In the depths of space flew an object of immense size. It bore an ovular shape moving many times faster than light, the vessel passing an envelope of space between their current vista and into the next. Its occupants were many, and those at the helm were calculating coordinates with its passengers waiting to arrive.
Pressing through a barrier of film that looked like light it eventually became a void of nothing but pale nothingness. It is the space between Universes, a fabric of the aftermath of the Multiverse of which used to contain up to eighteen separate bodies of cosmic life. Now numbered to twelve, what remained of the rest was just dust that emitted light between one black void to the next.
It would take only a few taks before they reached the next Universe and enter the final stretch of their journey.
"How much further?" A nearby silhouette asked upon an elevated throne. Within the concave bridge of the vessel.
"17.3 Taks before reaching our destination, your worship," A green skinned humanoid with a white helmet and a transparent visor that flashed data over his eyes from the holo-screen in front of his white gloved fingers. "No celestial bodies opposing our trajectory."
"Excellent!~" She sang giddily. "I can't wait to meet the one everyone talks about. The one known as the most volatile God of all the Hakaishin!"
"Normally people wouldn't approach someone of that nature so eagerly," A smooth, silky voice admonished from next to the upraised throne of the bridge. She had long swept robes, embroidered in the center from along the collar down the middle of both the breast and back as dark reds, golds and blues with long sleeved greens for the sleeves and the rest of the ankle long dress. A hooped halo akin to a lunar ring around a planet presided in a forward angle, hovered like a necklace to the blue skinned and round faced woman with white hair propped into a ponytail behind her. "Though given your recent acquisition of titles, I can see why you want to meet him."
"You know me, Vados," She beamed, eyes piercing past the shadows as remarkable rubies with black slitted pupils staring ahead at the field of stars they were approaching. "Once I set my mind to something, I can't help myself. I must meet him; Beerus the Hakaishin of Universe 7!"
Dragon Ball Zenkai
The Power of Two
Chapter 16 - Manic Desire
Fluid.
That is how Whis moved to Goku. His body weaved in the air like a reed and his frame gestured in a weightless manner. It seemed effortless to evade the swift Saiyan's barrage of blows and nimble dashes. He might as well be hitting the air with how little headway he made.
Kicking up a field of flowers, the martial arts teacher of Beerus sighed in a melodic tone. He airily proclaimed as if lost in thought, "Oh wow, the flowers are so lovely this time of year.~"
"Tch!" Son Goku hissed beneath grit teeth. The fact that this man could act bored while avoiding every blow was infuriating to him!
Quickly in mid-punch, he raised a pair of fingers to his forehead and disappeared.
Reappearing, his Instantaneous Movement rewarded him with contact of his fist making an impact. Unfortunately it was only a bare palm, with Whis looking the other way at the flower petals he had kicked up.
"Your teleportation movement can only work if no one can sense you coming," He chastised lightly, feeling Goku step back and pull back his arm.
Then with a hiss, he punched under the palm, releasing a shriek of momentum towards the attendant of Beerus. His eyes didn't even register the sudden spike of pain from a palm thrust into his chest, failing to see the withering afterimage of Whis that had been there only a moment ago. Falling to his knees he gasped for air while wincing in pain, Whis walking around him with hands cupped behind his robed back.
"You are more in tune with your senses and far more relaxed than Vegehan. Yet your composure leaves you terribly open to counterattack. You need to heighten the focus your counterpart has if you wish to surpass him," Whis lectured as he kept an airy appearance to the robotic circling he made around the Earth-borne Saiyan.
"It's hard to get a feel for ya, though," Goku winced, standing up as he scratched his scalp with his other hand clutching his gut. "It's like your ki is barely there half the time. And my other senses can't even help make up for that either."
"True, it is difficult to master your shortcomings. You had been taught how to hone your body to new heights and then applied your own mortal intuition to a great degree," He confessed, looking over the flower covered fields of raspberry hue of flowers along the purplish lakes surrounding the hillside. "But you are getting closer. To the ability to go beyond a god's limits that even Beerus hasn't completely mastered. I predict that in time even Vegehan will be hard pressed to compete with your talent for battle and techniques."
"Awww Whis, you're gonna make me blush, hehe!" He gleefully chuckled with eyes closed.
During their exchange, one heard the distant trot of a pair of feet. When Goku looked on with Whis, they could see Beerus, rubbing sleep from his eyes while wrapped in white bathrobes that were covered around his head and down in long sleeves and a robed cover to his ankles.
"What's all the ruckus I've been hearing out he-he...heeeeeaaaaaCHOO!" He began to ask, suddenly letting out a violent sneeze.
One that discharged a weaving purple kikoha that nearly struck an arm waving Goku and deftly slipped around Whis till it entered the violet tinted sky; impacting a nearby planet orbiting the inverted pyramid world they presided upon. In a blinding flash of light that bled over the planetoid.
"Geez, I thought I was a goner for a second there!" Goku exclaimed with apparent fear.
"Beerus is a danger even when asleep," Whis confessed with a sigh, taking note as the cat god sniffled and walked past the pair, laying upon a rock to perform feline stretches on all fours. "There are celestial bodies made by Kaioshin to circle around here to ensure wayward blasts don't accidentally annihilate more cultivated and life-giving worlds not yet judged. If it ever gets out of hand I can intervene and bop him on the head."
