The Olympian God of Destruction:
Chapter 16: The Titanomachy IX
The next day…
"Leaving me till last, Beerus?" Hera smirked as she appeared in the clearing with a hand propped on her hip, looking as smug as she had when she'd paid him back earlier. "To think, I got you so worked up you got the others out of the way early on the same day, just so you could save me on my lonesome for the next. You flatter me, really…"
Beerus felt his eye twitch in aggravation, but did not rise to the blatantly obvious bait, even when she goaded him further with an infuriatingly suggestive wink. He wanted to kick her ass, sure, but he couldn't make it too obvious how irritable he currently was with her here, as that would only show her that she'd actually succeeded in getting inside his head. And the last thing he needed right now was to give her affirmation that she'd gotten to him, as given how aggressive and confrontational he knew her to be, he knew damn well she'd take that knowledge against him as far as she could.
"Cut the crap and let's get this started already." Beerus said, holding in his temper as he brought his fists behind his back and pressed them into each other. "I know you're delusional and all, but remember, I'm here to test you and see how far you've come, so go ahead and show me what you can do."
Rather than be annoyed at him calling her delusional, Hera's smirk just widened as her eyes met his. "Alright then, have it your way. But as I said to you before, do try not to disappoint me with your training, as I have high standards for what I expect."
Beerus, already tired of waiting, and further annoyed that she'd repeated that line of thought again as though he had to prove something to her, didn't bother biding his time for her to make the first move. His body suddenly bursting forward, seemingly disappearing from sight as his palm thrusted forward, aiming directly for Hera's chest. But, to her credit, Hera reacted in time and jumped back to avoid the palm-strike, creating a ten-metre distance between them as his blow struck nothing but air.
Hera was still smirking at him even then, before she then retaliated in kind, rushing forward the same way he had, but throwing up a side kick aimed for his face instead when she closed the gap. It blurred up at him with speed greater than his own attack, but all the same, her ankle was caught just before the sole of her foot even grazed his nose, with his hand wrapped like a vice around it and halting her momentum.
The fledgling goddess wasn't surprised in the slightest by this. Instead, she immediately teleported out of his grasp, appearing above him with his back to her and one curvy leg of hers raised up high for an axe-kick down on his skull. When her leg swung down with an impressive amount of force, Beerus didn't even bother to look up as the same hand that'd caught her before did the same again, wrapping around her ankle as her leg was mid-swing. In the same motion, he wrenched his arm down and leaned his body forward as he swung his air-borne sister downward ankle-first for a vicious slam to the ground. Her entire form blurring from the dizzying speed in which he did it.
No impact was made though, as Hera shape-shifted herself into a small bird just in time, flapping her wings and gliding up through the air out of his grip again as she avoided getting smashed into the earth. Rather than retreat back though, Hera twirled in the air several metres above her brother and shot down beak-first toward him like a miniature comet, transforming herself back to her original form when she was scant inches away. Her dainty hands grabbing unto either side of his head before driving her knee forward like a bludgeoning hammer, intent on caving his face in with a considerable jump in speed.
She was met with Beerus ducking down out of her hand's grip, seemingly with ease, as her kick swung by and missed its mark, with her toes barely grazing over his long, purple hair before he shimmered out of existence. His form reappearing by her side in mid-air as he thrust a powerful side kick of his own toward her hip, which she just about managed to react to in time, torquing her body somewhat in mid-air and bringing up a knee to block. The strength of the blow still sent her hurtling back with a small shockwave, feeling the bones around her knee-cap rattle somewhat as her other foot dug into the ground to slow herself, creating a tiny, but long trench that was quickly joined by another as her other foot ground down. Her body eventually coming to a stop about close to a hundred feet away.
Hera wasn't given any time to breathe though, as Beerus phased into existence right in front of her with a hunched posture and a fist reared back, ready to smash her face into paste. At the last possible second, she was able to dematerialise as his fist whizzed in with pulverizing force, body glowing with a thin, dark-purple aura. She then reappeared as a snake with her fiery red aura thinly encompassing her and lunging into him. Seemingly getting through his guard, she wrapped her long, serpentine body around both his neck, and the wrist of his outstretched arm, heaving with as much might as she could muster in that small interval to force his fist back right towards his face. She almost succeeded in doing so, only for the knuckles of his fist to halt just an inch from his face, and refuse to budge any further from there.
"You've got some nerve to try and hit me with my own punch, I'll give you that…" Beerus remarked, totally ignoring her attempt to choke him by coiling the upper part of her serpent body harder around his neck, only feeling a bit of discomfort from the effort. "But you're also gullible if you actually think you just slipped through my guard…" As he said this, Beerus other hand flew up at speeds Hera couldn't react to, his pointer finger jabbing several points over her reptile body, including dead centre on her head. His swift pressure point attacks not only slackening her grip on his wrist and neck completely, but also whiting Hera's eyes out as he knocked her unconscious for a very brief period. He swiftly followed this up before she snapped back awake by moving his hand that had previously been caught on the wrist over the bottom end of her snake form, close enough to the tail whilst easily slipping his head out from the coiled form of Hera. His hand gripped her close to the tail then, and tugged her up as he started swinging her around and around above his head so fast that her blurring form seemed to take the shape of a mini-tornado, before launching her forward like a javelin. By the time Hera had snapped awake, her serpent body had been sent careening at high speeds, ploughing through and uprooting trees before crashing into the ground, forming a deeper trench as she went, before her snake-form finally impacted with a large, hard rock. Her momentum coming to a halt as she broke through it, and had the debris from it crumbling on top of her about half a mile away from him.
"Hmph." Beerus would be lying if he said there wasn't a good chunk of him taking satisfaction from that, though he managed to keep a smirk off his face. So far, anyway. "And you were telling me that you had high standards. Your performance so far is quite lack-" Beerus suddenly ducked on instinct, as a thicc, curvy leg shimmered into existence just where his face had been with a kick that had enough power behind it to send a focused shockwave that left a huge indent in the mountain's hide behind him, along with making the full structure quiver.
"I thought you said to cut the crap?" Hera snapped back, showing some aggression in her tone as her leg suddenly teleported from its position above his head, leaving Beerus confused in that small instant, as the rest of her remained, only to be genuinely caught off-guard as her leg reappeared beneath him. The front of her foot almost cracking against his chin as she swung it up with brutal, yet efficient force, not unlike how a swordsman would've thrust their blade up for an upward slash, as his forearms crossed in the nick of time to block it. "We've only just started Beerus. No need to get ahead of yourself."
