The Son household was not prepared for this.
To be fair, Chi-Chi's modest home on Mount Paozu had hosted warriors, aliens, and at least one demon king reincarnation. It had survived Goku's training sessions, Gohan's occasional power outbursts, and that one time Master Roshi had visited and "accidentally" walked into the wrong room.
But it had never hosted a god.
"This is AMAZING!"
Nika's voice echoed through the small dining room as he stared at the spread before him. Chi-Chi had outdone herself—despite the chaos of the day, despite learning her husband was an alien, despite everything—she had prepared a feast fit for an army.
Which was good, because Goku ate like one.
"Shishishi~ So much FOOD! I haven't eaten in eight hundred years!"
"You were sealed," Piccolo pointed out from his corner. The Namekian had declined to eat—his species survived on water alone—but he'd agreed to stay for the "debriefing." "Did you even need to eat?"
"Need? No! But WANTING to eat is different from NEEDING to eat!" Nika grabbed a bowl of rice with one stretchy arm while simultaneously reaching for a plate of dumplings with the other. "Food is JOY! Food is COMMUNITY! Food is—"
"—going to be gone in five minutes if you eat like Goku," Krillin muttered, watching the Saiyan inhale his third plate.
Chi-Chi sat at the head of the table, watching the chaos with the expression of a woman who had given up on normalcy long ago.
Gohan sat beside his mother, stealing glances at the white rubber god who had saved his life. The boy was still processing everything—the battle, his father's return, the revelation about Saiyan heritage—but there was something about Nika's presence that made it all feel... manageable.
Like everything would be okay, as long as the drums kept beating.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
"So," Chi-Chi said, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Let me make sure I understand this correctly."
Everyone paused.
Even Goku stopped eating, a dumpling halfway to his mouth.
"You—" She pointed at Nika. "—are an ancient god who was sealed away for eight hundred years."
"Correct!"
"You somehow merged with a dying man from another... dimension?"
"Also correct! His name was Marcus. He's still in here." Nika tapped his temple. "We're friends now!"
Chi-Chi's eye twitched.
"And you're telling me that my husband—" She turned to Goku. "—my HUSBAND, who I have been MARRIED to for YEARS—is actually an alien from a warrior race that you tried to SAVE centuries ago?"
"That's the gist of it, yeah!"
"And now we might have cosmic gods coming to destroy our universe because you exist?"
"Probably not for a while! Divine bureaucracy is VERY slow!"
Chi-Chi stared at him for a long moment.
Then she picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating.
"Fine," she said calmly. "Just another Tuesday."
Krillin choked on his tea. "How are you so CALM about this?!"
"Krillin, I married Son Goku. I gave up on 'normal' the day he showed up at the World Martial Arts Tournament on a flying cloud." Chi-Chi took a delicate bite of rice. "At this point, my husband could tell me he's secretly three raccoons in a gi, and I'd just ask if the raccoons need dinner too."
"I'm not raccoons," Goku said, confused.
"I KNOW, sweetie."
Nika laughed—that warm, bubbling "shishishi~" that seemed to make the room brighter.
"I REALLY like her! Goku, you chose WELL!"
"Thanks!" Goku beamed, completely missing the complexity of the compliment. "Chi-Chi's the best! She's also really scary when she's mad!"
"I'm sitting RIGHT HERE."
"I know! That's why I said it—so you'd know I appreciate you!"
Chi-Chi's stern expression softened slightly. "...Eat your vegetables."
"Yes, dear."
The dinner continued.
Nika's rubber arms proved incredibly useful for passing dishes, though he occasionally got distracted and stretched them in weird directions. At one point, his arm looped around the entire table three times before grabbing the soy sauce.
"Sorry! Still getting used to this body!"
"You're doing fine," Marcus assured him internally. "Though maybe try not to knock over the—"
CRASH.
"...the vase."
Chi-Chi's eye twitched again.
"I'll fix it!" Nika's arm stretched toward the broken pieces. "Actually, wait—can I fix it?"
"Try imagining it whole. Gear 5's toon force should theoretically allow—"
The vase pieces began to vibrate.
