Beerus is truly excited.
It had been decades since he was last awake. Apart from a scant few memorable encounters, nothing really got his blood pumping. But after being told Freeza bit the dust and that a Saiyan was responsible, his premonition for a true rival was about to truly come to bear.
A Super Saiyan God!
This Son Goku proved to be quite an entertaining sport. Not only did the old Kaioshin's blessing grant him all of his potential to use freely, his transformation pushed him even higher to the point he felt a small twinge of pain. And yet, he had a feeling he wasn't the stronger Saiyan he was looking for.
As a canvas of white bled past the normal blackness of space, with stars streaking by as a myriad of colors, he closed his eyes. He could practically picture his opponent. A bluish flame surrounding a mane erect on his head, pupiless eyes glaring back and an assured presence surrounding his very being. He felt chills, and despite him being comfortably protected by the unforgiving depths of space, the goosebumps he felt imagining his potential rival got him even more antsy.
"Whis, how much farther until this Erth?" He finally asked, his voice cutting the thrumming whir of their faster-than-light travel.
"Not much farther, Lord Beerus," His faithful attendant and martial arts master replied in his usual airy tone of whimsy. "I calculate about another 62 tacks, give or take."
"If you weren't the fastest in this Universe I'd say you were purposefully stalling," Beerus grumbled.
"Perhaps if Lord Beerus bothered to master the Instantaneous Movement technique, you wouldn't need me to ferry you about?" Whis replied with an over the shoulder smirk, much to his student's dismay.
"I am not a sissy Kaio! I would have learned that move long ago if it meant not having to hear your sass, Whis!"
"Still doesn't change the fact you need me like a patrolman needs a spaceship."
Grunting, Beerus looked away. While the Angel was good company, it was hard to deal with his condescending attitude. If the pecking order wasn't set in proverbial stone, he would have smacked the purple lipped man for the gall of his words sent his way!
"Speaking of which, I do have to ask," Whis began to say, now looking ahead as he spoke. "How do you intend to find this Super Saiyan God?"
"Quite simply, actually," Beerus grinned to himself. "I'll ask if any of these Saiyans know about him. And if they can't amuse me in failing that, well...I'll have to make him come out of hiding."
"I see," Whis sighed. "Just don't come crying to me if this premonition turns out to be like the intergalactic pop star you predicted coming by your star system like last time…"
"DO YOU WANT ME TO DESTROY YOU, WHIS?!"
Whis just laughed playfully, drowning out the destroyer's tantrum as they continued to hurdle across the cosmos towards their destination.
Dragon Ball Zenkai:
The Power of Two
Chapter 15 - The Power of God
Vegehan could scarcely believe it.
He was still digesting the fact his awry brother - Vegeta's no less - had survived after all this time. His arrival here stirred a sense of familial ties he hadn't felt in awhile. Apart from his mutual connections with the likes of Bulma and Chi-Chi, along with Goku and the two boys, Videl was the closest thing he had to an equal of attachment.
And just as he saw him eat voraciously a pile of food from the buffet line for Bulma's birthday party, he felt it. Goku's ki. Tearing his eyes away from everyone else and looking skyward, it felt distant yet close at the same time. It was strong, perhaps almost as strong as Buu was when he fought him years ago.
Then, it exploded. An enormous surge that caused the hairs on his neck to stand on end. Seconds afterwards, it suddenly deflated and fizzled out. This meant either a powering up happened for no reason or...a battle had been fought.
But against who? He didn't feel another ki, he knew he would have if that was the case. What was it that the Saiyan battled against? Did he win or lose?
"What the Hell is going on?!" He harshly muttered under his breath.
"Oh, so you noticed," A familiar voice telepathically spoke in his head.
"Kaio? What's the meaning of this?" He telepathically responded with a grimace on his face.
"Want the long version or the short of it?"
"Don't play coy with me Kaio, or so help me I will fly to your planet and blow it up a second time!"
"Well someone is cranky," Kaio huffed. "I'm sure you haven't heard but Beerus is awake and-"
"Hold on...the Hakaishin, Beerus, is awake?!" Vegehan replied with a visible expression of panic emanating outward through his thoughts.
"Yes, and he's made his laps around the cosmos for quite some time. He only recently stopped by The Realm of Kaio and Goku picked a fight with him; he was down after three blows."
His stomach dropped.
Immediately the Potara Warrior realized the gravity of the situation. Goku naturally challenged the destroyer to one on one combat. He had known of the feline creature since childhood, as he made a memorable trip to his father and made a fool out of him; even more so than Freeza ever did, treating him as a living footstool.
But he never knew how strong he was. Now he had perspective. Someone who surpassed Super Buu was easily bested by the God of Destruction; and he already guessed what Kaio was going to say before he heard his voice echo within his head.
"Vegehan, he's heading to Earth as we speak. I give you about a few minutes of Earth time before he arrives," Kaio relayed hastily. "Whatever you do, don't make him mad! I need you to promise me that you'll hold yourself in check and not incur his wrath. Do you understand?"
Swallowing hard, the fused Saiyan echoed aloud, "Yes. I understand."
"Good! I'm going to relay what's happening to my elder so he can tell Goku when he recovers. He got off lucky, but I can't say the same of anyone else who crosses him."
As the message was cut off, Vegehan heard someone approach him. Turning around, he forced himself to smile as Videl's face caught the look he had a moment sooner than he would've liked.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Videl asked, her black eyes blinking worriedly at him. "You look pale."
