Devil From The Heavens

Chapter 15: The End Is Nigh

Pain stared at the lake in the distance. Konan was almost done with her trap for Madara. Enough notes to create a chain of explosives that would last far longer than his intangibility. The answer practically landed in his lap. He was standing in this very spot when Broly called out to him.

"His intangibility, it doesn't last forever does it?"

It was a dangerous question given his position but Pain saw the tempered hatred in the Saiyan's eyes. The question was not posed carelessly. And so, Broly told him. Madara was hit by the sand of the storm regularly 'every five minutes, give or take' before it would pass through him once more. That was all they needed to take the next step.

Pain felt what could be considered nerves in his real body. Madara Uchiha was powerful. He had no doubt the man could kill almost every former member of Akatsuki should he desire it. But the Akatsuki, an organization of S-Ranked missing nin, feared Pain for a reason. Ame worshiped him as a god for a reason. He was blessed with the Rinnegan for a reason.

Madara's body would be a stepping stone for the future.

He spotted Konan's paper wings in the distance. In moments, she was by his side once more. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face and her breathing was heavy. Her chakra levels were low but not dangerously so. She would be fine.

"It's done."

"Good."

Pain noticed her lips pressed together. Their years together made her easily read by him. She had a question for him.

"Something troubles you, Konan?"

"We have already collected most of the Tailed Beasts. To have a weapon made from them as well as Broly would be redundant."

The unasked question remained in the air. Freeing the Biju was out of the question. They were chaos made form and they would sow more death in a world that has already been flooded in blood. Forming them into a weapon like he originally planned would be more a liability than a boon if they still had the Saiyan.

Perhaps they'd convince him to join them. With the alien's loyalty, they could still wield the Tailed Beasts like originally planned. This would have to be a bridge crossed later. There'd be no point in having a plan for the Tailed Beasts if they fell against Madara.

"I agree but the time to deal with them is not now." His eyes moved unconsciously to a more pertinent matter. Broly slept with his back to them in his cell. Konan followed his gaze to the Saiyan. She didn't show it but he could feel her uneasiness.

"Do you believe he won't try to kill you?"

They had taken the precautions necessary to hold the Saiyan as their battle with Madara waged on. That didn't mean the risk wasn't there but he was not worried.

"His enemy is Madara not I." And his death meant Broly remained powerless forever but that remained unsaid. The Saiyan will be forced to trust him and he can use that to bring him into the fold like he did for so many other murderers. Or he controlled him like Madara did. Peace for many was more important than one man's freedom.

"Move him."


It was a gamble on his part to reveal what he did. He had picked up on Madara's limitation but it was the old man who gave him the actual number. Broly asked why the Sage gave him that info, he said to 'show his sincerity with what he said earlier'. Prick, stop trying to make him feel bad.

He glanced at Konan who walked with little emotion in her face. If what he suspected was going on was true, he expected some anxiety to show. Madara was clearly feared by both her and Pain given how submissive they were when he was around. He's only seen that when the feared was clearly stronger. He'd seen it in his victims. He'd seen it in the "allies" he pretended to have. He'd seen it in his f- Paragus.

His calloused hands rubbed where the chains rested. These restraints were uncomfortable.

There was a good chance they were both going to die. He didn't care about Pain but Konan...her possible death didn't sit right with him. He didn't know why. What did he care? She helped keep him caged. Put him in the cuffs he was in now. Kept him fed. Talked to him like he was a person. No, no, that sounds like something the Sage would say. He didn't need that.

But it felt good. Something would be lost if she wasn't around.

"Konan," The slight rise of her eyebrows seemed to show surprise. This was the first time he said her name out loud now that he thought of it. "You're going to try and kill Madara, right?"

She nodded and he frowned as a pit in his stomach formed.

"Are we that obvious?" The tone was almost playful? Or as playful as anyone around him ever thought to be.

He shrugged as a response. "I've been around you three for who knows how long. I'd be real dumb not to see something like this coming."

They walked in silence for the next few moments as Broly thought on how to word what he was feeling. If he didn't know any better, he'd think this was the old man interfering. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I still owe you my side of our bargain so...y'know," Broly looked forward. Away from her. "Don't die on me."

Unseen to him, Konan's lips twitched upwards at the Saiyan's awkwardness. "I don't plan on it."

They arrived at a dead end of stone. Konan put a hand on the wall and the rock slid up. She moved out of the way and it was clear to him that this was their destination. He walked into a cavern it seemed like though the walls seemed too smooth. On the other side from him, there was what looked to him to be a cross between a spider and a torture device.

