Note: Exams are done! I'll try and get another chapter written by this Sunday, but I've only got three days so no promises…definitely a chapter by next Sunday, and from then on back to normal, weekly schedule.

Chapter 6: The Sins of the Father

Zenryoku Pawaa wo moyase! Taihen ippatsu shika shouri no Chansu!

Recommended music for this chapter: Brutal Revolution by Music Junkies.

For those getting fed up with the Goku and Raditz bit: It ends this chapter. And we finally get an explanation for it next chapter.

Thanks to Supersaiyaninfinitygohan for proofreading this one!

Note FROM THE FUTURE: A scene near the end of this chapter was inspired by one from Saint Seiya, not Bringer of Death. Just wanted to clear that up. If you read the chapter and have no clue what I'm on about, fine, ignore this. Only a couple people pointed it out anyway.

"Well, I can understand if you're surprised," Roshi said jovially, stepping out of the doorway into the hellish landscape. "After all, it's been a while since I've been on the front lines."

"What are you planning to do, though?" Uub asked. "I mean, he's picking us apart. And no offence, but…"

Roshi nodded. "Oh, I know my power is pretty much zip compared to you guys'. Good thing I'm not planning on just hitting him, then, heh."

Eighteen approached, keeping a wary eye on Hades Shenron, who seemed content for the moment to watch events unfold. "The Mafuuba, right? The Evil Containment Wave?" Roshi fell silent, face unmoving.

"You can't!" Break protested. "You'll kill yourself—for good this time! Besides, he's way too powerful to be trapped by—"

"I am aware of the facts." Roshi sighed. "Trust me, I wouldn't turn up out of the blue just to use the Mafuuba on some opponent I knew nothing about, other than they're too strong for it to work." He began to circle the Shadow Dragon, keeping his gaze fixed on it. "But you're not an ordinary fighter, are you, 'dragon'?"

Hades turned around, directly between Roshi and the door now that the old master finally stopped pacing. "Ah, so you know of my power also? Good, then I need not demonstrate that I cannot be destroyed." He folded his arms. "Not that you could injure me no matter how much I lowered my ki with that pathetic strength of yours."

Uub frowned. Wait…Roshi's got him facing away…is this his plan or something? Distract it so we can attack from behind? Well…it's worth a shot, I guess… He clenched his fists, preparing to initiate the Kaioken. This might be my only shot…no choice but to push it higher…hope the strain isn't too much.

"HYAAA—!" Kicking off the ground, Uub launched himself at Hades, leaving a burning trail in his wake as he brought his leg down towards the Shadow Dragon's head. However, it jerked to a halt scant millimetres from its target, stopped dead by an invisible wall of force that then exploded outwards, catapulting Uub backwards.

Fool, Roshi thought. If that was all it would take to beat him, I wouldn't need to be here.

"That was very rude, mortal," Hades muttered. "I shall kill you first. Now, elder…do go on. How did you know of my powers?"

Roshi smiled. "My sister, the fortuneteller Baba, is the guide between the living world and the world of the dead. As soon as you manifested in this universe, she was able to detect the imbalance between the two realms caused by your very existence. She came straight to me and helped me identify your energy signature…looks like I got here just in time. I knew you couldn't be killed normally." He frowned. "What is your name?"

"Hades Shenron. You sound like you have a plan—do go on." Hades's laugh came tinny and hollow from behind the mask. "I do so love mortals and their plans."

"Heh…I'll be brief. Don't want to bore you. The Mafuuba, or Evil Containment Wave, is a technique for sealing an evil being within a container—" He threw a capsule to the floor, opening it to reveal a decent-sized metal canister. "—such as this one. But if the being I'm trying to seal is strong enough—and you are, by a mile—they can easily resist it. Not to mention that sealing a being with this technique costs the user their own life."

"Continue, please," Hades chuckled. "But do try to get to the point. You wouldn't come all the way here just to tell me about a technique which, by your own admission, won't work on me."

"No, I would not." Roshi tapped the container with his foot. "But then, this is no ordinary container." He grinned. "My sister is, as I've said, responsible for the boundary between life and death, and her magical abilities are highly in-tune with it." He squared his shoulders, eyes narrowing. "What I'm going to seal isn't you, Hades—it's your link to Hell! Your ability to reform yourself will be lost!"

