Chapter 11

Spectator Ranks - Timeline Six

"I can not believe you did that Eighteen," Chichi said. "Why did you give one of the other timelines your Android copy?"

"Since I am not taking part myself anyway, I at least want to make sure that one of the friendly timelines wins, even if it is not our own... and not someone like the Shadow Dragon or Doctor Gero." Timeline Six´s Eighteen stated.

Of course her decision had one obvious downside.

"Given that our team has gotten the most fighters through the last round, our team has an advantage anyway," her husband Krillin pointed out. "So why taking the risk helping another team then?"

"Much can happen during a tournament," Muten Roshi reminded them. "Even if you have an advantage now, you never know how things could eventually play out. Just look at what happened to that Android Sixteen right now. Who would have expected Timeline Eight to have an ace like that in their sleeve?"

"Exactly," Eighteen remarked. "And who says Timeline Twelve and Eleven do not have something similar? As much as I want our team to win as well, I want even more to prevent Gero or the Shadow Dragons from getting lucky.

"It is not as if we actually need a wish from these Super Dragon Balls anyway. Our lives are good as they are. Especially now that this Whis has removed the Negative Energy and it seems that Goku can return."

"Yes," Chichi said a bit more quietly. "Now that Goku is back."

"Well, I agreed to Eighteen´s decision," Bulma stated. "And I was the one who created that Android copy after all."

Based of course on the model of Seventeen´s own Android copy - also known as Hellfighter 17. The Android/Machine Mutant hybrid version of him that Doctor Gero and Doctor Muy had somehow created in the Afterlife.

xxx

When Seventeen, Krillin and everyone else had been brought back to life Shenlong had, after the battle with the Shadow Dragons, Hellfighter or at least his body had been brought back along with the real Seventeen. The Android copy however had then only been a lifeless husk.

It´s soul, according to what King Yemma had told them when Dende contacted him, been send to reincarnation instead.

Bulma and her father Doctor Briefs had then created a similar copy for Eighteen, that allowed her to transform into a Super Android as well.

And Eighteen had now temporally handed over this copy to her alternate self Lazuli. To help her and the rest of her team out during the tournament.

Even if it meant making one of the other teams stronger, it was at least a team whose eventual victory they could live with.

... and besides, Goku, Vegeta, Trunks Goten and all the other saiyan, even Seventeen to some degree, hell even herself Eighteen admitted (if she would take part)... all of them enjoyed fighting for the sake of the fight itself... and would probably be glad if their opponents were a little bit stronger.

xxxxxxx

Point of view: Timeline Nine and Eight

The newly formed Super Android Lazuli (Eighteen) from Timeline Nine was now approaching Timeline Eight´s Android Sixteen.

Who had just powered-up by copying his world´s Future Trunks strength and fighting skill.

As he said, through some special abilities of some unknown alien Android, those parts had been intigrated into him. An abilitiy that had allowed this Android to copy the skill and power from everyone he touched.

Damn it, Lazuli thought.

xxx

A short distance away, the Sixteen from Lazuli´s own timeline was still standing next to Android Twenty One.

A Twenty One who - in opposite to the Twenty One they knew from their own Timeline Nine - was sane.

But she also did not possess cells from the Demon Buu (which was probably the main reason she was not insane in the first place) and was as an result not nearly as powerful as the one they had known.

And so she was complitely outmatched against Sixteen (and also most other fighters from Timeline Nine).

"We can do this the easy or the hard way," Sixteen said.

"It is alright, I know that I have lost," Twenty One replied. "I give up."

She took a couple steps backwards and then simply jumped out of the ring.

Simply blasting her would have been a faster method... and with less risk of Twenty One pulling a trick and trying to escape in the last moment. Not that Sixteen expected her to do that. He admitted that he trusted her somehow.

And Sixteen wanted to cause as little harm to Twenty One as possible.

Even the insane version from their timeline had ended up helping him and the other in the end after all.

With that Timeline Eight had now lost another member. But this did not make much of a difference right now. It were Sixteen´s own counterpart and their Future Trunks were the ones who were the real problem.

Sixteen was now ready to help Lazuli. The entire encounter with Twenty One had only taken him a few seconds.

Super Lazuli meanwhile was still moving towards his counterpart. Sixteen noticed that she was walking slower than necessary. Obviously to give him time to eliminate Twenty One.

