"On my mark!" Gohan cheered, floating high in the sky with an orb of pulsing blue ki cupped at his side. He faced down the never-ending flow of demons that were pouring in through the rift, the creatures cackling with delight as they escaped their home world. "1! 2! 3! FIRE!"
At Gohan's command, the hero fired off the expansive Kamehameha wave. Alongside his blast, Cell, Frieza, and Piccolo released their own massive waves. The blasts merged as one titanic wave and careened in on the escaping demons, forming a barrier against the monsters and forced them back.
"C'mon guys! Push…them…back!" Gohan declared as he forced more energy through his own blast.
The others followed suit and pushed harder against the onslaught of demons. The hoard of monsters squealed out in pain and anger as they were forcibly shoved back through the rift and the heroes' combined power began to pour into the demon world.
"Now it's our turn!" Jiran cheered as her, old kai, and Kibito Kai floated out from around the heroes.
The three kais floated higher up to the rift. Each of them held out their hands and allowed a mystic blue light to form. "All together now…" old kai spoke before he and his comrades shot their magical energy around the seams of the rift.
The kais had to struggle against the rift and the collective energies of Piccolo, Cell, Frieza, and Gohan's colossal wave. Still, with their magic, they managed to make the rift begin to fold in on itself, the hole growing smaller and smaller until it sealed back up once more. The others were quick to cut off their blast wave and looked to each other in triumph that the demon portal had been closed.
Kibito Kai beamed brightly upon his comrades before he turned his gaze upon the city and caught sight of the innumerable amount of demons that were running amuck. "I suppose we should focus in on the demons that have already pollu…" But the kai's words were cut off as a cracking sound dawned upon all of the heroes.
Cautiously, Kibito Kai looked back to the sealed rift and gawked as he watched a crevice begin to form in the sky. "No way…" he awed and was suddenly thrown back as the rift between dimensions broke out once more with an invisible wave of energy blowing against them all.
The demons didn't waste a second rushing back into Earth's skies, each of them cackling with glee as they rained down on the kais and the heroes. With shrieks and grunts of anger, they swatted and kicked at the onslaught of demons, but were eventually forced out of the sky at the sheer number of the monsters.
Piccolo growled with frustration as he landed back on the surface and looked back up at the newly formed rift. A few of the demons that passed over head didn't mind offering the middle finger down at the Super Namek as they continued on, snickering as they did so. "Those little pests are starting to tick me off," he grouched.
"What happened, kai?" Frieza snapped as he stomped over to Kibito Kai. "Why did the rift reopen?"
Kibito Kai could only shake his head in confusion before he looked to Old Kai and Jiran for help. Not even they, the oldest of the kais had any input. "The demon princess shouldn't have even had the power to create that rift in the first place," old kai offered to the former tyrant. "I'm afraid we're at a loss as to how it can be closed."
Frieza didn't look exactly happy with the answer, but Cell cut in before the Frost Demon could speak. "Probably our best bet is hunt down Towa and Mira. She created the portal, so her defeat should close it."
"You have a point," Frieza replied before casting his glance into the city, where they could already hear the carnage those monsters was creating. "And what of the demons?"
"We can take care of them," Gohan declared and looked to Piccolo, who nodded in the affirmative. "There are a lot of them, but it's nothing that we can't handle."
The heroes looked set to fly out on their respective missions, but were halted in place as old kai cleared his throat. "That's all well and good, gentlemen, but need I remind you that we have two GODS running rampant on Planet Earth as we speak," the sagely kai said. "What do you propose we do for Lord Beerus and Demigra?"
"HEYYYYY!" Goku's voice declared and rained down on the others, catching everyone's attentions.
All eyes turned to the sky as the hero waved down at them with a cheery smile. Goku dropped out of the sky and landed softly onto the cement as the others rushed over towards him. Right behind the Saiyan hero was Vegeta and Beerus, the latter of which floated past the crowd and dropped down by Whis.
"Still stuffing your face, I see," the god spoke as Whis looked up from his bowl of ramen.
Whis carefully blotted his lips with his napkin before addressing Beerus. "I might as well, seeing as how you'll be destroying the planet soon."
"Oh, please! We'll take a to-go plate!" he snapped back.
Meanwhile, Goku walked past his family and friends and over to the kais, Cell, and Frieza.
"About time you showed up, Goku," Cell spoke as the Saiyan stepped into the little group.
Goku offered a sheepish smile. "Yeah, sorry about that, but you all seemed to be doing so well at first."
"What fight were you watching?" Piccolo grouched and folded his arms.
"I take it Vegeta lost," Frieza spoke up before Goku could address Piccolo's comment.
