A/N And here it is! Final part of the final chapter in the first Third of Nexus: Heroes Will Rise. I hope you enjoy! Previously, Meruem devoured the brains of the Saiyan King Bardock and his power skyrocketed. His attention turned to Goku, Sora, and Dash, but the three were saved by Castiel before he could kill them. Although the three of them vanished however, Meruem, the Capital 50, and the Rogue Ravagers remained at the Saiyan Mountains...
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the media that characters, settings, or other proper noun things you may recognize in this story come from.
Nexus HWR 12.9 The King of the Saiyans:
FD + 104
At the summit of a mountain in what would one day be a part of the Saiyan Mountains, close to twenty figures stood around the peak that had been flattened for their meeting. There were mountains on the sides of them that went much higher up into the atmosphere, but the one they were gathered on was still above the lowest cloud layer that covered the sky below them. In the sky above their heads, a giant black dragon was circling the mountain over and over.
At the center of the peak, the five men who were part of this meeting stood face to face with each other. Their small pentagon was made up of what people would one day think of as some of the strongest people in the world. As it was now though, only two of them had any land that they claimed as their own. Zeref, who came riding in on the black dragon that now flew overhead, was one of those two. Behind him stood four of his subordinates who he had discovered on this world, or who had searched him out themselves. Eileen Belserion, Invel Yura, and August, three of Zeref's Shield of Spriggans stood next to one other figure, the leader of the demons of Tartaros. The Underworld King, Mard Geer Tartaros, stood among Zeref's subordinates holding a book in his right hand clenched tightly to his chest.
The other member of the group of five who had already claimed land was the Ant King, Meruem. He had his three Royal Guards behind him, as well as two other Chimera Ants from his world: Alligator and Cheetu. The two former Squadron Leader Chimeras stood behind the Royal Guards, though they were looking between the shoulders of the more powerful Chimera Ants in front of them to watch the meeting of powerhouses at the summit. Meruem was the one who called everyone there, and he continued going over his plan to the men before him who had varying levels of interest on their faces. The man who arrived there last looked the least interested, though he also had a look of begrudging respect on his face for the Ant who had such a detailed and thought out plan. "…If it is anyone other than a Saiyan who defeats the Kryptonian King, or anyone other than a Kryptonian who defeats the Saiyan King, the war would continue. It cannot be close either. It must be a crushing defeat for all of either race to see. You assured me this is possible?" Meruem mentioned, while looking across the circle to either side of Zeref where two taller men stood.
One of the two men had short black hair and a black goatee. He wore a heavy suit of armor over his body made of thinner material over the joints to allow for easy movement of his whole body. Zod turned his head inward and looked towards the other man Meruem was referring to, the man who arrived late and did not look too interested in the meeting. The man with black hair that spiked in all directions turned his head and looked into Zod's eyes, then turned back to Meruem and said, "It won't be a problem. You sure you can kill King Vegeta though?" Bardock added with a smirk, looking over towards Zod again. "You don't look like you can."
Zod stepped towards Bardock. Zeref backed up a few steps, while everyone else on the mountain stared at the Kryptonian and Saiyan with widening eyes. "I could kill you too, if you'd like?" Zod offered.
"That would be counterproductive to why we're here," Bardock began, "but, if you really want to test your luck…" Bardock's hair shot up into a golden spike and his body surrounded in a flaring golden aura as he kept grinning at Zod. His eyes turned from black to teal, and most of the beings on the mountain tensed up. Bardock felt their apprehensions, and he gazed around to see that this was not the first time most of them were seeing this.
Meruem's Royal Guards were staring in shock at a man who looked shockingly similar to another man they had met once before, but never knew until now that he was a Saiyan. That man did not have the signature brown tail that all the Saiyans they met had had, and none of the Saiyans they had ever seen before could turn their hair blond either. The mountain beneath Bardock's feet quaked, but Zod clenched his fists anyway and said, "Do you think I am impressed by a simple Super Saiyan? You are not the first I have faced." Zod's eyes started to glow red, and though Bardock was surprised by that declaration, he started grinning even more as the thought of Zod actually being a challenge came to his mind.
The final man in the circle lifted his head up and looked down his nose while saying, "Did you two not claim to be the ones who wish to end this pointless war between Saiyans and Kryptonians?" Aizen shook his head and said in a dark voice, "I see now why this war is never-ending. Your people are both too stubborn."
Bardock clenched his teeth in annoyance, but he finally pulled back, surprising Zod who did not expect the Saiyan to be able to hold himself back from the fight. "The war will end," Bardock said. His expression turned more serious, and he added, "I promise the Saiyans will start no more quarrels with his people, as long as he can promise the same. If solely to prevent the extinctions of our peoples, like so many other powerful races who got caught up in stupid wars like this." Bardock shook his head thinking of all he had seen during his time on Nexus.
Zod stayed quiet for a few moments, then he nodded at Bardock who was watching him out the corners of his eyes. "I do not wish for the pointless death of my people to continue. I can accept one more death in this war though, as long as you can-"
"I can," Bardock interrupted, not going to wait for Zod to make a similar remark to the one he made about King Vegeta earlier. "I am the strongest man in this world, after all," Bardock claimed.
"Then it is settled," Meruem said. "Bardock will kill your King, and Zod, you will kill his. The two of you will then return to your own people and take power as the one who killed the enemy King. You will be able to end the war without protest from your people, after what occurs at the next battle."
Zod scoffed and chuckled to himself. Meruem looked his way, and Zod looked back to see the Ant King staring straight into his eyes as if demanding an explanation for his laughter. "You really think you lot stand a chance getting between an army of Saiyans and Kryptonians? They're going to rip you apart," he said in a threatening voice.
"If it does not go that way, should I expect retaliation from the new regime that follows?" Meruem questioned, and Zod's eyes lifted up as he was not expecting that sort of remark to what he just said. Meruem was not saying that Zod was wrong, he was just mentioning the alternative and asking to see what the consequences of that alternative would be. He was asking that if he was the one to rip apart the Kryptonians and not the other way around, would the new Kryptonian King be intent on getting revenge for his people?
After a few seconds, Zod started, "If you win your battle, I doubt my people will be looking for revenge, as much as they'll be demanding peace."
"Can a man like you know peace?" Zeref asked, and Zod turned to see that the shorter man looked genuinely intrigued as to whether or not Zod was telling the truth.
"On this world," Zod started, and his eyes did a pass over the top of the mountain he stood on. His eyes then looked up and he stared at the red sun between the two yellow ones in the sky. "I might have to," he finished.
Zod lifted off the floor, and Bardock floated up as well as it seemed like there was nothing left to discuss. "Wait until the next battle," Meruem said while they lifted up. "We will go for the next battlefield, and when we do, that's when you two must go for the Kings."
Bardock grunted, then shot off in a trail of gold across the sky. Zod watched the Super Saiyan fly off, and he frowned thinking of how similar he looked to the last Saiyan he had faced in battle, less than a week earlier. Son Goku was a different breed of Saiyan though. This Bardock is just a little more refined than the rest, but that small difference will allow us to end the war. As long, as he keeps his word. Zod turned the other way and called down, "There will be another battle today. Do not dawdle here for long." With that, Zod shot off leaving a shockwave behind him in the air that caused wind to slam down into the group atop the mountain.
Aizen did not turn to watch Zod leave as did many of the others. He kept staring in the direction of Bardock's fading golden trail, then said in a low voice, "Those powerhouses are likely to betray us."
"Then we must show them we are not to be betrayed," Meruem said. Aizen turned back to the Chimera Ant who invited him to this meeting a day ago. The land that Meruem had claimed as his new country was the location of one of the most recent skirmishes between Saiyans and Kryptonians. The fight had been taken away from his land after only a few minutes, but tens of miles of his domain were torn apart during it. Meruem did not care about the peace between the two races, but he would not have a repeat of that devastation.
The triangle of powerful beings who brought with them several subordinates each faced each other with interested and analyzing looks. They were quiet as they did this, and the subordinates gathered around the mountain were getting nervous as to what was going on. Zeref was smiling with the corners of his lips pulled up a small amount, and his dark eyes shifted from the shinigami on his left to the Chimera Ant on his right. This world is amazing, Zeref thought. To think that I am the human in this alliance. Strange beings from so many worlds were brought here. Meruem, Aizen, Bardock, and Zod, none of them are human, but I believe I prefer them to humans. They are less, predictable. After four hundred years, I had grown bored. Nexus has so much to offer. I wonder if Meruem's plan will work? If so, I would like to see what the Ant King goes on to accomplish on this world…
"August is currently watching both the Saiyan and Kryptonian camps," Zeref said aloud while other thoughts mulled through his mind. As an immortal being who did not believe that he could die, the consequences of their alliance's plans did not weight as heavily on him as it did the others. "We will know as soon as they move. Invel will determine the position around which they will clash in, then Eileen will teleport us there."
"Are you only bringing the Ants you have gathered?" Aizen questioned Meruem. "There will be a much larger number of those beasts than there will be us."
"Actually," Meruem said. "Only my Royal Guards will accompany me. Alligator," he said, and the white-skinned alligator Chimera Ant ran forward as the Royal Guards moved aside to let him pass. "Watch over the Capital while we are gone." Meruem finished his sentence and his subordinate awaited more, but after a second of not hearing anything else, he nodded furiously and spun to run back to Cheetu.
