort…
Vegeta couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at Kelerot, disguised as Goku and he was smiling back at him, the same friendly smile he had always seen on the Saiyan and he struggled to hold it together.
"Hey Vegeta, what's with the grumpy face?" Kelerot-Goku said and even the mannerisms were exactly like Goku was, which was throwing Vegeta for a loop for a moment.
"You DARE change yourself into Kakarot like this…?" Vegeta stammered, wanting nothing more than to punch him as hard as he could in the face. Kelerot-Goku looked back in confusion.
"I don't know what's got ya so worked up, Vegeta. It's me, Goku," he said, waving at him and chuckling. Vegeta didn't know what to feel more insulted by, the fact that Kelerot had changed into Goku, or that he imitated his mannerisms perfectly. His aura pulsed electrical sparks around him as the ground shook even more and Kelerot-Goku raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, calm down. Let's find a way to get off Beerus's planet and get back to earth, I can't wait to try some of my wife's cooking tonight," Kelerot-Goku said and Vegeta clenched his fists.
"Kakarot's wife has a name. What is it if you're so sure you're him?" he asked, holding his tone, trying to sound each word without shaking in pure rage.
"Huh? Huh, it's been so long since I last saw my wife I can't remember her name anymore! Silly me," he said, laughing and Vegeta pointed a hand at him with three fingers extended outward.
"Perhaps the hole in your chest will refresh your memory, Kakarot," Vegeta sarcastically mentioned Goku's Saiyan name and fired his Atomic flash attack that Kelerot-Goku brought his hands up to block but the force was so great it knocked him off his feet and Vegeta charged forth and brought a powerful fist down on Kelerot's stomach, knocking the wind out of Goku he had shapeshifted into and it forced him back to his original form. Vegeta unloaded with a flurry of rapid fists that connected with Kelerot and he screamed from each hit before he even hit the ground and Vegeta howled in fury as he continued bombarding Kelerot with fists.
"You've insulted our Pride for the LAST TIME, you bastard!" Vegeta screamed as Kelerot glared back at him with an intense look and he retaliated with an energy pulse that he shot outward, pushing Vegeta away. Kelerot continued howling in rage as a sphere of destruction energy grew from around his body, expanding outward as it was eroding the planet and Vegeta flew up to the air and brought his hands outward, charging energy in his open hands.
Kelerot's destruction sphere ate away at the ground around him, erasing it and it was nearing the large tree. Several trees from the forest behind him were caught in the expanding sphere and were erased as well and Vegeta put forth an incredible amount of power behind his hands and he brought them together, his wrists touching each other.
"FINAL FLASH!" Vegeta howled and a huge pillar of energy shot down at the destruction sphere and it pushed it down towards Kelerot, who continued screaming as the sphere was doing all it could to eat away at the pillar of energy but it was overwhelmed and it crashed through, Kelerot watching in horror as he had to defend himself at the last moment before it struck him completely. Vegeta landed on the ground and kept his hands stretched outward, waiting for the smoke and debris to clear up from the explosion of energy and Kelerot emerged, arms crossed over his head. He lowered them and a psychotic look on his face stared back at Vegeta, eye twitching. Vegeta lowered his hands and clenched his fists, staring at him.
Kelerot looked down at his fists and he began to shake. "I. will not. Be denied. My revenge. Never…!" he managed to say and began powering up even more, raising his power to its maximum and the billowing winds that shot out from him blew hard against Vegeta, who gritted his teeth as he raised his arm in front of him.
Kelerot put his hands together and turned one hand downward in the opposite direction and Vegeta narrowed his eyes.
"What is he doing?" he muttered and Kelerot was snarling, teeth clenched together as he moved his hands around to join them again and slide them in opposite directions, mirroring the same technique he had used against Jiren.
