A/N: Thanks for everyone that enjoyed my story, at first, I didn't know whether should continued this at all, since it's all just a random idea flew over my head one day. But I have to admit, I really enjoyed the part "building the mystery" for both series. Especially the Dragon ball dimension side...since Sonic side pretty much just Sonic and gang tried to figure out the situation like a blind person in complete darkness. I mean unlike the DB gang they got no information source like Beerus and Whis(only one being Shenron).
Because I can tell people really seem to enjoy this story, that's why I decide to continue...but still unclear how far I would go. But I guess that will be my problem to deal with, so everyone please enjoy this update.
However, I can confirm there's at least one more update after this "Chapter 2" because I have another wave of thoughts, but this time might end up way too long to cram into one chapter...(my prediction is gonna be around 30k...so...yeah, have to cut it to half). After that, depend on how my inspiration flow~
Enjoy!
2. Sonic Dimension : Universe 8
Not too long ago
"So...what should we do next? Shall we wait for the god called Supreme Kai to show himself? But with no further knowledge about what Supreme Kai looks like, how can we even tell?" Tails typing hands stopped, looking up at his best friend. "Maybe we should have asked that question before Shen long's gone..."
"I don't think it matters anyway. Besides, didn't Shen long told us this is not his world? So even if we ask him about our Supreme Kai's appearance, it would be pointless. Not to mention that seven dragon balls have already turned into stone and scattered around the Earth. So now we will have no choice but to wait at least a year before they are summonable again." Sonic shook his head, then a flow of emotion started to kick in. And Sonic recognized that emotion, it was excitement. "Supreme Kai's problem can wait. Now I have something else very important to test out. Man, this got me totally fired up! See ya!"
With that, the fastest creature alive was already gone. He ran down Angel Island like a flash of blue lightening, plummeting down towards the blue sea without hesitation. Tails stood there in pure shocks before reacting to his friend's crazy behaviour, "Wait! Sonic, I'm going with you!"
It's not like he didn't believe Shen long's words, but this is their first time making wishes to a magic dragon, it's totally nature to have doubts. Tails hurried to the 'Tornado', intended to follow his friend. But he was grabbed by Knuckles, who was still in daze: "Wait!? I didn't just dreamt all that, did I? We used those marbles to summon a dragon!?"
Tails was quite speechless of how long time it takes for the red echidna to react. Just as he was about to say something to comfort Knuckles, the nearby Master Emerald suddenly burst into a dazzling white light.
Then something unexpected happened.
Angel Island was wrapped in that bright light and teleported to the other side of earth by chaos control.
"? Wait, what happened?" Knuckles was confused, his eyes switching between Tails and the Master Emerald.
This peculiar phenomenon is...as if the Master Emerald's trying its hardest to escape from someone dangerous.
On the other hand, Sonic, still unaware of the situation left behind by him, was only filled with excitement and nothing else. He jumped off the island and plunged into the sea, something he never dared to do before. To tell the truth, Sonic did have doubts about the wish-granting dragon's credibility, but he just faced a mythical creature—the meeting itself was already out of this world. So unless he suddenly decided to question his own sanity, Sonic believed Shen long.
Therefore, when he got that hesitation out of the way, practicing run on/under water is the first necessary step. Sonic, holding his breath, dived into the ocean fully prepared. Just like he thought, there's no pain of suffocation, he didn't even fall into the water. He could actually float steadily on the ocean surface like a feather. With this discovery, blood rushed to his head, Sonic immediately squatted down and got into sprinting position. Then he took off like an arrow just left the bow, leaving a huge amount of water splashing under his incomparable speed.
'Hell yeah! As my first test run, let me show off some real skills~ Haha, kidding. 1,2,3. Go!'
With the blue blur picking up the speed again, a loud sonic-boom occurred behind his already vanishing back.
1.5 Dragon Ball Dimension : Universe 7
Earth
Watching Liquiir and his companions came to the place where dragon disappeared, but they found nothing there. Both Beerus and Whis kept quiet the whole time like deep in thoughts. On the contrary, Goku and his friends burst into a small commotion after discovering that not only Shenron, but also their dragon ball's summoners—were no where to be found.
"Why is nobody here? Where is the person summoned the Shenron?" Krillin blinked, confused. "It's not like they knew the God of Destruction was coming their way, right? Or did they hide?"
"That's not the only problem here." Gohan on the sideline commented. "The angel from Universe 8 said this was their first time set foot on Earth, correct? Then how did they know the God of Destruction and his associates were here?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess that make sense. If it was the first time, the situation should be just like what happened to me back then—didn't know a thing, didn't understand a thing." Goku scratched the back of his head, recalling the memory of his first encounter with Lord Beerus. That was also the first time he had ever heard about the existence of God of Destruction and the relationship between him and Supreme Kai. However, unlike his son, Goku decided to focus on a completely different matter.
"I don't understand the situation, but how did they even summoned Shenron? Did they know what to say? Maybe Dragon Balls did exist in Universe 8 after all? Let me be honest, I thought they only got those colourful gemsto...Mmph!?"
"No! Lord Beerus! My turkey drumstick!"
Before certain big mouth could open that big mouth, Beerus jumped up with the turkey leg he robbed from Whis's plate and stuffed into Goku's mouth.
Yes, Beerus's also curious about the question, but there's just no way to give away more information to Liquiir and his attendant than they already did. Especially when he was the one try to play dumb ever since arriving Earth(U8). Moreover, although there are still many mysterious, Whis had already stated that Dragon Balls does not exist on Universe 8.
There's only one reason.
"Just like I mentioned to my sister before, Lord Beerus." Whis explained to his master while waiting for the food. "Those seven-coloured gemstones and the Earth's Dragon Balls have some kind of 'parallel or substitution' relationship, but if the Earth in Universe 8 also got their own set of Dragon Balls, then we should be getting those instead of the gems. So this only leads to one conclusion: there are no Shenron, no dragon balls, nor Namekians in Universe 8."
Despite that fact, Goku and Gohan's questions still made them raise an eyebrow. It is very strange that the residents of this other earth can successfully summoning the dragon, and in such short time too. Thus unless they are just that lucky and able to guess the right answer, the whole situation would made zero sense. Of course, Beerus scoffed at that possibility, after all, it's just NO WAY.
By now, the God of Destruction of Universe 7 has already caught that fishy smell. The bizarre phenomenon happened between the dragon balls and gems, the mysterious summoner, everything's reek of conspiracy. Adding to that already complicated situation, Beerus found out even if he handed the rocks back to Universe 8, it would be pointless. Since they would just come back like they belonged here, belonged in Universe 7. Because...according to Whis renewed explanation, the dragon balls and the strange gems were both artifact carried certain flow of causality/karma on their back. This is something everyone and everything destined to burdened with, mortals likes to call it 'fate'. So basically speaking, when the swap began, not only their places were switched, but also that unique flow of causality originated from their respected universes were imposed on them as well, albeit in reversed fashion. This is how substitution relationship works in sibling universes.
In other words, even with Dende, the creator of Earth dragon ball can't do a thing about his own creation now. The dragon balls had become the property of Universe 8 for the present. Vice versa, their colourful diamonds also shared the same destiny—have been rooted in the causality system of Universe 7. Beerus discussed with Whis, it seems there are only two ways to return everything back to normal: 1. Just like what they did in Universe 6 and Universe 7 tournament, Beerus need to collect all the super dragon balls and make a wish to forcibly reverse the "spacial displacement"; 2. Find the culprit and eliminate the source of the problem.
Method #1 is a no go without further question. Not only it's totally not worth it, the effort Beerus needs to put in and the reward he got from it is not even close to be equal. Besides, collecting super dragon balls requires Champa's assistance. There's just no way Beerus gonna lower his head to ask that guy's help. So method #2 is the only correct answer here.
