Chapter 16: Cancelling the Apocalypse

Seifukusha no Konjou! Shin no Densetsu no Supaa Saiyajin!

3000 reviews! Huzzah and felicitations, and other such archaic words of celebration!

Q: Why have you not been using Raditz signature moves? I.E. Double Sunday, Saturday Crash, etc.

A: Because:

1. "Double Sunday" was made up by one of the English dubs, or the Japanese anime, I can't remember which—anyway, point is, it's not in the manga, so non-canon, so I give myself license to take it or leave it.

2. The rest of them were only in the video games, so even more non-canon, so same deal.

3. They all sound incredibly stupid.

Goku and Pan rose sharply through the air, nearing Alpha Shenron, who darted backwards out of reach of their swipes, before moving back in and hammering them both back down towards the tower. She hung in the air, waiting for the satisfying collision as they hit the Katchin surface, but it never came.

Two pairs of feet tapped onto the hard surface in a controlled landing, signalling the arrival of Uub and Gogeta, catching the others before they hit the ground and setting them down.

"Hey…thanks, guys," Goku said shakily. "Though…I don't know how much more of this I can take…"

"Even surviving this long is lucky…" Pan agreed. "It's probably because she's trying to conserve energy."

"Exactly." Without warning, Alpha appeared in their midst. "And now there are four of you, killing you without exerting myself might take some time. But then, I'm not the one who's short on time here."

"Damn it—!" Gogeta reacted instinctively to the new foe, lashing out with an uppercut.

Alpha's head twitched to the side, moving the minimum distance necessary to avoid the punch, eyes hardening. "Bad move."

Inferno Gauntlet…

Break sank to the ground, gasping for breath. Can't…get past him…

"It won't work this way," Prometheus Shenron informed her. He was somewhat recovered now, sitting on the sidelines and watching the 'fight', as Hephaestus repeatedly deflected Break's assaults with businesslike efficiency.

Break shot Prometheus a vicious glare, and he flinched back despite himself. Ay…when she looks like that, she reminds me of Helios… He shrugged. "Sorry, but it's true. What you're doing is like headbutting a wall over and over. If the wall's harder than your head, there's no point continuing to see which will break first."

"Shut up," she growled, rising unsteadily, Super Saiyan 3 aura flickering. "I never found a wall I couldn't break." She ran at Hephaestus again, and he flexed his good arm, a kiai throwing her right back where she'd come from. She rolled to a stop next to Prometheus, reverting to base form as exhaustion overtook her. "…damn…"

"Look…" Prometheus said hesitantly. "You've got determination, but it's not backed up by much. Fighting spirit alone won't cut it. There's no real emotion fuelling your resolve…"

Break, about to snap at him again, paused. He's right. I've had to work to develop my inborn power, sure, but it was work alone…sometimes blind rage…a lot of the others have had something deeper along the way. "…fine. You got a point. But I…don't know how…"

Prometheus shrugged. "Take it back to its most basic. Why do you fight at all?"

"It's fun."

"And today? That's not the most important reason today, is it? I know there's more to you than that."

She hesitated, thrown mentally off-guard. More than that…to me? "Thought you weren't gonna help us."

"Hephaestus said that, not me."

Break gave Prometheus a thumbs-up, standing and facing Hephaestus.

"You're going to continue?" The Shadow Dragon asked.

"Sure. But not 'cause I want to." She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing and letting the weariness cascade away from her tired body. It's time to grow up…and stop being selfish. There is more in me than that. I'm not here to enjoy myself. I'm here because they need me.

To an outside observer, the fight atop the tower would have appeared as a confusing mass of clashing energy and flying fists. However, the combatants themselves had a much clearer view of things, and the four warriors were not holding their own well against Alpha. She moved from one to the other, quick attacks throwing them off-balance, disrupting attempts at forming larger attacks or group tactics. At least, she thought she was. Baby, employing his host's telepathic abilities, was hard at work.

The latest plan was quickly sprung into action—Uub and Gogeta broke away, creating distance between themselves and Alpha while Goku and Pan stayed engaged.

