"So this where they've set up shop huh?" Gohan asked, his lips pursed into a tight frown as he stared down from high in the sky at private tropical island. He could make out a massive luxurious mansion, with a huge swimming pool at back. All manners of sports cars were parked around the property and ther was a beautiful beach just down the lane from the mansion itself.
It was the kind of place only people like Bulma could have afforded Gero let those monsters loose. And they were returning here to rest in the lap of luxury after every time they slaughtered countless people? His fists clenched tightly together and he could barely control his surging ki. It was a good thing those filthy monsters couldn't sense ki, otherwise he'd stand out to them like a blazing sun-like beacon.
"Yep, that's the place." the first clone Kakarot made earlier nodded. The teenage version of his father was currently laying in the middle of the air lazily, propping his chin up with one hand.
"Pretty snazzy place," the second clone commented as he idly observed the mansion hundreds of feet below, "A bit bigger than ours back home, and this one even comes with its own private beach."
"We don't need it, no need to grab it when we're done with them," the first clone lazily shrugged, "Bulma can give us a way better one in a capsule whenever we want I bet, with way better electronics."
"True, true," the second nodded in agreement, Gohan found it really weird. The second clone then turned to him, "You need our help at all?" he asked.
He would not lie, he was tempted to say yes. But.."No, I'd prefer to this alone," Gohan shook his head., "..Actually, I have to do this alone. I have to see it through to the end with my own two hands."
"Fine with me, the less work I have to do carrying everyone else on my back the better," the first clone shrugged, before narrowing his eyes at Gohan, and despite the fact he was far stronger than this clone in the base state he found himself tensing up under his gaze, "Keep that temper of yours in check though Gohan. Just knock them out and restrain them, break their limbs if you want, beat them to within an inch of their lives even if it makes you feel better, but make sure they're still alive and in one piece."
"I know." Gohan merely nodded. It was so very odd to hear a version of his father making it plain as day he was fine with him indulging in such brutality, and if it were anyone else as the targets Gohan would be horrified.
"Alright then," the second shrugged, "Then we're done here, bring them to the lookout when you're done." he told him, and then just phased away, completely disappearing.
"Remember to put your big boy pants on." The other said with a grin, before he too disappeared, returning to the original Kakarot.
Gohan took a deep breath and centred. Then, once he had done that, he allowed his mind to drift back to those memories of long ago. Of his precious mentor being pierced through the heart, and the kind reliable Krillin being teamed up and erased from existence from two sides with massive beams of ki.
That familiar rage bubbled up within him and the primal golden radiance within him surged up and swallowed him whole. "Rah!" he snarled, an aura of raging gold bursting into existence around his body.
And then he threw himself into a deep dive and slammed into the mansion, creating a massive explosion that wiped it from existence and all their toys alongside it.
When he stepped out of the rubble, he found them both pulling themselves up out of it. Android Eighteen was nursing a bevy of wounds and ripped clothing from her bout with Kakarot, while Android 17 was no worse for wear and merely brushed himself off.
"Oh, looks like it's only you Gohan," the male of the two breathed a sigh of relief even as his sister snarled like an animal and glared bloody murder at him, "For a second there I was afraid it was that monster kid."
"You'll wish it was him when I'm through with you." Gohan promised. As he was now, he was more than thirty times stronger than he was earlier today and they were going to be in for a rude awakening very soon.
"And you're gonna wish you stayed in your hole when I'm wearing your rib cage as a hat you fucking retarded weakling piece of shit!" Android 18 roared, shooting towards him.
"So I'm back." Piccolo noted as he found himself standing amongst the rubble of a completely totalled city and tens of thousands of decomposing corpses littering the streets.
It was the, the oddest thing. He'd been meditating while the rest were enjoying some rest between training and Goku was sparring with Pikkon, when a familiar voice echoed within his mind offering him the chance to be brought back to life. The voice of the Eternal Dragon, Shenron.
There was no hesitation. He didn't even bother tracking the others down to let them know and just accepted the offer. It had been thirteen years since he'd saw Gohan. Thirteen long, worrying years. Over a decade of time where he had heard no news of back on Earth, because without the Dragon Balls and the option of returning to Earth, King Kai had to follow the rules of the Afterlife and they could not interfere, or even watch over the Earth.
The only way to keep any track of what was going on was keeping an eye on the Check-Out station. Humans arrived in droves constantly, killed by the Androids, so he knew they were still alive. And Gohan had been left all alone to deal with them. He was just a boy, half trained and with no support left. The fact the had had lived this long just went to show how amazing the boy was.
