Previously on Dragon Ball Aftermath: Rewrite

After creating Zeno and transferring his powers to him, Daishinkan found out that Zydis had used a technique so dangerous, it could've endangered the universes. Feeling the need to set an example for the gods, he put the new Destroyer on trial, prepared to erase him. However, Zateus and Omesus interfered to save Zydis, but they failed to stop the erasure.

Seeing this, the two unlocked Ultra Instinct Stage Two and Super Saiyan White respectively, and easily thrashed Daishinkan around. Seeing no other choice, the Grand Priest summoned Zeno and his guards to save himself, and they would've won if it weren't for Qhuteus, who teleported them to Universe Nineteen.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

For nineteen years, Omesus and Zateus raise Abysus to be a powerful warrior and one day annihilate the gods. It'd be the only thing on their minds now, as they are blinded by their hatred for Daishinkan.

Because of their change in attitude, Abysus grows up to be a violent fighter. At some point, he enters Super Saiyan and nearly kills Zateus and Omesus with his insane power, forcing Qhuteus to suppress his Saiyan transformations.

Abysus sneaks off one day and wreaks havoc on the universes, with the gods finding out about his existence. He declares himself to be the end of the gods. However, Zateus soon finds him and brings him back to their home to lay low.

To cover their tracks, Qhuteus spreads bits of their energies in Universes Thirteen through Nineteen to confuse the gods and get them off their tails.

Unfortunately, that time soon comes, as Zeno makes the rash decision to erase all of those universes to stop them from ever returning. From then on, those four powerful beings would cease to exist.

Daishinkan freezes Universe Seven in time, wanting to learn this mysterious technique Zateus used, as it would perfectly suit the angels and make them a lot more powerful. Over hundreds of millions of years, he trains himself and the angels to utilize Omen, then Stage One, then Stage Two.

To prevent this from ever happening again, he and Zeno agreed to create a law to prevent the angels from interfering in mortal matters or fighting them.

After 900 million years since the fight, Daishinkan unfreezes Universe Seven, confident in the gods' ability to suppress these mortals should they get out of hand again. Now back in service, Whis teaches Beerus to become the new God of Destruction, and vice-versa for Vados and Champa.

Everything would be peaceful in the multiverse for a long time. That is until Android 17 wished to bring back all of the erased universes, including the ones the enemies resided in.

Zateus finds out he's been erased for a billion years, enraged, alongside Abysus and Omesus. Qhuteus departs from them, going to learn more about how the multiverse works, while, months later, Zateus orders Abysus to wreak havoc upon the gods, not thinking about the possible repercussions.

His son proceeds to kill the strongest warriors in Universe Eleven, before going to Universe Seven, finding Whis on Planet Earth alongside its destroyer. Suddenly, there'd be a strange feeling consuming the entire planet. Goku would feel a lot of weight, falling on his knees. "Gck... What is this...?"

Beerus would feel the effects as well but would still be standing. "Whis, what the hell is this?"

Whis would move at a speed Goku and Beerus would've thought impossible, as a massive lightning strike then slams down and hits the city, completely obliterating it. The smoke would fade and Whis would've created a barrier around Capsule Corporation, protecting Goku, Beerus, Bulma, and her parents.

All of the Z-Fighters on the planet would've sensed this powerful presence. A muscular figure starts walking toward them, his aura blasting all the smoke away. He would have short, gray hair, tan skin, and a black robe.

His eyes would be glowing red, as he stops. He examines all of them. "Well, well... If it isn't Whis and... Zydis...?" He'd have heard stories of the sphinx cat from his father and uncle.

Beerus would squint. "It's 'Beerus'. Kindly explain why you ruined my mood before I destroy you."

The figure snorts and then turns toward Whis. "Ah... You must be Whis, my father's mentor."

Whis slowly walks forward, dispersing the barrier. "Your name is Abysus, son of Zateus, am I wrong?"

THE END

After listening to Daishinkan and Zateus explain the full backstory, everybody remains silent for five minutes, processing everything they've heard. Zateus falls to his knees, devastated.