"I'm fine," He lied, trying to avert his gaze from hers. "Really, I'm okay."
"If you say so," She sighed, placing a hand on his face and rubbing it affectionately. "How about you eat with your brother? I'm sure that'll help."
Giving a shrug, Vegehan turned to join his sibling, passing by a reclined purple cat.
Wait.
"Yo," Beerus replied, the Hakaishin greeting the startled man as he visibly recoiled at the sight of him. "How goes it, Vegeta?"
"I-I...y-you...i-it's-!" Vegehan stammered, at a loss of words. He thought he had more time! If he wasn't so petrified he would be angry at the lack of announcement of the destroyer's entering of the planet by anybody.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" The Hakaishin asked with a smirk on his face.
"I-I just didn't expect you to be here so soon, is all!" Vegehan confessed as he tried to pull the collar of his muscle shirt.
"You're certainly taller than your father, prince. Are you sure you're...wait," Beerus stopped short, standing upright and suddenly invaded Vegehan's space faster than he could perceive. A clawed finger clicked against one of his earrings, eyes narrowing as his voice deepened at his discovery. "Potara? What does a mortal have any business with a relic of the Kaioshin?"
"He knows!" Vegehan inwardly realized, cursing at how quickly the Hakaishin figured it out.
"Those look like the Elder Kaioshin's baubles," Whis cut in, saving Vegehan the need to explain where he got them from. Seeing him seated, the Angel raised a finger up while Beerus kept his gaze transfixed on the mystic gems on Vegehan's ears. "That explains why he wasn't wearing any. I assume you noticed-"
Beerus pulled away, forcing a cough in one hand as he spoke aloud with eyes closed, "O-Of course I did! I just didn't think he would just give such precious items so frivolously."
"It was a do or die situation, I assure you," Vegehan spoke with more reservation. Easing up a bit, he locked eyes with the bipedal cat-man. "I wouldn't have fused if I knew the outcome. Life has been...difficult to say the least."
"Unfortunate, but that's neither here nor there," Beerus quickly changed gears, speaking with his hands clasped in front of himself. "Since you are Vegeta, more or less, I assume you might know more about this. Have you ever heard of this Super Saiyan God?"
Vegehan furrowed his brows. While Gohan had no inkling of Saiyan history, Vegeta knew more about their past than even his own father. The Legendary Super Saiyan was a common tale of folklore that was passed for generations; however only a scant few times did the word Saiyan and God come up.
It was during a time back when his people still existed on Sadala - the origin of their species - before it was ravaged by their own internal conflict.
"I know little of his existence," Vegehan warily answered, though noting the destroyer's immediate interest as his feline ears perked upwards. "From what I understand, there was a conflict between two sides in a Civil War on our original homeworld or Sadala. One was numerous and the other few. The latter suffered losses and resorted to the aid of this Saiyan God...but he vanished shortly after he arrived. I don't know what became of him."
"Hmmmm," Beerus hummed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I see. Still, it's more than I expected to hear of. Maybe he still lives if he is a true deity?"
"Perhaps…" Vegehan trailed off. He hoped that this would encourage him to go off planet. The less time he would spend here, the better.
"Heyyyyy, Vegehan!~"
"Oh no," Vegehan uttered with wide eyes of horror as he saw his former wife stumble drunkenly - martini glass in hand - as she flush faced smiled over at Beerus and the now standing Whis. "Bulma, now's not the time to-"
"Ohhh nonsense," Bulma dismissed, looking over at the feline-man with a jovial grin. "I-I want to greet allllll of my guestses."
"Hello Miss," Beerus replied curteously, placing his hands behind his back. "I see you're celebrating a party. Sorry to barge in uninvited, Whis and I are just old friends of Vegeta's so we thought to pay him a visit."
"R-Right," Vegehan forced a nervous smile on his face as he gestured their way. "A-And they were just leaving so if you don't mind-"
"But I do mind!" Bulma spat, her eyes glaring at her ex before smiling back at the other two. "Today is a special occasion! Eat and enjoy the festivities! I won't take no for an answer!~"
"Well," Beerus belabored, sniffing the mixture of pleasing aromas that made his tongue mositen and his stomach gurgle. "I see no reason why not! Thank you kindly, we shant be a bother while we're here."
"Wonderful!" Bulma exclaimed, stretching her arms up and announcing to the others gathered so far. "Everyone! We have guests here! Treat them well for they want to see how an Earth party is done!"
While the majority of the people gathered were just company upper staff of Capsule Corp along with a few of Videl's former classmates, the ones who didn't immediately cheer were those who noticed the choice of words. Earth party? Either Bulma was really drunk or something fishy was going on.
Beerus and Whis, however, were very cordial to the people that approached them.
"So, Beerus, huh?" Yamcha asked casually, dressed in his old sports jersey with a ball cap adorned on his head of green and beige colors. "I didn't think Vegeta had any friends, let alone any still alive. How do you know him?"
"Hmph, it would be more accurate that I was more acquainted with his father. The progeny was far more respectful and had more manners," He chuckled, much to the visibly sweating Vegehan's chagrin. Changing his tune, he spoke up and raised a clawed finger upward. "Also it's Lord Beerus."