"This is the very technique I used to kill Jiren with!" he said and Vegeta's eyes lit up in surprise and Kelerot roared, sweeping his hands outward in one swift motion. A huge distortion swept the whole planet and Vegeta built up energy to defend himself but this strange distortion didn't affect him. When it subsided, he saw what it had done to the planet and gasped.
"What the hell?!"
Kelerot laughed. "Go ahead and try to attack me now!"
Vegeta examined the planet around him. He saw objects floating in mid-air, staying in one place, while others that were floating around suddenly crashed through the ground and his eyes widened.
"What did you do?!"
"I permanently altered the planet's gravity to create random pockets. The whole area is filled with them, making it extremely difficult to navigate now. But I have the advantage of seeing where they are!"
Vegeta scoffed and fired hundreds of energy blasts around him and several of them were caught within the pockets, some going down while others either slowed or stayed in place and he frowned.
"A gravity minefield," he noted, walking around one of the pockets where the energy ball sank down and the gravity field destroyed it, making it invisible to his eye, yet on closer inspection, he could see the distortion hollowing out a portion of the ground where the pocket was. He looked up and frowned.
"As well as in the air. Your aim is to limit my movement so that I'd slip up and fall into one of those pockets of gravity to give you the striking advantage and take me out," he said and Kelerot grinned, staring at him as his eye continued twitching.
"Just like with Jiren. Brilliant that you figured it out so quickly. Your keen sense of battle is wonderful!" Kelerot boasted and Vegeta started smiling, throwing him off.
"Trying to thwart me with gravity techniques when you should've known how often I trained using gravity myself," Vegeta said and Kelerot looked surprised for a moment.
"But do you know how intense the level of gravity is? Huh?! DO YOU?!" Kelerot yelled and Vegeta floated up off the ground.
"I'll take my chances," he said and carefully moved around the ones he could see and he fired several energy blasts at Kelerot, who deflected them away from him and he took off from the ground, swerving around them and Vegeta chuckled, going in for a few punches.
"You have to avoid them yourself, do you?! You wouldn't be able to handle those pockets yourself if you fell in one of them, is that it?!" Vegeta yelled and the two continued blocking each other's blows as Kelerot grew more flustered and he caught Vegeta's fist in his hand.
"It's a small price to pay to see you sent to hell!" Kelerot yelled and aimed a destruction sphere attack at Vegeta and he batted it away, knocking it into a gravity pocket. The energy collided and exploded, surprising Kelerot as the pocket was no longer there afterwards.
"Destruction energy cancels those mines of yours. Guess you didn't factor that in, did you?" Vegeta said and Kelerot's eye twitched even more. He powered through Vegeta's barrage of fists, pushing back against them as he blocked them and he hit him hard in the face with a couple of hooks that forced Vegeta back and Kelerot planted his hand against his face, shoving him into one of the gravity fields, the intense gravity pushing Vegeta down into it and he was on his rear, the field pulling him slowly to the ground as he growled, moving up to get out of it and Kelerot clenched his fists.
"No you don't! I won't let you!" he said and with his hands he channeled energy into the gravity well and intensified the field that trapped Vegeta inside and Vegeta was howling from the pain he experienced as his entire body felt like it was tearing itself apart but he gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes and he brought his arms together slowly. Kelerot yelled as he put more force into it but Vegeta unleashed one final howl and his energy aura exploded outward, blowing Kelerot away into an antigravity pocket and the gravity field he was caught in was destroyed. Breathing heavily, he went on one knee, his arms shaking a bit. Kelerot unleashed a shout himself and neutralized the gravity well he was caught in and put a hand to his head, pulling at his hair and punching himself in the face.
"The aftereffects of your delving have finally caught up to you, have they? You can't control yourself anymore and it's tearing your mind apart!" Vegeta said and Kelerot put his hands through his hair, shaking his head.
"No! I'm in control! I'M IN CONTROL! I'LL SHOW YOU!" he howled and he conjured a large sphere of orange energy like Jiren's and launched it at Vegeta, who dodged out of the way. Parts of it were caught in gravity pockets and it distorted the sphere, causing it to explode.
