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P.S. Reviews are appreciated.
-YARN
Trunks sheathed his blade and sighed as he finished eviscerating Frieza and obliterating the remains. A few straggling ki signatures of the dead remained; with the numbers finally beginning to fall and the efforts of the Z-fighters, they were quickly being mopped up and sent back to the afterlife. Sometime over the fight, the spirits were fully staying dead after being defeated, so they have definitely been able to get some control back up in Otherworld to keep them there. That being said, something still felt off and Trunks couldn't put his finger on exactly what he was feeling. It was a general unease more than anything else in particular that kept the knots in his stomach and knew it was time to meet up with the others.
He headed for Kami's Lookout the other human members of the Z-fighters following.
"What?" Goku cried, dismayed at Gohan's revelation, "Kurai's fighting alone in an ambush and Fuhai made sure to make someone strong enough to kill him?"
Goku had felt Kurai's Super Saiyan 4 despite him being in Otherworld but hadn't realized it was because he was in the middle of an ambush aimed to kill him. Goku wasn't worried that Kurai would lose — he was on par with Goku and Vegeta when it came to his power level and as far as he knew they were in the upper echelons of power in the universe — but no one was allowed to hurt his friends, they would pay for trying. Even Vegeta — despite his stoic and cold demeanor — was furious and chomping at the bit to waste the bastard who was trying to kill his student. Kurai may have been strong on his own, but despite all that he was a saiyan and therefore one of Vegeta's responsibilities to care for. He just needed to Instant Transmission over to where they could sense Kurai and he would be able to help the former time patroller out of the ambush.
The thing was he couldn't leave the Earth without a capable defender, if someone struck while the main powerhouses were out and had a warrior strong enough to kill Kurai in his Super Saiyan 4 form…
Gohan had gotten his potential unlocked by the Elder Kai a while ago, but he wasn't quite on the level Goku and Vegeta were, having branched out into a form that had him unable to continue down the Super Saiyan evolution tree. He hadn't slacked off on his training despite him having to work and was still growing a lot stronger, but he wasn't quite at the level of a Super Saiyan 4 and this enemy was apparently made to be strong enough to kill one. Xtrunks and the other four patrollers were still in space or back in the Time Nest depending on how well Porunga was able to help the four Patrollers out. Xtrunks had accompanied them as if they were able to return, someone needed to be able to fly the ship back to Earth. Goten, Trunks, and Buu — who was there to see if they could recreate his house once they had the dragon balls — were not strong enough either. As strong as they were, the two saiyans were still young and while Trunks had achieved Super Saiyan 2 and was still working on Super Saiyan 3 he wasn't there yet. Goten was still only at Super Saiyan and not even at Super Saiyan 2 even with him training as hard as he could. Buu had recently become as strong as he had been before his 'separation' from his evil half — or maybe a smidge stronger — thanks to his play room and frequent bouts with the younger half-saiyans but that was nowhere near strong enough to hold the line.
"There's no time to debate Kakarot!" Vegeta roared, finally losing his patience, "If you want return to Earth to defend it, then fine! But he needs help and I refuse to stand idly by while he has no help in his fight!"
"Ah… Is this a bad time?" A voice inquired, "You seem to be quite busy."
"Whether they are busy or not is of no concern to me." Another voice drawled.
They turned to see Whis and Beerus standing on the lookout, Whis smiling while Beerus had his arms crossed.
Kurai let out a frustrated grunt as he dodged a dog pile of time-distortion Janemba clones created from the remaining time-distorted Janmeba. Pikkon's help had been invaluable in opening up a gap in the horde of clones long enough for Kurai to destroy one of the yellow and large iterations, but that only prompted the remaining Janembas — sans the one who had a glowing Majin symbol overlaid a Time-Breaker symbol stretched over his forehead upon closer inspection— to gang up on the two. Pikkon was holding up reasonably well against Janemba and even Super Janemba despite in the texts he was practically one-shotted by the mutated and malicious being. Apparently, The Hero of The West Galaxy was appointed as the current guardian of Hell and as he had been sparring with the Z-fighters during their stint as dead people, which helped him tremendously. But even though Pikkon was stronger than Kurai thought he could of have grown, couldn't keep pace with this fight for much longer. Pikkon could hold off any one of the Janembas individually, but both Super Janemba and Supervillain Janemba were simply too much for The Hero of The West Galaxy with the two of them working together. Kurai had to keep intervening between them and with the horde of smaller clones and occasional rain of jellybeans from the sky had made it too much to keep them decently engaged for long.