And so when Shenron gave him the option, he did not hesitate. He had to go back. He had to see Gohan and help him, no matter what! The fact of the matter was, that without Gohan, even the hero's afterlife was lacking, especially when he knew Gohan was still within the living world suffering without him to help him!
'Gohan..' Piccolo thought and spread his finely honed senses out across the planet, searching for that familiar ki.
Immediately a bevy of ki signatures stood out to him. One, easily strong than any of the others at base alone besides Goku and himself, and another that was just as powerful as Vegeta was before his death at the hands of the android in his base form, if not a bit stronger. Another, was a decent bit stronger than he knew Nail was before they fused. And it felt familiar. 'Dende!?' Piccolo realised who it was after a moment and suddenly knew he reason why Shenron was back. Dende was on Earth somehow!
Two however stood out the most. One felt like Goku, yet different. Rougher, and having none of the feel of a super saiyan to them, yet massively stronger than Goku was in his base form, stronger than Frieze even!
But the one that caught his attention wholly was a mind bogglingly high power! It was so large it was hard to gauge just how big it was. But it had to be nearing forty times larger than his own! The only ki he'd ever felt anywhere near that strong was Goku in his Super Saiyan Three form, yet even that didn't measure up!
And, while it felt older and darker, and far more angry then he'd ever felt it before, he'd never mistake the ki of Gohan for anyone else!
Before he knew it, Piccolo was blasting through the air at top speed and making no attempts to hide his power. All the power he'd gained from over a decade of training in Otherworld and fusing with Kami coming out as he blitzed towards the ki of Gohan as fast as he could.
Before he knew it, just a mere few minutes later he arrived at his destination, the air above a small private island in the middle of the ocean and as he came to a stop, Piccolo's eyes widened and his chest ached.
There, down below he make out the cold mask upon a face that was so different, yet so familiar. Golden blonde hair and icy teal blue eyes.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIEE!" the female android launched herself at Gohan, she was bloodied and beaten but a snarl of rage was upon her lips, "I HATE YOU!"
Before she could hit Gohan, the back of his had met her face and he slapped her so hard she ploughed into and through the ground, digging a massive cratered trench that went on for over hundreds of feet, "You hate that you're powerless to stop me," Gohan's voice, older and rougher, nothing like the kind, soft voice he once had, "How do you think all the people you killed felt? What about my friends and my master? How do you think they felt when you murdered them you monster?"
"...Gohan.." Piccolo stared down in awe. Such power and he wasn't even in a state beyond the first Super Saiyan form! "..I can't believe...how much you've changed." he uttered. Both pride and wistfulness filled him. He wasn't that young kid anymore huh? Here he was, a man grown.
...He'd missed so much.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Android 18 roared like an animal as she burst from the trench she made, her hands filling with crackling green energy and lightning, "Super Elec-"
Before she could finish, Gohan disappeared in a burst of raw speed Piccolo could not keep track of at all, and neither could she apparently. Because a split moment later, Gohan's fist slammed into her jaw and slammed her into the ground hard. So hard in fact, a massive crater over a hundred feet deep formed when she impacted it. And she lay there unmoving. "You won't be doing anything anymore," Gohan spat at her comatose body, "Your only role left is as a stepping stone towards the protection of this planet."
As he finished speaking, Gohan frowned, his head cocking to the side as if contemplating something...and then his head slowly turned and he looked up, his teal eyes meeting Piccolo's own easily even with the hundreds of feet between them, "...Mister...Piccolo?" he trailed off, his voice cracking lightly as he stared up at him.
"Hey kid," Piccolo smiled down at him, a smile full of warmth, happiness, pride and more all being directed at his once student, "You did good."
I don't want to be Kakarot anymore.
That was the first coherent thought I had when my consciousness finally returned to me. I could feel veins throbbing on my forehead, and I had a migraine that hurt so badly I actually wanted to cry a bit, and there was an odd throbbing from my ears.
There was so much I now knew, so much new information in my mind that it was hard to parse through it all and think properly beyond it. So many techniques, so much I understood about ki. So much I understand about how to utilize my psychic gifts and the inner workings of magic.
I know how to go about shifting my ki into different elements. I know how to use the bio armour in ways I couldn't have fathomed before. There were so many ways to use magic that just branched out from a singular point, magic materialization. I know how Namekian's make dragon balls. I'm incapable of doing it the same way, but I now know thanks to Popo's knowledge how to bypass that limitation to make dragon balls not dependent on being a Namekian, albeit they would be much weaker. I know how to enhance my very ki itself and enhance my senses to the point where I can sense ki across the universe. I know how to teleport to anywhere I picture in the universe, yet I lack the spark of a gods power to dos o. I know how to sense a gods power.