Got to…remember that feeling… Gogeta's body began to shake, the blood spotting his skin evaporating, sparking aura writhing up into a frenzy. What it felt like…that higher level… He'd been aware of it for a while now, like a distant light far above him. But since the fight with Gaia Shenron, it had been just a little closer. …and…reawaken! "GYAAAAAAH!" Now, two souls united for a single purpose, he reached up and seized it.

Whoa! Uub took an involuntary step away as waves of raw power poured of from Gogeta. He went Super Saiyan 3 again…on his own this time! Guess I'd better get ready, too…our part's coming up soon. Can't believe I'm using this a second time today…I'm really gonna feel it tomorrow… "Spirit KAIOKEN!" he roared, powering up alongside his comrade and gritting his teeth against the exhaustion it brought on.

Alpha, of course, noticed all this. Their powers increased dramatically…I should deal with them. These two are still in my way, however… She swung at both Goku and Pan at once, but instead of rolling with the punches to lessen the impacts, as she expected, they each rushed into the attacking limb, grabbing hold of it. "Now!" Pan shouted.

"Gotcha!" Uub replied, rushing in and leaping at Alpha with a flying kick. She grunted in frustration, shaking Goku off her left arm and blocking Uub just in time, the combined disorientation along with Pan still holding onto her left knocking her off-balance. Pan shifted her grip, shoving Alpha bodily away, leaving her open to attack, just as Gogeta came around overhead, hurling an arrow-straight energy bolt down at the Shadow Dragon. She cursed as she recovered her wits, flinging herself out of its path and over towards the doorway, outracing the explosion. They've got me on the defensive, but they still didn't land a solid hit—I should have enough time to counteratt—

Something struck her hard across the face, causing her to fall flat on her back, more out of surprise than injury.

Break, Super Saiyan power burning higher than ever before, stood in the doorway, shaking her fist and wincing. "Damn, woman, what are you made of?"

Uub smiled, relieved. She made it past him…so she achieved demigod ki, too! I still don't know how much of a chance we have, but there just might be enough of us now…

Helios' eyes blinked open, and he eased himself up into a sitting position, looking suspiciously around. "…I lost," he concluded. "And yet…I live. I was…spared."

"Indeed. Our opponents are unusual," Hephaestus chimed in from behind him.

Helios snorted. "It's insulting. I was born to fight true warriors…"

"I think anyone who can defeat you is, by definition, a 'true warrior'," Prometheus pointed out, leaning against a boulder.

Helios ignored them both. "How can she be…so strong of body…yet so weak of spirit?"

"Weak?" Hephaestus said, sounding serious now. "I would not call it a weakness." He walked over and sat down next to Helios, being careful with his damaged arm as he did so. "I would say that, quite to the contrary…to leave your enemy alive on the strength of your principles, knowing full well they could return to stab you in the back…that takes great courage."

"…" Helios had no response to this.

Alpha was standing now, glaring around at her five opponents. "You people…are starting to try my patience…I don't think you quite appreciate how outmatched you are. I'll demonstrate…" And in doing so, waste some of the time you so desperately need… "You're aware that this tower is made of Katchin, and of the material's incredible durability. Allow me to show you something…" She raised her fist, surrounding it with immense pulses of deadly energy. "This is my power!"

"W…Whoa…" Uub grunted, staggering away under the pressure.

I'm kinda glad right now… Break thought grimly. …that we can't sense her energy…

When Alpha struck the tower, the impact reverberated up and down the entire structure several times before the destructive effects began to take hold. At this point, her energy was in full flow, and when the tower began to fall to pieces, it did so all at once. With a great roar of metal grinding on metal, and of rushing air as gravity took hold, the Shadow Dragons' tower fell.

Alpha landed gracefully in the wreckage, scattered for miles around, huge chunks of gleaming black masonry each the size of ordinary buildings. That should take them some time to…eh?

Now I'm not fighting them for a minute…time to focus, and…what's this energy? It's enormous…and coming from… She whipped around, facing right and gawking at the sight.

Tien hung in the air a ways off, arms raised over his head, a large Spirit Bomb already forming. He'd taken up position next to the tower a few minutes ago to get a clear shot. Seeing her staring up at him, his face froze in shock. She noticed…no, it's not ready yet!

