"Android 21, wake up!" Krillin pulled her silicone body into his arms, crying so hard he could barely breathe. "That damn fat monster… I'm not letting this go."
"Krillin, don't panic yet," Goku said. "Buu should be able to turn her back."
Then, with the worst timing in the world, he poked Android 21's arm. "So this is silicone? It feels really real."
Krillin hugged Android 21 away from him at once. "Goku! Don't touch my wife!"
"I'm being careful. I won't break her."
"That's not the point!"
Krillin stared at him, furious beyond words.
Go poke your own wife.
Why are your hands on mine?
Best friend or not, there were limits.
"Just take us back," Krillin said through his teeth.
"Okay."
Goku placed a hand on him, and the two of them returned to Capsule Corporation with Android 21.
The moment they appeared in Bulma's yard, everyone gathered around.
Android 21, still frozen in that lifelike silicone form, became the center of attention at once. People leaned in, pointed, whispered, and stared with the kind of curiosity that made Krillin want to bury himself alive.
Thank Kami Marron had run off to play with the neighborhood kids.
If she had seen her mother like this, Krillin had no idea how he would explain it without ruining her childhood forever.
"Buu," Goku said, pressing his palms together. "Please turn Android 21 back."
Buu nodded. His antenna flashed, and purple-white light washed over Android 21.
Her body softened back into flesh in an instant.
Android 21 sprang up from the ground, eyes sharp and frightened, her gaze snapping straight to Buu.
"Android 21!" Krillin rushed to her. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"
She took a second to steady herself, then looked around and realized she was no longer in Mr. Satan's house. "What happened?"
Krillin explained as gently as anyone could explain that his wife had been turned into a silicone doll and carried around in public.
Android 21's face went pale.
Then her eyes locked on Mr. Satan.
"I turned into silicone?"
Mr. Satan raised both hands so fast they nearly blurred. "I swear I didn't do anything to you!"
"He didn't," Android 21 said after a tense second. "I still had a little awareness. Not much, but enough to know that."
Krillin let out a breath that seemed to empty his whole body. "Good. That's good."
Yamcha leaned in and murmured near his ear, "Why does this sound like two cheaters getting their story straight?"
Krillin nearly snapped in half.
"Yamcha!" He rounded on him, shaking with rage. "Can you not make this worse for once?"
Before the argument could keep growing, Bulma's kitchen robots began carrying food into the yard. The smell of fresh dishes spread through Capsule Corporation, and the party slowly dragged itself back into something resembling a birthday celebration.
For a while, everyone ate, drank, and pretended this had not already become one of the strangest gatherings in Earth's history.
Merus stood beside Ken with a drink in hand, watching the others. "Ken, the promised match is getting closer."
"You mean Goku and Jiren?" Ken asked, pulling a skewer from the grill.
"Yes. Three years left, more or less."
Merus had kept an eye on Goku during the Majin Buu incident. Goku had grown tremendously, no question. But Jiren was still Jiren. Even with three more years, Merus was not convinced Goku could close that gap.
He had thought about it for a long time and kept coming back to the same conclusion: Goku's childhood had changed everything. Eating that book on Ultra Instinct had given him a foundation no normal mortal should have, and that foundation had carried him all the way here.
But a foundation still had limits.
Breaking past them would not be easy.
"Time really does move fast," Ken said, his tone turning briefly nostalgic. "Back then, I was still a kid following you around for training. Now look at me. I'm taller than you."
Merus stared at him.
That was the part he wanted to emphasize?
"The match with Jiren isn't the only one," Merus said, recovering his composure. "There's also Vegeta and Kale."
"Right."
Merus had watched Vegeta too. Vegeta's strength had climbed far beyond where it used to be, but Kale's Legendary Super Saiyan Two was no joke. If they fought now, the result would not be easy to call.
Which was exactly the problem.
Merus lowered his voice a little. "Considering Kale is already Gohan's girlfriend, perhaps it would be better to cancel that match."
A match he was not certain to win was a match best removed from the board.
If he won the agreement with Ken, he would receive the Grand Priest's silver-white staff. That prize was worth being careful.
Ken smiled at him. "Merus, since we're both Angels, maybe we two apprentice Angels should spar sometime."
Merus's hand tightened around his cup.
The drink inside trembled and almost spilled.
Spar?
With Ken?
Absolutely not.
Ken had already reached the level where he could fight the guards. Merus, meanwhile, had not even surpassed Buu. The gap was not small. It was a canyon with decorative lighting.
Ken laughed and patted his shoulder. "Relax. I'm joking."
Merus wiped sweat from his forehead with a white handkerchief. "That joke is terrible."
…
Universe 7, Beerus's planet.
Inside the castle, Beerus rolled over in his white bed and stretched until every joint in his body seemed to wake up before the rest of him did.
His eyes opened.
The first thing he did was shout.
"Whis! Whis!"
Outside the castle, Whis had been observing the universe when the cry reached him.
The Oracle Fish heard it too and nearly tipped his bowl. "Beerus woke up?"
"Earlier than expected," Whis said, thoughtfully. "Much earlier."
"Whis!" Beerus shouted again. "Get in here!"
"Coming," Whis called.