Though admitting he allow the curiosity got the better of him, Beerus secretly decided since he had already involved this deep, there was no point turning back now. Truth to be told, as a god with power only rivalled by one, he always has self-aware. Beerus knew he's lazy, and couldn't care less about how others see him. But he would never back down from the responsibility that's rightfully his, especially at a time like this. How dare the culprit even think of messing with his universe. This is HIS territory, this is HIS property!
The U7's God of Destruction dangerously narrowed eyes. He can even felt anger building inside chest, burning like the wild spread hell-born fire until nothing remained.
'What a pain in the ass, especially when it turned to a multiverse issue. I don't like it during U6/U7 Tournament, I don't like it with the Zamasu incident…and I don't like it now.'
Just when Beerus buried in thoughts, Krillin suddenly continued to point out something new that out of the ordinary.
"I have to say whoever summoned the Shenron must good at running. Since he can leave before Universe 8's God of Destruction and angel arrive at the scene."
"…"
"…"
Upon hearing this, Whis fell silent before speak up again.
"…Indeed, this is very peculiar. Even though Korn did not travel at his full speed, it's still inconceivable how they disappeared this fast." Whis calculated—it took only 1 minute for his brother arrived at the destination. In that 1 minute Korn spent 30 seconds to check the footage, 29 seconds listen to his universe's God of Destruction and Supreme Kai rambling, and the last 1 second to get on the road. Therefore in such a short time, they should be able to catch on the mysterious summoner, but the end result proves them wrong.
A simply 'fast' won't be enough to cut it.
"Maybe they can use Instant Transmission like dad? Why not check the footage again?" Gohan suggested.
It seems Korn actually heard his voice, the Universe 8's angel turned around to face his master. As soon as Liquiir nodded, he immediately returned the gesture. The next moment, something new appeared on his staff, and to everyone's surprise, it was a huge floating island. Right after some rocks flew into 7 directions, one ray of blue dropped from the floating island at a eyebrow raising speed before hitting the ocean surface. But due to unknown reason, it did not sink. Later, the 'person?' rushed towards other side of the horizon while creating one long and continuous water splash line.
"Hum—~" That speed made Vegeta narrow his eyes slightly, clearly got his attention.
"Not bad, not bad at all. From what I can see, it's already close to the speed of light, and apparently this was not even the fastest speed they can achieve. Like I expected, Earth is interesting." Korn analyzed the mysterious speedster with great interest. "The technology of this Earth have not yet reached the level allowed for sonic-speed travel, let alone light-speed. So it can only be something the native of Earth can do with their own strength."
"Yeah, you are correct. It seems there are some promising mortals on your Earth too, Korn." Whis agreed.
"Wow~, you guys are not wrong. He IS fast. Good I know instant transmission."
Goku, who was acting like a good spectator, also muttered, unable to hide his excitement.
On the other hand, Liquiir's mood got significantly better after witnessing Beerus's grumpy face. (Also, the genuine praise coming from both angels helped.) The God of Destruction of Universe 8 held his head high, strangely satisfied at this outcome. However, unlike last time, he did not provoke Beerus even with the chance waiting for him.
Not only that, Liquiir also didn't seem to intend to further investigate the blue lightning's whereabout or even identity. At least not in front of the people of Universe 7. Instead, he just turned around and gave another order to his attendant.
"We are done here, let's go somewhere else."
After all, the purpose of their trip is looking for mortals with potential. In case something happened (e.g. the possible second-coming of Tournament of Power), so they can began to improve the strength of their humans. Only a fool would reveal all his cards to their competitors, especially Universe 7—the first champion and last survivor of the Tournament of Power.
Not only that, judging from their reaction towards the sudden climate change, anyone can tell Universe 7 knew something they don't.
'I get it now...that weather change, those flying rocks were both caused by the so called dragon balls, right? I remember seeing them using super dragon balls restored the universes eliminated by Zeno-sama. The way they disappeared definitely remind me how super dragon balls scattered around universe 6 and 7.'
Yes, there's no such thing called dragon balls in Universe 8, but Liquiir's not dumb, he can figure out things Beerus tried to hide from him.
However, everyone in Universe 7 were not satisfied with Liquiir's decision. And the most surprising part of it was Beerus being one of the crowd kept booing at him.
"Wait What!? You are not going to chase after him? But I want to know who they are! You are curious too, right? Vegeta!" Bulma turned to her husband for approval.
"...Speak for yourself..this has nothing to do with me..." Vegeta wanted to refute, then he paused. Because he indeed want to learn more. Not only about how they summoned the Shenron, but also how strong they could be.
"Pretty please?" Despite being none of his, or specifically none of his universe's business, Goku begged.
"That's right, Liquiir. Why don't you go take a look? I thought you want to prove me wrong about your Earth? Or are you scared? Scared of loosing? I know we are not comparable from the start, since my Earth is way superior than yours."
"! You—!" As soon as hearing his fellow destroyer's provocation, Liquiir could feel certain nerve of his popped. But he stopped at the very last moment before that burning rage could escape. Then the fox deity took another deep breath, tried to calm down. "Whatever you say! I'm not going to get riled up by the likes of you, Beerus! I have every right to do whatever I pleased here. That includes how and where to inspect. Or are you giving me orders? Don't be ridiculous. Why don't you go mind your own business."
Seeing that provocation didn't work this time, the G.o.D of Universe 7 frowned. Actually surprised by his colleague's patience. It appears that Liquiir did not want to reveal too much before it's too late.
Nonetheless, since the fox god refused to fall into the same trick, there's nothing Beerus could do for now. Seeing him in silence, everyone in Universe 7 gradually calmed down as well.
Everyone except Goku.
Of course, his persistency annoyed Beerus so much that he swiftly pinched the cheek of that nosy man, before he let out a loud cry of pain.
"Aww, it hurts, it hurts a lot! I'm shorry, Lord Beeras. I shaid I'm shorry, Pwease let go of me~~~Oomph! Puff, seriously, Lord Beerus, you don't have to use so much force, my face hurts~" Goku whined again, but after receiving another murderous glare from his world's destroyer, Goku have no choice but to kept quiet. Although, it's obvious he hadn't give up yet.
Seeing their happy atmosphere, Liquiir was confused. He knew Beerus was a man in urgent need of manners, always rough on the edges, loud and difficult to deal with. But he IS a deity who held the power of destruction in a universe, Liquiir's actually surprise that lousy cat would stoop this low by hanging around mortals. Not to mention even befriended with them. Moreover, seeing him relaxed like this was almost surreal.
That scene alone piqued Liquiir's interest by wanting to ask Beerus: 'Is it really that fun?'
Not because he despised that idea, Liquiir is genuinely curious.
Then, this is when next scene rolled in.
As soon as the blue lightning disappeared at horizon. The island he was originally on suddenly faded into thin air like Goku's instant transmission. However, instead of one person, it was an entire island.
"HUH~~~!? What's going on!?"
"…!?"
"Hmph, first someone with a running speed close to light; then island can teleport itself now. I can see their Earth was quite lively too...almost as lively as ours. It's just that..." Piccolo murmured while glancing at the crowd. Krillin gasped. Gohan's eyes opened wide. And Piccolo himself felt a sense of curiosity towards the mysterious floating island.
In fact, curiosity was not the only thing picked by Piccolo's sense, there was something else. Something so familiar that makes his heartbeat race. He even felt attachment towards the island despite first time seeing that. And this feeling really messed with Piccolo's senses.
Now the only reasonable answer is that floating island subconsciously reminded him Dende along with Kami's Lookout—if...the Lookout could move around by will instead of hanging above Korin's Tower all day and every day. That would definitely be more convenient for them. For example, at least during the Majin Buu crisis, they could move the entire Lookout to a new location every once a while, or even teleport to places in order to escape.