...I even know how to go even further beyond the first Super Saiyan form. I actually already have went Super Saiyan 2 before, I just never noticed when I did it against Fu. And I know how to take it even further to reach Super Saiyan three. They're useless to me though right now. From Son Goku's knowledge I learned just how much the stronger forms of Super Saiyan increased the natural aggression within a saiyan to dizzying heights. Until I master the first Super Saiyan form, it was safer not to touch them lest I rage out of control like a berserker. The same exact reason why I hadn't just wished to become a Legendary Super Saiyan like Broly.
But yes, despite learning all of that. My first thought upon waking up was; I don't want to be Kakarot anymore.
So far, being Kakarot while an amazing high, has been largely suffering as well. Admittedly, a lot of that is my own fault. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm definitely so fucking done with pushing myself to the point where my brains are literally melting out of my ears just to prepare my universe to the point where it won't be erased by a fucking dildo headed mentally retarded toddler thing.
If things keep up at this rate, I'm probably gonna end up some masochist or something. I kept out all the martial arts knowledge and ability of the people on my list to stop the information overload. I kept freaking Guru out of it despite how much I wanted to learn the amazing things he knew. But still, even with my regeneration what I asked for was too much for me to process. If it weren't for the amazing regeneration I got from Porunga, I'd probably be a vegetable right now.
"Shh shh shh," a gentle, feminine voice shushed me lightly and suddenly, I felt small thin fingers rake slowly and comfortingly through my hair, and my head was laying on something warm and soft, "Calm down Kakarot, let your mind settle slowly, no need to rush."
Bulma? But no, the voice is different, lighter.
It took a lot of effort for me to open my eye. I blinked them open blearily, trying to bypass the blurry sleep crusting my eyes. When I finally did, I found myself looking up at a cute pink skinned faced with pointed ears, bright orange hair framing her eyes. "Y-you.." I found my mind going blank. What...why is she here?
Spoiler
She was, Chronoa. The Supreme Kai of Time, leader of the Time Patrol and ruler of the Time Nest and Conton City. The overseer of all time throughout every universe within the Dragon Ball continuity.
"It seems like you know me, huh?" She giggled girlishly, "Those visions you got from Bardock must be way stronger than I thought they were if they even let you see me."
I was at a total loss for words. "Take your time to get your bearings," Chronoa shook her head and continued on, "You went through quite the wringer with that wish you made. You've been unconscious for three days."
"T-three days?" I choked in disbelief.
"Didn't I say to calm down?" she touched her finger to my nose and frowned lightly at me, "If you're worried about having lost any time, then don't be. I've stopped time for everyone but us in this universe right now...well, not counting Whis and Beerus."
...Come again?
"You can do that?" I found myself asking.
"Stopping time?" she asked, arcing an eyebrow at me, and not once stopping her ministrations through my hair, "Yeah, but that shouldn't be a surprise. I mean, if your wish earlier is anything to go by, you can now too."
...That's right. I can do that now. But I could only hold it for so long because I'd be suffocating all the while during it. She it seemed had frozen time for three days straight and was casually talking to me.
"I suppose," I ended up answering with, "But...it begs the question. Why are you here?"
"Oh I think you already know Kakarot." she laughed lightly. And with her free hand, she reached down and grabbed one of my own, lifting it up to show the Time Ring on one of my fingers. I honestly hadn't put much thought into it beyond running my ki through it and trying to figure out how to use it. All I'd figured out was most of its features were blocked off to me for now.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked next. I'm basically a Time Breaker at this point.
"Hmm, no," Chronoa continued smiling as her laughter ended, "I already know you aren't behind this. I've been keeping an eye on you since your timeline diverged, and I'm not going to punish you for just taking advantage of the situations you've found yourself forced into."
The muscles I hadn't even known were tense, went limp as I relaxed back into her surprisingly comfortable thighs.
"Whoever is behind all this, they're smart and skilled, more so even than Towa by a large margin, but they're not as sly as they think they are," the cute orange haired kai hummed, "It wasn't that hard for me to figure out that all the little timelines set into your Time Ring were test runs, made to poke and prod at my reactions to see what they could get away with before moving on to your timeline as a finished project. Of slight changes in history that would result in a massive spiralling later down the line."
..What?
Wait...Bulla? Does that mean all the timelines Fu wanted to send me to had been altered just slightly by him at points? Actually, how the fuck did he even do that? Did he like magically switch the fetus of a Trunks with a Bulla or something? God that is disturbing as fuck to think about.