"No need to get ahead of myself?" Even though Beerus held the desire to whoop her ass in this session after the stunt she pulled, he couldn't deny the sheer balls she had metaphorically to throw that line at him. Not only that, but teleporting a singular body part in the middle of a fight to catch him by surprise, seeing as no one who'd sparred with him prior, not even Zeus, had done that yet? She may be a bitch, but she definitely had some fighting spirit and talent to her, as begrudging as that was to admit. "You dare to tell me that?"
"Damn right I do!" She exclaimed strongly, not wavering for an instant, as she launched into a barrage of attacks as soon as he pushed her foot away, bombarding him with a series of punches, elbows and kicks to just about every area she could aim for, from his ankles all the way up to his head. She did not let up for even an insignificant moment as she forced him to defend in kind, blocking with his forearms, hands and legs and feet himself as she managed to push him back. Her expression fierce, despite the smile still on her face. "I've barely even warmed up, so you'd better get ready, Beerus," Her leg suddenly dematerialized again mid-swing as he brought his knee up to block, only to reappear right away between his legs. His eyes widened upon noticing this as her shin shot up at high velocity, with only his battle instincts given how much he was holding back saving him, as his palm thrust down and stopped her leg's momentum cold, barely a centimetre off of crashing into his crown jewels. The force behind what he'd stopped actually making his palm shake a little, making it clear that if he'd let that hit him, his balls either would've been squashed, or sent flying right out of his gullet! "or else I may end up finishing this spar sooner than expected."
Beerus's eye twitched agitatedly again from the sheer audacity of that last statement. "Why you cocky little…" Hera shapeshifted into a small bird just as he struck out with a punch, gliding over the skin of his knuckles before rolling her avian body around, and transforming herself back right as her feet were angled towards. He was quickly forced to bring up his other arm to block the double-footed stomp she attempted on his face as her aura flared, flattening the ground beneath him in a ten-foot wide and deep crater, before he pushed back with said arm, forcing her to spring back off it in kind and land back on her feet well beyond the crater with a graceful backflip. "As if you could actually make me submit!"
The crater widened and deepened several feet more as he propelled himself off of it, getting right in Hera's grill in an instant and reengaging her. This time, with him being the one to throw numerous combinations of quick, efficient attacks in a superb barrage that had every part of his body creating afterimages in his wake. The fledgling goddess throwing in much more effort than he had into dodging and occasionally parrying his attacks, as his aura flared up slightly. His body blitzing around hers with a veritable typhoon of punches and kicks with her at the centre. Every dodge having the skin of his limbs grazing off her tunic or body, while those she had to parry still made her bones rattle inside her from the increasingly high amount of force present in them.
Eventually, Hera found a reprieve long enough during the storm to focus and teleport herself out of the danger zone, timing her brother quite well as she got behind him right when he would've gotten behind her, and thrust her foot toward the back of his left leg. His body shimmered out of sight though just as her foot would've collided, passing harmlessly through air, before her other foot was swept out from under her before she could react, sending her falling unto her side where her sizeable, ample breasts jiggled inside of her tunic. She bounced back quick though, springing up and striking from her downed position with a front kick behind her, which Beerus caught with one hand before wrenching upside down off the earth, and then letting go of her foot as he shot a fist toward her abdomen. She didn't see even a hint of surprise on his face when she transformed into a snake again to have the punch pass harmlessly through her wriggly form, before coiling over the appendage and slithering up past his shoulder at high speed to bare her fangs with a hiss.
Beerus was quick to clamp her mouth shut with his other hand before she could bite him in the neck, but she transformed herself as soon as he did that, having known that wouldn't work, into a fly and buzzing through the finger gaps of it, landing right on his nose. The purple-haired deity was immediate in his action to try and swat her off with the hand closer to his face, but never got the chance, as Hera's form shifted the instant she landed on the ridge, and before long, ending up back in her humanoid form with her legs wrapping around Beerus' head, and her tunic's length shortened considerably. The latter's eyes bulging as the gutsy bitch had the stones to push his face within her tunic and dangerously close to a crotch that had nothing worn over it beneath. The extremely minute timeframe in which his frame stilled was enough for Hera to violently torque her body back, aura spiking higher than ever as she pulled his head with her, tugging his feet off the ground as she flipped them both over, barbarously piledriving the top of his dome into the ground. The biggest and deepest crater yet forming from the impact, easily twice as wide and deep as the last one, with Beerus' whole head firmly ploughed inside of it at the centre.
"Haggh!" As if to get another good lick in while she could, Hera shot to her feet while turning to face him, swinging her leg up whilst her tunic resized itself back down to her feet at will, before dropping her appendage down mercilessly in a powerful axe-kick, smashing the heel of her foot right unto his groin. The impact forming quite shockwave that billowed out around them, and making the crater almost twice as big beneath them again with a loud CRUNCH sound that resonated through the area, as she struck him successfully in the balls, this time with much more power than she'd intended previous. Her ears failed to pick up a gasp of pain or anything from her brother, but she could tell from the way his entire body writhed for an instant after she'd hit him there, that he'd definitely felt every bit of it.
Hera was quick to flash a smug smile again, as she kept her foot over his groin. Aggression clearer than ever in her pleased tone. "I did warn you. It seems that I'll be the one disappointed, since you're not living up to my standards." Putting her hands on her hips and turning her regal nose up at him, she continued. "First round goes to me there, I'd say. You can stop this and quit now if you want. I won't hold it over you… much." She finished with a snort, making it clear he'd never hear the end of it if he did.
What she got in response less than a moment later, was the ground rumbling beneath her feet, as though a small earthquake was beginning to take place. Hera knew better however, especially when those rumblings evolved into tremors that savagely shook the very foundations of the earth beneath her feet, and likely around the entire Isle. The goddess hopped back immediately, as the ground exploded out from beneath Beerus, his dark-purple aura spiking high around his form as a deep, guttural growl surfaced from his throat as he flashed to his feet. His long hair rising up and fluttering in the air with his anger, as his eyes glowed a deep purple to match his aura, teeth ground down against each other as he bit back a snarl while turning his gaze to her, fists clenched hard enough to whiten the knuckles.
