The twin smiles etched on the faces of the Omni-Kings were more chilling than they were infectious. After the tournament had ended, the Zenos summoned the Universe 7 team and its divine representatives.
"Goku!" both Zenos said in unison, obviously pleased that their friend had survived the grueling battle royal.
"Yo," greeted Goku, looking worse for wear. Behind him, Team Universe 7 watched his every move.
The Grand Priest floated in front of the Omni-Kings, but not in a way which obscured them; instead, he hovered a bit to the side. "Congratulations. As promised, the prize is one wish using the super dragon balls."
Snarling silently, Freeza, in his unsealed form, roughly grabbed Goku by the arm and hissed in his ear, "That wish is mine! You gave me your word, monkey, and you will give me that wish."
"Hehe, about that..."
Whis, noticing the commotion, addressed his father. "May we have time to discuss what we want to wish for?"
"Of course."
The warriors huddled to the side; most of them had no desire for any wishes and had simply competed for the sake of the universe, but there were also those who wished to have their greatest fancy granted. Namely, Android 18 and Freeza, the latter's time in the living world slowly ticking away.
"You promised us," 18 began, briefly turning to Kuririn, "a money prize. 10 million zeni to be exact." Before they had left Capsule Corp for the World of Void, 18 had declined Bulma's hearty donation. Bulma was her friend after all and 18 didn't want to be mooching off a friend.
"Hah!" scoffed Freeza, his tail twirling irritably in the air. "That's nothing. After all, the saiyan did promise me a resurrection."
Vegeta glared dangerously at his former master. "If that idiot actually decides to revive you, I'll send you back to hell myself!"
"Really now, Vegeta. How quaint of you - you cannot possibly hope to defeat me now that I have found the perfect balance within my body. I outclass you in every way, shape and form."
Before a full-scale argument could break out, Goku turned to the Zenos. "We've decided!"
"Eh?!"
"Good, good!" cheered the Omni-Kings, silencing protests. "Hurry, hurry!" they urged the Grand Priest. "Let's go outside and summon the dragon!"
Once they were outside, everyone tensed for the summoning of Super Shenlong.
The Grand Priest smiled. "Come forth, Dragon of the Gods, and grant my wish pretty peas!"
"Pretty peas?" Beerus echoed, still unsure of the meaning.
The mystical Super Shenlong appeared from the balls in dramatic flair, his serpentine body twisting and glowing. Being so large, his body continued to unravel outside of the perimeter of the Omni-Kings' temple. The dragon was bigger than galaxies - it wasn't anything at all like summoning Shenlong in Bulma's backyard.
Freeza scowled terribly at the miserable Son Goku and the two Zenos. If the saiyan didn't wish for Freeza's resurrection there would be hell to pay. The Arcorsian watched Goku closely as he addressed the dragon. "Super Shenlong! I wish for all the universes and its inhabitants erased in the Tournament to be restored!"
"You cheating bastar-!" Freeza angrily shouted before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He collapsed forward, revealing Beerus with his hand held in a chopping position.
"Tch."
The Grand Priest and Super Shenlong exchanged a few words in Godly Language before something bright flashed; the wish had been granted.
Kale sat up screaming, her eyes bloodshot and her pupils dilated. She clutched her chest, digging her nails into the flesh beneath her top. She was made hyper-aware of her heart beating within her chest cavity and each breath she took made her shudder. Her head pounded like she had just drank ten gallons of moonshine the night before - not that she would really know what that felt like...
"Kale?"
Kale's eyes widened as she met Cabba's gaze. The male was on all-fours and breathing heavily, his chest heaving as he inhaled and exhaled. "C-Cabba...!" With a sob, she got up on trembling knees and moved toward him, capturing him in a heartfelt embrace - oh how good it felt to see a familiar face!
"Gak! Kale! You're stronger than you look." Nevertheless, Cabba returned the hug, feeling the ridge of her shoulder blades as he held her. Something wet seeped into the back of his shirt and it took him a moment to register her tears.
"We're alive," she said through a strangled sob. "Oh, we're alive..."
Not just that, thought Cabba, we exist!
To their side, Magetta and Botamo were beginning to stir, while Champa reappeared as graceful as a baby horse on skates, somehow materializing upside down and tumbling down the bleachers. Hit, Frost and the Kaioshin of Universe 6 were already fully awake and observing their surroundings. Their existence was restored in the same place where they had been erased - the World of Void.
