Chapter 24 Dragon Universe
The wave of earth and dirt rose over the guild, like a giant's hand trying to grab and crush the mages. Rogue dashed in front of everyone else, standing between them and the earth wave. He then tightened his muscles and lowered his stance.
"Shadow Dragon Roar!" Rogue yelled, before a massive torrent of dark shadows shot out from his mouth, straight towards the earth wave. The attack stuck the wave, dispersing massive amounts of earth away from the guild. But with the wave no longer in front of him, Rogue failed to catch the Saiyan flying towards him, before he felt the pain of his stomach caving in on itself. But the impact left more than a painful stomach ache, as a harsh cracking sound could be heard as he fell to the ground.
"Rogue!" Sting cried out, before rushing over to the downed Dragon Slayer. The Saiyan attempts to intercept, but he then feels a sharp pain at his sides. When he looked down, he sees Vegeta right next to him. His fist had punctured though the Saiyan's armor, and his skin. Enraged by the pain, the Saiyan then fired a blast right in front of Vegeta's face. The blast managed to push Vegeta away, but now the Saiyan found himself in a pinch. As he tightly clutched the injury, he could feel blood seep through his fingers.
"Damn!" The Saiyan uttered. "You're pretty good, Vegeta." The Saiyan said. He then let out a soft laugh. "But you're getting a-bit too cocky."
Goku had just deflected a barrage of small, red energy shots, before flying towards the Namekian, wrapping his arms around his enemy's waist. But before he could do anything, the Namekian immediately spun his whole body around, literally flinging Goku away like flinging a playing card. Goku then slammed into the ground, with a large crater surrounding him. The fighter tried to get back up, but his fatigued muscles shook under the weight of his own body. The furthest he could muster was sitting upright, and even then, Goku struggled to keep his body from going back down. Every breath he took felt rough, and almost seemed to scratch at his throat.
"Dammit, this guy's not givin' me an inch." Goku then said. "Maybe if I had transformed again earlier, I could've kept some energy to spare." The Namekian slowly lowered himself from the sky, letting out a light chuckle as he descended. Goku again tried to get on his feet, only to stumble forward towards his opponent. Then, Goku's golden hair lost its brilliant glow, as it softened back to a solid black. Goku placed his hands on his knees in order to support himself, as sweat poured from his body.
"Hmm. Looks like you're at your limit." The Namekian stated, gleaming with confidence. Goku had nothing to say, as he continued to pant heavily. Then, Goku quickly placed two fingers on his forehead, focusing his senses, searching for Vegeta's energy. But unfortunately for him, the Namekian was fast, throwing a hard right punch to Goku's jaw. The blow nearly ripped off his head, shooting the fighter like a massive bullet towards a nearby mountain range. But the mountains themselves weren't strong enough, as Goku crashed through several of them before finally stopping on a cliff-side. The force of which still created a large crater, a crater that crumbled the whole cliff on top of Goku. Not content with stopping, the Namekian swung his arm, creating a powerful wave, sweeping the frozen debris away. Goku had managed to avoid being swept away with the debris, but the effort left him with little strength in him.
Alright, I gotta be quick about this! Goku internal said. Come on, Vegeta! Where are you?
But before he could find out, he felt an immense pain at the back of his head. The Namekian had landed a double ax handle right, with a force so hard it made Goku bounce off the ground and nearly knocked him out cold. Any harder, and the back of his skull might've caved in. Goku grabs his head, screaming his lungs out in pain.
"Still kicking?" The Namekian then asked. He then walked over and grabbed Goku by his shirt. "If you're trying to use your teleportation trick to be with your pals, forget it. I'll break your fingers if you do." The Namekian had expected Goku to lose his consciousness by now, but instead, Goku simply let out a light chuckle. A chuckle that took very little time to get on the Namekian's nerves.
"You've been beaten, damn near close to being dead." The Namekian barked. "What part of any of that do you find funny?"
"I just remembered that we're not the only ones fighting on this planet." Goku answered.
"So what?" The Namekian asked. "You think your pal's are gonna, somehow, magically warp over here?"
"No, although that would be nice." Goku stated.
"Then what is it?"
