It was silent, quiet beyond quiet. No idle chatter from folks. No rustle of leaves from the wind. Just nothing, the stillness of death. Nothing was around her but the cold, emptiness of space.
Libra glanced around at the destruction she’d wrought. The arena, the tournament fighters, the audience, even the planet had gotten reduced to dust. She floated there in space, absorbing what she’d done. No, what she’d needed to do.
It’d been necessary. She had no other choice. Still, a pit formed in her stomach, gnawing her insides. She’d done it again. Libra had committed the same sin as Bra had. She had annihilated the entire solar system. Despite the rightness of her action, guilt ate away at her. She’d promised she’d be better, that she’d prove her father wrong. Yet she’d repeated her sin. It soured what should have been a triumphant victory against Buu.
“No/ Unlike last time, I will fix my mistake.” Libra swore she’d take responsibility, not blame anyone else for her actions. When she’d destroyed a solar system the first time, she’d been a child unable to control herself. Now she was a god. There was no excuse. So now she’d fix everything. And for that, she’d required the Dragonballs.
Luckily, the Vargas had foreseen such a calamity and had hidden their collection of Dragonballs in a pocket dimension. They’d greedily horded Dragonballs from multiple universes, but their sin would have some good after all.
Libra flew through space, searching for the correct spot. Being a god, she didn’t need air and flew through the vacuum unimpeded. Without even the debris of the tournament planet to help her, finding the spot was tricky.
“Those stars, that constellation… yes!” Libra floated to where the universal portal should be. She extended a hand and focused her ki. Her hair flared pink as she gathered the necessary power needed to puncture a hole into the pocket dimension. She could blast a hole through it, but that’d create a rip that would suck everything in the pocket dimension out into space. Libra was a god. She had more finesse than that.
With a sudden jab, Libra ripped a hole into the fabric of space-time. The hole was minuscule, barely the size of her torso. It’d be a squeeze, but she’d fit through. With a grunt of effort, she pushed herself through the rip. A whirlwind followed her as the vacuum of space opened, but it only caused a slight stir as the tear closed behind her.
Libra’s boots landed on the polished, tiled floor, pleased she’d succeeded. She found herself in a vast hall, grand, with pillars that extended beyond Libra’s view. A surprised gasp caught her attention—startled by her sudden appearance.
“Who goes there?” a Namekian said, entering a fighting stance. While the Dragonballs were secure in their hiding spot, they’d left a guard just in case.
“Libra. I’m a god from Universe 1. Now quit dawdling and retrieve a set of Dragonballs. There’s been a disaster.”
“A disaster?” the Namekian said, startled.
“Yes, the entire tournament planet has been destroyed. We need to wish it back,” Libra replied, her tone demanding complete obedience.
“Destroyed? It can’t be.” The guard stared at her wide-eyed.
“Is there anyone else here?” Libra didn’t have time for the guard’s disbelief.
“No, just me. My name is Whelk. You’re a god, you said?” Whelk studied her, then nodded. “Very well. This way.”
With quick steps, Whelk dashed down the hallway of pillars, and Libra followed close behind. The dark corridors seemed endless, branching out in random directions. A visitor might get lost forever if they tried exploring these halls unaided. This was intentional. While the Vargas were reckless and beyond foolish, they had protected what was theirs. Whelk stopped in the middle of an endless hallway and gestured for her to step through two pillars. Nothing seemed between them beyond more darkness, but Libra did as instructed.
Sure enough, light filled the area as she entered a small chamber. Beyond a metal door with a keypad, it was empty. With deft fingers, Whelk tapped in a long string of numbers. After a chime, the door swung open.
Behind the portal was an impressive display of Dragonballs, dozens upon dozens. Each placed on a cart for ease of use. Far across the vast chamber was a vault, its door almost reaching the roof. Its surface was black, gleaming like the feathers of a raven. The vault’s door was created from a rare metal taken from a meteor. Even her father would have trouble breaking into this vault. This security was necessary, however, for the safe held the Universe 1 Dragonballs—the heavenly Dragonballs, the first Dragonballs. They had special powers even their cousins didn’t have, for the Namekian God had created them.
“Did they really need this many?” It was even more than she’d expected. Had the Vargas gathering even more Dragonballs behind their godly benifactor’s back? They would have a lengthy discussion about this later.
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“The Vargas say it’s for everyone’s protection,” Whelk said, just as dubious. “Why they need so many wishes is beyond me.”
“Grab a set and summon the Dragon.” Libra paused. “As for the rest of the Dragonballs, return them to their home universes. I will not stand for this blatant greed.” It only proved that no one should have the power to traverse the multiverse.
This earned a smile from Whelk, who gave her a conspiratorial grin. “It shall be done.”
“First, we need to return to real space,” Libra said. While Porunga’s powers were incredible, he couldn’t affect anything in another reality.
“It shall be done, Lady Libra.” Whelk said, nodding.
Soon enough, Whelk had seven Dragonballs gathered before her. They stood on a small metal platform that floated in space. A shield glimmered around it, giving the area a breathable atmosphere. Libra gestured to her companion to start.
He extended his hand, calling the Dragon in his native tongue. Another reason they’d kept a Namekian in the vault—they might need him to summon the Dragon if all the other Namekians died.
“Who has summoned me from my slumber?” the Great Porunga said, towering above them. “What is your first wish?”