"Oh okay," The scar-faced man tilted his head. "Sorry, didn't know your age or that you're royalty," he paused, then gave an over the top bow. "If you need anything, I am yours to command!~"
"Marvelous!" Beerus exclaimed, drooling as he pointed at the buffet line the disgruntled Android 13 was serving at."Fetch me one of every plate, please!"
"At once, your majesty!"
While the long-maned former martial artist rushed off to serve, a few of the spectating guests couldn't contain their laughter. While a table was being prepared for the fashionably late additions to the party, King Ox clapped the God of Destruction on the back with a hearty chuckle.
"So, you're a king, huh? What planet do you rule over?"
"I'm not exactly a king, more or less a god," Beerus answered succinctly.
"Uh," The Father of Chi-Chi blinked past his spectacles, scratching his head. "God? You mean like Karin or Dende?"
"Are those the names of Kaio I don't know-?"
"Actually," Piccolo intereceded, catching the eye of the Hakaishin. Despite feeling a slight chill from his piercing cat-eyes, the Nameccian shrugged it off and gestured to the younger adult man adorned in a sleeveless jacket and white robe beside him. "This is the God of Earth. Karin is a lower deity who watches over the valley below the palace."
"Ahhh, that makes sense," He gauged Dende, eyes blinking curiously at the antennae adorned guardian. Running his clawed fingers along his chin, he saw what none else beheld - a faint aura glistening around the younger counterpart of Piccolo's, mysterious yet very much present - before he looked back to the Ox King. "Local gods are to me what a child is to an athlete. Some may be talented but are nowhere the level I am."
"O-Oh!" The bearded man sheepishly replied, his mouth barely able to keep from hanging in shock. "Forgive my rudeness! I didn't know-"
"It's not common knowledge so your ignorance is forgiven," Beerus shrugged off with a lackadaisical shrug.
"Your highness! I have set your table full of food fit for your palate!"
"Ohhh yes, food!" The God of Destruction squealed with excitement. Bouncing over to the large pile of plates stocked full of delicious looking gourmet, he licked his chops and began to dine happily; all while Whis sat next to him, also partaking in the orderves.
"Anything else, sire?" Yamcha inquired, his hands placed in front of his smile, embracing his role of servant to an important figure.
"Not at the moment," Beerus dismissed with a wave, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and swirling an abundance of noodles in a bowl in front of him. "You may return when I call."
"O-Of course! Anything you want!" He exclaimed giddily as he slunked back to the party, rejoining an exasperated Puar.
Vegehan observed it all with bated breath. Any one of his companions could potentially set the god of destruction off without intending to. He was a fickle deity, just as the Vegeta in him remembered; even Freeza was more forgiving than he was.
"Kaio," The Potara Warrior inquired telepathically while keeping a cagey expression at the dining deity. "I'm going to do my best to keep Lord Beerus distracted. Whatever you do, keep Goku away from Earth."
"Good call. Goku needs to teleport here before getting back to you anyways," The North Kaip replied, rubbing his portly chin unseen to the demi-Saiyan. "Even if I could sense Godly ki, I can tell by Goku's recent fight and where you're at. If you fight him, you will lose."
"I know," Vegehan intoned mentally, gritting his teeth as his bare hands squeezed into fists at his sides. "Which is why I am going to ensure he has fun in this birthday party of Bulma's; even if it kills me…"
The world spun around Goku's head. Pain filled every fiber of his being, aches and throbs from the point of collision the deceptively powerful limbs had made connection. As darkness receded, the spots fading, his eyes slowly opened to see the familiar violet vista of the Sacred World of Kaio he was firmly planted on its soft, scarred soil.
"Ah, you're finally awake."
A familiar voice spoke to him, causing the Saiyan to crane his neck backwards, granting him an upside down perspective of the Elder Kaioshin. He looked less manic and more sober compared to his impulse driven desire to avenge his lewd picture book the Saiyan granted him.
Realizing what his position was, the Saiyan bolted upright, immediately recoiling at audible cracks echoing from his body.
"Ow! Ow-ow-ow-ow-OOOW, that smarts!" Goku yelped, cradling his gut and neck in an odd limping posture.
"You have an amazing recovery, all things considering," The Old Kaioshin remarked with oblong eyes of surprise. "He knocked you out cold. You could have died had the circumstances been different…"
"So I did lose, then?" Goku rhetorically asked, a hurt smile spreading on his face as he slowly erected himself in place. "Two, no, three strikes was all it took. Maybe if I was in Super Saiyan 3…?"
He paused, calculating the degree of the power gap between himself and this Beers.
"No," He shook his head. "Even a power beyond a Super Saiyan didn't even faze him. I'm completely outclassed."
Looking to the horizon, he sighed. Closing his eyes, he stood still, almost going limp. When the Old Kaioshin peered into his mind, he realized soon that the adult warrior was mentally entering a state of meditation.
As the wind passed by, blowing his spiked hair, Goku's body remained in place. Minutes ticked by as he used this time to form strategy after strategy, the image training he had done for decades contemplating the myriad of skills and outcomes he could possibly have against this new peak he had yet to surmount.
And then, after an hour passed, his eyes opened slowly and a soft chuckle escaped his throat; all the while he visibly shook in place.
"There's no way I can beat him as I am," He admitted aloud with a nervous yet excited look when he turned towards the Old Kaioshin. "Not even if I trained for a hundred years in the Room of Spirit and Time. This Beerus guy is something else."
