Ragon was happy to be back home.
It had only been a day since she departed from it, but she loved the comfort her abode had. The original palace that her predecessor had been too gaudy to her tastes and she deigned redecorating was necessary. With help from Vados, it really did become an embodiment of her will and her mystique as a God of Destruction.
Her egg shaped vessel passed through the top of the perfect star-like orb, entering a vast fortress interior that had its barrier brightly lit all things within a crimson film. Descending hundreds of stories of brick laden ramps, balconies and stark towers of all smooth igneous quality, it finally rested at a ramp that clenched the egg over a circular disc.
Landing upright, many personnal rushed around with shelled helmets and visors that were reflecting scarlet from the ambient interior lighting. Once the egg rippled and opened up a vast rectangular slit open were all staff on hundreds of floors bowing at once.
Exiting the craft came a throne, held upright by twelve of the flight crew - four holding purplish poles on either flank up front as well as behind - carrying Ragon whom lounged back on her velvet cushioned seat. Following her came Vados, with stave in hand, and then a cuffed and collared Son Goku with the remaining twelve crew marching stoically behind him.
"Whoa!" Goku spoke in awe, blinking widely at his surroundings with child-like innocence. "This place is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!"
His voice echoed, making itself heard in the vast star-lit complex. This made a great number of the bowing personnel to murmur and look aghast at his lack of vocal tact.
"I know right?!" Ragon squealed out, turning to look over the back of her chair as she beamed positively at Goku. "It's cool, right?!"
"Yeah, but," The Turtle Schooled Saiyan put out his tongue and fanned his face with his cuffed hands. "It's a bit hot in here, isn't it?"
"That's because this place is built within a Hollow Star, silly," The draconic goddess chastised him lightheartedly. "It's supposed to be hot."
"A...holo-star?" Goku craned his head to the side with furrowed brows. "What's that mean? A TV?"
"What Lord Ragon means is that this is a Sun that is repurposed to be lived inside of," Vados explained on her charge's behalf with a hip turned wave for an eye to eye explanation. "Gods used to live in celestial bodies long ago before planets became more popular to use. It exemplifies the status and authority, as most mortals tend to revere light in any form. So it was an obvious choice for her to use one to declare her status as Universe Six's newest Hakaishin."
"Neat, huh?" Ragon asked, now from over top of the chair's back. Her tail swished back and forth, her feet tip-toeing so she could look at Goku directly with a tight lipped smile.
"I don't get all of it, but it sounds mighty impressive," Goku answered honestly, his nervousness masked by his actual discomfort to the heat. This was helped as his stomach let out a loud growl that shook the platform they were walking upon.
"I see someone's hungry," The 6th Destroyer said with a giggle, turning to look over at Vados. "Can you tell our cooks to make up a grand feast? I bet my guest is hungry after such a fun battle we had!"
"Already prepared," Vados affirmed to her with a nod. "I already took the liberty of sending a message to the Destroyer Realm as we reentered Universe 6. It should be waiting for us."
"You're so thoughtful, as always, Vados!~" Ragon joyfully cried out, her face adorned in a happy flush against the crimson light overlay upon herself from the star-in-lighting.
"So," Goku piped up, raising up the ovular cuffs that covered his hands in flat circles with metal sleeves down to his elbows; with a pair of crisscross beams keeping them from separating apart their folded posture. "Do I have to stay like this?"
"You have an Instantaneous Movement technique learned by the Yardratians. Catching you would be a tiresome ordeal if you hopped from planet to planet while trying to escape to Universe 7," Vados explained with a smirk. "Not that you could use it inside of here."
"I'm not planning on escaping," Goku answered plainly, his eyes set on Ragon's "I lost, fair and square. Might as well be comfy here since you wanted me with you so badly."
Ragon smiled brightly at this, and looked to Vados, "See, just like you said! He's warming up to me!"
Vados laughed, shaking her head side to side.
"If that's what you wish," She gestured, causing the shackles to glow and then pop from existence. His collar, followed by his ankle restraints disappeared from sight.
"Whoa! Thanks!" Goku thanked with a smile, gripping his hands experiementally and rolling his neck side to side.