The Oracle Fish floated after him, bowl and all.
They found Beerus sitting in bed, sleepwear wrinkled, mood already sour.
"Beerus-sama," Whis said with a pleasant smile. "You're finally awake."
"Where's my toothbrush?" Beerus demanded.
"Oh my. That toothbrush broke, so I threw it away."
Beerus's ears sharpened. "That was the best toothbrush I ever found in the universe. Why would you throw it away?"
"Because you used it to clean the toilet while sleepwalking."
Whis lifted his staff, and an image appeared.
In the projection, Beerus shuffled through the room half-asleep, toothbrush in hand. He crouched by the toilet and scrubbed it with deep, careful dedication.
Then he raised the same toothbrush toward his mouth.
The projection showed Whis arriving just in time, knocking Beerus unconscious with his staff and tossing the toothbrush into the trash.
Beerus rubbed the side of his head. "So that's why my head hurts."
He let out a long breath, then nodded with grave approval. "You did well, Whis. You prevented a tragedy."
"I brought a replacement." Whis raised his hand, and an electric toothbrush appeared.
Beerus accepted it without complaint and went off to wash his face and brush his teeth. Afterward, like the cat he insisted he was not acting like, he licked one paw and rubbed it across his cheek.
Whis watched him finish grooming. "Beerus-sama, may I ask why you woke up so early? You were expected to sleep about another year."
"What, you didn't want me awake?" Beerus shot him a look.
"Not at all."
Beerus changed into his God of Destruction attire and stretched again, now fully awake and ready to be annoyed by everything.
"So," he said, turning back to Whis, "what happened while I was asleep?"
"Quite a lot."
"Don't waste my time. Give me the important things, especially anything from Universe 7." Beerus paused, then remembered something. "Right. How is Frieza doing? Before I slept, I told him to handle some work for me. He should be destroying planets properly by now."
"Frieza is dead," Whis said.
Beerus stared at him.
For several seconds, nothing moved except the Oracle Fish bobbing gently in his bowl.
"Dead?" Beerus finally said. "How? Illness?"
In Beerus's mind, Frieza being killed was almost absurd. There were only a handful of beings in the universe capable of it.
"He was killed," Whis said.
Beerus sat up straighter. "Killed by who?"
"Saiyans."
"Saiyans?" Beerus tapped his forehead, dragging up old memories. "From Planet Vegeta?"
The name soured his expression.
"Those Saiyans were never pleasant. I asked their king to find me the most comfortable pillow in the universe. That fool kept the best one for himself and gave me the second best. So I decided Planet Vegeta deserved to be destroyed." He sniffed. "Not that a God of Destruction needs a reason."
Whis said nothing.
The Oracle Fish leaned toward him and whispered, "Is this really the important version?"
Whis smiled. "Beerus asked for the important points. These are, in fact, the causes behind many important events."
The Oracle Fish considered that. "Fair enough."
Beerus narrowed his eyes at them. "What are you two muttering about?"
"Nothing," Whis said. "Please don't mind the details."
Beerus did not like the answer, but Frieza still mattered more. "You said Frieza was killed by Saiyans. Then Planet Vegeta still exists?"
"I'm afraid not. Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta first. Years later, surviving Saiyans defeated him."
"Idiot." Beerus clicked his tongue. "Frieza brought that on himself. If you eliminate a race, do it properly."
He paused.
"Still, how did Saiyans beat Frieza?"
"Ordinary Saiyans could not," Whis said. "But after Planet Vegeta's destruction, several survivors learned to transform into Super Saiyans. Against Frieza, that made all the difference."
"Super Saiyan…"
Beerus frowned.
The name tugged at something half-buried in his sleep.
Whis's smile deepened. "Does it remind you of something?"
"Super Saiyan…" Beerus's eyes sharpened. "Super Saiyan God."
"Oh?"
"I remember now." Beerus snapped his fingers. "I fought a Super Saiyan God in a dream. I told myself that when I woke up, I'd fight him properly."
"Is that so?"
"Whis, find him." Beerus stood, suddenly alive with interest. "That dream fight was unsatisfying. This time, I'll pin that Super Saiyan God to the ground and grind him into it until I'm satisfied."
Whis sighed softly. "Beerus, perhaps it would be better not to go."
Beerus slowly turned toward him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm saying it for your sake."
"Stop talking in riddles. Where is the Super Saiyan God?"
"Most of the surviving Saiyans currently live on a planet called Earth."
"Earth?" Beerus thought for a moment. "I remember that planet. The dinosaurs were rude, so I destroyed it."
"Yes, yes."
"What, did the planet grow humans afterward? Is that why the Saiyans moved there?"
"Exactly. Humans now live on Earth, and the Saiyans have settled among them rather peacefully."
Beerus did not care about the sociology. "Then we're leaving. Take me to Earth."
"Very well. I'll prepare."
The Oracle Fish floated close to Whis and whispered, "Whis, Earth was moved to Universe 6, remember? What are you going to say when we get there?"
"I have a plan," Whis said, unbothered.
Beerus's eyes flicked toward them. "Oracle Fish, what are you whispering about?"
"Nothing, nothing." The Oracle Fish laughed nervously. "Don't mind the details."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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