"Yes, King," Alligator said before running off. He reached Cheetu and said something to the other Ant who did not know whether or not Meruem meant for him to go with Alligator or not. Seeing as Meruem said he was only taking the Royal Guards with him to the battle though, Cheetu agreed with Alligator and put one of his hands on the larger Ant's right shoulder. In a flash the two of them disappeared.
Aizen hummed as he wondered whether the Ant King was being overly confident, or if it was perhaps stronger than he was giving it credit for. Behind the shinigami stood a group of Arrancar along with one other Shinigami- Kaname Tousen. In a line going from the left of Aizen to his right stood Tousen followed by the first Espada, Coyote Starrk with his counterpart Lilynette Gingerbuck standing in front of his legs. Next down was the third Espada, Tier Harribel, followed by the 5th Espada Nnoitra Gilga, then the 8th, Szayelaporro Granz. At the end of the line on the right end stood two more figures, the larger and darker-skinned Yammy Llargo, and the albino green-eyed Ulquiorra Cifer. More than half of the Espada were again under Aizen's command, along with one of his former shinigami allies. I have yet to locate Gin. I have no doubt that he was brought to this world as well. It is too large to search thoroughly, but I know he will find me sooner or later.
"The Second Espada was killed by a Saiyan on the other side of the world," Aizen said to the men before him. The two looked his way and wondered if he had more invested in this fight than they had originally thought. He did not look upset over the death of his old subordinate though, and they did not think him as one to try and avenge his underlings. "He was killed by another man named Vegeta, though this Vegeta was a Super Saiyan like the others with him."
"Super Saiyan," Meruem repeated. He turned to Zeref, and then said, "So we have all met them before." Zeref lifted his eyebrows a little and the corners of his lips lifted more at how easily his expression was read by the Ant King's for him to deduce that.
"That Prince Vegeta was with a different group of Saiyans who I do not believe are taking part in the war," Aizen continued.
"Do either of you," Zeref began, and his allies looked in at him. "Know of Son Goku?"
Meruem's eyes opened a little wider, but Aizen just narrowed his own and frowned deeply at the sound of that name. The others looked to him at his strange reaction, and Aizen opened his mouth to explain. He froze with his mouth open, then closed it and twisted his lip in an even more annoyed, and conflicted way. The Espada behind Aizen who could partially see his face were shocked at the moment of uncertainty that Aizen showed which he never usually expressed. Those of them who were at the fight with the Saiyans who they were defeated by were not surprised by his reaction though. Ulquiorra frowned himself and thought deeply on that day, while Coyote Starrk scratched the back of his head and then shook it after recalling that day's events.
"He is the reason, I dislike Saiyans," Aizen finally said, though he did not go into further explanation than that.
"For me it's the opposite," Zeref said, and Aizen turned to the man who brought up Goku in the first place. Both Meruem and Aizen looked to Zeref who in turn lifted his gaze up to the dragon still circling the sky above their heads. "Son Goku helped me in acquiring Bahamut, without as much as asking why I wanted to tame the beast. Once I told him I could stop its mindless destruction, he smiled and offered me his help. I never would have thought him a Saiyan had Bardock not shown us that transformation a few minutes ago."
"He may be a one-of-a-kind Saiyan," Meruem said without waiting a second from the end of Zeref's sentence. Some might have thought it was rude to speak that quickly as it seemed almost as if he was interrupting Zeref, but Meruem knew Zeref was finished speaking with that last sentence. Zeref turned to the Ant King with lifted eyebrows again, but this time his small smile was matched with a look of respect on Zeref's face for the Ant King who waited for him to finish speaking before saying what was on his mind. Even though he clearly thinks himself as the King of everything, he has the disposition to match the arrogance. I do not think I would mind, following this being's lead.
"But if not for Son Goku," Meruem continued, "I never would have asked Bardock to assist in ending the war." The others looked at him with interest, and he continued, "I heard others with Son Goku call his transformation the Legendary Super Saiyan, and he looked similar to Bardock when his hair was not golden. He was the strongest fighter I have seen on this world, but also he showed a gentle side unbecoming of a warrior."
Like how he showed me mercy, Aizen thought darkly. "Everyone deserves a second chance." "I hope we meet again!" A conflicted look reappeared on Aizen's face and he frowned even deeper at the thought of Son Goku's kind words.
"The Saiyans and Kryptonians think they are fighting a war over the strongest race on Nexus," Meruem said, as he spotted August's face twitch from back where he stood behind Zeref with his eyes closed. "It is time for them to understand just how big this new world is."
Present
Meruem stared down at the body of the man whose brains he emptied out into his stomach. He stared at the body of Bardock that lay flat without a scalp or anything inside his skull. Despite just accomplishing something that he had long since decided on, from the moment Bardock declared himself the 'strongest' before him, Meruem could not find it in him to smile. He stared down at the blood-soaked face of the former Saiyan King, and in his mind flashed the moment of Bardock's death when he thought for sure that Bardock had some trick up his sleeve. The grin on Bardock's face as he took his last breath was already haunting the Ant King.
"You bastard!"
Meruem lifted his gaze as for the first time since he started eating Bardock's brains, one of the Super Saiyan Gods trying to stop him broke through the outer defenses. The giant High Commander Ginyu was still in midair after being punched in the center of his chest by Shugesh a second ago, and he could not recover fast enough to stop the giant Oozaru God from approaching his King. Shugesh roared and while his mouth was open, he revealed that his gums were cut up and bloody, and many of his teeth were cracked from the uppercut Bergamo hit him with a minute ago. The giant blue wolf-man was grappling with Fasha at the moment, but the female Oozaru God was too strong for him and pushed him back, then opened her mouth and roared a beam of white light into his chest that sent him flying at a recovering Ginyu in midair. The two collided and kept flying into the side of Mount Gine, while Shugesh punched forward his giant fist towards the Ant King.
Meruem flew straight up and over the top of Shugesh's fist. He stopped once he was only a foot over the top of the Oozaru's fist, not feeling the need to dodge any further than necessary. Shugesh tried to swing his arm up, but Meruem tapped his feet down right as Shugesh's arm changed directions, and his tap sent the Oozaru's fist slamming into the mountain behind him and ripping a giant crater in it a mile in diameter. What was that light? Meruem thought, an annoyed look on his face as well as a lingering burning sensation in his eyes from when he stared straight at it. I underestimated the Keybearer. After defeating Bardock it should be expected that I was overconfident, but I must focus now on the task at hand. Locating and killing those three can wait.
The Ant King flew forward so fast that Shugesh spun his head to the left to try and follow Meruem's movements, only for the Ant King to already have stopped moving behind him in the middle of more of his subordinates. Sephiroth and Deus looked inwards towards each other where Meruem was suddenly floating. Meruem took in the entire battlefield to the east of Mount Gine with calm inspection. All eyes were on him. Everyone wanted to see what he would do next.
Higher up the slope of Mount Gine than where Shugesh just created a huge crater, and higher than where Ginyu and Bergamo were staggering back up to their feet, Turles and Hit stared down at the battlefield as well. Turles had a furious look in his eyes though that Hit did not understand considering Meruem had just killed Bardock like the Rogue had been hoping for. "Son, Goku," Turles snarled. "He was here," he said, and his remaining fist clenched hard at his side. "He's not even a Super Saiyan God. I could have easily…" Turles faded off, and he tssked before shifting his glare to the sky above him. "It's his luck he'd have a Keybearer as an ally. Using an angel like that, he should be embarrassed."
"Is that really what you should be focusing on?" Hit questioned, while he kept his eyes honed-in on the Ant King. The intimidating power emanating from the Ant King ever since he finished eating Bardock's brains was getting to even the legendary assassin.
"No, you're right," Turles said, and he refocused on Meruem as well. The effects of his fight with Bardock earlier were sticking with him, but he was not losing any more blood from his left shoulder where his steel arm had been ripped off of. He had stopped panting, but the battle damage on him was clear, and he could not deny that he was still tired from getting the life choked out of him by Bardock. He focused down on Meruem who floated still, about to say something. This is the moment. What he does now will mean a shift in the war. Does he betray me? If so, Hit will take him on, fresh as he has yet to face anyone other than Bardock, and even that was only for a few moments. Basil and Bergamo are still going strong too, they can handle the Guardians who the other Super Saiyan Gods are not fighting…
"This new power of mine," Meruem said, lifting his right hand and looking closer at it. He turned around and rose that hand towards Shugesh, only it was not Shugesh he was aiming at. The Oozaru God opened his mouth to roar something at Meruem, when an aura of dark purple energy came out of Meruem's body and dyed the world its color. It was like a sphere of purple erupted from Meruem's body and spread in every direction indefinitely, leaving everything for hundreds of miles coated in it.
Shugesh floated backwards a few feet before realizing what he was doing. He shook his head around with clenched eyes. What am I doing?! He killed Bardock! Shugesh's red eyes snapped open, and then opened much wide as Meruem's right hand surrounded in a veil of hot pink light. Shugesh felt a power unlike anything he had felt before emanating off of that hand, and he flew to the left as fast as he could. Meruem's hand did not follow his path, and Shugesh looked towards Meruem while flying backwards even faster. "What are you-"
Meruem let out a deep breath, and his new massive power condensed. It surrounded his right hand so much brighter than a second ago, and then he fired it.