Hades froze. "What?!"

"My sister enchanted this container," Roshi explained. "It took a great deal of effort, but she poured all of her magical power into making it a channel that would redirect the Mafuuba to your link with Hell rather than your physical body. Unfortunately…doing this now will cost both her and myself our lives…"

"No!" Break called. "There's no coming back anymore! We can find another—"

"You've just been trying 'another way'," Roshi said firmly. "But I cannot win your battle for you. Hades will be killable, but still far stronger than you. Good luck. Hades Shenron!" He declared. "Prepare yoursel—"

There was a blur of movement, and a wet sliding sound. Roshi's voice stopped mid-sentence as his body was jerked upwards like a rag doll, Hades' arm thrust through his stomach. Streams of blood dripped down the Shadow Dragon's upraised arm, droplets splashing against the emotionless mask. "Like I said…I do love mortals and their little plans."

"ROSHI!" Break yelled, lunging but being instantly floored by another nonchalant blast.

"Honestly," Hades murmured, idly crushing the metal container beneath his clawed foot. "What made you think you could pull a technique like that off against an enemy so much faster than you? Really, this kind of lack of foresight is unbecoming of you. Age is supposed to bring wisdom, after all."

"Heh..." Roshi chuckled weakly. "Heh…heh…"

Hades paused. "What's funny?"

Roshi's form wavered, then in a small puff of smoke was replaced by that of a small humanoid pig in army fatigues. "…they all thought I was…a coward…funny thing…" Oolong choked, "...'till recently…so did I…" He slumped forwards, eyes closed, still impaled on the dragon's arm.

"What is this…?" Hades wondered aloud. "Was this thing imitating the old man all along? For what—"

"CHOU MAFUUBA!"

A wall of searing, pure-white light descended on Hades from behind, crashing into him, a typhoon of furious raw energy, burning every point on his body, the roar of power filling his ears and drowning out his own bellow of impotent fury as he was carried off into the far distance, still enveloped in the ferocious glow.

Master Roshi stood in the doorway, hands palm-down over a second metal canister. Sweat poured down his face. "This was the container enchanted by my sister. It is merely a channel…break it if you like, Hades, your power is gone now. Even the souls already in you…have been released." He gasped, falling to one knee.

Break rushed over to him, supporting the drained old man. "Stay with us! Stay with us."

"I'm…sorry…" he breathed. "Your task is still…difficult, but now…not…impossible." His eyes began to glaze over. "Heh…this is…the third time I've gone out this way…I guess…no more…safety net. You know, the hardest thing was…getting Oolong to…talk convincingly like me." I thought I'd be dead by now…oh, sister…you took so much of the strain to give me these minutes you knew I'd need to say my goodbyes. Thank you.

"Hold on!" Uub pleaded, rushing over with Eighteen close behind.

"I'm sorry I…had to involve him, but…little time…so little to work with…listen! Hades is…strong, but you are…the successors of…our hope. Your parents…your teachers…you can overcome anything…with the same spirit they always did." He shuddered. "I leave…the rest…to you."

"Don't…" Break trailed off. Don't leave us? What kind of stupid statement is that? It's not like he can help it. It's our fault…we couldn't handle it…

Uub stood up, silently turning to face the horizon, where he could feel Hades' ki recovering. "That took away his regeneration ability, but we still can't damage him at our current level," he said softly.

"We have to…!" Break growled. "We can't let all this be for nothing!"

"I know." Uub took a deep breath. "Roshi and Oolong…gave everything to give us one chance. I'm not about to waste it…let me handle this guy. I need to go at him…not holding anything back."

"You were holding back your power before?!" Eighteen asked with a start.

"No. I don't actually know if I can raise my power high enough, but…I was afraid the strain might be too much. It wasn't my body holding back, but my mind." Uub grew calm again, forcing himself to relax. "But I have to live up to their example…I'm not afraid to give it my all this time. Even if it kills me."

Break stood, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him back. "No, we can't lose anybody else! Not now!"

"There's no choice!" Uub insisted, pulling away. "If we lose, everyone dies. Now…Goku doesn't know I can do this…hell, I don't know if I can do this…I wasn't desperate enough at first, and then he showed us he was immortal, so trying it would have been pointless until now."