Within it sat a corpse with red hair that looked like it had starved to death. Well, at least he had company this time. Stone columns stretched to the ceiling in a cruel mockery of the bars of his cell. It didn't look like it'd be any easier for him to escape. He turned to Konan.

"I didn't plan on landing on this planet either." He shrugged a shoulder. "Here I am."

She looked down briefly and spoke in a low. "I am sorry about this, Broly. Things will change soon."

The rock slid down and closed the cavern off. On the other side, Konan trudged along back the way they came. Why did she lie to him like that? The most likely course they'd take once this was over will be a repeat of Madara for the Saiyan. He was nothing more than a tool to be used. She dashed that thought away. That was the Uchiha's way of thinking. They still had the Tailed Beasts. Nagato could be convinced in seeing Broly as an ally rather than a slave. Maybe.

But that was for the future. Not now.

Back at the cavern, Broly paced along the cell. 'At least there's more space.' That was the only real positive to his new accommodations. Not that they really deserved to be called that. He glanced over at the almost skeleton that was the cavern's only other occupant. Its head rose. Purple eyes shone through its now parted hair.

He froze mid-step with wider eyes. "What the fuck?"

"Hello, Broly."

There was a haggardness there missing but he recognized that voice. "Pain?"

"Good guess but I am Nagato. The one you know as Pain is but one of my avatars. This is my true body."

'This world is just full of freaks.' So Nagato was like the ones in that desert village only with people instead of wooden puppets. Or maybe they were just really lifelike puppets. The end result was the same. Broly glanced once more at the columns. The space inbetween was a bit wider than his cell and there was no one else in the room as far as he could tell. It spoke of confidence bordering on arrogance.

"You think it's smart to have me here? You seem pretty defenseless."

"I am confident in your captive state though I doubt you'd want to kill me. Do you know why?"

Of course he did. Madara's reliance on the man was apparent. "You're the only one who can release my power."

"You're more intelligent than Madara gives you credit for."

His father's face flashed in his face. "I had a decent education for a nomad." The Saiyan sat down. This small talk was pointless. "Something tells me you wanted me here with you specifically. There's plenty of other places you could have dropped me into."

"Right to the point it seems." Nagato lifted his hands from his pseudo-throne and put them together. The stone columns collapsed.

Broly stared at the now empty space in front of him. What was he playing at? Some movement from the red head and he was on his feet in a flash ready to defend himself but it was just the other man gesturing to come closer.

"There is no deception here, Broly."

"Yeah, well, sorry if I don't believe you."

The Akatsuki figurehead put his hands down. His breath was noticeably heavier. "An understandable sentiment for one in your position. This may not matter to you, Broly, but I am sorry. My cowardice in the face of Madara is what kept you in his hold. Were I a braver man, this wouldn't have gone so far."

The Saiyan dismissed the words with a wave of his hands. They were useless. "Save your apologies; I don't need them."

Nagato didn't immediately follow and Broly was thankful for it. The man in front of him was far different from the avatar he had become familiar with and that dichotomy left him uneasy. He didn't know what to expect from this emaciated wreck.

"Tell me, what is your purpose?"

Broly straightened up at the question. "What do you mean?"

"Most people have something that drives them. Konan and I seek peace, Madara wants domination, and the Kages want their villages to be the authority over the others. We're all where we are because we have purpose. So what is yours? Once you achieve freedom, what is there for you?"

Broly shrugged. It wasn't anything he had put much thought into. It would've have been killing Kakarot but there was no way that bastard was still alive. He was already the strongest in the universe since Kakarot cheated his way to victory. What was out there for him?

"I was just going to live. No masters, no gods, over my head. Destroy this planet probably." He added the last part halfheartedly as that would mean Konan dying- why did he give a shit?! That thought never happened.

"That seems a rather dull life."

"I wouldn't know until I've tried it."

Nagato chuckled. "A fair rebuttal. While I would encourage not destroying the planet, I cannot force you into a goal but should you yearn for one,"His eyes closed and he laid back against his throne. "Join me and Konan in the Akatsuki."

His first thought was 'No'. His second was 'Hell No' but a thought struck him. If they believed him to be on their side, they might give him his power back. He's done it before; he can betray again just fine.

"I'll think about it."


Madara stared at the empty cell with a steadily mounting fury. He had prepared for this inevitability but to have Pain beat him to the punch was unacceptable.

"You would dare-"

"When Akatsuki was born," Pain interrupted. His voice was like a mount, immovable in its immensity. The baritone of a god. "It was with the singular purpose of ending the cycle of death and hatred that had consumed this world. A foolish endeavor as none of us realized that it was only through a universal pain that a universal desire for peace would be born."