"Now, to feast!" The draconic goddess shouted with giddy command, plopping down onto the throne's plush seating as she allowed herself to be carried forth.
Goku waved at the still bowing personnal, watching them look at him with awe or averting their gaze outright. He lowered his hand, scratching his face with the other set of fingers he had and looked over at Vados as he posed a question.
"Who are all of these egghead people?"
"They are Leemos," The attendant explained patiently, her eyes locked onto Goku's quizzid expression while softly smiling at him. "They were a people whose planet found destroyed by outside forces. Upon rescuing them, the Leemos swore fealty to her and she made them her personal guards. Their technical skill is unrivaled, as they were the ones to build the interior of this Hollow Star and Ragon's personal Multiverse Transport."
"Ooooooh," The Earth-raised Saiyan awed aloud, looking over at the range of build each had beneath the tight fabric and armor they wore. "So they're really smart, huh? Can they fight?"
"Certainly!" Ragon chimed in, wagging her finger at Goku without turning from her seated position. "I wouldn't have made them my personal guard if they couldn't handle potential danger. Only the Saiyans and Earthlings of my Universe can compare on a broad average to their combat ability."
Goku instantly looked excited.
He remembered Ragon saying how she fought Saiyans before. But there are Earthlings too? How many other races from his Universe exist?!
"Ohhhhhh!" Goku excitedly stretched his arms up, shouting exuberantly as he and Ragon entered the spire. "I'M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE!"
"Why aren't we there yet?!" Piccolo shouted angrily.
Kibitoshin grimaced. The emerald skinned warrior was making this already more difficult than it had to be.
In fact, this whole endeavor is becoming a test of his patience. As he projected his omniscience from his Universe to the bordering one, he realized how daunting of a stretch of space bordered the 7th cosmos to the 6th. A vast firmament of sheer white and rainbow colored dust with no life of any kind filling the gap of the Multiverse was chillingly wide. Even the best spacecraft that Bulma's father constructed would take years to get from one edge to the other, he was certain of that.
"Calm down, Piccolo," Tenshinhan intoned with a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "We need to save our strength for getting Goku out of this mess."
"For once, I would just like things to go smoothly," The former God of Earth said with a huff, his face still construed in a mixture of wariness and frustration. "If we had fought Ragon, we might have prevented this. But we all could have died. The plan has to work otherwise all my doubts will confirm my cowardice!"
"It's alright, Piccolo," Dende reassured his teacher calmly with a smile. "We'll find him."
"As the young god said, we will," Kibitoshin spoke as his face ceased its struggling twitches. "My omniscience has reached Universe 6. In order to not alert the Hakaishin or any of her Lord Creators, I'll slowly sweep her cosmos. This will take only a few more minutes."
With that, all three waited in bated breath. Dende kept in a relax statue posture, similar to Piccolo only minusing the crossed arms over the chest and the hairless frown. Tenshinhan kept his hands in a prayer stance with eyes closed, focusing his ki and preparing himself for the inevitable encounter.
Whis, while keeping his eyes primarily on the readied band of would-be heroes, felt a nagging feeling on the back of his head. Turning around, he eyed at what he could only describe as an intangible force that looked upon himself and the others present.
Tenshinhan's eyes widened along with Piccolo and Dende's. They all felt it; the presence of a god. Looking around, they saw nothing despite the distinct ki that belonged to a deity.
"Ah, so you are the ones peering into our Universe?" A smooth, young voice echoed within their minds. "To what end does a Lord Creator involve himself within the territory of Lord Ragon?"
"Depends who is asking," Piccolo replied evenly ahead of fhe others. "How long have you been spying on us first?"
"Repugnant being. I do not spy. I guard the realm from forces both domestic and foreign; this includes our twin Universe, the Seventh Cosmos," It replied, sneering with every nrw word echoing the heads of those present. "I am surprised, though. For as slothful as the Sixth Cosmos has for a Destroyer, you have a bold Creator. But to have an Angel so close at hand and doing nothing? Even more shameful!"
Angel? All three thought with surprise.