Then they floated up.
Then they reassembled themselves, the cracks sealing like they'd never existed, the flowers inside perking up as if freshly watered.
Everyone stared.
"WHAT," Piccolo said flatly.
Nika looked at his hands. "Okay, THAT'S new."
"Toon force reality manipulation," Marcus breathed internally. "We can AFFECT OBJECTS. Not just ourselves—OBJECTS."
"Shishishi~ This body is FULL of surprises!"
Chi-Chi examined the restored vase.
"It's... actually better than before," she admitted. "The color is brighter."
"You're WELCOME!"
After the meal—which had depleted approximately 80% of Chi-Chi's food stores—the group moved outside.
The evening air was cool and crisp, stars beginning to emerge in the darkening sky. Mount Paozu's forests stretched out below them, peaceful and quiet, completely unaware of the cosmic significance of the beings gathered on this small plateau.
Piccolo leaned against a tree, arms crossed.
Krillin sat on a rock, still nursing bruised ribs.
Gohan had been sent to bed—despite his protests—leaving the adults to discuss serious matters.
Goku bounced on his heels, barely containing his excitement.
And Nika stood at the center of it all, his white form almost glowing in the starlight.
"Okay," Piccolo said. "Let's talk strategy."
"Strategy?" Goku tilted his head. "For what?"
"For the FUTURE, Goku. We just survived a Saiyan invasion by the skin of our teeth. Vegeta escaped. He'll be back—probably stronger. And according to King Kai, there are even more powerful beings out there."
"Frieza," Krillin said grimly. "The guy who destroyed the Saiyan homeworld. King Kai mentioned him during training."
"And apparently, Nika's existence might attract divine attention." Piccolo's eyes found the Sun God. "We need a plan."
Nika hummed thoughtfully.
"What do you think?" Marcus asked internally.
"I think planning is boring," Nika replied. "But I also think our new friends are worried. And worried people don't fight at their best."
"So we give them something to focus on. Training. Preparation. A goal."
"Exactly! See, you're getting the hang of this!"
Nika spread his arms.
"Here's what I know! Vegeta escaped, but he's wounded—physically and in his PRIDE. He'll spend time recovering, getting stronger, plotting revenge. That gives us time."
"Time for what?" Krillin asked.
"TIME TO GET STRONGER! All of us!" Nika pointed at each of them in turn. "Krillin—you've got more potential than you realize. Your problem isn't power; it's BELIEF. You don't think you can compete with Saiyans, so you hold yourself back."
Krillin blinked. "I... what?"
"Piccolo—you're strong, but you're fighting against yourself. Part of you still thinks you're meant to be evil, and that conflict weakens you. Let go of what you were MADE to be and embrace what you CHOOSE to be."
Piccolo's eyes widened slightly.
"Goku—" Nika's grin widened. "—you're PERFECT. Don't change a thing."
"Thanks!" Goku beamed.
"But you COULD use some new techniques. Ways to push beyond your limits without destroying your body."
"Ooh! Like what?"
Nika's grin became mischievous.
"Have you ever heard of something called... Gear Second?"
"Gear... Second?" Goku tilted his head.
"It's one of my techniques! Well, technically it's a technique developed by someone who carried my power before—a pirate named Luffy. VERY fun guy. Laughed a lot."
Nika began to stretch, his rubber body contorting in ways that made Krillin slightly nauseous.
"The basic idea is this: I'm made of rubber, right? My blood vessels, my heart, my entire circulatory system—all rubber. Which means I can ACCELERATE it."
He dropped into a stance, legs spread, arms loose.
"By pumping my legs like pistons, I can force my blood to move faster. MUCH faster. This supercharges my entire body, increasing my speed, strength, and reaction time exponentially."
"That sounds dangerous," Piccolo observed.
"Oh, it IS! For a normal rubber body, using Gear Second too long would burn through energy and shorten lifespan." Nika's grin widened. "But I'M not normal! I'm in Gear FIFTH—the awakened state! The peak of power! Which means..."
He began pumping his legs.
And his body began to steam.
"WHAT THE—" Krillin scrambled backward.