Eighteen took a wary step back. "What are you going to try?"

Suddenly, Uub tensed up. "He's coming back—"

Hades threw out a massive crater as he landed, clothes scorched and in disarray, aura blazing around him. "You've taken…my immortality!" he shrieked. "Unforgivable…UNFORGIVABLE! Well, it won't matter to you! You'll never be able to scratch me—especially not at my full power!" His outfit burst asunder as he suddenly put on another foot in height, mask melding with his face to form a leering, demonic liquid metal visage, bat-wings erupting from his back and unfolding. Shadows curled and twisted about his feet, light from the unnatural sun above glinting off razor-hooked claws.

"'Full power'…" Uub spat. "Stupid concept. I've been fighting at beyond my full power ever since I started using the Kaioken. Saying 'full power' is like admitting to your limits. And if Goku's taught me anything—never let your limits define you! HAAAAAA—"

"Huh?!" Break flinched away from the blistering red corona enveloping Uub's trembling form. This power…! His scream continued to rise as his aura grew in intensity.

"—RRRRRGH…" Uub's eyes gleamed, focused totally on Hades, ignoring the critical stress his body was undergoing—blood dripped from his mouth, tiny cuts opened up on his straining muscles, scorch marks appeared where his own power burned its way into his skin. The entire landscape shook under the force of it, geysers of lava erupting around the group as Uub's still-building power warped the very earth beneath him.

"Do what you want!" Hades yelled, features twisting in rage. "There's no comparison between us!" He lunged, throwing a punch. Uub's hand shot up, catching it and just barely holding it back. Hades' eyes widened. Is this…it can't be…even for just a moment…this boy can't have achieved demigod ki?!

"Y-You're right," Uub hissed, holding in a mouthful of blood. Something inside was failing. "There's…no comparison…at all! HHHHHRRRR…SPIRIT…"

"No way!" Eighteen gasped.

"…KAIOKEN!" Uub smashed Hades' attack aside, becoming the centre of a column of living flame and barrelling into the Shadow Dragon, sending them both arcing through the sky, Hades' wings flailing in vain, before crashing back down to the ground. Uub thrust both hands into Hades' face and, screaming in pain and fury, poured wave after wave of energy into the roaring dragon, rending the metal from his face and obliterating the flesh beneath.

Uub fell back limply, flame extinguished, feeling organs rupture and muscles tear. "Roshi…Oolong…Baba. What you did—it wasn't for nothing."

"Uub!" Break was crouching over him, feeling for a pulse.

He weakly pushed her away. "You…gotta go. Don't have much time."

"But you—"

"I'll live." He smiled painfully. "Something like this…happened when I tried the Kaioken on Cell. Turns out I got more than just power from Buu…"

Break nodded, understanding. "Regeneration?"

"Sort of. I can't regrow limbs like he could or anything, I'm still killable, but internal damage like this…these little cuts…half an hour, an hour or two maybe, I'll be fine. Energy doesn't magically come back, though…I'll still be too tired to fight."

"I understand." She stood, turning to Eighteen. "Let's keep moving. He's right, we need to hurry."

The middle of Nowhere…

Raditz now held the Dragon Radar, marching along at a good pace and flicking his eyes from the device to the ruined landscape to make sure they were keeping to their course.

Goku, walking behind him, was humming a merry tune while juggling four Dragon Balls. "Man, we're getting close now," he said happily. "These last couple were easy…"

"Yeah," Raditz agreed. "Almost got to the fifth, it should be right up here...hey, are those glowing?"

Goku nodded enthusiastically, balancing them in a wobbling pile on one finger. "Yup! They like each other's company, I think. Y'think maybe they were lonely before?"

"Man, were you born this simple or—" Raditz fell silent suddenly, scanning the horizon. "There's…somebody strong around here. But I'm not sure…I can't get a fix on their energy for some reason."

Goku had already stowed away the Dragon Balls. "They're moving too fast," he deduced instantly. "Never stopping or going in a straight line for too long…pretty clever, and they must be tough to do it for this long without getting tired."

"Goku!" Raditz decided, edging backwards. "Let's get to the Dragon Ball now and get out of—"

"What, this?" A playful voice called from behind them. They swivelled, to see another armoured saiyan sitting atop a metal fence, holding up a Dragon Ball. "I just glanced at your detector thing as I ran by just now, led me right to it," she explained. "I guess these are important for something, right?"