It was a solemn thing, to see the man who thought he could conquer any obstacle he put his mind to, admit his own weakness. The Old Kaioshin knew Goku only for a small length of time, but he could tell he had a determination more fiery than an exploding star and plenty of fighting spirit.
Then, the elder realized something.
"Hey!" The wrinkled prune of a god cried out, causing Goku to turn his head and blink inquisitively at him. "What's the big idea?! How did you get stronger all of a sudden?!"
"Uh, I don't know if you realized, but that was thanks to you-"
"No no! Not like that!" He exclaimed, cutting Goku's retort off as he gestured with manic emphasis. "My ritual - the Potential Unleashing ritual - brings out all of your available ability to the fore. Meaning transformation would give you no leg up, a pointless action."
"Yeah I remember," Goku nodded, turning to fully face the exasperated Kaioshin. "But you forgot something, gramps."
"That you're a dunderhead and a witless fool?"
"I'm a Saiyan," He replied with a simple smile.
The Old Kaioshin slapped his own face while leaning back straight up.
"...how do you function?!" He yelled aloud. Stretching his hand over his face with exasperation, he asked in a weary voice, his curiosity getting the better of him. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Listen," Goku intoned, raising his hands up as he explained. "Gohan may have boundless more potential than even I did, but after a while he lost his battle sense. Vegeta helped balance that part of him that was slacking when they fused, but I never stopped trying to get stronger."
"Yes, hence why you came to me," He nodded tiredly. "Still doesn't explain how you garnered any benefit from transforming."
"But that is just it," Goku raised a finger up, his smile widening while his eyes narrowed at the Kaioshin proudly. "Super Saiyan is just a means to an end. A Saiyan who has achieved this power can always get stronger. What your potential whatchamacallit did was just give me access to all of my current natural power. Super Saiyan 3 brings out even more than I have; hence why it breaks my body down so bad when I'm alive."
It suddenly made sense to the older deity. Goku followed the logic of what Gohan had tapped into and applied his own ingenuity ahead of time in order to get stronger. Super Saiyan 3 was an unnatural form in of itself in that it pushed the body to a degree it wasn't capable of handling, while its preceding forms were much easier to adapt to. By applying the power he could organically tap into his base state, he could much easier regulate the breadth of power that Super Saiyan 3 could grant him.
"...if Gohan was even half the fighter jockey you are, we needn't bother with fusion…"
"It did help that Beerus got me mad when he turned his back on me," Goku admitted to the flabbergasted god with a finger pinch next to his own eye. "Didn't like how he underestimated me...but in the end I guess I couldn't measure up."
"Eh, you win some, you lose some I suppose," The Old Kaioshin said with a sigh and shrug. "Just be thankful Beerus didn't do any lasting damage. As long as your bone headed self doesn't go after him, we should chalk this up as an unfortunate encounter..."
"Where did he go anyways?"
"Oh, he went to Earth-"
The Elder Kaioshin bit his tongue a moment too late. He saw the look on Goku's face shortly before he raised his fingers up to his forehead.
"Goku wait!" He shouted with a raised hand. "Don't go! Just let things play out so nothing bad happens-!"
"Sorry, Old Kaio," The Saiyan apologized with a smile. "There's something I can still do to even the odds."
Before the elderly god could stop him, the Saiyan whisked away from the Sacred World. He felt his wrinkled fingers ball up into fists and his knees hit the ground; pounding the grassy floor with frustration.
"Damn that Saiyan!" The Eldest Lord of Creation harshly whispered, once again alone in the face of this adversity. One that he caused but likely wouldn't be acknowledged.
Strange I never heard of the Super Saiyan God. My successor should have paid more attention to his station, given I was trapped in that blasted sword for eons!
Then it struck him.
Where is his replacement?
Beerus felt mildly entertained by the party he was in. It seemed this group of natives of Earth were not only all colorful in appearances but also personality and what he could perceive are latent fighting ability. Though of course the latter aspect didn't interest nearly as much as scouting for the Super Saiyan God.
Which either hid his presence very well or wasn't visible at all. That made more sense than admitting Whis is right in the God of Destruction's mind.
Turning his attention over to one of the decks with a net in the middle of the airship's portside, he boredly watched the most physical of the bunch get into what looked like a vaguely recognizable sports game. The bald three eyed one who wore a sleeveless white shirt that showed his significant Earthling build along with a pair of black gym shorts. Next to him was the pale, doll faced midget in an identical appearing getup, though his body looked significantly more quaint and pudgy. On the three eyed man's right side looked to be a scar faced man who wore a tee shirt and sweats with his feet bare, doing some stretches back and forth with limber grace.
On the other part of the deck's net was a mixup of individuals.
Two children, one wearing an orange gi with blue undershirt who looked strikingly similar to someone he just now forgot the name of. The other child looked nothing like anyone he could remember, having a parted cut of lavender-grey hair. The other, who wasn't a child at all, was a man dressed in the most recognizeable attire of a battle jacket of brown shoulder guards and waist protection, and blue under elastic covering for his arms and legs.
The thing that made him perk up was the sight of furred tails arching behind the children and another tail wrapped like a belt around the short adult between them.
"Vegeta-"
"Yes?" Came a disgruntled answer instantly by a materializing the blue muscle shirted Vegehan.
Leaning back on his chair he pointed with a clawed digit at the volleyball deck not far away from them, "Those Saiyans. Who are they?"
