What If the Dragon Balls and Chaos Emeralds swapped places

by lianya

Synopsis: Like the title suggested, one day the dragon balls and Chaos Emeralds swapped places, Chaos Emeralds were sent to the Dragon ball universe, while Dragon balls were now in Sonic universe. Everything in Chaos now since each universe's habitants tried their best to figure out their lost artifacts' whereabouts, until it turned to a multiverse crises.

3. Chapter 3

2. Sonic Dimension

Over Pacific Ocean

"Sonic! You bastard! Where are your honors? Are all the oaths you made for nothing?! I thought you just promised you wouldn't abuse the power of Master Emerald!"

The formerly calm ocean was disturbed again by a powerful shockwave. It appears as a golden lightning rushing forward at full speed, evaporating the water along the way, even splitting the ocean in half, revealing the dried-up seabed underneath.

Within the situation, certain red echidna's hoarse yell was covered by this deafening sonic boom, yet he still refused to stop scolding his hedgehog friend despite nobody being able to hear him clearly.

Truth to be told, no wonder Knuckles was so angry. Because he and Tails were being held like two pieces of luggages by Sonic's hands, who had just vowed to only use the power of Master Emerald in case of 'emergency'.

'It was my fault to trust him so easily. Adding to that, Sonic could have just used chaos control to teleport us to the destination, but he deliberately chose to transform and ran back!'

Knuckles didn't know he was doing this because he wanted to show off or was simply just trying to continue test run that new ability. Whatever the reason, the echidna disapproved of it and protested as hard as he could.

On the contrary, Tails, who was held under Sonic's other arm, struggled to endure the wind pressure forcefully poured into his lungs: "S...Sonic...I know I said I wanted to go back as soon as possible, but maybe not like this...? Um, I...think I'm gonna throw up...blehh—"

"Geez, you two sure are a buzzkill... Well, whatever." With Knuckles's anger issue and Tails's motion sickness getting worse by the second, the now golden hedgehog shrugged before releasing his super form. However, his speed did not drop down too much. As a matter of fact, it's because Sonic's back at base form, so Knuckles and Tails lost that protection of the golden aura. Thus, the sharp wind blade even got a bit more painful by comparison.

Now, they could barely open their eyes.

"Damn it! Sonic!" Knuckles couldn't stand it anymore and yelled, "Forget it, just use the chaos control already!"

"Huh~~~~?But you just..."

"Don't 'huh' me! Okay, I get it now! I'm giving you permission to use the Master Emerald to teleport! Just DO IT!"

Hearing his friends' desperate plea, the blue blur suddenly braked. Of course Sonic did not forget to pull back Tails and Knuckles's body before they flew too far past him, then let go of their hands.

"Puumph! God dammit, Sonic! Shen Long made you able to run on water, but we still can't, remember!?" The red echidna scolded loudly after taking a big gulp of salt water; the taste was almost bitter.

"Ahem, I forgot. Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Sonic, knowing full well he was in the wrong, quickly tried to smooth things over. As an apology, he reawakened the power of the Master Emerald previously absorbed into his body, squatted down before extending his hands to the two friends who were still floating in the ocean waves: "Hold on tight."

Wiping the water off their faces, Tails and Knuckles quickly reached out to Sonic. The next second, all three figures suddenly disappeared in midair and were nowhere to be found.

---

2.5 Dragon Ball Dimension + Sonic Dimension

Universe 7 : Earth

"Hey, are we really not going to find out where he went? I mean...we are so close."

After a long pause, Goku just couldn't suppress his curiosity. Even under Beerus's threatening gaze, he insisted on pressing on and mentioned the figure once more. Seeing that unusual persistency of his, Whis calmly asked one question.

"You are pretty fixed on that blue...thing, Goku-san. Is there any reason 'they' caught your eyes?"

"Hmm...well, I'm not so sure either; it's just...I think I have seen him somewhere before."

"? Kakarot, what kind of nonsense are you babbling about?" Vegeta couldn't help but retort back at the younger Saiyan: "'He' is in a different universe; how could you two possibly have met before?"

"Uh-well, I know...but he just gave me a very familiar feel...it's so weird...and so...INTERESTING." The taller man blinked frantically, thinking hard but still couldn't come up with a conclusion that would convince Vegeta. In fact, Goku himself didn't quite understand the dilemma, but he trusted his instinct, or rather, say...guts feeling. "Anyway, I think his ki signature is very familiar, I have definitely felt it somewhere else before! And it was recently!"

"Not ki, we call it chaos energy here, Son Goku of the Universe 7." Suddenly, destroyer Liquiir's voice could be heard from the other side of the screen.

"? Kiosk...?" The dark-haired man's body stiffened when his name was called. Before Goku could open his mouth, one hand raised up, stopping him from saying anything unnecessary. Looking closely, it turned out to be Beerus: "Chaos energy? What was that?"

"Chaos energy is the power source that exists in Universe 8." Angel Korn explained on behalf of his master with a gentle smile. "Technically, it's a similar concept to 'ki' in your realm. However, there are two major differences between ki and chaos energy. The first one is its composition; like the name suggests, it is a combination of positive and negative energy altogether that suppresses and restricts each other to form a perfect balance. So it may have a clouded appeal to you guys' senses. However, there's no good nor evil in energy itself; only depends on the user." Then Korn is in thought: "But hearing your words reminds me one thing—for some reason, the concentration of chaos energy on Earth is very high, much higher than any planet we have visited before." The white-haired angel cast his gaze on the Supreme Kai next to him. "Iru-sama, was it always like this here?"

"Uh...sorry, I don't remember. But it shouldn't be...After all, whenever I create a new planet, I intend to evenly distribute the chaos energy. There wouldn't be any situation where I favored one planet over another. Even if I did, I'd definitely remember that." Then he laughed awkwardly: "Probably."

"Um, sorry. But what's wrong with a high concentration of chaos energy?" At last, Gohan couldn't suppress his curiosity as a scholar, so he asked.

"Well, just imagine what would happen if your Earth had so much 'ki' that it could be easily channeled without proper training and exercising? Imagine not just battle-hardened warriors but also normal civilians, and...people with the intention of hurting others for their selfish desires..." Korn patiently answered, and a look of horror crawled on Gohan's face. "Now you can understand my concern. This is why I'm a little surprised Universe 8's Earth hasn't turned into a dead star yet. Either the Earthlings here haven't fully mastered chaos energy, or..."

"Or what?" Krillin murmured.

"Or...there are protectors on Earth, and they have been maintaining peace for a long time." Korn answered with a smile.

"The protector of Earth...? Isn't this the same with—" Bulma muttered to herself, remembering what North Kai (U8) said to his world's angel and god of destruction, then the blue-haired woman subconsciously peeked at her own group. Something clicked, and a sense of familiarity rose to fill her chest full with warmth, causing heartbeat to accelerate.

This feeling rushed over like a hurricane; even Bulma could barely recognize it.

In fact, if she chose to vent her strange thoughts to others, she might make a surprising discovery.

That is, besides her, Gohan, Piccolo, and even Goku all had a similar mindset.

On the other hand, Whis, who had been observing the situation carefully, also noticed something. This was the reason he asked Goku why so dedicated to finding the whereabouts of that blue flash.

Yes, his/her speed was indeed impressive, but as someone already entering the realm of godhood, Goku's interest towards the blue lightning almost made no sense. So, something else must have triggered the younger Saiyan's instinct and made him fix on finding the truth regarding the blue lightning.

Adding to that, Whis noticed Goku always used 'he' as a pronoun when referring to the mysterious runner, as if he already knew this fact by default.

Whis is curious about that confidence as well. And Goku's answer was also very intriguing.

'I think his ki signature is very familiar; I have definitely felt it somewhere before! And it was recently! ...If I'm not mistaken—'

Immediately recalling the vision his disciple No. 2 had mentioned before, as well as the powerful 'ki (or more precisely, chaos energy)' he sensed after absorbing the seven-colored gemstones.

With this discovery in mind, Whis walked up to Beerus and told him all speculations through telepathy.

The God of Destruction of Universe 7 listened to the whole report without a single expression change. When Whis was done, the feline god glanced back at his attendant before reverting his gaze to the screen in midair while staying in silence. So at least nobody in the party noticed anything abnormal.

"I can't believe it." Sensing the overwhelming chaotic energy coming from Earth, Iru was still in pure shock. "This place never had such abundant chaos energy before, so of course there shouldn't be mortals strong enough to wield such power...but judging by how much chaos energy resides in the atmosphere, it's bound to be NOW! ...Oh, no, did I mess things up!? What happened here?!"

"Um...Iru-sama, please calm down. Everyone's looking."

"Hah...let him be, Korn. When he's in panic mode, we can't do anything."