The Saiyan hero became serious for the moment and nodded his head solemnly. "Vegeta did about as well against Lord Beerus as we all did. He's just way too strong. I don't even think fusion could get us out of this one."
"Wait; Dad, you fought Beerus, too!" Gohan said.
Goku nodded once more. "Back in Otherworld on King Kai's planet. I couldn't even lay a finger on him." If the others weren't concerned before, they certainly were now. Goku pressed on and turned to old kai then, "Lord Beerus is after someone. That's why he came looking for me and then Vegeta. He's looking for a Super Saiyan God. Do you know anything about that Old Kai?"
"Super Saiyan God?" Old kai parroted and tapped his chin lightly. "That title sounds vaguely familiar to me...could it? No." He paused and cast his gaze to the side as if hoping to see his memory. "I feel like I should know this. I wonder if this one has the tail. If so, there's no way we have time to pull it out."
"Old kai!" Goku squawked in desperation.
The sagely kai could only furrow his brow in frustration. "Look! You're asking a lot of an old man, Goku! You Saiyans and your transformations go back centuries!" When Goku merely pouted in defeat, Old kai scoffed. "Besides only one form comes to my mind at the moment and it is certainly no god form. I'm afraid I can't recall this Super Saiyan God right off hand."
"W-what?" Goku said, face dropping severely and comically. "But you have to know what it is, Old Kai! I kind of bet the fate of Earth on it!"
"You what?!" Piccolo and Gohan yelled out, making Goku shrink back modestly.
"Um…I might've made a deal with Lord Beerus that if I weren't able to find the Super Saiyan God, that he could blow up the planet without interruption," Goku quietly muttered, making Gohan and Piccolo freeze still as stone at the realization of what was soon to happen. "Hey! He was going to do it either way! It was my best shot at stopping him," Goku defended, weakly.
"I know about the Super Saiyan God," Cell announced as all eyes suddenly whipped over to the perfect android.
"And how in the world do you know about this?" Frieza asked in shock.
Cell offered an amused smirk. "If you bothered to do your reading, Frieza, you would too. I found it in the very volume of literature that you and old kai were at odds about earlier today." He held back the urge to laugh as old kai none-too-subtly cleared his throat, making the former tyrant go red with a moment of embarrassment. Frieza turned his head aside, muttering something about show-offs while Cell turned back to Goku, who looked on the edge of his seat to hear this information. "Long ago a clan of evil Saiyans ruled Planet Vegeta with an iron fist. The only hope of defeating this ruthless bunch was a hero of massive power. From whence this hero came is unclear, but a man proclaiming to be a Super Saiyan God appeared on the planet and begun a fierce battle with the evil clan. However, due to outstanding numbers against him and the limits of time on his power, he was defeated and the clan reigned supreme for many generations."
Cell looked to Vegeta then. "These were your ancestors, Vegeta," he said, to which the Saiyan Prince scoffed.
"But if he was defeated, how do we get Lord Beerus to fight him?" Goku questioned urgently.
"According to Namekian lore, the man had received his god-like power through a ritual. It's been said that one Saiyan can harness the powers of five other Saiyans through this ritual and become the Super Saiyan God that you need to defeat Beerus," Cell explained. "You need five other Saiyans to offer you their power."
"Five?" Gohan said and paused to do a brief calculation. As it stood, there was Vegeta, himself, Trunks, and Goten. That was only four and the fact that three of which were half-Saiyan was troubling enough. "But there are only four of us. If dad is the one to receive the power, we need another Saiyan."
A moment of pause passed within the group as they contemplated what they could do to solve this problem. "What about you, Cell?" Piccolo had asked. "Back during the Majin Buu debacle, there had been enough Namekian genes within your junior that we were able to sync into one being. Maybe there's enough Saiyan within you to constitute that fifth person."
"Yeah, Cell!" Gohan happily cheered. "I mean, if me, Goten, and Trunks can work for the ritual, then you should be able to as well."
"I suppose you are correct," Cell offered, sounding very unsure about the agreement and looking even more disinterested. "My only complaint in playing a role is that the ritual is sure to leave the sacrifices weak. We still have two demons to deal with and Demigra. There's only so much time that Goku will have to fight and there's no way that he'll be able to take on all of those threats at once."
Gohan's smile was wiped away in an instant. "Y-you have a point. If that's the case, Vegeta, the kids and I won't be of any use either. That's going to leave way too much on everyone else's shoulders."