When Kale finally pulled away from Cabba, the others were celebrating their existence - Champa even went as far as to declare that he would "be more serious with his dieting from now on".
"Where's Caulifla?" asked Cabba, looking for a spiky mass of raven hair. "Wasn't she revived with us?"
"She should have been," mumbled Kale, nervously shuffling her feet. Without Caulifla, she felt vulnerable among her peers. "Where is sis?"
Caulifla had been the first to awaken from her stupor. She had known that the others would soon wake and decided to take a walk around the bleachers to clear her head. The saiyan remembered everything clearly - how Goku had eliminated her, how Jiren had taken her down with one punch and, of course, her new transformation. Her body was free of its wounds, those having been healed when she was wished back. Down at the ring, she saw the Pride Troopers gathered, talking amongst themselves. She frowned. In her short time of knowing them, their little cadre rubbed her metaphorical fur the wrong way. She saw them straight away for what they were - people who dedicated their lives in pissing people off with their nonsensical ideals. They talked big because they had rules on their side. Caulifla didn't care how politely they did it; at the end of the day it was all about flexing muscle.
She let her thoughts wander until, in her mind's eye, a vision of Son Goku appeared. Caulifla shook her head. Do not think about that... that spineless son of a bitch! So what if he has power? It's not like that's something totally unreachable to me. After all... I am a prodigy.
Around her, she could see the other universes slowly dispersing and returning to their beloved homes. Their angels, put in stasis when their universes were erased, had returned to take them home and serve their gods of destruction once more. Soon, Universe 6 was the only one left. Now that the crowds were gone, her teammates could clearly see her fuchsia crop top and purple bell-bottoms.
"Hey, Caulifla!" called Cabba, looking slightly relieved. "Come on, we're about to leave!"
Sighing through her nose, Caulifla gave a nod and headed toward them. After this fiasco I'm not sure if I want to face home again. Without Frost leading us, the empire's been torn to ruins. And I seriously doubt he would just take up his position again after so long. The boys at home... the faces of her loyal followers flashed through her mind. I'm sure they'll be fine. Ayote has been pestering me for co-commandment anyway. The guy's a natural born leader.
"Caulifla?" Vados said, turning to the female saiyan as they flew through the World of Void and into Universe 6. "Something on your mind?"
Caulifla blinked, stunned that the angel would even address her. "Yes," she admitted, realizing something. "You can travel between universes right?"
"GOKU!" Chi Chi cried, throwing her arms around her husband as soon as he landed. "Thank goodness you're okay...!"
"Aw Cheech," chuckled Goku, embracing his wife, the woman he would always come back to after a battle - the woman who constantly brought a loving smile to his face despite her overbearing nature.
"Bulma told me everything," Chi Chi told him, her voice sharper. "I can't believe you! Your urge to fight could have gotten the entire universe erased!" Her frying pan, which she always kept close to her at all times, slammed over her husband's head. "Just what do you have to say for yourself, Goku?"
"Ehehe... sorry?" He gave her a sheepish grin, which made her sigh and close her eyes.
"Oh, Goku. I can never stay mad at you." She hugged him once again. "I love you, Goku, more than you will ever know. I just want you to be safe, not fighting for your life all the time!"
"Dad!" yelled Goten, streaking through the air in a burst of white aura. "Dad, dad, dad!" His eyes shone in excitement. "You'll never believe what happened while you were gone!" He rambled and ranted on and on about how he, Trunks and even Marron kicked some poacher butt. Like always, the greed of humans had polluted the 17's island, but the three kids managed to chase them out with the help of some of island's animal inhabitants and well aimed chi blasts.
"I hope you looked after Marron," Goku said. "She's still young and not as strong as you and Trunks."
"MMMHM!" Goten beamed proudly. "The worst she got was a little scratch from a stick and I put a band-aid on it so it's all good!"
"Why, Goten, I think you've gotten taller!" gasped Chi Chi, admiring her son's new height. He was nearly eleven years old but up until this point, he hadn't grown at all since he was seven.
"Really?!"
With a smile, Goku left his wife and youngest son to their own devices. He had another thing to deal with - a very pissed off Arcorsian actually. He saluted Chi Chi. "Gohan's gonna come by soon! He wanted to see Videl and Pan first." With that, he used Instant Transmission to teleport to Capsule Corp, where Vegeta, Beerus and Whis were, the latter pigging out on the Briefs' cook's delicious food.