"Yes, my lord."

With the Universe 8 trio busy with their own affair, Goku, who was still trying to use those vague words to explain to Vegeta, only ended up irritating the Saiyan prince even more.

"Kakarot, I don't know what the hell you are talking about, since all I can feel is pure annoyance, and that's exactly the same feeling I get whenever your stupid face shows up."

"Hey~~You don't even know him, yet you are already disliking him? That's not very fair, don't you think, Vegeta? As matter of fact, I believe he is a pretty chill guy."

"...You...you know that's not what I meant—forget it." Vegeta tried his best to not get riled up by that idiot, as it is totally not worth the time. So the older man took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before finally calming down.

The strange thing is—despite the fact his sarcasm did not land with that clown who couldn't even understand a single insult, there was something more to that disclaimer Vegeta just made.

—There's a moment when his eyes caught the blue lightning; an inexplicable feeling of irritation arose from the bottom of his heart. Since it was way too abrupt and unreasonable, the Saiyan prince just brushed it off quickly.

Looking back now, that flash of annoyance was indeed familiar, it's like whenever he had to deal with Kakarot's shenanigans. Vegeta just didn't understand why he would be so biased against a guy he had never met before.

A/N: In my opinion, Sonic's personality gonna annoy Vegeta A Lot, but it's in a different way than Goku. Yes, he's not as clueless as Goku, but he can pretend to be just to get on Vegeta's nerves. I don't know whether there's a day I will write how cross-interaction would be between the duo (Sonic & Vegeta/Goku & Shadow), but I'm definitely interested.

Nonetheless, since figuring it out won't be an option for now, there was nothing he could do. So Vegeta just rolled his eyes, continued to watch this big show starring the two universes' god of destruction.

Noticing almost everyone was in their own little worlds, Liquiir's light cough regathered their attention: "Korn, can you find the new coordinates of that floating island?"

"Of course, Lord Liquiir. The Earth isn't that big, so I only need to investigate which area has experienced a severe fluctuation of chaos energy, I should be able to track it down. As a matter of fact, if it's just for a short term, it doesn't take that much chaos energy for the island to float. However, it's an entirely different issue if it's for long term, not to mention the target is an island, not a single individual. Therefore, the chaos energy requirement was no joke."

After hearing this statement, Krillin secretly asked Gohan, "Is it really that bad?"

"Yes, of course. I mean, Krillin-san, just replace the 'chaos energy' with 'ki' for easy understanding..." Gohan lowered his voice because he didn't want to disturb the conversation beyond the screen. "It's like using Bukujustu 365 days a year and never having any breaks. I can't do that, and neither can you. Also, we're talking about an island floating right now—an island much bigger than Kami's Lookout...Besides, the Kami's Lookout isn't kept afloat by Dende or the previous Kami anyway, so even if they are not present, the Lookout will not fall."

"Oh...if you put it in that way...It is...quite impressive..."

Their whispers had just ended when new progress was made over there (U8).

"I got it... However though..."

Seeing Korn's puzzled expression, Supreme Kai Iru blinked, "What's wrong?"

"...The most recent fluctuation of chaos energy occurred on the other side of the earth, then everything fell into complete silence. I can't get another reading; it's like they vanished."

"What do you mean by that?" Hearing his answer, Liquiir simply frowned.

"It's like a powerful force suddenly disappeared, and now I can't sense it at all."

Korn replied with a serious expression.

"Wait...what?! You mean...you lost it? But how?" Iru let out a loud cry.

Liquiir was quite surprised as well, his gaze looked he like seeking confirmation from Korn. The angel of Universe 8 nodded, adding more explanations: "The only theory I can make at the moment is the source of that powerful chaos energy changed ownership. As to whether it was taken away by someone else through brutal force or lent out with permission, I have no idea."

"...Just take us to the place where the last fluctuation was. Maybe we'll find something new." The God of Destruction of Universe 8 demanded.

"As you wish, Lord Liquiir."

Korn politely obeyed the order.

· one moment later ·

The other side of Earth

"? Hey! Isn't that—"

The scenery changed rapidly, by the time it paused again, everyone's attention was drawn to a very familiar landscape.

"It's the island from earlier! The one used 'instant transmission!'" Gohan couldn't help but hold his breath as he recognized the silhouette they saw just a few minutes ago.

"Tsk, like I said! It's not instant transmission! Here, we call it chaos control. Try to remember that, son of Goku." Displeased with the wrong name, Liquiir corrected the young man.

"Um...S...sorry." Gohan immediately apologized; didn't want to anger the fox deity any further. Though his curiosity wanted to fire more questions, his rational side kept telling the half-breed saiyan not to act rude towards the God of Destruction in another universe.

Sensing the awkwardness coming from the young man, the angel from Universe 8 grinned before answering calmly.

"Chaos control is a technique that allows the user to manipulate or warp the fabric of space and time. So long-range teleportation is made possible when the technique is mastered. However, it's not just physical distance. As long as you understand the trick of this magic, you can transcend time at will, whether it is to the past or the future, you can go whenever and wherever."

"!?...Eh? Hold on...you...you are not talking about time-travel...are you!?" Bulma opened her eyes as widely as possible. Next to her, Vegeta's body also stiffened: "—!"

Upon hearing this new information, Beerus jumped out. Regardless of the fact he had no position to question others.

"Hey, Liquiir. Don't tell me that you, as a God of Destruction, forgot time travel is the biggest taboo. Not only mortals, but also gods, are strictly forbidden to get involved by any means."

"! Oh, shut up! Beerus! Who are YOU to lecture ME! I've heard about the dispute between your universe and Universe 10 already! Besides, Korn was only giving explanations to your people, not saying anyone actually disrupted the flow of time and committed the crime of time travel! Not to mention, even if they did, chaos control is far more orthodox than your forbidden time machine!" Liquiir barked back.

"Wha...!? Who told you!? Is it the geezer (Gowasu) from Universe 10!?...I know! It must be that giant dumbass Rumsshi! Also, don't try to sugarcoat this, they are both time travelers if they exist; there's nothing orthodox or unconventional about it! A sin is a sin!"

"Um, about this specific matter...we should refrain from speaking more, Lord Liquiir. We knew it because chaos energy originated from our universe, but other universes' god of destruction and angel should not be informed of further details than this." In the middle of their heated argument, Korn tried to stop his lord from continuing even though he's the one who started it all.

Unfortunately, Liquiir had been holding back his urge (of fighting words with Beerus) for a while now, so he just couldn't help himself and told them whatever was on his mind regardless. The fox deity sneered, pulled the nervous Supreme Kai over. Then he held Iru's hand high up, pointed at the silver-colored ring on his little finger: "You know what this is, right? This is the Time Ring! But what you don't know is that even the Time Ring uses chaos energy to jump through time and space! Now all 12 universes Time Rings' energy was provided by Universe 8 and Universe 8 alone! So if Time Rings can be approved by Zeno-sama, its purest form—chaos control should be okay too! ...H...half okay!"

"Wow? Korn! Is that true?" Whis was in awe; apparently it was also the first time he heard something like this.

"Haah...Lord Liquiir...no, I guess it would be my wrongdoing this time... I shouldn't have brought up the topic so easily." Universe 8's angel breathed a sigh of defeat, deciding to give in to the inevitable.

"It's true. We all know that almighty Zeno-sama is the center of all 12 universes, the one who controls life and death, the ultimate decider for everything. But...he definitely doesn't have time to worry about small details comes to how universes function; such trivial matters would be our father—grand priest's job. So, from 'what kind of energy to use' to 'where to gather such energy' for the Time Ring's time-jump ability to operate were all decided by the Grand Priest." Korn paused, as if lost in thoughts. "There are always mistakes and regrets when we look back at our actions, but fixing the past would only jeopardize the future as well. We learned that lesson from the 'Lost 6 incident,' so in order to not walk the same path as those perished universes, our father created the Time Ring and chose the chaos energy from Universe 8 as its power source. The reason for making such a choice comes down to a certain trait of chaos energy."

"Oh~? So what kind of trait?" Whis asked.

"If I remember correctly, the 'ki' in Universe 7 should be the combination of Genki (元気), Yuuki (勇気) and Shouki (正気) naturally generated inside the body. So as long as it is considered 'alive,' it doesn't matter whether it can sense or use ki or not; the energy's still there." Korn's grin was faint. "In other words, 'ki' is a power source only living organisms can possess. Inorganic matters do not have this privilege. And this is the second major difference between chaos energy and ki."

The white-haired angel turned his gaze to the endless skyline and spoke slowly.