Kurai and him both leapt away and zigzagged in the air as the remaining large Janemba began to fire ki blasts from the holes in his torso, lighting the skies with detonations. Kurai was deflecting what he couldn't dodge but it didn't help that Super Janemba and Supervillian Janemba were taking potshots where they could. Pikkon tried to get higher to give him more time to dodge but Super Janemba kept him from getting away with a swipe of a arm that stretched just like Kid Buu.
"They are ridiculously strong…" muttered Pikkon, narrowly dodging a ki blast, "I haven't been this outclassed in quite some time."
"If it was just a matter of power you'd be in much better shape, we need to kill the last one but he's been churning out clones like a damn factory. Unless we take him down we won't be able to even the odds." Kurai growled as he fired a ki blast to disperse the clones and jelly beans trying to surround them.
"Do you have a plan?" Pikkon grunted as he smashed a blast back at Super Janemba who immediately knocked it aside.
"Rush him, but I need an opening." Kurai offered, realizing he had no other recourse, "Then we pair off against the remaining two so long as the third still stays out of it."
Pikkon scowled, "I am not strong enough to beat either of them in my current state."
Kurai let out a slow breath, focusing on the divine ki swimming under his skin, "I am, just give me an opening."
Pikkon took a deep breath and enveloped himself in a cloak of flame, "Don't hold back."
Kurai's ki flared red with the power of a god, "You too."
"L-Lord B-beerus.." Vegeta stuttered in horror, remembering how his father had been punished and humiliated by the deity in front of him, "What…Why are you here?"
"Vegeta? So you are still alive? Surprising." Beerus noted, "I have some business with you Saiyans."
"Perhaps we should address the issue we discovered while on the way to this planet Lord Beerus?" Whis offered, "It is important the balance of souls be maintained."
Beerus mulled over that before let out a sigh, "Very well, I have come for a rather important reason, but that can wait till I have some answers. I have been informed that there are some major infractions in terms of the afterlife while coming to this planet. When I arrived I was accosted by some of those who claimed to be brought back to life through unnatural means. I have sensed that a rather disturbing anomaly occurred that allowed evil spirits to escape from Hell and were on this planet." Beerus drawled, eyeing the group with feigned calm, "I have destroyed them, but all the same this is a very serious issue. Do you happen to know what is the reason for this blatant disregard of the rules of death? Were you harboring them?"
"Um…" Goku frowned in confusion, trying to get a feel for the newcomer's ki and unable to sense it, "Who are you?"
Beerus scowls at the lack of respect but allows it to slide as he understands the person may not know who he is.
Even so…
"Answers to my question first or I will destroy you." Beerus snapped at the Saiyan.
With no one here — aside from him — realizing who was standing in front of them, Vegeta decided to cut off the idiots before their casual attitude got them all killed and kneeled, "Lord Beerus… It seems someone has unleashed a creature that has sealed away the Check-in Station in Other World. They have been invading the world of the living and we have been defeating them and sending them back; we had no hand in hiding them and insist we were hunting them down to send back to Hell. However our ally is currently fighting the creature in Hell who is the cause and we were currently about to assist him."
Beerus tilted head, somewhat mollified by Vegeta's deference, "So there is some creature causing havoc in Hell and allowing evil spirits back to life? How problematic. Do you have any other information I should know?"
Gohan quickly stepped forward and deciding to follow Vegeta's example in kneeling down; if Vegeta — of all people — is willingly bowing his head to this person than he was not someone to take lightly. Also, he couldn't detect their ki at all, even with them so close and they definitely didn't seem to be androids of any sort. Even so, if they were that strong, Gohan thought that they should know about the person who was causing the anomalies that were affecting this timeline. They might be able to help stop them before he just got frustrated and did something too problematic for all of them to handle, patience had limits after all.
"There is something else you may need to know." Gohan added hurriedly, "There is a person named Fuhai who is the reason this creature has arrived at all. He boasted and uses an item he calls a… 'Time Ring' to cause rifts in time. He has been using it to pull people and adversaries from other timelines in order to cause conflicts for his amusement."
"What?" Beerus demanded of Gohan, caught of guard, "He has a Time Ring? How?"
Whis — who had been silent so far — frowned heavily at this, "Lord Beerus, if the situation is as dire as it is, perhaps we should take care of it quickly? This is a violation of a most serious degree, no mortal should have access to a Time Ring and use it so carelessly pull entities from other timelines haphazardly. We can hold off your search till the matter of this Fuhai character and the creature in Hell is settled."
