Fanfic: "History of Beerus"

[xmysticgohanx]

"a female" lol

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 19

The day of the tournament had finally arrived. Spectators from all over Other World had been showing up on the Dai Kaioh's planet in droves to watch the event, and each of the four Kaiohs were putting their teams through their final warm-up exercises in the hours before the fighting would commence.

North Kaioh watched as Beerus fired a series of powerful blasts into the sky, honing his ki control. Finally, he signaled for his new student to stop.

"Well," the diminutive god said with pride, "it's been a bit of a crash course, but I've taught you pretty much everything I could. From now on, it's all up to you. Win this thing for the North Galaxy!"

Beerus grinned, glad this insane training was finally done with. But then a question formed in his mind.

"Hey, Kaioh-sama, with all of this work I never thought to ask before - if I do win, what kind of prize do I get?"

"Besides bragging rights, you mean?" Kaioh laughed. Beerus scowled at this joke.

"Okay, okay. The grand prize for the winner of the Other World Tournament is a private martial arts lesson from the Dai Kaioh."

The feline seemed interested by that. "He's really strong, right?"

"Indeed," North Kaioh replied. "He's the greatest fighter in all of Other World, save the Kaioshin of course."

"Why can't I get training from them, then?" Beerus asked.

Kaioh sighed. "The Kaioshin have much more important jobs to do than serve as martial arts instructors!"

"Fine, I guess," Beerus said. "I'm going to go get some rest before the tournament starts, if you don't mind."

"I have no problem with that, you need to be well-rested," Kaioh said, "but first, I have a gift for you." He raised his hands in front of his student, and they began glowing with an odd, green light. Suddenly, Beerus' old, ragged clothes were replaced with a brand new outfit. It somewhat resembled the traditional garb he used to wear on his home planet, but was emblazoned with the symbol of the North Kaioh across the front.

"Wow, this is cool," he said, examining the new uniform.

"It's to signify that you have officially graduated from my training," Kaioh explained. "Make sure to make me proud!"

"You got it," Beerus said, heading off to the small bed he had been assigned. While his words has been confident, he was still rather nervous about facing Butaga. She had been training for the tournament as well, and whenever she exerted herself, the whole planet could easily feel her fearsome ki, which dwarfed Icer's power to the point of utter insignificance. The self-styled "Champion of Nekosei" was having severe doubts about his ability to defeat her. But that didn't mean he wouldn't give it his best. The prospect of facing such a strong opponent excited him, after all.

************************************

He awoke to a loud, familiar, shrill voice in his ear.

"Get up! Get up! The tournament is starting in under 10 minutes!"

Beerus sat bolt upright, knocking North Kaioh across the room. "I'm up already!" He shouted, still a bit groggy from his nap.

"Report to the arena as soon as possible!" Kaioh yelled, leaving. Beerus yawned, but he was also filled with anticipation. Quickly donning his new uniform, he followed the crowds to the arena. What he found surprised him.

Much like the Room of Spirit and Time, the Other World Arena was larger on the inside. In fact, it took the form of a massive, dark room, decorated with a background starfield and many miniature planets, much smaller than even the planet of the North Kaioh, but just as perfectly spherical. At the center of it all was a floating rock, containing a large stadium surrounding a rectangular tile floor, presumably the fighting ring. The seats were filled with aliens and creatures of all types, many of which he had never seen before. He soon saw the North Kaioh and the other members of his team, sitting in a preparation area outside the ring, and he ran to join them.

"Beerus-san, you're here just in time," North Kaioh said, adjusting the false halo above the feline's head with both hands. "Your halo is secure, good. The first round is about to start. I'm off to join the other Kaiohs, you guys had better not make me look bad!"

Beerus took a seat next to some of his teammates. Wiver, who had fully recovered from the beating he had received earlier, glared at the purple-furred cat, but said nothing.

A strange, mushroom-headed being walked to the center of the ring and took out a microphone.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in-between, welcome to the Other World Tournament!" He shouted. The crowd roared in approval.

The announcer began to explain the rules. Beerus' ears perked up at the part where he said that killing was not a concern, because all of the competitors were already dead.

"All except me," Beerus thought. "I guess I just have to be careful not to get killed."

Finally, the mushroom-headed announcer displayed a diagram of the randomly-selected tournament bracket. Beerus' first opponent was someone he had never heard of before, from the East team. Just then, he heard a sickening gurgle of fear from across the table. Looking at the source of the sound, he found it was Wiver, who had started shaking nervously. Beerus turned his eyes back to the bracket, and noticed the dragon-like fighter's first opponent - Butaga.

"Ouch. Tough luck, Wiver," Bitor said.

"I'm sure it won't be too painful, it will probably be over quickly," another one of the North team added.

"Shut up!" Wiver replied, regaining a bit of his bravado. "Stop acting like I've already lost!"

Just then, the announcer began speaking again.

"The first match of round one will be the North team's much-talked-about rookie, Beerus, vs. the East team's Tobukei! Both fighters should report to the arena immediately!"

"Well, that's my cue," Beerus said, standing up and stretching. The announcer vacated the ring as Beerus and a tall, lanky, blue-skinned being with blonde hair faced each other.

The East Kaioh, a fat, purple-skinned being, leaned over and began jeering his North counterpart. "I've heard this new guy is supposedly your ace in the hole. Now we'll see how good he really is."

"Indeed we will," North Kaioh replied. "I think you're about to get a major surprise."

Beerus examined his opponent. The alien looked confident, although his power didn't seem all that great. Then again, he could easily be suppressing it.

"Ready?" The announcer called. "Three - two - one... fight!"

The warrior called Tobukei smirked, walking calmly up to his opponent.

"North quadrant trash," he mocked. "You're no match for my unparalleled speed! Just try and catch me!"

With that, he disappeared from view, zipping around the ring at a velocity untraceable to most of the spectators.

"Would you look at that!" The announcer said. "That is, if you can follow it! Tobukei has just kicked it into high gear! How will Beerus deal with this?"

The feline warrior never moved from his position, standing perfectly still as his opponent zipped around him. Finally, Tobukei reappeared in front of Beerus, done with his game of intimidation.

"Hah, you're so scared you're petrified!" He began. "Time to finish you off!" He disappeared again, this time rushing directly towards his opponent. Before he could even cross half the distance, however, Beerus raised a hand, and pointed one finger at the onrushing alien. A bright, purple beam shot out, too fast for even the speedster that was Tobukei to react to, and it nailed him straight in the chest, sending him flying out of the ring and impacting into the far arena wall, leaving a decent-sized crater. The unconscious alien's body fell to the ground.

"Amazing!" The narrator commented. "Tobukei has landed outside of the ring, so that makes Beerus the victor! Let's hope the other fights last a bit longer, or we'll have to pack up early!"

Beerus chuckled, walking back towards the North team's rest area. Meanwhile, in the Kaiohs' booth, several jaws had dropped nearly to the floor.

North Kaioh couldn't help rubbing it in. "What do you think now, huh?" he addressed his East counterpart.

"B-beginner's luck, is all it was," the East Kaioh replied, picking his jaw up.

"Really? You sure about that?" North Kaioh continued. "What do you think, South-" he stopped mid-sentence, as he noticed that the one he was addressing wasn't present.

Instead, he had taken a quick break to visit his team on the sidelines.

"Okay, Butaga, you're up next," he said, addressing the large, boar-like fighter. "There's no way I'm letting Northy and his new golden boy upstage me! So you know what that means - no playing around. Finish off Wiver at least as quickly as Beerus beat Tobukei!"

"Relax," Butaga replied, in her signature gruff voice. "I've got this." She cracked her knuckles.

"Good," the South Kaioh answered, returning to the Kaioh spectator's booth.

"Well, let's move on," the announcer was saying. "The next match is between Wiver from the North team, against a fighter who needs no introduction, the South team's mighty Butaga!"

The crowd cheered, many of them holding pro-Butaga signs. Apparently she was fairly popular.

Wiver, for his part, was doing a good job of suppressing his fear, as his massive bulk entered the ring. Across from him, the distinctly smaller, but no less intimidating Butaga snorted in derision.

The announcer gave the signal to begin, and Wiver immediately assumed a fighting stance. However, at that very moment, Butaga disappeared from her position and reappeared, seemingly instantly, under Wiver's guard. The dragon-like alien only had time to widen his pupils a bit before Butaga slammed an elbow into his stomach, sending him flying into the crowd, creating a large hole in the seats. Spectators panicked, but luckily no one had been seriously hurt.

"Whoa! And I thought that last fight was short!" The announcer said. "Butaga is the winner!"

The porcine warrior snorted again, and left the ring. From the North team's waiting area, everyone was murmuring nervously.

"So fast..."

"Hard to believe for someone that big..."

"I didn't even see her move... did you?"

"No... did anyone?"

"I did," Beerus said. His teammates all looked at him in awe. What he failed to mention, however, was that he was only barely able to track Butaga's movements. Tobukei, who had prided himself on his speed, was very easy for the cat-man to follow, but Butaga's movements were on another level altogether. And, he thought to himself, he doubted she had been using anywhere near her full power just now.

"See? That's how a real champion does it," South Kaioh, who had returned to join his fellows, began bragging. "Butaga is going to walk right through this tournament. The rest of your teams should probably save themselves the embarrassment and quit right now. After all, there's no prize for second place."

This suggestion was met with angry glares from the other Kaiohs.

"Fine, suit yourselves," South Kaioh said, laughing triumphantly.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 20

Beerus gestured for an ogre servant to fetch him more food, as he finished a plate of sushi. After Butaga had defeated Wiver, Beerus had soon grown bored of the rest of the matches in the first round, and retired to the tournament's break room, where he was currently pigging out on the extravagant food provided there.

As he raised his chopsticks to dig into the next dish, he heard familiar voices from the hallway behind him.

"Hah, your failure never ceases to amuse me," the taunting voice of the South Kaioh was unmistakable. "Three quarters of your pathetic team eliminated in round one! At least one of your fighters made it past his first match, that's certainly better than you usually do!"

"You just wait," North Kaioh replied. "I bet you'll change your tune when Beerus-san is crowned the new champion!"

"In your dreams, Northy! He'll never heat Butaga! In fact, he'll probably be eliminated before he even gets to fight her! Although I will give him some credit, he's better than the rest of the trash you put forward this time. That Bitor guy was one of the most pitiful contestants I've ever seen!"

"And that's another thing," North Kaioh scowled. "Your team should be penalized for use of excessive force and unnecessary roughness! Sure, they're all dead, but they can still be injured! Bitor will take months to recover from what that brute of yours did to him!"

This caught Beerus' ear, and he paused for a minute.

"What happened to Bitor?"

"Rakov happened to him," South Kaioh answered. "One of my best fighters, under Butaga, of course. That loser never knew what hit him!" He laughed obnoxiously. The two Kaiohs continued bickering, as they left the room.

Beerus washed down his meal with a drink of some strange, fruity Other World beverage, and then headed back towards the arena. The waiting area for the North team was empty this time, Beerus being the only remaining competitor from his galaxy. Soon, North Kaioh showed up and whispered in his student's ear.