Drawing ki from the surrounding star systems… Alpha realised. Clever. But easily dealt with—

"Forgetting someone?" A pair of ki blasts signalled Goku and Uub's arrival, and Alpha leapt away to avoid them, skidding along a jagged piece of the ruins.

"You again…" Alpha muttered.

Behind a column of fallen rock, Helios Shenron also touched down, carrying Hephaestus and Prometheus under his arms, dumping them on the ground in short order.

"Thanks for getting us out of there…" Prometheus mumbled.

"Think nothing of it," Helios replied curtly, meaning it literally. "Now…I must join Alpha. My honour will not allow me to stop fighting while I still live."

"And ours won't let us rejoin the fight once we've been fairly beaten," Hephaestus informed him, laying back. "But, you know, good luck."

"Feh. Do what you want." Without another word, Helios took off, his flight-path turning back towards the ground as he noticed Pan and Gogeta making their way through the rubble. Yelling a battle cry, he dived straight for them.

Hearing his rather loud approach, they were on guard as he neared them. "Let me handle this guy," Pan insisted. "I've done it before."

"Right, in other words…" Gogeta cracked his knuckles. "You've had your turn. I got this one." He grinned sheepishly. "Uh, but feel free to back me up if I'm losing, heheh…"

Slowly, Pan nodded. "Careful…he's in a whole different world of power to Gaia."

"I noticed." Gogeta raised his head towards Helios as Pan left, bracing himself to receive the fiery Shadow Dragon's charge. The impact was tremendous, and Gogeta was launched backwards as if fired from a cannon, both arms fully extended and pushing against Helios' momentum.

Slowly, but surely, Helios' movement came to a halt. He growled with irritation, taking a step back—and Gogeta ducked forwards inside his guard in the same instant, hammering an uppercut into Helios' jaw and hurling him away in a clean arc. Gogeta frowned, throwing an intense ki blast after the dragon and enveloping the area in which he'd landed in an enormous fireball.

"Huh?" Pan blinked. "Did I miss something? Helios wasn't that weakened…" No, wait…he's not weak—it's Gogeta who got stronger! Come to think of it… She gave a start, realising the fused warrior was currently in the first stage of Super Saiyan. The boys have been doing a lot of fighting today, fused and separately…between all these intense fights, and maybe having it made easier by his existing demigod ki…he tapped into that potential within Super Saiyan somewhere along the way, without even realising it? She smiled. And combine that with the power fusion already gave him… he may just be our best right now. "You're quite the fighter, Gogeta…"

He shrugged. "And after what it took to beat Gaia…I don't really get what happened. But I do feel different…"

"I'll explain later. Let's rejoin the others."

"Oh! You're awake!"

"Yeah, 'course, I hurt too much to be asleep…wait…who…?" Break opened her eyes fully, seeing clearly now the distinctive face looking down at her. "Trunks…?"

Her…friend? Yeah, friend, I guess…helped her up, before standing back and shrugging. "I, uh…well, it'd been a while and you guys were still in there…I figured, world might be about to end, might as well tell you something I've wanted to say for years, but…ah, it's not even all that important…I feel kinda stupid now, coming all this way to…egh."

Break raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Heh, it probably sounds like I'm about to declare my undying love or something—it's not that, don't worry." He sighed, looking away. "Look…d'you remember that one date? I acted like a complete idiot, all but ignored you?"

"Sure. Didn't think you realised what you were like…thought you were just distracted with your work."

Trunks paused. "Uh, see…it was intentional."

"Huh?"

"I…got into the restaurant, and within about two minutes, I knew you and me wasn't gonna work. So I kinda sabotaged it."

She frowned at him. "Wasn't gonna work, you say?"

"Yeah…look, I…I was playing it up, but I am distractible, sometimes unemotional, I lack empathy and at times, am kind of boring. You're, apologies in advance, impulsive, emotional, and thrill-seeking—hell, you got a degree and then went into pro-fighting anyway. We could barely have less in common."

"You didn't see it working out…and figured we'd both be happier with other people, huh?" She laughed briefly. "In hindsight, that's kinda funny." He couldn't bring himself to just tell me back then…heh.

"So…yeah, that was all. I wanted you to be happy, and…if we're all gonna die today, I wanted you to know that."