He also knew that his counterpart must have noticed that as well. But he had not made any move to attack Lazuli himself yet. So he likely accepted Twenty One´s decision to drop out and let it happen.

xxxx

Sixteen asked himself what kind of relationship the other Sixteen and Twenty One had.

He knew that their Twenty One saw him as her son, since they were based on Doctor Gero´s family. (What did not keep her from reprogramming him to make his behavior `better´, Sixteen remembered) But of course since their Twenty One was not sane, much of it was just a delusion in her head.

Did the sane Twenty One still saw them in the same way? Or did she understood them just as comrades and fellow Androids instead? And maybe as friends?

But all this were the last things he should worry about right now.

xxxx

Sixteen had by now already moved and was standing right beside Lazuli to face his other self.

"Good that you are finally here," she said to him.

But would she and her own timeline´s Sixteen together actually have a chance now? Lazuli asked herself.

She had seen how strong the Trunks of Timeline Eight was. At least as powerful as her own Trunks, who was stronger than her even as a Super Android. And if what this Sixteen said was true, he now possessed the same power...

... and infinite energy on top of that, she thought. What made him technically even stronger than his timeline´s Future Trunks, who he had copied the power from. But while Trunks had a hard time keeping up the form, like he himself admitted, his staid in peek condition.

Anyway, Lazuli and Sixteen made a move.

Sixteen send an augmented Hell´s Flash at his counterpart.

Which Timeline Eight´s Sixteen of course easily evaded. Just like they had expected.

Lazuli moved forward in the same moment the other Sixteen dodged Sixteen´s attack. She used kaioken on top of her Super Android form (which she could as a Super Android however only use on the lower levels)...

... and used the chance to shoot him from a different angle - one large two handed blast.

And her shot hit.

Lazuli´s attacks showed some effect on the other Sixteen. The blast pushed him backwards, destroyed part of his clothes and left a visible scorch mark at the side of his back.

But that was it. No real serious damage.

Their opponent responded with a blast of his own. Which Lazuli however absorbed.

But the blast had been quite weak.

"I see - So you do have the same ability as Super 17," Timeline Eight Sixteen stated.

"You were testing me," Lazuli said.

"Yes," Timeline Eight Sixteen confirmed simply.

Lazuli in return unleashed an Infinity Bullet, with her Sixteen joining in with a volley of blasts on his own.

Timeline Eight´s Sixteen was able to avoid some of the rain of blasts... but not all of them.

Nearly half of the blasts hit. Once again however they showed no visible damage... no visible damage at least.

But they knew their attacks were too powerful that Timeline Eight Sixteen could shield himself from their effects completely. Every hit they made weakened their opponent´s armor... just a little bit.

The question was would they hold out long enough for them to have any real effect?

Their opponent moved as well. Timeline Eight Sixteen appeared beside Lazuli, much faster than her, and punched her in the side of her face... slamming her down to the ground.

At the same time he had already prepared a blast in his other hand and aimed it at his counterpart... and fired.

Sixteen was completely unable to evade the blast. He did not even see it until he was getting shot. The other Sixteen´s movements were too fast.

The blast caused greater damage and burnt a hole into his shoulder, making it barely possible for him to use his right arm.

"Damn it," he said.

He knew that his counterpart must had intentionally aimed for his shoulder. If he had hit his head or instead he would have beem dead.

"You are not looking well," Timeline Eight Sixteen stated. "Maybe you should forfeit. I give you my word, I will do anything to keep Doctor Gero and the Shadow Dragons from winning."

Next to the Lazuli was standing up again and she clearly had not intention to give up.

"Sixteen - let´s beat you," she said.

"Okay," Sixteen replied.

xxxxxxx

Point of view: Timeline Six

Some of the other fighters paid some attention to their confrontation as well, especially to Timeline Eight´s Sixteen´s sudden power-up.

But all of them had their hands full with their own fights right now.

One of them was Super Android 17 from Timeline Six, who was locked in his struggle with the powered up Syn Shenlong, who had absorbed the Dragon Balls of three of his fellow Shadow Dragons.

The two were currently locked in close combat with each other.

xxx

Another was the Super Saiyan 4 Goku from the same timeline, who had just beaten down Nova Shenlong. But was in the same moment being attacked from behind by Towa with a powerful blast she fired from her spear-staff,

... followed by a few more blast from her hands.

Goku fell to his knees. As powerful as Towa´s attacks were, normally they would not have done much to him as a Super Saiyan 4. But Goku had used an incredible amount of his energy to shield himself from the heat of Nova Shenlong´s flames.