"I'm pretty sure you know this already, but my Instant Transmission only works long distances if I can find a person's energy." Goku then said, his voice growing very groggy.
"What are you getting at?" The Namekian asked, but with a very small hint of concern hidden in his voice. Goku smiled.
"Here's the thing, when I was searching before, I had managed to find not only Vegeta, but also you're buddy. But right now, I can only sense Vegeta right now, wonder why." The Namekian was confused at Goku's words.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The Namekian barked.
"I noticed that both you and your partner didn't have any scouters, I'm gonna guess that means you can sense other peoples' energy on your own." Goku then stated. "Why don't you search for your partner's energy and prove me right." The Namekian growled, before shifting his gaze to the distance. At first, he didn't feel any different from before, but then he began concentrating. The Namekian's eyes widened, as the one energy he was familiar with began to fade.
"What the hell's going on over there?" The Namekian then barked. Suddenly, Goku used the last of his strength to swat away the Namekian's hand, the force of which injured Goku's arm. He then used his remaining hand to swiftly teleport away using Instant Transmission. "Dammit!" The Namekian barked, grasping the area where Goku had struck his arm. "I'll have to worry about that brat later." He then turned his attention to where he last felt his partner's energy. "You better be alive by the time I get there, Turles, or else, I'll be seeing you soon in hell." The Namekian then took to the skies, before shooting like a rocket, cutting through the sky.
Vegeta and Sting stand still, waiting to see if their enemy would do something other than stand idly while bleeding. This made Goku's sudden appearance a bit more shocking than it should have, catching everyone, including the evil Saiyan, for a moment. But his entrance wasn't a flashy one, as Goku immediately drops to the ground, unconscious.
"Kakarot?" Vegeta blurted. The Saiyan then laughed.
"Well, would you look at that," The Saiyan then said, smiling, "Seems like your best fighter is out of the game." Vegeta growled at this response.
"What the hell did you just say?" Vegeta barked. But before he could follow up, the Namekian had just arrived, dropping from the air, crushing the ground beneath him as he landed.
"You look pretty beaten there, Turles." The Namekian then said. "What happened, d'ya get cocky again?"
"You're in no position to criticize my confidence, Slug." Turles retorted. "Besides, it was just a lucky shot. I'll be fine." Vegeta let out a huff.
"You should watch what comes out of that mouth of yours, Turles." Vegeta threatened, "Cause now I'll take on both of you!"
"Hehehe. Always the confident one Vegeta." Turles then said. "But I'm afraid our time here is done. Maybe we'll do that next time."
"That is if you all manage to survive this!" Slug then yelled, before slamming his hand on the ground, cracking the earth before creating a massive explosion! The explosion knocked the whole group back, as massive smoke clouds replaced the burning waves. Everyone was dazed by the explosion that had almost killed them. Natsu was the first one to stand back up again. He then swung his arm to clear away the smoke. But there was no sign of the two attackers.
"What the hell? Where'd they go?" Natsu yelled. He then rushed forward, hoping to find any sign of their attackers. But instead of finding anything, the group heard the sound of a low rumble, as the ground began to shake.
"An earthquake?" Lucy then asked. She struggled to keep her balance as the tremors grew more intense as the seconds went by.
"No." Vegeta then stated. "This isn't just an earthquake." Just as he finished speaking, the ground below him cracked open, revealing a red, boiling liquid underneath.
"Look out!" Sting yelled. Natsu then jumped away, narrowly avoiding a boiling hot magma bath.
"Lava?" Natsu blurted out. "We're not near a volcano!"
"What is going on?" Erza asked. "An earthquake and an eruption of some kind?"
"No. It's the whole planet." Vegeta answered.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'the whole planet'?" Gajeel then asked.
"This entire planet will be wiped off the face of this universe!" Vegeta yelled.
"Wait, what?" Juvia exclaimed.
"The whole planet?!" Natsu blurted out.
"We need to find the ship!" Vegeta then stated, And just how in the hell are we supposed to do that? Vegeta internally yelled. Even though I can survive the explosion, I still can't breathe in empty space! And even if I could, that still means the rest of the group will die. Vegeta then glanced at Goku, who was not going to reawaken anytime soon. If Kakarot was conscious, he might have been able to use his Instant Transmission technique. Dammit! Vegeta then clenched his fists in frustration. And for the first time in a while, he felt himself panicking. What the hell do I do?
