jeff: Vegeta's SSJ max is 445 million. The 393 was from being worn out and tired from fighting Hotaru. Base Vegeta's just short of 6 million (75x increase), his father is about 16 million. As for the power difference between Goku, Bardock, and the others this will be fully detailed in due time. :)
Chapter Forty-four - Distortion in the H.F.I.L.
The Changeling removed his fist from Vegeta's face and growled. "Well, at least this proves you're not as invincible as you boast." Kuriiza said. "It's a pity I didn't get to kill you myself, but I suppose dead is dead."
"Dead?" Vegeta scoffed. "Me? Are you as blind as you are dumb? Do you see a halo over my head?"
Kuriiza blinked and looked up above Vegeta's head. Sure enough he was halo free. He then glanced behind the Sai-jin at the others and noticed that they, too, lacked halos. "What...?"
"We're here to put a stop to the likes of you." Vegeta replied. "Once and for all."
Meanwhile Mikomi's focus was on the others she was with. Namely Gohan. "Fruit?" she asked. She had a feeling she knew what the boy was referring to but she didn't want to believe it was possible. "What kind of fruit?"
"Huh? Oh, some sort of fruit from something called the 'Tree of Might' I think." he replied.
Her gaze turned back from the Sai-jins to where Vegeta was easily avoiding all of Kuriiza's attempted attacks. /So, I was right. But how? I thought all of the Shinseiju Seeds that had found their way to the Mortal Plane had been destroyed..../ She shook her head and began walking forward. "That is enough, Vegeta." she said. "I will take it from here."
Vegeta lowered his arm, he'd been about to punch the Changeling, and Kuriiza turned to face her. "And just who are you?" the Changeling demanded.
"I am Mikomi. The Supreme Kai."
Kuriiza's eyes widened. He'd been warned that the Supreme Kai was the most powerful being in Shinkai and that fighting her was suicide. He hadn't expected someone so... small. She was only a little taller than him. He took a step back and jerked as he bumped into something. Turning to look he saw her standing there now.
"It is rude to leave when someone is talking to you." she said.
"Wh-what... do you want?"
"That fruit you ate to get your power. Where did you get it from?"
"Found it." Kuriiza replied, turning around to face her while also glancing around for a place to escape.
"Where?"
"One of Cooler's worlds." the Changeling replied. "There were two pieces and a note about what they did."
Mikomi frowned, the answers didn't tell her what she wanted to know. But then Vegeta spoke up. "The idiot should have used them." he said. "He may have actually lived longer, even if Raven was just using him. Well, at least he had the brains not to come back, unlike the rest of his family."
"Raven?" Mikomi asked, turning to face Vegeta.
"A very long story." the Sai-jin replied.
"So, she's still not surfaced?" Bardock asked. Vegeta shook his head. "I'm not sure if I'm relieved or concerned about that."
"Either way, we should worry about her later." Goku said. "We still have to stop this first."
"Kakkarotto's right." Vegeta said, turning from where Kuriiza and the Kai were and walking back toward the others. "We'll take out this 'Quietus' and then worry about Raven and whatever the hell she's up to."
"What should we do about him?" Videl asked, nodding toward Kuriiza.
Mikomi reached out a hand and tapped a finger against the Changeling's head. His body suddenly rippled and then transformed into a puffy cloud, his power vanishing in an instant. "That will do." she said.
"Uh... what'd you do?" asked Videl.
"He never had a body." she explained. "Not a real one at any rate. His form was simply force of will, the power too, though also thanks to the instabilities I'd wager. I merely exerted a little of my power to return him to the formless state most souls take while here. It will be months before he's able to reform a body or regain his power."
"Ummm." started Appla. "Now that that's taken care of... what's going on?" Her eyes were roaming from Goku and Bardock to the others and noting that none of them, not even her mate and her son, had halos. "Everyone's alive?"
"Oh, yeah...." Goku said, scratching the back of his head. "Side effect of going through the tear."
"We don't have all day to stand around and talk." Vegeta said, crossing his arms. "The sooner we get this over with the better."
Bardock nodded. "He's right. We should get going."
"Yes. Just wait a few more moments." Mikomi said. "Kibito and I will escort Tatamo to Heaven to defend it, should any Demons appear there, and then we will be on our way." The two Kais then took hold of Tatamo and the three of them vanished.
Appla blinked. "Did she say... Tatamo?"
"Apparently he's Planet Vegeta's Guardian." Goku said with a shrug.
"If he's who I think he is...." Bardock began.
"He is." Vegeta replied.
"Huh? What's going on?" Goku asked.
"Another long story." Bardock answered with a shake of the head.
"So, what's the plan then?" asked Sora. "Apparently you have one."
"Well, the Supreme Kai does." Bardock said. "Join up with two of the Mazoku, Dabura and Nefaria, and go to Makai to confront Quietus."
King Kai nodded. "We believe the Spirit Bomb is our only option."
Goku and Bardock glanced at each other but didn't have a chance to say anything before the two Kais reappeared. "Now we may proceed." Mikomi said. "Zenryou, I leave Otherworld in your care until I return from the H.F.I.L., I shouldn't be too long."