Pink-red energy started emanating from Nika's white form, mixing with the ethereal glow of Gear 5. His skin remained white, but now it was tinged with crimson, veins of red pulsing beneath the cartoon surface.
"Marcus," Nika said internally, "do you feel that?"
"I feel like I'm on FIRE," Marcus replied. "But like... good fire? Is that possible?"
"That's Gear Second layered on top of Gear Fifth! The acceleration of Second, combined with the reality-warping of Fifth! I've never tried this before—I was sealed before I could experiment—but THEORETICALLY..."
Nika moved.
One moment he was standing in front of them.
The next, he was behind Piccolo.
The next, he was on top of a tree fifty feet away.
The next, he was back in his original position, leaving afterimages scattered across the entire plateau.
"SHISHISHI~!"
The laugh echoed from multiple directions at once, as if he was everywhere simultaneously.
"This is INCREDIBLE! Gear Second made Luffy fast, but combined with Gear Fifth's toon force..."
He blurred again, this time appearing directly in front of Goku, their noses almost touching.
"I can move so fast that I exist in multiple places at ONCE!"
Goku's eyes were SHINING.
"THAT'S SO COOL! Can you teach me?! Wait—I'm not made of rubber. Can I still learn?!"
"Not this exactly, but the PRINCIPLE!" Nika stepped back, letting the steam fade, his body returning to pure white. "You've got something better than rubber, Goku. You've got KI. And ki can do ANYTHING if you push it hard enough."
"Kaio-ken," Piccolo murmured. "King Kai's technique. It multiplies the user's power."
"EXACTLY! And from what I understand, Goku's already learned it!"
Goku nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I can use Kaio-ken times two, times three, even times four! But it really hurts afterward."
"Because you're fighting AGAINST your body instead of working WITH it." Nika tapped his chest. "The key to pushing past limits isn't forcing yourself to be stronger. It's LIBERATING your body's natural potential. Free your muscles from their self-imposed restrictions. Free your ki from the channels you've unconsciously built. Free your SPIRIT from the belief that there's a ceiling."
He spread his arms.
"There IS no ceiling! There are only DOORS—and every door can be opened if you find the right KEY!"
Goku stared at him.
Then his face split into a grin that matched Nika's.
"I want to fight you."
"SHISHISHI~ I was HOPING you'd say that!"
"This is a terrible idea," Piccolo said flatly.
"Probably!" Nika agreed cheerfully.
"We just finished a major battle. Everyone's exhausted. And you two want to SPAR?"
"Not a full fight!" Goku assured him, already dropping into a fighting stance. "Just a friendly match! To see what Nika can do!"
"And what I can LEARN," Nika added, mirroring the stance. "I've got all these techniques in my head, but I haven't tested them all in THIS body yet. This is research!"
"It's INSANITY."
"Same thing!"
Krillin backed away slowly. "I'm just gonna... watch from over here. Behind this boulder. Maybe underground."
Goku and Nika faced each other across the plateau.
The night was quiet. Stars blazed overhead. The moon hung in the sky—a normal moon, thankfully, not the artificial one Vegeta had created.
"Ready?" Marcus asked internally.
"Always," Nika replied. "Let's show him what the Sun God can do."
Goku moved first.
The Saiyan blurred forward, fist cocked back, moving at speeds that would have been invisible to normal humans. He'd clearly been holding back during dinner—now his full power was on display.
Nika's body bent backward, spine folding like rubber, Goku's punch sailing over him.
"Too slow!" Nika laughed.
His leg stretched upward, catching Goku under the chin.
"GUM-GUM WHIP!"
Goku's head snapped back, but he recovered instantly, grabbing Nika's extended leg.
"Got you!"
He yanked, pulling Nika toward him, already preparing a devastating counter.
"GUM-GUM ROCKET!"
Instead of resisting, Nika LAUNCHED himself forward, turning Goku's pull into acceleration. His body became a white missile, forehead aimed directly at Goku's face.
CRACK!
The headbutt connected, sending both fighters tumbling in opposite directions.
Nika bounced three times before springing back to his feet.
Goku skidded to a stop, rubbing his forehead—and GRINNING.