Frieza scoffed angrily. "You two speak as if I and the Namek can't take down whatever threats lie ahead. I think that I can speak quite confidently when I say that Piccolo and I will have more than what it takes to vanquish Towa and Mira. As for Demigra, if this Super Saiyan God is as powerful as it seems to be, then it shouldn't take Goku long to put Beerus in his place and then we can all converge upon that smug, worthless so-called god, Demigra! Are you with me, Piccolo?"
"Definitely!" the Namek offered without hesitation.
Cell looked to Frieza and felt the seriousness within the former tyrant. With a smile, he nodded his head, "I suppose we'll just have to try it then."
"Hey! Wait!" Videl cheered as she ran into the group and paused, feeling out of breath from the minor activity. They all looked to the girl with questioning looks while Gohan stepped closer to check on her. "I'm fine, Gohan," she said readily and straightened back up with a pleasant smile. "I'm sorry to have been eavesdropping on you guys, but I think I may have a solution to keep Cell on the playing field."
"What is it, Videl?" Gohan asked.
She gave him a big smile and said, "Well, I wanted to wait for a much better moment to tell you this, Gohan, but…well, I'm pregnant." Gohan's jaw unhinged and hit the ground while the others stared in bewilderment. While her husband tried to collect his thoughts, Videl turned to the group and said, "It's obvious that I'm carrying another one of you Saiyans inside me, but I just don't know if it'll be enough for the ritual. Still, from a crime-fighting background, I know that we should have all of our heavy-hitters in play while we can and Cell is as heavy-hitting as they come."
Cell offered a pleased smile while Goku said, "Wow! That's incredible, Videl!" He smiled brightly to his daughter in law before turning to Cell. "So, do you think it will work?"
"There's only one way to find out," Cell replied.
Everyone now found themselves near the pool area with Beerus and Whis reclined in beach chairs, the latter happily scooping away at a bowl of ice cream. Beerus's eyes remained trained on the group standing far away from him. The Z fighters and kais surrounded the Saiyan group and Videl, all eyes focused on what was about to happen.
"This formation should work perfectly," Cell said as he positioned Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, Gohan, and Videl in a small circle around Goku. "All of you gather each other's hands and try to focus your energy."
Goku smiled pleasantly as he looked around the five that surrounded them. Over the shoulder of Gohan, he noted the intensity with which Beerus studied them and Goku knew that this was there last shot at stopping the god. "This will work, Kakarot," Vegeta suddenly said, snatching Goku's attention from Beerus. As if he'd been reading Goku's mind in that moment, Vegeta offered a confident smirk as he said, "And you will finish this!"
"Let's be quick about this," Old kai announced as he cast a furtive glance to the city in the distance and the swarm of demons that seemed to work as a haze over the skyline. "It's about time that we all strike back!"
"Right!" they collectively cheered and grasped hands around the Saiyan hero.
A few seconds of silence passed within the area, some of the non-combatant Z fighters looking around in concern, but their worries didn't last long. Suddenly, a translucent aura coiled around Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, Gohan, and Videl, the girl's stomach beginning to glow from the developing baby inside. Eyes grew wide with wonder as the aura surrounding the group intensified and then converged in on Goku. The energy that poured into the hero carefully lifted him into the air. His eyes remained closed as he let the power of his comrades increase his own. Once all of the energy from the five had been transferred, they all collapsed onto the ground, eyes closed from the exertion of the transfer. Meanwhile, floating in the air, the translucent aura that had surrounded the hero first surged into a golden hue as it seemed to circle around him in a shield. Goku opened his eyes for a brief moment, the unmistakable emerald color of his eyes showing to the crowd, but then – like the flip of a switch – the golden aura around Goku flared out in a bright shade of red, his eye color instantly morphing to match the red of his energy. His hair changed to a lint tint of red and his body seemed to shift into a slightly leaner appearance. The aura surrounding the hero then retracted around Goku until it was like flames lifting right off of his skin.
Everyone stood around in awe of the transformation that Goku had undergone. Even the hero, himself, seemed shocked at his new form, taking a quick moment to look over his new body. Then, as if suddenly remembering what he'd gone through the ritual for, Goku looked down to the God of Destruction, who was already standing on his feet with an eager grin on his face.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds of intense silence and then, all of a sudden, they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hardly half a second later, an intense crash slammed down on top of the crew and all eyes went high into the sky to see Goku and Beerus clashed, fist to fist, in mid-air. The shockwave behind the two gods' attacks knocked a hole into the ozone, clearing a view right into space. Just as the hole they'd inadvertently created nearly reformed, both gods zipped off into the air, crashing about clashes that continued to rip into space as they rushed off into the distance to continue their fight.
"They're so…fast!" Kibito Kai awed.