"I don't envy your job, hehe," The Kaio Schooled Martial Artist said nervously, watching Beerus appear more lucidly as he trotted over their way with narrow eyes.
"Son Goku," He muttered out, bending down and leering up at him curiously. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh uh! I just came to ask Whis to train me!" He hurriedly explained, raising his hands up placatingly. "I'm sorry if I woke you."
"You certainly did," He sneered crankily, waving his arms indignantly. "And you're not the only one, are you? Is that gaggle of Earth friends here too?! I could hear them on the other side of the planet, or did you forget I have big ears?!"
"Whoops," Goku shrank under the accusatory shouts leveled at him. "Sorry but this is the only place where we could learn great techniques and learn how to tap into Godly ki. After all, you did say that Whis is your teacher; who better to learn the best martial arts than from him?"
"I didn't do it for free," Whis admitted with a smug smirk on his face, a purple blush made evident on his bluish cheeks. "The foods they've supplied me are to die for, my lord!"
"You glutton!" Beerus jeered, pointing his finger his way. "You ate all of them without saving any for me, didn't you?!"
"What do you take me for, Lord Beerus? I'm no plebeian," He dismissed with feigned hurt, his stave materializing into his hand as he gestured to the ground in front of him; portaling delectable fresh food right before the three's feet. "Here is the latest dining they have supplied me."
"OH MARVELOUS!" Beerus exclaimed aloud, hopping down to his knees and began to eat without any of his earlier anger intact. Pastas, desserts and other rich foods were eaten, and Goku knelt down respectfully eating as well along with Whis.
After thorough snacking had commenced, Beerus inquired aloud, "Beerus, how long did I sleep this time?"
"Two years."
"That's it? No wonder I feel so out of sorts," He griped, biting on some chicken bones while eyeing up Goku.
His uniform lacked the usual undershirt of blue, now clad in sheer orange with a pair of forearm braces of beige with red undercloth, similar to the boots he wore. Simple weights, but given what Whis may had been teaching they likely weighed an enormous degree of condensed mass.
"How far have his Earth friends come?" Beerus idly asked in a bored tone.
"Not all have the gift to acquire divine energy, but there are some standout talents," He admitted. "Each of the ones who have are uniquely set apart. I'm amazed that such a small remote world that has barely tapped into space travel has such significantly skilled fighters."
"I learned all I know from them," Goku praised, leaning casually back on his palms, his legs spread out. "They're all super strong. I'm sure some of them can catch up with me eventually. But I know I'll eventually have to pass the torch; Vegehan and I won't live forever after all."
"Godly ki-mph, has other-mph benefits besides-oomph combat," Whis explained between moaning mouthfuls of a banana sundae. Swallowing what he had, licking the spoon clean, he explained to Goku who tilted his head with bewilderment. "The more you master divine energy, the more its effects imbue into your body. Unlike Kaio or Kaioshin, who are born to be gods, Hakaishin are chosen to be deities. Even those without a station who possess Godly ki can live for thousands of years; Beerus himself is well over a million years old himself."
"EEEK!" Goku squeaked out, eyes bulging as he fell onto his haunches and crab walked back away from the two. "You're saying I'll end up as a geezer like Old Kaioshin or a wrinkly cat like Sir Beers?!"
"Oi," Beerus twitched with barely held contempt.
"Hoho! It's possible, though the Kaioshin was a special example as age doesn't show itself on deities as you Saiyans or Humans do," Whis explained, gesturing to the horizon idly for emphasis. "Godly beings live for a long while and even mortals who acquire divine energy end up being effectively immortal themselves. However, there may come a day when Lord Beerus dies; after such a point I'd happily offer his job to you."
"WHIS!" Beerus sneered loudly. "Are you telling me to drop dead now, huh?!"
"Perish the thought, my lord-!"
"Either that or you do!" He hissed with a dark purple glow radiating around an outstretched hand poised at his face.
"-I was speaking of your eventual departure from your faithful post as God of Destruction," Whis continued without skipping a beatven at being threatened by an angry purple feline. "After all, Lord Beerus. Even gods eventually die. Nothing lasts forever."
Beerus defused, frustrated but at least satisfied by that answer.
Goku felt sobered by the remark Whis said. He had been dead before, twice in fact. But it had never felt permanent, and the thought of an eventual end - even for a god - something sad about it all.
The pursuit of bettering himself, training to break through his own limits and defeating physical opponents set before him. He loved that part of his life. His family, though, was different from him. They wanted peace, and to live quaint, normal lives with only the occasional action leaping upon them.
That's why he needed to pass on what he knew to as many people as he could. So that if he is gone, then he really won't have regret.
"Hm?" Beerus tilted his head from the food he was nibbling on. His narrowed eyes widened, ears arched up and the sight of something very unusual. He wasn't hungry in particular, but he saw something very food-like appearing in his pyramid propped planet's atmosphere.
An egg?
Truly, as Goku felt a sudden ping of ki make itself known to him, he leaped up to his feet and into the air. He saw the oval object, slipping through the envelope of the pinkish skyline and ramming straight towards him along with Beerus and Whis.
He didn't even think about it.
Goku swung his arms around and clapped his palms along the ovular head of the flying shell, feeling an immense momentum ram into his body. A blast of air shook the landscape behind him, buffeting the food stuffs and dishes across the horizon while whipping up the night robe of Beerus to the dignified uniform of Whis.