"It's pointless using massive attacks when they won't be able to reach me. Your own technique will be your undoing, Kelerot," Vegeta said and Kelerot howled in agony.
"I have to kill Toppo. I have to kill Toppo! HE NEEDS TO PAY FOR WHAT HE DID!" Kelerot bellowed and Vegeta moved in high speed bursts to attack Kelerot but his fist was caught, and Kelerot's deranged look pierced right through him.
"I can make things right for everyone, Vegeta. I know I can," he said, his voice shaking in its lunacy. "If you'd just let me delve Whis, I can fix all of this!"
"You won't delve anyone anymore, not while I'm around," Vegeta said and went for another punch with his free hand but Kelerot caught that too and his eyes widened.
"Why won't you let me have this? I've done nothing to you!" Kelerot whined and Vegeta scowled at him.
"You've made a mockery of everything that we Saiyans hold dear. I don't give a damn about your revenge because you continue to dishonor and disgust me by calling yourself a Saiyan. You have no honor, no pride, no sense of self-worth and you threw that all away for your petty obsession to get back at one man."
"Petty obsession? PETTY OBESSION IS IT?!" Kelerot roared. "That one man took everything from me! You'll never understand what it means to live in hell your whole life, knowing you've done nothing wrong when everyone around you sees you as guilty regardless! The humiliation I have to endure!"
"You ignorant bastard…" Vegeta scowled, his tone darkening. "You're not the only one who's had a hell given to him by a monster. I've endured years under the rule of a tyrant, forced to do his bidding. That tyrant destroyed my homeworld and I swore I'd get back at him, much like you have. But I grew to accept that there were things beyond my control. I'd rather focus on what I could do as a warrior, as a Saiyan. I soon discovered there were things far more important than revenge. At least that way I could keep my pride."
His gaze intensified and Kelerot's eye twitched even more. "But your personal hell means nothing to me! At least have the dignity to die with some degree of pride, if you've ever had any to begin with!" Vegeta said and threw his arms out, freeing himself from Kelerot's grasp and he brought his hands together to fire another huge blast into Kelerot, blowing him back. Kelerot held his hands up to catch the beam before it could push him back completely and his face contorted in pure malice as he screamed and erased it with destruction energy. Kelerot soared down at blazing fast speed, using Dyspo's hyper speed mode to catch Vegeta off-guard and he rocked him hard in the gut with a punch. Vegeta gasped in shock and he punched Kelerot in retaliation squarely in the face. Kelerot pushed back against Vegeta's fist with his face and his eyes were twitching as he used Jiren's eye blast to blow Vegeta back hard, sending him flying towards an intense gravity pocket floating in mid-air and Vegeta stopped himself before he landed in the pocket, wiping his face with the back of his hand. He felt his energy fluctuate a bit and started to wonder if this form was starting to give out on him and he didn't realize how heavy his breathing was until he felt his chest expand and contract.
"Y-you're n-nearing your l-limit, Saiyan Prince," Kelerot said, his head jerking in spasms and Vegeta frowned, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth. He stared at Kelerot for a moment, glancing around him. Then a smile appeared on his face as he closed his eyes and Kelerot's head twitched again, putting a hand to it to try and control it and his breathing was intermixed with fits of laughter, his eyes twitching even more.
"You…you can't…you can't hold onto your p-power…heh. Hehehe," Kelerot stammered, and Vegeta opened his eyes, raising his hand with its palm facing upward.
Bringing his hand in towards him, he said: "Come."
Kelerot's eyes widened despite the twitching and he powered up with his intense dark purple aura and he flew in for an attack at Vegeta, who made a burst of speed to disappear and reappear behind him. He grabbed and held him in place with a full-nelson. Kelerot cried out as he tried to struggle free but was held tightly by Vegeta.