"Why not just go straight to Hell?" Videl asked.
"We cannot." Kibito answered. "We Kais are not able to enter Hell."
"Huh? Why not?" asked Gohan.
"Our energies are polar opposites." explained Mikomi. "We are the purest good in Shinkai while Hell is comprised of the purest evil. Now come, we must hurry, we don't know how long Dabura will remain in Shinkai and without his aid Goku and Bardock can not cross into Makai. We must also be wary of Aku, last I heard he was nearly my equal." With that everyone gathered around Mikomi and they vanished.
ZZZ
Otherworld, H.F.I.L.
Videl closed her eyes and put a hand over her mouth as she fought not to puke. "Ugh, I think I know what Raditz was complaining about now." she muttered as she lowered her hand and opened her eyes again. As she looked around she realized they were in some sort of park, by the looks of it. A water fountain a few dozen feet in the distance, stone pathways and grass fields. Benches scattered about here and there, and shade trees too. "Not what I was expecting...."
"Me either." Gohan said as he looked around.
"The H.F.I.L. is merely a holding area." Kibito said. "While a soul is here the evil that has accumulated within it is slowly drained out and sealed away. Once that has been completed the soul is then reincarnated. The process then repeats itself until the Soul gains entry into Heaven."
Mikomi nodded. "And then it can remain in Heaven for a million years before it is reincarnated again, though it may choose to be before that if it wants." She paused there and looked around. "Anyway, we must press on. We have quite a long flight ahead of us."
"Huh? You mean you didn't bring us straight to the entrance to Hell?" Videl asked.
The Kai shook her head. "It was my intention but with the damages done it is apparently impossible. Much like when I and the other Kais went to the check-in stations earlier and were forced to appear outside of them. We are still a sizeable distance from the entrance." The group then lifted into the air and flew off with Mikomi and Kibito in the lead.
They flew in silence for a time, everyone gazing at the world around them as it slowly gave way from beautiful park to harsh and barren rocky mountains. "There's something I've been wondering." Bardock said as he flew up closer to the two Kais. "I remember King Kai telling us that those golden clouds were the barrier between Otherworld and the H.F.I.L. but what about the other Planes? I mean, it looked like you could cross from Otherworld into the H.F.I.L. anywhere you wanted too but it sounds like there's only one entrance into Hell."
Mikomi nodded. "Indeed. There is but one path from the H.F.I.L. into the depths of Hell. Similarly there are only sixteen paths into Heaven from Otherworld, one at each check-in station, and only one path from Heaven into the Kai Plane."
"What about the living world?" Gohan asked.
"There are billions of paths from the Mortal Plane into Otherworld." Mikomi answered. "But at the same time, only sixteen. You see, the four galaxies are divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant has a judge and a check-in station. Each check-in station has a door to Heaven and a door to the Mortal Plane. The door to the Mortal Plane opens inside the Lookout of every world within that quadrant." She sighed. "At least, they do normally. Currently the doors are closed and sealed."
"The Demons that attacked us mentioned that." Videl said. "They said Quietus sealed them so that we couldn't interfere in Otherworld after being killed."
"It's possible." Mikomi said. "It's also possible he's merely taking credit for helpful coincidence. Quietus may have gained more power than all the Mazoku but he is still a Demon. His influence over the various planes should be negligible. More so here in Shinkai as it is not his Realm. Still, as I do not know how he gained the power he has it should not be discounted."
"Back to my question." Bardock continued. "With the clouds gone now as part of the Demon invasion, are H.F.I.L. and Otherworld one plane? I mean, after the clouds were gone we had a clear view into the other plane...."
It was Kibito that covered this explanation. "The H.F.I.L. and Otherworld are unique planes within Shinkai." he said. "Where as most planes have solid barriers between them the barriers between those two planes are thin along their entire length. Just a flimsy energy field. This is so the Kais can exert force over the inhabitants of the H.F.I.L. as well as draw out and contain the evil energies of those inhabitants."
"Exert force?" asked Gohan.
"Yes." Kibito said. "Take the one we encountered upon our return...."
"Kuriiza." Vegeta said.
Kibito gave him a nod and continued. "Take Kuriiza for instance. Individuals such as him are not unheard of. Beings with strong enough wills to manifest bodies. They are purely soul formed bodies, no flesh or blood included unlike those on the Grand Kai's world, but bodies none the less. Those with that level of will are often able to manifest some, if not all, of their power.
"If they were allowed to run freely within the H.F.I.L. in such conditions the Grand Kai would be spending more time keeping the peace down there than he would managing Otherworld. But we Kai's emit a power that, under normal conditions, is amplified by the cloud barrier and suppresses the powers of those in the H.F.I.L. able to create Soul Bodies so as to prevent such issues.
"The clouds themselves are not a normal part of the planes, the barrier between them is merely a thin and insubstantial field of energy, completely invisible. The clouds were created by the Kai's to amplify our effect on the souls below so as to completely negate their powers, instead of partially, and to work as a barrier so those below could not come up. They are a one way passage and do not allow you to come up from below."
"Even with the clouds in place many still retain soul bodies." Mikomi added. "But they are limited to physical power only and as such are not threats and can be left to their own devices without issue."