So they don't know about the Dragon Balls…Raditz realised. Well, that's one advantage. "Who are you, anyway?"

"What a poor memory you've got," she smirked. "My name's Fasha—and your father sent me, thought you might like to know."

"You're part of his squad?" Raditz asked. "Come on, you at least have to help us! What's even going on around here?"

"Trust me, I am helping you. Now…" She stood up, yawning. "Try to keep up, kiddies. This is lesson one." With that, she took off in a burst of sound and fury, speeding off into the distance.

Raditz gasped involuntarily. So fast! I could barely even see—

"Sorry! Try and catch up!" Came Goku's voice as the younger sibling raced past Raditz, dumping the Dragon Balls at his feet and speeding away after Fasha. A few experimental leaps later, and based on his observations of the day so far, Goku managed to get the hang of sustained flight and soon found himself gaining ground.

He's fast… She observed, pulling a wide circle and landing in the middle of a dusty plain, waiting for Goku to hit the ground ungracefully opposite her.

"Gimme that Dragon Ball!" he demanded. "Sorry, but I can't mess around right now!"

"Heh…" She grinned. "This isn't messing around. At your current level, you'll never match Vegeta. If you can beat us, though…"

"Fine! If I gotta take you down too…" The young saiyan rushed in, leaping to the attack, but though her feet remained planted on the ground and her arms remained folded, something swiped out and smashed him across the face—her tail, he realised, as he rolled with the momentum, rising and stepping back in.

She casually dodged his punches, however, avoiding each attack with the tiniest of movements. "Really? That's all?"

Goku took a step back, frowning. "Something…doesn't add up…" He couldn't quite remember why, but something to do with the seemingly-relatively-small power difference between her and Broly just didn't seem right.

"You're right," she replied, "it doesn't. This place, this time, they aren't normal. But that's not important right now!" Her arm whipped out in an arc, an energy beam to the chest staggering him back and bringing him to his knees.

"H-Hey…" he coughed. "If you're s'posed to be making me stronger…how's killing me gonna help?"

"Because your true power shows itself in moments of desperation!" she answered, raining more painful blows down on his back and shoulders. "You're gonna have to learn that your physical condition means nothing if you can summon up enough ki!"

"Gah—!" he hissed, feeling himself about to collapse. "F-Fine, damn it…" Her next blow missed its mark, smashing a crater into the ground beneath, and Goku's foot planted itself in her face, throwing her back. She caught herself against the ground one-handed, springing to her feet and shaking her head to clear the dizziness. "That's more like it," she said, grinning. That's the kind of power he needs…

He turned to face her, panting. "Yeah…I reckon a couple more like that'll take you down."

"Maybe." Without warning, her arm moved in a blur, and something flew out past Goku—the Dragon Ball, he realised as it passed him. He spun, diving for it, and in that instant an energy blast took him in the back, taking him down.

"Next lesson," Fasha growled. "Think. If you'd attacked me instead, you might've won, then you could've gone to collect the ball at your leisure." Seconds after these words left her mouth, her scouter registered a new power level approaching, and moments later Raditz landed in front of his younger brother, checking that Goku was merely unconscious before picking up the Dragon Ball. He stuffed it inside the same bag as the other four, then put them, along with the radar, by his sibling. "All right. You said you're 'helping us', right?"

"I'm making you stronger, yeah," Fasha replied. "I'm giving the two of you a crash course, let's say."

Raditz glanced back down at Goku, who was twitching slightly. "Oh, sure. He looks fantastic."

"He'll learn from this fight, and do better in his next. Besides, you know saiyans get stronger by coming back from the brink of death…" She launched herself at him, forcing him back with a relentless chain of physical attacks, one slipping through his defences every few seconds. He swung a counterattack, but she was seemingly-instantly a couple of feet to the right, yawning.

"Damn…so…if I fail this lesson of yours…what?" he spat.

"You die, obviously," she said, shrugging. "There'd be no point sparing you, since if you were that weak, Vegeta'd kill you anyway." She advanced, her fist coming down again and staggering him away. Huh…even knowing that, his strength hasn't improved. Maybe he really doesn't have the potential…

Raditz took another couple of stumbling steps backwards, still propelled by the momentum of the blow. "And…Goku?"