"By the way," Chronoa continued, breaking me from my thoughts, "I took the liberty of fixing that ring of yours. You should be able to use it to return to your own dimension now, and even back here if you want, or any of the other timelines already pre-set within. Oh, and I returned the original settings of a Time Ring to it as well that should let you travel to the past and future."
This is going a bit too fast for me! "Isn't that against like the sacred rules or something?" I gaped up at her.
"For the most part yes, but if you know about me, you know about the Time Patrol right?" she suddenly grinned down at me, "Then you should know that in special cases, like your own I'll let some things slide. Though, you'll be unable to go to the future back in your own timeline. It's a whole new timeline that even I can't jump ahead in thanks to you being a unique existence."
She tapped my nose teasingly again while I tried to wrap my mind around this whole situation, "So Kakarot, how do you feel about letting me know who exactly is behind my latest headache, and how do you feel about working with me?" she asked.
"Like a Time Patroller?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in interest. The Time Patrol, from what I know are based in the Core Universe. That means, as a resident of there, I will never need to worry about Zeno wiping me and the universe out and only need to worry about getting strong enough to deal with idiots like Towa and Fu. I could wash my hands of having to uplift my entire universe by my own hands. God that would be so fucking amazing, sign me right up!
"Mm, while that would be preferable, not right now," she denied me and I resisted the urge to click my tongue in disappointment, "You've already got a lot of eyes on you. If I bring you back with me, that bitch Towa is definitely going to try and poke at you. And besides, mystery man will know I'm on to him if I bring you back, I'm already expending a lot of energy to be in two places at the exact same time in two different universes without looking like I've left the Time Nest at all."
I blinked and just kind of stared up at her in confusion. "What...?"
Chronoa waved my question off, "Just understand that I'm doing a lot of crazy stuff right now to meet you without letting that whoever this guy is know I'm meeting with you and that I'm on to him," she said, before asking, "So, are you in?"
..Yeah, you know what? Fuck Fu. I don't care if you're actually a good guy really at heart, the fact of the matter is, you fucked with me and made my life even more of a chaotic mess. Eat shit jackass.
"His name's Fu, he's a little science project made from that stupid Towa and her walking talking petri dish of a dildo Mira," I flat out began divulging everything I knew about him, "The dude is basically what Cell wishes he could be, he's part Saiyan, Kai, Demon, Human, Namekian, Eternal Dragon you name it and more with the dna from the best throughout the timelines. He's wanting to fuck up timelines to collect some crazy energy the changes cause and use it with something called the Universe Tree to create his own universe."
Her fingers stopped trailing through my hair and she stared down at me, deadpan, "You're kidding...right?" she asked, looking at me with dead eyes.
"Other than the fact that he apparently doesn't actually want to hurt anybody and will try and make things go better for the timelines he changes, that's about all I know." I shrugged.
"Perfect...just perfect," she groaned, palming her cute little face with one cute little hand, "And I thought dealing with Demigra again was a pain."
She clicked her tongue and shook her head before looking back down into my eyes, "We're gonna need a lot more fire power if we're dealing with someone who can manipulate the Universe Tree," Chronoa told me flatly, "Even Kronel won't be able to match up against something like that right now."
"..Kronel?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion. That was one name I'd never heard of before. Perhaps someone from Dragon Ball Heroes?
"Oh him? Kronel's the strongest member of the Time Patrol," she replied, "He's the partner of my top agent Trunks Briefs. He's a half saiyan, half kai and is actually able to reach Super Saiyan Rose. It's only thanks to him we managed to deal with Demigra not too long ago."
Chronoa sighed then, "I wish he wasn't so tight lipped about where he came from though," she mused, "He's the first half kai I've heard of and he was born with the natural god ki of a kai and mortal ki. All he's let slip is that his father is apparently some freak of nature and so monstrously strong he makes Demigra even in his Demon God form look weak."
...What kind of motherfucking Gary Stu piece of shit is that!? He's most likely the Hero from Xenoverse One, but holy fuck what the hell is that? Who the fuck does he think he is, that edgy motherfucker Xicorn from that one fan series? The dude who was the son of Goku and that one Supreme Kai chick that got killed by Kid Buu. Seriously, the son of Goku and a kai, it was like some edgy motherfucking overpowered Mary Sue self insert character.
"...It'll take me a while to get as strong as a Super Saiyan God." I replied after putting that crazy shit to the back of my mind.