"The chaos energy does not discriminate; the chaos energy always exists. Not only humans, animals, and plants, but also inorganic matters as well. From mountains to rocks, everything contains chaos energy. This phenomenon proves that chaos energy is a power source that can be sealed and stored in an object and used when needed. In fact, some inorganic compounds tend to house chaos energy way more than the living things. This is completely different from your 'ki energy,' don't you agree?"

Paused again, Korn's glance falls on his newfound audience.

"So Father sealed a large amount of chaos energy in each Time Ring and applied strict restrictions to further prevent any abuse. Ever since the Lost 6 incident, father knew the 'going back in time' function would worsen Zeno-sama's mood by reminding him what happened to those universes, so he only allowed the ring to travel forward to the future. And father once mentioned to me he had done a lot of experiments in Universe 8. He personally tested, and found out the best carrier for chaos energy turned out to be rare minerals or superalloys. For example, Universe 7's Katchin, gold, and platinum; rare minerals such as ruby, emerald, etc,; are all suitable vessels to make the Time Ring. They came from nature and were imbued with chaos energy. The higher the purity, the bigger the capacity. Some special ones can even generate chaos energy within like a never-dried-up spring well. However, regarding the material for the ring, Father gave up the originally planned gold and emerald because of his own concern and made all the Time Rings with the highest purity of Katchin steel."

As soon as they heard Korn's explanation, Beerus and Whis quickly caught on to the situation.

A rare mineral possesses both positive and negative energy? Isn't this referring to the seven-colored gemstones that replaced the dragon balls?

'It's not even a "maybe" by now...I'd say it's almost confirmed.' Whis's smile got bigger, certainly relieved to finally find the truth. Obviously, he was not the only one who had similar thoughts. Vegeta and Bulma switched glances. Their feelings were still very conflicted because of the conversation just now—that there might be a time travelers in Universe 8 as well. Only Goku, who seems to possess a much slower reflex arc, was standing still, rubbing the back of his head and acting like it had nothing to do with him.

"Really? That's awesome~~~~"

"Korn, you said father had done countless experiments in Universe 8, right? What about the end results of those aforementioned experiments? Where did they go? Are they still in your universe?"

"Probably yes, unfortunately, I don't know their numbers and whereabouts. Before deciding on Katchin, father tested different types of ores and metals; their abilities were also full of varieties. There is one certain type only specialized in time manipulation, or a type can distort time and space to create illusions, etc. However, most of them were lost in our vast universe. Furthermore, since the matter itself is considered to be top secret that should not be disclosed to others, even the four galaxies' Kai know nothing about it. Adding more salt on the wound, if we are talking about Lord Liquiir's slack off the job when coming to those rocks/rings, of course zero progression was made." Korn sighed again with a much louder voice after he unceremoniously sold the lord he was supposed to serve.

"Ha! So...you slack off too, stupid fox! And you dare to talk down to me!? What a joke!" Commentary from Beerus.

"Excuse me, Korn!? I know you have problems with me about this issue, but now is not the time to stab your own group on the back! Also...screw you as well, Beerus! I do my job all the time, this is just some rare case. So don't lump me in with the likes of you!" And this is the retaliation from Liquiir.

"HAH—$$%#？？!"

"What! You got any problems!?%$$%$"

Then the two most powerful beings in their respective universes were arguing like three-year-olds.

"A...about that, Lord Liquiir! I believe Korn-sama is acting so strict only because he wishes Universe 8 improves all the time!" Iru hurried to smooth things over. Somehow he had a feeling that he had been doing this the whole time.

Finally, after the two calmed down, Beerus changed the subject...but not his manner.

"Fox, what do you usually call those rocks? Tell me about it."

Liquiir was still very unhappy with the condescending attitude of his fellow destroyer god, but he did not lose his temper this time. Not because he's afraid of the man of course, he just noticed something.

Beerus and his group of new favorite mortals seem to have some ulterior motive. And it's deeply related to the Earth of Universe 8.

With Liquiir keen to find out what that is, this time he will let that rudeness slide.

"Huh, it depends on the abilities they were granted; I can only remember two of them, which were both officially named by the Grand Priest himself."

The god of destruction of Universe 8 snorted, but still answered.

"One's called Chaos Emeralds and the other one's called Master Emerald."

A/N: Lore dump—there are 100-ish gold rings from Sonic's dimension that were created by the Grand Priest himself, these gold rings were the original ones. However, compared with the others (Chaos Emeralds/Master Emerald/Time Stones, etc.), the original gold rings are closer to a failed prototype of the Time Ring. Failed because it does not travel through time but only space (using a weaker version of chaos control) due to its low hardness and capacity issue. In other words, it did not meet the Grand Priest's standards. Plus, other than the original 100, the rest of the gold rings are all replicas made by the people of U8 (in SA2, even Tails can make a fake chaos emerald; mass producing replicas of gold rings shouldn't be so hard). I chose now to explain it because this setting will not be mentioned in the fanfic.

---

2.6 Sonic Dimension

Universe 8 : Earth

200 years later

In one of the tent of refugee camp

Ever since the dragon restored the earth back to normal, most people had gone out to investigate this brand new world. As for now, only the children and a few adults decided to stay behind. As well as Silver, who was in charge of their protection, were left in the campsite.

Sitting on the folding chair, watching over the blue-haired woman soundly sleeping on the bed, Silver couldn't help but feel kind of nervous about the situation. Yajirobe had left for his 'gracious' meal and put the white hedgehog in charge of taking care of this mysterious lady.

Silver only knew her name as Bulma, and apparently she held the key for everyone's 'return to home' ticket. Truth to be told, he had no idea what that was supposed to mean anyway.

Within this dead silence, someone lifted the tent's curtain, and two figures slowly walked in.

"Auntie Bulma...is she still not awake yet? Silver-niichan." Maki was the first one to speak. She carefully examined the woman's steady breathing, then asked.

"Yeah, but she's gonna be fine; don't worry."

Silver's answer was simple, and Maki seemed to have received assurance and hope just from these words. The worry on her face was instantly dismissed while she nodded vigorously: "You're right! Auntie Bulma will definitely be okay!"

Then there was that silence again, until another figure—this time a giant turtle, managed to crawl to the bedside before raising its head. When that pair of eyes met the blue-haired woman's peaceful sleeping face, tears started to fill its eye socket.

"Uh, um, excuse me...but who are you?" Silver had some impression of this turtle because it really stands out among a group of human refugees.

"Oh... Sorry for never introducing myself." Surprisingly, the turtle speaks politely. "My name is Kame, at least that's what Yajirobe and others have always called me. So you're welcome to do that as well." Wiping away the tears that rolled down its cheeks, the turtle smiled shyly, although it was still a little forced.

Soon, its attention returned to the unconscious woman again: "She...I mean, how is Bulma-san doing?"

"Well, ever since we brought her back, she hasn't woken up except for a few words in her sleep." Although there are countless questions in Silver's mind: such as why a turtle can talk—after all, on this earth, except for the race called Mobian, Silver has never seen an wild animal that can speak human language. However, the turtle in front of him clearly has nothing to do with Mobian.

'Maybe he's just naturally talented.' Silver wondered mindlessly.

In the end, the white hedgehog did not pry, not only because this is a rather rude question, but also because he felt it was not the right thing to do. "Since she can still daydream, I'm sure everything will be okay."

"So she's sleep talking? About what?" The turtle asked curiously, and Maki beside it shared the same sentiment.

"When I said sleep talking, it's not like she's actually speaking in full sentences of sorts. Mainly was just mumbling the same person's name over and over. The one she whispered the most is Trunks. A...nd, she also called out to 'Son-kun' a few times, too." Silver told the little girl and the turtle what he heard honestly, then proceeded to witness the change of their expressions immediately. That sadness lingered in their eyes was too hard to conceal.

"(Sniff)… Trunks…niichan...(sniff)" Maki bit her lower lip with more tears to shed. So did Kame.

Seeing their collective reaction, Silver suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of guilt. 'Wait, were...were they dead? Oh crap...' He shot up from the seat, trying to say something to comfort those two.

Then... that happened...The blue-haired woman suddenly stretched out her arm and grabbed Silver's right hand tightly to everyone's surprise.

"Go!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, scaring the three surrounding the bed. For a second, they thought she had finally woken up. But when Silver took a closer look, Bulma's eyes were still tightly shut, and her eyeballs were constantly trembling under closed eyelids—a typical phenomenon happened in deep sleep. The sentence she spat out next also confirmed his suspicion: "You have to leave! Trunks!"

"Auntie Bulma!/Bulma-san!" Maki and Kame both rushed over in a second. Silver wanted to move away and allow them to pass. But somehow, Bulma refused to let him go. Her gripe was strong and desperate, like experiencing some internal struggle at the moment: the exact opposite of what she cried for. All Silver could do was awkwardly twist his body to create an opening for Maki and Kame.

"What on earth was she dreaming about?"