Vegeta snorted. "It's because they were left to their 'own devices' that we're in this situation." he said. "They were the ones that moved the 'Blood Crystal' into Hell, the ones who went to Makai to recruit Demons to help them, and the ones that freed Quietus."
"How do you know this?" Mikomi asked, looking back at the Sai-jin royal. She remembered Tenma saying that some of the dead of Shinkai had helped to revive Quietus but it sounded like the Sai-jin had even more information on that matter than she did, and he'd been in the Mortal Plane the entire time.
"While you were chasing after Bardock and Kakkarotto Piccolo informed us of what he'd learned from Slug."
"Slug!?" Bardock cried, turning to look as well now. "He was there too?"
"Most of our old enemies were." Gohan replied. "And from what Piccolo said this whole thing is Raven's doing."
Goku frowned. "So this is related to them after all?"
"Slightly." Vegeta said. "At least, in so far as being their doing. The Namek said Slug told him they were following orders given to them before their deaths."
Gohan nodded. "The way Piccolo explained it it seems Raven wants the Demons for her own army or something. I'm not sure though."
"Who is this Raven you keep mentioning?" Mikomi asked. "You mentioned her in connection with the fruit earlier too."
Gohan sighed. "I suppose we can explain while we travel." he said. "But even our knowledge is limited. From what we know and understand Raven is from the future. She and her mate, someone we don't even have a name for yet, have been altering the past for a long time for reasons we don't fully know. Though most likely in an effort to take over the universe."
Bardock picked up there. "She's had spies and operatives inside all four of the galaxy's previous major empires for a while. Individuals who's powers she had boosted via those fruit. They even had teams traveling to planets to gather resources to feed the trees, apparently. Earth and Tanaria were both hit by such teams but drove them off."
"Piccolo thinks we're part of their plans." Videl added.
"Huh?" asked Goku. "What do you mean?"
"Something he thought of earlier." Gohan explained. "Despite altering history for more than a thousand years now we still exist. And based on what we learned from Cell when he came...."
"I get it." Bardock said. "Cell was created to kill Goku and he came from a timeline where the Sai-jin empire was dead and gone. A time likely unaltered by Raven but where all of us were still around."
"Well, most of us." Gohan said. "But enough to show that we've been kept around. With all of their changes and all of this time they've had they could have simply caused us not to exist. Written us out of history. But they haven't."
"Because they want us for something." Bardock finished, with a frown.
"Maybe this is why?" Goku suggested. "You said they wanted the Demons for their army, right? But maybe they don't want Quietus himself?"
Vegeta snorted. "Possible. They may just want us to wipe out the competition. And hope we die in the process, no doubt. But I'm not willing to take anything Slug had to say at face value. He could have been lying about a lot of things, or simply in the dark about the truth."
"Still, it's something worth bringing up with any other Demons we meet." Bardock said. "Not that I've seen much of anything down here so far...."
Mikomi turned her focus forward again as she contemplated what the others had said. "If this Raven you speak of is truly behind this then I fear she does not realize the magnitude of her actions."
Vegeta snorted again. "I'm sure she knows exactly what she's doing. The way the Namek explained it she's got everything planned out and hundreds of contingency plans ready just in case." he said. "And we know she's been around for at least fifteen hundred years. But that's only with written records of her name. Chances are that she's been screwing with things longer than that. When did this 'Quietus' first show up?"
"About two thousand years ago." Kibito said.
The Sai-jin royal chuckled softly. "She probably watched him kick the crap out of you, then." he said.
Mikomi glanced back at him again but then turned forward and shook her head. She doubted anyone would be willing to release someone as powerful and as dangerous as Quietus if they truly knew the threat he posed. However, she did have to admit that there was that chance. If this Raven knew as much about the universe as seemed likely she could easily have anticipated the plan developed by the Kais. In which case....
Her thoughts trailed off there as she saw something floating in the distance which she knew didn't belong there. It looked like a large, purple, jellybean. She slowed, the others soon following suit, as she gazed around her. There were more of the giant jellybeans to the left, and the ground there was a slick and glossy black. Off in the distance she could see black spires reaching into the sky.
"No...." she said softly, realization of the meaning to what she saw dawning on her. She tilted her head back and gazed skyward toward where the clouds should have been but where not. /I... I can't believe I didn't see this as a possibility!/ she thought. /The effects of our powers amplified by the clouds were also the only thing keeping his essence scattered throughout the plane! Now that it's gone he is free again..../
"Umm, Supreme Kai?" Goku asked tentatively. "What is it?"
"Kibito, you must take these Mortals on ahead to the path to Hell." Mikomi ordered, her gaze lowering back toward the distortion in the distance.
"What's wrong?" Kibito asked.
"The Demons meant only to allow easy passage to Otherworld but...." she trailed off as a sound, barely audible at all, came from the distance. "But in so doing, in destroying the clouds, they weakened our influence over the H.F.I.L. and have allowed an old evil to be restored."
Again, the sound came, but this time louder and recognizable. It was a voice. A playful and laughing voice. "Janemba! Janemba, Janemba, Janemba!"