"All this time... I've lived two lives," he says, trying to keep his composure. "I used to be a god, but then I was cast and changed. I've lived a life full of lies. Why, Daishinkan?"

The Grand Priest looks at him solemnly, feeling guilt for what he's done. "I apologize, Zateus, but it was for the sake of the multiverse. Zydis-"

Goku growls and goes up to him, grabbing him by the collar and picking him up. "G-Goku-san!"

The Saiyan glares into his eyes, ticked off at him. "You did the same thing to Zydis as you nearly did to Beerus. You erased his father and nearly destroyed him for the same reason. You haven't learned, have you?"

He drops Daishinkan and looks over to Beerus, who would be facing away from them, trembling. "Zydis... was my father? All this time..."

Champa would just stand silently next to his brother, contemplating this new information.

Omesus gets up, walking over to them. "What do you mean the same nearly happened to Beerus?"

Seeing no other choice, the Grand Priest snaps his finger, showing them the whole memory of Beerus's trial, Goku and Vegeta interfering, Goku entering Stage Three for a short period and hurting Daishinkan, and the rest.

When it finishes, Zateus stares at Daishinkan with even more hatred than before. "I see... So Son Goku and Vegeta were in the same situation... We were wrong to judge them. You gods brainwashed them."

"That's not-" Whis is about to say, but the Grand Priest raises one hand to stop him. "My intention was never to use those two for our gain. It was to protect all the mortals and gods in the multiverse from you and Qhuteus. You took your hatred too far and endangered the lives of everybody."

He waves his staff, and Zateus jolts, feeling all of his past memories rushing back to him as an angel. He grunts, holding his head, but then he recalls some moments between him and his father.

Despite their occasional disagreements, Daishinkan did care about him, but he kept a cold exterior to set an example for his children. "I never wanted this, but I had to banish you to prevent anything else from happening. Ordinarily, I would erase my children for their disobedience, but I couldn't do it to you. When you interfered in the trial, I... I had to put my emotions aside."

Daishinkan turns toward Omesus and does the same to him. The brute's eyes widen as he falls to his knees, shaking. "I don't understand… Then that figure who saved my life from Qube… He must've been Zalama!"

"Zeno started the Tournament of Power to give mortals another chance," Daishinkan says. "It was all thanks to you, Goku-san. If not for you, he might've erased all the universes by now. He has taken a liking to you."

Vegeta walks up to Omesus. "I've had a question for you for a while, back in our first battle..."

Omesus smiled. "I am impressed. Your power exceeds my expectations for my descendants. How would you two like to join me in our conquest of the multiverse?"

"Cut the crap," Vegeta replied, raising his fist. "You're just another enemy. Why would we work for you?"

"I can be your friend or foe," Omesus replied. "The choice is yours... If you join me, we will guarantee your survival from the extinction of all mortals."

The two Saiyans didn't reply and his smile faded. "I see... Then I'll just kill you two right here. What a shame."

Zateus turns toward his brother, raising an eyebrow. "I'm confused, Omesus. Why did you say that?"

The brute sighs. "I never meant what I said, I rather just said it to scare the two into joining our cause. At the start of the fight, I had no intention to kill my kind. Really, I was excited to fight them. Goku and Vegeta were far beyond my expectations. Anger clouded me as Whis arrived, though, and I went in for the kill."

Vegeta crosses his arms. "You also said you were the first Saiyan."

Zateus snorts when he hears this. "My brother says that to make his title more special." Omesus turns toward him, raising his fist. "I do not!"

Zateus rolls his eyes in response. "You also say you're the strongest mortal. How big of an ego do you have?"

The two argue for a moment before the Grand Priest cuts in.

"And now, I will make things right," he says, walking forward. He spins his staff and taps it on the ground, a buff figure reforming. Abysus falls forward on his knees, panting, before looking up, shocked.

"Where... Where-" Before he can say anything, Zateus runs over to him, pulling him into a hug. He pauses, confused at this gesture. He'd never received any kind of hug before. "Father?"

Zateus then turns toward Daishinkan. "As difficult it may be, perhaps this... conflict needs to end. I cannot forgive you, yet, but I am responsible as well. Our actions have endangered everybody."