Sparks flew from the Saiyan's palms, a dull yellowish tinged white aura sprouting from his body as he wrestled with the unknown descending object's propulsion. Gritting his teeth, he felt himself pushed back to the ground. The sight of the smooth alabaster shell rippled against his palms, not denting or even buckling in a traditional way his strength could inflict on most known spacecraft.
Feeling the grass touch the soles of his cloth boots, Goku twisted on his heels and took hold of the vessel and hurled it with a loud yell. He felt it flip over Beerus and Whis, narrowly brushing over their heads, before landing with a hill crushing distant crash.
"Phew!" Goku sighed with relief, standing up to wipe his brow with a satisfied smile. "Don't know what chicken that came from, but it almost hit Lord Beerus. Glad I stopped it!"
Whis closed his eyes and gave himself a soft chuckle. They had been in no danger. And even if there was risk, he could have reversed the damage; not that Goku needed to know anything about that.
"That was very impressive," Beerus admitted with a smirk, standing upright with his hands behind his back. "Now to see what this thing is."
Stepping towards the now upright egg-shaped object, he watched it ripple over its surface till it warped the base of its bottom half's impact. An ovular door manifested in a seamless upward motion, followed by an ensemble of humanoid figures.
Two dozen of them wore armored uniforms suited to deep space travel and flexibility for ease of use. These varied shaped individuals had robust to slim muscular physiques, wearing white armored chassis over their bodies with plates that were interwoven with purple elastic fabric and egg-shaped helmets with visors that were ghostly transparent. These troops lined up, and presented themselves in a saluted fashion towards one another.
This led to a red enamored rug to roll out across the expanse of the flowery field directly to Beerus's feet. The violet skinned feline looked down at it, completely at a loss for words.
"Oooka-"
The Hakaishin was accosted by a sudden figure standing at eye level. Red rubies with black slits stared into his yellow cat eyes. A sharp toothy grin spread across a human-like face, followed by a sudden swift movement.
One that grasped his hand and began shaking it wildly against his oblong eyed will.
"LORD BEERUS! SO GLAD TO MEET YOU!" A loud bellow of a spritely pitched female voice shook the air and ground. The effect made Goku plug his ears and barely keep his footing. Whis himself visibly tilted back like a reed against a gust of wind; visibly nonplussed, perhaps having dealt with his own charge's godly screams for so long.
The Hakaishin of Universe 7, however…
"PIPE DOWN, WILL YOU?!" He yelled back, enough of a shockwave that it sent the soldiers flying like bowling pins against the oval shaped ship.
The female in front of him, however, looked like she had a hot breeze wash over her and brought a giggle to the fore.
"Vados is right," She said, lowering her voice as she propped hands onto her hips. "You are something up close."
That name rang a bell.
Beerus would have questioned it but saw the aforementioned attendant exiting the ship as the egg-helmeted men were prying themselves off like stickers from the unbreakable vessel. She walked with a calm measured stride that the female in front of him didn't possess; diametrically opposite in behavior and appearance.
"Apologies for the abrupt entry, Lord Beerus," Vados spoke with a smile, almost a mimic in tone of womanly demeanor to the standing apart Whis. "But my new charge insisted on meeting all of her colleagues from Hakaishin. She felt especially excited to see you."
"New charge?" Beerus asked with a raised brow, hands propped on his hips while doing his best to ignore the broad smiling figure eyeing him up on all angles. "Where's Champa?"
"Dead," Vados bluntly spoke with a straight face. "Choked on a bone of some kind. I believe it was a poultry from the planet Yroni V."
"HAAAAAAA!" Beerus howled with a loud burst of laughter, bucking over with tears in his eyes. "Fat bastard is finally done in by food! I told him that he'd choke on something one day!"
"Says the guy who was almost crushed by a giant space egg…"
"What was that?!" Beerus reared around towards the source of the comment. To his surprise, Goku looked nonplussed by his anger; rather he was very curiously looking at the red eyed figure standing in front of him.
"Before this gets further out of hand," Vados intervened, gesturing with a free hand to the youthful sounding figure. "Allow me to introduce Universe 6's new Hakaishin; Ragon."
"I prefer to be called Rags or Raggie," The Hakaishin spoke, curtsying in front of the three Universe 7 entities. "Pleasure to meet you all."
Goku found himself curious. Her appearance wasn't at all similar to Beerus in the slightest.
She had pinkish white hair worn long and held in a spiked braid that had it affixed at a highrise ponytail that draped it to the center of her back. On either of her temples came up white horns that arched up in forward to back curls with sharp points raised upwards. Her face had a youthful spritely appearance, fair in its complexion with short lashes and the noticeable crimson reptile-like eyes; it had a supple roundness while also having healthy cheekbones and a nice pointed chin. She wore a spiked black collar around her neck, a pink-outlined white top that shoved pert breasts noticeably forward - with a sexy cleavage - while leaving her smooth back and abdomen bare in exposure. Her arms had shoulder length pink top and white bottom gloves that ended with sharp claws at the fingertips. A pair of smooth white leggings wrapped around toned legs down to a pair of heeled pink boots. Interestingly she possessed a pink scaled, white underbellied tail leading from the lowermost part of her back just above her rump. It looked to be three to four feet in length and seemed to wag about almost like a happy cat's.
Goku didn't know whether to trust his eyes or not, but she looked like a human shaped dragon!
"You! Dragon!" Goku started with a pointed finger.