"That HURT! You're really strong!"
"Thanks! You're strong too! Let's keep going!"
They clashed again.
Goku's fighting style was fluid and adaptive, mixing martial arts techniques from multiple schools. Every attack flowed into the next, creating a continuous stream of offense.
But Nika's fighting style was CHAOS.
"GUM-GUM GATLING!"
His arms became a blur of punches, hundreds of impacts per second.
Goku weaved through them, but several still connected, driving him backward.
"GUM-GUM STAMP!"
A foot stretched from impossible angles, catching Goku in the ribs.
"GUM-GUM RIFLE!"
A rotating punch that Goku barely blocked, the spin sending him sliding.
"GUM-GUM BAZOOKA!"
Both palms forward, slamming into Goku's guard with enough force to create a shockwave.
But Goku was learning.
"KAIO-KEN!"
Red aura exploded around the Saiyan, his power multiplying.
He blurred forward—faster than before, faster than Nika was expecting—and landed a devastating combination. Punch to the chest. Knee to the stomach. Elbow to the back of the head.
Nika went tumbling.
"HA!" Goku pumped his fist. "Got you!"
But Nika just bounced back up, grin undiminished.
"Good hit! But blunt force doesn't really work on me—I just bounce back!"
He cracked his neck, producing a cartoonish sound effect.
"Let me show you something SPECIAL!"
Nika dropped into a stance.
He began pumping his legs again, feeling the acceleration, the heat, the POWER building in his rubber body.
Steam erupted from his form.
But this time, he pushed FURTHER.
"Let's see what happens when we REALLY combine them," Marcus thought.
"SHISHISHI~ Let's FIND OUT!"
The white of Gear 5 began to pulse with crimson veins.
The steam turned from translucent to a deep, roiling red.
And Nika's form began to SHIFT.
His proportions became even more exaggerated—limbs stretching slightly longer, his grin somehow growing wider, his eyes gaining a manic gleam that made even Piccolo take a step back.
"GEAR FIFTH: SECOND LIBERATION!"
The name erupted from his throat, and it felt RIGHT. Not a technique he'd learned, but one he'd just CREATED, merging the acceleration of Gear Second with the toon force of Gear Fifth.
"What... what IS that?" Krillin whispered from behind his boulder.
Nika moved.
And the world struggled to keep up.
He didn't just move fast—he moved in ways that BROKE physics. Zigzagging at right angles without losing momentum. Appearing in multiple places simultaneously. Leaving afterimages that were almost as solid as his real body.
Goku's eyes went wide.
"WHERE—"
"GUM-GUM JET PISTOL!"
The punch came from everywhere at once. Goku blocked left—and got hit from the right. Blocked right—and got hit from above. Blocked above—and got hit from BELOW.
He was driven into the ground, creating a crater.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES THREE!"
Goku burst upward, his aura intensifying, his speed tripling.
But Nika was STILL faster.
"GUM-GUM JET GATLING!"
The accelerated punch barrage made his previous Gatling look like slow motion. Hundreds of fists per SECOND, each one Haki-coated, each one moving faster than sound.
Goku crossed his arms to block.
The impacts drove him across the plateau, through a tree, through ANOTHER tree, and into the mountainside.
Nika stood in the center of a devastated landscape, steam pouring off his body, his breathing heavy but his grin brighter than ever.
"SHISHISHI~ That was FUN!"
Silence.
Then—
"HAHAHAHA!"
Goku burst from the rubble, his gi torn, bruises covering his body, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead.
And he was LAUGHING.
"THAT WAS AMAZING! You're incredible, Nika! I've never fought anyone like you!"
"Thanks! You're pretty amazing too!"
They stood there, two warriors who should have been exhausted, two fighters who should have been taking the situation seriously—and they were LAUGHING.
Like children who had just discovered a new game.
Piccolo watched them with a mixture of exasperation and something that might have been envy.
"They're both insane," he muttered.
"Yeah," Krillin agreed. "But you gotta admit—it's kind of beautiful."
ELSEWHERE—BEERUS'S PLANET
The God of Destruction's world was peaceful.
