"Can anyone tell me what the fuck just happened??" Flash suddenly exclaimed, making me I look around and see the league still standing in the same spot they had been when I entered the room. Did they just not move or... did they have no time to? For how long did we fight?
It honestly felt like a long time, but perhaps it didn't take as long as I thought, especially with Chronoa displacing me in time and space. I stepped to the side before collapsing onto a chair on the side that had survived their arrival in this universe and our subsequent battle.
Kakarot was still enduring the reprimand from Chronoa, while Vegeta was standing to the side with his arms crossed, though he had a thoughtful expression on his face as if he was contemplating something.
Bulma was typing on some screen she had conjured up. I could already tell. The upcoming days will be busy.
"Are you alright?" A concerned voice sounded out from beside me, startling me for a moment as I was thinking about what their arrival in this universe meant for me. After all, just their appearance here created some questions. However, it was more than just them being here, but that they looked battered.
Vegeta and Kakarot looked like they had through a tough battle. If the one they had fought wasn't killed, which was likely since Chronoa exclaimed about 'attracting someone's attention again', then this universe was in some serious danger. In fact, I wasn't sure if anyone in this universe could possibly resist someone that could give those two a run for their money.
Not to mention that this universe would be endangered even if Kakarot and Vegeta took on that fight for us. Our entire safety and survival would depend on those two winning the fight and them minimizing the damage done to the universe. I wasn't too keen on putting my life and the ones I loved and got to know into the hands of these two, especially since they both had pasts of being unnecessarily risky with some things.
I turned to look at Wonder Woman, who seemed hesitant to approach me. I nodded my head. "Yes, I am fine. More than fine, actually."
"Good..." She just looked relieved before an awkward silence fell again between us. This certainly wasn't the time to pay attention to her as I watched the league approach the group of four.
"We would like some answers," Batman demanded as he watched them with narrowed eyes, but the intimidation effect he normally had on people was hardly able to affect these people.
"Sorry about that. We didn't think we would meet Shallot here. Hahaha." Kakarot scratched the back of his head. Vegeta, on the other hand, was entirely ignoring everyone around him as he closed his eyes with his arms still crossed.
"You know Shallot?" Superman glanced toward me and it must have seemed like we knew each other, especially considering that I had approached them first. However, that was just me being a prideful Saiyan, wanting to challenge the best.
"Yeah, we know each other since our fight with-" Kakarot was interrupted with an elbow to the side by Chronoa before he could finish his sentence.
"You dummy! This isn't our Shallot! How often do I have to tell you this?" Chronoa seemed to be fed up with Kakarot's antics or she just had a short temper. Either way, it seemed like that bit they were doing was a common occurrence.
"Oh, I see." Kakarot palmed his fist in understanding. "He is from another timeline."
Chronoa pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Yeah, something like that. Whatever. Bulma, you got the position?"
The other members of the league were surprised, and I had a creeping suspicion based on her response. Something like another timeline? Perhaps the Dragon Ball Universe didn't just expand in different timelines, but parallel universes as well? I certainly remembered that the Xenoverse affected multiple infinite sets of infinite universes, so it wouldn't surprise me too much.
Batman stepped forward once more to speak. "Why have you broken into the Watchtower?" Only for him to be shooed away like an annoying animal by Chronoa. Simultaneously, he was ignored by Vegeta and Bulma, with the only one paying any attention to him being Kakarot.
"It's this universe's easiest point to enter it while simultaneously being a place where fate gathers to hide or something like that. I don't really understand it that much." Kakarot scratched his temple, but he was clearly out of depth. Of course, even just the few words he had said were able to make the alarm bells ring.
Were they fleeing from something, or did they just want to stay undetected? It was obviously a point of concern for the other leaguers as well, as they looked quite worried about what he had said. It was probably extra bad news since they just saw me lose against them.
I doubted they knew how deep that brief exchange between us, Saiyans, was, but they were smart enough to see the results. Considering the fact that they had more knowledge from my other timeline and coupled with the visual difference to my previous Super Saiyan form, it wasn't unlikely that they might know I just reached a higher level and still lost to them.
As the most powerful hero in this universe, I doubted that point was calming to the rest of the league. Still, they seemed to be calm and collected about it. A hand was put on my shoulder and I reached up to grasp it. My body was still exceedingly exhausted after unearthing so much potential and developing my strength to this kind of degree.
It wasn't just the new transformation that elevated my power to a completely new level, but it was also the process of destruction and healing before I achieved this state that was exhaustive.
If I sensed my body correctly, I just underwent several Zenkais in a span of a couple of minutes during the time Ikari, Super Saiyan, and my healing factor hadn't fused perfectly. Such a jump was exhaustive, though it was mostly mental after being beaten to the absolute limits in the image training. It wasn't something a good rest couldn't fix.