Grimacing, the potara fused being had expected him to eventually probe more about his Saiyan God nonsense. With a dutiful grunt he gestured with a hand in the game's direction.
"That's my son, Trunks. The other boy is the son of Goku, better known by his Saiyan name as Kakarrot. The short looking whimp is my brother, Tarble," He explained.
"They wouldn't have anything like a Super Saiyan God power, would it?" Beerus asked with an arched brow.
Vegehan twitched angrily.
"The boys have remarkable potential, my lord, but my brother is not gifted in any way," He brusquely scoffed, crossing his arms and looking away with an insulted look on his face. "He came here crying about his home planet my father sent him away to. Once this business is concluded, I'll head there to hopefully correct it."
This intrigued the Hakaishin.
This fused variant of Vegeta insisted the brother wasn't significant yet spoke of a situation he fled from. He wondered if he had encountered him without knowing.
"Pardon my nosiness," Beerus graveled out with a smile, eyes closing as he reopened them thinly towards Vegehan, overlapped by shadow of the umbrella over his table with Whis. "But where did he come from? Perhaps I can assist him in your stead, if I have the time."
"Oh my, that's surprisingly generous coming from you, my lord," Whis spoke aloud, eyes briefly lightint up as another pair of plates of exotic food is placed before him and the bipedal feline.
"Unnecessary, but you may know, my lord," Vegehan respectfully declined, feeling it useless to lie or refuse the answer when he could easily find out himself. "I don't think I heard the name, but its people are called the Tech-Techs. They were assailed by two factions of Freeza's army vying for power. I don't know if there is anything left to save, but I'll endeavor to at least end the conflict and save what I can."
"Oh so he's that Saiyan," Beerus widened his eyes, looking back over at Tarble as he watched Tenshinhan pick up a ball.
"Alley hoop!" Tenshinhan lifted up a Capsule Corp logo'd volley ball. Then with a flicker of super speed, kneed it high up into the air following up with two copies spiking the ball down to the other side.
Tarble leaped up into the air, spun around and kicked it, sending the sphere flying straight over their heads and off into the sky. Thankfully, Yamcha spirited a ki ball to rebound it back towards them, sending it crashing back towards the Saiyan teams' side.
Goten intercepted with a leaping tackle, his body visibly warping back before throttling it back over the net. Chaozu seized the ball with a burst of his own swift speed and punched it back their way.
Trunks, with hands in his pockets, leaped up and kicked the ball up and twisted around to palm the ball with a coat of ki to slam straight past a triage of Tenshinhan's defenses into the deck with a loud slam.
"Not bad," The Crane Fighter said, gesturing to them as his clones returned to his body. "Though you should try a little restraint. If you hit the ball too hard, you might accidentally tear a hole through your mom's ship."
"It's not going to break, mom wouldn't let us play on it if it would," Trunks shrugged casually, smiling to himself as he looked over at Tarble. "You seem to be getting the hang of it, Uncle Tarble. Though we should try hitting their side of the deck; we don't want to lose the ball if you hit it into the ocean."
"A-ah, sorry," He apologized with a gloved hand scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "The game the Tech-Techs had is called Wall Blast. You hit the ball towards a goal on the other side of a net like this and try to hit their wall. I forgot that this isn't that game but...Sock'em?"
"Volleyball," Trunks corrected, smirking with a roll of the eyes. "But whatever, just make sure to keep the ball from hitting our side."
As he brightly acquiesced, feeling lightened by the distraction of his current distress his brother felt a different emotion.
"You did what?!" Vegehan harshly whispered with wide eyes.
"The damage was already done, so I disposed of it. Eventually a new world will be created and life will begin anew," The Destroyer responded casually in between bites of food. "No need to be upset. He just arrived here too late."
"That was my brother's home," The Potara Fused Saiyan spoke quietly with barely suppressed anger.
"What are you upset about?" Beerus nasally asked, turning to glare over at him. "You're ruining my appetite."
Instantly Vegehan felt regret. There is no way he could challenge a god of this level. Even if he was to use all of his strength, Goku had obtained a similar level of strength to his and yet was soundly beaten.
Reining in his rage, Vegehan bowed his head and spoke apologetically through a false smile, "Apologies, Lord Beerus. It is a slip of the tongue, it won't happen again."
"See to it doesn't," Beerus spoke, returning to his dining.
Inwardly Vegehan swore with relief. Angry as he might be, Beerus hadn't done anything truly wrong. It was well within his station to judge the planet and with it damaged by warfare he erased it. Yet, the rage for his brother's loss didn't dwindle.
"I'll wait till Beerus leaves before I seek the Dragon Balls. I'll restore what was lost so Tarble doesn't have to suffer any further," Vegehan planned, walking away from Beerus' table.
That's when he heard the God of Destruction mentioned something about desserts.
Idly curious he looked over and looked horrified. The bipedal cat slided over to Majin Buu's table, who had covetously grabbed all of Bulma's pudding dessert.
"May I have some pudding please?"
"NO!" Buu childishly rebeled. "This is Buu's!"
"Hey, don't be greedy," He reached for a cup, only to watch with dismay as Buu grabbed the whole table and shoveled it into his mouth; pudding and all. "Why you-!"
Vegehan descended upon him in an instant. Hand upon his pudgy head he plowed him into thw ground and punched him in the back with a loud thuum. This forced the table to spew out with a belch, while sadly was devoid of desserts.