"It's actually Ragon-"
"Are you strong?!" The Saiyan interrupted with a bright, child-like grin. "Cause I'd love to fight ya!"
On hearing this, Beerus slapped his own face while Ragon looked perplexed. She blinked owlishly, keeping a placid smile. Looking to Beerus, she asked without any hint of subtlety, "Is he dumb or suicidal?"
"No, he's Goku."
"That's my name!" Goku replied giddily. His candor changed to a lower timbre, eyes narrowing at her challengingly. "But don't dismiss me so easily. I'm really strong too."
"Really?" Ragon asked, her red eyes sparkling with pure excitement. Her hands raised up to her face, clasping her cheeks and her tail wagged swiftly as her anticipation of a battle swelled to the surface. "Ohhh it's been too long since someone new asked for a duel! Oh I must try and fight you, but," she turned to look at Vados and Whis and finally Beerus with a hopeful glimmer around her cute visage. "Can I? Fight for a bit? Right here? CAN-?!"
Beerus placed his hand over her mouth, efficiently silencing her pleas.
"You can as long as you don't try to blow up my home," The purple cat stated in a dry tone.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!~" She hollered with a jump, her breasts bouncing along with the world with her stomp that rippled out to shake the nearby orbiting worlds. Even the stars flickered - like luminescent bulbs - from the effect of her overwhelming jubilation.
Sighing, the Universe 7 Hakaishin strutted away with a prolonged yawn.
"Whis, please help Vados ensure there isn't any long-lasting damage done. I'm going back to sleep," He declared without eye contact delivered to his aid.
"Are you sure that is wise?" Whis inquired, for the first time speaking in a less than whimsy fashion. He clapped his stave on the grassy soil and looked at the bathrobe covered back of his charge and warned him sternly. "If you leave now, you will relinquish any say so in this fight's outcome. It might be prudent to at least spectate this battle."
"I've already fought Son Goku," He explained matter-of-fact while keeping a lazy trot away. "I don't care to see what a neophyte destroyer is able to do against someone who isn't even at my level yet. Besides," he added with a lazy look over his shoulder at his attendant. "If he dies, then that's that. If the reverse happens, that's that. I don't see an outcome that's particularly undesirable unless it affects me personally."
"As you wish," Whis intoned with a sigh. "I shall do as you request."
"Good," He spoke with another yawn, strutting quietly back to his abode within the distant gnarled tree on a hillside.
The blue skinned creature known as Whis felt a little disquiet. Looking over at Goku, performing split stretches and squats to bounces on his feet, he knew that this could be a fight more detrimental than the Saiyan is bargaining for. Looking at his 'twin', Vados, he saw that familiar glint of mischief sparkle in her eyes.
He knew her long enough to know that expression led on that there was more to Lord Champa's replacement than her manic introduction believed. At the very least, he should get some of the Earthlings to know what was happening.
Better to inform the discrete ones so they don't end up endangering their friends who might get swept up as incidental collateral…
As Whis sent out a telepathic message, he noticed Ragon do her own sets of stretches. Audible pops came from her shoulders and neck, her spine crinkling with twists as her breasts shoved up and down.
His eyes widened as he saw her perform a palm forward stance with her feet tucked in and her other palm resting under the cocked forward elbow. Her expression changed that to a more reserved state that held a small smile and narrowed eyes.
That's a Kaio stance! Whis thought with intrigue. She must have received tutelage from other gods than Vados. Who is this Ragon?
"Ready when you are," The 6th Hakaishin said with a toothy sharp smile.
Goku finished bouncing, landing on his feet and sliding into a forward leaning posture Whis knew well as one of his more aggressive postures. Balled fists aimed out at the Earth and behind to the Heavens, he smiled back at her in readiness.
In a split instant of kicked up flowers, he appeared in an orange blurred entry. Punching forward with a left hook, he felt it blocked and shoved to his left and Ragon's right; tumbling forward which allowed her to deliver a palm-heel thrust towards his side.
Or rather, it seemed that way, till the fabric twisted away from the flat of her palm and a twisting leg kicked her arm upwards. The pair connecting parrying blows shot waves of air that whipped along the grassy plains, sending a spiral of flowers twirling around the two. Smile met smile, black eyes met bright crimson circles, and the feelings became physical in an instant.
Goku whipped around from his perpendicular posture in the air to her erect person with a right over the shoulder towards her face. She deflected it with another expert swivel of her right hand, this time lashing out with a snap kick that connected with his chin through a catch of his brace-gloved palm.
POW!
He was sent back flipping head over heels, landing a twenty foot distance and skidding for an additional ten. Steam hissed from his palm and a small scuff was seen on the tip of his chin despite having caught the hit. Grinning, he chuckled as he shook his hand from the spasm of pain.
"That's a good stance you got there. You're making it tough for me to even land a good hit on you," Goku complimented.
"You're a lot more nimble and tougher than I thought as well, Goku," Ragon returned praise, gesturing with her left arm. "I definitely felt that hard counter of yours even when I had you dead to rights. Your reflexes are sharp, for a mortal."
"Guess we both can't judge appearances," Goku said with a low tone, settling into a more neutral posture with an upright cocked arm with his forefingers bent up with the rest furled; his left arm poised into a cocked ready position by his waist, with his forward leg bent down and back leg positioned away to the left.
A stillness breathed across the plains, the wind ceasing and the flowers gently falling back to the grassy floor. Ragon resumed her tight defensive position, ready for a return to action.