An eternally tranquil realm, floating in its own pocket dimension, home to Lord Beerus and his attendant Whis. It was a place of rest between destructions, a sanctuary where the most powerful mortal being in Universe 7 could sleep away the centuries.
Beerus had been sleeping for thirty-nine years.
His dreams had been pleasant—fields of delicious food, worthy opponents, the occasional nightmare about Super Saiyan Gods that he couldn't quite remember upon waking.
But now—
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
Beerus's ear twitched.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
His whiskers vibrated.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
His eyes SNAPPED open.
"Those DRUMS."
He sat up so fast that the pyramid-shaped tree he'd been sleeping in shook violently.
"WHIS!"
The angel appeared instantly, staff in hand, eternal smile in place. "You called, Lord Beerus?"
"THE DRUMS! I hear the DRUMS!"
Whis's smile flickered—just for a moment. "Drums, my lord?"
"Don't play COY with me!" Beerus was on his feet now, pacing frantically, his tail lashing. "You know EXACTLY what drums! The Drums of Liberation! Nika's drums!"
"Ah." Whis nodded slowly. "Those drums."
"He was SEALED! The Grand Priest himself bound him! How am I hearing—"
Beerus froze mid-step.
Then, slowly, a grin spread across his feline face.
Not a threatening grin. Not a predator's grin.
A child's grin.
The grin of a kid who had just learned that Christmas was coming early.
"He's BACK."
"It would appear so, my lord."
"Nika's BACK!"
"Indeed."
Beerus began to bounce on his heels.
He was bouncing. The God of Destruction, the most feared being in Universe 7, the entity who could erase planets with a thought—was BOUNCING.
"Do you remember, Whis? Do you remember when he visited?"
"I remember you throwing a tantrum because he made you laugh so hard you forgot to destroy that one planet."
"I wasn't THROWING A TANTRUM! I was... expressing displeasure!"
"You knocked over seventeen solar systems."
"They were in the WAY!"
Beerus resumed his pacing, but now there was excitement in his movements instead of agitation.
"He was the only one who ever made destruction FUN, Whis. Everyone else is always so SERIOUS. 'Oh no, Lord Beerus is going to destroy our planet!' 'Please spare us, Lord Beerus!' But Nika..."
His eyes went distant.
"He LAUGHED. When I told him I was going to destroy him, he laughed and said 'That sounds like fun! Let's see who destroys who first!' And then he turned me into a RUBBER BALL and bounced me across three galaxies!"
"You slept for three centuries afterward."
"Because I was TIRED from LAUGHING!" Beerus threw his hands up. "Do you know how exhausting it is to laugh that hard? I'm a GOD OF DESTRUCTION! I'm not supposed to GIGGLE!"
Whis watched his master's excitement with an unreadable expression.
"My lord, you realize this complicates things significantly. The seal on Nika was authorized by the Grand Priest himself. If Father learns that he's free..."
"The Grand Priest can DEAL WITH IT." Beerus waved a dismissive paw. "This is MY universe. If I want to hang out with an ancient chaos god, that's MY business!"
"You wish to... 'hang out' with Nika?"
"I wish to FIGHT him again!" Beerus's grin widened. "Last time, I wasn't trying! I was SURPRISED! But now... now I've had millions of years to get stronger! I bet I can actually HIT him this time!"
Whis sighed—a soft, almost imperceptible sound.
"And where, pray tell, is Nika currently located?"
Beerus closed his eyes, focusing on the drums.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
"Earth," he said finally. "That little blue planet in the northern quadrant. The one with the surprisingly good food."
"Ah yes. The planet where that Saiyan lives. Goku, I believe."
"There's a SAIYAN there?" Beerus's ears perked up. "Interesting. I've been having those dreams about Super Saiyan Gods lately..."
"Perhaps it would be worth a visit?"
Beerus considered this.
On one paw, he was still tired. He'd only been awake for a few minutes, and already he wanted to go back to sleep.
On the other paw—NIKA.
"How long until I'm fully rested?"
"At your current rate? Approximately four years."