"You were right, Vegeta!" chimed Whis. "Steak really is so much better with Granny's Secret Sauce!"
Whis' delight did nothing to help Vegeta's anxious perspiration. The lengths he had gone to to obtain that sauce were worthy of at least a hundred criminal records. When Bulma had asked, he refused to tell her about it, stating that it was simply none of her business.
"Goku," said Beerus, picking at his teeth with a claw. "What are you going to do about that Freeza?"
Goku scratched his head in thought. "Well, I did promise to revive him. And I don't like going back on promises..."
"Idiot," snorted Vegeta. "If your roles were swapped, he would never do the same for you."
"True, but still! I was thinking of using Namek's dragon balls to revive him but there's some pretty bad blood between Freeza and the Namekians."
"What's this about dragon balls?" Bulma chirped, pushing open the glass door with her hip. She held a giant platter of nachos, cheese, salsa and guacamole. "Here you go Whis, Beerus!" The god and angels' eyes widened as she put down the delectable dish on their table. "Bon appetite!"
As the deities dug in, Goku quickly explained the situation to Bulma and she frowned, her blue brows knitting together. "I say let him rot in hell! Are you forgetting that he killed Vegeta on Namek? And that's just the tip of the iceberg!"
"But Bulma! I made a promise."
"Forget the promise! I'm not letting you near the dragon radar, so don't even bother to ask."
Goku sighed in defeat. "Fine. Hold on..." He teleported away.
"Ahh, the lovely summer wind!" Kaiō-sama uttered dreamily, forgetting that there were no seasons on his tiny planet. He was currently taking his beloved car for a drive, going slow enough for Bubbles to job alongside the vehicle. "This really helps settle my nerves. I hope this can last forever..."
Suddenly, Goku materialized right in front of the car. Kaiō-sama shrieked in terror and stepped on the brakes, swerving the car all over the place and capsizing it. Goku blinked. "Whoops, sorry Kaiō-sama!"
"GOKU!"
"Hehehe... I'll just be going now..." he brought his fingers up to his forehead, easily finding the chi signatures of the Namekians. "There!" Before Kaiō-sama could yell at him for damaging his car beyond repair, he disappeared.
"My car...!"
Bubbles shook his head and left the sobbing god, deciding that the deity needed some time to himself.
Half an hour later, Goku reappeared in Capsule Corp, looking a little flustered. "I was wrong," he said more to himself than anyone else. "'No' wasn't the worst thing they could possibly say."
"Looks like you'll have to tell Freeza the bad news then," Bulma stated, putting a certain emphasis on 'bad news' to indicate that she really didn't think it was bad news at all. "Where is he anyway?"
"With Lord Enma, expecting to be revived," replied Goku. "I checked on him earlier. Thank Kami he didn't see me! Well, this whole thing was a bust. I'll just head home now. Bye guys!"
"How long till we reach Earth?" Caulifla asked Vados. The angel had explained a lot of need-to-know things about Universe 7's earth and it's prominent race - a weak species that resembled saiyans. Vados had called them humans, and just like the saiyans, the humans were also descended from the ape.
"Twenty five minutes!" chirped the Angel.
"Tch, you could watch an entire anime episode in that time!"
"Heehee, patience, Caulifla! You'll get there soon enough."
"Right."
True to Vados' word, twenty five minutes later, they landed in a desert area. Caulifla raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with the place. "Isn't it supposed to be occupied?"
"It's quite a big planet," Vados answered, "not the biggest around of course, but much, much bigger than Planet Sadala. I should go now - Champa is getting more and more demanding with his... 'diet food'." She looked at her blinking staff and answered it. An irritated Champa was on the other end of the line. Vados smiled. "Like I said, Caulifla, demanding. If you ever want to return home, just tell Whis to give me a ring."
"Yeah... thanks Vados."
As soon as the angel left, Caulifla blasted off into the sky, expanding her chi senses. There're a lot of weak energies around here - probably the humans. An anomaly caught her attention. It was huge - the largest on the planet. It doesn't feel like Goku or Vegeta or even that golden lizard creep. This definitely warranted some investigation. Judging by the amount of chi the mysterious being was generating, it wasn't any real threat to Caulifla, but the saiyan was curious. What kind of human could generate such a large power? It had to be one of the humans in the Universe 7 Team but she couldn't tell which one.