The last petal flitted across, hovering between the two. As it hit the center of both their visions, Goku launched an attack.
With a brief kata exhale, the Kaio Schooled Saiyan thrust his left fist forward. A streak of wind ignited in its frontal momentum, becoming lightning in a flash; being the only tangibly visible thing in the aftershock as a beam of yellow light struck the mid center of the Hakaishin's form and out her naked backside.
Eyes wide, mouth agape and her body trembled. Her feet stumbled a step backwards, her arms quivering at her flanks as her abdomen hissed with a noticeable mark of heat radiating off it in the shape of a fist. Vision swam and her eyes rolled back, her whole body arching back as if to fall onto her back.
The tail snapped back, catching herself before she hit the ground. She breathed heavily, trying to refill her lungs of stolen air as the numbness prevailed from her being.
"Lord Ragon?" Vados asked with a tilt forward, her eyes meeting one of the draconic Hakaishin's ruby eyes in a glazed fixed position to the pinkish sky of Beerus's world. "Are you able to continue?"
"T-That w-was…"
She suddenly propped back up to her feet, face beaming with a smile ear to ear of sharp teeth. Her brilliant red eyes shined with joy and her hair fluttered up in a wave of light rosy-white tresses while crimson energy crackled over her horns down her body to conduct about her claws and quivering tail.
"Amazing!" She declared in a hearty tone, a sultry pur escaping what looked like a cross of bloodlust and pure yearning. "What was that move you just did? I must know!"
Goku felt the hairs on his skin stand on end. He could feel her divine energy ebb off her in waves, each one successively larger than the last. From his mind's eye, she appeared to be an enormous sea without an end to its edge that grew wilder and wilder with every passing second.
"It's called Flash Fist," Goku explained, feeling himself shake with excitement from facing such a sincere yet terrifying opponent. Not since Majin Buu had he encountered someone who loved battle as much as he did. "I take a small amount of divine energy, coil it into my body and then multiply it in an instant. Originally this was the Kaioken, but I found a way to use Godly ki instead of my own; I can't mix it with a transformation yet, but in my base, I can use it just fine."
"Superb! Incredible! Absolutely amazing!" Ragon laughed out, her voice becoming more and more manic as she spoke. Taking a step forward, she pulled an arm to her waist while raising up a clawed hand cocked by the elbow. "This is the pose you used, right?"
"Yeah, just like-"
THUUUUUUUM!
Piccolo hadn't the faintest clue what the context was for Goku to be fighting right this second. He had been content to meditate, honing his divine energy collection and manipulation on a mental level. He had long since grasped the fundamentals Whis spoke of and had just been getting stronger in his own solitude.
But this sudden broadcast to him, Dende and Tenshinhan got him worried instantly.
Two years of relative peace on Earth and this Universe. Of course we couldn't ask for seven straight years of uninterrupted tranquility; no that's asking for too much! He inwardly griped.
"What on this world apart from Beerus could Goku be fighting right now?" Dende asked the younger Nameccian a near spitting image of his fellow clansman, Nail.
Up to Piccolo's shoulder in height with a lean muscular build, he wore a simple blue sleeveless jacket with the insignia of Kami in kanji on a white circle background in black inked letters. Wearing white baggy slacks as opposed to Piccolo's darker purple fatigues, he opted out of wearing weighted clothing and just honed his overall preexisting Godly ki that Kibitoshin gave him all those years ago.
"That's right," Tenshinhan stoically replied, coasting by the pair in a more ceremonial getup. He wore a golden robe with large fist sized prayer beads wrapped around his neck in black, with engraved faded kanji meaning something only he could know. Beneath that were golden fatigues of a sleeveless kosode and billowing slacks with a crimson hakama with red over black slippers for his feet. "Vegehan has trained alone on Earth with Kibitoshin to make sure it was safe in everyone's absence. So unless he got teleported back here-"
A sudden loud detonation was heard long before the three eyed Crane Fighter could finish his sentence. Both Piccolo and Dende heard it with their exceptional hearing. The shockwave shook the air and rumbled the planet.
They didn't wait long to see the source, witnessing an orange blue streak towards the pair, coalesced in a crackling crimson streak of energy.
Piccolo acted instantly.
"HA!" He yelled out, throttling a four fingered hand and equalized the offensive force to an immediate halt. A pop is heard, and Goku feels defused with the exception of crackling red embers rolling off a steaming Saiyan.
Dende and Tenshinhan circled around to his other sides, watching a shaking Goku right himself up in the air.
"Haha, wow," Goku said nervously, sweating as he spoke; surprisingly unharmed despite his alarming appearance just prior. "She used my own technique...and did it with a lot more...gusto than I did."
"Goku, what in the world are you doing?!"
"Oh, hey Piccolo," Goku spoke lightheartedly, far too much for the shaky grin he gave off. "How's it going?"
"Who just sent you flying like a meteor out of Hell?" Tenshinhan asked straightforwardly.
"Oh, Dragon did."
"Excuse you, what?!"
"This girl who looks like a dragon," Goku explained, placing a pair of fingers on the sides of his head, then imitating curves on his chest and then jutt his butt out to wiggle to emphasize a tail. "She's got these horns on her head, these biiiiiig Bulma sized breasts and this big lizard tail coming from her butt. And," he added with an overly excited grin. "She's super strong!"
"I gathered that," Piccolo dryly noted with a wry expression. "You're welcome by the way."