"Our ally in Hell seems to be more familiar with Fuhai." Gohan added, "He may have more information he than we do regard who he is and what he wants."
Beerus eyed Gohan and turned to his attendant, "Whis."
"At once my lord." Whis replied.
They vanished in a burst of light.
Vegeta got up and let out a long and slow breath he hadn't been aware he was holding.
"Vegeta…" Piccolo inquired, "Who was that?"
Vegeta turned to look at the Namekian, "That was The God of Destruction Beerus."
Kurai landed on the ground lightly, slipping out of his god form seamlessly into his normal state as he finished off both Super and Supervillain Janemba with the power of his divine transformations. The last yellow Janemba had been unprepared by the river of flames Pikkon fired as Kurai dove straight through as he transformed into a god as he came down on the demon. Then it was a simple matter of moping up two of the last three Janembas as they threw themselves at him not knowing how much power he had. His God form was more than enough for the both of them — Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan would be overkill — and he was sure he knew that as he destroyed them with little difficulty.
Even so, those forms were his trump cards and didn't like busting them out like party favors as Super Saiyan 4 was usually more than enough. Then again, he was tired of all this shit he was getting into because some idiot was literally joyriding with a Time Ring to throw bodies at the Z-fighters.
Pikkon let out a pained groan before falling onto his back and panting harshly as his last attack to clear the path had almost taken everything out of him and he was spent. The last Janemba slowly lowered itself to the ground before grinning and powering up, sending a wave of time-distortion ki flowing across hell. Kurai raised his arms to brace himself as the land shook under the weight of the ki being output by the demon.
Kurai began to transform into Super Saiyan 4 and leveled a hard look at the iteration of Janemba, "What did Fuhai do to you to give you so much power?"
"Oh not much really." A familiar voice said lightly as Janemba froze before being wrapped in dark purple chains.
Kurai scowled as he saw Fuhai off to the side, smiling at the modified Janemba unleashing its full power.
"It wasn't all that hard to replicate Babidi's ability to make subjugated Majin warriors and all I had to do after that was add some Time-Breaker energy alongside and boom. A significant increase in power that doesn't have an real drawbacks." Fuhai boasted, "Even if I were to perish, the Time-Breaker ki would hold the majin power-up in place and keep it going. If my estimations of your power is accurate, you should die soon."
Kurai let out a bitter bark of laughter, "You don't know how much power I have and even then you know that you are going to gain the attention of the Gods sooner or later right?"
"Oh, you poor, poor fool." The demon realm citizen mocked, "We both read the same scrolls, we both know Beerus' most glaring weakness. I know how Zamasu went about leaving himself the last kai in his timeline, and I know I can do the same just as easily. After you're gone? The Supreme Kai is next, we both know I just need to pull over a moderately strong individual and then he will die and with him so will Beerus. Whis will be rendered inert as Beerus falls and none of you have yet have a way to call Zeno to stop me."
Kurai snarled, "We'll stop you."
Fuhai chuckled, "You realize there is no we, even with the little niche you've made for yourself, even if you tell all your little friends they won't understand. You — the Hero of Toki Toki City — are the last and only one who can truly realize how bid the stakes are."
Kurai got into his stance, "Then I'll have to do."
He charged Fuhai only to crash into the Janemba who was grinning like a feral madman at him, their clash causing a wave of force to buffet the area as the demon caught his fists.
"I'm afraid my "King of Destruction' Janemba might have some objections to that." Fuhai said airily, "But by all means, do fight. I have other concerns at the moment. Mainly, your precious Earth is looking oh so lonely. Maybe I should add some new friends."
Kurai let out a frustrated howl as he vanished in a flash of purple and glared at Janemba with an utter hate that consumed everything else.
He pulled Janemba in to head-butt him and lashed out with a kick that sent Janemba flying away. He sped after him, pressing his advantage and hammering the demon with as many punishing blows as he could manage. Janemba regained his bearings and began to block the attacks, eventually attacking himself as well. Kurai's scowled deepened as he realized that Fuhai hadn't been kidding about how substantial the boost Janemba had was. Even at Super Saiyan 4, this modified Janemba was proving to be a troublesome adversary, neither of them gaining a definite edge over another. It didn't help that Kurai had actually been fighting for some time and he could feel the lag of his efforts settling. While Super Saiyan 4 was not stamina-intensive like Super Saiyan 3 without a tail to aid it, that didn't mean it didn't take anything to use.