"I know, but you're making good time," she smiled at me, "Besides, I've not just been idle here. I figured something like this would come up, so I went ahead and did a little bit of gardening for you." she swiped her hand, and a portal shimmered into existence beside us, and..I could see my personal dimensions...my personal dimension that now had two titanic monolithic trees piercing up miles into the sky.
"H-how the hell?" I sputtered. I need to give permission for people to enter my dimension or open it myself!
Chronoa grinned cheekily down at me, "Time and Space are parallel concepts, you cannot manipulate one without some ability with the other, and this little dimension of yours is very new and you've put in no barriers around it, so it was simple for me to open up a portal to it," she explained to me proudly, "So when I got here and found Mr. Popo having left the seed he found for you on the nightstand beside the bed they put you in, I went ahead and planted it for you while here. So you've got three days worth of fruit to use now."
...Well that was nice to know I guess. And I also just noticed, that we are actually on a bed. A very familiar bed, in a very familiar bland white room. The same room I first woke up in, or well the version of it in this timeline at least. I'm gonna need to put some barriers in around my dimension though. Thankfully, I've got a good idea on how to do that thanks to all the new information that raped its way into my brain.
"Thanks," I settled on smiling at her, "This'll be a big help." and I'm not lying. With two Tree of Might, that's what forty eight fruit a day? At twenty thousand increases per one, that's nine hundred and sixty thousand worth of battle power a day, and for all three days worth, two million, eight hundred and eighty thousand. With my magic unlocked and the Mystic Saiyan form, that will be three entire Frieza worths in Super Saiyan!
"Good to hear," Chronoa beamed, before clapping her hands together, her hand leaving my hair for the first time, "So, I think it's best you keep with Fu unaware that we're working together. For now, feel free go crazy throughout the timelines he's got loaded in that Time Ring of yours and use all the chances you can get to your advance and get as strong as possible, I'll do my best to mitigate the Time Break energy Fu will be able to collect from your actions."
"..Isn't that bad though? Aren't you supposed to stop things like that?" I asked.
She shrugged, "Yes, but compared to the crazy amount Towa messed up, it's a small amount and worth it compared to how much this Fu will do later on," she replied, "Now..I kind of need to get a move on, my energy is running low now. Is there anything you need from me before I leave?"
...Not really. I kind of just want some alone time to process everything going on in my head right now. "Beyond telling me how I can contact you later n-" I paused as a thought came to mind, "Actually, there is one thing that comes to mind."
"Oh?" Chronoa raised an eyebrow at me, and prompted me to go on
"King Yemma's fruit, are they actually a thing?" I asked.
She stared at me for a moment before blinking in comprehension, "Oh those things? Yeah, they're real. They taste great, but they only double your power the one time, so even after eating more after the first one they won't do anything for your power," she replied, then grinned impishly at me, "Actually, hold that thought cutie. Kai Kai."
"Huh?" I uttered in surprise as her thighs disappeared from underneath my head and I felt soft fabric under my skull.
A moment later, she appeared standing on the bed above me with her grin still on her face, holding a large golden apple in one hand, "Here ya go," she held it out to me, "Once you reach past a certain point they won't work either and I think you're approaching it. So you may as well take this right now before you miss the chance entirely."
"..Okay?" I replied hesitantly. Man, my brain is way too full with unprocessed knowledge right now to take this all in easily. I lifted my hand and she dropped it into my palm. "How would I go about growing a tree of them?" I asked before she moved on.
"Just plant the seed from inside the fruit in your little dimension, it grows on life force just like the Tree of Might, Yemma planted his tree near hell so he could use the residents of it to supply the energy," she pointed out something quite horrifying sounding with a giggle, "And don't worry about contacting me, I'll generally be keeping an eye on you, so if you need me, just say so and I should hear. Bye bye now." she told me, before bending down and patting me on the head and disappearing entirely.
I heard the sound of something shattering, but saw nothing. "...Well that was something." I muttered in a daze, shimmying up to lay my head on the pillow.
My eyes dropped to the golden fruit in my hand. 'May as well do it now.' I mused, and brought it to my mouth and bit into it. As soon as I did, I felt my power well up inside me massively ballooning in size.
Kakarot Battle Power: 268,421,842
So, I think I've found a way around the alert issues not going out properly. It seems that it only does it, if the story itself has already been updated within 24 hours, the second it loses the updated: 1-23 hours ago thing and mentions a previous day, I think the alerts work properly. Well, we'll see with this update at least.
Anyway, again, shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, go by the same username on there, easy to find and all that jazz. Support me if you want, it'd be swell, but don't feel pressured lads and ladies, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.