"LET GO OF ME!" he yelled and Vegeta grinned.
"Delve this, if you still can, and see what fate awaits you now," Vegeta whispered in his ear and Kelerot grunted. He grabbed Vegeta's arms, trying to pull them off, but he decided he'd try and delve into Vegeta again, actually reaching deep inside his energy with success. He stopped when he stumbled upon a clear memory Vegeta was showing him. It was a memory from years ago as Vegeta stood in front of the creature that healed him days ago, one arm limp and the other clenched into a fist. A strange "M" was drawn on Vegeta's forehead and he had a peaceful smile on his face. He watched the memory continue to play out as Vegeta let out a mighty howl and his energy exploded in a huge dome of energy, consuming all around him and enveloping the creature along with it and Kelerot knew what this attack was.
"No! No you can't! You mustn't! You'll die too if you use that!" he screamed and Vegeta laughed in his ear.
"A small price to pay if it means killing you, Saiyan," Vegeta said, mocking him with how he said the word and he built up energy around him, channeling his power to its peak. Kelerot struggled to free himself and cried out in panic and hysterics as he created a strong gravity field that surrounded Vegeta. He fired black hole bombs from his hand and fired some below him, snapping his fingers to draw them all together and opening themselves up into a large black hole that was pulling Vegeta down but his power was at a more intense level of energy that allowed him the strength to force himself to stay in place. Vegeta grunted and cried out in pain as the gravity well was pulling everything around it to its vortex in the middle. The trees from the forest uprooted and swirled inside, collapsing into nothing as it entered the event horizon and Vegeta growled in fury as he kept himself in place, holding Kelerot, who was struggling desperately to free himself.
"Please! You don't have to do this! I'm begging you, LET ME GO AND I'LL FIX EVERYTHING!"
"SHUT UP!" Vegeta said and he unleashed a powerful roar as his energy expanded and started consuming everything, Kelerot's face a mix of horror and desperation as his body and his screeching were swallowed by the light of Vegeta's final explosion.
The powerful energy field engulfed the whole planet, incinerating and destroying everything around it. The random pockets of gravity that Kelerot created were no longer there as they too were destroyed in the wake of the blast. The barrier Whis had erected was shattered completely as the intense white light expanded as large as a star, resembling a supernova and the energy output rocked the cosmos throughout the universe.
What needed to be addressed…
When all the angels, Destroyers, and Kais gathered in the outer veranda of the Omni King's palace, the Grand Minister stood before them as they were all kneeling on one knee with their fist touching the ground. He nodded and they all rose back to their feet.
"Marcarita, Barbon, and Cae of the eleventh universe. Step forward if you would," he announced and the trio walked in front of everyone. All eyes were on them, silently watching as Marcarita bowed in front of him.
"Father."
"I understand why you all have chosen to meet me here at this time unannounced. I have been aware of the events that have transpired moments earlier in the seventh universe, due to the actions of the mortal from the eleventh universe," he stated and Marcarita hung her head low, averting her eyes and the Grand Minister walked over to her.
"You need not feel shame, daughter. Please, look at me," he said with a neutral gaze that still had a small grin on it and Marcarita lifted her head. Barbon and Cae both bowed deeply at him.
"If blame is to be assigned, let it be upon us, your excellency," Cae said, lowering his gaze so that it stared directly at the tiles on the floor and the Grand Minster shook his head.
"What has been done has been deemed so according to the Network of Fates that reside in the grand archive of the first universe. It has been brought to my attention some time ago that this mortal is tied significantly to the Network. Awamo?"
The angel of the first universe stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Your excellency, brothers and sisters and honorable gods of the multiverse. It has been foretold in the Network that Lord Beerus's time was coming to an end and by extension the Supreme Kai of the seventh universe through their lifelink. Since Whis no longer has a Destroyer to serve as attendant, he has been 'deactivated' until another Destroyer has been chosen to replace him. According to the laws we have established since the covenant of angels and gods were birthed, the one who has carried out the death of the Destroyer must then therefore replace him. If not, then a successor of the angel's and the Destroyer's choosing will ascend to take his rightful place. As we speak, those very two mortals are engaged in a life and death struggle on Lord Beerus's planet."