"Ugh. FINE." Beerus flopped back down onto his sleeping platform. "Wake me up when I'm ready. And keep an eye on Earth. I want to know EVERYTHING Nika does."
"Of course, my lord."
Whis turned to leave, but Beerus's voice stopped him.
"And Whis?"
"Yes?"
"...I'm excited." The God of Destruction's voice was almost vulnerable. "I haven't been EXCITED about anything in millennia. Is that... weird?"
Whis's smile softened.
"Not weird, my lord. Just... unexpected."
"Yeah. Unexpected." Beerus closed his eyes. "That's what Nika does, though. He makes everything... unexpected."
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
Beerus fell asleep with the drums echoing in his heart.
And for the first time in centuries, his dreams were full of laughter.
FRIEZA PLANET 79—MEDICAL BAY
The healing pod hummed softly, its green liquid bubbling around the broken form within.
Vegeta floated in the regenerative solution, his body slowly knitting itself back together. The bones that had been shattered by Nika's continental punch were reforming. The burns from the fire-coated fist were fading. The wound where his tail had been... was not healing. Would never heal.
But his mind was fully active.
And it was SEETHING.
A white figure falling from the sky.
A fist wreathed in flame.
Laughter—that maddening, impossible laughter.
"Shishishi~"
Vegeta's hands clenched in the healing fluid.
He had never been humiliated like that. NEVER. He was the Prince of All Saiyans, the Elite of the Elite. He had conquered worlds. Destroyed civilizations. Made emperors beg for mercy.
And that... that THING had beaten him like he was nothing.
Had LAUGHED while doing it.
"I'm the Sun God, Nika. Nice to meet ya!"
Sun God. WHAT was a Sun God? Vegeta had never heard of such a being. Not in any of Frieza's records, not in any Saiyan legends, not in any corner of the galaxy he'd explored.
But the name... the NAME...
Something about it tickled the edges of Vegeta's memory. Something old. Something buried so deep he couldn't quite reach it.
"The drums," a voice whispered from somewhere in his subconscious. "Remember the drums."
Vegeta shook his head—or tried to, the healing fluid resisting the motion.
He didn't have time for phantom memories. He had PLANNING to do.
Kakarot.
The low-class warrior had grown strong. Strong enough to give Nappa trouble, maybe even strong enough to challenge Vegeta himself. And now he had allies—the Namekian, the humans, the child with hidden power.
And the rubber creature. The Sun God. The laughing nightmare.
I'll need more power, Vegeta thought. Much more power. Enough to destroy Kakarot. Enough to destroy Nika. Enough to finally take what's rightfully mine.
His eyes found the viewport of the healing pod, looking out at the stars.
Namek.
The word surfaced in his mind like a bubble rising through the healing fluid.
He'd overheard Frieza's men talking. The Dragon Balls on Earth had been destroyed when the Namekian died—the tall one, the one who'd been protecting the child. But there were more Dragon Balls. On Namek. The original Dragon Balls, created by the Namekians themselves.
Dragon Balls that could grant ANY wish.
Including immortality.
Yes, Vegeta thought, a smile spreading across his battered face. I'll let Kakarot and his friends think they've won. Let them celebrate their little victory. And while they're distracted...
I'll become IMMORTAL.
And then—then I'll return.
And I'll make that laughing god CHOKE on his own joy.
ELSEWHERE IN THE FACILITY
"Lord Frieza."
The tyrant's hover-pod turned slowly, revealing the pale, purple-and-white form of the emperor of the universe.
"What is it, Zarbon? Can't you see I'm busy?"
Zarbon—a handsome, blue-skinned warrior with long green hair—bowed slightly. "Apologies, my lord. But we've received an interesting report from the Earth team."
"Earth?" Frieza's tail flicked with irritation. "That backwater planet? I thought Vegeta was handling that."
"He was, my lord. He... failed."
Silence.
Frieza's chair turned fully, revealing his full attention.
"Failed?"
"The Saiyans engaged the planet's defenders and were defeated. Nappa is dead—killed by Vegeta himself after taking too much damage. And Vegeta..."
Zarbon hesitated.
"Vegeta WHAT?"