"Don't tell anyone, but I might have messed with the brackets a bit for this round," Kaioh said mischievously. "I need to show that asshole-" Beerus correctly surmised he was referring to the South Kaioh - "that he can't get away with this kind of crap. So next round, you'll be fighting Rakov. Make him pay for what he did to Bitor!"

"Sure thing," the feline replied, yawning. "When does the next round start, anyway?"

"It should be any-"

The Kaioh was cut off by the mushroom-headed announcer, who appeared on the stage once more.

"Well, we certainly had some exciting fights in round one," he began, "but now it's time for round two!" The crowd roared, as the bracket was brought out.

"The first match will be Z-79 from the East Quadrant, versus Fiiror, from the West Quadrant!"

Beerus sighed. He only really cared about his own and Butaga's matches.

"Mind if I take a nap?" he asked North Kaioh.

"Sure, sure, just be awake in time for your fight!" The god said. Beerus sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.

************************************************************

He later awoke to the sound of shouting in his ear.

"Beerus-san, it's time for your match!" The announcer yelled, his megaphone less than a meter from the feline's face.

Beerus scowled, reaching out a hand to grab the device, and contemptuously crushed it to pieces.

"Hey, I paid for that myself!" The announcer yelled, but Beerus ignored him, walking up to the ring. There, facing him, was a large, hideous-looking green alien, with a body almost as massive as that of Wiver*.

"Anyway," the announcer was saying, shouting at the top of his lungs to be heard, as he was now without his megaphone, "the next match is between Rakov from the South Galaxy, and Beerus, the only remaining member of the North Team! If both contestants are ready, then let's begin!"

The green monstrosity smiled, glops of drool falling from the corners of its mouth.

"Congratulations on getting past the last round," the creature called Rakov said. "Pretty impressive for a North team fighter! But your success ends here! I'll maim you just like I did to your friend Bitor!"

"He wasn't exactly my friend," Beerus said, nonchalantly. "I barely even know the guy."

"Oh," Rakov said, looking a bit deflated. "Well, anyway, you'll join him in the infirmary soon!"

"Are you going to fight, or just try to talk me to death?" Beerus said, grinning as he adopted a fighting stance.

"What does he mean 'to death'?" West Kaioh asked, from the Kaiohs' booth. "Aren't they already dead?"

"It's just a figure of speech," North Kaioh chuckled nervously.

Back in the ring, Rakov charged, but Beerus deftly sidestepped his first blow.

"Is that all you've got?" The feline warrior taunted. "You're barely faster than Tobukei!"

"Don't worry," the drooling creature hissed. "I'm just getting started." He swiped at his opponent with a pair of gigantic, deadly sharp claws, but Beerus dodged the attacks again, and retaliated with a strong punch to the alien's stomach. Rakov was knocked back a few meters, but quickly regained his composure.

"Heh, you're not half bad. Maybe winning your last match was more than just a fluke," the being said.

"Likewise, I'm impressed you're still standing after that," Beerus said. "But what about this?"

He raised one paw, which began glowing orange, and released a small, oblong-shaped ki blast. To his surprise, instead of attempting to block or dodge, Rakov simply opened his mouth and swallowed the energy bolt!

"Yum," he said, laughing. "Thanks for the snack."

"What? He ate it?" Beerus thought to himself, confused.

"Dammit, I forgot to tell him! Since he didn't watch Rakov's last match, he doesn't know that he's a ki absorber!" North Kaioh muttered to himself.

South Kaioh laughed. "I guess that's the price he pays for slacking off. Don't worry, Rakov won't hurt him too badly... if he's lucky!"

Beerus hissed in annoyance. "I guess I'll have to show you a bit more of my power, then!" He exclaimed, releasing a powerful kiai. A purple aura began glowing around his body, and a strong wind buffeted the spectators.

"Hah, how do you like that?"

"Quite nicely, thank you," Rakov laughed, as he opened his mouth wide. Beerus, to his shock, found his ki being drained at a rapid rate, as his aura was drawn in towards Rakov's mouth by some kind of vortex. Even his body was being physically pulled across the ring, although he managed to hold himself back from drifting more than about half a meter. The green alien swallowed the lump of energy, and burped contentedly.

"My turn now," he said with a murderous grin. Rakov's next attack, boosted by the ki he had pilfered from his opponent, was much faster and more powerful, and Beerus found himself being unable to block or evade all of the alien's blows. With a mighty swipe of his claws, he tore one of the sleeves off of Beerus' uniform.

"You're really annoying," Beerus muttered, holding the ripped fabric. "I"ll have you know I liked this outfit. You just had to go and tear it up, didn't you?"

"I'll tear up more than just your outfit!" Rakov countered, preparing another charge. This time, however, Beerus was ready. By powering up his ki in short, sharp bursts, too fast for Rakov to attempt to drain him again, he managed to repel each of the monster's attacks, and get in a few good hits of his own. After a few minutes of this, the two seemed to have reached a sort of stalemate.

Of course, Beerus hadn't been using anywhere close to his full power. If he had, he suspected he could have overloaded this glutton, forcing him to bite off more than he could chew, so to speak. But he didn't want to reveal his true strength until later on. So he needed to find a way to beat this guy without it.

Raising one paw again, he began charging a ki attack, stronger than before. He raised his hand towards his opponent, holding a glowing orb.

"You fool," Rakov chuckled. "Are you trying to fight me, or feed me!"

"Your ability to absorb ki is pretty irritating," Beerus said. "But it has a big weakness."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" The green creature replied.

"You can only absorb energy through your mouth!" Beerus said, as he put on a burst of super speed, vanishing from Rakov's sight and reappearing right behind him, the ki blast aimed directly at the monster's back.

"Take this!" Beerus said, releasing the blast.

"Gladly!" Rakov replied, twisting the upper section of his body around one hundred and eighty degrees in a completely unexpected maneuver, his jaws open wide to receive the attack.

To his surprise, however, the glowing orange sphere halted in mid-air before reaching the monster's maw, and was summoned back to Beerus' hand, where he absorbed it, instead using it to charge his fist with a glowing aura. He then delivered a powered-up punch directly to Rakov's nose, sending him flying out of the ring and into the surrounding wall.

"What a clever tactic by Beerus!" The announcer shouted, still missing his megaphone. "Rakov is out of the ring, and Beerus will move on to round three!"

The crowd cheered, and Beerus bowed, taking in the adoration. In the Kaiohs' booth, North Kaioh was laughing, while South Kaioh muttered something inaudible as he stormed out of the booth.

He arrived at his team's waiting area, where the still-unconscious Rakov was being attended by two ogre medics. Despite the defeat, South Kaio smiled, and approached Butaga.

"If he had so much trouble with Rakov, there's no way he'll stand the slightest chance against you."

"You're wrong," Butaga said, taking her master by surprise. "He was only using a small fraction of his power throughout the match. I could sense it."

"Huh..." South Kaioh muttered, upset by this revelation. "You can still beat him, right?"

"Of course," Butaga replied. "But I think he might actually make it to the finals."

*In case you're wondering, Rakov is from the same species as Yakon

[Polyphase Avatron]

I'm still working on the next chapter, however I wanted to make a note that the reason I placed Yakon's species as originating from the South Galaxy was because Kaioshin said that their home planet was on the far end of the universe, and as Earth is in the North Galaxy, I figured that meant it would be somewhere in the South Galaxy.

If anyone disagrees with my logic here, though, feel free to tell me.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 21

Beerus had intended to stick around to watch Butaga's match, against an East Quadrant fighter named Liri, but as he stepped out of the ring, he suddenly found himself mobbed by overly-enthusiastic fans.

"Beerus-sama, that was incredible!" A short creature with a bald, green-spotted head exclaimed.

"Can I have your autograph?" Another alien asked.

"My what?" The feline asked, unfamiliar with the concept.

"Your signature," the alien explained, taking out a notebook and a pencil. "Just write your name down here."

"Why?" Beerus was still confused.

"So I can have a personal keepsake to celebrate the greatest fighter from my home galaxy!" The alien said, handing the pencil to his newfound idol. "Thanks to you, we're no longer the laughingstock of the universe! Now please sign this for me!"

"Uh, yeah... sure..." Beerus hesitantly took the writing implement, and stared nervously at the notebook. He wasn't about to admit it, but he had never had any kind of formal education (it would have been rather difficult when everyone on his home planet feared him and he had to live alone in the mountains). He had no idea how to write.

"Is something the matter, Beerus-sama?" The alien admirer asked.

"Uh..." Suddenly, he had an idea. Placing one paw, claws spread, on the paper, he proceeded to trace its outline with the pencil, then handed it back. The alien regarded the odd "signature" for a moment with suspicion, but then seemed to accept it, as he smiled and bowed in gratitude.

He turned to address more of his newfound fans, when they were interrupted by a loud explosion behind them. The fans scattered, running for cover, while Beerus turned back towards the ring, spying the smoldering, unconscious body of the fighter known as Liri.

"And Butaga advances to the semi-finals!" The announcer proclaimed. The boar-like fighter snorted in arrogant satisfaction, as she descended the steps from the arena, walking past Beerus without even sparing him a glance.

As she walked away, he gave her a death glare, annoyed by what he saw as overconfidence. She apparently sensed this, as she turned around, looking back at him. Their glares met, both equally ferocious, before Butaga turned away again and headed back to her team's rest area.

Beerus proceeded back to his own team's benches, noticing his Kaioh there waiting for him.

"Great job Beerus-san," the diminutive god began. "You should have seen the look on South Kaioh's face!"

"Yeah yeah," Beerus muttered, still annoyed. "I'm going to go relax a bit before the next round."

"Wait," Kaioh said. Beerus stopped and turned around, humoring him.

"You need to be properly briefed for the opponents you might face in the semi-finals."

"I know how dangerous Butaga is," he replied.

"Yes, she is your greatest threat, but the other fighters who have made it this far are no pushovers either!" Kaioh said. "You underestimate them at your own peril."

"Fine then," Beerus said, his interest piqued, as he took a seat across from his trainer. "Tell me about them."

"Shirenu is a rookie, like you. This is his first time participating. He won his first two matches seemingly out of luck, but I have a feeling there's more to him than might be apparent. If you fight him, I would recommend taking him out as quickly as possible."

"And what about the other one, Z-79?" He asked, recalling that the odd, metallic-looking creature had won its fight earlier.

"Next to Butaga, Z-79 is probably your greatest threat," Kaioh said softly. "It's the strongest fighter the East Galaxy has produced."

"It? Not he or she?"

"It's unknown what gender, if any, Z-79 has," Kaioh said. "It's a cyborg, created from the bodies of multiple living creatures, combined with advanced technology."

"You mean like, half-living, half-machine?" Beerus asked. Kaioh nodded.

"And it brought the machine parts with it to Other World after it died?"

"Normally that wouldn't happen, but the privilege to keep its body after death was determined to include its artificial components," Kaioh said, "as they are what make it so powerful."