Then they won't be easy to get caught.
'...Wait a second, could it be...'
Realizing he might have accidentally figured out something important, Piccolo pursed his lips slightly.
-Assume that floating island sensed someone dangerous was approaching, namely God of Destruction. This is why it automatically triggered their defence mechanism—transporting the entire island to another location in a similar fashion to Goku's Instant Transmission.
-If this defence mechanism really exists, that island should be somewhere very important to the Earth of Universe 8.
Just like the Kami's Lookout.
"Just what? Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan heard Piccolo's unfinished sentence.
"…Whis." Before respond to the younger man, Piccolo spoke to the angel of Universe 7. "You mentioned before, Universe 8 might be connected to us to some extent, similar to Universe 6. So did Universe 8 also have Saiyans and Frieza's race just like Universe 6?"
"Well..." Whis turned to his brother Korn.
Korn answered Piccolo's question after gaining permission from Liquiir.
"Unfortunately no, the warrior race known as Saiyan never existed in our universe, same with the Frieza/Frost's clan. These similarities occurred through evolution of mortal races after the establishment of the twin-universe system. So, outside Earth, I'd say nothing similar. Of course, I can't be 100% sure. This is our first time visiting such an remote planet after all. As a matter of fact, even the North Kai in charge of the area only said something like this: No matter what happened, Earth will always return to peace."
"Wait? 'Always'? 'No matter what happened'? So something DID happened before." —Bulma
"North Kai? Hmm, why does that name sound familiar...maybe King Kai's friend…?! Uwooh! What's going on, King Kai! You scared me!" —Goku
"Goku! Have you forgotten that I am the north King Kai? ! Your Earth is in the North Galaxy, remember?! I told you a long time ago!" The North Kai of Universe 7, who have been eavesdropping the whole time, screamed in Goku's head about that 'memory lost when coming to his title'.
"Well, you are correct." On the other hand, the angel of Universe 8 politely replied to Bulma. "You guys sure have seen it just now—the Space Colony Ark being one of the 'happening'. The truth is, I haven't heard the full report from North Kai yet and he did say he needs to sorted out more information about the Earth, so we are planning to visit him later."
By the time now even Krillin understood the situation. If U8's Earth was a peaceful place devoid of chaos and dispute, then their North Kai wouldn't need extra time to 'sorted out info.' The fact is he demanded it only meant one thing.
—This other Earth must faced up multiple enemies.
Such conclusion only drew even more attention from the people of Universe 7, too bad the other god of destruction doesn't show any sign of corporation.
On the other hand, Piccolo got his answer. So he retreated back to Gohan's side and lowered his voice.
"I was thinking about the supposed 'symmetric relationship' between us. Whis confirmed that attribute being a thing in all twin universes. But unlike Universe 6, there are no Saiyans or Frieza's race, probably no dragon balls either which means no Planet Namek. Simply put, other than the existence of Earth, we got nothing alike."
"Maybe you should think the other way around, Mr. Piccolo. Your examples are way too surface level. Besides, other than extra piece of continent, our earth are almost identical. I think it's enough to draw conclusion that symmetric attribute does exist between us." Gohan pushed his glasses up while analyzing the situation.
"Only if we are talking about earth." Piccolo shake his head. "One planet does not count, it's like your academic research paper, you need more samples to solidify your theory, only one sample could be a coincident. And don't forget, if we took Universe 6 and 7 as example, the similarities were clear as day. They have Saiyans, they have Frost, and Saiyans were tricked by Frost's scheme, which makes them another form of slave to Frost's galactic empire. On the other hand, their Earth got destroyed for a long time. But even their untimely demise proved something. That is, the contrasting/reflecting nature of twin-universes. It is because Universe 7's Saiyan are ferocious that Universe 6's Saiyan have a gentle nature; it is because Universe 7's Frieza uses reign of terror to rule the galaxy that Universe 6's Frost relied on deception to achieve the same goal. The starting point and ending point remained unchanged, but the progression in between altered drastically. So that makes me thinking, what kind of "reflecting nature" between Universe 8 and us? If the swap between those colourful gems and dragon balls being the first 'reflection', then the floating island should be the second one. To be honest, what bothered me the most is even there's no proof, my intuition just won't stop screaming at me: that island should be the equivalent of Kami's Lookout. "
"—…" Gohan froze after hearing this confession. He fell silent, as if trying to figure out what does that statement mean. After a while, he looked at Piccolo again before asking cautiously: "Is it because...both of them are floating? "
"Maybe, but there's more to it. You saw that island 'teleported away', right? In fact, I've always imagined if the Lookout could be triggered by the approaching crisis. Like some auto defense measurement against dangerous foes. In that way we can avoid conflict that put Dende in danger. Even if our enemy can sense ki, as long as they don't know how to instant transmission like Goku, we can always have dragon ball on standby while running around the earth. From my perspective, that island just made a decision like that—it sensed the God of Destruction's arrival and chose to evacuate. All to protect the residents or anything important on the island."
Gohan's in deep thoughts again.
Paused for a moment, Piccolo added more: "Of course, this is my personal opinion. I know bringing intuition into logical discussion aren't quiet commendable. You don't need to treated my theory so seriously. It's just some déjà vu nonsense. I...uh, just involuntarily...no...instinctively understand what role and purpose that island served...(sigh)...Never mind, now I don't know what I'm talking about."
"…Mr. Piccolo, is it possible...that intuition of yours actually is the 'reflecting nature' we were talking about just now?" Gohan's head perked up, staring into the green man's pupil. "If Universe 6 and Universe 7's reflecting nature are extremely obvious, then that same characteristic between Universe 8 and us are relatively implicit. So my theory would be..."
With Gohan non-stop hypothesizing, Piccolo grinned.
'Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Gohan's kind. He trusts us, he trusts me to the fullest. That's why he'll never question validity of my unfounded whim. Even it made zero sense.'
"Thanks, Gohan."
"? What for?" Blinking in confusion, the half-breed shrugged. Then he got even more excited. "Anyway, Mr. Piccolo. Why don't we ask Whis's opinion about our theory? Maybe he can give us some insight! I also want to learn more about the symmetric relationship between Universe 6, 7 and 8. Maybe there is some kind of pattern we haven't figured out yet."
"No, not now. I want to observe a little longer." Piccolo refused. "Let's wait until they finished the inspection. Maybe there will be more information for you to draw conclusion."
Gohan silently agreed: "You are right. Guess I got a little carried away. It's just everything's so fascinating, don't know why, but I want to learn more about their earth."
Suddenly Gohan can understand Piccolo's feeling. He had never been so interested in another universe before. Not even when he participated in the Tournament of Power. It's like something there gripped his attention and refuse to let it go.
No...not 'something'.
Gohan had this weird feeling.
It's someone.
2.6 Sonic Dimension
Universe 8(?) : Future Timeline : approximately 200 years later
"…" Surrounded by ruins, one white figure has been sitting there for a while now. His golden eyes are now staring at the object in hand, trace of confusion escaped his face.
After a long pause, since staring at it won't solve his problem or answer his question, the white figure's shoulders slumped as if given up for the present. Suddenly, the object—an orange sphere with 6 red stars floating inside drop to the ground, making a rather pleasant melody.
With a long sigh, the white figure moved his legs and stood up, seven similar orbs (including the one he dropped) slowly rose from the shattered ground, proceeded to gathered in his hand. As soon as they made contact with each other, the orange spheres began to react, creating a light pulsation. Then the white figure—a hedgehog named Silver frowned before shook his head.
Turned to face another direction, he muttering to himself: "Anyway, I got what he want now...time to head back."
When the white hedgehog returned to the closest refugee campsite, a tubby shadow welcomed him. The moment he confirmed the seven orbs, the man's tense body loosen up. The worry crammed in his stomach also dissipated in a second, then he waved at Silver vigorously.