"Well, if you fail I suppose I'll kill him too," Fasha decided. "At least I'll make it quick." She was interrupted by an urgent beeping—her scouter registering a sudden increase. She began to back away, suddenly wary. Too late! She realised.

"Well, why didn't you say so?!" As she jumped, attempting to get out of range, a fist slammed upwards into her stomach, followed by an explosion of energy that hurled her up and away in a wide arc, eventually crashing back to the ground several miles away. "Ghhh…ahk…" she coughed, smiling slightly as blood pooled on the ground below her. There…you go…that's…what you needed.

Shortly…

Raditz held up his hand triumphantly, the results of a minute's rummaging in the dirt—the sixth Dragon Ball—gleaming out from between his fingers. "Heheh, only one left."

"Awesome!" Goku grinned. "Man, I'm really gettin' hungry…"

"Yeah, me too…well, anyway, last one's not too far from here…uh…" Raditz paused, tapping the radar. "It's, uh, getting closer. Pretty fast." I guess one of them has it…

Sure enough, a flying figure soon came into view, stopping a hundred or so metres overhead. Nodding to each other, the brothers flew up to meet them—and stopped in shock as soon as they saw their face.

"Yeah, I figured you'd at least remember me," Bardock said, grinning.

A long silence followed, finally broken by Goku slowly raising a hand to point at their father, frowning and declaring. "You…you're…yeah! You look just like me! That's kinda funny…"

Raditz kicked him. "That's our father, idiot!"

"Oww! Don't blame me, I never met him!" Goku whined.

Raditz blinked. "You didn't…no, now you mention it, I remember that…" he turned back to Bardock. "Dad, I…"

Bardock smiled warmly, holding up the final Dragon Ball. "I can tell you've both grown a lot today. Fasha did her job well, and I'm proud of all of you." His face fell. "But I'm afraid I have the same task as her—you're still not quite at the level you need to be."

Raditz held up his hands. "Eh? Don't tell me you're gonna fight us too, Dad?"

Bardock nodded slowly. "I'm afraid so…but it's essential you get stronger, and quickly!"

"A-All right." Goku sniffed, raising his fists. "I know what you're trying to do for us…and I'll do my best. Thank you."

Raditz smiled in assent. "Right…thank you."

"Then we'll fight for this." Bardock tossed the Dragon Ball high into the air. "Do me proud, my sons—now show me what y—" His eyes widened and a low gurgle escaped his mouth as a vivid purple energy beam pierced through his chest from behind, shattering his armour. "Aa…y-you…y…" Spasming, he lost the power to fly and plummeted to the ground.

Vegeta, shaking the smoke from his hand, floated up to them, smirking from ear to ear. Holding his hand up, he caught the Dragon Ball Bardock had thrown on its return journey. "I had a feeling he was trying to help you behind my back, you know…ah, well. I shall forever treasure the looks on your faces just now."

"Vegeta—you—!" Goku wailed, charging the prince. Vegeta merely chuckled, clenching his fists and grunting slightly as a new form of energy welled within him—then burst to the surface in a blaze of yellow. Goku paid this no heed, colliding with Vegeta with furious strength, hammering him with blows from all sides, with every limb, at every angle. A few seconds of this exhausted him and he drifted to a halt, panting; his opponent was unfazed, not harmed in the slightest. "You should pay attention, child. Attacks on that level are nothing to a Super Saiyan." A single elbow strike dropped Goku, sending him falling after his father. Raditz swept in, catching him two-handed and laying him gently down on the ground.

Vegeta touched down behind him, rolling his shoulders and 'flexing' his aura. "So you two are a disappointment, after all. Really, I can hardly believe my subordinates were defeated by the pair of you."

"And yet, you've made a mistake," Raditz said calmly, facing Vegeta with his eyes closed. "And it'll be your last."

"Oh?" Vegeta smirked down at the saiyan child. "And what might that be?"

"If you'd been paying attention you'd know…" A new aspect burst to life within Raditz's ki. "…it's dangerous…to jog my memory!" A surge of golden light filled his body, escaping from every pore and transforming him into a second Super Saiyan. "But you went ahead and reminded me this form existed."