Suddenly, my mental fatigue was elevated to some degree as the burden was carried away. I looked at Raven, who was frowning and biting her lip before I realized she had healed me. It took her a moment of closing her eyes to calm down, while the league and the newcomer into this universe released some tension.
Kakarot told them they were friends with another Shallot and were just here to find a way back home without causing any trouble. Seeing that Kakarot and the others weren't about to throw hands, Batman and Superman approached me. Wonder Woman stood a bit to the side, having glanced at Raven and me a few times.
"Are they who I think they are?" Batman said cryptically as if I knew what he was thinking. "Are they Goku and Vegeta?" I stared at him for a moment. His eyes didn't waver or showed some sort of hostility based on what had happened. Seriously, how much did my other self tell him?
I nodded my head. "Yes, one of the most powerful Saiyans to come into existence. If they wanted to wipe the floor with us, they could have without their hair changing a shade." It seemed like Batman had expected that answer and just nodded.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how to treat these four from the Dragon Ball Universe. If I didn't know their personality from the series and just had our exchange as a basis, I would probably shit bricks by now. Of course, I could tell that they were decent people based on their ki and my knowledge gave me the necessary reassurance that they truly weren't here for trouble.
However, that was only if they truly were like I thought they would be. Perhaps they were different, after all. At this moment, they were the Beerus to us. We could try to fight them, but they wouldn't need a fraction of their strength to erase us. We certainly shouldn't provoke them as I had just now.
There was no amount of magic or technique they couldn't break apart if they decided to be serious. I didn't think I would know how I had died if they had such a thought.
"If they say they won't make trouble, then they won't. That's not to say trouble won't follow their wake." With that being said, I stood up and approached them again. Looking at Bulma's device made me realize she was probably calibrating to search for a dragon ball. At least, the display was a familiar green radar screen.
Were they searching for normal dragon balls or the ones to summon Super Shenron? Hmm, I seriously doubted that they were just out to get a normal dragon ball. Its powers to fulfill wishes were rather limiting if one considered how powerful this group was. Not to mention that they might need to travel universes. That begged the question, though. What were they here for? What did they need a wish for?
"Could you explain your situation, so we get a clear picture of your purpose here? I thought I would be the only Saiyan coming here." Their appearance here was also an obvious clue of how I got here.
After all, I was part of two universes, living in another, and now I got to see some people I recognized from one of them. Just the question remained, how was the situation on a multiversal scale? Were they just doing regular time patrol stuff? Did dragon balls only exist across universes and why haven't I seen another dragon ball character besides them before now?
"How about we talk over a meal?" Superman suddenly suggested after seeing that everyone had calmed down to a certain degree. The others eased slightly afterward and Kakarot, Vegeta, and Chronoa eagerly joined the group toward the cafeteria. Vegeta carried Bulma princess style, so she could continue to work on her radar. What a romantic!
I walked in a row with Raven, Batman, and Wonder Woman as we continued to stare at the two Saiyans' backs, while Superman led the way and the rest were following behind.
They appeared to be the real deal, but Kakarot looked much more serious than he had been in Super. Of course, he seemed somewhat easygoing with the way he answered our questions and how he acted with Chronoa. However, even now, he was on guard. I could feel it. If I attacked right now, Kakarot and Vegeta could easily dodge or block any attacks I threw at them.
"Maybe they will have a way to return to your universe." Raven quietly supplied, while Wonder Woman remained quiet on the side. I was thankful they didn't bring up the conflict we had. The Justice League and I needed to talk about it at some point, but now we had a bigger more immediate situation we needed to pay attention to, so we ignored the previous conflict and pretended I was still part of the team like we used to.
I nodded at her words. "Indeed. However, I am guessing something big is going on."
She nodded her head. "Yes, I feel the same. A threat that crosses universes."
Either way, with this laid out, I felt slightly out of depth. Powerful enemies were on the horizon that might threaten this entire universe. Despite this, or rather because of it, I was getting dreadfully excited. A new obstacle to conquer, but also a threat to the people I loved.
"Right, we should probably explain what is going on." The Supreme Kai of Time started as she sat down at the table, while the Saiyans ate without worries and Bulma continued to work on her radar. It was undoubtedly impressive how she could work with so much going on around her. Even being carried didn't deter her from continuing her work.
"Basically, about a week ago, a couple of regions of reality crashed into each other. Some unlucky individuals from all involved realities were misplaced. Shallot here, for example, was misplaced a couple of years back even though, causally determined, the event happened recently. We are currently on the search for the Super Dragon Balls to wish us back to our reality since otherwise we would be stuck here."
Some eyes turned to me at the end of her speech, and I could already feel a headache coming. "Stuck? Can't you just use the method you used to get to this universe to return?"
She shook her head, "We need to travel to another reality, not universe, dummy! Only the Super Dragon Balls can get us there."