"Hey! Silver! You're finally back! I see you collected them all! Good job!"
"Yeah, I got your...dragon balls...? But Mr. Yajirobe. What are you going do with them? To be honest, I still don't know how to react to your story about these magical orbs. Neither why my chaos emeralds vanished." Walked up to the man, Silver handed all the dragon balls to Yajirobe. For the next 5 minutes, the older man just stared at them with tears of joy running nonstop.
"Don't worry! Silver. I only gave you a brief version before departure. I will explain more details when we summoned the Shenron." Yajirobe rubbed his eyes fiercely, still in a frenzy. "How nostalgic! I haven't seen dragon ball for 30 years! After Piccolo's death the earth dragon ball turned into stones and we lost all hope. But now is different, there's still hope! Silver! Earth's saved! We are saved!"
"...Okay...I see." Silver wanted to ask who was Piccolo, but seeing Yajirobe's reaction, he decided to keep that curiosity to himself.
It seems Yajirobe's crying and laughing sound were so loud it triggered a small commotion in the nearby camp. For instant, Silver can see several heads peeking out of the tents's door. As soon as multiple pairs of eyes landed on him, they cheered while jumping out of the tent.
"Silver is back!"
Before he knew it, Silver was surrounded by children. The younger ones rushed over first, while the older ones, Haru and Maki, watching over them. Despite wanted to greeting Silver like the others, they held back the urge of charging in.
"Silver! Show us your teleker..nesus (telekinesis) again. I want to fly! Trunks can do that too, but he never take us with him because it's too dangerous..."
"Me too, me too!"
"Ah! Not fair! I want to join too! "
"Fine, fine. There you go." Silently sighed, Silver snapped his fingers. What happened next are the kids' exciting laughings and floating figures in mid air. They were wrapped in a dim green light, warm and steady, with so much care that everyone in the refugee camp trusted Silver to use power on them. Seeing his new friend's popularity raise to a newer height, Yajirobe laughed after calming down.
"Look at you, hogging all the attentions and praises. From barely knew these brats to their favourite person, or I should say hedgehog?...just in one week, now they love you way more than us adults." The bearded man teased Silver. But the white hedgehog only returned a light chuckle without further reaction. Though his eyes were glue to the kids, seemingly enjoy this moment of happiness.
Yajirobe studied him, then decide to change the subject. "By the way, is that really telekinesis? Like a...supernatural power? Not anything utilized ki-energy usage? "
"? I don't think so." Hearing his question, Silver switched his attention to Yajirobe. After taking a guess he spoke up again: "Didn't you explained to me that 'ki' is some kind of life force taken shapes, and skilled people can condense the ki into energy blast in order to attack? We did have something similar here, or I should say similar concept here. It's called chaos energy. However, when coming to how to use it depend on the user. So the end results varied from person to person. For example, my usage of chaos energy manifested as telekinesis...but one of my acquaintances was known to use chaos energy to teleport through time and space, not even god nor devil could hold him down; the other one's just like me, not very good at teleportation. But coming to speed, he is the #1 in universe that nobody could hope to match on. So his usage of chaos energy's more leaned to the speed aspect."
"Not even god nor devil could hold him down? Number 1 in universe? Wow, THAT'S A LOT OF RESPECT coming from you." Forgot about dragon ball for the moment, Yajirobe was both amazed and astonished.
Adding to that, curiosity starts to build up inside his heart, so much that he wants to know more about them. To be specific—the one given the title of "Number 1 in universe", that exact same title handed to the man Yajirobe would never able to forget. Not even when he is six feet under.
"...Would you mind telling me their names?"
"…Shadow…and Sonic. Although it's impossible for us to meet again, they are comrades to me. My friends even." At first, Silver was a little hesitant, but he didn't avoid Yajirobe's question.
"Huh...oh...Oh—I, I'm sorry for your lost. They must be amazing for you to speak so highly of them." Thinking he messed up by reminding Silver some miserable memories, Yajirobe quickly changed the subject again. "Ba...back to your chaos energy...I'd say your ki is indeed different from anyone I have sensed before. If Goku was still alive, he would definitely interested in such topic~"
Misunderstood the meaning of Silver's reply, Yajirobe's mind automatically put those two on the deceased list. In certain way he was not wrong, but the truth was far from what he have imagined.
"...Goku? Is he your friend too?" Silver asked.
"Well, sort of. But he passed away a long time ago...I mean I just knew him since childhood that's all. Uh...when I said 'childhood', it's not like we were hanging out since we were kids...Forget what I said, he's just an acquaintance...maybe I should say kinda like you and that Sonic guy...we were comrades." The more he talks, the more depression Yajirobe felt. The short man shook his head, as if trying to drive away unknown emotions that engulfed his thoughts.
"Alright, brats! That's enough fun for today. Silver and I have something important to discuss! It's about whether we can go back or not." After this, he turned to the man in resistance uniform who was peeking out from tent as well: "Hey you! Come here and take them for a nap~Try not to bother us while talking."
"Fine...whatever you say. Oh, by the way, Silver, thank you for putting up with this guy." The man walked up to them.
"Hey—! What's wrong with me!? You still remember who lead everyone after Trunks and Mai were gone? But now because Silver's here, so I got replaced, am I?" Yajirobe whined loudly.
Too bad the other man didn't bothered by his protest at all, he just kept staring at Silver: "He might be a loudmouth and bold man, but...he also helped us greatly. So please bear with him, Thank you very much." The formerly resistance guard bowed to Silver again, then turned around to instructed the two older kids, with Yajirobe frozen in the background after hearing him. "Haru, Maki. Be a good older sibling and lead the little ones back to tents, let's go go go!"
The children all pouted because their fun got interrupted. But after Silver's promise of "Let's play some other time.", they all grin ear to ear before lined up to follow Haru.
Noticing the older girl named Maki kept peeping at his direction, Silver waved right hand at her. Realizing she got spotted, Maki shyly averted her face away, but quickly turned back before slowly gave Silver a simple nod.
"This way." Watching Haru and Maki's figures faded out, Silver refocused on Yajirobe. But the man had already run to the shadow of a leaning building farther away.
It's like whatever they're gonna do next needed to be out of the sight. Silver still didn't understand why Yajirobe acted so mysteriously, but he's definitely interested. The white hedgehog quickly activated the telekinesis power and flew to the older man. As soon as he landed, Silver confirmed those round shape objects Yajirobe asked him to collect were now in a pile. He called them 'dragon balls'.
"What are we starting?" With Silver asking the question, Yajirobe somehow felt the heavy weight of responsibility fell on his shoulders.
He promised to gave Silver a more detailed explanation after asking him to collect all the dragon balls.
He also implied to him dragon balls can save his world.
Now with Silver held his end of the bargain, Yajirobe's have to take the responsibility again and tell him everything. This was the second time he had felt such a strong sense of duty. And the first time was after they miraculously escaped the collapsing world.
It's almost surreal.
Truth to be told.
—Yajirobe knew he was never the leader type.
Normally there's no way for him to lead a group of survivors like this. This type of trouble supposed to be Trunks or Bulma's role, not his. Heck, even Mai's a way better leader than him. As someone didn't even know how to fly, Yajirobe fully understands his limits, not only because the strength he lacked, but also the strong will when facing off the obstacle. He just didn't cut it to be a leader, or a hero in that case.
Yajirobe just wanted to mind his own business and cherish his own life. And, If it's possible, he'd like to never stand up to the life-threatening crisis again.
He has to survive! No matter what.
This is the only way to pay respect to Korin, the friend gave away the last surviving chance to someone like him.
Yajirobe hoped his prolonged life will become the living proof of a friend's scarifies still held meanings.