Silver paused all thoughts, with a sympathizing look escaping his face.

'No matter what kind of dream she had, it can't be a good one. Otherwise, there would be no reason to tell them to run away.'

-?-

'Son-kun...are you doing okay in the other world?'

'I knew he couldn't be you, but I'm still glad to see your face one last time. In the winter of my life.'

The woman's nose was filled with choking smoke, and she also felt the pain of her throat being squeezed. She could barely open her eyes as they were both blurred by the burning heat waves. Then she tried her best to take a look at Black's face again, the face that's exactly the same as her best friend. Bulma choked up, but this time not because of the smoke. At last, she cracked a bitter smile at the man; couldn't stop her tears from dripping down.

Her final moment was approaching, but the overflowing emotion she felt was both sad and happy. It's a very twisted feeling; Bulma understands that perfectly.

Despite the fact she was about to get killed by this most familiar stranger, the woman still smiled with relief after catching a glimpse of her son's back as he escaped the scene desperately.

Yes, Trunks can do it. That child is strong, not just physically, but also mentally. So he will definitely be fine. She firmly believed in this fact.

Trunks can save this devastated world again for sure!

'Even if I'm not by his side, that child will always find a way to defeat Black. He will go back to that happy timeline, seeking help from Vegeta, my past self, and Son-kun.'

This is when the woman calmly accepted her fate. She slowly closed her eyes and let her body be reduced to ashes by the scorching flames. Of course, Bulma still had many regrets, especially her farewell to Trunks. After all, her pain ended swiftly, but her beloved son was still forced to witness his mother's death. How would he remember this turning point in the coming years? Bulma wouldn't dare to imagine that wretched feeling.

'Trunks, my son. I am so sorry that you have to walk the path alone from now on. The path of salvation. But I will always pray for your victory in the netherworld.'

'Son-kun, Vegeta, and everyone, now I can finally reunite with you.'

Inside that blinding light, the blue-haired woman saw the family and friends she missed so much; they were smiling and reaching out to her. So she also bloomed a smile full of happiness; stretched out her arms towards their direction.

However, like fate playing tricks on her, no matter how hard Bulma tried, she just couldn't grab their hands. After many desperate attempts, she finally managed to hold one of the hands successfully. Except when she tried to take a better look at who this person was, their faces switched to Trunks in the next second.

Suddenly, everything changed. The blue-haired woman was pulled back to the moment before her death, when their laboratory was discovered and blown up by Black.

Maybe this was her personal purgatory of sorts; Bulma was forced to experience that exact same scene again. Craving for the warmth left in her son's palm, Bulma couldn't help herself but wanted to hold it for a little longer. However, in the end, she still decided to push him away by screaming at Trunks to leave her and save himself. Just when the blue-haired woman was ready to face her death again, two completely different voices echoed in this burning hell.

"Bulma-san/Auntie! Please wake up! You are having a nightmare right now!"

Thanks to those two new voices, Bulma Brief (future) managed to snap her eyes open once again.

-Back in the tent

Seeing the older woman suddenly open her eyes, both Maki and Kame breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness! You're finally awake!"

At first, her pupils kept wandering around the ceiling (tent) without focus. Her expression was also rather blank, looking dazed and confused.

The situation lasted for a good minute. Then Bulma turned her head and cast her gaze towards the people gathered to the bed's right side. After another long pause, she started to recognize their faces.

"...Kame? Maki-chan?"

"Yes, it's me! Auntie Bulma! You finally woke up, I was so worried!" Maki cried with joy and jumped up to hug her. The turtle was not much better; the tears had been wiped away were once again all over its face, but this time the meaning behind them was completely different.

"What I'm doing here...wait a second...are you guys dead too?!" The blue-haired woman widened her eyes in horror. Her body trembled, struggled to sit up but was pushed back by Maki.

"You still need more rest, Auntie Bulma. We are fine; everyone is fine; there's nothing to worry about." The young girl insisted.

Because Bulma's body was still in a relatively weak state, she was easily overpowered by Maki, despite the fact she's still a child.

"...If, if that's the case...then WHY am I still alive?" Lying on the bed, the most genius scientist on Earth (U7) muttered to herself in confusion, still unable to believe she was not dreaming all of this.

"You are alive because Yajirobe and Silver summoned the Shenron from this Earth..." The turtle started to give her some explanations but was interrupted by the person in topic.

"...About that...according to Shenron, he's definitely not originated from my Earth, but yours... Um...I don't mind being the one doing the explaining part, but can you at least let go of my hand first, Mrs. Bulma?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from the corner. It was only at this moment Bulma realized there was another person...or a humanoid figure (?) in the tent with them—standing at the upper right corner, speaking in a rather nervous manner.

This discovery caught Bulma completely off guard, as soon as she turned her gaze in his direction, Bulma saw a white hedgehog standing right there. Naturally, being the smartest and most knowledgeable person on Earth, Bulma knew about the existence of the beast man potion. But turning into a hedgehog was certainly something new, so she couldn't help but keep sending glances at him. At the same time, the female scientist also realized she had actually been holding the white hedgehog's hand firmly ever since waking up. So she reflexively let go of him and apologized.

"Sorry...um...if you don't mind me asking...but who are you? —Also dragon balls?! I thought we were still on Earth!?"

"THIS IS Earth, just not your Earth, apparently." The white hedgehog paused the sentence, then added more clarifications. "At least that's what Shenron told us. This is the Earth of Universe 8. All of you were coming from a place called Universe 7. I don't know how...but you guys...uh...kinda travel through dimensions and set foot on a different Earth. My name is Silver, nice to meet you; Mrs. Bulma. I can explain the situation to you, or if you prefer to wait for Mr. Yajirobe, that's okay too."

Silently listening to his words, Bulma's more baffled than ever. Then she quickly remembered something very important as the woman turned her head anxiously to the turtle and Maki: "Right! Trunks! And Black! Did he go back in time? What happened after I died!?"

Unfortunately, Silver couldn't answer this question, so he took a step back and waited on the sideline.

"About that, Trunks indeed brought Goku and Vegeta back here... Black was defeated, but...after that, the entire sky was covered with Zamasu's faces. We don't know what exactly happened to Trunks or Goku and Vegeta afterwards... Sorry, Bulma."

The turtle slowly shook its head, with Maki looking sad in the back. Ever since she arrived on Silver's Earth, Maki had been acting like this because neither Trunks nor Mai made it here with the others. But this time, she seemed hopeful.

The little girl's head perked up, voice raised; she tried her best to assure Bulma and herself.

"But Trunks-niichan's gonna be okay! If we can survive, there's no way someone as strong as Trunks-niichan can't! So, let's believe in him together! Auntie!"

"…You are right... He will be fine, no matter what."

Although she didn't get 100% confirmation, it's just like what Maki said. Bulma, who has always believed in her son, just agreed with a gentle smile, acknowledging the little girl's prayer wholeheartedly.

---

2.5 Dragon Ball Dimension + Sonic Dimension

Back at Present

-Universe 8 Earth

Setting foot on this formerly floating island, Korn confirmed there's nobody here for now. At first glance, it was no different from those unremarkable islands. Full of greenery but lack of human activities.

"Hmm... Not this again. Why do we always seem to be one step behind? Korn! Are you sure you did not slack off or get distracted on the road?" G.o.D Liquiir started to become a little impatient.

"Of course not, Lord Liquiir."Angel Korn shrugged. As a matter of fact, if they had already known who or what to search for, they would have located the target a while ago. "What can I say? This Earth has surely given me many surprises. I can't believe I let them slip through my fingers again. Very good job." Despite what he said, Korn was obviously enjoying these 'surprises'.

"Brrr! Shouldn't we just go ahead and visit the North Kai instead of chasing the phantom around? After all, why would I, a God of Destruction, have to waste so much time searching for a bunch of mortals? They should come to me obediently, not the other way around! Let's say...just like that guy...what was his name again? Black Doom? Come to think of it, the surrounding area should be his territory if I remember correctly. After all, the Earth was in the orbit of Black Comet."

Grumbling unhappily, Liquiir spurted out another unfamiliar name.

Before any of the people from Universe 7 could ask who that was, Korn had already answered his lord: "Oh, he is no longer with us in the land of the living, plus the Black Comet was completely annihilated as well."

"...—Wait a second! When did that happen!?"

Liquiir was shocked, then he turned his head towards Korn for further confirmation.

"That man might be vile and wicked, but he has still been around for nearly two thousand years. How could he just disappear without me noticing?"

"As a matter of fact, his perish only happened recently, and...um..." Sneak a peek at the people of Universe 7. Korn hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, though he phrased the sentence very ambiguously. "Apparently, he died right after coming to Earth."