Turles and Hit flew away from the slope of Mount Gine, and Ginyu and Bergamo crossed their arms in front of their bodies while backing away as well. The beam of light that Meruem fired from his hand collided with the slope of Mount Gine, but it did not explode like everyone thought it would. Instead, Meruem just held his right palm out for a few more seconds, then he clenched it into a fist. The hole in the mountain that the ki flew through flashed and out of that hole erupted a bright pink light that changed every shade between it and a dark, dark red in a single moment. As soon as that light turned reddish-black, a thousand giant cracks appeared across Mount Gine's surface. The red light pushed out through those cracks making them even bigger, making thousands more of them, and then the top of Mount Gine blew off. All of the walls exploded outwards in every direction, and everyone for miles had to fly around and sprint away from giant chunks of rock falling out of the sky, smoking and flaming and crashing down like meteors.
They were close to the base of Mount Gine, but the entire mountain exploded from Meruem's one attack that took only a moment to charge. Not all of the debris that came off of the mountain crashed nearby, as some of the mountain's slope that exploded was miles above the ground and had a much farther distance to travel, especially while moving outwards as well as down. Hundreds of miles away in the east, people in towns that were destroyed by all the shaking of the day pointed up in the sky above them as a meteor shower flew over their heads. One of those meteors was not as high as all the others though, and the townspeople started screaming as it flew right over the tops of where their houses used to stand. When it crashed down just outside of their town, the ground exploded upwards and a wall of heat and smoke and ash slammed into them as they tried to run.
Not a single person on the entire battlefield where Meruem just destroyed Mount Gine moved. The Saiyans stared in shock and horror as the second largest of their mountains was destroyed. The Ant King's men stared at their leader with wide eyes at how insanely powerful he was, as well as because he just destroyed the mountain and risked all of their lives with the debris that came off of it. Those who had survived this long into the war were not going down easily though, but as exhausted as they were, it was hard to dodge all of that massive debris.
Meruem stared forward with large eyes, not eyes of surprise or shock, just large eyes that were examining the emptiness that replaced Mount Gine. He turned his hand back and stared at it, then said in a voice that echoed over the battlefield, "Effortless."
Raditz closed his jaw and stared towards the Ant King with a dark look in his eyes. His smile was gone, and his eyes darted from that seemingly all-powerful being to the other players still on the battlefield.
Fasha stared forward and was panting heavily with blood all over her giant red-furred body. She had blood pouring out the left side of her chest from where Augus' sword dragged through her flesh. She saw Shugesh on the other side of the Ant King as her and a little to her right, and then she looked down towards where Bardock's body had been laying before Meruem destroyed Mount Gine on a whim. He was gone, and Fasha started shaking in anger, rage, and then unadulterated hatred towards the being in front of her. A massive red flaring aura surrounded the Oozaru God, and another aura of even greater size surrounded Shugesh who was an even larger Oozaru God.
The two of them roared, and Saiyans all over the mountain prepared to keep fighting. As long as they still had the Super Saiyan Gods on their side, it felt like the war was not over yet... even if Meruem's strength had all of them scared out of their wits. Many of the Capital 50 and Rogue Ravagers turned to the Saiyans around them and got ready to attack, but those same fighters darted their eyes over to another red light in the air with them. No one wanted to be the first to attack, because they did not know if Raditz's threat from earlier remained after what their King just did.
…No, even then, Turles would still make his move. There is only one play that will save us. One move to survive, and flourish. Raditz's smirk returned to his face, and Meruem caught it out the corner of his eyes right as Fasha and Shugesh charged at him at simultaneously.
Two Oozaru Gods at once was nothing to be laughed at, even if he had obtained a new level of strength beyond his projections. I am nowhere near as fatigued as they are, Meruem thought to himself as he flew away to one side to avoid the punches coming from two other directions going to smash him between them. He would rather not test his strength out by reaching out both arms to try and stop both fists in their paths, even though he was curious to see if he could have done it. He would not leave such a thing up to chance though, even if it was a small chance. He flew off and easily evaded their fists, then shot towards Fasha's chest when the two Oozarus changed directions to follow him. He slammed a fist right into where her wound was deepest, where Augus' sword first penetrated her flesh, and Fasha let out an ungodly roar of agony and rage.
Meruem spun to Shugesh while Fasha went flying off from his punch, and he smacked his tail around the side of his body, impaling the end of it through Shugesh's right middle finger as the largest Oozaru punched at him. Shugesh bit down hard instead of roaring out, and he kept pushing into his punch and bent the Ant King's tail back so that his fist almost hit Meruem's body. Right before it did though, Meruem lifted both arms and grabbed his other giant fingers, stopping Shugesh's fist and then slamming down hard, making the tip of his tail drag upwards through Shugesh's middle finger all the way up to his knuckle before finally removing from his flesh. Blood splashed out all over Meruem, but the Ant King surrounded in a bright veil of purple that evaporated the blood off of his body.
"Fasha. Shugesh. That's enough," Raditz called across the sky.
All the Saiyans who were about to charge their enemies froze. The start of the fight between Meruem and the Oozaru Gods had occurred so fast that most of the others were barely following it, but some decided to stop trying to and just get to their own fights already. The Saiyans were tired, but they were always ready to keep fighting and looked as bloodthirsty as ever. When they looked towards Raditz though, most of them stopped what they were doing. Rutabega and Dirru looked at Raditz's back in confusion but said nothing to him. Every Saiyan and enemy around Raditz felt nervous apprehension at the tone of the Super Saiyan God's voice. The fact that even the Super Saiyans behind Raditz looked anxious about the son of Bardock's actions made them all even more nervous.
Shugesh spun his head towards Raditz after being knocked back by Meruem again, and he roared towards him, "What are you talking about, brat?! Stop standing around and-" Meruem was not going to wait for him, and the Ant King appeared in front of Shugesh's chest with his right palm extended right in front of it. A flash of white light erupted from Meruem's hand and completely surrounded Shugesh before sending him flying into the distance where an explosion filled the sky with a giant white sphere of searing energy. Shugesh's red fur burned and the Super Saiyan God roared in agony, then he powered-up even more while surrounding himself in a guard to protect himself.
Fasha yelled without taking her eyes off of her enemy, "ALL OF YOU, THIS IS NOT OVER!"
Shugesh made Meruem's explosion disperse and he started flying back through it, while around Fasha the red aura she had flamed wildly. "'Brat?"' Raditz questioned in a voice that reverberated through the air around him. Every Saiyan and all of Raditz's enemies felt chills at the sound of his voice, and then Raditz vanished from all of their sights. Meruem had just attacked Fasha after she roared to the other Saiyans to fight, but when he turned to Shugesh as he saw the largest Oozaru heading back his way, his eyes narrowed at the sight of a man with long spiky red hair inside a matching red aura floating in front of Shugesh. The giant Oozaru slowed down as Raditz appeared in front of him, moving incredibly fast thanks to not having been in a difficult fight the entire day. "Is that any way to talk to your King?" Raditz questioned, while a smirk spread back across his face.
Shugesh's glowing red eyes opened wide. Meruem's narrowed eyes examined the situation closely, and they darted up in the sky after a second with a thoughtful look in them. Turles stared down with bulging eyes though. "What is he doing?" The Rogue snarled, then spun towards Meruem to see what the Ant King was going to do about Raditz's declaration. Turles was surprised though as Meruem was looking right back up at him in a way that made him hesitant to even think about his next move. What is Raditz doing? His father was just killed in front of him! Why isn't he…
"What are you doing?!" Fasha yelled up from where she was getting to her feet on a part of the ground never before stood on. She got up on a piece of stone under where Mount Gine once stood, and roared at the younger man high above her, "Help us kill the bastard who murdered your father!"
"I'm avenging Bardock," Shugesh snarled. "He was the Saiyan King! And-"
"My father was too weak," Raditz said, his lip flattening back out as he said it. "As was my mate," Raditz added. Shugesh's eyes grew wider once again at the sound of that, while Fasha just gained a nervous expression on her Great Ape's face.
Shit. He's fucking lost it. Or, maybe he's just not holding back anymore now that Bardock's gone. I always knew there was something off about him! She snarled and started flying back up towards the men flying in the sky.
"I will rule the Saiyans now," Raditz said. "And I told you, that is enough." Raditz said this while staring straight into Shugesh's eyes, and the threat was not veiled in the slightest.
Shugesh started snarling and he growled, "You fucking brat-" Raditz appeared in front of Shugesh's face with his fist punching towards his right eye. Shugesh closed his eyes, but the punch never hit him on the eyelid. Raditz had stopped before punching that fist forward, and he flew behind Shugesh where he promptly cut off the giant Oozaru God's tail. "AAHHH!" Shugesh roared, his eyes snapping open and his head spinning to see Raditz behind him with a sword of red energy sticking out of his right hand. Raditz then spun towards his lower back above the tail he just sliced off, and before Shugesh even started shrinking down, Raditz slashed deep into his flesh.
This, this could be better than expected, Turles thought, calming down from his initial reaction to how Raditz was acting. The remaining Super Saiyan Gods except for me will kill each other, or tire each other out even more at least… Turles' hopeful look started going back to the one he had initially, and his eyes like so many other Saiyans around the mountains bulged as Raditz started swinging Fasha by her tail. He swung the tired, bloody, Oozaru God over his head so fast that she looked like a blur to most people, and then he released down towards where Shugesh had almost shrunk to a tenth of his Oozaru God's size as he fell. Fasha's massive body slammed into Shugesh so hard that the fat man's lungs crushed in and blood splashed out of his mouth all over his squad-mate's back.