Before they could question Whis, a flare of light emitted from their midst. It had a majestic flourish of colors, a circular aura pulsed forth like a drumming heart and a silhouette emerged.
A breathtaking wind swept the grass, making blossoms swirl into the air and framing the figure before the three Earthlings and behind the focusing Kaioshin. White hair emerged from the middle of a golden trimmed white ovular helmet in a tall Mohawk style with a ponytail trailing to the center of the back, the helmet having a chin strap of black that wraped around a pointed chin and strong cheekbones while possessing a pair of supple lips and slanted blue eyes that curled forth in a defiant calm anger towards them.
Beneath the neck down looked to be a pair of white solid armor material over the shoulders in appearance of egg shaped pauldrons. A breastplate of similar material finessed between elastic deep purple fabric - jutting forward from a pair of modest breasts -. Similar material covered the abdomen and hips with a purple buckled belt with various tubes slotted around the hips. Having knee pads, gauntlets and boots of stark white with purple outlines, lastly standing out with a vivid purple cape that flourished behind her along with her ponytail.
The figure turned around and glared towards the Kaioshin's back and raised a gloved hand towards him.
"Cease your entry to our Universe! I have foreseen your plans and it will bring chaos you cannot fathom!" She declared aloud, her voice just as alluring as it was demanding. "I am Parkas, Lord Ragon's Sentry, here to deny your plans of invasion!"
Kibitoshin couldn't answer.
He was already too far deep into another Universe. If he withdrew to comply, or even appeal to this new entrant's wishes, there was no guarantee he could reenter unnoticed. He didn't feel any Kaio or Kaioshin at play, so this was likely a sole individual, though powerful on their own.
I felt that being emit a powerful pulse of Godly Ki arriving here. Whoever this Sentry Parkas is, she is quite strong...The Lord Creator of Universe 7 thought. Be careful you three. She may be as powerful as any one of you!
"Step away from him," Piccolo intoned stoically.
Parkas turned her head to look over at him. Her visor lit up with foreign text streaming over it, all the while blue eyes flickered a dangerous emerald gleam. As it beeped, her brow furrowed and her gloved hand lowered away from Kibitoshin.
"Nameccian, from my Shell readings, you have a strong vitality and a wellspring of power," The Sentry said matter-of-factly with no sign of sounding impressed. "Even with your two comrades, I do not consider you a threat. I warn you to cease your foolish mission less I be forced to crush you underfoot."
While she took the time to speak, Piccolo gave his own analysis of her power. He had felt her divine energy moments before she arrived; it was strong, yet he felt no real battle power coming off her even innately. Was she simply unable to manipulate ki, or was it simply concealed beyond any one's perception?
"Perhaps you're hard of hearing," The emerald skinned warrior retorted with a sudden smirk and wave of his arm for emphasis. "I was the one to tell you to move. As a God, I would think you should bow, then going back to whatever hole you crawled out of."
Parkas visibly twitched in anger.
"God, you say?" She asked incredulously, streaks of lime colored light bursting to the fore and swirling in a sphere that revolved around her circumference. Her hair and cape whipped about within the wind bursting phenomena. "The only deity I bow to is Ragon. All others are either not worthy of worship-"
Piccolo didn't let her finish.
A fist speared through the spherical projection of power, aimed to strike her face. She leaned back, avoiding the elastically stretched limb of the Nameccian by a hair's breadth. Jabbing at his stretched arm, her eyes widened in surprise as it weaved away like a snake.
And much like a snake, it moved in a rapid cirucular motion to ensnare her while she was bent back. Coiling around her body, it made a tight cinch, crushing the figure into a spray of jetstreaming light.
She materialized behind him in a flare of viridescence, blinding in its radiance. Her arm lanced towards his head, whiffing the air when it stretched and bent away like a reed in the wind.
Twisting on his left heel to scythe her with his free arm, she parried the blow with a snap of her foot.
The air - having been still amidst their attacks of superspeed - finally concaved in before billowing out in a howling gale of force. Light streamed from the woman, lime painting Parkas in its overcast while Piccolo showed no sign of outward exertion.