Murmurs among the other gods and angels were now being heard and the Grand Minister raised his hand to quiet them down.
"I am also considering the Omni Kings' opinion on this matter and I ask that they weighed in their decision. If this means the destruction of the seventh universe, then so be it. We will carry onward with only eleven universes remaining and conduct our duties as usual."
Awamo looked uneasy as he heard that, since the calculations that were made in the Network of Fates considered the destruction of the seventh universe, and even that wasn't going to prevent what was bound to happen if the current option was not fulfilled. Awamo felt hesitant in bringing this up and bit his tongue as the Omni Kings and their guards floated in from their chamber.
"Your eminences, it is an honor to grace your presence," the Grand Minister said and everyone knelt before the two Zenos.
"Huh? Why is everyone gathered here?" asked Present Zeno as he looked up at the angels and the gods and Grand Minister bowed at the two, hand to his chest.
"It has come to our attention your excellencies that there is a mortal who has been using one of the Forsaken techniques and is currently engaged in battle with the mortal named Vegeta from the seventh universe."
"Huh? Which one?" said Future Zeno.
"Kinetic Delving, your highness," the Grand Minister replied and the Zenos looked at each other.
"Is it bad, what he's doing?" said one of them.
"Has he been destroying planets?" asked the other.
"So far there has been minimal damage to the eleventh universe and the seventh has remained intact as usual. However, through use of his kinetic delving, he has managed to destroy Lord Beerus and the Supreme Kai and has acquired the abilities of Lord Barbon and Supreme Kai Cae."
"Oh, I see." Said Present Zeno.
"Then we'll need a new Destroyer then, won't we?" Future Zeno noted.
"It has been discussed, of course," the Grand Minister alluded and the Zenos could see a distressed look on Awamo's face and they tilted their heads out of curiosity.
"Is he okay?" Present Zeno said as he pointed him out to the Grand Minister.
"Hmm, it looks like something is bothering him," said the future Zeno and the Grand Minister glanced at Awamo, who swallowed as he was still on one knee, glancing up at the Zenos occasionally.
"Speak, child. What is troubling you so?" he asked Awamo and he nodded, allowing him to stand up.
"I must ask if you are considering destroying the seventh universe, your excellencies," Awamo asked and the Zeno's heads tilted the other direction.
"Hmm. Do you want us to destroy the seventh universe?" said Present Zeno.
"Isn't that the universe where Goku lives?" asked Future Zeno and The Grand Minister nodded.
"Of course, your excellencies. It has been a while since you've last seen him."
"Yeah, he was really fun."
"He fought that great battle in the Tournament, didn't he?"
"Yeah! It was so much fun!"
"I know! I'd love to see it again!"
The two Zenos grabbed their hands and twirled around each other, giggling happily and Awamo felt like this meant they weren't going to destroy the seventh universe after all and he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but the weight of this development from the Network of Fates continued to press down on him and he put his fist down on the ground, the other draped across his leg.
"I take this as your willingness to keep the seventh universe intact, then?" Awamo asked carefully and the Zenos put a finger to their chins, then nodded.
"Yeah, it can stay, I don't mind. I'd love to see fun Goku again."
"Yeah, let's see fun Goku again!"
"Of course, your excellencies. On the matter of the mortal with the forsaken technique, what is it you wish to do with him?" the Grand Minister addressed, drawing their attention back to the matter at hand and they paused, looking at each other, and then back at him.
"He doesn't sound scary though." Said Present Zeno. "He doesn't sound like he's a threat." Added Future Zeno and Awamo nodded.
"Will his fate be left for a future date, then?" Awamo asked and the Zenos glanced at each other again.