He walks up to the Grand Priest, slowly holding a hand out. Everybody watches, anticipating his response. Daishinkan looks up at him, before smiling and taking it, shaking it. "Perhaps we both have something to learn, Zateus. If we can fully patch things, perhaps I can restore your godhood, and even... bring back Zydis."

Zateus smiles as well, before he sighs, walking toward Goku. "Son Goku, that power you used against Qhuzarus... I didn't think it to be possible."

Goku nods. "Yeah... Right before he deleted me alongside everything else, I spoke to your master in my head. I had to reunite with my other half to complete myself and enter that state. What I did was rash, but... I'm glad you all are back. I don't know how much I'll change, but hopefully, I'll remain the same old Goku."

Abysus gets up, turning toward the gods angrily, but Zateus walks over and places a hand on his shoulder. "The war's over, Abysus. Calm down."

Reluctantly, the brute lowers his fists, still not trusting them. He then turns toward Goku. "Our fight isn't over, Son Goku. I will get more powerful and defeat you in battle one day."

[Music: Two Steps From Hell - Mercy in Darkness (Archangel)]

He walks away with Zateus. Right before they leave, a vortex of energy appears in the middle of the room, shocking everybody. Omesus spins around, his eyes widening. "This presence... It can't be!"

A transparent figure of Qhuteus himself appears, smirking at them. Immediately, they all get into a stance as the god walks forward, glitching in reality. "Well, well, well... What's with this peaceful atmosphere? You didn't make peace with them, did you, father?"

"Qhuteus, why did you go through with all of this?!" Zateus yells. "You betrayed me, your father!"

Qhuteus pauses, before laughing. "You call yourself my father? Daishinkan sealed me away, and what did you do? Nothing. I had to be the one to save your sorry ass."

Zateus clenches his fists. "I had no choice... He erased my memory of you!"

The god growls, before smiling. "It doesn't matter now... I've activated my final gambit, my trump card if you will..."

Trillions upon trillions of projections of himself go everywhere at once, surrounding the palace. "I've learned... EVERYTHING... I've linked myself with every version of myself from every multiverse! I know who and what I am..."

He begins to fade away, alongside all of the other projections. "My story isn't over yet. I'm nothing from your reality. I'm an Ezarian, an ancient race of warlocks that once ruled the Omniverse, but we were nearly all destroyed when the Founder arrived..."

Qhuteus laughs as he fades away, leaving everybody shocked. Vegeta walks up to Goku, who looks at him. "Vegeta, will... Will things ever be the same again?"

Vegeta is silent, before looking away. "I don't know, Kakarot. You have a massive target on your back now. Beings beyond even Qhuteus know of you. I must catch up to you."

Piccolo turns toward Omesus. "What was that power you used against us back in the war? It was above even Super Saiyan White."

"There's an evolution of the form I had a theory existed for several years now, and I was able to tap into it during training before the war," the Saiyan replies. "It nearly killed me just to use it. I wasn't able to use its full power even when I sacrificed myself, otherwise, I'd have exploded before I even got the chance to attack the namekians. Even I can't handle that much energy."

"Then I will achieve that form and master it," Vegeta states, crossing his arms. "Kakarot is far beyond me now, and I will catch up to him."

Daishinkan turns toward Seji, walking up to him. "If Zalama left after he gave us the Super Dragon Balls, how were you born hundreds of millions of years later? You caused problems for us such as hiding the Super Dragon Balls, nearly killing an angel, nearly destroying universes by fighting Vegeta..."

"Truthfully, Zalama did come back to the multiverse to birth me," Seji replies. "I don't know why, perhaps I'm a second pair of eyes to him, in a way. He told me who he was, gave me power, and left me to be raised by the other namekians."

Daishinkan nods. "I will pardon your actions, Seji, but you must never be so reckless again."

"We must leave now," Zateus says, placing his hands on Omesus and Abysus's shoulders. "We will train as well to assist the gods." They vanish away, leaving the remaining gods and mortals alone.