"That tears it…!" He hissed, the proverbial 'kiddie gloves' coming off as the damage done to his genitals healed over, leaving a dull ache where his nuts had been squashed by his overly-confident and very vexing sister. "No more playing around!... I've had enough!..."
"Playing around-" Before Hera could make a sassy remark, Beerus' body suddenly whirred right beside her, directly inside her guard, and grabbed on to her beneath her chin, pressing down painfully into her jaw and cheeks in a vice grip that halted her speech. The action keeping her lips puckered and partially opened as the strain increased, with the sudden jump in speed being enough to keep her briefly stunned in place as he glared her dead in the eye.
"You want to get rough, do you?" The dark-purple glow shimmered menacingly around his form, as the air around him crackled. It was impossible not to see how pissed he was, at this point. "Well, that's fine by me!" Hera teleported out of his grip when it looked like he was about to punch her, appearing behind him to try and attack his back, only for her to get turned on too fast to react. Her eyes unable to keep up with him as his body spun around and backhanded her with a clenched fist right in the face. The blow cracking her skull, snapping her head to the side and sending some teeth flying out as an intense shockwave burst forth, one that would've sent her flying had he not grabbed on to her wrist and pulled her in while she was dazed from his first blow. Ichor already dripping from the corner of her mouth where she'd temporarily lost some molars as he smashed his fist into her gut with a CRUNCH of his own, breaking all of her ribs in one go as his fist buried deep into her abdomen keeling her body over his arm as her feet came off the ground.
"Kuh!?" Golden blood splattered in droplets out of her open maw, pain ripping through Hera as Beerus followed up by turning his back to face her before grabbing her arm, tossing her over his shoulder, and then delivering a spinning jump kick directly into her shattered rib-cage. More blood flew from her gob as she was sent flying back this time, her body upside down as she hurtled through the air with a heavy grimace, part of her intestines battered near to paste from the kick, before her back crashed hard into the hide of Mount Lykaios. The previous craters and such having been removed, either by Gaea, or by the primordial spirit that embodied it, as she formed a huge one around her before her body slunk off the mishappen surface and down to the ground in a heap.
"Get up, Hera! You wanted it rough, so you're getting it rough!" Beerus shouted out as he began to stalk forward, eyes glowing with destruction. A part of him realising still though that this was meant to train her, so he held back from bull-rushing immediately and just pummelling her into dust. Much as a part of him wanted to, outside of giving some temporary catharsis, it wouldn't be productive in the least. "Better prepare yourself, because I'm about to give you an educational ass-kicking that you desperately need. And one that you won't soon forget!"
"Ugh…" Hera groaned in dulling agony, as her injuries rapidly healed over. Her body fully fixed up by the time she rolled up unto her ass with her back pressing into the mountain's rocky surface. Her hazel eyes meeting his glowing ones, as he came forward. Her eyebrows knitting closer together as she glared back at him. And then her form phased out of existence with golden flecks, before she appeared right in front of him as a furious lioness mid-pounce, fangs bared and claws out.
This got her jabbed in the forehead by his finger, hitting a pressure point that briefly put her in the realm of the unconscious, before the other hand whirred forth and grabbed unto her neck. His hand getting a tight, almost bone-crushing grip around it before slamming the now feline Hera into the ground, cratering her in a dome-shaped hole multiple metres wide and deep.
"Too predictable. Try to be more spontaneous and less telegraphed in your approach. This and your previous attacks aren't gonna cut it anymore!" Beerus yelled out, before swinging his foot into her ribcage, punting the lioness Hera out of the crater and dozens of metres into the air away from him. His ears picking up the distinct sound of her ribs breaking again as she soared away, only for her form to vanish less than a second later, as Beerus remained on guard despite his seemingly slackening posture.
When she emerged again, she dove to him from above as an eagle, and barely flashed away in time to avoid his bicycle-kick he used to counter, reappearing close to his side as a fly buzzing toward his face, only to be caught in between two fingers even before his swung-out leg had come back down. Beerus used his thumb to flick her away before she could think to do anything, now that his power and speed had been upped. "Trying the same trick twice? Not very smart, considering it involves you being faster reacting than me, which won't happen again."
Beerus tilted his head back less than a pico-second later, as Hera flashed back right in front of him, shooting her foot up for his chin with another sidekick, letting the blow sail by his eyes without accomplishing anything. Well, for her anyway, as with speed several times faster than Hera had been, Beerus swept her other leg out from under her, before then reaching out and grabbing unto the back of her head, before slamming her down face-first unto his shooting knee. The kneecap belabouring into her divine features with punishing power, shattering her nose and flattening it into her concaving face, with her hazel eyes bulging outwards in agony around his muscular, tree-trunk thick leg. Her skull fracturing in numerous places as her brain bounced about raucously inside, ichor flying out in droplets from her mashed face and staining his leg with splotches of golden blood, which then spewed out from her crushed nasal passages once her face was pulled from his sturdy knee.
She was somehow still conscious, but unimaginably dazed and out of sorts as her perfect teeth had been chipped and broken, falling down on his leg and the ground from her open maw. Beerus could only scoff, as he delivered another crushing blow, this time in the form of an uppercut, into her jaw, shattering that as well along with breaking her teeth further, as he sent her body flying high into the air above him. her body flipping around and round uncontrollably as she eventually plummeted to he ground, her body in a heap as she created a small hole around herself from the steep fall, laid out a good thirty metres from the standing form of her brother.
"Now what did I just say? If you want any chance of landing another blow on me, you'll have to step your game up and think more outside the box. Otherwise, it'll just end the same as did there, understand me!?" Beerus bellowed out, with the purple glow of his eyes becoming fiercer, as she began to stir and groggily get up. Her broken, horrendously smashed-up face mending itself back to its normal, incomprehensible beauty within no time at all, with a searing glare being pointed at him.
Following that, Hera would come at him again and again, trying to be the aggressor. Unlike her initial success when he'd been holding back more, however, she held no such luck landing anything on him again. Every time they engaged, Beerus was in total control, never allowing it to slip out of his grasp for even an instant, as he slammed, battered, and pummelled her for every mistake she made, just like the others, if a bit more brutally. He quickly lost count of the amount of times he broke her bones, knocked her unconscious with his pressure point techniques, and countered even her best improvised plans of attack. Even when she started pulling out possibly the best teleport-shapeshift combinations he'd dealt with so far, bar Zeus, she couldn't get him. He even shapeshifted himself on occasion and outdid her in that, as well, showing every last hole in her game, both big and small, that he could see. Despite the beating he gave her, and how cathartic it was to a degree, he never forgot to throw in tips and advice when he could so she could improve, and to keep this a productive session that didn't just devolve into him beating her down and nothing else.