I tried my best to ignore the implications of her words as I continued. "... How many Dragon Balls do you need? How many do you have?"
"We have 5 and we just need two more and one should be inside this universe," Chronoa answered as she pulled out a dragon ball from somewhere. It looked even smaller than I imagined a normal dragon ball would be, and they were certainly not planet-sized ones.
They were something that one could attach to their keychain without being too clunky. "I shrank them, so we could carry them more easily." She explained as she seemed to read my mind. At least, that was what I was guessing. My expression had been intentionally neutral during her little speech.
Well, according to lore, she was an ancient monster that had lived for millions of years- I grimaced slightly before rubbing my shin that the Supreme Kai of Time had just kicked against. That confirmed it. Understandable with her level of powers, but certainly not less scary, as my defenses were still up and running. I didn't even detect someone entering my mind!
This also explained why she spoke so freely about it. We posed no threat to her alone, not to mention the two Saiyans beside her.
"This stupid radar!" Bulma suddenly slammed her fist into the table where she had worked after Vegeta had placed her on the chair. The room got quiet at her sudden outburst. She looked at Chronoa. "We need to get closer to the triggered breach point. Otherwise, I won't get proper data in this universe."
Chronoa just nodded at her before turning to me with a grin on her face. "No problem. Shallot here will surely help." I raised an eyebrow with slight suspicion creeping in.
"In what way could I help?" Before I finished my sentence, I was suddenly floating in space. No, we were standing on a platform, an invisible one at that. I was about to use my ki to sustain me without air, though I quickly realized that I could breathe just fine without it.
My eyes widened as I looked around in confusion before I recognized where I was, where we were. We were floating above planet Arva and if I was correct, then it was close to where I appeared in this universe. Vegeta, Kakarot, Chronoa, and Bulma were standing around me.
"Could you get on with it?" Chronoa said with crossed arms as if I had made her wait for hours.
"With what?" My voice was strained since I was getting annoyed by this little brat. Just as I finished the sentence, I hissed and held my shin again.
"Power up and tear a hole into this universe!" She explained as if anything she said was reasonable.
"… No, I will not do that." She rolled her eyes at my response.
"Don't worry, I will prevent the universe from ripping apart." Chronoa then pushed me out of whatever bubble we were in and I was left to use my ki to sustain myself in the empty space. Did I really have a choice in this?
I didn't ask why I needed to power up since it was clearly because I entered this universe and it needed my energy. A glance back at Chronoa's teasing smile made me realize perhaps she was just fucking with me.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes and focused on the task. My power quickly rose as I slowly flexed my metaphorical ki muscle. An aura appeared around me and I could already feel my power brushing against the constraints of space. It was something I had felt in the other universe as well, but now I had so much more leisure to feel it.
It also made me realize I shouldn't go Super Saiyan, as that was already overkill. So, I pulled from my primal wrath and let it flow through me, empower me. My strength rose, and the space twisted around me as it was pressured by my ki. They were contending for dominance as space refused to bend, but not unlike a black hole, the pressure was too high for it to sustain its normal function.
A small tear the size of a grain of rice in the fabric of space appeared and slowly enlarged as I continued to power up. It differed from what I did in the other universe. This one was a lot harder, but I still got it with just Ikari. "We got it!" I heard Chronoa in my head, so I let my power calm down before approaching the bubble again.
Bulma pressed the button to activate the radar, and it instantly showed a Dragon Ball on it. From the measurement on the edges and the depiction of the solar system, it looked like it was far away. Probably a few hundred lightyears away.
"Of course, this one was in another space-time crack," Chronoa said with annoyance before clapping her hands. I looked in horror as an enormous space-time crack appeared dividing my entire view in half. A shill ran down my spine as I watched the edges spread and a planet-sized orange dragon ball being dragged through the space-time crack.
It looked like it flew at us at incredible speed, while simultaneously looking like it didn't come closer to us at all. I blinked and the dragon ball and the enormous crack disappeared from my sight. A glance at Chronoa and the dragon ball being pinched between her index finger and thumb told me she had already retrieved it.
She waved her hand and the dragon ball disappeared like she was doing a sleight of hand. To be honest, I was flabbergasted for a moment. Not really sure what to make of the situation, and just looked at the others for some clues on how to react.
They looked like it was a normal sight. Only Bulma was giving me a pitying look as if I was a child that was ignorant of the world. Frankly, after that display, I figured it wasn't much off.
"So, we will need to retrieve the last dragon ball. We were lucky this time, but I am sure there will be a lot of fighting involved. So, you want to join us?" Chronoa suddenly extended a job offer, and it forced me to return to the moment. I was about to ask something before she cut me off. "They won't be able to fight what we are going to face. Not at their rate of improvement, so you can't take anyone with you."
"... If we leave, will there be trouble for this universe, or will your enemies leave it alone?"