And for the last moment when he had punched him down, he had concentrated nearly all of it to the front.

Which left an opening that Towa exploited ruthlessly as she shot him in the back. And so her attacks managed to cause visible injuries.

She now continued by forming her restraining technique named Time Bullet around Goku to keep him in place.

xxx

And so was Vegeta, who was now close by facing Dabura from Timeline 10.

Their fists clashed as both of them threw a punch at each other.

Standing next to them was the unmoving `stature´ of Ice Shenlong, who had just been turned to stone by Dabura.

xxxxxxx

In some distance their teammates Goten and Trunks, now transformed into Super Saiyan 2, were still fighting the dark version of the two Universe 2 `maidens´ Brianne and Sanka - a.k.a Ribrianne and Kakunza - from Timeline Twelve.

They were now joined by their teammate Uub.

But on the other side Oceanus Shenlong had come and joined Brianne and Sanka. While they two Universe 2 warriors used their own fighting techniques against them, she assisted them with a mixture of air-techniques and ki blasts to bring Trunks, Goten and Uub off-balance.

Aside from their opponents fighting skills and strength, they had however at the same time also to deal with Brianne´s `charm´, that influenced their emotions and tried to cloud their judgement.

They had succeeded to resist her to some degree. Otherwise they would be falling all over her and willingly eliminate themselves for her `love´. Or at least Goten and Trunks would have.

Uub seemed to be completely immune to Brianne´s influence - probably because of Buu.

Oceanus just concentrated a wind-pressure in the strength of an hurricane - that was however only concentrated into an wide of around two meters - at Goten and Uub. Who were not really affected much, but since their ability to fly was deactivated, they had to use their ki to ancor themselves on the ground and that kept them from moving fast.

As Oceanus then suddenly stopped the wind, Sanka used her extreme speed to move right behind the still off-balance Uub and Goten and punch them both down.

"Enough," Uub said as he was standing up again.

A red aura flared up around him. He was using kaioken again.

At the sidelines of the fighting stage, Goku Black was smiling.

"Brianne, Sanka," he called out.

Black held his pair of potara earrings in his hand.

In the next moment the earrings vanished and reappeared with Brianne and Sanka suddenly each having one of them in their hands instead.

Black had somehow teleported them.

Brianne and Sanka put the potara on... and instantly fused. The result was a slim very beautiful woman with light blue skin, purple hair with green streens and blue eyes in a still black outfit.

The Fusion smiled at them.

"You can call me Brianca," she said. "Are you ready to be eliminated?"

xxxxxxx

Spectator ranks - point of view: Timeline Zero

They all had seen what had just happened.

"Fusion is not against the rules," the Highpriest stated calmly. "There is also no rule against teleporting objects in from the outside."

"I did not know Black could do something like this in the first place," Goku of Timeline Zero said.

"He couldn´t. Otherwise he would have for sure used it at one point during our fights," Vegeta remarked.

"So it is probably this other presence behind Black," Goku stated.

"Demigra," Zeno said.

"It is clearly Demigra´s power that Black uses," Future Zeno added.

"If Black is somehow influenced by Demigra and the rest of Timeline Twelve probably too," Gohan suggested, "should we not do something about it? Like breaking off the tournament?"

"No," Zeno replied. "This tournament is great. We will not stop it. I want to see how it ends. We will not give in."

"We will not stop it," Future Zeno repeated. "We will not give in."

"Besides," the Highpriest said, "if we stopped the torunament, do you think Goku Black and the others will just give up? Or would they rather strike out now and possibly attack everyone around them?"

Gohan paused for a moment.

"At least then we could interfere."

"We can do that anyway as soon as they try something that goes beyond winning this tournament," Seventeen pointed out.

"Very right," the High Priest said. "They will probably use the Super Dragon Balls to try to awake Demigra if they win. We will deal with that if it truly happens. But, who says that they will win. I am pretty confident that your other selves will be able to overcome them.

But should they not win, they will for sure try something else. So be ready to act when the time comes."

xxxxxxx

Point of view: Timeline Six

Goku was being restraint by Towa´s Time Bullet.

"You know Goku, we have actually met and even fought each other before," Towa told him. "Despite that you are long dead in my world. You and your little team just had to get involved and ruin some of my plans in the Afterlife. You guys really are a nuisance, you know?" She smiled.

"I know you are not the same Goku, but I admit I am happy about the chance to take you out here."