"Need help?" Tenshinhan asked, his golden robes fluttering wildly around him from the recent clash.
"No," Piccolo responded, smiling as he palmed another powerful punch of hers in a burst of green. "I got this."
"As you say," Tenshinhan said with a smile, not moving as well as Dende.
The two saw a series of intense punches, kicks and jabs, each one expertly dodged or blocked in some way or another. Despite no apparent Godly Ki being used, this fight was well above the realms their Nameccian comrade had fought in the past. To even Dende who is new to the ways of the warrior, could feel the stark differences of his strength from before two years ago and now.
Weaving in and around, the green skinned man leaned forth and swung his arm in a close proximate arc. Even as it made contact, he saw and felt her teleport in a light spraying shunt through space. Avoiding her retaliating stomp from overhead in a forward somersault, he twisted around and launched a kiai.
The invisible bundle of ki stopped short, the spherical projection of lime flashing in a sign of repulsion. Unmoved by the strike, she raised her palm and several rings emitted from her glove's arm.
Then it fired a beam of luminous green energy down at him.
A clawed hand surged out and connected with it, catching the head of the attack. Grinning, he twisted his wrist - reversing the flow of the attack in an instant.
A loud detonation of greenish white filled the sky, shuddering the blue hills and flowery fields across the horizon. All eyes focused upon the dissipating haze of smoke, the figure emerged with a shell of light vividly covering her form.
Like armor, it shielded her from the explosion and with its simple features operated as an advanced exterior of ki from her person.
"Interesting," Her voice reverberated with a sudden deep timbre past the shell of green luminescence. "You can control the flow of energy. You used my own energy against me faster than I could teleport. Had I not worn this armor, I might have received some damage."
Piccolo didn't answer.
He merely studied her, observing the shell of light recede into the white plating worn around her body. When it fully withdrew, Parkas raised a gloved hand to flatly aim at him. The transparent visor bleeped, forming a crossair over her right eye as looping rings emitted from the front of the palm.
A high pitched whine filled the air as white light breathed into form, starting as an orb and quickly shifted into a conical one. Before Piccolo's eyes it became the complex weave of a trapezoid with glimmering gem-like qualities.
"This will be the end of you," Parkas announced, her fingers folding into her palm to make a fist. In a split instant, a shriek followed its swift movement towards her target-
-aiming right for his head.
She watched his head evaporate, bloody mist fluttering out as the gem kikoha impacted the ground behind him with a loud upheaval of soil and fire that flew high into the sky straight into space. As the pyre burned with an orangish overcast over the bluish-green backdrop of their environment did she realize the body of the Nameccian flicker with luminous embers of bluish white fire.
And her chest felt an impaling strike front, a waving mirage unveiling her enemy as if he was a chameleon. Sharp fingers dug through the keratin-like shell, a throbbing pulse injecting into it followed by a sudden swelling of light on every piece of armor on her body.
"No-!" She croaked out, her body subsumed by an overlapping film of white heat. The thunder that followed the point blank eruption launched a figure covered in a trail of fire, streaking into a distant hill with an explosive impact.
"He did it!" Dende cried out with joy.
"Not yet," Tenshinhan corrected him, his three eyes glaring forth to beheld a standing figure clad in light.
A coral wreathe of divine energy pulsed around what should have been a scorched body of Ragon's Sentry. Instead, the purple fabric that wound tightly around her muscular curved physique was untouched, with a wisp of orangish fire burned around the Mohawk adorned person.
"To think I needed to use my God Ki to fight someone who isn't even a deity himself," She muttered out with frustration. "But I am not without mercy. If you surrender, I'll spare your life, Nameccian."
"Heh," Piccolo chuckled. "Did you really think my talk of being a god was hyperbolic?"
"You're strong but you are no god," Parkas stated with contempt. "I have not seen a single breath of a deity in you. Unless you expect me to believe you were holding back this whole time?"
"Don't talk like that. You used tech to substitute your real strength," He countered with a sneer, pointing a finger at her. "If you came at me like you are now from the start, I would have to treat you seriously."