"You fat oaf!" Vegehan growled angrily, eyes wide and face twitching angrily. "Do you realize what you did?"
"Heh, yeah," Buu replied with an impish grin. "Buu ate pudding."
"That pudding...was supposed to be for everyone," Beerus sneered, angrily raising a hand covered in a thin purple flame. "Stand aside so I may destroy this gluttonous creature."
"Lord Beerus, please reconsider!" Vegehan pleaded, rolling off Buu and standing apart between the pair to help deter the Hakaishin. "We can get you more desserts! I can promise you all the pudding you can eat, I'll get some personally!"
"You're trying my patience," Beerus sneered, his hand unmoved and his aura still suffocating upon the fused Saiyan. "How can I be sure it is as delectable and you're not trying to snub me like your father did?"
"I am not my father," Vegehan insisted, kneeling down and placing his head on the deck of the airship. Hands palming the surface, he prostrated himself to the God of Destruction. "I apologize on the creature's behalf and I'll make up to you the delicacy you were robbed of. I'll stake my life on it."
Everyone turned as a cloth covered boot slammed into Vegehan's head, crushing his face into the deck of the ship. The whole vessel leaned in the air forward, tipping tables and causing the guests to cry out in alarm. Nearly all of the warriors of Earth looked on with alarm at what happened to Vegehan.
"You fool," Beerus snarled, glaring down at him. "What makes your life worth anything to me? You are merely entertainment while I am here, and right now, you are not very entertaining."
"Vegehan-!" Videl cried out, rushing over to him across the deck past the shocked Sharpener and Erasa.
"Everyone stay right where you are!" The Fused Man shouted, his voice carrying as he felt immense force grinding over his skull. Feeling none approach, he continued to govel to Beerus. "I refuse to see anyone be punished but I alone. Do with me as you will, my lord but please spare the fat one. He has the mind of a child and can act incorrigible. Please spare him your wrath, I beg of you!"
Beerus visibly twitched with indignation. The level of assumption Vegeta made is absurd to him. But to spare something so barbaric and rude didn't sit well with him at all.
But then, the Hakaishin saw a glint of the afternoon Sun glimmer off Vegehan's earrings. His mind began to wander to the ominous storm that filled the Universe that woke him up. If someone like Vegeta used the mystic power of the Kaioshin, could he have created that storm?
Could he be the Super Saiyan God?
"Leave my brother alone!" He suddenly heard, breaking his daze and focusing it on the source. Turning his gaze, he saw Tarble flying towards him, embroiled with pale energy while the others grasped a hold him in order to restrain him. Even as he struggled, he angrily shouted at him. "You are a friend of his? What kind of friend treats someone precious to them like a footstool?!"
"No, I meant his father rather than him," Beerus corrected with an annoyed stare. "You're his brother yet you act very offensively. Do you not know your place?"
"You're just like them, the ones ransacking my world!" He declared accusingly, causing Beerus to flinch and Vegehan to widen his gaze into the floor. "You step on those beneath you view as insignificant. All life has meaning and you don't have the right to say otherwise!"
"I have every right!" Beerus yelled out, his voice cutting the air like a deft blade. Everyone fell quiet, even Tarble, grimacing at its harshness and self assurance the god had. Glaring at him, he warned in a level tone. "You escaped my destruction by sheer luck, Saiyan. If you keep this up, you won't avoid the death I mercifully bestowed the Tech-Techs. So take back what you said now and I'll overlook dispatching you!"
Tarble became suddenly still.
"No...way…" His voice choked out, the Saiyan slipping from the others' grasp as he slumped to his knees with a palpable thud.
"I left as fast as I could...and in the end...its meaningless?!" Tarble thought, eyes out of focus as his head became dizzy and his stomach turned inside out. Clenching his mouth, he bent forward, emptying the contents of his insides onto the deck. Shaking in place, even as bile finished emptying, the Saiyan began to howl with grief.
"DAAAAAAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
Vegehan felt his own body go stiff at the sight of his younger brother wailing. He should have been disgusted, as the prince in him had to deal with his own people's death at a much younger age. Even the Gohan in the fused being had dealt with people being killed before his very young eyes.
Then, Tarble's body convulsed. Shuddering and twitching unnaturally, the Saiyan's head lolled from one side to the other; eyes becoming dilated and unfocused.
His ki…! Vegehan thought, feeling the swell of power quake the ship. Gold spewed forth in a blinding array of fiery luminance. Hair stood upright and muscles bulked up through worn armor and elastic material.
Standing upright, fists balled up at his sides with all eyes upon him, a furious Tarble stared at Beerus.
And the God of Destruction looked back.
"Ho?" Beerus inquired with a raised brow of curiosity. "Is he the one I'm looking for?"
Vegehan panicked. There was no way his estranged brother could be the Super Saiyan God. If Beerus decided to set his sights on him, there is no way he'd survive.
"Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!" Tenshinhan tried shouting, grasping at Tarble's stouter build.
Yet, he slipped through, and vanished in a blur of yellow light.
"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY, YOU MONSTER!" Tarble howled as he leaped towards the Hakaishin. He brought a fist to slam into an open palm, an elliptical eruption of energy shunting off the feline's paw. Pulling back another hand, alight in a bluish swirl of ki, shoved it into Beerus' face.