“Ask him to restore the Taikai solar system that was destroyed recently, and everything in it,” Libra said. Whelk nodded and repeated her words in Namekian.
“It can be done. But I warn you, this won’t bring back anyone who has died,” Great Porunga said. “That is beyond the power of a single wish.”
“I figured.” Libra replied. “Continue.”
“It shall be done.” Great Porunga’s eyes glowed as he fulfilled her wish.
Libra again stood on solid ground in a flash as the wish restored the tournament planet. They stood in the middle of the destroyed tournament arena. It was eerie with no people around, the tournament stands completely devoid of life.
“It is finished,” the Great Porunga said, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
“Perfect.” Libra opened her mouth to wish everyone back, but stopped. When restored to life, they’d blame her for the solar system’s destruction. They wouldn’t understand that it’d been necessary to destroy Buu. That wouldn’t do. They might do something foolish. Her father would certainly do something foolish.
“Wish that everyone believes that Majin Buu from Universe 4 destroyed the solar system,” Libra said.
“What?” Whelk stared at her in open astonishment.
“I’m not asking again.” Libra put a threat in her voice, making the Namekian swallow. With a nervous smile, he nodded.
Whelk opened his mouth to comply with her wishes, but a familiar voice interrupted them. “Covering your crimes, huh? Typical.”
“How dare you, Libra!” A high-pitched voice said. “This is beyond compare!”
“Impossible. You’re alive.” A lump caught in Libra’s throat, staring at the newcomers in astonishment.
“You killed everyone, Libra! How could you!” Pan said, her floating head bobbling erratically in her anger. Her remaining arm shook in indignation.
“It’s finally come to this,” Vegito’s hand tightening so hard it drew blood. It flowed down his fingers, dripping onto the dirt below. Unlike Pan, who seemed unharmed, he looked roughed up, like he’d suffered a serious beating. “I’m fulfilling my promise, Bra. I’m here to kill you.”
“How? You couldn’t have Instant Transmission anywhere. There was nowhere to go!” Libra asked. The technique only worked when you had a ki signature of someone you knew. Since he came from another universe, her father didn’t know anyone here.
“Sorry, Bra. But I’m not so easy to kill,” her father said, smug. “I survived your little explosion, if barely.”
“He protected me, grabbed me as the explosion was happening,” Pan said. “You blew us away pretty far.”
“But you’re mortal. You need air. How did you survive this long?!” Libra figured over an hour had passed since the explosion.
“Frankly, I’m surprised myself. But somehow my training pulled through,” her father replied. “I put myself in a hibernation trance, putting all my body’s systems to their bare minimum.”
“And I used my ki to keep his body warm,” Pan said. “It somehow worked, and when the planet reappeared, we came here.”
“Clever,” Libra said, scowling. Though, tanking the explosion and keeping his body hibernated had taken its toll. Her father seemed a little unsteady on his feet, diminished from what he’d been an hour earlier. “And now you plan to fight me?”
“Yes.” Her father’s voice was steel, unmoving, and unbreakable. “You destroyed another solar system, Bra. You killed everyone! What you’ve done is unforgivable!” His voice trembled with emotion as he spoke. Was it her imagination, or had she heard sorrow in his voice?
“Are you sure?” Pan asked.
“Yes, stay out of this, Pan. This is between me and my daughter.” Her father’s voice became more gentle. “And I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Pan asked, astonished. It was a rare word from the proud warrior’s mouth.
“I doubted you when I shouldn’t have. I allowed that other Pan cloud my judgment. You are my granddaughter, clear as day. I was being stupid. Please forgive me,” her father said.
“I… yes, of course!” Pan’s head bobbled eagerly. “Anpan fooled everyone!”
Of course. Libra’s heart went black. Everyone was so accepting of Pan, despite her becoming a literal monster, an undead monstrosity. Worse, once again her father had chosen Pan over her, his own daughter. As usual, she failed his lofty standards.
“I’m going to enjoy this.” Libra’s smile was wintry. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t a child anymore. She would prove to him, to everyone, that she didn’t need him anymore.
“Uh…” Whelk stood stock-still, unsure what to do.
“Dismiss Porunga. We’ll make the wish once I’m finished here.” Libra said. Besides, a crowd would only impede their fated contest.
“Are you sure, Grandpas?” Pan asked, her voice pensive.
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose,” her father said, shooting his granddaughter a smile. He flew into the middle of the still-destroyed tournament arena.
So this was their battleground, huh? Fine by her. Libra joined him, standing across from him. “It seems you’re finally getting your wish. You finally get to kill your daughter.”
“I never wanted this, Bra.” Her father’s voice wavered. “I’d hoped you’d learned, that my threat would put you on a better path. I messed up. I should have done something different.”
“Regret?” Libra snorted in derision. “It’s too late for that. Or excuses.”
“I suppose it is,” her father said, resigned. He entered a fighting stance. “Don’t hold back, because I won’t.” His power flared as he transformed into Super Saiyan 2, the ground rocking beneath them from his sheer might. Despite his diminished state, Vegito, the multiverse’s greatest warrior, was a force of nature.
“Don’t worry, I won’t. And the name is Libra now. I’m not your baby girl anymore.” Libra exploded into pink, her ki flaring like a supernova. “Now I will finally prove that I’m superior, Father!”
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Next time!
Libra vs Vegito! The fated daughter-father fight! A god vs a god! And another survivor?