"The Limeans use our technical prowess to enhance and focus our powers, not substitute them," She corrected him, her eyes glaring at him icily. "But I'm different. I among a handful of my people have achieved the impossible: I wield the power of God."
To emphasize this, her power reverberated around the lime skinned woman's body in sea-like waves. The coral light shrieked to a fever pitch, the fighter remaining stationary as she became enveloped in its luminous rays.
Tenshinhan and Dende covered their eyes, the flare of light casting a brilliant glare visible throughout the multi-world solar system. Filling the whole world beneath their feet with an ominous pulse of pressure, all could fathom the presence of the god that had only minutes before been in a completely different Universe from theirs.
As the brightness dimmed, a silhouette became unveiled within a wispy halo of purple-white over the Mohawk-ponytailed warrior. The white hair had been replaced with a pulsing amethyst wave, light violet energy with a white stream of star-like sparks emitted a majestic aura up the bodice of the tall and curvaceous figure. Blue eyes became violet rings, and her overall physique seemed to lighten and smooth out; she even looked a bit younger, yet just as coldly determined as when she arrived.
"Cosmic God," Parkas intoned, her voice quieter yet more clear than before. "In this state, I am at full strength. You felt it before I arrived; you have no hope of victory now."
"Is that so?" Piccolo asked with a thin smile. "I admit, you are strong. Had I faced you two years ago, I might have been in over my head. But now, I know I don't need to worry."
The Sentry cocked a brow with confusion, watching the Nameccian spreading his arms out. He looked exposed by intent, and smugly smirked at her.
"Hit me with this full power of yours," He beckoned, his body still even as a breeze overlapped his cape to flap in its invisible brush. "I want to see if you have what it takes to push me over the edge. Let's see if Ragon truly has someone I can't beat before I step foot in her domain!"
Tenshinhan couldn't help himself and he chuckled. He had seen firsthand the Nameccian's training. Arms still crossed, he wanted to know if Piccolo could stand up to a verifiable titan of power standing across from them.
Dende looked concerned. He always did. His mind had not yet fully embraced the ways of the warrior. Seeing this senseless act of bravado made him feel like his mentor was placing him in danger for nothing but ego.
However, Parkas didn't get angry.
Instead, she took a step forward.
And the next had her appearing past Piccolo in a flash of light; a flash that echoed with a thuum and an eviscerating erasure of a child-sized hole in his chest. The cape flapped back, showing the small penetrating tear of a fist as Parkas retracted her hand from behind her back.
"PICCOLO!" Dende cried out with alarm.
"She's fast…!" Tenshinhan murmured. "I barely even saw her step past him. And her punch looked like it vanished entirely. Is every move of hers teleporting space/time?"
"It's over for you," She whispered, turning to look over her shoulder.
The sight of a green blur made her eyes widen.
She ducked, feeling the limb pass over her head and through her violet hair. A fierce uppercut was sent his way, impacting in another flash of light that made his head snap back.
Yet, the jaw pushed down hard against her fist and the sight of a fang baring man glared her way. So stunned by this she lost focus, feeling her hand slip from his chin-
KRAK!
"Hngh!" She winged, feeling the Namek's skull gong hers mightily. Her vision swam and pain throbbed in her skull.
Staggering back, Parkas swung her left foot in an arc of purple towards the Emerald Warrior's jaw. This time, when she connected, she witnessed a hand reaching up in a streak of swift motion. Catching her by the toes of her boot in an expulsion of divine energy, the Nameccian raised his other arm.
The next instant, the Sentry of Ragon felt her stomach indented, stretched out of her back before rebounding in place. Her eyes widened, her foot released as she stumbled in agony. She clutched onto her midsection as she staggered back with an open mouth frothing with raspy exhales from the blow.
Looking up, she barely had time to leap back in another God Flash, teleporting back out of range from the invisible thrusting punch Piccolo hurtled at her.
What's going on?! I know I should have ended the fight on the first blow! How is he-?
Her thoughts halted as she saw no hole in Piccolo's chest. No sign of damage, save for the small hole she made in his cape and tunic when initiating the strike.