Of course, when he said he wanted to cherish life and mind his business, he meant every syllable. However, as soon as Yajirobe saw Goku's face again (not that faker Black), he just couldn't watch him die in front of him again. This was the only reason Yajirobe stood up to save the already defeated Goku and Vegeta when they were about to get killed.
Yes, Yajirobe's afraid of death, very much. But there's still something he wants to protect.
Sadly, what he wants never mattered in this vast universe. By the time entire sky was covered by sneering faces, Yajirobe suddenly had this realization—'Ah...this is the end for me'.
He thought what he had done before (saving Goku and Vegeta) was already his limits, but Yajirobe guess he could surprise himself. After realizing their last moment was closing up, the older man subconsciously protected Maki and Haru, who're still tried to cheer for Trunks. He used his own body as meat shield to block the divine punishment rained from the sky. Despite knowing full well it was futile.
" ...Yajiro...Mr. Yajirobe! Are you listening to me?" Suddenly, Silver's voice woke Yajirobe from his deep thoughts. The beared man scratched his head (which hadn't been washed for several days) and sighed.
"Ahem...I hear ya. Um...I was just thinking about how to explain the dragon balls to you."
After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze back to the white hedgehog, then Yajirobe remembered something entirely unrelated.
There were beast-men back in their world too. In fact, about a century ago, someone invented a potion can turned normal human into beast. For the next few decades, its popularity sky rocketed before fall to normal usage. The advantage of the potion being greatly enhance the user's physical ability. So a lot of people drank it for the strength increase, also for the tough appearance.
Set that fact aside, the white hedgehog in front of him was a brand new race that Yajirobe had never encountered before. He asked Silver briefly, and his answer was straightforward. He was from a race called Mobian, and it seemed (use 'seemed' because even Silver couldn't be 100% sure) they were also an alien race came to Earth long time ago. However, since most of them were gentle natured and disliked the idea of conflict, they had lived with the earthlings peacefully. It's such a pity that Silver was the last remaining survivor due to the planet's destruction.
"Poor guy...At long last, he ends up just like the Saiyans." Yajirobe couldn't help but sympathizing with the kid, and even more shocked by the fact how similar their worlds were, especially if he compared them side by side.
To tell the truth, when Yajirobe and others first came to this earth, he thought they were saved by some kind of miracle. However, after he calmed down and took an another look, that feeling of something was wrong here started to kick in. Yes, almost everything was destroyed, but from the shapes of the building to the shattered ground, nothing looked like the earth Yajirobe and others' remembered.
'Let me be honest, I'm still not sure where were we anyway...Silver said this is the Earth, but I don't remember seeing any Mobian back at home. Ah...my head hurts...this is too much for my brain...'
Shaking his head vigorously to temporarily put aside those unwanted thoughts, Yajirobe took a deep breath before explained to Silver: "These things are called Dragon Balls. They are some kind of artifact created by the Namekian for granting wishes. As long as seven of them are gathered together with the correct incantations, Shenron can be summoned. I never expected there are Dragon Balls in your Earth as well...Wait...does this mean you guys also got planet Namek here?"
"Planet...Namek? Uh, never heard of it...But it's not like I know everything about the universe, so it might exist. Hold on a second! Am I hearing it wrong!? The dragon balls can grant people wishes!?" After racking his brains to recall any useful memories, Silver confirmed the fact he had never heard the name of planet Namek.
"Yes, you heard me correct. Don't worry, Silver. I know what you want to ask. Just like you thought. You could ask Shenron to restore the destroyed earth to its original state. But after that, can you at least let me have one wish? I want to borrow your dragon balls to go back."
"...O, of course it's okay, but...what do you mean by 'yours' ? The dragon balls are definitely not from here."
"Eh? What? You are kidding right? Didn't you just said there's a possibility Planet Namek existed here?" Upon hearing this, Yajirobe let out an awkward laugh: "Hahaha, I get it now. That's pretty funny. Remember when we first met? Didn't you just casually hold a six-star dragon ball?"
"Not exactly." Silver answered this while kept a straight face. "In fact, until the night before we met, that 'Six-Star Dragon Ball' was still a white Chaos Emerald. As soon as I woke up, it was replaced by a dragon ball...I was wondering where my Chaos Emerald had gone, then you jumped out of nowhere and kept shouting at me 'Dragon ball! Is that a dragon ball!?' And you didn't even try to listen to my explanation afterwards."
"Oh...I did that...?" Recalling every details during their first meeting, Yajirobe was stunt to find out everything proceeded just like Silver said. Yajirobe never heard Silver's answer and after that all survivors were busy with building a campsite, so they never confronted each other. During this time period, Yajirobe asked Silver a favour. Since he was familiar with the surrounding area, Yajirobe sent him out to find the dragon balls.
"Chaos emerald...? What was that?"
"It's a fist-sized gemstone, there are totally seven of them. Each one has a different colour, and each one contains tremendous chaos energy. The one I kept around is the white one, and it just turned into a six-star ball after one night sleep."
"…Gems with power? Don't tell me you can make a wish after collecting seven of them as well?" Eyes opened wide, Yajirobe stared at the white hedgehog. However, Silver shook his head.
"The chaos emeralds don't have such fantastic ability, but when all gathered together their power will create miracles. As for what kind of miracle...it depends on the situation at the time...they are indeed powerful, but they can't restore this ruined earth after all." Silver's tone was a little depressed, though he soon brushed that emotion away: "But thanks to the Chaos Emeralds that I was able to meet Shadow and Sonic. They gave us the chance to fight the devil that destroyed the world, so I am very grateful to have the emeralds around."
"Is...is that so...Say...Silver, what exactly happened to your world—"
The way Silver expressed himself was rather reminiscing, almost hits too close to home.
'What's this devil he speak of? Is here dangerous too? I thought we don't need to fight anymore.'
Seeing Yajirobe's face turned pale, Silver decided comfort him:" Don't worry, Mr. Yajirobe. Iblis...I mean the culprit destroyed the earth has been eradicated. Its entire existence has long eliminated in the past, present, and future. So you don't need to worry anymore. If there's something up, I can help as well. I mean, not trying to brag here, but I'm actually pretty strong."
'He must have noticed—my fear towards this unknown world.' Yajirobe thought.
Silver was telling the truth, and Yajirobe knew it. Even though he had never been as good as Goku or Trunks, Yajirobe also could sene ki. He just didn't know how to reforge them into energy blasts or use Buukujutsu/fly.
This is why Yajirobe could confidently say Silver's way stronger than himself.
"He's not a Saiyan, I mean...it's pretty obvious. But his power is probably on par with Trunks—probably."
Of course, due to the difference in power between Yajirobe himself and Saiyan like Trunks or Goku, it was difficult for him to tell how strong Silver actually is simply by comparison. Plus, this so called chaos energy was very different from the ki he was familiar with.
Even so, Yajirobe was pretty confident he's not too far off the mark.
However, this brings up two new questions:
-Why is Silver so strong?
-And if he is already strong like this, how horrible his enemy would be?
'They can't be scarier than the Androids or Goku Black...right? Yeah, there's just no way.'
Yajirobe didn't even want to think about that possibility.
"I see...Man, if we met sooner, I could push...I mean entrust you the task of protecting everyone (Silver: Wait what?). After all, I was totally not cut out to be a leader. If it weren't for the fact no one else's here...(sigh), guess there's no need to delve on this anymore..." Refocusing on the dragon balls, Yajirobe continued his explanation. "Anyway, I will summon the dragon for you, then you can wish for restored the earth back to normal plus resurrect all the people got killed. As for the last one, can you let me have it?"
"I, I mean If...it's possible. You really can restore my Earth?...Also you just mentioned dragon. What is that? Something like Aladdin's magic lamp? Ah...Aladdin's magic lamp is a popular fable story, people can make a wish to it and got literally everything."