A bolt of hurled ki to the chest slid Raditz back. Vegeta laughed, advancing. "You think you can defeat my experience with that newly-awakened power? It doesn't matter what you do, you'll never be adequate, Raditz!" He threw a direct punch at Raditz's head, aiming to take it off completely, but the other Super Saiyan twisted to the side at the last instant, receiving only a slice up the side of his face. In the same movement, he brought his leg up in a high kick at Vegeta, who span around it, bringing his knee up into Raditz's face and throwing him back through a building. "Heh. Still just low-class trash."

Raditz growled, hauling himself up and pushing chunks of rubble away. "'M not…weak…" Vegeta ran at him, and this time Raditz caught his leg, pushing him back and feinting with an uppercut. "I'm not!" Vegeta went to block it, realising his mistake too late and receiving an elbow to the face, nose breaking with a sickening—or satisfying, to Raditz—crunch. "Gyaaah!" he hissed. "I'll kill—" Raditz's offensive continued, and Vegeta was forced to back away, all his efforts focused on staving off the ceaseless attacks, the whole process accompanied by various unprintable threats and insults from the harried prince.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?!" Raditz snarled. "A good fight? Well, are you happy?"

"Bastarrrrrghk—!" Vegeta doubled over at another thunderous blow, swaying backwards a few steps.

Raditz held up one hand, holding the seventh Dragon Ball aloft. "Thank you for your co-operation."

"What…" Vegeta spluttered. "I had—When did you take—" A burst of ki took him off his feet, and he lay still, groaning.

Raditz sighed, letting the raging, burning power leave him, placing the Dragon Ball with the others. Goku was sitting up, rubbing his head. "Hey…you turned…Super Saiyan?" The words, again, simply sprang to mind.

"Yeah, but I couldn't hold on to it. C'mon, let's do it. Uh…whatever it is we're supposed to do."

Goku stood, clapping his hands together in front of him, closing his eyes and clearing his mind. This…is something else we knew once. Remember…

Remember…

His eyes snapped open, his arms raised to the sky. "Eternal dragon, rise to fulfil our wish! I call you out, Shenron!"

A column of light burst forth, spiralling out into the sky and beginning to form the shape of a great serpentine beast.

"Not…so fast…!" Came a harsh voice. Vegeta, on his feet again, still transformed, voice hoarse, hunched over, but ki still terrifyingly large. "I will not…accept this….! I am a warrior…of the highest class! These lowlifes…are nothing…and they will not…defeat…!" His fists clenched, unimaginable power building around them with the sole purpose of ripping the brothers apart. "My warrior's pride demands victory, and I will have—"

Abruptly, thick arms gripped the vengeful prince from behind. "You'll have nothing, but what you deserve!" Bardock hissed, ignoring the blood pouring from his grievous wound.

Vegeta's eyes widened in shock. "You…!"

Bardock glanced over at his sons. "You two…you haven't just grown stronger than I am. You're far better men than I ever was, and I'm…so proud of you."

"Father!" Raditz called weakly. "Don't leave me…not again…!"

Bardock closed his eyes. "Go, my sons. Live." With that, he took off, blasting off into the upper atmosphere with the prince in tow.

"You can't hold me!" Vegeta snapped. "Once I've gathered my strength…your little power will be nothing to a Super Saiyan!"

"Is that so." Bardock gritted his teeth, flashes of gold licking around the edges of his aura, streaking through his hair.

"Wh-what?!" Vegeta yelped. "You're…on the verge of transforming?" But…Bardock doesn't consider himself pure of means by any means…unless—! "B-Bardock, you don't mean to—"

"If the only way to defeat you…is to become pure…" Bardock hissed. "The only way for me to do that…is to wipe my slate…to finally pay for my sins!"

He's going to transform in the instant of his own self-destruction! Vegeta realised, desperately struggling to escape as they climbed rapidly higher. The kind of energy that twin event will release…I'll be killed for sure! "Why…would…you do this?" He shrieked. "Why?!"

"For…their tomorrow, Vegeta," Bardock replied, energy building to new heights. "You wouldn't understand." He took a deep breath, gathering all his power, physical and mental, and preparing himself. "FOR TOMORROW!"

"D…Dad…" Raditz grasped at the empty air, staring up at the gigantic explosion of golden power that filled the sky above them.