Their full spar, he could just tell, went on a good deal longer than the others had. Partially because he was getting some enjoyment out of putting her in her place, and partially because Hera was relentless, never stopping or admitting defeat no matter how badly he outclassed her. She just kept meeting him with that same ferocity he'd known her to have, which was one of her good traits when not paired with her bitchiness. Unlike Poseidon, she never showed a hint of fear throughout, though Beerus chalked that up to her being aware deep down that no matter how brutal it was, this was just a spar for her to improve at the end of the day, no matter her sass towards him. Plus, she was showing immediate improvements as they went on, and he could see in real time that initial errors in the way she fought were being closed up, and the more extreme ones were at the very least being alleviated to a certain degree.
After about several hours, the area they'd been sparring in had been totally torn apart as if a calamity had taken place there. Craters littered the ground everywhere of varying sizes, with craters inside of several as well, the nearby forest had been torn to shreds, with trees uplifted, splintered and shattered apart, with numerous, massive trenches dug out from where Hera's body had dug into as she was sent blasting away. The hide of Mount Lykaios looked utterly pulverised after the plethora of times Hera had been smashed into it one way or another in various forms outside of her humanoid one, which was only added to as Hera's back crashed into its heavily mishappen surface one last time.
Before she could even perceive of the notion of moving forward as her latest wounds healed over, Beerus's forearm smacked hard into her neck, bashing her head further into the rocky surface and splintering it in a wide radius around her skull. Keeping the forearm pressed into her throat, Beerus held her in place as she coughed and hacked from the blow that almost crushed her windpipe, both dried and fresh ichor dripping down the corners of her lips, as well as down her temple. Her tunic ripped and torn up in multiple places around her torso, showing blemish-less, pearly-white skin that had been banged up something fierce when those parts had initially been torn up.
"So, was that up to your 'high standards', Hera?" Beerus asked mockingly, keeping her firmly pressed into the battered bottom section of the mountain. One that no doubt would've been toppled over into rubble a long time ago were it not for Gaea's power, as well as perhaps the spirit that embodied it to a lesser extent.
"Hgnn!... I suppose it was adequate…" Hera sassily threw back with a slight crack to her voice, meeting his gaze unflinchingly, with their faces mere inches away from another. "Felt less like training, and more just you blowing off some steam, even with all that advice you were barking out at me…"
"Oh, I assure you, this whole spar was for your benefit only. I just got a little carried away, is all." Beerus replied, totally lying shamelessly through his teeth, and he could tell she knew he was. There was no damn way he was about to admit to what she was thinking as the truth though, and give her some sense of satisfaction over him. Not in a million years. "In any case, this spar is just about over."
"Is that right…?" Hera managed a quirk up of her lips. Despite the beating she'd taken her spirit hadn't even been cracked. "I can still fight, you know…"
"Oh, I don't doubt that you can." He acknowledged, as the glow over his eyes dissipated completely. "Thing is though, it doesn't make a difference. I've seen all I needed to see from you. You've shown me your full power as it is now, and it couldn't get you anywhere against me when I started throwing in a little more effort. I was barely at five percent, perhaps even less while I was thrashing you there. Us continuing further would only prolong me kicking your ass all over the place. But if you want to continue, well," Beerus chuckled, before leaning his head forward until their foreheads touched, baring his gaze down into hers with a dangerous tint to them. Their closeness now bringing out a certain thrill within his body as he felt her breath wash over him, but he ignored it completely. "I guess I could spare a few more minutes to educate you further."
"Hehe… Oh, I bet you'd just love that, wouldn't you, Beerus?..." She chuckled to herself a little hoarsely, noticing quite well just how close they were, as his hot breath washed over her. A part of her on the inside beginning to feel some excitement from the closeness of their bodies outside of combat as well. "Give you a bit of extra time to get your hands on me… after I got you all excited yesterday when you returned…" She smirked despite how bad her throat felt right now with his forearm shoved so hard against it, seeing the twitch of irritation over his eye. "Then again… you're all over me as it is…"
Beerus schooled his expression at that remark, not giving his irritation at that reminder away, knowing full well she was just saying this to rile him up. Or at least he hoped so, anyway. "You really need to get over yourself, Hera. Whatever the heck you have cooked up in your mind right now, I assure you, it has no basis in reality." He said, as he pulled back and let her go. A flash of disappointment crossing him inwardly at his actions, which he ignored just as readily as the thrill a moment prior, as she reached up and rubbed her neck a little. The damage he'd given it, like all other wounds, healing over quickly.
"So, you say, but I'm not the one who got aroused yesterday over some kissing and then stormed off the scene because you couldn't handle me exploiting this odd weakness you seem to have." She smirked back at him, some of that smugness returning even after the ass-kicking he'd just doled out, though at the same time, feeling a good bit of disappointment inwardly at him pulling away. "All that power, and you're that flustered over some affection… Makes me wonder what you were doing out there away from us all after I got back at you for before…" She cheekily glanced down before glancing back up again, almost mocking him herself with how grating her knowing tone became. "You were quite excited down there, after all…"
"Only because this body of mine is stupid. Nothing more." Beerus shot down in a way that no doubt came across as both childish and nonsensical, but he didn't give a damn, because it was pretty much the truth, as far as he saw it. "In any case, we're done here. You can go back to the others now. And word to the wise before you leave. Don't pull that shit again…"
"Don't pull what?" Hera asked facetiously, playing dumb as she stepped forward away from the mountain that steadily began to mend the damage done to it, as it did the ground and forest area as well to a slower extent. "I have no idea what you mean, brother…"
"Just get out of here…" Beerus deadpanned after a sigh cut through him, feeling his patience slip once again, even after blowing off most of his aggravation on her already. "Stick around any longer and you'll become an eyesore…"
"Hmph. Crude as always…" Hera shrugged. "And in denial too…" She added, as she passed him by. The rips and tears on her tunic mending themselves over in no time, just as her wounds had done. She then flashed him a pert smile, as she turned to look at him one last time, with a hand mounted to her wide hip. "I'd offer to give you a kiss of gratitude like our sister Demeter did before… but I think we both know you'd get a little too excited from it, after your reaction to the last one I gave you…"
"Are you done?" Beerus held back his annoyance, crushing that stupid other sensation that rose up in his body and giving her nothing. If she wanted a rise out of him, she'd need to do better than that, and he damn well wasn't going to allow her the same opportunity from yesterday twice. She was getting firmly clapped the instant she gave him the feeling she'd try that crap again. "Unless you want to stick around for 'round three', which won't go any different from the last, just get your ass away from here and back to the others."