"So what, in particular, do I have to watch out for?"

"Well," Kaioh began, "the first thing to know is that Z-79's energy cannot be sensed at all, as it derives not from ki, but an artificial energy reactor. So you can't rely on your ki senses to track it in combat."

Beerus nodded. "That's good to know."

"Secondly, you can't wear Z-79 down. Its reactor is seemingly inexhaustible, and its stamina will never decrease."

"Sounds troublesome..."

"That doesn't mean it can't be overpowered, though. But Z-79 also has several dangerous tricks, such as the ability to absorb an opponent's ki and convert it into energy for its systems."

"I dealt with Rakov already..."

"Z-79's method is more efficient. Its entire body can absorb any ki attack, or drain you with physical contact."

"That does sound annoying."

"Finally, Z-79 has the ability to analyze its opponent's fighting style and adapt to counter them, including vastly increasing its own power or morphing its body to more efficiently damage you."

"So what kind of strategy do you recommend, then?"

"A powerful enough ki attack might overload Z-79's absorbing ability, but I wouldn't bank on that if I were you," Kaioh lectured. "Your best best is probably to knock it out of the ring. A fast and strong enough hit won't give it enough time to drain too much of your ki. That's how Butaga defeated Z-79 in the last tournament."

"Got it," Beerus said. "What if I have to face Butaga in the next round?"

"Then I don't have any advice that could help you. Butaga is a complete monster... you're on your own."

Beerus scowled, but smiled. "I'll take that as a challenge."

"There will be a short break before the next round, use it as you wish."

The feline nodded, and walked out of the arena.

*In case you can't tell, Z-79's abilities were inspired mostly by Super 17 and Meta Cooler

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 22

The short, mushroom-headed announcer stood at the center of the ring, having obtained a new megaphone after his last one had been destroyed. He enthusiastically began shouting:

"Ladies and gentlebeings, we have reached the semi-finals of the Other World Tournament!"

The crowd roared in approval. Beerus, watching from the North Team rest area, noticed that several members of the audience were now waving crudely-made signs bearing his name, along with the ubiquitous Butaga signs.

"We have a rather unusual situation this time around," the announcer continued, "As our four semi-finalists consist of one fighter from each of the four galaxies! From the South Galaxy, we of course have this event's perennial favorite, Butaga!"

A deafening cheer rose up from the crowd.

"From the North Galaxy, we have the promising rookie, Beerus!"

Another cheer rang out, although not as loud as the previous one.

"From the East Galaxy, a veteran of this tournament, the always-dangerous Z-79!"

A minor cheer was heard, but it was drowned out by boos. Apparently Z-79 wasn't very popular.

"And, finally, from the West Galaxy, another rookie, the mysterious Shirenu!"

There was subdued cheering from one part of the audience - presumably a concentration of West Galaxy spectators - but the rest of the crowd was silent, for the most part.

"Let's congratulate them all on getting this far!" The announcer resumed. "Now, the first match of the semifinals!"

He reached for a piece of paper in his pocket. "The fight will be Beerus-san-"

Beerus stood up and began walking towards the ring, as the announcer continued:

"Versus Z-79! This should be good!"

The announcer quickly ran off to the sidelines, as Beerus studied his opponent. Z-79 was a large, hulking being, with a profile as imposing as that of Butaga. The similarities ended there, though. The cyborg creature was a patchwork of flesh and metal, looking like something that had been stitched together from the resources of both a hospital and a junkyard. Even its organic components didn't match, with patches of skin having different colors and textures, having been integrated from half a dozen different species. It had two legs, one of which was completely metallic. It also had four arms, two of which were greyish-yellow, ending in sharp claws, one of which was blue, ending in a four-fingered hand, and the final one was totally mechanical, ending in a vicious-looking, drill-like instrument. The creature's head roughly resembled that of a carnivorous dinosaur, one-half of which was covered in armored circuitry, a glowing red visor covering its eyes.

"INFERIOR CREATURE," it announced, in a monotone, robotic voice, "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TERMINATION."

"Heh, not likely," Beerus said, assuming one of the fighting stances that his Kaioh had taught him.

"Ready? Fight!" The announcer shouted from the sidelines. Immediately, Z-79 charged, at a speed that took Beerus by surprise. He was barely able to dodge, but the cyborg monstrosity stopped on a dime, and extended a mechanical tendril from its back, aimed straight at the feline. With a sharp karate chop, Beerus severed the appendage, a length of it dropping to the floor as the rest retracted.

Z-79 turned and charged once more, launching a flurry of attacks with all four of its upper limbs. Beerus was able to block all of the blows, but for every instant of contact made, he felt a tiny amount of his ki being drained away. Without warning, more metallic tendrils sprouted from Z-79's back, and began striking in tandem with its four arms, meaning Beerus now had to block attacks from at least a dozen different vectors at once.

To give himself some room, he releasing a focused kiai, which knocked his opponent back several meters. He took this opportunity to fly straight upwards, and hovered several hundred meters above the stadium. Z-79 quickly flew after him, and the two faced each other in mid-air.

"It looks like Z-79 has put Beerus on the defensive!" The announcer was shouting. "What is going to happen now?"

In response to the question, the cyborg extended its metallic, drill-like arm, which telescoped to far beyond its original length, wrapping Beerus in its coils.

"COMMENCING DRAIN MANEUVER SIGMA" the creature announced, as Beerus felt a sharp pain throughout his entire body. Not only was his ki being absorbed, but Z-79 was sending some kind of bio-electric shock along the metal arm to subdue him while the process took place.

"It's not... going to be... that easy!" Beerus shouted, as he tore free of the binding, shredding the mechanical arm, pieces of which fell down towards the arena. Z-79 retracted the stump of its damaged limb, which suddenly began flowing like a liquid, regenerating and reconfiguring itself into a new form - this time what looked like an oversized gun. The barrel of the weapon started to glow with a red light.

"EXTERMINATION CANNON: FIRE!" Z-79 announced, as a red beam emerged from the weapon, heading straight for the North Galaxy's champion.

Beerus was prepared, however. He vanished from sight as the beam passed through where he had been floating just a split-second before, and reappeared, striking the cyborg with a strong, double-handed smash, sending him plummeting back towards the ring. Beerus noted, annoyed, that even when on the offensive, he had felt a small bit of his ki being drained away at the instant he had struck his opponent.

Z-79 managed to correct its orientation in mid-air, landing on the ring feet-first. A web of cracks appeared on the tiled floor due to the force of the impact. Beerus soon landed on the opposite end of the ring, wiping a bit of sweat off of his forehead as he assumed another fighting stance.

"And Beerus-san has evaded Z-79's first assault!" The announcer said. "But this fight isn't over yet!"

The two charged each other again, Beerus managing to evade the multiple blows of his opponent, intending to use North Kaioh's suggested strategy of knocking Z-79 out of the ring. After a few seconds, he finally saw an opening, and concentrated his strength into a single punch aimed at the being's midsection. To the feline's shock, however, right before the punch would have connected, the cyborg's body began to flow like before, this time morphing to create a hole, which Beerus' fist passed through harmlessly. Immediately afterwards, the hole closed up, and Beerus shouted in pain as his ki was drained again, combined with the same sort of bio-electric shock from before.

Mustering his strength, he pulled his hand free of the cyborg's trap, the being's body regenerating again to close the rip he had made due to extricating his paw.

"ANALYSIS: YOU ARE USING A STRATEGY AIMED AT REMOVING ME FROM THE RING. THIS TACTIC WILL FAIL." The being stated, in its typical robotic voice. It could have just been the Nekosei-jin's imagination, though, but Beerus thought he could detect a hint of smugness in its tone.

"Z-79 is on to Beerus-san's plan!" The announcer said. "What will he do now?"

Beerus had an idea. He charged the cyborg, but at the last instant changed direction, flying high into the sky. Z-79 flew up to pursue him, but before he could reach even one-third of Beerus' altitude, the feline raised both hands, gathering a large, glowing, orange sphere of ki in each.

"How about this, then?" He said, as he charged the blasts.

Of course, Beerus knew about Z-79's ability to absorb ki attacks, but he was counting on the fact that Z-79 didn't know that he knew. Indeed, that seemed to be the case, as the cybernetic warrior halted and raised his four limbs, in preparation to receive the attack.

Not to disappoint him, Beerus fired both orbs, which streaked towards their target. However, when they were only meters away from hitting, Beerus himself suddenly appeared via a burst of super speed directly ahead of them, taking the cyborg by complete surprise. Before he had a chance to react to this new situation, Beerus delivered a two-legged kick directly to the being's head. As with every time he had made physical contact with this opponent, he felt a tiny bit of his ki being drained, but the attack had done its job, as Z-79 was sent hurtling down to the stadium floor. The two ki blasts, intended only as a distraction, sailed harmlessly over Beerus' head and out into the void of the arena, quickly dissipating. This time, not having as much room to halt himself, the cyborg smashed directly into the ground a few meters outside of the ring, leaving a small but deep crater.

"And that looks like it, folks!" The announcer proclaimed. "Z-79 has been knocked out of the ring, which makes the winner of the first match of the semi-finals Beerus-san!"

The crowd cheered in approval, but then a bright glow emanated from the crater, and Z-79, fire spewing from a pair of thruster engines on its feet, flew out of the hole and landed within the ring.

"Um, excuse me, uh, Mr. Z-79?" The announcer asked. The cyborg turned it head to regard the small creature, causing him to tug on the lapel of his suit nervously.

"Um, you were knocked out of the ring. According to the rules, that means you lose the fight."

"INCORRECT." The cyborg stated. "BEFORE IMPACT, MY THRUSTERS ACTIVATED, VAPORIZING THE GROUND UNDERNEATH ME. THE VAPORIZATION CONTINUED UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO PROPERLY ARREST MY MOMENTUM. HENCE, I NEVER TECHNICALLY TOUCHED THE GROUND."

Upon hearing this, a fresh round of boos erupted from the audience, along with cries of "He's lying!" and "Throw him out!"

The cyborg's visored eyes glowed a brighter shade of red, staring directly at the announcer and making him more nervous than ever.

"Um, well, if that's true, I suppose that would mean that the match can continue," the announcer said. The crowd booed again at this.

"But," the mushroom-headed alien said, "I didn't get a clear view of what happened, so I can't confirm your story." He turned to look at Beerus, who was still levitating in mid-air. "Beerus-san, you're the one who had the best vantage point of the incident. Is Z-79 telling the truth?"

Beerus had, indeed, seen everything, and the cyborg was being honest. But, for the briefest of moments, he considered accusing his opponent of lying. With the crowd's bias and only the cyborg's own word to back it up, there was a good chance the match would be adjudicated in the feline's favor here and now.

He quickly banished the thought from his head, though. That would hardly be a fair way to win, and he wasn't about to resort to such a dishonorable method.

"Yes, I saw. It happened just like he said, he never touched the ground," Beerus confirmed.

"Well then," the announcer said, "the fight is back on!"