"Hmm. Will he replace Beerus as the new Destroyer?" asked Future Zeno.
"If you wish it, we can make it so," the Grand Minister said, bowing at them.
"Can his Kinetic Delving be removed?" asked Present Zeno and the Grand Minister grinned.
"If you wish it, we can capture him and extract the forsaken technique from him," he said and the Zenos both nodded in agreement.
"That's okay."
"Will you bring fun Goku here?" Future Zeno asked and the Grand Minister bowed his head again.
"Of course. We will make the proper arrangements per your request," he said and the Zenos both smiled and waved at everyone before they floated back into their chamber with their guards and after they left, the tension lifted from the area as everyone stood back up.
"Then it has been decided in accordance with the Omni Kings. We will bring Kelerot here and arrange to extract and delete all knowledge of Kinetic Delving in his mind and have him replace Lord Beerus as Destroyer of the seventh universe. We will also look to the sacred Kaishin tree to select a new Supreme Kai to link with him as soon as possible. Dismissed."
Awamo wanted to speak but when the Grand Minister dismissed everyone, he turned and floated back into the Omni Kings' chamber and he sighed, hanging his head. Anat and Iwen walked up to him.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. It is what it is," Iwen said and Awamo bowed at him.
"Lord Iwen, I normally do not freeze up like this in front of father but the predicament unveiled by the Network of Fates has caused me great distress."
He glanced over at the group from the tenth universe and eyed Cus, their angel attendant and he whispered to the gods: "It's very imperative that Cus is not made aware of our discovery. Perhaps not bringing this to father's attention was for the best after all."
Iwen and Anat both immediately turned their gaze at Cus, who spotted them and waved at them with a smile on her face, her cute petite frame looking as joyous as always and they both bowed their heads at her. She looked the youngest but she was the first of the Grand Minister's children to exist and she commanded a lot of respect, even though the universe she attended had a less than favorable mortal rating according to the Omni Kings.
The respective trios from each universe shared their brief pleasantries one last time before they all teleported back to their respective universes and the trio from the first universe was the last to leave. Awamo glanced one last time at the chamber doors to the Omni Kings' room and frowned before Anat teleported them back.
Ascension…
In a deep pocket of the seventh universe, a grand explosion had taken place. A flash of light that shone as brightly as a star illuminated the cosmos for a brief moment before it subsided. Debris from a destroyed planet floated aimlessly across space, shards of trees and a purple pyramid floated around and bumped into each other. Chunks of a larger tree and a building bumped off each other as well.
There was an electrical storm that surged around the area, remnants of the explosion and among the debris were three bodies. One of them was Vegeta, the Saiyan prince. He had jet black hair and a torn up blue spandex uniform with cracked armor plating that had been broken up from the intense battle that took place earlier, half of it completely gone. His gloves were ripped apart, revealing the skin underneath and the legs and feet had been exposed completely. The body's skin looked rough and nearly stonelike but still had the semblance of flesh.
The second body was Whis, a blue skinned and slender angel with white hair that flared up naturally. His robes were still pristine, clean, and organized with his staff drifting apart from his body. He floated face down and the blue halo that was around his neck was no longer there.
The third, Kelerot from the eleventh universe, had simian-like features, his Kachitite robes torn up and ripped from battle damage. His body was considerably damaged as well, most of his body scorched and cut everywhere. His body drifted face-up towards Whis, their bodies approaching each other until they bumped together. Kelerot's hand grazed across Whis's body and a reaction took place. His body jerked once, then a couple more times until his eyes and mouth burst open with lights shooting outward from inside. A white glow surrounded his body and it began enveloping him completely, changing him. His once dark brown fur that had changed to a darker color with purple tips was shifting colors, the tone fading into a lighter color. It shifted to the same white color as Whis's hair and the body flashed once before it vanished completely out of sight, leaving Whis and Vegeta drifting among the debris.
End of Part 1