Yajirobe's expression told Silver this is the first time he ever heard of it, Silver shook head before saying "Never mind, just go ahead."
This made Yajirobe think.
Back at his earth, most people don't know about the dragon balls, but those in higher positions or (physically) powerful people at least heard the rumors. (Such as Capsule Corp or Red Ribbon Army, etc.)
"Oh really? I have never heard this fable before, so that magic lamp can also grant people wishes?"
"I don't think it can grant multiple wishes, just one." Silver answered.
"Huh...interesting. Well, let's just start the summoning." Yajirobe shrugged, focusing on the dragon balls. After clearing the throat several time, he raised both arms at the sky before shouting out loud: "Shenron! Come out and make my wish come true!"
The next second, one deafening thunderclap struck from the center of the sky. All rain clouds showed up like the sky are playing magic tricks, instantly dyeing heavens with darkness. Silver watched the drastic change in a daze, mouth hanged open, his astonishment was beyond words.
It was at this moment that golden light burst out from the dragon balls and proceed to shot into the sky. Slowly, a giant green dragon gathered in front of the two.
The refugee camp not far away
"What's going on?! Did something happen to Yajirobe and Silver!?"
"Mister...I'm scared...Why is it dark outside?"
"Everyone! Please calm down! Yajirobe told me about this. Don't worry, it's not an enemy attack."
"That must be..." Within this chaos, Android 8 stared in the distance, even his machine heart seemed to racing right now. Technically, this is also his first time witnessing such incredible turnabout, but he held exact amount of knowledge to understand the situation well.
"Shenron...they have dragon balls here? Can't believe I could witness the ceremony again...Roshi, did you see this? I missed you so much. Missed the time you and Goku was still alive. We summoned Shenron so many times, remember? Ah...how I want to go back to that happy time when everyone's here—" In similar fashion, the turtle from Kame house muttering to itself about the past brought so many memories, slowly crawling towards the huge figure gradually taking shape. Its eyes lit up by the lightning striking the ground over and over that filled with tears, reminiscing those good old days will never return.
Back to Silver's side
Staring at the shadowy figure gradually transforming into a huge dragon, Silver glanced at Yajirobe, relieved when he saw that confident smirk. With this, Silver turned his gaze back to Shenron and found out his giant ruby eyes were fixed on him.
"Um..." Before Silver could ask any unrelated questions, Yajirobe interrupted them by talking to Shenron first.
"Hey, Shenron!"
"—I am Shenron, I shall grant you three wishes." Called out by Yajirobe, the dragon switched its attention to him instead.
'How? Their Shenron looked exactly like our Shenron back at earth...Maybe Silver's telling the truth...—Oh no, my head hurts just by thinking about it.'
Yajirobe gave up to understand the situation and slapped Silver on the shoulder: "Hurry up and say your wishes!"
"Eh...oh! Uh...al...alright. Shenron? Here's my first wish, can you restore my earth to its original state?" Silver hesitated, then decide to go along the flow.
With two flashes of scarlet, dragon's booming voice echoed: "Your wish has been granted."
As soon as he finished the sentence, some shocking change shook Silver's heart. The buildings were once ruins swallowed by a burst of bright light. Within seconds, the entire city regressed to a much more tidy state, with skyscrapers glued back to each other like paper stacks. Even the shattered ground weren't shattered anymore, the road were long and spacious, so clean it almost spotless.
It's safe to say, excluding that endless emptiness eyes can see, everything was back to normal just like the picture Silver once seen in old travel magazine.
"See? Pretty impressive, right?" Watching his new friend's blank facial expression, Yajirobe proudly declared. Obviously, it was done by Shenron's power, but Yajirobe couldn't help but felt a little bit smug.
"What's your second wish?" Shenron asked again.
At this point, Silver had witnessed enough miracles to fully trust Yajirobe's words. So, he did just that by excitedly stepped forward while pleading to the magic dragon.
"My second wish will be revive Blaze and everyone killed by Ibis."
Dragon's eyes lit up again, but this time miracles like just now didn't happen. As waiting time gradually piling up, Silver's excitement fading away with it. On the other hand, his anxiety silently starting to build up.
"Um...what's wrong?"
"I cannot grant this second wish." Shenron answered his question, and that answer was not the one Silver wanted to hear.
"What!? Why not? You can do it right?! I mean...I mean you just restored the entire city!" Silver's voice filled with desperation. Yajirobe was also surprised, but soon he realized something.
"Wait, are the people you wanted to revive have been dead for more than a year?"
"…Ye..yeah? —Are you telling me the dragon ball won't work on the people gone for too long?"
"…Oh, Silver. I'm sorry...I...I haven't summon Shenron for a long time, so I don't remember the details or restrictions of his power..." Understanding what he had done to the white hedgehog, Yajirobe's heart was also filled with regret. Just now, he selfishly gave Silver some hope that everything gonna be okay and the next second proceed to rob that hope away. Such heinous act, only the evilest villain would pull.
Yajirobe immediately hated himself after noticing the light in Silver's eyes dimmed.
"I see. Well, at least the city looks nice now...it's better than nothing. I guess." Silver was lost for words, only forced out a fake smile after several failed attempts of easing the atmosphere. To be honest, he was born after the disaster struck the world, so peace is relatively an alien word to Silver. But even so, it didn't mean he never dreamed of the good old days he had only heard from Blaze or children's book.
The good old days never belong to this era.
-Once upon a time, there were still many people lived on Earth. Even it's not always peace and happiness, at least there was no need to worry about buildings collapsing at feet; no need to afraid the flames of disaster emerge to turn the entire earth into scorching hell; and no need to wonder whether there's still future left for humanity.
This life, Silver had always longed for such a life.
"I'm really sorry..." As soon as his new friend fall into dead silence, Yajirobe's remorse started to pile up even more. Yes, the city has returned to its former glory. However, in this glamorous dead land, Silver is still very much alone.
It was at this moment Yajirobe began to hesitate about whether should go back. The reason he insists to return was because no matter how broken, miserable, and desolate his earth might be, it's still his homeland: a place where memories and pasts were buried 6 feet under, along with the lives sacrificed on the battlefield. Even their dried up blood was still stained inside that soil, the bloodshed filled with meaning. Yajirobe never thought of abandoning that meaning. Not even a second.
However, truth to be told, despite not been together for very long, despite very different in ages, and despite not from the same place. Yajirobe still resonated and sympathized with Silver greatly. Too much it almost felt like a strong sense of guilt when thinking about leaving him behind in this lifeless world.
"Say, Silver...why don't you come with us..." Just as Yajirobe was about to blurt out the thoughts concealed inside heart, the Dragon God in sky spoke again.
"Do you want to change your wish?"
"Yes please." Carefully hid his emotion, Silver answered Shenron's question. He forced another smile before nodded to Yajirobe, then spoke for him. "Can you send Yajirobe and the others back home?"
"Wait! Wait a second! Before that, let me ask you a question, Silver. How about come to our world together..." Yajirobe quickly interrupted the wish before getting send away. However, to their surprise, Shenron only paused for a second before rejecting the idea again.
"Sorry, but I can't grant this wish either."
"Huh? Wait, why?" His answer shocked Yajirobe and Silver altogether.
"Because the 12 universes you used to belong were no longer exist, so naturally there's no place for any of you to return to."
After dropping the bombshell, Shenron waited in silence. Now it's Silver's turn to gave Yajirobe a sympathizing look.
"No...no longer exist!? But...how!? Wait! Could it be?—" With an almost anguish cry, the older man lowered his voice as if remembered something important, then he perked up. "Is it really no other way!?"