"Regen-Hngh!" She gasped out, her realization stunning her as much as Piccolo's fist struck her face in a loud crack!
She staggered back, a drop of blood escaping her nostrils. Blinking through blurred gaze, she saw the emerald skinned warrior's body shudder, limbs contracting with almost mechanical clicking sounds.
Parkas realized the purpose in a split instant.
Piccolo's arm vanished, seemingly erased from the physical realm. A green flash exploded as the Limean barely swiveled an arm to block it.
She grimaced, skidding back along the ground on her heels, digging deep into the divine realm's soil. Turning about she streaked in a forward blur of her own, light bleeding around her as she surpassed space/time in her swift shunt.
Materializing in a sharp blast, a wave of force sparked about as Piccolo and Parkas struck limb against limb. Divine energy flowed about the Limean, glaring down at a stoic Nameccian, their fists grinding out bio-electricity in crackling fury.
Swiftly swinging a boot around to hit his unprotected side, she watched him palm it with his other shuddering palm in another space tearing thrust. Eyeing this, she twisted out of their lock in another teleporting maneuver of bright light-
-appearing with a fist slamming up into Piccolo's jaw.
Yet, for as much force she used, his skull did not shatter. In fact, she felt resistance and tensed up muscles from the neck down. Her hand pushed down as a vein throbbing face pushed her knuckles down, then blurred straight into her brow.
A divine gong filled the air as turban covered head struck an egg-helmed skull. It throttled her straight into the ground with a massive shock wave that shook the planet beneath their feet. A shower of debris rained about them, Piccolo's cape flourishing about as his turban cracked down the middle of its front; just as assuredly the conical helmet upon the Limean shattered along its porcelain surface.
"...you, overpowering me through sheer force, without any godly ki of your own?" Parkas rasped out, shakily righting up, clenching at her broken helm as blood oozed from the damaged flesh beneath its marred exterior.
"I told you, I am a god," The emerald warrior intoned seriously. "Just because I am not using divine energy, doesn't mean I don't have any. It just means that I don't need that kind of power to deal with you."
"You dare hold back against me?!" Parkas cried out, leaping back to her feet in the crater with her godly aura igniting around her. "Bastard! I am the Sentry! More still, I am a proud warrior of the Limeans and devoted follower of Lord Ragon! To be treated this way is an insult!"
Grasping the turban, Piccolo sighed as he removed it from his head.
Parkas felt her mind reel. The antennae that sprung forth brought memories to the fore, and a realization put things into perspective.
"A Nameccian?!" She swore aloud. "And one this strong?!"
"So, your Universe has my people too?" Piccolo questioned with a raised brow. "I was wondering about that. Are there none with a fighting spirit where you hail?"
"They were sages and warriors alike. But they were destroyed centuries ago," Parkas confirmed, her disbelief tempering as she continued to speak. "But none had your power, less they would not have been wiped out."
Piccolo held a grim expression. He felt pity that had become what was another source of kinship, even from another Universe.
Tossing the turban behind him, he grasped the pointed ends of his cape's shoulders and hefted it off. Dropping it in front of himself, both objects sank straight into the earth with loud explosive impacts, creating as much debris as the headbutt he inflicted on Parkas. The demonstration was enough that Dende blinked widely and Tenshinhan chuckled.
"Finally taking the gloves off, huh?" The Crane Fighter asked rhetorically.
Rolling his neck back and forth, Piccolo crackled joints free of tension, breathing slowly as he worked free the energy it took carrying the weighted clothing on his body.
No longer inhibited, he clenched his fingers into his palms and tensed all of the muscles in his body.
Then, he howled.
The voice that erupted wasn't the usual fare Tenshinhan or Dende had seen from the former Demon King or God of Earth. It held a weight, burgeoning the soil and sweltering the air with its passage out from his lungs. A torrential typhoon cast the ground in a flurry of wind, forcing Dende to shield his eyes and Tenshinhan to emit an invisible barrier to shield him from the debris.
Amidst the sound that made Ragon grimace, her eyes saw it. The influence of the divine. An energy on a completely different scale than before.