"Oh really?" Goku responded while he was struggling to move.

"Goku - we both know you are much stronger than I am. But you also can´t use magic and have no real defense against it," Towa stated.

Goku concentrated his energy and released it in one short powerful outburst... and broke free from the restraining technigue.

"What?" Towa called out. "How can that...? Is he really that powerful?"

Instantly she formed a few more illusions of herself around her and jumped backwards to get greater distance between them. And she had her illusions `move´ in all directions to hide which one was the real Towa.

But Goku was just looking at her... the real her.

And in the next moment she felt an intense pain inside her head.

"Arh!" she cried out.

"Telepathy," Goku stated. "Normally I just use it to talk to people far away or to exchange memories. I never even thought about trying to use it for an attack. But, well - you could say the ´thought´ just came to me," he said grinning.

"Honestly, I don´t like using it in this way. But..." Goku began.

"You... bastard," Towa growled.

"... you were the one who shot me in the back when I was weakened," Goku continued.

But in this moment Towa also began to sense something else inside this Goku, an enormous magical aura. Something that was never there in the Goku she met in her own timeline.

She unconsciously stepped backwards. What was going on here? How did this Goku get magic? And one this powerful? The aura rivalled, if not surpassed her own.

xxx

The fist-clash between Super Saiyan Four Vegeta and Timeline Ten´s Dabura lasted only for a moment.

Then it was Dabura who was pushed back, while Vegeta kept standing at the place he were. This version of Dabura was strong, but not quite on the level of a Super Saiyan Four.

Vegeta looked at him with a smile on his face.

"Really not bad," he commented.

But then... they both moved to avoid a blast, aimed at the spot they were standing.

However, a moment later they realized that they had not been the target in the first place. The blast hit the ground, right next to the stone-turned Ice Shenlong, whose figure started to crack and break apart a moment later.

It was Syn Shenlong who had fired the blast, they realized - while he was fighting Super 17.

He had suddenly fired at the Super Android and used the short moment as he was absorbing the attack, to turn around and take the shot at Ice...

... and that meant...

Ice Shenlong´s Dragon Ball was left as his body broke apart. Then it disappeared and in the next moment it was in Syn Shenlong´s hand, as if it was teleported through the air.

And Syn absorbed it.

In the next moment Super 17 was attacking him again, but Syn Shenlong was growing even stronger. It turned from being evenly matched to him overpowering Seventeen.

"Too bad, you missed your chance," Syn commented.

He punched Super 17 in the face. A punch that send him off his feet and send him flying towards the edge.

He caught himself in the air by firing a ki blast to stop his momentum and touched the ground somewhere halfway to the end of the fighting stage.

Super 17 looked back to Syn, who was just standing there triumphant.

xxx

Nova Shenlong, who had just come up again while Goku was occupied with Towa and Oceanus Shenlong however were from the distance starring at Syn enraged. He had just killed another one of them. Both of them did not longer had any illusions that Syn would let them live.

xxxxxxx

Uub had now powered up into kaioken level 10 to fight the Brianne-Sanka Fusion. He was not sure however how long he could keep this level up.

Behind him Goten and Trunks were ready to try the fusion dance.

"Do you think we can still do it?" Goten questioned. "It has been an eternity since we last fused."

"We have to try," Trunks said. "We don´t know how long Uub can keep this up. And if he looses we have no chance."

They had only forgotten one little thing.

"Hey - have you forgotten that I am still here boys?" It was Oceanus.

They turned around to her.

"Don´t worry - if I had wanted to attack you from behind, I would have already done so," Oceanus stated. "I will even cover you while you do your fusion dance."

Goten and Trunks were starring at her in disbelief.

"You are a Shadow Dragon. Why should we trust a word you say? Why would you help us?" Trunks asked.

"Maybe you have noticed that Syn has killed four of our siblings and absorbed their Dragon Balls?" Oceanus stated. "I don´t longer believe for a moment that he will let me live. Even if we win here, he will certainly kill me and Nova as well at one point to get even more powerful."

"Well - I guess this makes sense," Trunks admitted.

"So I want to switch sides. In fact someone has already offered me this before." Oceanus was looking to the point where Lapis from Timeline Nine was standing outside of the fighting stage...

... who nodded at her in return.

"Just to ask," Goten said, "are you on our side or on Timeline Nine´s"

"It seems I am on both of yours, as long as you stop Syn," Oceanus replied.

xxxxxxx

Point of view: Timeline Nine and Eight

Lazuli and Sixteen were moving at Timeline Eight´s Sixteen from two sides.