The crowd sighed in disappointment and frustration, but Beerus just landed across from his opponent and prepared to resume the fight. So far, despite Z-79's attempts, only a small amount of the cat-man's ki had been drained, and, of course, he had yet to use his full power. Z-79 was a tricky opponent, but he still felt confident that he could win.

That is, until what happened next.

"FIGHTING DATA ON SUBJECT DESIGNATED 'BEERUS' ACCUMULATED", The cyborg intoned. "COMMENCING ADAPTATION PROTOCOL."

Z-79's body then began changing, morphing into a thinner, more slim and streamlined version. His body was now completely covered in the grey, shining metallic texture that had only partially coated it before.

"ADAPTATION COMPLETE," The transformed being announced, now addressing Beerus directly. "MY FORM HAS BEEN RECONFIGURED SPECIFICALLY TO DEFEAT YOU. PREPARE FOR TERMINATION."

"Like I said before," Beerus countered, "not li-" Before he could even finish the word, he was struck by a blow to the head, courtesy of the new-and-improved Z-79. He struck back, but missed, and the cyborg continued to pummel him.

"It looks like Z-79's new form has given him a major speed boost!" The announcer said. "Things aren't looking good for Beerus!"

Beerus had to agree with the short alien on that. Not only had the cyborg's speed significantly increased, but his ability to absorb energy had also been enhanced. With every blow that connected, more and more of his vitality was drained away from him, at a rate far greater than before. He had to do something, and fast.

He first tried a maneuver that had served him well earlier in the match, releasing a powerful kiai to knock his attacker back. It did work, but to a much lesser degree than before, only repelling his opponent a meter or so. Still, that was enough for him to put on a burst of speed and gain some distance, flying up into the air and landing on one of the miniature planets surrounding the stadium.

"DELAYING TACTICS ARE WORTHLESS," Z-79 taunted, as he raised one of his arms and fired a red bolt of energy, blowing the tiny planet to dust.

"Who's delaying?" Beerus mocked, hovering unharmed as the dust cleared. "I just needed a bit of space so I could do this!"

With that, he began powering up, a flaring purple aura surrounding his body. Down at the stadium, the spectators felt a powerful wind blowing, knocking some of them out of their seats. The entire stadium started shaking from the force of the feline gladiator's ki.

This still wasn't Beerus' full power, he thought to himself, but he figured it would be enough to even the odds. Z-79, however, seemed to disagree.

"IMPRESSIVE," the cyborg said, scanning his opponent in a red graphical display, figures and numbers, written in a strange alien script, scrolling across his vision. "BUT ULTIMATELY FUTILE."

The cyborg took to the air, charging the feline. Beerus, now able to exceed his speed, avoided the blow and struck back with a series of punches, and although his opponent was knocked away, he still felt his ki being drained as he made contact.

The two fighters continued to exchange blows in mid-air. Even when Z-79 created dozens of new appendages from his body to strike with, Beerus still seemed to be dodging most of the attacks, and getting the majority of hits in. He recalled the training he had gone through here in Other World, maximizing the efficiency of his movements, using every martial arts trick and form he had been taught. Still, even a successful attack would benefit the cyborg more than himself, as it could regenerate from any damage it took, and meanwhile every instance of physical contact served to make Beerus weaker and Z-79 stronger. Beerus tried several times to knock the cyborg out of the ring, but it was wise to that tactic now, and would either block, avoid, or morph its body to make every such attempt unsuccessful. As the fight went on, Beerus became slower and weaker, while Z-79 only got stronger and faster. Finally, the feline disengaged from the mid-air fight, and landed on the ring again, breathing heavily.

Z-79, landing a few meters away, began taunting him. "YOUR INEFFICIENT BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ARE DEMONSTRATING SYMPTOMS OF FATIGUE. MY VICTORY IS ASSURED."

"Don't bet on it!" Beerus countered, powering up with another small burst of ki. Z-79 responded by charging directly at him. Just as they were about to clash, Beerus kicked at the floor of the ring, dislodging a chunk of tile and sending it flying into the air between him and the cyborg.

"I hope this works," the feline thought to himself, as he aimed a punch directly at the airborne tile. Timing it precisely, the tile crumbled to dust as it was caught between Beerus' fist and Z-79's body, but the momentum of the punch traveled through the debris and was delivered to the cyborg, knocking him back. It had only lasted a tiny fraction of a second, but the pulverized rock of the tile had insulated Beerus' skin from Z-79's energy draining abilities!

The feline smirked, proud of the new tactic he had discovered. Powering up his ki again, he caused a swarm of tile chunks to float in the air around him.

Z-79 charged him again, but Beerus fought back, precisely interposing a piece of tile debris between his opponent and every blow he launched. With the tiles as insulation, he was able to land blow after blow without having to worry about his ki being drained. The pulverized tiles created a whitish-grey cloud of dust that enveloped both of them, which would periodically be blown away by the shockwave of a punch, only to be replaced as a new tile was smashed. Soon, Z-79 had been forced to the very edge of the arena.

"Would you look at that!" The announcer shouted. "Beerus-san is using the arena floor strategically, to stop Z-79 from absorbing his energy! Now that's thinking on your feet!"

Just as the cat-man prepared to deliver the blow that would knock the cyborg out of bounds for good, the creature took off into the sky, flying high above the stadium.

"Hah, who's delaying now?" Beerus laughed, pursuing him, a swarm of tile fragments carried along by his ki.

In response, Z-79 opened its mouth and fired a thin, intense beam of red energy, which precisely targeted and vaporized all of the fragments.

"Clever, but you think that will stop me?" Beerus laughed, as he drove a fist into one of the miniature planets hovering over the stadium. The orb promptly broke into tiny fragments, which began orbiting the feline just as the tiles had. "There's plenty more where that came from!"

Z-79 observed this development with seeming interest, and then spoke again.

"FIGHTING DATA ON SUBJECT DESIGNATED 'BEERUS' UPDATED," it began. "COMMENCING ADAPTATION PROTOCOL."

"Oh, no you don't!" Beerus charged, preparing for another rock-insulated punch. Z-79 defended itself with an omnidirectional release of energy, temporarily knocking the feline back. Once the dust had cleared, the cyborg had assumed yet another new form.

"ADAPTATION COMPLETE." The cybernetic creature, its body roughly the same shape, but now glowing like molten lava, stated calmly. "PREPARE FOR TERMINATION."

Beerus charged, but all of the rock debris he had accumulated around him was vaporized by the sheer heat being given off by the cyborg's body, before he could get a chance to attack. Z-79 retaliated with a punch that sent Beerus flying back towards the stadium.

Beerus groaned in pain as he managed to right himself just before landing in the ring. The ki drain was just as bad as it had been before, but the pure physical strength behind this blow was greater than anything the cyborg had previously demonstrated. Z-79, its body still glowing like a miniature star, hovered several meters above the arena. Even from such a distance, the heat it was emitting was causing the arena floor directly underneath it to glow and melt into a puddle.

"Whoa, I hope you all brought your sunscreen, because it looks like Z-79 is turning up the heat!" The announcer said, taking shelter behind a chair in the East Team's rest area.

"That's a cute trick," Beerus said, "but I'm not done yet!" The feline's mind was racing, and he had finally hit upon a plan. A large enough chunk of rock wouldn't melt as fast, hopefully giving him time enough to use it as he had before to block the energy drain. He punched the arena floor, intending to rip up a large amount of stone from under the tiles, but, to his shock, the arena floor itself reached up and grabbed him instead!

"W-what the hell!?" He exclaimed, as more mechanical protrusions emerged from the floor, binding his arms and legs. He also felt the characteristic pain of his ki being drained, at an incredibly rapid rate.

"IN THE BEGINNING OF THE MATCH," Z-79 explained, "YOU SEVERED SEVERAL OF MY MANIPULATOR APPENDAGES".

Beerus remembered - he had wondered where they had went, although he had just assumed they had been blown out of the ring by the violence of the fight.

"THE NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THOSE COMPONENTS HAS BEEN SPREADING THROUGHOUT THE ARENA FLOOR," Z-79 continued, "AND NOW IT HAS SELF-REPLICATED ENOUGH TO TRANSFORM THE RING ITSELF. THE ENERGY BEING DRAINED FROM YOUR BODY IS BEING TRANSMITTED DIRECTLY TO ME."

Z-79's body finally stopped glowing, and he landed, extending several more mechanical tendrils, binding Beerus tightly, and increasing the drain on his ki.

"YOU ARE DEFEATED, INFERIOR. SURRENDER WOULD BE ADVISABLE."

"Wow, it looks like Z-79 has been planning this the whole time!" The announcer shouted. "Is this it for Beerus-san?"

Beerus hissed and groaned in pain. He could feel his ki draining away. Any attempt to free himself from the ever-tightening web of mechanical restraints, which had now morphed into a solid cocoon covering every part of his body except for his head, simply exhausted him further. He recalled the discussion he had had with the North Kaioh before the match, and suddenly realized that there was only once chance remaining. He really didn't want to have to reveal his full power before the final round, but in this case it seemed that he had no choice.

Powering up as fast as he could, he flew into the air, Z-79 and the metallic cocoon being dragged along with him.

"It seems Beerus still has some fight in him!" The announcer shouted, and the crowd roared their approval.

"YOU ARE WASTING YOUR EFFORT," the cyborg said. "THE MORE POWER YOU RELEASE, THE MORE I DRAIN."

"Yeah... well..." Beerus gasped, reaching deep within himself to draw out more power than he had ever used before, "Drain this!"

A massive aura blasted out from the cocoon. Beerus felt Z-79's technology struggling to keep up with his output.

"WARNING: SUBJECT'S KI RESERVES EXCEEDING PROJECTED PARAMETERS BY 250%...500%...1650%... RECONFIGURING..." Z-79 was desperately trying to hang on, but at this point beams of light were breaking through the cocoon in multiple directions, and finally it shattered, leaving only the cyborg's tendrils to absorb Beerus' ki.

"WARNING! WARNING! SUBJECT'S KI RESERVES EXCEEDING PROJECTED PARAMETERS BY... ERROR! ERROR! OVERLOAD! OVERLOA-"

Just then, the cyborg's body began shaking rapidly, arcs of electricity playing across its body, and smoke and steam began spewing from its mouth, nose, and ears. Finally, with a bright explosion, the red visor that served as Z-79's eyes went dark, and the cybernetic monster fell from the sky, landing in a smoking heap in what remained of the ring. The various mechanical extensions, as well as the nanotech embedded into the ring, all began sparking with electricity and then went silent, releasing plumes of smoke.

Beerus landed and powered down. Just to be safe, he kicked the unconscious body of his opponent out of the ring.

"Amazing!" The announcer shouted. "Z-79 is both unconscious and out of bounds. This means that Beerus-san will advance to the finals!"

The crowd erupted in jubilation, and many of them began chanting his name. He took a bow, but groaned a bit due to lingering pain. Z-79 had been a very difficult opponent. Maybe he should have used more of his strength from the start... Well, either way, he had won. But if the semi-finals were so tough, he was more than a bit nervous about what the finals would be like.