Shugesh and Fasha hit the ground where the base of Mount Gine used to be. Raditz floated out of the air towards them diagonally, and he dropped down onto the flattened black earth beneath what used to be a mountain named after his mother. His mother was dead though. His father too, and the person closest to him in the world, Apragus, was gone as well. Raditz walked forward while lifting his hands at his sides, red spheres of energy forming on them while the Super Saiyan God chuckled in a dark tone. He threw the sphere in his right hand forward as Fasha was standing back up, and she swung a giant fist up into the bottom of the sphere as it was about to reach her. She redirected it into the sky, but as her arm was lifting in front of her face, Raditz came up underneath her elbow with the other ball in hand, and he smashed it forward straight under Fasha's chin.
The ball of light Raditz smashed into Fasha's head erupted upwards as a cone of energy so powerful that the woman's Oozaru face started shredding. All her fur melted in a second, but before she could pull her face back, her chin had melted as well and all the skin over her face seared away. Fasha let out a pained shriek that cut off only a second into it, and then her giant Oozaru body fell backwards and started shrinking down right as it hit the ground.
As Raditz brutally murdered Fasha, Meruem floated down from the sky to the east and landed a hundred feet behind where Raditz lowered back to the floor. Raditz looked over his shoulder towards Meruem, then he lifted his right hand and a sphere of red energy appeared on it again. He fired the ball of energy and it flew over Meruem's head and out into his eastern sky where an opportunistic Wings saw his chance with a Saiyan who had been kicking his ass earlier but had dropped his jaw after Raditz killed Fasha. Wings only floated a few feet when he realized everyone around him was flying away, and he spun back towards the direction they were all watching, just in time to see the red ball of energy that incinerated him before he could let out a scream. The ball of light did not even slow down on his body, passing straight through the air where he just was and then continuing into the distance several dozen miles before hitting the ground and making a pillar of red light rise into the sky.
Raditz lowered his right hand, then while still looking at Meruem, he pointed his left hand behind him and caught the fat fist that Shugesh punched at him after diving forward from where he lay in semi-consciousness. "You, fucking, traitor," Shugesh gasped at Raditz's back.
"I am no traitor," Raditz said. "I simply see the best way I can keep most of our warriors alive." He yanked up hard with the arm he had just caught Shugesh's fist with, swinging the fat man up over his head and then down in front of him. As Shugesh was dropping in front of Raditz, the fat man's red hair turned back to black as he was completely out of energy. Raditz was far from empty though, and a red aura surrounded his body as he kneed upwards at the middle of Shugesh's body. Raditz tore the fat Saiyan in half, and then he threw Shugesh's top half that he was still holding by one arm off to the side to his right. Shugesh's head and torso rolled for thirty meters leaving a trail of blood all the way to where it finally stopped, his eyes still open while he lay with his face turned in towards Raditz. The only remaining Super Saiyan God on the side of the Saiyans kicked Shugesh's fat ass the other way as the top half of his body, then he turned and looked Meruem in the eyes.
Everyone around the eastern side of where Mount Gine once stood was silent. No one attacked each other. The Saiyans were shocked by Raditz's act of brutality towards his fellow Super Saiyan Gods. The Super Saiyan Gods were always together at the top of the Saiyan Mountains, like a select club that only those Bardock deemed worthy could join. He was always with them. He knew them for years and spent so much time with them. And he brutally massacred them while smirking. "All Saiyans who disobey me, can expect the same fate," Raditz said while looking into Meruem's eyes. Raditz's enemies were not moving in fear that they would be destroyed like Wings, but his allies were not moving either. "And I said," Raditz continued, his smile lowering down and his fists unclenching. "That, is, enough."
Meruem stared into Raditz's red eyes without making a sound. He does not look winded from killing the two of them. They were tired, and he was likely killing them so quickly to make me think he can effortlessly kill other Super Saiyan Gods. Even if they were tired though, he eliminated them with ease. He is fresh, but I doubt I would be able to test my new power on him. He could not have defeated Bardock, and as I am now I have Bardock's power added to my own. Not all of the strength of the former Saiyan King is mine, but I have never felt such a boost in my own strength than I just received. Perhaps, Raditz is right. That this is enough. "Come to me, Capital 50," Meruem said.
He said it casually, but in a tone that made it clear it was a direct order to be obeyed. Most of the Capital 50 including the Guardians moved at once, though some hesitated until they saw Raditz not blow their comrades to smithereens as soon as they started moving. "Saiyans, to me," Raditz said. A few of the Saiyans hesitated this time as well, but most of them were heading towards Raditz as fast as they could. The others followed quickly as they did not want to be left surrounded by Rogue Ravagers, especially since the man who was protecting them from attack probably would not help them if they were still floating there after being ordered to his side.
Men, women, and creatures of all kinds landed behind Meruem. Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi dropped down closest to Meruem, coming even though they were not a part of the Capital 50. They lowered down on his sides instead of behind him like the others. Pouf and Pitou looked terrible, and after landing on his left, Pitou's legs could not hold her up and she collapsed to her knees. Youpi was also panting where he stood on Meruem's left after such trying fights with Super Saiyan Gods beat him down. Sephiroth stood behind Meruem on his left, looking the least tired of the Guardians and Royal Guards as he was not even panting, though he did sport a bruise on the right side of his face and a cut on the back of his left hand that still held his long katana Masamune in it. Deus stood behind the Ant King on Meruem's right, a good distance away from Sephiroth considering the size of the man who landed between them.
Ginyu looked the most exhausted of the Guardians, though Deus was pretty badly beaten as well. The giant body of the man once known as Isaac Netero had deep cuts and bad bruising all over it, and his skin was starting to look a little pale thanks to all of his injuries and blood loss. Ginyu tried to get his breathing under control though, since as the High Commander of the King's Army, he needed to be steadfast in front of his men who were all landing behind him. Many of the Capital 50 landing behind Ginyu were giants, though close to half of the warriors were still at their normal heights. It looked like more were giants though considering all the space they took up on the flattened black ground.
Behind Raditz landed two Super Saiyans, one on either side of his back, neither of them near his sides like the Royal Guards were for Meruem. They landed a good ten feet behind Raditz, and since Raditz did not say or do anything about it, they figured that was a good move on their parts. After those two Super Saiyans though, almost all of the Saiyans who dropped down behind Raditz were in their Great Ape forms. Dozens of Oozarus with brown fur landed all over the ground behind Raditz, more and more every second. The army behind the Ant King did not realize how many Saiyans were still around, as they had all been excited by Meruem's defeat of the Saiyan King that it felt like they were crushing this war. More and more Oozarus fell though, to a point that there were clearly more Saiyans there than there were members of the Capital 50 and their subordinates. The majority of fighters who the Capital 50 brought with them as subordinates were killed, as well as many of the Capital 50 themselves. Considering many of the actual Capital 50 were killed, it was more surprising that there were actually a few lower subordinates who still remained in Meruem's ranks.
More Saiyans descended, an occasional humanoid dropping down amongst the Oozarus and floating to the front of the army and down behind the Super Saiyans. After they had all landed, there were only around fifteen Saiyans who still had not transformed, while there were over a hundred and twenty Oozarus with varying degrees of injuries filling the space behind Raditz. They filled up six times as much space as Meruem's half army of giantized warriors, but after the quick deaths of two Super Saiyan Gods, both the Saiyans and the Capital 50 were not too quick to judge their fighting powers.
Raditz stared straight ahead with a stoic expression on his face. No one could tell what he was thinking, as he masked the fury inside him and bit down hard to prevent from roaring in rage. He looked into the Ant King's small purple irises, and then the Super Saiyan God bowed his head. His right knee bent to the floor as hundreds watched. Raditz swallowed his pride though, while his race stared at his back with growing looks of enragement. "King," Raditz said while lifting his bowed head to look into Meruem's eyes again. The Ant King did not change his expression at all from when it seemed like Raditz could be preparing an attack on him to the point that Raditz knelt before him, but at the sound of that one word, the corners of his mouth lifted up the slightest bit. Then they immediately lowered back down as a man landed on his left side between him and Raditz, making a triangle of the three of them.
Turles had a smirk plastered across his face. The man with red spiky hair that looked so similar to the former Saiyan King's marched forward while almost a hundred figures dropped down behind him. The purple-skinned assassin Hit landed in front of most of the men, though on his left side landed the red-furred wolf-man Basil and his older brother Bergamo. Bergamo was still a giant thanks to all the damage he received during the battle, as he grew larger every time he was hit. He was larger than most of the Oozarus, though not by much, but other than Bergamo there were none in the Ravagers who came close to the size of the Great Apes of the Saiyan army, who were still standing despite Raditz kneeling before them.
The Rogue stepped forward and then came to a stop when he was almost right between Raditz and Meruem, putting him in the center of all three armies. He turned his head sideways to look towards Raditz who was on his knees, and he smirked even more at the sight of the proud man prostrating himself. "Then the war is over," Turles said, as the only Saiyan who could stand up to him now was on his knees. He chuckled darkly and then, while smirking dangerously towards the Saiyan army, he said, "The mountains are mine."
Raditz got back to his feet in an instant, and a red aura flared around his body like a giant fire. Turles' eyes opened wide, as Raditz glared at him like an animal with his teeth bared and his fists clenched. "Try and fucking take them." Raditz snarled threateningly at Turles, all the rage he felt from prostrating himself bubbling over after the Rogue's declaration. "I'll rip you in half!" Raditz roared, and the ground beneath his feet where the base of Mount Gine used to be cracked in five different directions, at least one crack going under each of the armies.