"NOM!" Beerus chomped on the ball of light, visibly chewing on it before the visibly stunned Tarble. Then on pure reflex, he bent backwards as the cat deity spat a miniature blue ball that streaked across the air and exploded in the distance ahead of the Capsule Corp airship.
"That all you have to offer?" The Destroyer inquired, bringing a wave of dread over the newborn Super Saiyan. He felt his hand pulled in, and a purple hand lance forth.
Vegehan couldn't even speak. He heard it as much as saw Tarble's body jerk back. What could be seen as a simple slap struck the younger Saiyan's body with such force it shook the air. The light left the now black haired Saiyan's crown and his body tumbled back into the grip of Tenshinhan and Piccolo.
He felt helpless, prostrating to no avail and the one person he didn't want to care for was mocked and beaten. How could he call himself a man after allowing this to happen? What cruelty of fate dealt him to deal with this not with a howl but a whimper?
Gritting his teeth, Vegehan's floor prone brow bulged with veins.
"Don't come at me with such weakness, boy," He heard the Hakaishin sneer aloud. "I've destroyed beings for insulting me with such impotence. Do you wish to be erased too?"
A sudden surge of force threw the bipedal cat off his footstool.
"What-?!"
"HOW DARE YOU!" Vegehan howled, his bare fist already en route to a purple hand defending the feline snout. A yellow flame erupted from his body, a roar of power enveloping and then releasing with a shrill crying torch brighter than the Sun blasting from the Potara Warrior's body. "THAT'S MY BROTHER!"
That bright flare was enough to make the cat deity blink, failing to see the follow-up fist that made contact with his nose. A crackling fissure of lightning sprouted on impact, the glowing Super Saiyan yelling out as he launched the God of Destruction across the sky…
THUUM!
...rocking the airship backwards across the sky as well.
"Aaaaah!" Bulma cried out, narrowly buoyed by stretches of liquid metal surging out of her clothes to create a cushioned net to brace herself. A black haired familiar face formed as she was steadied as the amorphous Android - Suigin - rebuilt and with a Capsule Corp logo over his left red-black catsuit formed as he stabilized. The other controlled Androids caught the other guests flown off their feet, with 18 keeping her daughter safe just as Krillin leaped up into the air with all the others not burdened with crowd control.
"Vegehan's done it!" Piccolo gnashed his teeth, watching ahead as visible flashes of yellow and purple thundered in the too-close-for-comfort-distance. Even out of sight he could feel the shockwaves of the enraged Saiyan wailing upon the God of Destruction. Yet, what little he knew of the strength of gods, a Destroyer isn't so easily put down by a mortal.
Potara or not.
"What do we do?" Dende asked his teacher with a fearful expression on his face.
"If we get in his way, we're likely going to get more than a slap from Lord Beerus," Piccolo chuckled humorlessly. "And if Goku couldn't take him, chances are we can't either."
"So we stand by and do nothing? Wonderful," Tenshinhan dryly sneered.
"You want to rush in blindly, go ahead," Piccolo remarked, gesturing to another flash of gold whipping his cape and turban wildly along with their clothes. "Getting into that is a fool's errand."
"Y-Yeah," Yamcha acknowledged with a hefty swallow of sobering fear.
"Wait," Chaozu, speaking up as he patted Tenshinhan and pointed towards another golden light heading straight for the action. "What is that?!"
"Oh no," Tenshinhan gaped, suddenly immersed in ki and following after. "Those kids!"
As everyone realized the new predicament unfolding, they all followed after the three eyed man.
Beerus is confounded.
He hadn't felt any form of aggression from the sniveling princeling he had underfoot. Yet in a distraction had upset his footing and a blinding light had landed a punch that stung his snout. Thrown across the sky, he then felt a salvo of similarly stinging blows.
These hits weighed heavier than Son Goku, by a wide margin. He counted up to forty seven by the time his eyes stopped tearing up from the strike to his nose.
On the forty eigth, he twisted around and slipped past the fusion's punch and landed one of his own to Vegehan's forehead.
The princeling ignored it as he threw another punch that socked Beerus across the jaw. Propelled across the skyline, Vegehan soared around and punted Beerus upward, then assumed a firing position of one arm poised at the flailing destroyer and the other bracing it.
A swell of gold primed, becoming as large as he was, and then, he fired in a massive column of fiery light towards Beerus.
"FINAL MASENKO!"
A deafening roar of golden-white blazed up past the violet skinned feline. Streaking into the black void of space it sped past the solar system into partition dividing this galaxy to the next. Eventually it collided into a distant star, exploding magnanimously with brilliant deadly splendor that could be seen across the Universe.
Yet, as a light dimmed, Vegehan saw the silhouette that brought his rage to a whisper.
"Impressive, Vegeta," Beerus spoke aloud, steaming wafting off his paw as a hint of a flame burned in the center of his palm; sizzling his flesh. "I needed to use my hand to defend against that last attack of yours. I can feel the depths of power you possess from this burn on my hand.
"However," He paused, suddenly in front of him, jabbing a singular clawed finger into the center of his forehead. "Your mountain of power cannot compare to the world of difference between us."
Darkness claimed the fused fighter. Eyes whitened and then he began to plummet to the open sea below. Beerus looked down with a measure of disappointment, yet didn't flinch when he saw a transformed Gotenks swoop down in a golden arc to catch his fallen opponent.
"You bastard!" Gotenks cried out angrily at him. "The mighty Gotenks won't let you get away with this."