[xmysticgohanx]

pretty good fight

[Polyphase Avatron]

Thanks, I spent a lot of time planning it out.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 23

As Beerus continued to bask in the crowd's adulation, a group of ogres and other servants carried the damaged body of Z-79 out of the arena, and began clearing out the various other debris.

Beerus stepped out of the ring, only to find himself face-to-face with Butaga, who was heading in the opposite direction. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, although Beerus noticed an unfamiliar look in the pig-like alien's eyes. Could it be... respect?

"What do you want?" The feline muttered.

"I misjudged you," the boar-like creature responded, in her signature deep, gruff voice. "You are quite strong, and your victory just now impressed me."

"Well, thank you," Beerus responded, a bit surprised.

"Z-79 can be a very irritating opponent," Butaga continued. "And it seems to have learned a few new tricks since the last time we fought. I am sure you will be a worthy challenge for me in the finals, Beerus-san. But-" Butaga's eyes narrowed "- the victory will ultimately be mine."

"Heh, just wait and see," Beerus replied. "You still have to get past your semi-final match first, anyway."

Butaga snorted in contempt. "A mere formality," she said, walking past her feline rival and stepping up onto the tile floor.

The mushroom-headed announcer looked apologetic as the champion entered the ring, which had sustained quite a bit of damage from the fight between Beerus and Z-79.

"Um, I'm sorry the arena is such a mess," the announcer said, "but if you're willing to wait half an hour or so we can get a crew in here to fix it up, good as new."

"It's fine," Butaga replied curtly. She gestured towards the edges of the damaged stone ring. "The boundaries are still clearly defined, are they not? That's all that matters. Begin the match."

"Ah, if you say so," the announcer said. He looked around, but Butaga's opponent was nowhere in sight. "Will Shirenu from the West Team please report to the-"

Before he could even finish the thought, a shout rang out from the West team's arena entrance.

"My turn now! Alright!"

A tall, somewhat lanky-looking alien with light-green tinted skin and no visible ears or nose, wearing an elaborate cape-like robe bounded into the ring.

"Well, now that both of our competitors are here, it's time for the second and last match of the semi-finals!" The announcer declared, backing out of the ring to give the two fighters room. "Butaga from the South Team versus Shirenu from the West Team!"

A loud roar emerged from the crowd, along with chants of Butaga's name, and signs showing support for her. For her opponent, however, there was hardly any visible enthusiasm.

"Tough crowd," Shirenu muttered, tapping his foot impatiently. "Hey ref, you gonna start the match any time soon?"

"Ah, yes!" The announcer replied, raising his megaphone again. "Ready? fight!"

Immediately after the declaration, Shirenu raised both hands in front of his body and fired a large, glowing green sphere of ki directly at his opponent. Butaga didn't even bother to dodge, and her head and upper body were soon enveloped in a thick cloud of dust.

"Hah! Take that!" The West Quadrant fighter jeered, sticking out his tongue and using a finger to pull down one of his eyelids.

His mocking expression dissolved, though, as the dust cleared, revealing Butaga to be standing in the same spot as before, completely unperturbed.

"For your sake, I sincerely hope that's not the best you've got," the boar-like fighter taunted.

Shirenu just grinned, and then charged her at top speed. Butaga casually raised one hand and slapped the green fighter on the cheek before he reached her, sending him flying off at an even greater speed towards the seats on the arena's edge.

The West Quadrant's champion barely managed to stop himself in mid-air, only centimeters in front of the faces of several terrified spectators, and then flew back to the ring, landing and assuming a fighting stance.

"I saw your previous matches," Butaga said, not even bothering to turn to face him. "You won both only due to surprise and luck. Making it this far was only a fluke. You're out of your league, kid. You really should just give up."

"Oh, you think so?" Shirenu smiled. However, it wasn't the typical, joking smile he had sported before, but something more sinister. "Then my ruse has worked!"

Beerus, who had been watching the fight from the sidelines, expecting it to be a quick affair, suddenly widened his eyes in shock, as Shirenu's ki began to skyrocket.

"What?" Butaga herself was also surprised, as she watched the slim, harmless-looking fighter before her change, not only in power but in appearance as well. In under a second, he had assumed a grotesque, winged, insectile form, physically dwarfing Butaga and even the North team's ill-fated Wiver*. Suddenly, with speed defying all expectations, the massive Shirenu charged, landing a flurry of punches on Butaga and knocking her high into the air.

"Transformation?" Butaga asked, as she righted herself in mid-air, still disoriented. She hadn't had any clue that Shirenu had an ability like this.

"That's right!" The bug-like creature replied, in a sibilant voice even deeper than that of Butaga. "I've been hiding my true power this whole time, just so I could take you out!"

"Interesting," Butaga said, smiling herself as she assumed a fighting stance in mid-air. "Maybe this will be amusing after all."

"Aren't you going to ask why I've been targeting you?" Shirenu asked.

"Let me guess: You think if you can take me out, then everyone will recognize you as the strongest fighter in Other World, or some crap like that, right?"

"Well... uh..." Shirenu mumbled, embarrassed that his motive had been so transparent. "Shut up!" He charged again, but this time Butaga was ready for him. She blocked the attack, and replied with a punch of her own, but the massive creature dodged, and countered with a flurry of attacks with its long, prehensile tail.

Butaga grabbed the tail with both hands, and flew back down to the ring, pulling her opponent along with her. She then began spinning at high speed, swinging Shirenu around by his tail until he was nothing but a blur, then releasing him, sending him flying into the sky. As he smashed through one of the miniature planets, he hissed in anger and frustration.

"Not enough? Try this, then!" With that, he began powering up, releasing a massive wave of ki that shook the mini planets around him and caused the arena itself to tremble like it was caught in an earthquake. A powerful, green aura dominated the sky.

"Cute," the pig-like fighter replied, as she roared, powering up her own, yellow aura. The Dai Kaioh himself, watching from an elaborate throne-like chair, began covering his head as the ki-induced winds nearly toppled his seat. The announcer had given up trying to comment over the roar of the wind and clashing auras, and was currently taking shelter under one of the South team's rest tables.

"Your reign is over, Butaga!" Shirenu screamed, flying directly at his opponent. She flew up to meet him, and they locked hands, grappling with each other, sending out waves of powerful ki that continued to batter the arena and the now-panicking spectators.

The four Kaiohs, who had abandoned their special viewing box, were arrayed on the edge of the spectator stands, along with Beerus.

"Wow, I didn't know Shirenu was that strong!" North Kaioh muttered.

"Neither did I!" West Kaioh replied. "He never showed that form to me! I can't believe he's actually as strong as Butaga!"

"He's not," Beerus replied, calmly observing the fight.

"What?" West Kaioh asked.

"Butaga is stronger. Watch."

Beerus' statement proved true, as the boar-like warrior pushed the much larger insect backwards, finally hitting him with a strong punch directly to his carapace, causing a large crack to appear in his exoskeleton. Shirenu screamed in anger and powered up a green ki attack, but Butaga was faster, striking the damaged area on his chest again and sending him flying into one of the small-scale floating planets, shattering it to dust.

"I have to admit, that was a decent attempt," Butaga said, relaxing her aura and powering down to a lower level of intensity. "You took me by surprise. But it's over."

To Butaga's surpise, however, the injured Shirenu started laughing.

"Over, is it?" he chuckled. "Your insufferable arrogance was always your worst trait, Butaga! I've watched you lord it over everyone here ever since you first died! I've been waiting for years until I was strong enough to enter this tournament and finally put you in your place!"

"It's not arrogance if it's true," snorted the pig-alien. "Perhaps you should have waited longer, hmm?"

"Hah, you really have no clue, do you?" Shirenu let out a strange, ear-piercing shriek, causing Butaga to cover her ears with both hands, and, as the sound escalated in pitch and volume, the bug-like alien's body began to transform again. Losing his wings and tail, his arms, legs, and torso expanded greatly, until he had assumed an enormous form, easily over 100 meters tall. Both Beerus and Butaga noted that his ki had increased along with his size.

Butaga quickly tried to raise her power again, but before she had the chance, the now-giant Shirenu caught her with a swift punch, his massive fist dwarfing her entire body.

"Fall!" He shouted, as the punch knocked her down into the ring, and impacted like a meteor, causing cracks to spread across the entire floating arena. The spectators cried out as massive fissures split the seats in half, and the entire structure shook and threatened to break apart.

"Shirenu, are you crazy!?" West Kaioh shouted. "You're going to wreck the whole arena!"

Not paying any heed to his supposed "master", the giant turned to fix his eyes on the announcer, who was still cowering under the table from before.

"Butaga is down!" he shouted, his voice echoing like thunder. "Begin the count!"

"What? Oh, right!" The mushroom-headed being said, grabbing his megaphone. "One! Two! -"

Before he could get to three, he was knocked off his feet by a burst of ki, accompanying a bright glow emanating from the ring, directly under the crater caused by Shirenu's fist. A familiar, brilliant yellow aura appeared, and the huge fist was slowly but surely lifted off of the ground.

There, standing underneath the giant's hand, was Butaga, powered up again, holding it above her with two hands.

"U-Unbelievable!" The announcer cried. "Butaga has managed to stand back up!"

Despite the devastation and clamor, a cheer was heard from the crowd, which only caused Shirenu to become angrier.

"Grrr... how dare you!" He growled, using his other arm to reinforce the first, trying to crush Butaga back into the ground. Still, the South team's champion continued to stand, holding the fist back. However, it was obvious that she was struggling.

"Hah, you're weakening!" Shirenu's voice boomed. "It's only a matter of time until y-"

"BLAZING STRIKE!" Butaga's shout interrupted him.

"W-what!?" He stuttered, as his opponent's aura suddenly flared brighter than ever before, her ki multiplying to an intensity he hadn't believed possible.

In a single, fluid motion, Butaga threw the giant's fist off of her, launching both of Shirenu's arms out of the colosseum, and knocking his entire body away into the darkness of the outer arena.

Beerus, who had been sheltering the four Kaiohs behind himself, gasped as he sensed the incredible power Butaga was giving off.

Less than a second later, an enormous, echoing "THUD" was heard, the result of Shirenu impacting the outer edge of the arena.

Butaga powered down again, wiping a single drip of blood from one of her tusks, but just as she was about to seek the announcer so the fight could be adjudicated, a powerful rumbling sound enveloped the whole arena.

"What now!?" Shouted North Kaioh.

"Don't ask me, I'm just as clueless as you!" West Kaioh replied.

Just then, all of the miniature planets hanging in the artificial sky were swept aside by something so massive, none of the spectators could fully grasp its nature. At least, not until a pair of eyelids separated, revealing a gargantuan eyeball, as big as the floating arena itself.

"BUTAGA!" Shirenu's voice rang out with the force of a hurricane, shaking the all-but-demolished arena even further. The boar-like warrior flew up to meet this newest challenge, defiantly facing Shirenu's final transformation, a being the size of a mountain.