"Ohhhhh, so you did that!" He remarked with wide eyes, clapping Piccolo on the shoulder with a laugh. "Thanks a bunch, pal."
"Just try not to make it a habit," He retorted.
"Yosh!" Goku saluted back.
"Goku," Dende finally spoke, getting the now slightly calmer Goku to smile his way. "Are you in any danger? We can help if this is getting too much."
"I appreciate that, Dende," Goku remarked, placing a hand on the young god of Earth in a move of comfort. "But I got this. After all, I just want to see how strong this Hakai-dragon really is. And, more importantly," he added with a free hand raising up, flexing the fist with audible crackles, a ghostly white aura ebbing around him with a dull yellow tint to it displayed around himself. "How strong I am!"
"You never change, do you?" Piccolo asked with a chuckle.
"Nope!" Goku replied with a smile.
"Well, Whis asked us to spectate since Beerus decided to not take responsibility. May we accompany you back to watch?"
"Sure, I don't see why not," Goku agreed with a relaxed shrug. Raising his right hand's fore-fingers up to his forehead, everyone placed a hand on his body.
Then, in an instant, they reappeared back where he last stood.
And in that moment, all three accompanying Earthlings felt the Hakaishin's power. That monumental feeling of being trapped in a vortex that swirled around and felt endless in sight while swelling in size with every passing moment.
"Yo! Sorry it took me a moment to get back!" Goku spoke back to Ragon, the three getting a look at her with varying degrees of surprise and fear on their faces. "These guys felt our fight from a way's off and wanted to watch. Hope you don't mind!"
"I love an audience!" Ragon gleefully sang, her excitement not one bit dropped from her earlier display of might. Crackling with divine energy, the Goddess of Destruction smiled toothily while her tail swung like a pendulum behind her in restrained delight. "I bring my crew around for that very reason! To see their Goddess in action is to inspire them and to give them reason for worship and reverence," she turned to look over her shoulder at her gathered crew. "Isn't that right, men?"
"We give praise to the mighty and terrifying Lord Ragon!" They all said in unison, bowing and waving as one before her in front of the egg ship. "We love and fear your worshipfulness! Crush all in your way and enjoy battle to your heart's content!"
"That I will!" Ragon spoke with a thrust of her hip to the side, a hand brush through her thick pinkish-white bangs and a bounce of her breasts. "For I am the amazing Ragon, master of combat and destruction. Soon I will have no equal, even in all the Multiverse. And I want to see what kind of challenges exist out there. So, Goku," she stretched a hand out, gripping it into a fist, her energy becoming a subtle flame of bright pink around her sumptuous, draconic form. "Show me what you got!"
Goku chuckled.
Unlike the dignified composure Beerus flaunted when not annoyed or showing his weakness for food, this girl wore her emotions on her sleeves. It was refreshing and scary at the same time how blunt she is compared to the God he knew.
Reaching up, he unclasped bolts on his braces on his forearms and shins. Throwing out his arms and then legs, powerful crashes of soil giving way to the deceptively small weights sank deep into the ground below.
"I'll stop holding back, then!" Goku declared, his body igniting into a full on white aura with a yellowish outer hue to it. His hair caught in the updraft went upright, his blue obi tassel flowing vertically along with rustling his gi.
This guy…! Piccolo thought as he smirked, hopping back to give Goku distance. Dende and Tenshinhan followed suit, landing on either side with Whis to their far right and Vados standing opposite of Ragon.
Goku sank back into his stance from earlier with a cocked arm and coiled fist, and Ragon stretched a clawed hand forward and another upraised fist to divide her smiling visage.
The ground shook with tension, soil rising up around Son Goku and Hakaishin Ragon. Swirling around in a beautiful array of blossom petals and grass, the pair locked eyes with smiles intact. Soaking in the moment, a deep breath before the plunge into battle.
In the reflection of Whis's stave ball, they suddenly disappeared-
KRAAAAAAK-KOOOOOOOM!
And erupted with fervor, limbs clashing in a multitude of impacts and parrying in the midst of space. It blew back the grassy field in a wave of divine pressure, whipping Piccolo's cape back as he held his arms stoically over his chest as he kept watch. Tenshinhan held a similar pose of keeping composure while Dende watched in awe at the fantastic display of battle prowess the two shared.
Goku whiffed over a ducking head, twisting away from a countering clawed swipe, launching a kick in the process that became deflected and then palming a retaliating punch. Leaning his neck away from a spearhand jab, he backed away to escape a clawed slash that left a bloody scratch on his cheek. And when she pursued, he throttled an instantaneous bolt of a flashing beam that connected with her cheek.
Or he thought, but saw the back of her hand had blocked it with a thick coating of Godly ki swathed over the clawed fist.
Throwing her own massive flash fist his way, he escaped in a bodily shunt of light that had him evaporate through the attack. Even as it violently collided into the ground, a flicker of emerald light radiated off the soil; revealing a barrier crafted beneath the planet's surface.
This maneuver caught Ragon off guard, as Goku blurred into place while landing a teleporting kick from the outstretched shin of his blue boot. It brought out a gasp from the draconic god, feeling herself thrown backwards across the air with a loud thwack!
Goku shunted through space again, following up his momentary advantage with a forward triage of punches from her navel, between her breasts and then her nose. Each blow connected with sparking flashes of yellowish-white light, true to the name of his technique.