Shenron, now fully formed, glared down at the pair of them. "SPEAK YOUR WISH, YOU WHO HAVE SUMMONED ME."

Goku stood in front of it, totally focused on the task at hand. "Wish, huh…" He took a deep breath. This wasn't exactly remembering, like everything else they'd re-learned today. This was more of an instinct. Too many things were slightly wrong, didn't add up. It wasn't a dream, it was far too real and coherent for that, but it wasn't right. It was real, but it wasn't his reality. He nodded, his decision made, and lifted his head towards the dragon.

"I want to wake up."

Raditz opened his eyes. It remained dark, however. He sighed. "Goku, get off me."

"Whahuh?" His brother yawned, rolling off of where he'd landed on the older saiyan in a heap on the dark stone floor.

Raditz stood, dusting himself off. Well, we seem to be adults again…no tail...and my memories are back…

"Where are we?" Goku asked, rising as well. "I mean, we're not…wherever that last place was, but we don't seem to be back home yet…"

"How can you tell?"

"Look at the sky." Goku leant on the bottom ledge of a window-like opening in the wall. "Don't get that shade of red on Earth…"

Footsteps sounded on the floor behind them; they turned to see a large, otherworldly being descending the stairs that appeared to be only exit to the small room they were currently in. Goku gave a start. "Hey…that's an Alfheim drone! Gohan described 'em to me, pretty detailed, from his travels…this thing matches everything he said!"

A small hole slid open on its face, and noises emerged that arranged themselves into words in their ears. "Greetings, travellers. I imagine you have a lot questions."

"Also they didn't talk," Goku added. "He mentioned that. So this is new."

Raditz elbowed him aside, facing the creature. "So what he's trying to say is, yes, a lot of questions. Answers would be good."

"I will explain on the way," it spoke in its strange manner. "But we must go now—my master is expecting you."

"At least tell us where we are…"

It paused. "You will not have heard of it…this world is called Svartalfheim. It is located," it added, "in the Thirteenth Universe."

Next chapter: Answers! Finally!

Here's a list of the relative power of all the beings with divine ki we've seen so far, by the way (incomplete since we haven't met all the Hakaishin yet):

Gohan (Super Saiyan God, when he fought Bills): 6 to ?

Bills: 10

Whis/Wistarion: 15

Alpha Shenron: 15

Cadmus/The Red King: 12

The Warrior: 11 (supreme combat skill puts him above most 11's)

The Hunter: 10

The Fisherman: 8

The Pilot: 9 (more like an 11 in speed)

The Dreamer: 12

The Scholar: 8

The Knight/Mercury: 11

Sorry, I kind of had to skip over some interesting/good reviews for the Q&A this week simply because there were so many…really my fault for being so late…sorry, people whose reviews I didn't answer/only partly answered! If you still have any questions I haven't addressed, obviously feel free to keep pestering me about them (you can either PM them to me or stick them in a review, or if you're weird, email me a picture of yourself holding up a sign with your question written on…actually, I think I'm not telling the public my email, never mind.).

Q: Firstly, when you say the difference between Namek-saga SSJ and FPSSJ is the difference between the Buu saga and now regarding Raditz's power, do you mean this proportionally?

Secondly, does the 'evilness' of the soul matter when Hades is using his power?

A: Yes, proportionally. And as long as it's evil enough to be in Hell it doesn't matter, he can use it, since his spiritual link is to Hell.

Q: love the idea behind whis...ummm, i mean Lord Wistarion, especially his design change, but there's one detail you forgot to mention, his power shouldn't have been just 15 compared to bills which is 10, shouldn't he be stronger?

A: Nah, he's 15 and Bills is at 10. The Hakaishin all range from 8 to 12 (I'll post the full list when they've all been introduced, incomplete list above of just the ones we've seen so far), and Whis is a good deal stronger than them.

Q: 2. Are we literally about to whip out the Mafuba and have it work?

A: Not quite.

Q: Uh oh looks like Whis is serious now. I have to wonder though, if Whis was in his prime (it's obvious that he isn't quite there anymore) would he be mopping the floor with Alpha right now? Also compared to the Crimson King Hakashin, how strong is Whis to him?