"Is that the only trick you have, growing bigger?" She taunted.

"ENOUGH!" He boomed. "I'LL SWAT YOU LIKE A FLY!"

True to his word, Shirenu's palm struck out, aiming directly for Butaga.

"BLAZING STRIKE!" As she initiated her technique again, she was enveloped in a fiery yellow aura and deftly dodged the blow, flying directly at the alien leviathan's face. A sharp cracking sound rang out, and Shirenu was knocked backwards. Barely large enough to fit inside the arena to begin with, he impacted the outer wall with a thunderous noise, and a web of cracks began spreading across the sky, from which daylight began streaming in.

"I-it appears that the ceiling of the arena has been ripped apart!" The announcer said, struggling to find safe footing as the ground shook and cracked under his feet. "In all my years, I've never seen such devastation!"

A few seconds later, a bright yellow streak appeared above the arena, landing in what remained of the ring. Butaga released her aura, and, to everyone's surprise, she was now carrying the inert form of Shirenu - in his original, untransformed state.

"Apparently his transformations wear off if he's knocked unconscious," she muttered, unceremoniously dropping him to the ground.

"Shirenu is unconscious!" The announcer stated. "I'll begin the count-"

"Don't bother," Butaga said, snorting. "He won't be getting up any time soon."

The announcer inspected the unconscious competitor and simply nodded. "Then, I guess the match is over, and Butaga advances to the finals along with Beerus!"

This announcement met a few scattered cheers, but most everyone was still busy trying to safely evacuate the damaged arena, especially now that pieces of the outer space-patterned ceiling were now falling from the web of cracks caused by the impact of Shirenu's colossal body.

The Dai Kaioh then stood, and spoke for the first time in the course of the tournament.

"I'd like to ask everyone to evacuate the arena in an orderly fashion," he said calmly, "as its structural stability seems to have been compromised. We're also going to have to take a hiatus for a few days while all of this is fixed. The two finalists should use this time to prepare for their match."

With that, the Dai Kaioh and his entourage casually strode towards the exit. Beerus, Butaga, the four Kaiohs, and the announcer soon followed.


*I'm imagining Shirenu's form here to look somewhat like a miniature final form Hirudegarn, although I don't intend for them to be related or share any kind of connection besides a similar appearance.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Sorry for the long wait since the last chapter, I really was having writer's block I think. Anyway, it might not be up to my usual standard, but here it is:

Chapter 24

Several days later, the arena had been repaired, and North Kaioh was giving Beerus one last pep talk before the final round of the tournament was to commence. Or, at least, it was supposed to be a pep talk.

"I just want to say that, even if you lose-"

"I won't lose!" Beerus shouted in indignation.

"Good attitude," Kaioh replied, "but just in case you do, you still did amazingly well to get this far. You've already proven your strength, and vastly increased the reputation of the North Galaxy. If you lose to Butaga, that won't change, and it won't be anything to be ashamed of either."

"I thought you were supposed to be encouraging me," Beerus said, frowning.

"I'm just saying that-"

"Listen, instead of trying to reassure me in case I lose, how about giving me some pointers on how to win? I know you said earlier that you had no advice for fighting her, but there have to be some kind of tips you can give me."

North Kaioh sighed, his antennae drooping to the sides of his head.

"Okay. If you want to have a chance, there are a few things you should know. First of all, whenever Butaga is facing an opponent that she considers dangerous, she'll almost always start with an initial, overwhelming attack, trying to catch them off-guard and KO them or knock them out of bounds before they have a chance to react or muster an adequate defense. You should expect a major onslaught the very instant the match starts."

"Got it. What about that super move she used against Shirenu? Blazing Strike, I think it was called?"

"It's actually the first time I've seen it, but it looks like major trouble. It appears to amplify her power many times for a short duration. If you want to win, you should probably try to do so before she feels the need to resort to it."

"I think you're underestimating me," the feline replied. "That move did give her a lot of power, but at my best I think I could at least match it."

Kaioh stared at his pupil in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I haven't shown my true power yet, not even against Z-79".

"Well, let's just hope it's enough. Butaga is not only powerful, but incredibly experienced. You shouldn't hold back against her."

"I don't intend do," Beerus said, as he left the dining hall, approaching the entrance to the arena.

The announcer stood in the ring, megaphone in hand. "Welcome, everyone! We're sorry for the delay, but that last match really did a number on our arena! It's all fixed now, good as new, so I proudly welcome you to the final match of the Other World Tournament!"

The crowd roared with approval.

"In one corner, we have the reigning champion, the South team's amazing Butaga!"

The cheers increased, as the boar-like fighter calmly strode into the ring.

"And, in the other corner, a surprising dark horse contender, the incredible North team rookie, Beerus!"

More cheers rang out, although the crowd still seemed to favor Butaga.

"Whatever happens, this will surely be a match to remember!" The announcer quickly cleared the ring and ran to the edge of the arena as the two fighters approached each other. Beerus tensed, preparing for the sudden attack that his mentor had warned him off. Butaga, on the other hand, looked relaxed, almost bored even.

"Ready?" The announcer asked. "Fight!"

At that exact split-second, Butaga's demeanor changed, as she raised both hands and let out a flurry of glowing yellow ki blasts. Beerus charged forward, deflecting the bolts, but they quickly began homing in on him again, and Butaga was still firing more. He took to the air to try to gain some distance, but the ever-increasing swarm of blasts pursued him, continually striking the feline like a swarm of angry hornets.

"Butaga starts off the match with a barrage of seeking blasts!" The announce proclaimed. "Beerus seems to be handling himself, but the champion is not letting up!"

Beerus had to move his arms, legs, and tail faster and faster to keep deflecting the blasts as more and more continued to pour out of Butaga's glowing hands. Suddenly, the pig-like fighter made a strange gesture with one arm, and, as Beerus moved a hand to deflect one of the blasts, it suddenly changed shape into a spinning, razor-edged disc.

"Ow!" He shouted, as the buzzsaw of energy cut his arm, causing a trickle of blood to stain his fur. "Enough of this!"

He released a powerful kiai, knocking all of the blasts away, but at that very moment, Butaga herself struck, landing a powerful punch right in the feline's abdomen, causing him to double over in pain. Before he had a chance to recover, she hit him with a double-handed smash, sending him flying towards the ground.

Barely managing to right himself in time, Beerus landed back in the ring, but then was assailed from behind by the swarm of slicing ki discs, which had not been dissipated, but merely deflected, by his earlier maneuver. He released a powerful blast of his own, enveloping and seemingly destroying the projectiles, then turned to engage Butaga, who was attacking him from the opposite direction. He dodged a few of her blows, but then felt a sharp, slicing pain in his back. He managed to retreat to one of the hovering mini-planets above the arena with a quick burst of super speed, before he realized what had happened.

Butaga had caused her swarm of discs to all merge into one massive disc, in order to protect themselves from Beerus' own ki blast. The large disc was diminished, but not destroyed, and while he was distracted by Butaga's physical assault, it had left a nasty cut on his back. He wiped his paw over the blood-stained fur, cursing in irritation.

Just then, Butaga appeared in front of him and opened her mouth, releasing a powerful wave of yellow ki. Beerus deflected it with both hands, but was soon assailed from multiple sides by punches and kicks in a rapid attack. He attempted to grab Butaga around the neck with his tail, but it passed harmlessly through an afterimage as the South Galaxy fighter delivered a painful karate chop to the feline's neck.

"I can hardly tell what's going on, folks, but it seems like Butaga has put Beerus in a very tight spot! Are we about to witness the end of his remarkable winning streak?"

Beerus concentrated on the fight. Butaga was not only physically strong - her blows hurt more than even the best that Z-79 had hammered him with - but she was also amazingly skilled. Every motion - every attack, parry, dodge, and maneuver, was so perfectly executed it seemed like she had practiced each one a thousand times. Her speed was also unbelievable - he was already using more of his power than he had previously revealed in the tournament (with the exception of the burst that been required to overload Z-79), but Butaga was still avoiding or blocking most of his strikes with ease. He didn't think he had ever fought anyone as skilled as her before - with the possible exception of Whis. That fight had ended rather too quickly for him to really judge the mysterious being's fighting prowess.

Finally, using a combination of afterimage feints and martial arts techniques he had learned from his Kaioh, Beerus managed to land a solid hit on his opponent, knocking her back into one of the hovering planets.

"Not bad," she grunted, dusting herself off. "You withstood my first attack. I think it's about time I get serious now."

"Me too," Beerus said, wiping a drop of sweat off his forehead. The two both began powering up, shaking the arena with their auras.

"It looks like the warm-up is over, and both of our competitors are about to take it to the next level!" The announcer shouted.

All four Kaiohs watched in apprehension, while the Dai Kaioh observed the battle with interest. This was promising to be quite a show.

Finally, the two combatants seemed to be finished, as they stared each other down, yellow and purple auras clashing with a crackling, storm-like ferocity.

"Before we begin round 2," Beerus said, narrowing his eyes, "Would you mind if I asked you a question?"

Butaga blinked. "What?"

"You won this tournament the last time it was held, right?"

The boar-like creature nodded.

"So does that mean you got a private training session with the Dai Kaioh?"

"Indeed," Butaga confirmed.

"Is he as strong as they say?"

"He is quite strong. He taught me much."

"Is he stronger than you?"

Butaga looked annoyed at this question.

"I doubt you'll have the chance to find out!" She shouted, as she disappeared from view. A split-second later, Beerus also vanished, and dozens of shockwaves from their clash resounded around the arena. The miniature planets hanging in the sky periodically shattered and were thrown to the side as the two fighters, invisible to most mortal eyes, continued their combat. The two then landed back on the arena floor, both of them panting with effort.

"Why don't you use that Blazing Strike thing on me?" Beerus asked. "It seemed pretty effective against Shirenu."

"I don't feel that you merit it, at this point," Butaga replied. Beerus hissed in annoyance.

The two stared each other down, and then charged, preparing for another clash.

[Lord Beerus]

Hmm... this story ain't bad. I don't remembering hiring a ghost writer recently. But you know what, this ain't bad at all for what it is.

Good work!

But please, no sequels. I ain't a fan of those.

[xmysticgohanx]

I don't remembering hiring a ghost writer recently.

At first I was like what??

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 25

Beerus feinted to the right, but Butaga anticipated the maneuver, cutting him off with a roundhouse kick. He countered with a zanzoken, appearing behind her, but she had already disappeared, now attacking the feline from another direction.

Another flurry of blows and parries was exchanged, and the two soon paused to regain their breath as they faced each other, both hovering a few meters above the arena floor.

"You know," Beerus said, seeming to be enjoying himself despite his sweat and injuries, "my last two opponents had an annoying habit of absorbing my ranged attacks." As he spoke, both of his paws began glowing with purple light. "With you, though, I don't have to worry about that!"

He released two powerful ki spheres at his pig-like opponent. She dodged one and smacked the other away with one arm, sending it flying out into the darkness of the exterior arena where it demolished one of the miniature planets.