Her body sailed across the pyramid shaped world, its divine expanse racing beneath them as tranquil purple lakes, fields of grass and cherry blossoms streaked as colored blurs beneath them. A nearby mountain appeared quickly in their vista, and Goku delivered one more space shunting kick, driving Ragon straight into the face of the divine world's mountain face in a flash of light.
Amidst the plume of wind and smoke of impact of the surprisingly sturdy erection of earth, Goku felt a grasp around his boot that made him freeze in place. As the dust cleared, he saw a clawed hand of Ragon's wrapped around his boot's sole to the top in a vice grip; inches from the steaming point of his collision into her face.
With a broad smile, she swung him around into the mountain.
A painful slap into the rock face carved through layers upon layers of durable mineral deposits and igneous substance. The orange bodied man curled his body inward, focusing his energy to endure the shredding his opponent attempted to inflict. What felt like an eternity passed by in a second as he exited the other side, along with the upper half of the mountain flying upwards into the sky from momentum alone.
Performing a full body kiai, he focused with a stern grimace as his opponent now floated where had tossed him from. She raised her hand up, a stream of pinkish Godly ki shooting up to fill into the airborne upper mountain half. Clenching her clawed hand into a fist, the earthen body crushed into dust and then expanded out to produce what appeared to be hundreds of building sized spears alight with divine energy.
"Divine Technique," Ragon spoke in a manic enthused warble with red eyes alight amidst the shadow of the spears she created. "Rain of the Impaling Inferno!"
Hurling her hand forth, a streak of fiery light filled the horizon of Goku's visual spectrum.
"Flash Step!" He invoked under his breath, focusing the sparks of Godly ki in his movements, flickering in and out of place akin to teleportation to avoid the hundreds of spears. What ones he couldn't he backhanded, kicked and palmed away in bright golden-white flashes of energy in split instants of movement.
Reaching out, he attempted to bat another way and found a hand grasp his. His eyes wide saw Ragon wielding one of the fiery divine spears, a white moon and pair of red Suns making up the mask of manic bloodlust.
Swinging around, he collided in a blur of divine fire and earth by her arm.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Doing this with over a hundred god mountain forged weapons imbued with her Godly ki, hitting him hard enough to shatter into burning shrapnel. Even then, he defended as best as he could, using Flash Fist to hit at the moment she swung. His face throbbing with veins, blood spouting from his head down his arms as he kept on deflecting her relentless attacks.
In the middle of her hundred and first swing, he kicked her arm with an upward knee to loosen her grip.
Side flipping over the monstrous proportioned weapon, she saw Goku flash crimson-gold past the breadth of her spear-
-then burst through it like a bodily spear of Godly crimson-gold flames.
"GAULK!" Ragon spat out spit and blood, the crimson haired Saiyan lancing a punch through her mid-center stretching out her back. A loud scream tore out of Goku's throat and twisted his whole body into this blow, propelling her into the lower half of the mountain with a loud explosive BANG!
Time resumed normally, the punch that shook the world and the hail of fiery spears tore a line of fiery destruction trailing behind him all the way to his known horizon. Regaining his breath, the divine energy mended his wounds with sizzling hisses, revitalizing his body and sustaining himself.
Looking at his fist, he saw it tremble in place. Quivering it looked bruised and steaming from contact. Feeling as much as sensing a wave of Godly ki from below, he looked down to see Ragon rising up from the crater into the air.
"That was a good hit, Saiyan," Ragon intoned slowly, her pinkish aura becoming a bright halo around her body. The pink on her hair lit up to a translucent bubblegum hue, as well as the top of her tail's scales and the whites of her horns crackling tendrils of pinkish light about her head. Looking up at him with a savage grin, she waved her hand over her visibly healing injury. "Too bad for you, I sensed your intent the split moment you transformed. I've fought your kind before, so that experience kept me from suffering any lasting damage by your finishing move. Though I do want to congratulate you," she growled, her tongue sliding over her lips with visibly trembling anticipation. "That really hurt!"
Goku felt his body shake in place. His pores had goosebumps, his spine chilled as he felt an overwhelming wave of malicious intent come from the draconic woman's Godly ki. Yet, it brought a nervous smile to his face and he resumed his standard ready stance.
He was prepared to see this through to the end.
I haven't used my new form in a fight yet, but I don't think even Super Saiyan God can stand up to her on its own…
Goku settled into an erect stance in the air, calling on his vast reserves of ki. Channeling his mortal power to entangle with his divine energy, he felt it billowing up and bursting in rays of bluish hue. A burst of cyan light overlapped his silhouette as he let loose a deafening howl of fury, veins nearly popping from his neck up to his face.
In a shell of light, it crumbled away like scales, unveiling a crackling white halo surrounded by a teal blaze of deified light. His hair became an upright opaque blue, tendrils of bluish hue snapping in and out of his form from the top of his head down to the soles of his feet. Blue eyes looked down at Ragon, and a serious glare poised at the Hakaishin sent chills up her spine.
"This is a Super Saiyan God beyond God. A Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan if you will."
"That sounds so incredible!" Ragon gushed with a toothy smile; tilting a bit to the side, she inquired with a raised brow. "But, isn't that an overly long name?"
"Well I haven't thought of another name yet. This is the first time I've shown this form at all," He simply explained with a smirk. "I'll come up with something after this fight."