"…Oh…oh~ Is that so? Well, never mind. Anyway, nobody's going to miss someone like him, so I guess it doesn't matter whatsoever."

'They are doing that again.'

Beerus growled, once again annoyed.

'Hmph, I suppose Liquiir are just that wary of us. Though...the problem is—if we continue this trend, there's no way I'm gonna find out who used the spatial displacement on our dragon balls and their magical emeralds. Or worse, fox might even try to cover up for the culprit. So, what should I do? Do I have to swallow this as my defeat and open up to that sly bastard first? ...Not in a million years!'

Unaware of their God of Destruction's inner monologues, the people of Universe 7 had drowned in imaginations just by hearing those few words. Especially Gohan and Piccolo, who had been paying 100% attention to everything Universe 8 had told them, still hung on to figure out more 'reflecting nature' between the two universes. After all, even if it was pretty short, there are still a lot of hidden messages behind the conversation.

'Vile and wicked.'; '2000 years'; 'territory'; and the most important one—'died right after coming to Earth.'.

"Mr. Piccolo... Is it just me, or are we getting more and more Déjà vu?"

"Not just you, I assure you, Gohan. Gotta say, it feels kind of creepy by now."

Vegeta, who had been quiet this entire time after his quarrel with Goku, also narrowed his eyes. Although he acted like he could care less about what happened in Universe 8, the truth is actually the opposite. Vegeta just refuses to reveal all those interests and only analyzes the part that draws his attention secretly. As for now, as soon as the God of Destruction of Universe 8 mentioned that Black Doom guy, Frieza's unpleasant face suddenly popped up in Vegeta's mind. No decent man would choose 'Black Doom' as their name. So he must be some scumbag who exists in Universe 8 just like that bastard Frieza.

'Good job. I don't know who did it, but nicely done. This other Earth seems to be inhabited by decent warriors; they are much more powerful than I thought...What a shame. I would like to face them off if possible; too bad Universe 8 didn't even participate in the Tournament of Power—Wait, I remember Kakarot said something about channeling the power of those rocks can let me see some kind of vision...' The prince of all Saiyans' eyes landed on the table. Lying there was the green gem called chaos emeralds (probably, since U8's destruction god used singular nouns on the 'master emerald') Whis returned to his wife before the party started. Bulma was distracted by the screen in midair, so she just put the emerald on the table without paying any attention to it.

'...I just told her not to leave them lying around...Haah, whatever.'

Without his wife noticing, Vegeta reached out to the chaos emerald, and squeezed it.

Following Kakarot's instruction, sensing that unique ki/chaos energy, Vegeta took a deep breath before slowly closing his eyes.

The next second, an unfamiliar memory flowed into the older man's brain.

In front of him stood a hideous-looking figure. The thing is, Vegeta actually could not see their faces clearly; he only felt that overwhelming evil ki/chaos energy from the oppressive alien... Before the Saiyan prince could take another look, the towering shadow turned around and said something towards him. No...not to him, more like someone behind him. It's just Vegeta's view angle was fixed in this vision, so he couldn't even turn around to check. Adding to that, all the older man could hear was a buzzing noise similar to an out-of-services old radio, nothing else.

This is when his sight caught another dark figure walking past him.

They seemed to be in some intense conversation, and it was clear the mood between the two was nothing close to friendly. Soon, perhaps there's a fall out in the negotiation; the dark shadow raised his hands. The next second, seven colorful crystals descended from the heavens and began to spin, just like Whis and Kakarot showed them before.

Involuntarily holding his breath, Vegeta's eyes focused on the outcome like a single exhale would disrupt the scene, until the next vision shocked him completely. It even made Vegeta subconsciously loosen the grip on the emerald.

With the dull sound of green gem falling into the grass, the strange vision disappeared as well. Like a sugar cube dissolved in hot water, nowhere to be found. Yet that image imprinted in the back of Vegeta's mind, refusing to leave him alone.

'…Impossible! But that just looked like—'

Even the vision was as blurry as an old TV; that dazzling light alone was enough to occupy all the space in Vegeta's brain.

'U8's angel had already confirmed this... Saiyans do not exist in their universe. He had no reason to lie to us. If there's anything inconvenient, he could just say nothing. So what exactly was that?'

Such a brilliant golden aura and powerful ki/chaos energy—there's no mistaking it.

"...Is that...a 'Super Saiyan'?"

At the moment, this was the only question left in Vegeta's head.

---

2.6 Sonic Dimension

The future timeline of Universe 8

After a little rundown, Bulma finally understood most of the situation. Even so, her brain was still a little fried due to the overload of information they dumped on her. Fortunately, with the help of Kame and Maki-chan, as well as the very patient guide who introduced himself as "Silver," the blue-haired woman was more or less satisfied with the result.

At the very last, they solved her biggest question and worry, so it seemed all Bulma needed now was to rest her body and mind for the time being. However, she couldn't just lie down to have another nap or even simply be relieved by this unfamiliar peace. And the major reason is that one newcomer, Silver himself.

Ever since she heard about what happened to this Universe 8's Earth (Silver said she should just treat it like a parallel universe, so she did just that), Bulma couldn't help but keep sending concerned looks to Silver.

On the other hand, feeling the older woman's intense gaze that glued on his face, the white hedgehog awkwardly took a step back before asking Bulma, "Uh...Do you have any more questions?"

"How old are you now, Silver?" The woman's voice was soft and sincere, like a caring mother. Silver was quite surprised—that she showed more interest in him rather than the dragon balls or this brand new Earth. Sensing the confusion coming from the white hedgehog, Bulma's smile didn't fade; on the contrary, it was even more gentle, overflowing with warmth.

Silver seemed a little disturbed, but not in an unpleasant way. It happened only because he never felt this type of tension, a fuzzy feeling Silver couldn't recognize, and that's actually unnerving. Despite all that, the white hedgehog still answered Bulma's question honestly: "Eh...me? Uh, oh yeah, probably 17...I...think? To be honest, I don't know my birthday, and I believe Blaze also had no idea."

"Blaze?" Bulma repeated.

"Well...She was my...friend, teacher, and even sister in a sense. I know that's a lot of titles; it's just we were the only two of our kind left on Earth at that time."

"…Sorry." Bulma looked like she was in shock after hearing the confession; Silver couldn't be sure, but every syllable he spoke out seemed to bewilder the woman a little bit more. It also made her gaze fall upon him, filled with even more emotions, and he recognized that emotion.

It's pity.

Silver supposes his situation was pretty bad on paper (and in reality), so he didn't feel very offended by her sympathy. But he also didn't need people feeling sorry for him 24 hours every day. So the white hedgehog quickly waved his hand: "No, there's nothing you need to apologize for. I will never forget what Blaze had done for me, for this world. She will always live inside my heart."

"Is that so..." The blue-haired woman's expression lightened, this time her tone was full of fondness. Bulma looked at Silver, the corner of her mouth slightly curled up. "Then you are very strong..." She hesitated, like reminiscing about something. "But 17...that's just..." Despite there being no resemblance in appearance, Bulma still immediately thought of her missing son.

17 years old, wasn't it the age when Trunks used the time machine to go back in order to save Son-kun from the heart virus? If they were born in peaceful times, 17 should be the age to enjoy life to the fullest, but their fates were both devastated by the sudden destruction of their homelands; at last, destiny forced them to shoulder the heavy duty they should not have had to shoulder.

And Bulma despised the fact she had to witness the turnabout of the same tragedy again.

"You said everyone on your earth is—Is that true? Sorry, I just want to make sure..."

"… (nods)"

"I see..." Bulma fell into silence again, but this time it didn't last long as she stretched her arm and waved at Silver, signaling him to come closer. When the white hedgehog confusedly approached the bedside, the blue-haired woman suddenly reached out to him to patted his head; her gesture was full of tenderness and heartbreak. Tears welled up, voice shaken, Bulma really wanted to tell Silver something: "You did a great job, you survived. And THIS is the most important part!—If your parents and that Blaze person were still alive, they would definitely agree with me. Poor child, you have tried so hard. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I know that's the one and only truth."

"—" Unprepared for her sudden emotional outburst, Silver's body stiffened like an ice block; he couldn't even utter a single word out of his mouth. He just stood there, robotically, desperate to find something to say, anything.

In the end, Silver failed.

In response, Bulma chose to speak no more but rather continued to stroke the hedgehog's head gently, as if she saw someone else through his presence.

A while later

Kame and Maki left the tent and gave Bulma and Silver some space after reading the room. They didn't know much about this new Earth like Yajirobe, but they could definitely tell Bulma wanted to talk to Silver more, alone.

"Sorry for being so rude, Silver. I shouldn't have done that, especially before asking your permission." Finally calming down, the female scientist whispered an apology to the white hedgehog embarrassedly. "It's just your situation was way too reminiscent of my son's... It's almost unnerving, like destiny playing tricks on us. Please forgive me."