Pouf turned his head right to the King while Pitou lifted her gaze from where she sat on the floor next to him. They checked for what they should do, but Meruem stood still. Turles had turned to face Raditz completely when the longer-haired man snapped at him, so he could not see what Meruem was doing, but he did not hear the Ant King say anything about what Raditz was saying. He bit down and ground his teeth over each other, and his red spiky hair waved around in a gust of wind that rushed over him. His own flaming red aura arose, and he snarled back at Raditz, but Raditz just looked even angrier and more raring to go after Turles did that. The Rogue stopped snarling and thought about his missing left arm, about his exhaustion from fighting Bardock which he had yet to fully recover his stamina from.
"I am the new Saiyan King," Turles growled at Raditz.
"You are no King!" Raditz yelled. "My people will never bend the knee for you, Rogue," Raditz hissed Turles' title with disgust in his voice. The Saiyans who were furious with Raditz only a few seconds ago were staring at his back with wider eyes now. Their fury was fading, even as Raditz continued, "I accept the King's strength, and so the Saiyans will kneel for him, but you are not one of us. A backstabbing cutthroat leading a horde of mercenaries, you do not hold the loyalty of a single Saiyan warrior. Whereas my people…" Raditz stopped talking, and then behind him Rutabega lowered down to his right knee. Dirru looked at the man next to him in some confusion, then it hit him that the other Super Saiyan was doing exactly what Raditz wanted him to do. Dirru nodded his head in understanding, then dropped down to a knee as well.
Hit looked over as the mighty Oozarus started kneeling one by one. His gaze shifted back to Turles though while the rest of the Ravagers were watching the Saiyans in confusion, many not understanding what was going on at the moment. What will you do now? Hit thought as he saw Turles' eyes darting back and forth across the Saiyans who were all dropping to a knee with their heads bowed. Prideful Saiyans, savage warriors, calmed themselves and pushed their pride aside as they took to their knees behind their leader.
Only a few seconds after Raditz trailed off, the entire Saiyan army was kneeling behind him. He continued where he left off, "They know who their King is." Raditz said it, then snapped his head to the side and looked back towards Meruem whose eyes had narrowed a bit at that statement. "And I, kneel only to Meruem." He said it and many of his people ground their giant teeth in frustration, but they all stayed in their positions behind him.
Meruem stared into Raditz's eyes after the Saiyan finished. He could prove more troublesome than the Rogue. Turles has not yet bent the knee however. To reward loyalty or assistance. Which to choose?
Turles snarled, a deep guttural sound coming out of his throat at the sight of the Saiyan warriors kneeling behind Raditz. "You think you can defeat us?" Turles growled. "Four Super Saiyan Gods have died today by our hands. You and anyone else who stands against us will die too." Turles said it, and then he snarled more as Raditz did not budge from his stance, nor did he turn to look at Turles. The Rogue turned towards Meruem too, and his eyes opened wide at the sight of Meruem's soldiers. Their arms were lowering to their sides, their weapons were being sheathed or put into holsters, and Ginyu smirked down at him before pressing a button on a device on his wrist. Turles eyes grew even wider as Ginyu started shrinking down, and the rest of Meruem's giantized soldiers started following his example.
Turles took a step towards Meruem, while the Ravagers behind him were getting increasingly nervous about what was going on. Basil darted his eyes back and forth between the Capital 50 and the Saiyans. Bergamo snarled, thinking, All of a sudden, it feels like we're the ones at a disadvantage. The King's men were standing down, and Turles was shaking in anger as he walked closer to Meruem.
The Royal Guards glared at Turles with threatening gazes as the Rogue moved towards them. Pitou got up and bared her teeth, her eyes glowing red and the hair over her body all standing on end. Meruem stood still as Turles came towards him though, and the Saiyan stopped when he was still twenty feet away. "You told me if I helped you kill Bardock, I could have his throne," Turles said, reminding the King whose men were shrinking down and relaxing behind him.
Meruem looked into Turles' red eyes and said, "It's yours for the taking." Meruem nodded past Turles towards the man standing in front of the kneeling Saiyans. Turles looked back himself and saw Raditz shift his gaze from Meruem to him now.
Turles realized Meruem was not going to help him do this. I could challenge him for the throne. One on one against him, I can see that's what Raditz wants me to do. He's got both arms. I could take him, but he did, just kill two Super Saiyan Gods, and he doesn't look winded from it. Turles started panting and his eyes darted to his left shoulder that had stopped bleeding a while ago when he sealed it up. He had sweat on his paler-than-usual face though, and he knew he had lost a lot of blood in his fight against Bardock. His neck still hurt and panting made his throat ache from when Bardock strangled him, crushing his windpipes. The Rogue bit back a cough, and his entire body shook in anger as he stared at the son of Bardock.
The Rogue Ravagers were getting very nervous by the situation. The Saiyans were massive monsters, and they no longer had an army of giants to assist them against the Great Apes. They had Bergamo, but even Bergamo felt hesitant against so many enemies. Usually by the time he got as large as he was now, he was much bigger than his opponents. His eyes darted to look on his youngest brother, his only brother now that Bardock had killed Lavender. His attention turned back to Raditz, the son of the man who murdered his brother, but even the anger he felt could not ease his nerves at the look of confidence on Raditz's face.
I could have Hit kill him. Turles thought as he turned back to his own army, awaiting his orders with hesitant and nervous looks on their faces. There were less of them than the Saiyans, and most of them were smaller, making it so all of the Ravagers were gathered in the same amount of space three or four Oozarus took up. The odds did not look good. Meruem's men are standing down, because the Saiyans are kneeling to him. They aren't kneeling to me though! If I pit the Ravagers against them, even if I win, I'll never by accepted by my people after that. Taking over with an army of non Saiyans- they're treating me like a foreign invader. "…you are not one of us."
Turles took a step forward, baring his teeth and raising his Godly energy higher. The Saiyans lifted their heads. All of the Saiyans lifted their heads and looked at Turles. Turles froze at the glares of over a hundred Oozarus, a couple of teal-eyed Super Saiyans, and the red-eyed stare of the true, new Saiyan King. "Rrrrrr…" Turles growled. His feet lifted off the floor, and his aura shrank around his body to become no more than a thin veil. "Rogue Ravagers," Turles growled in a low tone. "On me," he said, and then he shot up into the sky. I'll be back, he thought, trying not to let the bitterness of defeat tear at him, though already he was seething in rage. He was absolutely livid, as it felt to him like Meruem had gotten what he wanted, and likely Raditz did as well. It felt like he was the only loser of the war, and even the recollection that Bardock had died could not ease that rage.
The thought to dart a pissed-off look in Meruem's direction crossed Turles' mind, but he thought better of it. The Ravagers flew up in the air after their leader, and the Rogue turned his head towards Mount Vegeta's wide slope that covered his whole vision to the west of him. His look of longing lasted for half a second, then he spat towards the mountain and turned north again. The Rogue shot off through the sky, leaving a trail of red behind him that his men flew after. Many of the Ravagers held their comrades under the armpits as several of their remaining warriors could not fly, and no one wanted to be left behind with the Saiyans.
"Raditz," Meruem said, and Raditz lowered his gaze from the retreating Ravagers to the King before him. Meruem walked forward and Raditz's guard shot up, an untrusting look on his face. Meruem only walked forward a few steps though, removing himself from his army the same distance that Raditz was already in front of his own. The Saiyans focused their gazes on Meruem who had a serious expression on his face, though he always looked serious to those around him. Most of the Saiyans could not tell whether the Ant was going to kill them or reward them.
Raditz kept his guard up, but he did nod at Meruem to continue. Meruem waited another second, a dark look in his eyes, and Raditz corrected his nod with, "Yes, King?" The words tasted bad on his tongue, but he had already chosen this path. The fact that the Ravagers were gone made the situation a little better for him, especially because Turles and Meruem ended on bad terms. He did not want to risk his good fortune though by antagonizing the King. Even if his forces were greater in number, he had seen Mount Gine blown apart like it was nothing to the Ant King. His father who he never once defeated in combat, killed and his power taken. On his own, he could probably wipe the Saiyans from existence. I won't give him a reason to do so.
"That was a good move," Meruem said, and the three Royal Guards behind him as well as Ginyu stared at their King in surprise. Raditz's eyes opened wider, as the Ant King lifted the corners of his lips a little. Meruem continued in the same tone, "The land around these mountains is no longer yours. This territory belongs to me, and High Lord Xemnas is in direct control of it. Henceforth, you are Lord Raditz. Call yourself the King of the Saiyans if you like, but you are a Lord of the Cooperative now."
"I understand," Raditz said. None of the Saiyans said a word against what Meruem was saying. They all knew they were dead if a single word escaped their lips, as likely from the Ant King's wrath as it was from Raditz's.
"You are not to kill emissaries from allied nations who step foot on your mountains. You Saiyans killed all who trespassed before, but there are rules in the Cooperative. Do not break them." The final sentence was as threatening as if Meruem had spiked his power and roared that he was going to murder them all should they break the rules.
Raditz nodded once more, and Meruem's eyes narrowed down again, his right hand tightening into a fist. Usually he would not give second chances, and Raditz could see he would not get a third as he corrected with, "I understand." A simple nod was not the amount of respect Meruem demanded from his subjects.
Meruem nodded back at him once Raditz told him that, then he just turned around. Meruem looked back at his army and said, "Good work." He grinned, and the Capital 50 were shocked to see that Meruem outwardly appeared to be, happy. He was in a good mood after all, and the end of the war after eating Bardock's brains only rose his mood even higher. He did not have to share the victory with Turles, his power had grown double what it previously was, and the Saiyans were subjugated. All in all, it was an optimal outcome, one of millions he had foreseen the day's events possibly transpiring to. "Return to the Capital at your leisure. You deserve a vacation," he said it with his voice lifting up in tone at the end like he had just thought of it on the spot. Meruem started walking forward and right between his Royal Guards who looked in at him in shock at what he was saying.