The avatar raised its hand towards where Broly once resided, its palm facing upward. "This gift from the heavens was that agony but you hoarded it. I am not so foolish as to see that our goals are no longer the same. This is where we part ways, Madara."

"What a wonderful suicide letter you've just penned."

It happened faster than any normal shinobi could even comprehend. A massive lizard with Rinnegan eyes broke through the floor beneath the Uchiha. Madara remained unfazed even as he fell through the animal's body. Through the falling debris, he quickly spotted the other five Paths of Pain as they rushed his falling body. The Asura Path's tail impaled his intangible form.

Priorities. The Preta Path could potentially negate his intangibility and the Naraka could restore Nagato's Paths. He'd have to kill them first and of course they're the farthest away. He rushed forward as the other Paths fell upon him.

A flurry of paper tags with edges as sharp as any kunai swarmed him and blocked his sight. Konan. In this enclosed space, she could keep this storm of hers up long enough to hurt him, he had to get to a more advantageous position. Space distorted as he activated his Kamui. In the instant his body was sucked into the rift, he noticed some tags ignite.

'She mixed in explosive tags?!'

Fire. Thunder. Pain.

The ringing in his ears was drowned out by the roaring winds as he fell to the street below. The top of Pain's tower was engulfed in flames. His momentum stopped but he had hit no ground. His body skipped along the ground as he was suddenly sent flying. Solid ground became water but he got his feet under him. Madara stood, breath heavy, and he reached up to his face.

Or at least, he tried but his right arm was missing. Of course. A shadow passed overhead and the Uchiha glanced up. Ame's Angel floated with great wings spread out. He jumped back as rushing wind passed over him. The Asura Path landed on the water with all the grace of a boulder and it was followed by the rest of Pain's Paths. They were all left unharmed by the explosion but he expected that with Naraka's abilities.

More paper shot down at him but he learned his lesson and remained intangible. They knew about one of his intangibility's weak points and they hurt him. The Paths rushed in with only Deva and Naraka staying behind. They were unrelenting in their attack with one coming in as soon as the other passed through him.

There wasn't even a moment for him to teleport away safely. They were exploiting the cracks in his armor. How? How did they know?

Preta rushed in with a barely visible aura around it. It was a mere moment where his hand was within its influence, hardly enough to for an eye to start to blink, but it became solid. In that same moment, Deva pointed its hand at Madara.

"Universal Pull."

He was pulled into the Preta Path's waiting arms and he solidified completely in its nullifying aura. The lake beneath parted as the water seemingly turned to paper. They fell together but the Path was abruptly pulled away and he was left adrift in between two walls of paper tags. He was running out of time but whenever he tried Kamui, that damned witch stuck him with explosive tags.

He looked at massive structures at his sides. 'They're all bombs!'

"I amassed 600 billion notes just to kill you." Konan held out a hand. "And they will explode for ten minutes!"

Fires sprang up around him. Madara reached up to his mask and cracked off the remainder that covered his left eye. He'd have to use Izanagi to survive. His left eye glow in the darkness of the abyss built for him. And then the flames fizzled out. There were explosions but they were too distant. Something grabbed him. On instinct, he tried to activate his intangibility but he hesitated at the sound of a voice.

"I gotcha, boss."


Author's Note

The Akatsuki's schism has officially begun! Pain, Konan, Madara, and a mysterious fourth figure in a battle for the proverbial nuclear launch codes!

Thank you all for your patience with the long wait for this chapter. If you look at the latest chapter for my other story, An Unburdened Fury, I give an explanation for my lack of writing. I'm still getting the ball rolling but progress is progress, eh?

Anyways, Dragon Ball Super: Broly? Fuckin' fantastic!

Spectacular animation, great characters, a Goku who's not dumb as shit, and easily the best fight in the entirety of Super! It's so good, I hope there's an extended version on the home release. Let me know what you guys thought of the movie cuz all I do is gush whenever I talk about it, haha.

Until next time,

Ent out.


Review Responses!

Abyss Trinity: You'd think that'd be the case but the guy's a bit stubborn! I'm sure he'll get it sooner or later.

Jutten: I appreciate the kind words! Those types of scenes are easily among the hardest to write so it's nice to hear I didn't mess it up, haha.

Awesome one: I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. I'd PM ya but I can't. Sorry!

MythAnime: This isn't the real Sage; it's just a portion of his chakra. If I wasn't clear, chapters 9 and 10 imply that, due to Broly's unique physiology and how much time has passed, he can't do much of anything other than what he's already done.

TeraBaapBSDK: No.

And thank you to DTLA1992, Roy, Lord popo, fightingchampion, SaHb G, and coronadomontes for the positive reviews!