The trail led her to a small island. Occupying the island was a frivolous looking thing - a garish pink house. Caulifla couldn't tell which one hurt her eyes more - the sunlight reflecting off the ocean or the unfortunate color of the house. She landed on the veranda and rapped her fist across the wooden door, smirking. "Knock knock, little human."
Kamesenin was finishing up his playboy magazines in the loo when someone knocked smartly on the door. "Ack!" he shoved the magazines in a nearby basket meant for storing said magazines. "Hold on, I'm coming!"
Muten Roshi just managed to secure his pants when the door burst open, revealing Caulifla. The old man's eyes bulged and he had to refrain from a nosebleed. Though he had trained his mind against young gals for the tournament, once he picked up his porn magazines, his mindset reverted back to that of a perverted old man. "Hehehe! How can I help you, little lady?"
"Cut the crap, old man," Caulifla said, scowling. She sized him up and instantly pinpointed him as a lowkey sexual predator. "You're pretty strong. I bet you know where Goku is. Why can't I sense him?"
The turtle hermit's face fell. Darn! Why does Goku get all the hot chicks? This was the kid who brought back a mermaid for my 'pretty girl' test! That dope has all the luck, doesn't he? "Ahem, well, that's because he's suppressing his power level. He normally does that in order not to attract any threats from outer space. He's likely resting after the tournament at home. With his wife," he added pointedly. He knew he was dancing with death here, but he felt it was necessary to give this lady a hint or two.
"Oh? Where is this home of his?"
"Somewhere in the mountains. I haven't been there for a real long time... I'm an old man you know, I can't remember everything. You'd have better luck asking the Briefs or a police officer. But unless you wanna tangle with Vegeta, I suggest the latter as a safer option. Just look for a man or woman in a uniform - they're probably it."
"I'm not a weakling. I can handle myself," snapped Caulifla. "But thanks for the info, gramps." She gave him a two finger salute before taking off into the air.
As soon as she was out of earshot, the turtle hermit snorted. "Like hell I was gonna tell her where Goku lived." He stretched and sauntered over to his television set. "Aerobics time!" Though I have to wonder... what does she want with Goku? Maybe they're having an adulterous affair?! What a scandal that'd be!
Caulifla's gang was in shambles. Ayote turned out to be a terrible leader - none of the others would listen to his orders. Kale ducked away when she saw Ayote look around pleadingly at anyone who might give him the time of day. Oh sis... where are you now? Why would you want to go to Universe 7? Is it because of that other saiyan? Her fists clenched. Why would you leave me behind sis? To be fair, Caulifla had invited her along but the shy saiyan had refused in the hopes of convincing Caulifla to stay. Looking at the ruined gang, Kale sighed. This place was her home - but without Caulifla, there was no heart in the home, and she knew that her true home was where the heart was. It's gonna be scary... but I have to do it! For Caulifla! Cabba said he would be having tea with Renso. Maybe I can convince him to come with me. Her head was telling her to submit to Ayote and become his follower but her heart was in an entirely different headspace.
It was easy to leave without anyone noticing. No one noticed shy, little Kale on a normal day anyway. Her mind was totally made up. She would enlist Cabba's help to follow Caulifla and maybe bring her back to Universe 6 and Sadala if they could. But something told her that Caulifla wasn't going to be finished with Universe 7 and Earth for a long, long time. She gave the gang a silent goodbye before trekking to Renso's house.
A/N: SCHOOL'S STARTING TOMORROW. CRIPES. SASAGEYO SsASAgEYoOO! Look's like the story's not done yet. I apologize for all the stupid grammar mistakes I made in chapter one. I wrote the entire thing on iPad and no red lines show up. I need to adjust to Shingeki's new opening. I'm chanting sasageyo like I'm in a cult... maybe I'm too adjusted. I need a fic where Gohan literally goes ape on the titans.
I don't know who I ship yet but I'm leaning toward Caulifla/Goku. Was contemplating Caulifla/Cabba or Caulifla/Hit also. I don't ship Caulifla/Kale unfortunately. I'm all for a good yuri but I see Caulifla and Kale more as sisters than lovers (though Kale's attitude might be bordering the lover line hehe).
Will Kale and Cabba find Caulifla?! (lol probably)
What anime does Caulifla watch?!
Will Champa finally lose weight?!
I HAVE NO IDEA! (besides the first one)