"King?" Pouf questioned, as he started speed-walking after Meruem. Pitou followed behind, as much as it hurt her to move, and Youpi moved alongside her. The rest of the Capital 50 and their few remaining subordinates wondered where the King was off to, but they apparently were not needed to be with him for it.
Sephiroth flapped his black wing and shot into the sky so high that he vanished in the dark colors that still swirled above, though they did look to be getting a little lighter like the sky would return to normal, sooner or later. Deus lifted up next and flew away, though he headed towards some piles of debris where he saw one of his subordinates get buried under. I wonder if he is still- Deus started thinking, then his thoughts cut off as by the time he reached the massive rock, it was already shaking. The hundred-thousand ton boulder rolled to the right and revealed Augus standing up while rubbing the back of his pained head.
In a different area two miles away, in a similar situation to Augus,' Dogtooth finally reformed his mochi body into a solid form after oozing his way up through the cracks of the giant rocks that he had awoken buried under. He reformed on top of the rocks and looked around in confusion, then his eyes opened huge as he realized that it was not that he had been transported away from Mount Gine, but that the mountain itself was no longer there. Dogtooth saw the Capital 50 start dispersing, and he was thankful he woke up before they had all gone, as he doubted the kneeling Saiyans would let him live if the rest of Meruem's army was not there. Meruem must have killed the Saiyan King, but where did the Rogue go? Questions for later. He reminded himself, and covered in a white aura before flying up in the air to go ask one of the Capital 50 what their current orders were.
Meruem lifted off the floor after passing the rear ranks of his forces who had yet to leave the vicinity. The Royal Guards followed him up in the air as he flew off to the east without explaining why. Pitou glanced over her shoulder and did not like that they were leaving the Saiyan Mountains so soon. I need to retrieve what I left behind, she thought, but her gaze refocused on Meruem's face and the odd smile on it. "King, are you feeling alright?" Pitou questioned.
He was acting strangely, but Meruem knew that she meant the question in multiple ways. "I do not feel any effects of the Saiyan DNA," Meruem said. "Other than Bardock's power, I did not gain anything else from him- from eating him," Meruem corrected himself, as there were many things he gained through his experiences with Bardock. Meruem correcting himself made Pouf wince though and a look of horror to appear on his face as Meruem was admitting his words were not true by going back and changing them. "Relax Pouf," Meruem said without looking back. "It is not yet the time for you to be worried."
As Meruem said it, he felt something inside him and his body twitched. He dropped out of the sky in an instant and stood on a field that was torn apart by the battles that had occurred dozens of miles away that day. The ground was cracked with ravines so deep that the bottoms were impossible to see through the dark, and each section of land on the sides of the crevices had risen or lowered from the level it used to be at. There was a huge trench dragged through a forest to their south with a giant boulder from the destroyed Mount Gine resting at the end of the trench. The Saiyan Mountains were still visible in the west, covering the entire horizon from the ground to the sky so that it was almost like there was a wall in that direction. "King!" Pouf shouted as he flew down and landed in front of Meruem whose head bowed after landing.
"Stay back," Meruem snarled, his voice sounding deep, scratchy, and like something was seriously wrong with him.
Pouf's look of horror only intensified, and Youpi and Pitou did not look much calmer. "What's going on?!" Youpi shouted, looking around and searching for whoever was doing this to the King. Meruem's body was trembling and his fists were clenched so hard at his sides that his nails were digging into his palms.
"What did you mean?" Pitou questioned nervously. She thought about what he just told Pouf, "It is not yet the time for you to be worried." "You knew this would happen. Why didn't you tell us? Tell us what's happening to you, King!"
Meruem stopped shaking. An eerie silence fell over the field as each of the Royal Guards held their breaths. They felt a terrifying power come from Meruem's hunched-over body, but it was not the Ant King's power they were feeling. Their eyes started widening in horror, and then Meruem's body erupted in an explosion of blue flames. "KING!" The three of them shouted, while reeling back from the heat that slammed into them from that explosion. They lowered the arms they crossed in front of themselves, and they stared forward in utter horror at the sight of the Ant King inside the fire, his body straightening out. Meruem turned towards them inside the flames, and the fire became more translucent to the point that they could see his face and his closed eyes. Meruem's eyes snapped open, revealing blue orbs flaming so much brighter than the fire around him.
Sheer panic filled the Royal Guards. They all knew what the flames meant, and Pitou screamed, "MERUEM!"
"KING!" Pouf exclaimed, tears filling his eyes as rage bubbled inside him. He took a step forward, but a large red arm swiped in front of him and blocked his path. "Youpi, what are-"
"The King said to stay back," Youpi growled. Pouf stared at his muscular red comrade in surprise, then turned back with sweat all over his face towards the King. Youpi lowered his arm, and he said while looking towards the fire, "Meruem-sama knew this was coming-"
"Do you think it matters?" A hiss escaped the flames, and Youpi's eyes bulged at the sound of it. The sharp voice sent shivers down the Royal Guards' spines. "Hahahaha, HAHAHAHA!" Meruem's head snapped back and his mouth opened wider than what looked possible as he cackled, sharp teeth filling his mouth and blue flames ripping out of his eyes. Horns of intense blue fire grew on top of his head, while his bright blue aura grew wider.
"Satan!" Pitou screamed at the being in the flames. "You bastard! Stop hurting the King!"
"Your King is no more," Satan hissed, and Meruem's head turned to Pitou. The Chimera Ant with curly white hair and red eyes took a step back in terror at that statement. "When he killed Bardock, he sealed his fate as my new vessel. The strongest vessel…" The sky above them dyed a bright blue as an aura so massive erupted from Satan's fiery body that it surrounded the Royal Guards and the entire plain they were on. The ground started breaking apart and falling down into the ravines, filling them up and lowering the surface level. Meruem-Satan floated off the falling ground and the Royal Guards leapt up in the air to stay level with him as he cackled madly.
The flaming blue aura around Satan grew brighter and the Royal Guards pulled back as it was about to burn them. Pouf planned on flying straight at Meruem to try and rouse him, but he sturdied himself thinking on Youpi's words. King! Please!
"Meruem," Pitou whispered in a hoarse voice, her eyes starting to water like Pouf's already were.
"This world is now under MY control!" Satan roared. "No vessel has ever been able to withstand my power, but this one will last! I will bring this world to its knees!" Satan yelled it, then started cackling, "HAHAHAHAHA-" The bright blue sky darkened, and the flaming aura around Satan flickered. The Royal Guards eyes full of horror widened and hope filled them. "What?!" Satan bellowed, his face, and thus Meruem's face, covering in…
Is that, Pitou thought with bulging eyes. Fear? She had so rarely seen it on the King's face that it was hard to tell if that was really what the expression Satan was showing was.
The bright blue aura shrank down, and then the sky around them got even darker, to a pitch black that encompassed an even larger area than the blue light just had. Satan's flaming horns vanished, and his flaming eyes started to go out and return to their usual color. "You- I don't- AHH!" Satan's voice yelled out in pain, and all of the blue flames and aura around Meruem ripped off of his body. The flames did not go out right away though, instead pulling away from Meruem's body ten feet and then stopping in a single flaring mass only a few feet large.
Meruem's eyes that had returned to normal narrowed down at the flaming mass in front of him, and the Ant King was panting as he stared into the two denser parts of the fire that looked a little like eyes. Meruem stopped panting after a few seconds though, and the pitch black aura that had surrounded everything around them faded away, as Meruem smirked in a menacing manner that filled the sky with a bright purple light instead. "How, how did you…" Satan began, his voice coming from the cloud of flames and blue smoke around it.
"I am simply too strong," Meruem said. "I can push you back with my own power."
"That's not what that was," Satan hissed, and Meruem just kept smirking while looking into his eyes.
Meruem's smirk lowered down into just a small grin, and he started while his Royal Guards stared at him in amazement, "There were many reasons I never wiped out the Resistance completely. One of them, was that I did not want you taking my body if you thought I was too strong, like if I controlled all of Aebrith," Meruem said it while looking down on the blue wispy demon before him. "I knew I had to reach a point where I was stronger than you could take over, after all, you are the one I have always been most wary of. We only spoke together the once. Never acting directly with me, sending Lucifer to speak for you and act as a High Lord on the surface, I knew someday it would come to this." A deep growl came out of Satan's blue cloud, but at the same time the Royal Guards still heard some anxiety in that growl. Meruem continued, "You never allowed me into Hell, and you taunted me over not knowing anything about the world like you did. But it has been a long time since you and I last spoke. I know much more now than you think." Meruem smirked again in a ravenous, bloodthirsty manner, as Satan's small blue form started to fade away into wisps. "Find a stronger body to take me on in…" Meruem dared, his voice echoing through the air. Meruem looked into the dark blue eyes that were about to vanish as the rest of the cloud around them dimmed and vanished.
"Don't let me down… Original."
Satan's blue eyes shot open wide in the instant before they vanished for good. Meruem stared at the spot in the air where Satan just vanished from, then he turned to his Royal Guards. "I have much I wish to tell you. Knowing that Satan was watching me, I had to keep things from you. I never intended to-"
Before the King could finish his sentence, Pouf exclaimed, "It is fine your Majesty!" He had a worried tone in his voice, because he felt like the King was about to apologize to them, and he could not let that happen. "We understand the reasons! We are happy you kept us in the dark, if it meant that you were able to push back that demon!"