"No, it's...it's okay..." Silver shook his head; his expression softened. "That son of yours...could it be the person called Trunks?"

"Oh! So you knew about him? Well, that's right. Trunks is my son, the last protector of the Earth, and the remaining bloodline of the Saiyan race. Hey...why don't you sit down here? I will tell you my side of the story." As soon as her son's name was mentioned, Bulma immediately bloomed a proud smile before tapping the empty space next to her. However, seeing Silver still chose the chair instead of the bedside, she sighed in resignation. 'Hah...I suppose I should be more patient with him...I just hope my bold attitude didn't offend him too much.'

"Saiyan?" With the white hedgehog asking the question first. Bulma felt like this was the best chance to break some ice.

"Yep, it's an alien race, and most of them were battle junkies. Though Trunks is a half-blood, he doesn't have an obsession towards fighting like his father. What do you think? Have you heard anything similar in your world?"

"...I...don't think so?...At least nothing of the sort." Silver answered honestly.

Bulma blinked, didn't seem to bother too much: "Oh well, never mind. After all, if there were enemies strong enough to destroy the Earth, those Saiyans would have been the first ones to charge in and challenge the battle. Then they would also become the first batch of victims to fall. In the end, it doesn't matter anyway."

"I...suppose you are right..." The white hedgehog hesitantly agreed.

"By the way, Silver. You're not from the Earth, correct? I mean...you look...um...very different from the humans I remember...or, are all the Earthlings in this 'Universe 8' look like you? "

"Yes...and no. Blaze and I both came from an alien race called Mobian, but a long time ago, our ancestors came to the Earth and stayed until now, so I considered myself an Earthling in that regard."

"Mobian...This is my first time hearing the name...I can't be a hundred percent sure, but at least there's no alien race called Mobian on my Earth." Bulma leaned against the pillow in a comfortable position while still deep in thought.

Judging by her reaction, Bulma had shown great interest towards this so-called Universe 8 and planet Earth.

Not because of her identity as a scientist, but because of her concern for Silver himself.

-Physically and mentally.

Bulma wants to know more about Silver, so she naturally has to learn more about the past and the current state of this earth.

Call it excessive maternal instinct; she just couldn't neglect this silver-white hedgehog's existence, who had also left a very good impression on her despite their short-term encounter.

The older woman cautiously raised her eyelids to take a glance at Silver; she hesitated. Bulma wanted to ask more details but didn't know where and how to start the conversation.

As if noticing that hesitation, Silver spoke up softly before blinking his eyes. "It's fine, just speak whatever you want. The Earth's destruction was not something that happened yesterday or even recently, so I have already sorted out my emotions by now."

"...Is that so..." Bulma shuts her eyes in sorrow while impressed by Silver's strong will once again. This is when she finally asked the delicate question. "So...Silver, when did your Earth get destroyed, and by whom?"

"…" The white hedgehog was quiet for a moment, as if trying to find the right description. "At least the world was destroyed before my birth...Even though everything outside seems to have returned to its original state due to the Dragon Balls' help, the Earth in my memory has always been crumbling ruins and broken landscapes. As for who my enemy was...He's a devil claimed to be a god—Iblis...Mrs. Bulma? Something wrong?"

"A—a self-proclaimed god did this to your world…?"

While Silver continued his explanation, Bulma's body froze as soon as he mentioned the title of the culprit who caused all the destruction. Silver perked up and saw the female scientist's face turn pale all of a sudden. So he paused the explanation before asking the lady, "Um...you sure you're okay? Maybe you should take a rest after all; I can come later."

As if triggered by Silver's words, horrible memories flooded Bulma's mind, washing her brain to a blank state, her voice broken, almost like a panic attack. Then Bulma shook her head vigorously, forced herself to calm down: "No...no, it...it's okay. I...um...(inhaled) I'm perfectly fine. So...is he really a god?"

"OH HELL NO!" Upon hearing her question, Silver's mood got significantly worse. There's even clear resentment in his usual soft voice; and that anger and sorrow hit way too close to home for Bulma. "He is not a god; there's no way he is! He is just a monster who only knows destruction!"

Realizing he just lost composure in front of a patient, Silver immediately lowered his voice, fists clenched hard, trying to calm down: "… Excuse me, um...I'm...just...angry at Iblis. Even if he's been completely eradicated from all timeli...I mean...places. I still can't forgive him for what he did to us."

"...?...Is...that so? ..." Noticing Silver's odd choice of certain words, Bulma frowned a little bit. 'Did...did he try to say "timelines" just now...?' Though still curious, the blue-haired woman decided to put that suspicion aside. "I understand your feelings better than anyone. Trust me."

Bulma's smile was bittersweet, reached out to him to hold Silver's trembling fist. She grasped it gently and stared into his golden eyes. "We were the same as you, always fighting for the bright future...against the androids, also...another man who claims himself a god but acts like a devil. The even more detestable part is he was enforcing all these evil in the image of my closest friend."

"...In the image of your closest friend?" Silver shockingly repeated the last sentence; another odd look surfaced. "Do you mean he looked exactly like someone you know?"

"Yes." Bulma nodded firmly. No matter what Black true identity was, Bulma was confident—he's no Goku. He couldn't be! It's someone else pretending to be him!

The blue-haired woman frowned just by thinking about the possibility. That's why she failed to notice Silver's complete silence immediately: "What's the matter? You have been oddly quiet."

"—! No, nothing. I was...just wondering. Both Earths had some...turbulent history on their back...haha..." Obviously, that's not exactly the thing on Silver's mind, the way he brushed it off was way too suspicious. However, Bulma didn't intend to pry, not for now. She had plenty of time to wait for Silver to open up.

It was at this moment the tent's curtain was lifted by newcomers, and the first thing barged in was Yajirobe's rowdy voice.

"I heard from Maki you're awake, Bulma!~"

Another tall and sturdy figure came in with the older man. In his hands was a large iron plate filled with fresh fruits collected by others—all had been carefully washed by the giant.

Bulma's eyes suddenly widened; she looked pleasantly surprised: "You are...Android 8. Eighter, right? You are still alive!?"

"Yes, Suno and I are both alive. It's great to see you again, Bulma-san. And sorry for not introducing myself up until now, Silver. My name is Android 8, you can call me Eighter like everyone else."

The tall man also greeted the white hedgehog respectfully, then he put the fruit plate in Bulma's arms, grinned ear to ear. "This is for you with the help of everyone. Eat some while it's still fresh."

"..." After a long pause, the blue-haired woman's senses crawled back. She looked down at her arms; the fruits are still dripping water. Something warm spread in her heart, Bulma picked out an apple, wiped off the water drops, and then handed it to Silver: "Here, you can have this."

"It's okay. This is from everyone, you should eat it. I'm not that hungry after all." Silver quickly waved his hands.

"It's fine, both of you can eat. There are plenty more to share. Ah..." Android 8 replied. Then his sentence was cut short by Yajirobe, who rushed forward, snatched the apple from the two, and took a chomp out of it: "Hey hey hey~ If no one wants this, I can eat it for you! First come, first served! Haha."

Unfortunately for the shorter man, his smugness didn't last too long before Bulma reacted immediately by slapping that hand: "Hey, who said you can have it? This is for Silver!"

"Uh, I...I'm really okay. Not hungry at all." With Bulma narrowing her eyes at Yajirobe, Silver shoots up from his seat to smooth things over. However, the blue-haired woman still sent Yajirobe a disgruntled gaze before picking a different fruit for Silver. This time, much bigger. "You are still growing, so you have to eat more!" After another moment of thinking, the older woman only kept an orange for herself, then pushed the whole plate to Silver instead: "Here, this is all for you. I just woke up, so I don't feel hungry. Silver, I know you are a good kid. But there's really no need to be this nice to Yajirobe. After all, this is how we interact with each other. If you treat him too well, he might take advantage of that kindness."

"Wow, that's some rude accusation!"

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Nothing~(whistles)"

"Uh...b, but I really can't eat this much—" Within their ongoing conversation in the background, Silver stared blankly at the plate in his hands, not knowing how to react.

"No buts. You younglings usually have a fast metabolism. It's the same with my Trunks. He always says he's not hungry, but whenever he eats, he eats more than everyone combined." The woman on the bed winked at the white hedgehog, then she affectionately stroked Silver's head once more. Looking back at Bulma, the word 'mother' suddenly popped up in Silver's brain. Although he had never seen his own parents before, but if he ever had a mother, she would probably be like Bulma.

"I thought Trunks could eat a lot because of his Saiyan blood? After all, the same goes for Goku." Rubbing the part of hand that got slapped, Yajirobe couldn't help but mumble.