"There is." Surprisingly, Shenron's voice was calm. "If you can use the time machine to travel back time, it's possible. Albeit it would be a similar world, not exactly the one you people used to belong. However, since time travel is a taboo against the gods' will—a grave sin. So I do not recommend nor will lend a helping hand to you."
"Travel back time...is a grave sin? Oh..." With Yajirobe's attention fully fixed on Shenron, Silver froze upon hearing these familiar phrases.
"Time machine...? But, but Bulma is dead, and Trunks's gone, too! Where can I find a time machine just hang around the corners?!"
-Great, it seems like they have the honor to stuck in this strange world for now.
However, Yajirobe thought about the situation, it's actually not that bad. After the restoration, the city should functioning well enough for regular daily living. As long as the shelter and food were secured, surviving won't be a problem. Not to mention they don't have to leave Silver alone on this deserted land.
Although still feeling a little uneasy, Yajirobe quickly accepted the reality. After all, according to Shenron: there's still chance to go back. "Geez, looks like we're gonna stay here for a while. You are okay with it, right Silver~~"
"...! Of course. I told you, you can stay as long as you want." After hearing these words, Silver's body relaxed, and the sadness had been lingering on his face also dissolved into a faint smile. "In that case, can I have the next wish back? There's one thing I'd like to ask Shenron."
"Oh, sure, go ahead~" Yajirobe stepped down with Silver stepped up again. But before he could say anything, Shenron responded as if already knew the question.
"If the thing you are wondering about related to the Chaos Emeralds, I can tell you one thing: as long as the dragon balls's existence were still engraved in the causality chain of Universe 8, those Chaos Emeralds of yours are destined to never return. About 200 years ago, a spatial displacement phenomenon occurred between the Universe 7 and Universe 8 through a fixed-point, with its targets being the Dragon Balls(U7) and the Chaos Emeralds(U8). Someone named Sonic also asked me the same question long time ago."
"What!? Sonic!? You know Sonic!? Excuse me...fixed-point? Spatial displacement? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Hmm? Universe 7? Universe 8? What are they? Something delicious?...(thinking in mind) 200 years ago what?"
Of course, Shenron's explanation triggered even more questions. However, since Silver is the one making the wish, so Shenron automatically answered him.
"Yes. Right now you are in a joined timeline where 'Dragon Ball/Chaos Emeralds' have undergone spatial displacement and never revert back, which is equivalent to a divergent future when this multiverse issue never resolved in the present time. But because it is an already established reality, as someone involved in the flow (Causality), you can observe the appearance of dragon balls as soon as Sonic confirmed the chaos emeralds disappearance."
The more Shenron tried to explain to the two, the more confused those two were. Glancing at their frozen bodies and faces, Shenron secretly sighed before trying again.
"Dragon Balls and Chaos Emeralds swapped positions and failed to reverse back which caused another distortion between two universes. This time instead of Universe 10, it's between Universe 8 and 7. You 'observed' this reality exactly the same time as Sonic...ever since the reality established 200 years and one week ago."
Unfortunately, even this supposedly simpler version of explanation still made Yajirobe and Silver head spin. The only difference being Silver was slightly better, not by a long shot though.
"So...Shenron, what you try to say is because Sonic's Chaos Emeralds were swapped in his timeline, as long as the problem never sorted out, these Dragon Balls will always exist in my timeline, correct? As for why I have the memories of both Chaos Emeralds and Dragon Balls instead of just remembering the existence of Dragon Balls from the start, it's just time related shenanigans. It's okay, you don't need to further explain the situation now. I know how complicated these things could turn out."
"...If that helps you understand it." The giant green dragon chose to compromise. After all, Silver's right. It was basically impossible to make perfect sense of how timeline works: "Let me throw bit extra for you as well. Regarding to the Universes 7 and 8, they are similar concept to parallel universes but something more to it. Since it's also related to your...'time shenanigans', I will save the unnecessary part for you. The Dragon Balls are some kind of artifact in another universe, just like your Chaos Emeralds." Shenron continued. "However, this entire matter had long became a multiverse issue, so if you wish to know who or what caused such abnormality, there's nothing I can help as it already surpassed my capability."
Then his attention landed on Yajirobe: "If I remember correctly, you were friends with Korin. Both Dragon Balls and you all originated from 'another universe', in other words, an erased Universe 7. And this is the Universe 8 resides in a different timeline, an universe that completely foreign to you people."
"Uh...Sorry...so you mean...you ARE the dragon I'm familiar with." Yajirobe's mind turned numb and went completely overload. If possible, he might have smoke coming out of mouth.
"There's only one thing you need to understand. The earth you once lived in was branched from another already established reality, a possible future of Universe 7. Due to the evil Supreme Kai Zamasu's wrongdoing, it was wiped out by the almighty Zeno, along with other 11 deserted universes. So all of the survivors are now without a home to go back to, which includes you. Thus, even if you use a time machine, you can only reach a timeline where Zamasu never showed up. But like I said before, time travel is a grave sin that even the gods forbid to approach. So I can't lent a hand."
Hearing that 'time travel is bad' statement again, Silver's body stiffened once more. Then he quickly turned his face away, not want to make any eye-contact with the dragon nor Yajirobe.
In fact, right before this conversation started, he was considering the possibility of using chaos control to send Yajirobe and the others back to their world. This is the true power of chaos control, not only time, it also able to transcend space and dimensions.
Unfortunately, this way out was cut off by Shenron's words. Without emerald's help, he couldn't cross the barriers of time/space, not mention the dimensions (although it's not entirely impossible). Moreover, it might be okay(not okay) before he knew time travel was bad, but now he knows, naturally Silver wouldn't dare to act on impulse anymore.
This is not about himself because Silver already got nothing to lose.
This is about Yajirobe and everyone in refugee camp. Silver doesn't want to be the one responsible for, or he should say, the 'trigger' of the harm coming their way. The young hedgehog learned this through Mephiles's betrayal.
However, according to the previous conversation, there's a time machine in Yajirobe's universe—something created by the children of man but surpassed the imagination of even the deities. It's a machine achieved great feats but also bearing the heftiest karma along the way.
Silver's impressed. They are evidently different, but why did both worlds shared so many similarities?
"What is your last wish." The dragon god asked.
This is when Yajirobe opened mouth: "Silver, you agreed before, let me have the third one."
"? Of course, go ahead. But I thought Shenron just said you can't go back?"
"Yeah, I know. I just want to ask a different favor~" The man cleared throat, slowly rubbed the tip of nose, then he glanced at the behemoth in sky. "Can you at least revive Bulma for me? She hasn't been dead for one year yet, I think."
"…" Silence fall down again, dragon's crimson eyes lit up. As if processing and confirming Yajirobe's claims, he said nothing while kept the body still.
Yajirobe was quite nervous, not sure what to say.
After a good 5 minutes, Shenron finally spoke again.
"Consider yourself lucky, I can grant this wish. Truth to be told, if we use Universe 8 as base, I would consider her death way past due time. But if we use Universe 7, then it's within one year."
As soon as Shenron said this, Silver saw a blue haired woman wearing a white lab coat suddenly appeared ten feet away. She was lying on the ground with her eyes shut, but the chest movement indicated the fact she's still alive.
"I have granted all your wishes, now, until next time!"
Having fulfilled its role, Shenron transformed into a flash of lightning again. This signalled the dragon balls to shot straight up to the sky like cannonballs. However, before they could disappeared in clouds, Silver immediately held up his arm and activated telekinesis. Trapped by his power, all 7 dragon balls dropped into the ground, only rolled few inches before stopped in motion.
"O...kay. Good job?" Yajirobe watched everything unfold while carrying the unconscious woman, "You already knew dragon balls would fly away after the ritual?"