"We are just happy that you are alright, King," Pitou said, and she wiped under her eyes as the King looked to her, not wanting to show that she had streaks of tears going down her face.
"I knew you would be," Youpi said, acting like he was confident in the King the entire time, even though Satan had him as scared as the others a minute ago.
Meruem smiled softly and said, "Your loyalty and devotion is appreciated." He floated forwards to close the gap between them, "Now, let me finally tell you, my plans for this world…"
11,560 Miles South of Aebrith
Far below of the lowest dipping point of the southern coast of Aebrith, there was an island only a few square miles large. On the island was a tower so wide that it covered the majority of the island it was on. The trees that had once stood on the island were gone, leaving the land mostly covered in grass with some sand on the beaches that surrounded the perfectly round spit of land. The building on the island had overhangs sticking out of every floor that dipped down and dipped farthest at the corners, giving it a traditional Japanese feeling. After ten floors, the levels of the buildings started to shrink in size steadily, every few floors cutting in on every side to a smaller square-sized floor.
The tower was in the center of the island. It was built so that the top floor, only a hundred meters wide by a hundred meters long, was smack in the center of the land as well. From the flat roof there was a perfect view in every direction over the ocean. There were other islands to the west, a long and thin landmass in the east so far that it almost blended with the horizon line, but nothing to the north or south. The continent of Aebrith was so far away that those on the roof could not see the southern coast of it, but they could see the darkened sky in that direction. They had felt the shaking even on their remote island, and the three figures on the roof of the tower had been watching with interest as the world trembled and the sky filled with ominous colors.
"Not time yet," the man in the center of the three said. He was wearing a black tank top that showed off his large arm muscles and revealed his skin was lined with scars at the joints. He stood twelve feet tall and had no hair on top of his head, bald like the other two at his sides. Lex Luthor turned once more away from the sky to the north that he had been watching on and off through the day. A few moments ago something occurred in the northern sky that made them all interested in what was going on again, even though for a while they thought it was over. This time though, he had a feeling that it was done for good.
As Luthor turned, the man he turned towards shrugged and turned back towards him too. The smaller man less than half of Luthor's height was wearing a white tank top that showed off he was pretty muscular as well, but he was also a lean man, not too broad at the shoulders. "If you say so," Saitama said, and he twisted a finger in his left ear in a manner that showed he really did not care either way.
"Let's get back to it then," Luthor said, and the shorter man next to him agreed with a nod of his head. Luthor vanished and reappeared across the roof, moving so fast that it occurred in an instant. Both of the other bald figures on the roof followed him though, and he saw their eyes darted in the path he moved in to get across the roof, as he did not move in a straight line. He grinned when he stopped ninety meters away from the two of them, and he rose his hands up into a fighting stance. From the south side of the building, he could still see over his training partners' heads into the distant northern sky. I wonder, he thought. I have mastered my new energy, more than Tetsuo was ever able to handle, or myself for that matter when I obtained it. All the perks that come with it though, telepathy, telekinesis, all of Tetsuo's various powers, I have yet to master them. As a martial artist, I have only been training for a few months. For a mind like my own, that must be the equivalent of a hundred years of experience for normal men, however the ones I train to one day face are not normal men.
Saitama lifted his arms into a fighting stance as well while facing Luthor, a smile forming on his face again despite the bruises on both of his cheeks and the deep gash on his left arm from their last spar. The steel floor of the roof was dented in a few areas, but part of Luthor's training was getting his power under control, and in order to train that, he was careful not to damage the building they trained above. Making their training area on the roof risked the lives of all those inside if they were to mess up and use too much power. He was not the only one who needed help controlling and focusing his power though. Saitama was hardly able to fight before without destroying most of his opponents in a single punch, but now even against weaker opponents he was able to avoid ending the fight too quickly.
The third member of their sparring match walked forward in a strange way, his legs swinging out to his sides with each step. He was too fat to walk straight, even though his legs were thin and disproportional to his round body. The pink-skinned bald fighter wore a purple cape tied around the front of his neck in a knot, wore a black tank top open down the middle that was much too small on him, had on big baggy white pants, and wore yellow boots over his pink feet. He had on a belt with the letter 'M' in the middle of it, he had a bunch of small pores in a circle around his scalp, and on top of the center of his head there was a long antennae-like appendage sticking off of him. Unlike Saitama, he did not have any damage visible on his body thanks to his regenerative abilities. "Buu want candy!" He called out with a smile as he got up next to Saitama and lifted his fists.
"Then come fight me, Buu," Luthor said, smiling back at the pink blob monster. "You can have all the candy you want after, but I'll get you a chocolate cake too if you can manage to land a hit on me."
Buu grinned more and his squinting eyes opened up a little, showing the whites of them as they narrowed down. His fists lifted inside the yellow gloves he was wearing. "Buu hungry! Buu want candy and cake!"
Majin Buu shot forward, and Saitama picked that moment to sprint forward and curve around Luthor's left side at the perfect speed that he and Buu would collide with Luthor at the same time. Luthor lifted his arms and blocked both punches with different forearms, smirking as he did. He expelled some power both with his ki and telekinetically, throwing his opponents backwards though both immediately flew back at him again. He was focused on the fight, but the northern sky was still dark and spooky, and a part of his mind wandered to it once more. I am stronger than ever. I have never lost a fight since killing Tetsuo. The King gets stronger with every battle though, so if I thought I was close to being ready to face him before, I must work twice as hard now to ensure I exceed the King's new strength.
Luthor spun and grabbed the top of Buu's antennae, then he swung his fatter sparring partner around so fast that he slammed into Saitama who was mid-punch. Saitama tried to stop himself, but he still blew a hole straight through Majin Buu's chest right before the blob man crashed into him and sent them both flying off the roof. They flew so far from the single swing, and Luthor clenched the hand he just released Buu with into a fist in front of him and stared at it. Soon though. Very soon.
A/N Thanks for reading! The Saiyans have a new King, Meruem holds off Satan's attempted possession, and Luthor, Saitama, and Majin Buu are all hanging out. A lot happened this chapter, even though it is the shortest of the last several. I hope you guys enjoyed the flashback and the end of the War of the Saiyan Mountains. Let me know what you think in a review below, questions you may have and predictions for future chapters too!
EDIT: Thanks for those of you who let me know I posted this to Nexus and not Nexus: Heroes Will Rise. Changed it soon as I woke up.
chapter 86 . Mar 8
Please make goku ssj4 ssjgod ssjblue kaioken please
Maybe.
Jokering chapter 86 . Mar 8
I said i wasnt going to fanboy... this chapter made me go back on my word. OH MY GOD( Read that in Unshō Ishizuka's voice) Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god. So far this may have been my favorite chapter so far, even if it was just exposition. You not only introduced characters i've been waiting to see for a while, there were also others i didnt even expect and still made me genuinely happy.
So starting with the DB characters, after reading the last chapter i kinda stopped and thought a little about it and then realized this was the perfect opportunity to indroduce their gods, it was nice to see not only Beruus and Whis but also King Kai as well as Supreme Kai and the Grand Priest. I hope they play important roles in the future, mostly because its always nice to see any of them properly portrayed in any sort of media. Still i am not sure if Goku can achieve SSG on his own, it took a fight with a God of Destruction and months of training with Whis just to understand God Ki and achieve SSB, but i will wait and see how that plays out.
Skipping to one of my favorite moments of this chapter, Saint Seiya HELL YEAH, that anime was my childhood. Hopefully there will be more Saints going forward into the story, kinda willing to bet Ikki is in hell but he is too OP and might make the Satan arc of this saga look like a cake walk.
So the background is basically taking the one of the main plots of KH and portraying the children that survived the darkness as the most powerful beings of individual universes or collection of few, neat. Its an interesting background that doesnt completly dismiss the story of each source material.
The hype for Goku vs Meruem rematch keeps building up with each chapter. Hope Meruem takes a huge Vegeta-ish L. It doesnt help that the first image i found when googling Ultraman vs Superman completly sums up how the fight would go if Goku attained God Ki. Its interesting that the Gods seem to need Goku's help when they have warriors who are already more powerful than him.
I will say that with the current main plot being centered on Aebrith it puzzles me what you will do with the story occuring in Awul, there have been a few strings between the two but not enough to fully connect them, not sure if you are going to give the while Underlords substory its own arc or make a separate story for that.
And with all that out of the way there is nothing left to do but congratulate you for another great chapter and keep waiting for more.
XD Really glad you liked the chapter so much. I only started watching Saint Seiya again recently, I tried once before but got stuck on the second episode. I'm only about fifteen in right now, but it's still open on one of my other tabs as I write this, so I'll probs keep going with it for a while. By the time heaven's warriors start getting in fights, I'm sure I'll have a better grasp on their powers, I just thought while I was watching the first dozen episodes of it "I should totally put them in heaven as its guardians." Goku vs Meruem rematch is gonna come, especially with both of them thinking about it: Meruem wanting to catch the ones who escaped, and Goku, well, obvious reasons. What could the Gods want with Goku? Mysteries and such ;). As for Underlord substory, it's going to keep showing up. Really I had planned on not forgetting about any of the Awul characters while I focused on the group that went to Aebrith, and I wrote out all these awesome chapters for them which I have scattered through Nexus Heroes Will Rise. Writing them is easy though because I have time gaps between everything where boring stuff can happen, and not that boring stuff happens on Aebrith, but I'm following them on a more day-to-day basis, so I can't have an Awul chapter in every full-length chapter. It has been a little while since I wrote the Summit chapter though, so I guess it's about time I throw another one in... coming soon! Haha, thanks for the review!