"Even if I could absorb ki, I probably wouldn't waste it on absorbing such weak attacks!" Butaga taunted, charging a blast of her own. Beerus had already retreated a few dozen meters and was preparing another assault.

"That was just to keep you at a distance and buy some time," he said, firing a powerful orange ki beam. Butaga countered with her own blast, the two meeting in mid-air and causing a tremendous explosion.

"Wow, our competitors are sure putting on a good show for us! Look at those fireworks!" The announcer said, hiding under a table. "Just don't look too closely or you might go blind!"

Butaga smirked as the smoke cleared, having easily managed to deflect Beerus' attack. "What that one just to buy distance and time, too?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," he replied. "I needed both so I could do this!"

The South Galaxy fighter looked up, and, for the first time since the beginning of the match, a speck of fear was visible in her eyes. Floating several hundred meters above the arena, Beerus was holding what looked like a miniature sun in each hand, both of them growing larger by the second. The sheer amount of ki he was channeling into the orbs was enough to give even the former champion pause.

"Beerus, what are you doing! Are you trying to destroy the whole planet!?" North Kaioh shouted, barely managing to be heard above the roaring winds. "The Dai Kaioh will be pissed if that happens!"

The feline paid no heed to his instructor as he merged the two spheres together into one even larger sphere. "Take this! My ultimate move: Beerus-dama!"* He shouted, hurling the massive glowing ball downwards.

Butaga powered up and charged at the oncoming blast, raising both hands in an attempt to catch it. She managed to arrest its momentum somewhat, but the sphere continued to slowly push her down towards the arena floor.

"Umm, ladies and gentlebeings," the announcer shouted nervously, "just in case Butaga doesn't manage to block this one, now might be a good time to evacuate the arena, in a calm and orderly fashion of cour-"

Before he could finish, panic broke out in the stands, as hundreds of spectators made a mad dash for the doors, creating a veritable stampede in their desire to escape. A few brave (or foolish) attendees stayed in their seats, eager to see how this would play out. Among the latter group were the Dai Kaioh and his assistants.

The descent of the massive sun-like sphere was slowing, as Butaga put more power into blocking it, straining with both arms. Noticing this, Beerus charged up another beam and fired it at the sphere with both hands, adding to its momentum.

The boar-like fighter grunted with effort as the speed of the sphere began to increase again. A look that could best be described as irritation crossed her face, as she suddenly abandoned her effort to hold back the massive attack and flew at full speed back towards the arena. Without her strength to oppose it, the massive ki sphere reached a much higher velocity, but Butaga had already landed on the arena floor.

"BLAZING STRIKE!" she shouted, her aura flaring even brighter than Beerus' attack. She flew upwards, intercepting the sphere just meters before it hit the stadium, and struck it dead-center with a double-handed smash. The sphere deformed into an ovoid, bouncing off her fists and rapidly retreating back the way it had come. Beerus barely managed to dodge it as it sped past him, blowing a massive hole in the arena ceiling, through which bright rays of light began shining.

"Hey, we just had that fixed!" The Dai Kaioh shouted in annoyance.

Butaga, now back in her base form, spun around, preparing to apologize, but Beerus took this opportunity to deliver a two-legged kick right to the side of her face. The surprise blow sent her flying towards the bleachers, an area thankfully abandoned during the earlier rush to escape the stadium. Butaga righted herself in mid-air only centimeters away from the seats, growling with anger. Suddenly, a subtle cracking noise was heard. A second later, one of her tusks snapped off roughly halfway along its length, having been subject to the full force of Beerus' kick.

"Why, you..." she snorted, cradling her broken tusk.

"Heh, you should be thanking me," Beerus teased. "I was about to say that it looked like you needed to go see a dentist anyway."

Butaga snarled, but then quickly regained her composure, her face twisting into a smirk.

"You are really becoming a pain in the ass. Time to finish this! BLAZING STRIKE!"

Enveloped in the same fierce aura as before, the boar-like warrior charged, launching punch after punch at her hapless opponent. Beerus did his best to dodge and parry the first few blows, but he soon took a hit to the chin, sending him flying through the air. Butaga didn't let up, zipping after him at a speed he could barely believe was possible. He did his best to gain some distance and then dodged her next blow, but took another hit in the gut. Just as Butaga raised both hands to deliver a crushing smash to his spine, her overwhelming aura faded. Her technique had worn off! Beerus took the opportunity to kick her in the stomach and then quickly put her in a chokehold.

She released an omnidirectional kiai, breaking herself loose, and fired a ki blast at him, which the feline deflected.

Panting in exhaustion, Beerus grinned. "I finally got you to use your ultimate technique on me - and now I know its weakness! You can only keep it up for a few seconds at a time!"

"You're wrong," Butaga said, catching her breath, glaring at Beerus with a fierce intensity.

"Really? It sure seemed like that to me, the way it wore off just as you were about to finish me."

"No," she said, narrowing her eyes. "What I meant was, Blazing Strike isn't my ultimate technique."





* I recall Toriyama saying that this was what he would name the technique in an interview. Flows off the tongue a lot better than "God of Destruction Super Energy Sphere" if you ask me. Besides, he's not the God of Destruction yet anyway at this point in the story.

[Beerus-sama]

I love this fanfic. Thanks for keeping making new chapters

* I recall Toriyama saying that this was what he would name the technique in an interview

Yes he did:

If you had to give a name to Beerus’s technique, Sensei, [what would you call it]?
I’m the type of person who looks like he’d give names to techniques, but generally doesn’t. If I took it upon myself to name it…… “Beerus Ball” [Birusu-dama], maybe? (laughs)

[Polyphase Avatron]

Sorry for the long wait again. Anyway:

Chapter 26

"What, you mean you have something even better you're saving up? I think you're bluffing," Beerus said, taking time to regain some of his energy.

"It's not a bluff, but I've never actually used it in a real fight before," Butaga replied, "so consider yourself honored to be its first victim. TRANSCENDENT BLAZING STRIKE!"

Butaga's body began glowing a blinding white, causing everyone in the stadium to shield their eyes. Beerus barely had time to marvel at the sheer amount of ki she was emitting before he suddenly found himself assaulted by what felt like hundreds of fists at once. He was sent flying back into the arena, smashing into one of the miniature planets.

"Ow.. what the H-" he began, opening his eyes. Before he could finish, he saw a bright light approaching him from the direction of the floating arena. He quickly dodged Butaga's ki beam as it vaporized the remainder of the planetoid he had crashed into and continued onward, punching another hole in the far wall of the arena.

Beerus coughed up a bit of blood, his body in intense pain. That last brutal assault had broken several of his ribs... the sheer speed and strength Butaga had just demonstrated was far beyond anything he had seen from her previously.

Suddenly, the boar-like fighter appeared in front of the feline, no longer enveloped in the blinding white aura from before, but still dangerous as ever. She immediately charged him. Beerus backed up a few dozen meters, then released a swarm of ki blasts in every direction from his entire body, attempting to fend her off*. She deflected all of the blasts that got near her, but the effort and time taken to do so bought Beerus a bit of a reprieve as he flew back towards the arena.

He took a few moments to assess the situation - his injuries were severe, but he could still fight. Butaga's ultimate technique seemed to just be an upgraded version of her Blazing Strike, and luckily it seemed to have an even stricter time limit than the original version. He could also tell that using it had taken a lot out of her - she wasn't nearly as strong or as fast as she had been when the battle had started.

The South Galaxy's champion appeared in the air above the arena again, panting and sweating, but wearing a predatory grin on her face.

"I'm amazed that you're still standing after that," she growled. "I'm equal parts impressed and annoyed."

"You shouldn't have underestimated me," the feline said, scratching his nose.

"But," Butaga continued, ignoring him, "those injuries look pretty bad. You should give up before they get worse."

"While it's true that my body isn't in the best of *cough* shape," Beerus replied, "I do have more ki reserves left than you. Meaning I can do this!"

He raised both paws above his head, beginning to generate another giant orange sphere of ki.

"Not likely!" Butaga shouted, charging him and landing a punch right in his stomach before his attack could fully form. He coughed, doubled over, vomiting up copious amounts of blood.

"Now it's t-" Butaga began, but was cut off by a kiai from Beerus, knocking her away. Before she could fully recover, she found herself blindsided by a powerful orange beam from the feline. She gained a bit of distance and countered with a beam of her own, the two glowing masses of ki clashing in the sky above the arena.

"Both fighters seem to be on their last legs, but neither one is willing to give in!" The announcer shouted. "The championship match could go either way at this point!"

Beerus was putting everything he had into this last attack, and Butaga was having trouble keeping up, her own beam slowly but surely being pushed back.

'That annoying cat,' she thought to herself. 'He was actually right about my ki reserves... well, there's still one thing I can try. I think I still have enough left.'

"BLAZING STRIKE!" she shouted, disengaging her ki beam and putting on a burst of speed, enhanced by the glowing golden aura of her technique, in order to dodge Beerus' assault. She knew that the power boost she had mustered at the moment was vastly inferior compared to before due to her fatigue, but it should still be enough to...

Beerus and Butaga clashed in mid-air, exchanging punches and kicks. Butaga avoided a sharp blow to the neck by somersaulting over her opponent and grabbing onto his halo, using it as leverage to throw him downwards toward the ring. At that very instant, her Blazing Strike wore off, and Beerus countered with a tail slap, which sent her plummeting to the ground as well. Neither one of the combatants were able to arrest their momentum before crashing into the ground, sending up two simultaneous plumes of dust.

Butaga slowly sat up, her vision blurry, but she was able to make out the prone body of her foe lying on the cracked and scorched arena floor.

"Heh, I did it, I-" she began, before stopping suddenly. Looking down at her own feet, she saw that, while she was indeed the last one standing, she had landed outside of the ring, while Beerus was still within its bounds.

"Butaga is out of the ring!" The announcer shouted. "All Beerus has to do is stand up within 10 seconds and he wins the tournament! One-" he began the count.

Beerus slowly opened one eye. He hadn't felt this much pain since the time he had been brutalized by the Arcosian emperor Icer. Actually, scratch that - he was fairly sure that this was worse. He had no feeling in much of his body, and saw nothing but blurry, indistinct colors. Vaguely, he heard a voice somewhere near him. It seemed to be - counting?

"Seven! Eight! Ni-"

Beerus propped himself up with one hand, coughing up more blood. He spied the announcer in front of him, holding the megaphone, and behind the strange mushroom-headed man was... Butaga! She was out of the ring! That meant that-

"Te-"

With one last, tremendous burst of effort, Beerus leaped to his feet, fresh spikes of pain permeating his body as he did so.

"Beerus is standing!" The announcer shouted. "That makes him the new Other World Champion!"

The crowd roared, some of them in disappointment, but many in approval. From the special viewing booths, the South Kaioh's jaw had dropped so far that one of the ogre servants needed to help him pick it up off the floor.

"Yes! Yes! Alright!" The North Kaioh shouted, jumping and dancing triumphantly. "I knew you could do it, Beerus! Way to show them what the North Galaxy is made of!"