But he was faster than them. He moved right in front of Sixteen and fired a blast at his counterpart from a short distance, too short to evade it. The blast was not strong enough to kill, but enough to force Sixteen to block it with both hands and still able to push him backwards.

The other Sixteen meanwhile moved on Lazuli, punched her in the face with enough force to throw her off her feat and then grabbed her leg. He swirled her around and then threw her towards the edge of the ring.

But before she came even close to it, a surprising savior appeared, who caught Lazuli in the air.

"Gohan?" she said surprised.

It was Gohan from Timeline Ten.

"You? Why are you helping us?" Lazuli asked him.

"Lets say I have and agreement with your Trunks," he told her.

xxxxxxx

A minute earlier

Another one who was paying attention to what was going on with the other fighters was Gohan from Timeline Ten, who was currently fighting the Future Trunks from both Timeline Eight and Nine at the same time.

He just blocked a punch from Timeline Eight´s Trunks

While the one from Timeline Nine had drawn back for a short moment, also seeing what his wife Lazuli was currently facing.

He would have liked to helo her. But there was no way his two opponents here would just let him get away and to that.

Gohan noticed this as well.

"I see you want to go and help your Eighteen. But I fear I can not let you." He said this while he was exchanging kicks and punches with Trunks counterpart.

"If Timeline Eight´s Sixteen eliminates my teammates," Timeline Nine´s Future Trunks pointed out, "you and me will have both him and my counterpart here against us."

"And if I let you go and you take him out," Gohan responded.

"... then we will have you and your two teammates against us," Timeline Eight´s Future Trunks ended Gohan´s sentence for him. "Not to mention that we will have weakened each other, so that you could easily take both of us out."

"Do you see our dilemma here Trunks?" Gohan said. "No matter which of your teams wins... I and my teams looses."

Gohan was not wrong, Future Trunks realized. No matter if Timeline Nine or Eight won out, he would be left alone to deal with the winner.

"How about an offer?" Timeline Nine Future Trunks said. "You go and help the others to deal with his timeline´s Sixteen. I take care of him."

He pointed to his counterpart from Timeline Eight.

"I would say that would improve your chances not to end up as the sole looser here."

Gohan thought about it for a moment.

xxxxxxx

Now

Gohan, Lazuli and the lightly damaged Sixteen from Lazuli´s timeline were now facing the other Sixteen together.

They were attacking him from three different angles at once and forcing him instantly into the defensive.

But their fight was quickly interrupted.

Two ki blasts were being fired at them from the side.

Gohan and Timeline Eight Sixteen were however just swatting the attacks aside easily.

It were Android 17 and 18 from Timeline Eleven.

"How about it? Do you weaklings want to fight two real Androids for once?" Seventeen called out to them.

"We are ready if you have the guts," Eighteen fell in.

Gohan, Lazuli and the two Sixteen were starring at the two in sheer disbelief.

Timeline Eleven´s Androids were by far the weakest versions of them here. Okay, by what they had seen they were both about as strong as Perfect Cell. But given the opponents here, this was meaningless.

The only reason this two were still in the tournament was that everybody started out fighting someone else and nobody was paying much attention to them. What had possibly been a mistake.

Gohan and Timeline Eight Sixteen just raised one of their hands to blast them away.

But suddenly... they realized that Seventeen and Eighteen were just a distraction.

As they draw their attention with their antics, Doctor Gero and Paparoni had used the chance to come closer to them from the other side.

And Gero was sending out a signal.

The Sixteen from Timeline Eight suddenly froze and his eyes turned red.

xxxxxxx

Point of view: Timeline Six

Towa had been drawing back from Goku from Timeline Six. Tryin to get away from him.

But then both of them turned around as Syn Shenlong appeared next to them.

xxc

Participating Timelines:

Timeline Six: GT Timeline (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z series and movies five, nine and thirteen)

Timeline Eight: Alternate Future Timeline (connected to the GT instead the Super timeline.)

Timeline Nine: Alternate Future Timeline (based on the fanfic Dragon Ball OT from Raos)

Timeline Ten: Unseen timeline - A timeline where Cell did not came from the future (based on my story Unseen Timeline)

Timeline Eleven: Reign of the Androids - A timeline where Doctor Gero and his Android have taken over Earth.

Timeline Twelve: Alternate GT Timeline