Hera snorted somewhat derisively at his attitude, looking for a brief moment like she was considering staying for it, possibly just to try and rile him up more. In the end though, she seemed to think against it, and turned away. "Hmph. No, I believe I've spent enough time alone with you for today." She said while offering a quick wave behind, her hips flourishing from side to side as she began to walk off with a bit of a more golden glow to her, heralding the use of teleportation. "There's only so much of you I can handle, at the end of the day. And besides, wouldn't want the others thinking you and I have something going on outside of training, would we?…" She said in a tone just mischievous enough to make him think she just might make that happen, purely to annoy him further. It was petty, but then again, they both were in similar ways, so that didn't shock him.
And then she was finally gone, dematerialising away back to the others, and Beerus just let out another sigh, glad that he didn't have to deal with her again for another bit. Most of the steam taken out of his sails not that he'd sparred it out of himself, though his vexation with her still remained to an extent, and with how she was, he doubted that would ever really go away.
"Bit of a shame you ended it there, young one. If you were just a bit less stubborn and closed off, you could've returned the favour to her in full." The recognisable voice of Gaea suddenly chimed in from behind him with a hint of disappointment in her tone. Beerus turned to her with an unamused look, as she had her arms crossed beneath her giant bosom, squishing and pushing up her perky mounds atop them, back to more his size as opposed to the Hekatonkheires. Despite her tone, she was smiling at him, as she continued. "In my opinion, you and her could end up having quite the passionate relationship. And I could say something similar for Demeter, as well, if you'd bother to give it a chance."
"Is there a reason you've come to see me, other than wasting my time hearing such drivel?" Beerus shot back with a tone and expression far from amused, partially glaring at her. "I've got my training to get back to, after all, and I'd much rather be doing that then listening to you tease and annoy me about such nonsense."
Gaea sighed, though looked wholly unsurprised by his attitude. She'd grown use to it whenever she brought this subject up, even if teasingly. "My apologies, young one. I didn't come simply to tease you about that, even if you make it far too easy for me to do so." She winked at him, regretting nothing. The action giving him a reminder of Whis again, for all the wrong reasons.
"Out with it then. I'm sure your sons are missing your company already." He said, while passing a glance twenty miles into the distance, where he could see the trio of multiheaded and many armed giants relaxing about. One literally laying over a mountain like it were some kind of recliner having a snooze, while the other two just sat around him, presumably having some idle chatter.
There was a brief pause then between him and the primordial goddess, before Gaea unfolded her arms from her jiggling breasts and came forward. Her smile becoming tender and warm, as she proceeded to pull the purple-haired deity into a firm hug, squashing her enormous pair like thick pancakes against his front. Beerus' awkwardness kicked in immediately as his eyes darted to her with a befuddled look. Her voice being gentle and filled with warmth, as she spoke softly by his ear. "I know this is a little belated, but, the real reason I came, was to thank you, young one. For rescuing my boys from that terrible place, and setting them free once more…"
"Its… fine." Beerus replied after a bit, not quite returning the hug, but not pulling away from it either. "You made it a condition if I wanted your training, after all. I merely kept my word and did as you asked. Nothing more. There's no need for you to thank me for keeping my side of our deal."
"Even still, its because of you that they walk free once more. You have no idea how long I've anguished over their imprisonment. As their mother, knowing that they'd spent more of their eternal lives locked up in that retched pit than up here where they belonged, always filled me with grief and sorrow." She said earnestly, and Beerus could genuinely feel the emotion coming out from her voice, as she hugged him tighter. He could swear he even heard a low sob coming from her at the memory, as he felt a bit of wetness over his shoulder.
Hold on. Was she crying?
"Young… no, Beerus…" The mother of all life corrected herself, using his name with emphasis. "even if you just saw this deed as your part of our agreement… Even still… I just want you to know, that from the bottom of my heart as their mother… thank you…" She whispered with more sincerity and gratitude then he'd probably ever heard in his life. Both this one, and his Universe 7 days included. Raw emotion of joy peeling through her voice, as he felt more tears from her drizzle down over the back of his shoulder. "Thank you for bringing my boys home. You will forever have my gratitude for that..."
"Uhh… You're welcome, I guess…" He responded rather awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say, as she continued to hold him in a strong, and admittedly pleasant embrace. He found himself subconsciously patting her back as she shed yet more tears of happiness on top of what she had yesterday. Being thanked like this, even now, was not something he was used to.
When she pulled back, her breasts puffing back out with a pertinent wobble into their normal shape, she held on to his shoulders as she met his eyes, allowing him to see the tears that had been flowing down her cheeks for sometime now, along with the grateful smile she held. She then lifted herself unto her toes, as she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. The sensation behind it not one like the un-familial ones that Hera and Demeter had given, but more of one filled with a kind appreciation that had him. Combined with this warm, calming aura she was releasing similar to Hestia, for once, he was not cringing at that kind of affectionate touch.
"I wish you the best of luck in accomplishing your goals, Beerus. I'll be there to support you and your siblings every step of the way. You can count on it." She told him with perhaps the most beaming, heartfelt smile he'd ever seen.
After a small moment, Beerus couldn't help the small smile that crossed his features. As mushy as this was for his tastes, even he wasn't able to keep his typical aversion to this sort of thing here and now. Even if just for this moment, Gaea seemed to have that effect on him, almost infectiously so. "Heh… Glad to hear it…"
Several days later…
"Hngh!..." Beerus let out a grunt, as he focused inward. His body radiated his dark-purple aura, as he attempted to call upon his domain's power. The dummy Gaea had given him still intact and without a scratch since the day it'd been made, as he raised his hand up and pointed it at the construct's 'face' barely two inches away, his palm facing it with his thumb crossing over the centre in a way he was all too familiar doing for the Hakai. Yet unlike all the times he'd done it before in his old world, nothing came of it here, even though he could feel the concept of destruction itself imbedded within his being. It refused to surface in any meaningful way, but Beerus did not let it get to him. Gaea had already given him all that he needed, after all, by explaining to him how he should be going about it, so it was all on him until he reached that point. And it was for that reason that she didn't need to be with him as he did this now. Something that no doubt worked out well for her, as it meant more time spent with her sons. Then again, he wouldn't doubt she was probably still watching him from a distance out of the corner of her eye as well.