"Mojito and I will gather the Super Dragon Balls to resurrect everybody who has fallen to Qhuteus, his summoned warriors, Omesus, and Zateus," Cognac states. "I miss my fallen siblings dearly."

The Grand Priest nods at him. "Please do. Lord Zeno and I will focus on repairing the damages to the multiverse."

"I will assist Son Goku in repairing his planet and returning the earthlings to it," Seji says. "I owe him everything for what he's done."

[Music: Permafrost - Scott Buckley]

Goku nods, using Kai Kai to teleport home. He sees Dende and Buu healing everybody as they would recover from the war. He walks up to Chi-Chi, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Chi-Chi."

She breaks down into tears and holds him, burying her head into his chest. "This... is what you have to face? Beings that threaten our home, our galaxy, our universe... All this time, I never truly understood what it was like to fight against something like this..."

Goku's expression softens, despite his changing personality. "It's okay, Chi-Chi. We're safe now. The war is over."

She eventually calms down, wiping her eyes. "All those years, I always chastised you for training Gohan, but all I cared about was him studying. I'm a terrible mother..."

"You're not a terrible mother, Chi-Chi," Goku replies. "You wanted Gohan to have a normal life, yet I was the one that dragged him into the Cell Games, into fighting all these threats."

He sighs, getting up. "I won't be as ignorant as before. I've changed, and... I don't know if it's for the better or worse. All I know is things are going to get more difficult as time goes on, but I'll have you and the rest by my side."

Chi-Chi sniffles, before slightly smiling. "Yeah... Did you fix things with the gods?"

He nods. "For now. I don't know how long the peace will last, but I'll protect everybody, no matter the cost."

Goku walks away, leaving his wife to think alone. He looks at the wrecked landscape, with lava pouring out of the cracks. They did a number on their planet. In front of him, Seji teleports in, alongside his dragon Konton.

Krillin walks over, alongside Android 18. "I'm going to need a long good night's rest after this. How're you holding up, Goku?"

"I'm doing fine, Krillin," Goku replies. Krillin nods and flies off alongside Android 18, and Goku turns back to Seji.

The sage nods, before raising his staff. Electricity shoots out, as the landscape repairs itself underneath them. Wildlife would return, alongside the trees in the distance. Goku would feel a bunch of familiar Ki's returning. "I've restored all damage to the planet, and brought back the evacuated earthlings just now."

Konton leans down to Goku and sniffs him, before tilting his head and looking at the different Super Dragon Ball markings on him. Seji looks at them as well and sighs. "Ah, yes, I've been curious about those. Do they perhaps mean anything?"

Goku shrugs. "I don't know, I guess I'll find out in the future. Could be good, or bad."

Seji turns toward Konton, placing a hand on his snout. "Alright, Konton, you're dismissed." The dragon closes his eyes, dispersing back into energy. He teleports away as well and Goku sits down, enjoying the peace and quiet for a change.

After thirty minutes, he teleports to Capsule Corporation, walking up to the entrance.

Bulma runs out, seeing him. "Goku? How'd the war go?"

"It went fine, I'm just... exhausted both physically and mentally," Goku replies. Bulma would note his unusual behavior, a little concerned. "Oookay... Well, while you were gone, Beerus and Wh-"

Beerus walks forward out of the corner of his eye, alongside his attendant Whis. "So, you saved the multiverse. Went from surpassing me to surpassing even Grand Zeno. You saved me from being erased, and then saved me while erased."

He holds out a hand, smirking. "It's been a pleasure fighting alongside you, Saiyan."

Goku smiles, before taking it, and, to his surprise, Beerus pulls him into a hug, much to the amusement of Bulma and Whis. He leans over and whispers in Goku's ear. "Tell anyone else about this and you're dead."

He walks off, leaving the Saiyan alone. Did Beerus just... hug him? He decides not to dwell on it, before teleporting to his house. Chi-Chi wouldn't be there yet, but Gohan and Goten would be in the kitchen, washing the dishes.

When Goten sees Goku, he runs up and hugs him, which his father accepts, smiling. "I'm proud of you, Goten. You've grown so much these past years."