Limit-Breaking chapter 86 . Mar 8
Sorry for the spoiler below but hey i gave lot's of warnings so don't get mad at me.
;( Lol I tried not to read but the urge to do so took over. Stopped myself after a single second though and went "shit."
NOW ONTO THE REST OF THE REVIEW. Holy shit i was not expecting the originals and a backstory of who they were and man was that alot to take in.
Poor dash he just wanted to see his brother again and he doesn't want to go to hell man why are you so evil doing this to him. Yes YOU tmb1112 how could you, you couldn't even give him that and he was in heaven, now that is just fucked up. But still very good story telling though, but is still cruel but damn well told.
Not only that but man is sora well loved he just wants to be with his friends but people keep giving him problems. Honestly i would just say do it yourself you assholes don't put the responsiblity on others. Originals you call yourselfs powerful yet rely on a child how pathetic i expected more from you all. You know what do it yourselves you don't deserve to be saved. Especially for making dash suffer so much.
Now i kinda wish sora just told them to eat a dick and just walk out to be honest. But man i feel like this story is being rushed to the point that the main villains that you have built up are kinda meaningless at this point. Since the real threat is the darkness and all. I prefer not seeing the darkness until 3 million more words have been given to us. Also seeing development towards more characters to build up the story even more, that is the good route. Than the darkness can show up for a little and only a little.
If i had to be honest i prefer seeing more of this story than the ending anytime soon, Hell do what one piece does say ten more years everytime and just keep going and going. Since really nobody does a fanfic this good with so many characters if im being honest. They would most likely run into writers block to often.
But you my friend are basically leonardo di fiction, you make amazing chapters with so much content and i just want to see more to be honest. Either way Awesome chapter and i look forward to the next
Too bad Dash, the Gods are dicks. It almost seemed like Dash was going to get a moment with his brother, an emotional scene and such, but nah- All three of them got it rough. Sora's got the weight of the world thrown at him, Goku's realizing how weak he is, and Dash lost his brother. Tough chapter for the heroes. At first I had planned on only referencing the Darkness once in a while as some spooky foreshadowing for much later, but to me that seemed more like I was making it out to be an epic evil villain so much worse than all the ones they're facing now. By bringing up the Darkness in detail this early, as well as Nexus' purpose, I felt like it makes the other threats more threatening as there are secrets they can learn, or already know. And considering there are Gods and angels on Nexus, having villains and heroes who know about that kind of stuff can let them overtake the Gods in terms of importance and such. And who knows? The Darkness isn't the only thing growing stronger all the time. Meruem, Luthor, other villains throughout Nexus, who's to say who matters more? I'm never gonna rush this story just for the purpose of rushing, considering there are at least 6 or 7 millions words left to it if it runs to the point I have it planned on ending on. So yeah, ten more years XD. Thanks for the review and the analogy to Leo, hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
asdf chapter 86 . Mar 8
Question: Did the Originals create Zeno?
Nope. Zeno was an Original too. The Great Priest went into how not all the children were mature when they had to flee their world, like young Zeno, so one of Zeno's older Original siblings "Larry" created the Great Priest to look after Zeno in the universe he put his barriers around. Thanks for the review!
Espada-001 chapter 86 . Mar 10
Well it looks like Sora's starting to realize just how big of a roll he has to fill. The Darkness seems to have a pretty good hold on Nexus already due to all the Grimm and Heartless running around. It was nice to see Piccolo again especially since he died moments after arriving. I wonder if Arceus was taunted by the other gods after getting captured by a mortal so soon after getting to Nexu, although that does make me wonder just how Giovanni caught him in the first place. I honestly don't have much to say about this chapter aside from the added background knowledge was pretty good and seeing all the gods was interesting. But with all the gods being shown and after hearing about the darkness I'm wondering what you did with the fictional cosmic giants like Galactus and Phoenix (MARVEL). Are they acting as the bouncers for this universe or are they not here at all? That last question isn't necessarily for you to answer just me spitballing my thoughts. Any way I kind of got bored the other day and went back to reread the battle of Metropolis and I started thinking about all the reanimations still there and then I remembered that Orihime is there. With her abilities she should be more than capable of returning the reanimated fighters back to normal since we've already seen in the anime that she can resurrect the dead and since their souls are already back on the mortal plane she wouldn't actually have to bring them back from the great beyond making it even easier. Heck she probably could have brought back a few others if she found their corpses before they were completely destroyed. And while I'm talking about Bleach characters I'm kind of hoping to see Ichigo gain his hell king mode in your hell arc. On a side note after watching Rick and Morty I think that Ricks probably pretty pissed about getting knocked out in the battle.
Here's just a few characters and series I'm hoping to see: Crazy Hand/Master Hand, Digimon, Zelda characters, and Historys Strongest Disciple Kenichi. Also It looks like I have an ally for Digimon lol.
I especially want Goku to meet Hayato Fūrinji from Historys Strongest Disciple Kenichi so he'd be able to learn Hayato's Ryūsui Seikūken which is the closest thing I've seen to Ultra Instinct aside from Tsuna's Hyper Dying Will mode, although he wouldn't be able to teach that skill since he does it naturally. I figured that this would be a good way for Goku to get an early start on learning Ultra Instinct since I don't think Whis will be able to teach him this time around. I guess you could have him just take a dying will pill or Reborn could come out of the wood works to shoot him with a dying will bullet.
Well that's all I have for now so until next time I look forward to the next chapter and your thoughts on my ideas. So until next time have a good day and keep up the great work!
Sora v the Darkness in a battle to determine the cosmos' fate! Who Will Win?! As for Phoenix, she was with Magneto last we saw of her, but when Jiraiya killed her Lord, I wonder what she's doing now?... As for Battle of Metropolis, Inoue could have probs used her stuff to turn back time for that area which is how she brings back the dead, but that would just take back out the reanimation kunai that Orochimaru stuck in the heads of other corpses. So it might bring back Akainu who had just died and then got reanimated into Blackbeard, but the others who were reanimations for long times probably had long dead corpses inside them that were rotting, or just random weak characters that wouldn't really matter much if they came back. Either way, the reanimations other than the two Ansem trapped were all sealed back in the ruined city. As for Rick and Morty, I kinda just thought about the first scene I added them in and wrote it out, then was like "guess I'll add it to the chapter," and then I had them show back up later on to tie in what had happened to them. Thought up some more cool scenes with them, but there is just so much Rick could know/do that if I focus more on him, he's probably been hopping through dimensions and knows all about the Darkness, though it could be fun to see him interact with the Gods he's always denying then praying to XD. Don't know the History's Strongest Disciple, nor am I too familiar with those others you mentions, though I know of them and might add them in somewhere. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for the review!
joebob323 chapter 86 . Mar 10
...Wow...
I...
No words for what I want to say...
Just...
Wow.
I loved this chapter so much, amazing job creating an original story-line! I had been wondering how you would tie together all these elements, but this was a great answer. Can't wait for Sora, Goku, and Dash to punch stuff, poor Goku was so confused when the gods were explaining stuff, and Dash/Sora need to work out their stress. I hope Dash doesn't fall to the darkness though, he seems awfully close from the way he was thinking about Sora... Oh, and I can't wait to see Timmy again, I wonder how he's been doing! (Hopefully as well as someone who is brainwashed can be _)
Thanks! I kept imagining Goku just nodding his head the whole time the Gods were speaking, a blank look on his face as he wondered what was going on, or thought about food or fighting Meruem. Dash is in a dark place rn, but maybe getting back with his friends will help him out with that. Next chapter the group heads after Timmy! So many villains in this chapter we might be forgetting the worst of all... the Wizard King! XD
kg833998 chapter 86 . 1h ago
Jesus when you said there was going to be stuff about how Nexus was created you weren't kidding I never thought of chapter that don't have any actual be so amazing like they're going to fuga charges that didn't have any action but this one was just amazing but for some reason why I couldn't get the Dragon Ball Heroes theme out of my head for some odd reason anyway Poor Dash he just wanted to see his brother right after he got it taken away from him most of me loves how you do the story hooked up 5% hates how you do character death I I'm not saying you're doing it bad you're doing it too well you're going to give us a break my heart was already when koro sensei. jiriya and Tatsumi and dash but now bardook you're going to have to give us a break from character death but beside that amzing chapter I also noticed that 1 dende wasn't in the realm of the Gods so that must mean Lookout is somewhere else which means that the room all spirit and time is somewhere which also means the dragonballs could be on the lookout you never know but anyways that's why I wanted to say great chapter can't wait to see how Goku Sora and dash reunite with the others
Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the last chapter, I really did go all out throwing the backstory at you guys. Dash gets his little side quest, and fails ;(. Man it's like every character you like kicks the bucket right after they're introduced, (earlier for Korosensei). I was actually worried I didn't have enough character death in Heroes Will Rise since I kept reviving the main group members who kicked it, but I'm glad to see it's at just the perfect level of love/hate for the deaths in this story. No sign of Dende last chapter, and still no mention of Dragon Balls, though we haven't seen any living Namekians on Nexus since the First Day. Meruem mentioned killing one though not too long ago, which means they do exist... Next time on Nexus: Heroes Will Rise, it's chapter 13.0 When Going South. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and 'till next time!