Light of the purest white with tendrils of blue swelled from the green and reddish parts of the Nameccian's flesh. Unlike the massive aura of the past, it held in place with a majestic shine, filling the land as if a star's hue came to the ground. Dende's hand covered his eyes while Tenshinhan didn't look fazed at all.
Whis himself smiled, eyeing the energy with a semblance of pride in his normally unflappable ego. Looking to Parkas, Piccolo's teacher spoke up for the first time since the 6th Universe's Sentry arrived.
"Don't lose courage, Parkas. Piccolo is a rare talent, equal to that of the one he seeks to rescue from your God," Whis admitted, his eyes moving from her shocked orbs to Piccolo's stoic gaze, the shine of his aura dimming to a gentle but prominent glow of white with blue crawling currents of cobalt electric display. "I see great potential in him. He may end up being the one I choose to replace Beerus, upon his eventual demise."
Parkas was stunned.
An Angel was praising a mortal to being Beerus's successor? Did that mean, this being is on the level of Ragon? No, that's impossible, she thought.
But no matter how much she wanted to deny it, the being standing across from her has divine influence to his ki. Even from a visual standpoint that was undeniable. And just from powering up his base - without using divine energy - this Piccolo is stronger than she is at her maximum.
If that is true, then I must not fight like him. I must fight tactfully, The Sentry conceived, her countenance stabilized as did her energy. The purplish-silver waves calmed and became a soothing upward flowing brook over her being. The purple hair wisped, purple ringed eyes glared at her foe.
Swinging her hands out to either side, discs of light materialized out of the star sparks coasting in her divine aura. Collecting up her arms, in a space of six inches apart of each, they stopped at the base of her underarms beneath the shoulders. Grasping her helmet, she removed it from her normal humanoid cranium and tossed it underhand at Piccolo.
The Nameccian backhanded the object, shattering it completely. In the moment she performed God Flash, appearing at his left side.
He swung at her, beheading Parkas at the neck, only to see in a flicker her fist materializing into his face. His head whipped back with a loud pow, but he didn't give ground. Instead his body shunted space and thrust at her, causing a numerous series of elluptical thunderclaps of energy to emit in between them.
Another multitude of God Flash came with a myriad of blinding movements from the Sentry. The Nameccian struck each appearing image, feeling them miss by scarce instants.
A fist tore through Piccolo's chest as it appeared before the rest of Parkas did. Not even deigning to acknowledge the newest hole in his torso, he fired off a pair of eye beams down at the Limean's face; meeting a ring of light formed in a flicker, dispersing the energy and allowing another insant-appearing punch to sock him right across the jaw with a painful thuum!
"What's going on?" Dende asked with wide eyed alarm as he saw Parkas begin to land blow after blow on his elder's body. "I thought he got stronger than her! Why is she able to do this?"
"It's the difference between two Universes," Tenshinhan cut in, his cloak whipping about as he stoically observed the fight without flinching at the sight of his comrade getting struck and outmaneuvered. "She already admitted that she can't transform or control her energy, much like the rest of her race. However, Godhood circumvents boundaries set on yourself and gives you options where not even martial arts training can enable," he further intoned, nodding his head at her when she was momentarily visible. "Those rings are identical to the symbols her armor made. They must have some significance as they can alter and enhance the flow of energy. If you take even a small amount of a god's power, it has the capacity to either create matter from nothing or destroy matter completely. She must have achieved the same level of ki control using divine energy as years of experience and training has given people like Piccolo, Goku and I."
"But if she keeps this up, then Piccolo will-!" Dende exclaimed, catching himself at the last second.
In the time he was losing focus, he failed to see his mentor block one of the materializing punches of Parkas. Then he blocked another, then twelve more, and then an ensemble of many attacks that the woman sent his way. Looking back, Dende felt his jaw drop and his arms go limp.
From his point of view, it looked like hundreds of serpentine limbs were whipping and intercepting the light flashing fists.
In the eyes of Parkas the Sentry, she thought she saw a demon with thousands of arms. They erupted and moved with sinuous grace, unpredictable in trajectory while seeking out her split moments of attack and escape. Just when she thought she had created a ploy to win against a stronger opponent, a stratagem was placed ahead of her.