As impatient as he could be, he was able to practise patience when he really needed to, and this was one of those times. So, no matter how many times he failed to yield a result, and harnessing his domain slipped through his fingers, he kept trying, knowing he'd have a breakthrough eventually. He must've tried doing this just today alone a good thousand times already, and gotten hardly anywhere.
His progress was like a snail. Painfully slow. Almost to the point it would've driven a lesser being mad. He was a bit too experienced in all the millions of years he'd been around before his rebirth however to be affected by it anywhere near to that extent. For now, no matter how small and incremental it was at present, at the very least, he could feel himself steadily grabbing unto more of his domain bit by bit for his own use, treating it as it was now. One with him, and he with it. Even if he was only inching along now, he knew, as soon as he was able to bring some bit of his domain's power to the surface for use, it was game time, as things were sure to pick up from there.
"It still not working for you yet, brother?" His latest failed attempt was followed by Zeus' voice reaching him from his side, causing him to look over to his left at his approaching little brother. Beerus had been aware on some level that he'd been watching him for some time now at a distance, but had clearly only chosen now to speak up and approach him.
"Not yet. No." The elder of the two replied, as he brought his arm down for the minute. His expression calm, if a little displeased that he was being interrupted. "Baby steps, I suppose. Its rather slow going for my tastes," Certainly not something he was unused to, given the time he'd dedicated to trying, and failing, to master Ultra Instinct. "I'll have it down eventually though." Something struck him then, and out of curiosity, he followed that up with a question of his own. "Speaking of, have you achieved a domain for yourself yet? You've had your inner power mastered for some time now, so I'd expect you've at least put some thought into it."
"Ah. That's gone fine, actually. Just yesterday, I was able to intertwine my soul with my first domain." The silver-haired deity replied as he stopped about two metres away. A proud grin forming over his features at his own progress "I had two that were responding to me quite strongly, with one that felt much more encompassing than the other, but Metis convinced me to go for the smaller one first. Said it'd be easier for me to get a grip on compared to the other one, and that the experience with it would help me fly through the process with the bigger one when the time comes."
"I see." Beerus nodded. A bit intrigued that Zeus seemed to have a similar experience to what he'd had. The only difference was that the two domains he'd picked from had felt roughly on par, instead of one clearly being superior to the other. "That's good to hear, I suppose. Mind telling me what you picked?"
"Sure. Provided you tell me yours as well." Zeus shot back with an intrigued expression of his own, though that quickly morphed into a more questioning look, as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "We can chat about that later though. The reason I came over here is because I wanted to discuss our plans of recruitment with you."
"Recruitment?"
"Yes." Zeus nodded. "Me and Metis have been thinking lately, about how the Titans have no doubt rounded up all their support from the other gods. According to both Gaea and Styx, there should be no shortage of those who will not take Kronos' side, either because they'd prefer to remain neutral, or they're dissatisfied with the way Kronos and his allies do things, such as Styx and her children."
"Go on." Beerus motioned him to continue, as he turned to him fully. Showing a small amount of interest in what he was saying.
"Well, Styx said she and her children wouldn't be the last to come to us, but we have no idea how long it's going to take for those that share her opinion to come along on their own. That's why me and Metis have come to the conclusion that we should get the word out, and host an assembly to gather up those who have not agreed to join our opposition, so that we may gain the allegiance of as many other beings as possible in one go. And perhaps even convince some of those who'd rather remain neutral to join our side, if possible." The younger brother explained, whilst stroking his beard and looking his older brother over for any sign of disagreement. "I came here to make sure you'd be okay with us doing this. After all, it can't hurt to know of those who'll have our backs in this conflict sooner, don't you agree?"
"Hmm… I suppose so." Beerus nodded, not being against the idea. "I assume you plan to enlist Gaea's assistance to get this invitation, seeing as she's the only one capable of getting it out to everyone in a short amount of time, to my knowledge."
"Already ahead of you on that." Zeus smirked. "Metis already asked her about it earlier, and she said that she'd be more than willing to do so. As I said before, I just came up to make sure you were fine with it too, before anything happens." He said informatively, before shifting gears a bit as he continued. "And while we're on this topic, might I ask if you'd heard back yet from any of the Cyclopes about our new residence they've been setting up?"
"No. Not yet." The older brother shook his head in response.
Beerus had been sure to let everyone know what Arges had told him some days back. It'd been following on after his spar with Hera and moment with Gaea, just as his siblings finished their training for the day, and passed on the information to everyone there. Sufficed to say, there'd been some buzz around the idea, and pretty much everyone had gotten on board with it, given if what the Cyclops had told him was true.
"That's a bit of a shame. I know I'm probably being impatient right now, but based on what you were told being accurate, this new location atop Mount Olympus will be the perfect spot for us to do it. Us residing atop a mountain even greater in size than Othrys will undoubtedly give off a strong impression to those that come, especially if you, the one who smashed his way out of Kronos' gut is there to give a few words. Provided you don't mind doing that, of course." Zeus was sure to add diplomatically. Not wanting to come across as though he was trying to pigeonhole his older sibling into doing something he might prefer not to do. "If you'd prefer not to, that's okay too. I'll do the talking in your stead."
"No, that's quite alright. I can say a few words if needed." Beerus acquiesced, as he mounted his fists on his hips. "Just don't expect me to beat around the bush and go off on some motivational speech for everyone. That sort of deal just isn't my kind of thing." Not unless his existence was being threatened like it had been during the Tournament of Power, of course. In which case, then he'd make an exception.
"Hehe, fair enough." The younger deity chuckled. "You can speak first then, and I'll handle the rest after you're done. Sound good?" Zeus broached, jutting his hand out for his brother to take in agreement.
Rolling his amber eyes a bit at the gesture, Beerus took the hand with his own and shook it a little. "Yeah, sure. That's fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be getting back to my training. I suggest you get back to yours too. Wouldn't want to be slacking off too much, after all. Unless you want the others to end up passing you by, of course..."