"Confident, are we?" The Hakaishin asked, rising up into the air under her own power. Once she was in the same altitude as he was, she smiled thoughtfully as she gave him a onceover look. "I have an idea. Why don't we make a wager?"
"A bet, huh?" Goku asked with a few curious blinks. "Okay I'll bite. What's the stakes?"
"If you win, you can take anything you want of mine," She proffered to her pronounced chest with a cheeky grin.
"But, I'm married-"
"It can be anything and it can be just between us if you'd like," She batted her eyes at him, ignoring his verbal protest. "It can be physical pleasure from myself or anyone in my Universe. It can be my title as destroyer for the 6th Universe. You can even take a planet or a galaxy for yourself if you wish."
"Well, I appreciate the offer, but a lot of those things aren't what I'd care for," Goku answered honestly.
"Are you sure there isn't something you want?" Ragon questioned with insistence.
"Well," The Saiyan cupped his chin, looking up in thought. "I guess there is one thing."
"Yeah?!" The 6th Universe God of Destruction asked with excitement.
"If I could fight all your strongest fighters of your Universe, that would be something I could go for!" He answered with an outstretched finger and smile. "That's what I want!"
"A true Saiyan at heart," Ragon sighed, almost looking like she expected the answer. "I can arrange that. However, if I win, I only want one thing from you."
"What's that?" Goku asked innocently.
"You." She breathed out, her crimson eyes sparkling dreamily at him. "You are exactly the kind of person I'm looking to settle down with! We'd make the perfect couple!"
It took a few long seconds to process what the Hakaishin just said. The air whooshed by, his hair blowing with blossom petals fluttering by along with Ragon's. He blinked owlishly, and visibly sweated as his mind finally clicked into place what she just said.
Goku then blanched, saying aloud, "But I'm married!"
"Married?" Ragon asked with a blink. "What does that mean? A kind of contract?"
"It means we live together and have a family," He hastily explained, finding it odd he had to be the one to explain this situation.
"Is she strong like me, or likes fighting like you?" She questioned simply.
"I mean...no, not really," He spoke hesitantly. Honestly he had spent the most time away from Earth than anybody else training with Whis. Even Piccolo returned home more, and he spent nearly as much time training as he did.
In fact, when was the last time he heard Chi-Chi say she loved him? Or he returned the sentiment?
"Then this works out!" Ragon spoke with excited insistence. "Trust me, you'll never get bored with me. I have lots to do and it's never dull. We can fight anywhere at any time too; even in the bedroom~"
Saying that with the look she gave him made his face burst red. Naive he may be, but he knew that look and expression from anywhere. Still, this didn't feel right, even for an outcome for a battle.
He just wanted a simple fight. Why do gods have to complicate things?
"So do we have a deal?" Ragon asked with a toothy smile and sparkle in her eyes. "Beat me and you get to fight more strong people. Lose and I get to take you for myself."
"I get the feeling," Goku began to say nervously, settling himself into a fighting stance once more in readiness. "You're going to insist whether I want to or not."
"Oh silly Saiyan," She giggled, settling into her own fist raised and outstretched clawed stance. "I know you want something more than this life you have now. You wouldn't have hesitated if you really didn't want it."
Goku didn't respond. Nor did he smile. He just stonily stared back and tried to put his focus into winning.
He inhaled, then exhaled. Breathed in and out. Repeated this till he shot forward in a charge of bluish light.
He thrust his fist forward at her fist cocked guard.
Her face disappeared, and was replaced by a fist that filled his vision. In a flicker of light he phased through the outstretched appendage and manifested next to her with a lancing foot. She vanished again, creating a dance of superspeed that spiraled across the land.
Flashes of blue and pink sparked around the desolated stretch of godly hillside. The stalemate continued for seconds, then turned minutes as each one came scathingly close to landing a direct hit. A claw came within millimeters distance of Goku's stern face, just as the tip of his own knuckles were narrowly avoided from raking Ragon's smiling cheek.
Then, it happened.
A loud BLAM! filled the sky and shook the world below as a mighty blow connected. A streak of light followed a body hitting the ground. In the shower of earthen debris, one hand clawed out and pulled forth its owner. Blood trickled around from the corner of grim lips and a noticeable bruise could be seen on a stern face.
"Damn," Goku felt his own cheek tenderly. "That smarts."
"You are still conscious!" Ragon gasped with wide eyes of shock. Even as Goku turned to look her way, her smile brightened and her aura flared excitedly around her in a rosy flash. "The fun's just gettin started! Let's continue!"
I think...I'm in trouble... Goku's last thoughts were as he saw his opponent charge at him in a maddening blur of indecipherable speed towards his crouched form.
He didn't remember what happened next. Only that the next blow wasn't a bruise; and that darkness came right afterwards.
A/N: And that concludes this chapter. I tried to capture the essence of Goku's personality here, along with the other main characters. It was nice to display a more casual side to things to replace the standard routine the beginning of RoF would have made me slog through.
And I get to introduce a new character! Ragon (based on a kind of wine as well as a pun for Dragon) is someone I've been planning to create for some time. She's someone I hope feels naturally belonging in Dragon Ball and I did my best in keeping that theme with her design. Their fight was one of my favorites to describe, and brought me back to the roots of what I liked to write in this particular story: over the top bombastic battles.
But yeah, this Arc will involve her being quite pivotal, as well as the rest of her Universe. What other changes are to be expected? Find out in the next chapter of The Power of Two!