A: Actually he's kept in fairly good practice, but his endurance isn't what it was. His power is as high as ever, but the amount of time he can sustain that high level of power has gone down. The list above should help you compare the too.

Q: At this point how strong are raditz and goku compared to their original selves? And pre dimension tranfering/ pre dragons who was stronger out of goku and raditz

A: Their power in that weird world was kind of…difficult to gauge. Deliberately so. And Goku was/is (now that they're out of it) stronger.

Q: Great update! SO the Eternal's job is to destroy universes? and the dragons are obeying the Eternal and doing his job?If thats so then what about Bills and the other gods, they supposed to be god of destruction too. So how does that work and is Whis alone in this since he is the only one who creates universes instead of destroying?

A: The Kaioshin create planets, and the Hakaishin destroy them. Whis creates universes, and the Eternal destroys them.

Q: 1 Are we ever going to find out what happened to Gohan, and soon, or is has he been taken out of the story for the time being to let the others shine.
2 One of the things I thought DBZ should have had was variations on ssj2 and ssj3 like super saiyan had. Is there a reason you think this never happened and why.
3 last question. Do you think ssj 5 is possible or is ssj4 the highest they can go? also at what point do you think zenkai stops working, or are saiyan powers really unlimited

A: 1. Yes, eventually. 2. Because SSJ2 and 3, in my opinion, are also just variations on SSJ. 3. I think it depends on how you think SSJ4 works and what it actually is. And I think zenkai stops working at Super Saiyan levels. The only person ever to get a zenkai after that was Cell. Saiyan power can keep growing even without zenkai, though, due to all their transformations and their demigod ki potential.

Q: I now want art of Wistarion, ready to battle. He sounds so frickin' cool..!

A: As do I.

Q: But the concept of demigod ki and divine ki is rather very complex. What I mean is, there is no clear threshold between them? But you did mention that divine ki demigod ki obviously. But in my opinion you should change it along the lines of. That demigods are very powerful indeed but have no actual role play in the multiverse and therefore can't travel between universes or breaking light speed without an actual skill they use, it's also why they can still be sensed as opposed to complete divine beings. And because of the speed and reflex limit they are less powerful due to having less velocity and slower reaction time. I hope you understand what i meant and that no harm was caused. :p

A: Sorry, yeah, I have been a little confusing occasionally in describing them. It's basically like you said, those with demigod ki aren't some specially-created gods, they're just…really powerful. Those with divine ki have, as you put it, a role to play in the multiverse.

Q: Space, why do you think that Kuriza secretly exist in the DBZ canon even thought he never appeared DBZ.

A: Because in canon DBZ, Frieza was still alive after Namek (as Mecha-Frieza), and was around to tell Kuriza not to do anything stupid like fly off to Earth in a rage.

Q: My guess is that he's gonna try a huge Mafuba. But not on Hades. The souls he holds to remake himself. Without souls fueling his ability, he becomes as mortal as everyone else. That'd the number one barrier to actually killing him.

A: Well done! Seriously, I didn't think anybody would actually predict it!

Q: Reading this will Janemba have a pivotal role in Even Further Beyond? I mean Old Kai said "There is no place in this world for Janemba? You say these things with out even knowing the meaning of its name." Of course that may have been before you had altered the initial idea for EFB not to mention that he/it could have been of use in the battle with Bills.

A: Aheheheh. MUAHAHAHAHAAAAA

Q: Captain Space, I have found the location of the 6th form, is at "Frieza 6th form by DB-Own-Universe-Arts on Deviantart".

A: That's cool, but it's a fan-work so I don't really have to include it…I mean, as I've said, Kuriza is already far stronger than any other member of his race…

Q: 1. Does Instant transmission work differently in this story, or did Raditz just have to completely master it to teleport miles away from the person he's teleporting "to?" It had never been used to teleport more than a few yards from someone in canon (unless I forgot something.)
2. When you said that the shadow dragons would still be shenrons even if they were summoned from the Namekian dragon balls, is it because the "Eternal" is named Omega Porunga or something like that, and the others are Shenrons to show their lower rank?

A: 1. I don't remember the exact instance, but that's probably just a plothole. Cell did it once which I kind of explained, but if Raditz did it, sorry, I messed up.

2. There is a reason, but it's not quite that. We'll get to it.