"Vegeta was beaten, my lord. Badly. He's currently in the healing pods, estimated recovery time approximately two weeks."
Frieza's lip curled. "That arrogant monkey let himself be beaten by EARTHLINGS? How disappointing."
"Not Earthlings, my lord." Zarbon pulled up a holographic display. "According to the scouter recordings we recovered, Vegeta was defeated by... this."
The image showed a white figure falling from the sky. A figure with flame-like hair, an impossibly wide grin, and arms that stretched across the horizon.
Frieza's eyes widened.
Then they NARROWED.
"What... is that?"
"Unknown, my lord. The scouter attempted to read its power level, but the device overloaded and exploded. Whatever this creature is, it's beyond anything we've encountered before."
"Play the recording."
Zarbon complied.
The hologram showed the battle from a Saibaman's perspective—one of the creatures must have survived long enough to transmit. It showed Nappa's beatdown. Vegeta's humiliation. The creature's impossible abilities.
And then—
"I'm the Sun God, Nika. Nice to meet ya!"
The recording ended.
Frieza was silent for a long moment.
"Sun God," he murmured. "How... interesting."
"My lord?"
"Zarbon, have you ever heard of a being called Nika?"
"I can't say I have, my lord."
"Neither have I. And that bothers me." Frieza's tail coiled and uncoiled. "I know of every significant power in this universe. Every threat. Every potential rival. But this 'Nika' is completely unknown to me."
"Should we investigate, my lord?"
"Eventually." Frieza turned back to the viewport, looking out at the stars. "But first—I've received word that there may be Dragon Balls on Planet Namek. Real Dragon Balls. Capable of granting any wish."
Zarbon's eyes widened. "Any wish, my lord?"
"Any wish." Frieza's smile was cold. "Including eternal life. I believe I'll pay the Namekians a visit. And if this 'Nika' decides to interfere..."
His smile widened.
"Then I'll show him why I am the EMPEROR of this universe."
BACK ON EARTH—MOUNT PAOZU
The spar had ended.
Goku and Nika sat side by side on the plateau's edge, looking out at the stars, catching their breath.
"That was AMAZING," Goku said for the fifteenth time.
"You said that already."
"Because it WAS! Nika, you're the most fun opponent I've ever fought! Every time I thought I had you figured out, you did something COMPLETELY different!"
Nika laughed. "That's the idea! Fighting should be JOY, not routine! If you know exactly what's going to happen, where's the excitement?"
"Right?! That's what I'VE always said!"
They grinned at each other—two warriors who had found a kindred spirit.
Piccolo approached, Krillin trailing behind him.
"If you two are done playing," the Namekian said dryly, "we should discuss next steps."
"Next steps?"
"The Dragon Balls." Piccolo's expression was grim. "With the Namekian—with my progenitor—dead, the Earth's Dragon Balls are inert. We can't use them to revive our fallen friends."
Goku's good mood dimmed. "Oh... right. Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu..."
"They died fighting the Saiyans," Krillin added quietly. "They deserve to come back."
Nika's grin softened into something more thoughtful.
"Do you know something that could help?" Marcus asked internally.
"I know that Namekians have their own Dragon Balls," Nika replied. "And I know that Frieza is already planning to go there. The memories of this universe's future are fuzzy—they're not MY memories, after all—but I can feel the general shape of things."
"So we need to get to Namek before Frieza does."
"Or at the same time. Or after. Honestly, it doesn't really matter—what matters is that we GO."
"There's a solution," Nika said aloud. "Namek."
Everyone looked at him.
"The Namekian homeworld. They have their own Dragon Balls—the original Dragon Balls, actually. They should be able to revive your friends."
"Namek?" Piccolo's eyes widened. "You know where my people come from?"
"I visited, once! Beautiful planet. Very green. Lots of wise elders with healing abilities and a tendency toward melodrama."
Piccolo stared at him.
"You... visited my homeworld."
"Eight hundred years ago, yeah! They had a bit of a tyrant problem—some alien warlord trying to enslave them. I... convinced him to leave."
"Convinced?"
"I bounced him into a sun. He wasn't very convincing after that."
Krillin snorted.