Like he had thought of this exact scenario ahead of time.
This is madness! I feel like I'm fighting a demon rather than a god! She felt, feeling her assertive focus waver in the face of such a formidable defense.
In that break of momentum, he caught her. A four fingered hand grappled her arm, sending a field of energy that locked her in place.
A barrier?! She thought with wide eyed fright.
A cacophony of rupturing strikes filled the space she stood. Her Godly ki broke down, bit by bit, as thousands of powerful punches struck every part of her, stretching her energy thin to protect every part of her body. It felt as if decades passed as she used every bit of power she had to resist the onslaught.
Reality cruelly unveiled it to be ten seconds of physical brutality.
The last punch that dispelled her raiment of cosmic power was a punch to her chest past her breasts. The rings around her arm fizzled out, her eyes going white with losing consciousness, and her body going limp. When she finally went down, her gaze saw the fading silhouette of the Nameccian breathing heavily in the aftermath.
Forgive me, Lord…Ragon…
Parkas, falling unconscious with a soft thud, left Dende aghast. Her power is undeniable, far more divine than he had claim to. Yet, with only a sliver of Godly ki influencing his mortal energy, Piccolo had bested her without even using his full strength.
"Cutting it close, wouldn't you say?" Tenshinhan wryly snarked with a smirk.
The Nameccian huffed, finally regaining his composure. Spitting out a wad of blood and rolling his neck side to side, he stoically stepped past her and walked up to the Kaioshin.
The latter of which gestured to them without turning to look.
"I have found Goku. Better do what we wish now before I have second thoughts about this madness we are about to embark upon," He spoke with effort, doing his best to keep any sign of weakness out of his voice.
"About time," Piccolo grumbled.
"Hmmm," Whis hummed in thought, raising his voice just as the others reached out to put hands on the Shinling. "Just a moment. I am experiencing a sense of…excitement? May I accompany you?"
"Did you change your mind about helping all of a sudden?" Piccolo asked, his colleagues looking at each other with suspicion and disbelief.
"Oh no, it's not like that at all!~" He waved dismissively with a sing-song voice he normally spoke while deflecting. Narrowing his eyes, his lips curled as he explained. "I just know something big is about to happen and I rather have…what's the expression? Front Row Seats."
Piccolo and Tenshinhan looked to each other. Dende muttered something under his breath. Kibitoshin simply sighed and nodded over to him.
"You certainly may accompany us, Sir Whis," He announced. "Just be aware I won't be able to return us home if the worst occurs."
"For a god, you're certainly lacking in confidence," Tenshinhan noted aloud.
"I don't want to incur the wrath of two Hakaishin if Whis is absent when Beerus awakens!" Kibitoshin cried out in exclaimation.
"Then we should hurry and be back before then," Whis intoned with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Right," Piccolo huffed.
The three mortals steeled their resolve, Kibitoshin closed his eyes and, in a flicker, teleported all five of them.
Leaving behind a waking Parkas.
"Lord…Ragon…" She gasped out, eyes craning to open. Every fiber of her body pulsed with pain, the extent of damage worse than any she had received in her life. Now even staying conscious was an effort, and she forced herself to raise up into an upright seated position.
"I must…stop them…less my vision…comes true!" Parkas stammered out, heaving breaths while pushing herself to stand.
Then, a sharp spike of agony struck her neck and she fell to her knees, vision swimming.
I'm too damaged? Guess that strange creature damaged me worse than I thought…
She prayed that she could recover soon. At her current condition, she may still be in danger-
"Hey!"
A voice called out harshly, causing her to turn around.
She stared in surprise, almost unbelieving what she was seeing.
"Impossible, you are-!"
—-
A/N: And here it is. Piccolo's time to shine. Really wanted to sell the magnitude of this achievement and what better way than to fight another god? Thanks for the feedback as of late and I hope you enjoy future updates. I'll try to make up for lost time in this arc, as well as end the Perfect Tournament story very soon. Cya all later!