Break nodded. "We won't. You've just solidified some stuff I was thinking about earlier…you'd better go. Over the years, people have done a lot for me…for my happiness, to help make me stronger, or even to save my life. Even today, I haven't been a whole heap of use. But it's my turn now."

"I…" Trunks sniffed. "Don't die."

"No promises." Turning Super Saiyan, she blasted off, showering him with dust and coming to a halt a mile or so above the battlefield. Alpha was being kept from reaching Tien, now engaged by Goku, Pan, Gogeta and Uub all at once, but was fighting more cautiously now, knocking them around without receiving any real hits in return.

Break focused on her internal ki supply. Earlier, against Hephaestus…I almost tried combining my two ways of transcending Super Saiyan…but now in this powered-up state, I've got far greater power than either. I don't sense any more of this potential from levels two and three, though…can I use the Legendary form now? Would it give me any boost at all, or just backfire? It may be that what I had before was simply its limit…

No…I can't believe that. It's a nigh-mythical power even rarer than the Super Saiyan…if it's so easily surpassed by any saiyan who achieves one of the higher forms, what's the point? There's got to be more to it than that…I have to trust that there's more! I will become the Legendary Super Saiyan again…and transcend even this power!

…wow, that last part sounded dumb. Glad I didn't say it out loud.

"Enough of this!" Alpha bellowed. I must reach that human! She stuck out her arms to both sides, letting a dome of energy fly out in all directions, forcing her enemies back and stunning them all. She spun to face Tien, balling her fists. Currently, his attack would not present a problem…but I have no way of knowing how long he can continue to gather energy at this rate. I should eliminate him before—eh?

High above them, someone was screaming unbearably loudly, and emitting huge amounts of highly-volatile ki.

"I think it's Break…" Goku muttered, sitting up. "But is she powering up? Sounds more like she's in pain…"

The whole landscape was bathed in a violent green light, the enormous slabs of broken Katchin levitating off the ground.

Break felt as though she was being torn in half—not to mention the unbearable heat. Mind and body were both on the verge of breaking.

But…won't stop! I believe…that there is something there, waiting for me…and anyway…have to try…for all of them!

In her mind, she died a dozen times over in that burning, screaming instant. She almost lost herself, almost went insane.

But then she was through the barrier.

And then it felt pretty good.

A mere few seconds later, Goku watched his ally's slow descent to the ground with considerable surprise. "She…transformed…stacked Legendary Super Saiyan on top of her demigod ki…" He frowned. "What exactly is it? Looks kind of like a cross between Legendary, and…Super Saiyan God…" Break had still grown larger, but it was less of an unhealthy-looking bulk-up and more of a proportional increase in stature, echoing Super Saiyan God's smoothness; the hair was similar in shape to her base form, though glowing a soft, gentle green.

"Now that you mention it," Pan added, standing up next to him, "I can't feel her ki…does that mean…?" I guess the whole is more than the sum of its parts…

Alpha stood firm as Break landed opposite her, the ground catching fire around the Super Saiyan and burning with an eerie green flame. She's doing something strange with her ki… Before Alpha could act, she realised that the chunks of rubble that had been lifted off the ground were beginning to crash back down around them—one in particular was headed straight for her. She casually took a step back out of its way, but it unexpectedly adjusted course to aim for her. The girl…was letting the other pieces fall, to disguise the one she was controlling telekinetically…a good plan, but it failed.

She raised her hand to catch the incoming metallic boulder—but a few feet from her, it was sliced cleanly in half, revealing Break directly behind it, having used it for cover to get in close. She landed directly in front of Alpha, using the momentum to kick her legs out from under her—Alpha fell in Break's direction, and the ascended saiyan swung an elbow down, smacking Alpha to the ground.

Alpha rose with a growl, springing away and raising her guard. Doesn't make sense…her power still seems significantly lower than mine, but that speed and force…oh. Oh, I see what you're doing. That's clever. But it won't last long. Still…even if she is weaker than me, it's almost inconceivable she managed to become so powerful. "What are you, then…a god?"

"Me, a god?" Break laughed, her blank eyes narrowing. "No…to you, at least…I'm a devil."