"Well they are gods," Old kai replied as he began walking over to the fivesome still lying on the ground. "But there's no time for dawdling! Come and heal these five so that they can fight once more. We'll need all the help that we can get." The elder's words worked like a whiplash to Shin and the younger kai was quick to rush in behind his ancestor.
Cell and Frieza looked down to the kai as he casted a wide shower of blue, healing energy over the group to bring them back to consciousness, and as they did so, Piccolo crept up to their side. "Goku's handling Beerus now. How should we move forward?" the Namekian asked.
Before the duo could respond, 18 gasped out, "No way!"
Everyone's eyes cut over to the blonde bombshell and noted the frighteningly way that she stepped back as her eyes were drawn to the sky. Krillin stepped closer to his wife to assess her troubles, but then she pointed up to what concerned her.
"What the-what is he doing here?!" Yamcha exclaimed as he looked to sky then. Everyone followed suit and gasped at what, or rather who, they found looking down on them.
Android 17 teetered his head as he looked down on the scene, his eyes mostly focused in on 18 below. "Sis? What are you doing down there?" he asked in confusion. His eyes then casually scanned over the group as he analyzed them all, and then he smirked. "Oh, hey guys! Long time no see," he said entirely too casually.
"17!" a woman's voice called out and 17 looked up to see his sister in the distance waving him on. "C'mon! I found something cool in the city!" she yelled out.
17 waved to the girl in confirmation and then looked back to the group. "We'll be back soon…real soon," he said with a sly wink and then flew off to catch up with his sister.
"What the heck is going on? Why is Android 17 here…and with another 18?!" Krillin exclaimed in shock as he watched the devious duo fly out into the city.
"They're from an alternate timeline," Jiran announced, stepping forward to claim the attentions of the group. "Those two belong to a timeline in which Trunks was never able to defeat them and I'm sure that they aren't all that Demigra has pulled into this timeline. He is sure to have put together a formidable army and it'll take all of us to bring him down."
"And down he will go!" Vegeta demanded, calling all attention to the Saiyan Prince, who stood proud with Gohan, Goten, and Trunks standing at his side. He looked over his shoulder at his comrades and offered a brief nod of his head before he shot into the air with Goten and Trunks behind him.
Gohan took a brief moment to usher Videl back over to the group, reassuring her that he'd be safe, before he shot into the air behind the others. Piccolo looked to Cell and Frieza. "We'll take care of the mess in the city and whatever else Demigra has brought out. You two should back Goku up. I get the feeling this Demon God doesn't play fair and Goku may need your assistance."
"Of course," Frieza nodded and watched as the Namekian shot off in pursuit of the others. He then turned to Cell and asked, "Ready for a bit of mayhem?" The smirk that Cell offered was all the reply Frieza needed.
Just as the duo began to lift off into the sky, Kibito kai called out to them. "Be mindful of the Demon Princess! She is sure to attack you to enact her vengeance!"
Cell scoffed. "We're counting on it!" he called out before he and Frieza zipped off into the air, following the resounding clashes of Beerus and Goku in the distance.
The three kais remained standing there a moment longer, watching as the Earth's protectors rushed out for one more great battle. "We should help them," old kai spoke sagely. "Demigra is the problem of the Supreme Kais. Our numbers may be few, but we can still assist in this fight for the entire universe and time itself."
Jiran cleared her throat and smirked deviously. "I'm already one step ahead of you, old man," she responded before yelling out, "TOKI!" On cue, the peculiar bird that had crash landed on the Planet of the Kais with Jiran materialized out of thin air, flying overhead, calling out "TOKI!" as it flew.
Everyone now looked to the bird in the sky while Jiran smiled proudly. "Alright, Toki! Let's show these guys what happens when you mess with time!" The bird speared up into the sky then, its wings flapping wildly and surging out air around it with every movement. With one final, proud declaration from the bird, a rift was split into the sky, this one opening up to the headquarters of the Time Patrol. Hardly a second passed by before dozens of patrollers rushed through the opening.
Jiran rushed into the air then, briefly meeting up with Head Time Patroller, Trunks, before she waved her soldiers on. With Kibito Kai and Old Kai right on her tail, she flew out with her squad, yelling out, "Let's go, Time Patrollers! Take those demons out!"
(PerfectCarnage: I absolutely loved the excerpt you made in your review. So much so that I just had to include it in the chapter. Thanks!)
Next Update: Tuesday 2/23
Also, I forgot to mention this with the update last week, but for those that follow Frozen Heart, you're already in the know. Fan and friend, ConnorRambles has recently posted a Cooler-centric fanfic that is incredibly awesome and is sure to become awesomer with each update and I would like my readers to check out his story. Leave a review and tell him Cosmic sent you. You won't regret it!