"Please, what do you take me for? A lazy bum?" The silver-haired fledgling god scoffed, though there was clear amusement in his tone, as he could tell his older brother was just messing with him, as their hands separated. "If anything, you're the one who should be worried about me passing you out." He said with a playful laugh, one which Beerus snorted at amusedly.
"Come back to me when you're throwing ten times more effort into this than I am, and I might just take that seriously. Until then, keep dreaming." The older brother shot back half-serious, half-playfully, as he gave a motion of his head to shoo his little brother away, before turning his attention back to the dummy.
Seeing that his brother was done with the conversation, Zeus just shrugged. His bearded face still grinning as he turned away and began to glow with the tell-tale signs of impending dematerialisation.
Just before he did however, a familiar, one-eyed being made his presence known by appearing in the area a few metres behind them both, catching their attention immediately as the twenty-five-foot tall being cast a shadow over them. Zeus's golden glow quickly flickering out as he and Beerus turned to the bulky figure of Arges, who looked down at both of them, the elder brother in particular with a strong, toothy smile, as he proudly put his hands on his hips.
"Sorry for the wait, Beerus, but everything's been set up now. Hope you and your folks aren't too busy at the moment, because I'd like to show ya all your new residence…"
A little while later…
"Welcome to your new base of operations, you lot!" Arges announced with pride, as he and the seven siblings, alongside Metis, Styx and her children, appeared with a flash in a very open area. The group having left behind their mother Rhea, Gaea and her hundred-handed sons, who'd chosen to stick back on Crete for the time being, and the goat nymph Amaltheia who'd elected to take a nap inside Mount Lykaios, since this whole affair didn't concern her.
Everyone's eyes were instantly met with a massive, glimmering palace made out of flawless white stone with carefully crafted, glistening bronze foundations right in front of them. The group standing around the bottom of a white staircase leading up to an open entryway with huge pillars jutting out on either side around the front, sides, and presumably the back to keep the roof steady. The total height of the structure stretching upwards to be far taller than even Arges, at well over one-hundred metres high, with the area it covered being easily in the tens of millions of square feet from what they could see, as the rest of it seemed to merge in with part of the mountain behind it.
His siblings' eyes bugged out a bit at the sheer size of the palace in wonder, whilst Beerus was only mildly impressed. He'd lived in much bigger before in his own castle back in the now destroyed Universe 7, after all. Still, to his standards, when compared to other palaces he'd seen besides his own back in those days, mainly from the mortals he'd visited, it was definitely of an impressive and respectable size, for sure.
Aside from the huge palace, around it seemed to be a vast, cloistered courtyard of sorts as he and the others glanced about. One that stretched on in all directions out from the structure, going out before them for tens of miles in almost all directions from where they were standing. At the edges of the courtyard, which was filled with stunning stone pathways, and luscious, grassy areas, it was closed off all around like a dome by thick, rocky walls from the mountain that were two-to-three few feet high. Mist shrouded above their enclosure on all sides, clearly by magic, to block out any would-be trespasser's view, but at the same time, must've allowed for its inhabitants to see through it, for once Beerus focused just a little bit, he found he could easily peer through it and see the outside.
There appeared to be a physical entrance made for this place as well. Just opposite of them, at the far end, stood massive golden gates that were easily twenty metres tall and wide. Ones that shimmered with an ethereal glow of magic that allowed them to be easily seen in full detail, even as far away as they all were from them, adding quite the sense of grandeur to what was, to most of the assembled deities, already quite the marvel to look at.
That's when Beerus noticed it. And this actually did get quite the amazed reaction out of him.
It was the air here. Back in his past life, he'd inhaled the air of many a planets' atmosphere that he'd visited, ranging from pleasant, like Earth's was for the most part, to downright disgusting like some of the more primitive planets he'd had the misfortune of bothering to visit. However, the gaseous substance that permeated all around where they currently stood, was pure. Pure in every sense of the word, to the point where every breath taken into his nostrils and mouth, or that grazed his skin, felt like its own form of breezy heaven that made any other air he'd felt and breathed before, even the best ones, feel like garbage fumes in comparison. Heck, even his own former residence in Universe 7 couldn't compare to this!
"You like what you see, folks?" Arges asked with arms folded over his chest, seeing the impressed looks on everyone's faces. "You are all currently standing near the summit of Mount Olympus, far beyond the clouds of the sky and into the deep recesses of the heavens, and nearly twice as high up as Mount Othrys, at approximately one million kilometres above sea level!"
Wait, what did he just say!? At that last statement, Beerus's eyes widened in shock at the stupidly high number they'd just been given. Sure, it the grand scheme of things, he'd crossed distances like that back in his old universe in a miniscule fraction of a second, but that wasn't the point. He had never, in all the planets he'd been to, heard of a mountain that could reach such extreme heights like that. He'd seen a few planets with that kind of height to them before, but never a single mountain being as such. He'd say the Cyclops would've been exaggerating, had it not been for the totally honest and matter-of-fact way in which he'd said it.
"You'll have to forgive my brothers absence. Brontes and Steropes are currently in the forge-room we set up within the mountain, and are currently hard at work getting the material for those weapons I promised ready to go." The Cyclops remarked, explaining his fellow one-eyed siblings' lack of appearance. "Once I've shown you around and explained things a bit more, I'll be joining them down there, in case any of you might wonder where I went."
The others either nodded their heads, or gave some form of motion or murmur to show they acknowledged what he'd said. Beerus being the only one who didn't. Not that anyone took note or offence to that, however.
"Now then, we'll start with this here palace first, which we built directly in Beerus's honour." He said while motioning up to the structure, casually dropping how they'd built it specifically for Beerus himself. "This is where you all will be staying for the time being." He said as he began ascending the steps, with everyone pretty much following on behind him. Once they actually entered the building proper, they were all greeted with a golden-floored central hall that must've taken up a solid chunk of the inside, because it was expansive to say the least. It held a wide and spacious table at its centre, crafted from the finest materials this world likely had to offer for such things, that looked like it could handle thousands being seated at it if needs be, as though it was made for grand feasts, though currently only seven throne-like, golden chairs surrounded it. A paltry number given the width of the table, but was clearly there to signify a spot for just Beerus and his siblings at said table.
"That table and those chairs can shift in size if you want them to. So, if you don't like how its set up, you can freely change it without issue." Arges explained upon noticing the befuddled expressions he was getting from quite a few of the seven children of Rhea. This seemed to be readily accepted by everyone, so he just moved on.