Like a mother hen protecting her chicks, Bulma stretched out her arm to prevent Yajirobe from getting closer to Silver and his fruits. "Look. You are a grown-ass man! So start acting like one instead of stealing the food from youngster's plate." She paused, changing the subject. This time speaks in a much more serious tone. "Anyway. So...you are really alive, Yajirobe. Maki and Kame did mention it, but I never expected to see your face again."

"Oh yeah. —Sorry for being alive~" Yajirobe shrugged, voice bitter. "I guess you'd rather see someone else survive the battle instead of me."

It's not that he's deliberately making the 'heartfelt' reunion scene awkward or harboring any resentment against Bulma; Yajirobe just always thought about this. For her, and for the survivors.

That's why Bulma's answer actually surprised Yajirobe.

"Huh? Of course not. Why should I?"

Yajirobe's perked up, he saw another warm smile spread across the woman's face. Everything she said blurred the bearded man's sight, he's even a little ashamed, ashamed of how miserable he just acted, like a whiny kid yearning for some kind of recognition.

Not 'I'm sorry I lived,', but 'I'm glad I lived.'

Or rather...

Bulma continued, her smile was like a radiant sun, dispelling every guilt Yajirobe felt about his survival ever since that fateful day. "At least in this way, not only Trunks and I, but now we have three people who had witnessed they 'arrived,' they 'fought,' and they 'existed' before the ultimate demise."

"There is one more friend in this brand-new world who will remember the efforts and sacrifices of Goku and others. I am grateful just for that reason alone."

Bulma said:

"I'm glad you lived to see another day, Yajirobe."

---

2.5 Dragon Ball Dimension + Sonic Dimension

Earth : Angel Island

"Lord Liquiir, it seems to be an altar over there?" The voice of Supreme Kai Iru suddenly came from not far away. Turning his attention towards his direction, the God of Destruction of Universe 8 frowned as soon as his sight made contact with the object.

"Let me take a look~ Oh...Isn't this-" Korn also shifted his gaze over, and his expression changed. The angel walked closer, extended his arm to gently touch the old stone carving.

'This texture and structure...' The fox destroyer muttered to himself as he slowly approached the altar, staring right at the sculpture with complete silence.

"? ?" The confused audience of Universe 7 exchanged glances anxiously.

The standoff lasted for a while, just when everyone was at a loss, not sure what to say. Korn, who had that mysterious smile stuck on his face, finally broke the odd silence.

"Incredible, isn't it? Lord Liquiir. How does it feel to meet an old acquaintance in a foreign land?"

"Hah?" Iru, on the other hand, made a baffled noise, which was also everyone's(U7's) reaction.

In response, the God of Destruction of Universe 8 snorted before correcting his servant's statement: "Old acquaintance? Hm, they are not worthy to be my acquaintance yet. We are just from the same race. ...But you are right, I did not expect to meet any Mobian on such a remote planet. Let me be honest, I thought they had long gone extinct. But no, guess not. Well, as expected as my race." The tone of Liquiir's commentary was quite pleasant, it seemed that he's rather glad to have this little discovery.

"? Um...Excuse me for asking...But Lord Liquiir, Korn-sama, what was Mobian anyway...?" The still lost Iru asked the most crucial question on the behalf of the people from Universe 7.

"Iru-sama, don't tell me you forgot..." Korn sighed. Then he dropped the bomb. "—forgot that Lord Liquiir was the first Mobian to ascend to godhood and became a destroyer soon after. In other words, whoever lived here came from the same race as our lord."

"Huh!?~~~~" One unison of long cry leaked from Korn's staff, followed by Supreme Kai Iru's incoherent muffle noise as his mouth opened and closed like a fish just left the water.

"Stop overestimating them. When I became the God of Destruction, I had long discarded the shackles of mortality. So as for now, they had nothing to do with me, and I had no concern nor attachment towards them either. ...That being said, my old race should be something you, as my partner, paid more attention to. So I'm not very impressed by that ignorance just now, Iru." Liquiir glared at his 'working buddy' with the latter one awkwardly avoiding eye contact and apologizing while sweating profusely.

As if trying to soften his lord's annoyance, Korn chuckled before changing the subject: "But this makes a lot of sense now. The Mobians have always been good at channeling the power of chaos energy, and the best among them are even able to use chaos control at will. In other words, they are just like you people of Universe 7. So the reason why Earth is safe and sound with such a high concentration of chaos energy all thanks to their protection."

"Ahem, don't forget the most powerful one is me, the God of Destruction~~~ But as my people, they can't be weak by all means~" Despite the fact Liquiir claimed he couldn't care less about his old race, it was obvious he still had plenty of pride in them.

"..." Beerus tried his best to hold that accumulating impatience. However, this Mobian race was indeed something worthy of his attention. Liquiir himself might be a special case, but the fact Universe 8's God of Destruction was once a Mobian was enough to prove the strength and potential this alien race possessed. Beerus had a hunch, whoever or whatever switched the Dragon Balls and Chaos Emeralds must have some connection with this race.

"Well, set that aside. I don't believe we can find anything useful on this island now." After quickly surveying the surrounding area, Korn spread his arms in resignation. Then he fake coughed several times before asking his lord for the confirmation of further investigation. "My lord, do you need me to check the footage again?"

"...Go ahead."

Just when Beerus thought this sly fox would play dumb again, he actually approved the suggestion.

That action alone made the feline deity reasonably suspect his 'colleague' still wanted to continue those bragging about...either himself or his old race.

'Just how egotistic is he?' Beerus's lip curled in disdain.

On the other hand, upon hearing this, Bulma and the others also rushed over. There's no way they would miss any new development.

This is when that scene started to play...and instantly stealing everyone's attention without breaking a sweat.

"—~~~~" No one could utter a single word or even noises; they are standing there with their jaws almost dropping to the floor.

Vegeta, as the only one who was kinda mentally prepared for this 'happening'(thanks to that short vision earlier), subconsciously clenched his fists when his suspicion got confirmed. On top of that, the Saiyan prince also felt some kind of strong 'emotion' towards Universe 8's inhabitants, which was extremely bizarre since they didn't know or even met each other before.

'So that's what Kakarot keeps yapping about...'

It was an emotion surprisingly similar to the one he felt when they first met the Saiyans of Universe 6, though polar opposite in a way.

But what exactly is the difference?

Vegeta carefully recalled the memory of he and Cabba's encounter in the tournament ring.

'That's right...'

Loosening his fists, the Saiyan prince finally realized what had bothered him from the start.

Towards Planet Sadala(Ver. U6), Vegeta was curious and nostalgic, maybe sprinkled with some concern and attachment in between. If possible, he would like to visit this alternative version of "home planet" in person one day, even if it's not a legitimate homecoming in the sense he wished for.

Towards Cabba, Vegeta had the same appreciation for talent he would have when meeting a younger generation with a bright future. He positioned himself as a predecessor who could guide Cabba and pass on the greatest strength—his pride and honor to him.

This was not the same emotion that emerged in Vegeta's heart after witnessing the vision.

There is one significant 'difference'.

—It was equality.

'Ridiculous!' Vegeta questioned himself. 'Compared to Cabba and Universe 6's Saiyans, I accept a bunch of faceless shadowy figures as my equal?'

'No, I stand corrected.' The Saiyan prince thought to himself. The only one he felt some kind of connection to was that dark figure appeared in the vision. As for the other one that drew Kakarot's attention, it was just like what he had said before—Vegeta felt nothing but annoyance just by glancing over 'him'.

But this time, there's something else.

'Especially that nonsensical attitude, it's just like Kakarot, which also pisses me off...Wait a sec! How the hell did I know that!'

Realizing that something definitely was off, Vegeta quickly shook his head and refocused on the big screen, trying so hard to gloss over the weird feeling he just got.

Now, the second one to react to the footage was Gohan. He retracted a few steps to his father, who was also standing there looking dazed.

"Dad...Is that...a Super Saiyan? But...I thought their angel told us Saiyans don't exist in Universe 8. So...what's going on over there?"

What appeared on the transparent screen was one familiar form no one would mistake for something else no matter how many times they checked—notably that brilliant golden aura and incredible power boost while flying above the sea with the momentum of thunderclaps.

Though there were still differences if they paid more attention.

First, the energy leaked through the screen indeed had a clouded feeling to it, just like Korn mentioned; second, despite it appearing to be a regular Super Saiyan, the power of that mysterious form definitely surpassed it by a long shot. But no one could actually tell how much.

This is when the maybe 'Super Saiyan (?)' suddenly started to slow down.

What happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.

The aura warped around their body dissipated in an instant; it seems they stopped the transformation. There's nothing wrong with that decision. However, the problem was his/her base form had one striking feature to it—that familiar blue shade.