"Anyway!" Nika bounced to his feet. "Namek is where we need to go. The Dragon Balls there are more powerful than Earth's—they can grant more wishes, I think. We can bring back your friends, maybe restore Earth's Dragon Balls, and—"
He paused.
"—and probably fight a LOT of bad guys, because Namek is about to get VERY popular."
"What do you mean?" Goku asked.
"Frieza." The name fell from Nika's lips like a curse. "The emperor of the universe. The one who destroyed the Saiyan homeworld. He's probably already planning to go to Namek for the Dragon Balls."
Goku's expression darkened. "Frieza."
"You've heard of him?"
"King Kai told me about him. He said Frieza was the one who... who killed my people."
"Then you understand why we need to be careful." Nika's grin had faded entirely—a rare occurrence. "Frieza is dangerous. Not just strong—CRUEL. He doesn't just defeat enemies; he humiliates them. Breaks them. Makes them regret ever being born."
"Sounds like someone who needs to be stopped," Goku said quietly.
"Yeah." Nika's grin returned, but it was sharper now. "He does. And we're going to be the ones to do it."
Piccolo looked between them.
"You're planning to challenge the most powerful being in the universe."
"Yep!"
"On a planet far from Earth, with limited resources and no backup."
"That's the plan!"
"...Count me in."
Everyone turned to Piccolo in surprise.
"What? My people are on that planet. If Frieza is going there, he's going to threaten them. I won't allow that."
"Piccolo..." Krillin started.
"Don't read into it. This isn't about friendship or heroism. This is about protecting what's MINE."
Nika's grin widened.
"SHISHISHI~ I KNEW I liked you!"
"Shut up, rubber god."
"That's SUN God, actually!"
"I don't CARE."
The night grew deeper.
Chi-Chi had long since gone to bed, extracting a promise from Goku that he wouldn't leave for space without saying goodbye. Gohan slept peacefully, unaware of the dangerous journey ahead.
But the warriors remained awake.
Sitting on the plateau.
Looking at the stars.
Knowing that somewhere out there, enemies were gathering.
Vegeta, healing in a pod, planning revenge.
Frieza, setting course for Namek, dreaming of immortality.
Beerus, stirring in his sleep, remembering the drums.
And beyond them all—forces and beings that hadn't even noticed yet. The Grand Priest. The Omni-King. The entire divine hierarchy that had once deemed Nika too dangerous to exist.
"Are you scared?" Marcus asked internally.
"No," Nika replied. "Are you?"
Marcus—the part of him that was still the accountant from Denver, the part that remembered spreadsheets and cubicles and the comfortable mundanity of normal life—considered the question.
"A little," he admitted. "We're going to fight the emperor of the universe. We might attract the attention of gods who could erase us with a thought. We're walking into danger that we can't possibly predict."
"And?"
"And... I've never felt more alive."
Nika's presence seemed to smile.
"That's the spirit. That's the liberation I was talking about. Freedom isn't the absence of danger—it's the courage to face danger LAUGHING."
"Shishishi~"
"SHISHISHI~"
The laugh that escaped Nika's lips was both ancient and young, both god and man.
Goku looked over at him, grinning.
"What's so funny?"
"Everything!" Nika spread his arms. "The stars! The adventure! The friends! The enemies! Everything is so BEAUTIFUL, Goku! Don't you feel it?"
Goku considered this.
Then he laughed too.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I do."
They sat there together—the Sun God and the Saiyan, the Namekian and the human—watching the stars.
Somewhere in the distance, the drums beat on.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
Dum-da-da-dum-dum.
The rhythm of liberation.
The heartbeat of freedom.
The promise of adventure to come.
TO BE CONTINUED...
NEXT CHAPTER: THE JOURNEY TO NAMEK
In which a spaceship is acquired (stolen), Goku trains in heavy gravity, Nika teaches rubber-based combat techniques that definitely shouldn't work with ki (but do anyway), and Frieza gets his first report about the "strange white creature" heading toward him.
Also featuring: Vegeta's escape from Frieza's forces, Bulma being completely done with everyone, and the first hint of what happens when Toon Force meets Ki in serious combat.