"I cannot guarantee that this universe will remain intact as most attention will be placed on the last dragon ball since they know we will be there, but they are going to come here and turn it upside down before they realize we are already gone. Perhaps they will leave everyone else alone, but they are going to be drawn in by your presence like a moth to a flame. Everyone that was associated with you won't have a pleasant experience until they realize you aren't here." She said with a solemn expression, clearly wanting me to understand the consequences of my upcoming choice.
Before I could answer, she interrupted me to speak up again. "This will be the only opportunity for you to return. There is no other way. These are the only Super Dragon Balls that exist in this region of reality." As the Supreme Kai of Time, she probably saw what I had done in the past, and what my goal was. I opened my mouth, and she continued to read my mind again. "The wish needs to prevent anyone foreign from entering, especially those that shouldn't be in our reality, so your girlfriends won't be able to come."
I gritted my teeth. "… You expect me to leave Kara, Raven, and the others behind to die?"
"I never said they would die, they will only be tortured… This will be the price for your return. There will be no other chance to return. Once the Super Dragon Balls leave this reality, its powers won't be able to interfere with it again." She said monotone, stating it as a fact.
"... Then so be it," I said as I looked into the starry, empty sky for a moment before I looked into her eyes again. If that was the price for my revenge, then it was too high.
My answer got a smile out of the Kai. "I didn't expect any less from you." She stated with a smirk. My revenge and my need to see how my past family was doing had urged me on, but I never wanted to give up Kara for it.
It was why I had always planned to take her with me, why I had told her everything since I expected her to be with me when I returned. Perhaps that was where a lot of affection for her came from as well. The willingness to give up everything to stay with me. She had done it in another universe, and I knew she would do it now as well. Raven was now on that list as well. To leave them behind was a deal breaker for me.
Chronoa raised an eyebrow. "With that out of the way, not going to ask who you are going up against soon?"
I couldn't help but snort. "If you could, you would have."
Chronoa rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Yeah, names have power, after all. Oh, one thing. I lied a moment ago. The dragon balls aren't the only thing that can get you across the distance between realities. You just need to be powerful to bear the conditions there, something even those two haven't reached by a long shot. Perhaps something you will never reach, but since you maniacs are training the entire time anyway, there is no harm in telling you this, now that you confirmed what should be most important to you."
My mind circuited for a moment before I shook my head self-deprecating. I had already guessed that would be another way to cross to my old life. With that little info, my mood picked up slightly as I turned to the two Saiyans. "Seems like we will meet you when I surpassed you by a long shot."
The two smirked at my response to the information the Kai just dumped on me. It seemed like they were hoping for that to come true. Clear was that they wouldn't stop growing until that day. Perhaps by then they had reached an entirely different level altogether.
"I will be happy to see that day," Kakarot said with one of his serious smiles.
"You wish. It will never happen in your lifetime." Vegeta smirked.
Their responses were typical, making me smile. "I wish you the best of luck," I stated, before distancing myself from them. "Don't you dare lose."
Chronoa nodded and Vegeta snorted before a grin appeared on his face. Goku was laughing heartily, while Bulma gave me a thumbs up before she spoke up to me for the first time. "Seems like you found something staying for. Take care!"
I nodded. "Something to live for." I could tell that they were about to leave. "The visit was brief, but it was a most welcome one."
Bulma threw something at me. "I am sure you will like this. You Saiyans love these things. Just don't neglect your wife!" I caught it as a wormhole appeared behind them.
The two Saiyans gave me a nod before they jumped in first. Bulma followed them. Chronoa turned to me. "I changed the surrounding universes' time, so you will have some time to prepare until they come. One year, to be exact. One year until they arrive. Oh, another thing I wanted to mention just because he had almost killed you. It was a new god with the name Metron. He has the Mobius Chair. Something you are familiar with, right?"
"Vaguely?" I answered after she finished unloading another critical piece of information on me. She then appeared in front of me and tapped my forehead. I was instantly disorientated and didn't know left from right with all the memories that were suddenly pushed into it.
I blinked several times, but I was still hazy from the influx of information, though I still could understand Chronoa's words. "You know, it's bad for souls from our reality to be split into different timelines like that. Although your being has already adapted somewhat, it still isn't a great idea for you to be split into more timelines. In this region, the other timelines aren't created the same way as they are in our world. Just make sure this doesn't happen again."
She then held up her palm next to her mouth as if she wanted to whisper something to me. "There are higher beings watching your career with great interest."
With that last statement, she jumped into the wormhole before it closed behind her. I floated in space for a moment, trying to decipher what exactly she meant by that, while also getting my mind in order.
"You alright? Where are they?" Raven suddenly asked after teleporting next to her. Took her sweet time to teleport here. She should be able to sense wherever I was with her connection to me, right...? Wait for how long had I left?