Unbeknownst to Vegeta, or the rest of the group, in the air above them, the sky began to crack. Then the sky bursts open, sending cosmic shards towards the ground below, as Beerus shoots out at incredible speeds through the hole. As Beerus hits the ground, time seems to slow down to a near halt, as he then eyes the group. He quickly spots the unconscious Goku, which forces a small groan from the Destroyer's mouth.
"Whis." Beerus then said.
"Way ahead of you, my lord." Whis replied, his voice still without a hint of anxiety. With a tap of his staff, a soft green glow emitted from the bodies of the mages, the swordsman, and the Saiyans. Wasting no time, Whis then used his speed to transport everyone to the ship's location. Using his fingers to cut open a hole on the side of the hull, before maneuvering the whole group inside. Beerus and Whis then entered their ship, with Whis closing the opening with his fingers. Then with a tap of his staff, the vessel blasted itself upwards at massive speeds, entering the cold void of space.
At first, it was hard to tell if anything happened to the planet, the only thing that could even be noticed were rays of light. Here, time seemed to return to normal for Beerus and Whis, as Beerus then shifted his attention towards the rest of the group. They had landed softly onto the floor, and their faces carried bewilderment not to dissimilar to that of waking up at an unknown place. Their eyes wondered around, trying to figure out how they managed to escape. Vegeta's eyes were the first to catch the sight of Beerus, as he stared back with a glare that screamed annoyance.
"Lord Beerus?" Vegeta then asked. "Wha- how did you-?"
The shockwaves suddenly smash into the ship. The force of the waves caused the vessel to shake with great intensity. Everyone besides Beerus and Whis fell to the floor, as the ship made a distressing screeching sound.
"Whis!" Beerus barked.
"Give me a moment." Whis responded, still retaining the smooth calmness in his voice, but with a hint of urgency hidden within. He then firmly planted his staff on the floor below. The orb on the staff began to glow green once more. Slowly, the shaking began to lose its intensity. Eventually, the turbulent quakes stopped entirely. Whis then lifted his staff from the floor and pointed it at the group. A green glow began emanating from the bodies of the mages, even those that weren't too injured. The glowing then seemed to shatter away from the physical bodies of the group. Rogue found himself standing again, somewhat unnerved from the lack of any fatigue or recovery pains. Goku shot back onto his feet after being healed, suddenly full of energy to spend.
"Woah, I'm awake again." Goku then stated. He then looked at his surroundings, though he was confused as to why he was staring at the metal interior of a spaceship rather than the scorched forest turned wasteland. "What the- How did I-?" Goku began asking.
"You're back inside the ship, Goku." Beerus stated, catching the Saiyan's attention. "Couldn't you tell?"
"Lord Beerus? You'd you come from" Goku then asked.
"And more urgently, where were you two?" Vegeta asked, trying his best to hide his frustration.
"Yeah, Vegeta's right. You two just kinda vanished for a while." Goku added, all the while pointing at the two.
"Well to answer that question, Lord Beerus and I had suddenly found ourselves in an alternate dimension of sorts." Whis then responded.
"Wait, another dimension?" Goku asked. "How come it took you guys forever to show back up? I mean, your staff can basically do anything, right Whis?"
"Hey, the alternate dimension was basically an exact mirror of this current dimension." Beerus angrily retorted, nearly causing Goku to fall back down with how close he was. "And what do you mean by 'forever'? Don't tell me that you're so impatient that one minute was too long a wait!"
"Pardon the intrusion my Lord, but should you really be the one to say that?" Whis playfully asked.
"I have an excuse!" Beerus barked. "I'm a Destroyer God; I have an incredibly lengthy life-span, plus, I have very long naps!"
"Wait, only one minute?" Vegeta then asked.
"Yes, one minute." Beerus responded.
"I call bull on that!" Gajeel then yelled. The four turned to see the mage heading towards them, with his face carrying the look of anger. "The two of them were battling for fifteen minutes. Not one!" Beerus looked back at Gajeel's angry eyes with confusion.
"Hold on, what do you mean by fifteen minutes?" Beerus asked.