"Not really...I did it more like a muscle reflex..." Silver blinked, surprised at how well it went. "Maybe because our Chaos Emeralds work in a similar fashion? Once finished, they will automatically scattered around the earth. Since it's always a pain to search for them, I have developed a habit of using telekinesis to recover at least one before they gone."
"Seriously~ That's...uh...exactly the same with us. You gotta tell me more about your Chaos Emeralds later."
"Well, sure. —Uh, do you need help carrying her?"
"Oh yeah? You are so kind! I mean I was feeling a little bit tired, so THANK YOU! Be careful, Bulma is our last hope now!"
"Uhh, okay. So her name's Bulma?...Hold on! What do you mean by 'our hope'? Why did you count me in?"
"Haha, don't sweat the details, huh, smells like food's ready! I'm gonna run back first! I will leave Bulma to your care, Silver!"
"Aye wait!? —And...he's gone..."
Along with the still unconscious Bulma(Future), the three returned to the campsite in distance, where they were greet by the people interested in the outcome of that dragon summoning event.
Especially those already knew about the Shenron and dragon balls.
2. Sonic Dimension
Present time
Other side of the earth
"Wait!? Why are we here!?" Tails blankly stared at the horizon not far away. "And where's Sonic?! Did we just ditched him!?"
However, his worry was unfounded.
As soon as Tails looked around, a familiar blue blur appeared at the sea-line along with the huge waves caused by the super speed behind him. Then he suddenly stopped at one point before jumping into the blue ocean, creating two huge walls of water thanks to his light speed acceleration.
"? He can dive down? So the water is not solid ground to him?" Tails shocked while kept the analysis going.
"Uh, to me it's more like digging than diving..." Knuckles, with this specialty written in his name, commented the scene. "Wait, Sonic's fine. The problem at our hands are the...uh...spring...surprising..."
"Supreme Kai."
"Yes, that. What I'm trying to say is where can we find Supreme Kai?"
"According to Shen long, we don't go look for the Supreme Kai. The Supreme Kai come to us." Seeing Knuckles's patiency slipping, Tails tried to calm him. "In that case, all we can do is wait."
"Wait? But how long do we have to wait? Not to mention what if we NEED the Chaos Emeralds for emergency? Is there really no other way except waiting?"
Tails thought about that, and had the conclusion of: it might.
But he didn't want to consider the possibility.
The reason was very clear.
Because from the way how Shenron spoke, it can be achieved by causing serious trouble to draw the attention of Supreme Kai.
However, neither Tails, Knuckles, nor Sonic are the evildoer type, so this plan was a no-go from the start. That's Eggman or other villains' job.
Adding to that, Sonic and he has experienced many disastrous events almost lead to the earth destruction. And they didn't see Supreme Kai coming down at all, so it's possible in order to attract his attention, they need to do something even more threatening and deadly. Way beyond one planet's demise.
If anything like that happened, he and Sonic would rush to the culprit at once to stop them from creating an universal crisis, NOT to be the culprit themselves.
The young fox sighed.
'Maybe I will refrain speaking more, not that Knuckles would do anything to such scale.' Then his mind wandering off to a different matter. "There's actually an another issue I'm curious about. Especially when Master Emerald suddenly used chaos control to teleport the entire island here. I remember Knuckles mentioned before, in order to avoid any direct confrontation from...dangerous foe targeting the Master Emerald, Angel Island tends to change locations every once in a while. And whenever threat emerges, its defense mechanism will automatically activated. Could it be the same this time? If so, what or who was Master Emerald trying to avoid? Is it related to the dragon balls being here as well?'
For some reason, Tails believed he should trust his guts feeling.
As the young fox lost in thoughts, the Master Emerald burst into a dazzling light again. Before any of them could react, a deafening sound transpired the entire space that made the little fox jump. Something sprinted towards their direction at lightning speed that split the sea in half. In less than a second, Sonic in his super form burst out from the waves. So powerful that part of ocean under Angel Island was completely blown away, stripping the seabed bare along with abundant of deep-sea fish struggling to survive.
In the blink of an eye, Sonic teleported to his friends and proceed to release his super form. The currents stirred up by his movement also gave Angel Island, which was far above sea level, a salt water bath from head to toe.
"Huh? When did you guys arrive?"
"Sonic!" Tails rushed over, shaking off the seaweed on his head: "Actually, not long after you left, Angel Island used chaos control. So it teleported us here as well."
"Oh, that make sense. Phew. Man, I thought you guys got here before me."
"Hold on, Sonic!? Who gave you the permission to use Master Emerald at will? And you use it for test-run your new ability?" Before the blue hedgehog could say anything more, Knuckles, who was soaked like a sponge, shouted at him. Completely ignoring the fish jumping on his head.
"Oh come on, don't act like that. I just want to try something new. After all, since we don't have Chaos Emeralds now, I can only use Master Emerald to transform, that's why I hope to at least find out its range. Let me say the result was not very satisfying. Oh, yeah. By the way, about your question, Tikal granted me permission ever since Chaos showed up."
"WAI-WHAT!? Why is this the first time I heard about this!"
"Because this is the first time I told you~" Sonic bloomed a rather mischievous smirk and patted his echidna friend before he got more angry: "Look, knuckle head. I know you are strict with rules when coming to Master Emerald, but if something emergency happened, we need to prepare for the worst, don't you agree? So if Eggman or whatever comes to cause trouble again, I can only rely on you and Master Emerald. If I remembered correctly, you can change the size of Master Emeralds at will, right?"
"! So that's what your scheming about! No way! As the sole guardian of my tribe, I can't tolerate any misuse of the Master Emerald! My honor won't allow it!"
Sonic sighed but didn't back down from that disclaimer: "Come on, you can't be this hard headed, Knuckles! Which one is more important? The safety of our friends and family or your honour? Also, I don't appreciated the accusation, you know full well I will never misuse the Master Emerald." Sonic urged. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna steal your precious emerald, I just want to borrow it for the time being. We have been friends for ages now, don't you have some trust in me?"
Knuckles didn't return any words. He just narrowed his eyes at Sonic, as if examining him. Caught in middle, Tails could only hold his breath and watch quietly. The unbearable silence lasted for an unknown amount of time, in the end, the red echidna reluctantly looked away.
"Fine...I guess special situations called for special measurements. But! I'm only gonna turn a blind eye this time, do you understand? If you dare lost the Master Emerald too, you know what's gonna happen! Also...sorry for accusing you just now..."
"—I promise. I will keep the Master Emerald safe." Accepting the apology, Sonic relaxed while Knuckles walking toward the Master Emerald. With the red echidna slow-motion movement, the giant gemstone originally taller than two of them stacked on each other floated up. Then it gradually shrank to the size of an ordinary chaos emerald in mid-air. Hesitating for another 5 seconds, Knuckles turned around to walk back to Sonic step by step. After a long pause, he carefully handed the emerald to the blue hedgehog.
With the completion of exchange process, the formally floated Angel Island descended down like an airship lost its engine.
Sonic closed his eyes as soon as he received the shrunken Master Emerald. Then he absorbed it into his body just like he did with the Chaos Emeralds. After everything's done, the blue hedgehog looked back at Knuckles again, grinned: "See, you don't need to worry. I will use the power of Master Emerald only if it's necessary, and I won't give anyone any chance to take advantage of me."
A/N: At the beginning of Sonic Unleashed, there is a scene where Sonic in base form caught by Eggman's robot and release the Chaos Emeralds he absorbed into body but haven't used until this moment. So here I just assume he can use the Master Emerald the same way.
"Hmph, you better be." The echidna breath a sigh of relief before stubbornly turned away. Seeing the situation finally got resolved, Tails's body relaxed too. It was only at this moment, he recalled the thought had been stuck in his brain not too long ago.
"Sonic! Knuckles! Let's go back to where we were before the chaos control! There's something I want to check out!"
To be Continued