He looks up at his other son. "You too, Gohan. You even surpassed Vegeta. Maybe you'll be able to surpass me like you did when you fought Super Buu long ago."

Gohan chuckles, scratching the back of his head. "Unlikely, but you never know. You should get some sleep, dad. You've been through a lot."

The Saiyan nods, before going to bed. He lies down and pulls the covers over him, not having had a good night's sleep in what feels like weeks. Despite his passing out in the Central, he never truly felt at peace until now.

He yawns, before closing his eyes, ready for a dreamless, silent sleep. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be so lucky. He opens his eyes in his mindscape again, looking around. He hears laughter and spins around, seeing Kakarot once again.

"It can't be," he mutters, taking a step back. "But... I merged with you!"

"Did you think I'd be so foolish as to merge with you?" Kakarot replies, walking forward. "I never did in the first place. Our goals remained the same, so I simply let you use me to complete them."

He suddenly swings a punch that Goku blocks, skidding back. "I have no intention of stopping until I'm back in control of MY body. It is rightfully mine, after all. You're just a fake created when your grandpa dropped you."

Goku clenches his fists, getting into a stance. "I don't trust you. What would you do if you had full control?"

Kakarot smirks. "I'm a Saiyan warrior. Do you think I'd have time for connections, friendships, and family?" He slams his foot on the ground, showing a hypothetical projection.

In the projection, Kakarot looks down at a city, entering Super Saiyan. "Raditz died, Nappa died, all because of Goku. I must atone for my mistakes by doing what my brother wanted me to do, and then erase Frieza from existence for what he's done to the Saiyans."

He throws a simple energy ball that completely destroys the city, killing tens of thousands. "Vegeta has grown too soft living with these primates. If I can't convince him to go back to his old ways, I'll kill him too."

Suddenly, Vegeta and the other Z-Fighters fly toward him, yelling as they attack him. He smirks, easily able to fend them off. He punches Krillin with such force that it breaks his skull and sends his body to the moon.

Piccolo launches a Special Beam Cannon, but Kakarot slaps it toward Tien, instantly killing him. He then leaps forward and stabs his finger into Piccolo's chest, killing him before he can transform.

Seeing this, Gohan yells and flies forward, entering his full power. He launches a massive Masenko that Goku punches back toward him, sending him flying. He enters Ultra Instinct Stage Three, the fighters' attacks no longer phasing him.

In an instant, he shoots above the atmosphere and flicks his wrist, destroying the entire planet and everybody on it. Goku watches the projection in horror, knowing he cannot let this happen.

He growls, turning toward his counterpart. "Why would you do that?!"

In response, Kakarot spits on the ground in front of him, scoffing. "After I kill them, I'll revive the Saiyans of Planet Vegeta using the Super Dragon Balls, so we can kill Frieza, the gods, and rule as the supreme rulers of all timelines. No Guardian, Overlord, or even the Founder will be able to stop us."

"That's where you're wrong," a familiar voice says behind them. They turn to see Zalama walking toward them, his aura intimidating. "Unfortunately for you, I need Goku's help."

Kakarot's eyes widen as he yells, entering Ultra Instinct Stage Three. He zooms forward at blinding speeds, punching Zalama and sending him back. The Dragon God skids across the ground, smirking.

The Saiyan creates a massive blast, prepared to launch it at Zalama. Goku tries to power up into Stage Three but finds himself unable to. Instead, he enters Full-Power Stage Two, trying to deflect the blast with one of his own.

It wouldn't work, as it inches closer to the Dragon God. Zalama's eyes glow as he flies forward at speeds that even surprise Kakarot, cutting through the blast. He hits the Saiyan with his staff, dispersing him into particles.

The particles scatter, as they go into his staff. Zalama turns toward Goku, sighing. "That won't hold him for long, but you must master Stage Three and learn to activate it on your own. If you succeed, Kakarot will become one with you."

He vanishes away, leaving Goku alone.

To Be Continued in Chapter Forty

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things are finally settling after the end of the Qhuteus arc. However, a new problem arises for Goku. Will he be able to overcome his own counterpart?

~ Scruffy