"It either means that you can't keep track of time, or you're hiding something." Gajeel then stated. Now, Beerus was growing irritated.
"Before we continue this conversation, I would like for you to choose your next words very carefully." Beerus then said. "What reason does a Destroyer like me have to lie or hide something from you or your group of magicians?" Immediately, Goku jumped in between the two.
"Hold on Lord Beerus, he's telling the truth! Vegeta and I were fighting way more than a minute!" Goku yelled.
"Are you implying that I, Lord Beerus, am a liar?" Beerus asked, glaring into Goku's wide eyes.
"No, no no no, not at all, Lord Beerus!" Goku replied. "But you've gotta admit, something weird is going on!" Beerus shifted his attention towards Whis.
"Whis, are you making sense of what they're talking about?" Beerus asked.
"Well, neither of you are lying, that's for sure." Whis responded.
"Then how is it possible for us to experience two different lengths of time?" Beerus barked, growing more and more irritated by the second. Whis then placed a finger on his chin, as he began to ponder.
"Well, it could be possible that time in other dimensions could work a little differently from how we know time to flow." Whis stated. "If us being displaced into another dimension is Demigra's doing, which judging from his past transgressions, it most likely is, then he would have made sure that the two of us were placed in a dimension that operates with rules different to our own."
"Wait, if Demigra's responsible for this, then why would he let us escape?" Beerus then asked.
"There are two possibilities as to why, neither of which are pleasant for us." Whis responded. "One is that Demigra is merely toying with us, which would not only hint that he's far more skilled than we gave him credit for, but also that he is supremely arrogant, which we could use to our advantage, or he has yet to fully master the technique of dimensional displacement."
"Wait, if Demigra's strong enough to do that, then why did you tell us about this, Lord Beerus?" Goku then asked. The question caught the Destroyer God off guard, but he still kept his demeanor the same.
"Well, it's not like the two of us knew about that dimensional displacement would have been a factor in this endeavor. Next time, we'll just have to be more prepared." Beerus stated.
"Yeah, and how exactly are we going to 'be prepared' if you won't even give us the basic details of what we're gonna have to deal with?" Gajeel then asked. This time, Beerus began to trip over his own words.
"Well, it was on a strict need-to-know basis." Beerus responded, "And now you know. Some information is still information."
"I really don't think you should have used that as your argument, Lord Beerus." Whis then remarked. "Especially since you've placed more effort in dodging the question than actually answering it." Beerus eyes fired a mean glare at the attendant.
"Whis, you're not helping in the slightest." Beerus barked.
"With all due respect, my Lord, you're the one who's raising the tension around here. Now let me do my job and handle the situation." Whis shot back. Beerus said nothing, only backing away to lean on the wall behind him, straightening his back as he did.
Whis then turned his attention towards Gajeel. "You and your compatriots will be briefed on our enemy. But for now, I believe it's time for all of you to head back to your quarters." The tone of Whis's voice was noticeably more stern and assertive, like that of a parent scolding their child. "Unfortunately, Lord Beerus and I have some business to attend to." Whis stated, as he moved his staff to draw attention towards the swordsman, who Whis had kept in a suspended state of animation. "So that means you'll have to find the living quarters on your own."
"Wait, why can't you just take us there right now?" Natsu then asked. "It shouldn't take that long to find it with your help."
"Normally I would agree, but I'm afraid that this current matter requires my immediate attention." Whis then gestured for Beerus to follow him. Using his staff, Whis picks up the swordsman and he creates an opening on the wall, leading towards another room.
"Wait; hold on a second-" Gajeel yelled. But his words were quickly halted, as Whis immediately spun around, glaring back into the Dragon Slayer's eyes.
"Or perhaps you can all stay here," Whis stated. "You can use the floor to rest if it pleases you." The mages were frozen. Whis's voice was clearly fueled by irritation he was feeling. Whis quickly noticed that the mages were not responding, so he immediately composed himself and began speaking with his usual, serene voice.