"Go ahead…" Alpha muttered, breaking out in a slight sweat. "Keep trying to sound cool…"

Don't worry, more will be revealed next chapter. Not necessarily all, but some. (One guarantee: This form will not be called something dumb like 'Super Saiyan Devil'. Because ahahahaha, no.)

Current Shadow Dragon popularity rankings:

Alpha: 5

"Guess I'm just that badass."

Helios: 2

"Ha! Not only am I stronger than those fools, I'm more popular as well!"

Hades: 1

"What? Aren't I everyone's favourite?"

Kronos: 1

"Feh, I don't care anyway."

Hephaestus: 1

"Wha…? But I got character development and everything! Okay, not much, but…"

Gaia: 0

"Yeah, whatever. After I get stuck at the bottom of the tower, too…typical."

Glacius: 0

"You people have no taste! Clearly these peons aren't able to fully comprehend my magnificence."

Prometheus: 0

"Nobody remembers me…and I barely did anything anyway…*sigh*"

Kokuen: 0

"What? There's a contest? Nobody told me…"

Feel free to cast your vote, if you haven't already.

Q: Would, t this point, pan nd goku be able to fuse, or would baby fusing with goku prevent that

A: I don't really know. I think people of opposite gender are too different to fuse, anyway…

Q: Quick question, is Baby using the super saiyan and kaioken boosts simultaneously in Goku's mystic form, just in such short intervals that it doesn't burn through his ki as fast?

A: Something like that…I don't really want to think about exactly what he's doing second to second, since I'm sure the exact management process is very complicated and involves a lot of fast-paced micromanagement.

Q: With your recent revelations, I'm surprised Buu could handle the Dragon Fist, considering its semi-divine nature.

A: It was just his regeneration that saved him.

Q: Ah, I see some influence from "canon" Baby in Goku's new Super Saiyan appearance... Any chance we'll see the second transformation of Baby? Or would that be the permanent fusion with a host? As always, this was a fantastic chapter.

A: I don't think so, as this Baby probably wouldn't think to build transforming for increased power into his new merging ability.

Q: I'm loving the originality of this saga.

A: Then I have succeeded! That's what I was hoping for.

Q: But I have a question. Gohan has the potential to become stronger than even the Gods of Destruction, and possibly have the potential to match the Eternal. So if Gohan does fight the Eternal, could the Eternal alter his shape to the size and form of a Humanoid? Oh! And seeing as the universe is going to hell, might we see Piccolo again? I can see the Bigger Green giving his entire existence to save Gohan, causing the Halfie to enter the ultimate rage combined with SSJG!

A: I…don't know about matching the Eternal…that's asking quite a lot of him…

The Eternal can…uh…spoiler?

The Piccolo idea: That'd work in canon, but not here, since there's no connection between him and Gohan.

Q: i am aware of akira toriyama's talk about the ssj2 and ssj3 levels being like assj and ussj, just having their issues in different aspects, and the whole "ssj is the best form for power and energy consumption" thing.
but since goku's got baby aiding him with nearly perfect ki control, don't you think that if goku transforms into AT LEAST a ssj2 now, he'd have less energy consumption and a higher power? i mean it would be obvious that the forms become harder to maintain longer due to strain and all, but baby's help could prove useful for goku in this situation. and even if the strain would be gigantic on goku, like he said here: if there's a chance then he should take the risk.
i'm hoping it happens, but at the same time it kinda feels like another powerup one would pull out of his ass just to have goku go super mega boss hero xD

A: Probably not, mainly because those would provide a relatively small boost of mortal ki, which at this point isn't significant (adding 10 is significant when you've only got 5, but it's barely anything when you've got 5,000)—and they're therefore not worth the significant amount of energy it would use to make the transformation (again, like USSJ compared with FPSSJ).

Q: One quick question, what chapters were the EFB previews in? I couldn't find them when I looked a few days earlier. Keep up the great work!

A: Umm…chapters (checks) 54 to 61 contain previews for the very early versions of the Shadow Dragons. Chapter 50 contains the very first preview, with early versions of Goku and Raditz Jr.

Q: Captain Space, tell me does the Eternal have any similarities with Galactus from Marvel. Yes or No. Also, is it true that Gine is Goku's mother. And I like the way you answer all my question and I like BTtL Raditz; just imagine what happened if BTtL Raditz appear in Dragon Ball Heroes because Canon Raditz sucks and Raditz is the only Saiyan in Goku's family to have never transformed into a Super Saiyan.