"Wait!? It's 'him'!? The same one before!?" Bulma exclaimed.

As soon as the blue speedster was about to run out of everyone's sight, 'he' stopped abruptly. Due to the long distance in between, the figure looked like a small dot on the shimmering ocean, which was hard to identify.

Almost like it was intentional, Universe 8's angel deliberately kept the distance far so nobody could see clearly. Even Gohan had to adjust his glasses again in case of not losing the target.

Before he could take a closer look to confirm, the blue dot bent down and picked up another two dots, one red and one orange. Thereafter, he just 'instant transmitted' out of the scene.

"—Am I seeing things again? So he's a Super Saiyan and can teleport...Who IS he—Goku?!"

"But I'm standing right here!"

Listening to Krillin's mumbling along with his father's refute, Gohan had the exact same question in mind.

---

2.6 Sonic Dimension

Future timeline

"Um, Mrs. Bulma. Are you sure you don't need more rest?"

Silver asked worriedly, carefully following the blue-haired woman walking outside. It seems his worry was unfounded, because the person in question just turned around to face him—Bulma rolled up her sleeves and proudly declared to the white hedgehog.

"Look, I'm fine! Remember to never underestimate me. I've always been pretty healthy. You know? Don't want to lose to you younglings yet." The female scientist pondered for a few seconds, then stared at Silver's face again. "One more thing, you don't have to address me this formally. Just call me Auntie Bulma like the other kids. I know you are much older than them, but that doesn't change the fact you are still a child in my eyes."

"Um...aun...I think I will just go with 'Bulma-san.'" Silver tried but failed miserably; his face filled with embarrassment. Sensing this might take longer than she expected, the older woman laughed in her heart.

"Fine, you can call me whatever you like. It's a special privilege I granted you." She winked at the white hedgehog, and this somehow calmed him down.

At this point, Bulma suddenly remembered something important: "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you just now. When did you defeat this devil called Iblis?"

"? Eh? ...Oh, about 3 years ago, I believe?" After counting in his brain, Silver quickly corrected Bulma: "The truth is—Iblis wasn't defeated by me alone; there were two more people who helped."

"3 years ago... !? Hold on! Does it mean you fought a world-ending enemy at the age of 14—?! Wow, you are pretty strong, aren't you?~" Bulma widened her eyes, then proceeded to slap the white hedgehog on the shoulder. After that, her attention shifted to the 'two helpers' Silver mentioned: "So those two are your friends? It's great to have reliable friends willing to lend a hand to you."

"Yeah. You are right." Silver grinned, feeling good, too. "Seriously, I owe them a lot... Especially Sonic. Hah...if I could have been more careful with Mephiles, then I wouldn't have caused that much trouble for him. Oh yeah, Sonic is one of the people who helped me; the other one's name is Shadow."

"Ho~? Sonic and Shadow? I'd like to meet them one day. Do you know where they are now?" Bulma asked curiously. Unfortunately, the moment she saw Silver's suspicious reaction, she knew she messed up. His expression was both sad and lonely, like reminiscing about something lost for ages.

Bulma definitely recognized that emotion because she had been acting like that ever since their parting with Goku.

As she expected, the next sentence coming out of Silver's mouth confirmed her suspicion: "Umm...they are...ack...no longer with me anymore."

"Ahem hem hem..." A series of coughing noises came right behind her. Bulma turned around to see Yajirobe eyeing her desperately, while Android 8 looking lost by this development.

"Oh, oh no... Umm... so...'no longer with you' means...huh... I'm...uh, I'm really sorry, I..." The woman gasped and stuttered. This all-so-similar situation definitely reminded her of her own past. But before she could say something to comfort Silver, she received a perplexed look from him instead.

"Sorry? What're you sorry for?"

"?Uh... I mean, for my lack of delicacy? I must have touched a nerve, you have my condolences." Bulma responded with embarrassment, while Silver's expression grew even more confused.

"What...? What kind of nerve? I mean, yes, I do feel lonely because we probably won't see each other anymore, but there's nothing to be grieved over."

"?"

"?"

Bulma and Yajirobe exchanged a few glances, both were lost for words. This is when the white hedgehog finally realized how misleading his phrases sound just now. So in order to clear the confusion, Silver quickly waved his hands: "You guys got it all wrong! Unable to meet anymore doesn't equal to death... They are perfectly fine! ...Ahem, ANYWAYS, Sonic and Shadow did not lose their lives during the battle against Iblis! Not to mention they are much tougher than me, it's not an easy task to kill them! ...Mephiles succeeded by sneak attack back then, so it doesn't count!"

Silver muttered something to himself, then he turned to Bulma and Yajirobe, "We can't meet each other due to...some...'technical issues(?).' But both Sonic and Shadow are still alive and well. No misunderstanding on that regard, please."

A/N: The Silver in this fanfic is my interpretation of him after the 06 game timeline. So he is not the same Silver from later games (the one without the memories of Sonic 06). That's why his attitude towards Sonic and Shadow has also changed a lot. In my setting, this version of Silver stayed on the destroyed earth for another three years after defeating Iblis. Therefore, before Yajirobe and others got thrown into this new universe, Silver (now 17 years old) had endured loneliness for three years already.

It seemed like Silver minded how others' opinions towards the two who helped him very much. So Bulma and Yajirobe both nodded before making more mistakes.

If the so-called Sonic and Shadow person did not die on the battlefield, they did not have to worry about reminding Silver sad memories.

So of course, the blue-haired scientist opened her mouth, "You really think highly of them, don't you? I mean, if you trust them this much, they must be very reliable. I can understand that feeling... So, why not tell me more about this Sonic and Shadow person? Of course, if you are willing to share that is."

"Eh...eh, I suppose it's okay." Silver hesitantly nodded, his gaze shifted towards the sky like lost in past memories: "Though he was always acting brooding and standoffish towards us, Shadow taught me one valuable lesson—that is, instead of blindly putting trust into someone else without question, I should learn to see through lies myself."

When Silver said this, his mood turned gloomy, as if he regretted something.

"Looking back now, despite the fact he always gave off an arrogant impression to others, Shadow was rather patient with me...and towards Sonic, as well. I mean, they knew each other for a while now, so I'm not surprised."

"Hmm...Brooding, standoffish, and arrogant, huh? Well...that's...an intriguing way to describe someone..." Bulma was weirded out by this new piece of information she just received. With how much praise Silver gave to his two 'friends,' Bulma thought they'd be like Goku, someone who would always bring peace and assurance to the universe with their presence alone.

The true savior of the world.

However...

'So, not a Son-kun type, but a Vegeta type? That's something I never thought would be a thing...' At first, Bulma was amused at her own imagination, but soon her smile faded. 'What's wrong with me? Why did I suddenly think of those two...'

Carefully suppressing this eerie feeling inside her heart, the older woman forced herself to refocus on Silver's response. But the more Bulma listened, the more she knew that something was wrong.

Because when Silver talked about his other 'helper,' the way he described this Sonic person was a perfect match to Bulma's definition of her best yet long-dead friend—Son Goku. So it's basically someone she just met for hours using those familiar phrases to describe a complete stranger, a situation Bulma never imagined before.

This sense of abnormality alone was enough to make the female scientist question her sanity.

"As for Sonic, it's just like what I told Mr. Yajirobe before. If we talked about speed, he is the fastest in the universe. However, Shadow once told me this: Sonic's greatest strength is not his speed or power, but the sense of security he brought to everyone. No matter how desperate the situation or how powerful the enemy is, as long as he is alive, there is still a glimmer of hope. Let's be honest, I had my doubts, but that was before I witnessed the miracles with my own eyes. ...Uh, why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"…—"

For a brief moment of silence, Bulma and Yajirobe stared at each other and Silver. There are no words that could even start to describe their astonishment.

"~Hey...I...I know something was wrong from the start, but this is getting ridiculous now. Silver, do you realize how many similarities we shared with each other?" Since Yajirobe was more knowledgeable about this Earth than Bulma, he screeched first, "Next you are going to tell me that Sonic guy can transform or save the earth many times?"

The bearded man's original intent was to vent out some of his frustration; that's why he totally didn't expect a very serious response from the white hedgehog.

"Hmm...umm. Yes, he can, and he did." Silver hesitated. "...In fact, not just him, Shadow and I both can transform. After all, that's how we defeated Iblis in the beginning."

"—Huh?"

"...Wha?...?"

Hearing this, all Bulma and Yajirobe could do was freeze in action, trying their best to digest the information.

Time passed quickly. When Bulma came back to her senses, she asked the white hedgehog for one flavor, even her voice was still trembling.

"Then...how about showing that transformation to us, Silver? There's one thing I have to confirm."

To be Continued...?