He had been fighting ever since he got to hell and instead of doing the sensible thing and casting Energy Zone or his magic to replenish his abilities before this, he chatted with Fuhai.
If he could manage a distraction, he would cast the technique but he didn't have anything to use.
Pikkon was still down despite the fact he was conscious and Kurai couldn't count on any of the surrounding people who weren't encased in jellybeans to help out.
He had to finish this with the power he had left.
His mastery of Super Saiyan 4 was still not at its best; he was good, he could even be even called very good, but not perfect.
He needed to be perfect.
Kurai launched a fist only for Janemba to duck under it and punch him in the stomach, causing Kurai to recoil. That slight flinch cost him as Janemba began to barrage him with blows, overwhelming him before grabbing his face and stretching his arm out harshly, slamming the saiyan into the ground. He coughed out a mouthful of blood before realizing Janemba was about to land on him and smash him deeper into the floor. He let out a cry of agony as Janemba's feet slammed into his ribs, crushing him under the impact and leaving him stunned. Janemba picked him up by his hair began to repeatedly slam his fist into Kurai's stomach, causing the former Time Patroller to cough and cry out in pain.
He managed to focus through the pain and held out a hand in Janemba's face, "Kamehameha!"
The blast sent Janemba soaring away while the demon struggled to catch it and deflect it away to continue his assault. Kurai slid to his knees, feeling his Super Saiyan 4 transformation fading away from the damage and lack of power left. He panted for a moment and used his magic to heal him enough to cast Energy Zone on top, a pillar of healing energy shooting up from underneath him, restoring his stamina and repairing his wounds. He let out a sigh of relief before he got back to his feet, still maintaining his Energy Zone as he wasn't quite done healing. He saw his attack stop gaining ground and knew Janemba had finally managed to get a handle on the hastily made energy attack.
He saw his Kamhameha thrown into the sky and grimaced, "Just need a few more seconds…"
Then he would turn into a god and really get serious.
"Are you the Saiyan Vegeta spoke of?" A familiar voice inquired.
Kurai whipped around to see Beerus and Whis both standing there, looking at him.
"Yes?" Kurai replied dumbly, shocked at the deity and his attendant.
Whis smiled and waved his staff over Kurai, instantly healing him and putting back at full power, "Do you feel better now?"
Janemba roared in the distance and Kurai turned to see a pillar of purple Time-Breaker ki pierce the sky and scowled at the sight. The pillar abruptly slowly diminished as he felt Janemba stop powering up and rush over to where they were.
"Dammit!" Kurai grumbled, getting in to his stance and preparing to transform.
Only for Beerus to step forward and casually stand in the way of Janemba and Kurai.
"Lord Beerus…?" Kurai said, confused.
"That being is the one causing the dead to come back to life, correct?" Beerus inquired.
"Generally." Kurai replied.
"Than he should know what happens when you mess with the rules of revival." Beerus yawned as Janemba appeared practically on top of him.
He caught the demon's hand in his and frowned, jerking his head to the side as Janemba attempted to kick the God's head only to miss. Beerus casually moved around Janemba, dodging his blows while his hands remained behind his back.
Janemba began to howl angrily as Beerus raised an eyebrow in annoyance, "You're far too loud."
Kurai watched intently, hoping to glean anything from Beerus' movements as he 'fought' Janemba. Janemba was sent flying as Beerus' tail smashed across his face and sent him into the ground, a plume of dust marking the collision. Janemba exploded out of the cloud and threw a fist that Beerus caught in his fist with contemptuous ease and kicked the demon into the air. The God of Destruction shot up after him and began to attack him while weaving through the demon's attempt to ward him off.
Even if it was not fully mastered, Beerus could access the goal Kurai had the ability he was striving towards for his newest regiment.
"Is he using Ultra Instinct?" Kurai wondered, "He's not taken any hits…"
Whis turned to look at him in surprise, "You know of it?"
Kurai shrugged, not bothering to look away as he knew Whis wouldn't mind, "Trying to learn it, not made any progress so far…"
Whis chuckled to himself, "It is not something so easy to use no matter how much one may wish to. Even Lord Beerus hasn't mastered it after all and he is a God."
Eventually Beerus got bored and caught Janemba's leg from a kick and held up a hand, "Hakai."
The demon looked confused before he began to dissolve into motes of purple light, screaming in disbelief and pain.
Kurai made a mental note to practice that technique Vegeta used to negate Toppo's destruction energy in his free time.
With Janemba soon dust, Beerus turned to Kurai.
"So… I hear you can help me with a certain individual?"