A: …yeah, I guess you could see several similarities, with them both being enormous beings that eat (worlds/universes) and have powerful heralds…one difference being the origin of those heralds, of course (Galactus 'recruits' his, the Eternal spawns its own). There is another, very large, difference between the two, but that's a spoiler for now.

Um…yeah, Gine is Goku's mother. I don't know why she wouldn't be. Toriyama came up with her himself, and drew a prequel manga with her in it. So, yes, she is.

Q: So when this is all over, there will be no Dragonballs, right? And is "Even Further Beyond" your last saga or will there be another one?

A: First question—seems that way. Second question—well…let's just call this "Even Further Beyond: Act One" for now, shall we?

Q: I stumbled upon this fic a couple of months ago and I just wanted to say great work. And any any plans on when gohan will return ?

A: Yes. I know exactly when he'll arrive, fear not.

Q: Haven't read through the whole thing, so I don't know if this has been done yet... But if you haven't; please please PLEASE do something explaining what happened in the future timeline! ...Also, is that genocidal villian in the future timeline just to eliminate said timeline because DBM2?

A: As it happens, I did! Also…ehm…what genocidal villain? (In any case, I'd just use the present timeline for DBM2 because…well, it seems more appropriate.)

Q: These Kai chapters are why time itself is fucked to hell in Even Further Beyond, aren't they?

A: I'm not brave enough to try a plot twist as out-there as that, unfortunately…

Q: Wow, I blew through this in a few days, I've been hooked the entire time (Except for World's Strongest, I honestly skipped that.)

Quite seriously, you broke my train of thought that fan fiction sucks. I used to suck this stuff up in middle school, and then I quit it, until I read this story. You're definitely a very prolific writer, you're creative, and yet you follow the story in a fashion, and the characters feel like their show counterparts, even the original ones feel like they were crafted by Toriyama himself, save a few lines where Goku doesn't sound like how I'd expect.

I had to say this now, because I can't read the name "Bills" and take the story as serious anymore, (I might irrationally hate the name, but Beerus flows off the pen much better to me) not to mention I know close to nothing about the original series after the defeat of Majin Buu, but you're amazing, and you've certainly become a favorite writer of mine. Which is hard for someone who doesn't read too often. Thank you.

A: Well, I'm glad I could change your mind! Yeah, sometimes I've had characters not sound like they should.

As for Bills/Birus/Beerus/whatever…I don't know. 'Bills' just sounds more like an actual name, that someone might have. (And if I was gonna do something else, I'd call him Birus, since the original pun was on 'virus'…although one staff member mistook it for a pun on 'beer', and hence named Whis after 'whiskey'…but yeah, it's 'virus', not 'beer'. Japanese, everybody!)

And as for World's Strongest, fair enough, though I did have fun writing that.

Anyway…don't worry about after Buu. There's really not much else past there. Like…one chapter (and one episode, discounting filler). And then the sequel stuff, GT (which is non-canon anyway) and Battle of the Gods (which is only one movie).

Captain Space Reviews (or rather, rambles about): Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Okay, so I picked the first couple of volumes up after hearing vaguely about it, and…initially, I was not impressed (but wait! Read this whole review, it gets better.). It wasn't bad, certainly, it was just "meh" and kind of repetitive. It's also pretty much entirely comedy-focused for the first seven volumes.

Yes, seven, and I know this because a friend of mine who's a massive fan told me to persist past where I was (5), because at chapter (I don't remember), it starts to become great. So I persevered, and yeah…partway through volume eight, the tone shifts and it becomes an immensely fun, well-written fighter.

The characters, too, and their previously-established quirks, become much more interesting and likeable once the stakes are raised. Former comedic plot points are often used for newfound dramatic effect. (I mean…there's still some comedy, but not nearly as much.)

So overall…very fun, very cool action series, once you get through the first seven volumes, which are just okay. I don't know whether to recommend it or not, so I leave it up to you to do what you want.

…it's also just occurred to me that I don't know what "Katekyo" means.

Do you know how much you mean to me?

Why must you leave?

—Gintama