"Get away with what?" Beerus asked indignantly, visibly twitching. "I cannot find the Super Saiyan God, no one gives me an ounce of respect and to top it all off I will never find out what pudding tastes like!"
"P-Pudding?" The Fused Children asked with confusion.
"A confection so ripe with potential sweetness and creamy goodness I'll never know its decadent dripping flavor! PUDDING! HOW I WISH I HAD TASTED IT!"
"You got a few screws loose pal-"
"Gotenks! Get back!"
"Uh oh," The Fused Kids looked over at the source of the stern voice, unsurprised to see Piccolo and a slew of others arrive. Dende himself placed a healing hand on Vegehan as the others took up a circle of protection around the two fused beings.
"Please, Lord Beerus, forgive their impulsiveness," Dende urged, his eyes looking over at the much higher stationed deity with pleading in his voice. "I'm sure there is a way we can find out the source of what you are looking for-"
"Enough!" Beerus snapped, making everyone tense up. "I've had it. This has been too much of a distraction. I must look elsewhere for there clearly is no Super Saiyan God here. Whis!"
Instantly, the blue skinned tall attendant of Beerus appeared to his right; with a plate of dessert in hand he spooned out of.
"You called?" He asked in a melodic tone.
"I'm done with this world. It's time I destroy it and continue with my search."
"As you wish, my Lord," Whis nodded, taking a few more bites of dessert. Much to his charge's annoyance he made loud noises of pleasure with every chew and swallow he made.
Then, in that moment, Vegehan regained consciousness.
"Ngh," He grimaced, his eyes refocusing the world of blur into one he could make sense of.
"Take it easy," Videl spoke, her soft hands steadying his broad chest while Dende relinquished his healing touch. "Are you alright?"
"Where-?" He began to ask, suddenly glaring past the dark haired woman in front of him. "Beerus! This isn't over!"
"It is over because I say it is," The Hakaishin spoke flatly, scratching his chin idly with his pinky. "You're formidable. For a mortal, that is. However, because you displeased me so completely I've lost interest in this planet. I'll destroy it and give way to something more interesting in its place."
"You don't get it!" Vegehan growled out, his body flaring into the Ascended Super Saiyan state in a virulent flash of ki. Videl and the others leaped back, giving him space as he struck a stance reminiscent of Gohan's posture under Piccolo's teaching; fingers clawed forward and upper body bent forward with knees crouched in the air. "I was born to protect the Earth! To destroy it is to destroy me! And I'll not accept anything less than complete annihilation if you intend to destroy everything I've fought to preserve! So come on and let's finish this already!"
Beerus sighed, his aura brightening into purple, then widened to become a luminous star of light with himself at its core. Being so near him, Vegehan could only stare wide eyed in fear as he felt the immeasurable killing intent in this wave of light. Even as he held his ground in the air, he felt for the first time so small in comparison to the enormity that is God of Destruction Beerus.
Raising up a clawed hand, a purple sphere beginning to whine in the bipedal cat's palm.
"That's enough!"
A sudden clamp of a light purple hand is felt over Beerus' darker violet skinned body. He couldn't move,just barely able to look over to his right to see a slightly familiar looking individual. Yet, he never met this man, but familiarity rang from hom nonetheless.
"Who dares touch Beerus, God of Destruction?!" He snarled out.
"Apologies, Lord Beerus, for we haven't met officially," The long white haired man said with a smile. "My name is Kibitoshin. I am the current Lord Creator of the Universe. We had only officially been bonded to one another for the past few hundred millennia so it isn't surprising you and I haven't met yet."
"Ah," Beerus gasped, realizing instantly what this meant. "So you're the upstart who replaced that geezer. You've got moxy to puy yourself in danger; or perhaps you're smarter than most would think."
"If you think of lashing out at me, then you will perish as well," Kibitoshin intoned knowingly at the violet skinned feline. "I apologize on behalf of this world, but I can assure you the Super Saiyan God does not exist here."
"And how can you be sure?" Beerus asked.
"Because…"
As he spoke, a flash of orange-blue flickered into the air between the two deities and Vegehan. With black crested hair upon his head, the man all looked to for hope manifested as if by will alone. Lowering his hand from his forehead, he smiled as he looked to his friends.
"Hey guys! Glad you all aren't dead yet!"
"Goku!" Krillin along with vast majority of people said at once. Gotenks smiled wide with bright eyes at excitement to see their dad and veritable idol standing before them in the sky.
"Cutting it kinda close, aren't you?" Piccolo inquired with a wry smile.
"Sorry, I just had to take a trip to New Namek," Goku admitted with an honest smile, turning to look over at the expectant stare of Beerus and the shocked look on Kibitoshin's face. "I learned how to get your Super Saiyan God, Lord Beerus."
A/N: Well that's it. A chapter I delayed for too long. Apologies for the wait. Distractions happen when you have so many ideas in your head and sometimes life derails them. As apologies for the wait I have written the next chapter ahead of time so I'll release that one one week after this one is complete.
Initially I wanted to make this chapter longer. There were little activities and things to flesh out it all, putting my own spin on things. This of course was planned around the Anime's initial launch and Super's take left a lot to be desired. However, much like the movie, I wanted things to be concise and not take overly long. Which led to the happenings of this Chapter.
I hope you all like how it ended it up and enjoy the climax that follows this one.