"I am terribly sorry for that outburst just now." Whis then said. "But Lord Beerus and I really must deal with the matter of the swordsman." He again points his staff towards said swordsman, before drawing attention back to himself. "Now if you wish to stay here in this general vicinity," Whis then gestures towards the open area in front of him, "Then I shall provide some basic luxuries for the wait." Whis then looked back at the mages expecting a reply; he then noticed that most of the mages were still somewhat tense. But then, the youthful, blue-haired girl stepped forward. "Umm, I think we'll just stay here for now, Mister Whis."
"Do you speak for everyone in this room?" Whis then asked. The young girl turned her head, glancing at her guild mates, as if signaling for anyone to agree. At first, no one stepped forward, both from their muscles feeling too rigid and the thought that whatever they say next could somehow provoke another extreme response from either the pale, blue man or the purple cat. But then, Erza walked forward. She had decided to loosen herself up and relax her muscles. As she did, she immediately realized how sore her body was. She then silently inhaled a deep breath, before letting the air out in a silent, subtle sigh as she approached the young girl.
"Yes, I believe Wendy speaks for all of us." Erza then stated, while placing a hand on Wendy's shoulder. Erza then glanced back at her guild mates. "Isn't that correct?" She then asked. While her voice was more on the calm side, her eyes screamed for her guild mates to just say yes, lest they suffer a worse situation than the last.
"Yeah, I'll stay here." Natsu then yelled, before dashing towards his two guild mates. "We can't really find the room so if you're really planning on having some chairs for us to sit in, we'll be fine."
"Isn't that right, guys?" Natsu then asks, quickly turning his head around, facing the rest of the mages with a sort of half-hearted smile. The other mages glance at each other for a moment before glancing back at the three mages in front of them.
"Yeah, I guess we'll be fine if we stay here." Gray then says, his voice sounding more akin to that of uncertain mumbling.
"And, wherever my darling Gray stays, I will be there with him." Juvia then firmly states, as she entangles herself with Gray's right arm. The other mages and the Saiyans didn't feel the need to say anything, they simply stepped forward, indicating that they are all in agreement. Gajeel was the only one who didn't step forward, and he remained silent, only letting out a single, irritated sigh as he then leaned against the wall near the hallway.
"Alright, now that we know what we want, I would recommend huddling closer together." Whis then said. "I don't want any accidents to happen while I work." The mages were confused and somewhat concerned about what Whis meant by "accidents", but they listened to the angel's words and huddled closer together, though not too close as to squeeze each other to death. Whis then wasted no time, waving his staff around the room. Immediately, the whole room glowed with the same bright, green light. The green glow then intensified in brightness, to the point where the group had to shield their eyes, until the glow became softer and dimmer. As the glow began to fade, the group reopened their eyes to see the room now filled with some very metallic pieces of furniture. It did not look comfortable to sit on.
"Seriously?" Gajeel then blurted out. "We almost went blind from your fricken' light show and you couldn't even bother to give us cushions?" Gajeel exclaimed as he pointed towards the metal bench that had manifested right next to where he was standing.
"Well, you may have to excuse some of the shoddy craftsmanship. I am in a bit of a rush." Whis replied, sounding slightly sheepish.
"Wait, are you saying you can't even give us pillows?" Goku then asked, with clear disappointment stuck in his voice. Beerus then moved away from the wall, heading straight for the Saiyan.
"Yes, Goku." Beerus then stated, startling Goku enough to make him hop back a little. "That's exactly what Whis is saying. Do you have any more questions?" Beerus then asked. Goku noticed that Beerus's voice sounded calm and collected, but Goku could hear faint signs of impatience and irritation forcefully being held behind Beerus's tongue. This in of itself gave the Saiyan enough reason to not press the matter, as he raised his hands in a defensive gesture, frantically shaking his head while slowly backing away.
"Excellent." Beerus said. He had finally dropped his irritated grimace, replacing it with a subtle, satisfied smirk. He then turned to enter the opening behind him, but not before beckoning to Whis. Whis followed his lord's command, as he then levitated the still unconscious swordsman. Once Beerus and the swordsman passed the opening, Whis followed them inside, before turning back to face the group, giving them a little goodbye wave. He then closed the opening with his fingers as if there was some sort zipper on the metal wall, leaving the group alone in the room. No one really knew what they wanted to do, so they just stared back at the cold, blue wall, hoping that whatever business was going on behind it would end quickly.
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