As they walked by, they all saw how on the opposite end of the room from where they'd come in, there was a vast, open window that showed the outside. One that gave them all a clear and mesmerising view through the mist of the bright blue sky, and the fluffy field of white clouds below them being illuminated and lit up majestically by the sun's rays.
They were then taken through the rest of the ginormous structure, going through the various bedrooms, storage rooms, and so forth that made up what was mainly meant to be Beerus's abode. The layout of the full place was honestly pretty basic and nothing too over the top despite its sheer size, but it was clear everything in and out of it was made with the greatest of care, and most sublime of skill. Beerus especially appreciated what he'd seen of the beds, particularly the one designated within his own master bedroom that they passed through, which even just from a glance he could tell had a perfectly soft mattress and pillows to go with a flawlessly silky quilt. He'd be a big, fat liar if he said he wasn't looking forward to taking a well-deserved nap inside of there at some point. That was for damn sure!
As they were going through these, the one-eyed giant took the time to explain the security of the mountain. Mainly about how they'd set up a magical barrier all around the summit, to go along with the added protection their mother had already given over to the mountain. The barrier apparently making the place where they were completely inaccessible to those who they did not want getting it, by effectively turning the inside into its own sub-dimension, if he understood it right. The kind that one couldn't simply crack their way into through brute force, even if in their True Divine Form, according to Arges. One had to have permission from them in order to get inside, apparently, whether they were coming in through the gates, or just teleporting in. This meant that even though Hyperion would be able to see them if he got close enough, he wouldn't actually be able to do anything, provided what Arges said was accurate. Something which at this point, Beerus didn't have much reason to doubt. These Cyclopes sure were showing their usefulness, alright.
After a while, they'd all eventually come full circle back to where they'd started within the grand hall, and Arges could only grin as he stretched his arms out on either side, as if to emphasise what he was about to say. "It's quite spacious, isn't it? I'd like to think we did a decent job with the place." He then glanced down at the former cat-deity in particular. "What say you, Beerus? You like what you've seen?"
"You could say that." Beerus gave a small nod of acceptance, liking the place overall. This seemed to be good enough for the Cyclops to hear, as he nodded back with a pleased smile at his simple response.
"Good to hear. Oh, and as for the other six of you," He said as he folded his arms again while glancing down at Beerus's siblings. "we haven't forgotten about you fine folks either. We're conscious of the fact it'd probably be insulting to just have one palace dedicated to Beerus and ignore the rest of you, so once this whole war with Kronos and his allies is over, we'll be sure to build you all one each as well."
"Do we all get one as big as this?" Poseidon piped up questioningly as he glanced between the Cyclops and the structure, unashamed to admit he'd feel envious if theirs ended up being smaller than their brother's, and he wasn't the only one thinking that either, after hearing what the Cyclops had just said.
"Ask the boss over there." Arges replied, inclining his head toward Beerus, who had now been officially designated the 'boss' apparently. "We wouldn't mind doing that, but given he was the one who got us out, it's up to him, whether or not you do. Simple as that."
Beerus would have to admit, that he found it rather amusing when Poseidon immediately turned to him with a pleading look over that, almost like he was some child trying to convince his elder to give him that snack or toy that he wanted. It kind of reminded him of Champa in a way, if he was being honest, which made a part of the purple-haired god want to say no to him out of principle just to mess with him. Like he did in the good old days with his fat-ass twin brother. Doubly so when he saw Hera giving him a look that said 'you better not', when she saw him mulling it over, and likely gathered that he was considering saying no.
In the end though, Beerus just shrugged and showed his indifference. Provided they were all getting the same quality, and there was no disparity on his end, he genuinely didn't give a crap, really. "Sure, go ahead and give it to them. Makes no difference to me." He then jutted a thumb out in the eldest Oceanid's direction. "Might as well add Styx on that list as well, seeing as she aided me in getting to you."
"That won't actually be necessary, but I appreciate the gesture all the same." Styx declined readily with a wave of her hand, while giving an appreciative smile over to Beerus for the gesture. "Once this war is over, I'll be returning to my river, where I'm most at home. A palace up here would be wasted on me, seeing as I'd never use it."
"Hmph. Fine then. As you wish." Beerus replied back with another shrug, feeling as though he was going to owe her quite a bit by the time this whole thing with Kronos and his merry band of morons was over. He was sure he'd have something figured out by then to pay her back for her services, though.
"Alrighty then. With that settled, guess my job here is over for now." The black-haired Cyclops stated with a casual shrug of his own. "I'll be in the forge-room with my brothers if you need me. Gotta get to work on those items I promised you, after all." He finished, pulling one arm away to give a wave goodbye, before he vanished from sight into golden flecks.
"So, what now?" Hades asked curiously, speaking for almost everyone there, as he took the time to let his gaze sweep around their new surroundings once again.
"What now?" Beerus parroted, as he brought everyone's attention on him. His gaze briefly locking with Zeus's in particular, who nodded back at him. Both knowing the answer to be obvious. "Now, we do what we've been doing. We prepare… in every way we can…"
AND CUT!
Okay, so I didn't get to fit in everything that I wanted. I had originally intended to have the assembly of the other gods in this chapter too, but like with the whole Hera spar, it just sort of got away from me, and I had no choice but to cut it for the next chapter, bringing down this one's length. Sorry about that.
In any case, this is the first of hopefully four. I'll let you guys know if the four will have to be moved to October instead by the next chapter's release, while this month ends up with three. Just have quite a bit of stuff going on, and am uncertain if I can get the four busted out by this month's end, is all. Sorry if that is of annoyance to you guys, given my word in the previous chapter, but I am still hunkering down to get four out in one month, so whether its this one or the next, its still happening, so I'm still going to be dishing out a decent chunk of content for you. Which I hope you'll enjoy.
As for this chapter itself, hope you all got some enjoyment out of it. The Hera and Beerus spar went on longer than I'd thought, but I think it came out okay. Hera predictably got her ass kicked, especially after aiming low, but then she kinda brought that on herself. The assembly of gods has been set up to happen next chapter too, right on top of their new residence. And yes, you read that right, Mount Olympus here is over 1 million KM tall at its true peak, the kind of mountain size that could only exist in myth and fiction. Unless there's some ginormous planet out there in the universe that I don't know of which houses one, of course. You've got five seconds to guess where I got that number from, lol.
In any case, I'll see you all in the next one.