Back in the ring, Beerus, still barely able to stand, slowly approached the announcer. "So... do I win?" he asked, still dazed from the battle.

"Yes, you are the champion! Congratulations!" The announcer shouted. "Take a bow for the audience!"

"A bow... right," the cat-man said, bending over and closing his eyes. As he did though, he heard a strange, metallic clinking sound coming from the ground in front of him. Opening his eyes, he saw a glowing yellow circle laying on the floor before him, which had not been there before. He reached up above his head with both hands,feeling for the imitation halo that his Kaioh had given him, and finding nothing.

"Uh-oh... crap..." he muttered, realizing that the halo must have been dislodged when Butaga had grabbed it earlier. The announcer picked up the faux halo, turning it over in his hands a few times as he examined it.

"Ladies and gentlebeings," he said, speaking into his megaphone again. "It seems we've uncovered a case of fraud! As Beerus-san is not actually dead, I'm afraid we'll have to disqualify him! That makes the winner of the Other World Tournament, for the second time in a row, the South Galaxy's Butaga!"

Hearing this, Beerus collapsed on the floor again, too tired and injured to remain standing, and not seeing the point in doing so any longer.

"Ha! I knew something fishy was going on!" The South Kaioh yelled, pointing accusingly at his North counterpart. "You tried to cheat! Figures that was the only way anyone from your pathetic team could ever hope to win!"

"Okay, maybe I did fudge the rules a bit," the North Kaioh replied, "But Beerus won the fight! Even if he is alive, he still beat your champion!"

"Tell it to the arbiter," South Kaioh smirked. "All I hear is another excuse from the perennial loser!"

"Congratulations, Butaga-san," the Dai Kaioh said, approaching the pig-like warrior. "You've successfully defended your title, and earned another private training session with me!"

Butaga looked down, refusing to meet the god's eyes. "No..." she muttered.

"What?"

"I lost that fight. Beerus-san defeated me."

"But he's not-"

"Dead? So what, that doesn't change the fact that he won. I don't deserve this victory."

"But the champion has to be a resident of Other World, in other words, dead," the announcer said. "Beerus-san just doesn't qualify."

"Fine then, I'll keep the worthless title," Butaga growled. "But," she turned towards the Dai Kaioh, "may I request that my training session be granted to Beerus-san instead? He earned it. Besides, with all due respect sir, I think he could learn more from you than I could."

The Dai Kaioh stroked his chin in contemplation. "Well, it's unorthodox, but I don't see why not. Are you sure about this?"

Butaga nodded.

"Very well. Once Beerus-san has fully recovered from his injuries, tell him to come see me. He should prove to be a most interesting pupil."


*The same move he used against Goku in the cave in BoG.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Chapter 27

"Ah... what time is it?" a certain feline yawned, turning over in bed. He rubbed his eyes and examined his surroundings. He was laying in the same bunk he had earlier been assigned as a member of the North Team, but the rest of the room was empty. He immediately recalled the injuries he had sustained in the final match of the tournament, and was surprised to find that he no longer felt any pain or discomfort. Well, he did feel one type of discomfort...

"I'm hungry," he muttered, rubbing his stomach as he got up and lethargically floated through the air towards the door.

"Oh, um, Beerus-san, you're awake!" an ogre servant said, noticing the half-asleep fighter slowly floating down a corridor.

"How long was I out?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes again.

"It's been almost four days," the ogre explained. "Your injuries were pretty bad, but our healers did their best. It helps that you seem to be naturally resilient as well."

"Yeah... healers... great... where's the food?"

"Um, this way, sir," the ogre said, leading the sleepy gladiator to the cafeteria.

He had fully awoken sometime around his third soup dish, and was busy stuffing his face with some kind of roasted alien bird when he was suddenly accosted by Rakov, the South Team fighter he had defeated in the second round.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing here?" the hulking creature asked.

"Eating," the feline replied simply.

"Ha, very funny. In case you didn't get the memo, you don't belong here! You were alive the whole time you fraud!"

"Yeah, so?" Beerus asked, not even bothering to turn around as he grabbed another dish from across the counter.

"So, me and the others don't exactly appreciate how you and your sleazy Kaioh nearly cheated Butaga out of her well-deserved victory! Why don't you go back to the mortal universe, loser; you're not wanted here!"

"Make me," Beerus replied, sounding bored as he scarfed down a loaf of bread. Rakov growled and slashed at the feline with one of his claws, but the limb was caught in mid-air before the blow could connect.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a harsh, gruff voice said from behind him.

"B-Butaga-sama!? I was just-"

"About to experience a great amount of pain, if I hadn't stopped you," Butaga finished for him. "Did you not watch Beerus-san's match with me? You're nowhere near his strength; attacking him would be a serious mistake on your part."

"I-I'm sorry," Rakov said, backing off from the boar-like humanoid. "I don't know what came over me."

"Right..." Butaga rolled her eyes, letting the green alien's limb go. He began rubbing the spot where the champion's powerful grip had immobilized him with his other claw as he quickly shuffled out of the room.

Butaga sat down next to the feline, grabbing some food for herself.

"I'd imagine you must be disappointed at failing to win the title," she said.

"Huh?" Beerus looked at her, noticing her for the first time. "Well, it's no big deal really. It was a great fight though. You're really amazing."

"Yes, and I extend the same compliments to you," she said, biting down on a strangely-colored salad sandwich. "I have been continuing my training since the fight, perhaps one day we could have a rematch."

"Sounds good to me," Beerus said. "Speaking of training, since you're the champion again, have you gotten your prize yet? The training session with the Dai Kaioh?"

Butaga looked at him oddly. "Oh, I guess you didn't hear. I decided that you should receive that boon instead."

"What, really?" Beerus' eyes lit up at this.

"Yes. I have effectively learned everything I could from him anyway, but I believe he still might have something useful to teach you."

"Did he say when the training starts?"

"As soon as you're ready for it," Butaga replied. "You could go right now if you-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, she found the seat next to her unoccupied, as Beerus had zoomed out of the room at top speed. Shrugging, she returned to her meal.

"He lives in this big white mansion, right?" Beerus said to himself, examining the front of the building from the large lawn. "HEY, DAI KAIOH!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, startling many of the people walking by. "GET OUT HERE SO WE CAN START TRAINING ALREADY!"

"Th-that's no way to talk to Dai-Kaioh-sama!" an ogre admonished him. "Who do you think you-"

"Hey, did someone call me?" a voice interrupted, as the Dai Kaioh landed softly on the grass a few meters in front of his soon-to-be pupil.

Beerus examined the man - he was taller than any of the lesser Kaiohs, although still rather short. He had long pointed ears and a young-looking face with long red hair and light tan skin. He wore a simple-looking gi, a sharp contrast to the extravagant robes he normally wore. Getting a read on his power was difficult, as Beerus could tell that he was suppressing it.

"So can we start the training now?" Beerus asked.

"Well, you certainly are eager," the Dai Kaioh replied. "Here, follow me." The Dai Kaioh silently levitated off the ground again, picking up speed as he flew through the air. Beerus followed, keeping pace with him. Soon, they had left the planet behind altogether. Beerus was surprised to find that there was still a breathable atmosphere - he guessed it was just one of those weird things about Other World.

"So where are we going?"

"It's not far. You should be able to see it soon - ah, there, look." He pointed in front of him at what appeared as a small dot, which quickly grew larger as they approached.

"Here we are," the Dai Kaioh said. "My personal training ground."

"It's not very big," Beerus muttered, noting that the planet they had just landed on was even smaller than the North Kaioh's home planet.

"It serves its purpose. It's really just a moon of my planet, after all," he said, gesturing to the sky, where the planet they had just left could still be seen if you squinted hard enough.

"Now, if you are interested in learning from me, I suggest we start with a few meditation exercises, so as to help you focus your ki-"

"I thought we were going to spar," Beerus said, looking annoyed.

"Spar? What gave you that idea?"

"I heard you're really strong and I want to see what you're made of!"

"But my schedule is very strict, the exercises-"

"We can do the boring stuff later! Let's fight already!" The feline took up an aggressive stance, channeling his ki around him.

"Fine, fine," the Dai Kaioh said. "If you insis-"

Before he had finished, Beerus closed the distance with a burst of super speed and struck him on the cheek with a strong right hook, sending him flying off into a short copse of trees, which were shattered into splinters by the force of the blow.

"Hey!" Dai Kaioh shouted, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek where the punch had connected. "What's the big idea!?"

"I thought we were sparring," Beerus said nonchalantly.

"I wasn't ready yet!"

"Sorry..."

"Just - just... hold on a minute!" he said, landing in front of the feline and assuming a fighting stance of his own. "Okay, now we can-"

Beerus vanished from the spot he was standing in once more and landed another punch directly in the god's face. The Dai Kaioh shouted in anger and tried to counterattack, launching a flurry of punches and kicks, but Beerus casually deflected them all. Jumping back, the Dai Kaioh fired a pink ki blast, but Beerus easily swatted it away.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong," the feline muttered. "But you can't even land a single hit on me!"

"Why you young punk," The Dai Kaioh scowled. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"A weakling, from what I can tell," Beerus yawned, covering his mouth with one of his paws.

"That's it, kid, you asked for it. You'll be eating your words once you get a taste of my signature technique! KAIOH-KEN!"

"Kaioh-what?" Beerus exclaimed, as his opponent was suddenly enveloped in a fiery red aura. He began a renewed assault, but Beerus was still able to easily avoid all of the blows.

"Hey, that's pretty neat, your power and speed just doubled," Beerus said, moving his head from side to side to avoid the Dai Kaioh's punches. "But it's still not enough."

The Dai Kaioh paused, alighting on the ground as his aura returned to normal.

"Come on, Butaga said you were strong, was she lying?"

The god just scowled in anger.

"Hey, speaking of Butaga, that thing you just did, it sort of reminded me of her Blazing Strike, the way it temporarily increased your power like that."

The Dai Kaioh seemed to regain his composure, smiling slightly. "The techniques are similar, true. But my Kaioh-Ken has an important advantage over her Blazing Strike."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Butaga's technique only has two levels. Mine, on the other hand, is not so limited. KAIOH-KEN TIMES TWENTY!!"

"Whoa!" Beerus shouted, as the Dai Kaioh charged him with a force and speed far greater than what he had shown before. Before he had a chance to fully assess the situation, he found himself flying through the air, propelled backwards by the force of the Dai Kaioh's attack.

Quickly re-orienting himself, Beerus powered up, releasing a flurry of ki blasts at his pursuer.

"KAIOH-KEN TIMES TWENTY-FIVE!" the god shouted, deflecting the blasts and closing the distance to engage in melee combat with Beerus in mid-air.

"Wow, you're actually pretty good!" Beerus said, dodging a kick as he replied with a tail slap. Powering up further, the feline grabbed one of the Dai Kaioh's arms and spun him around in a circle, then threw him to the ground, creating a small crater and a large cloud of dust. "I was worried at first that you wouldn't be able to make me fight seriously!"

The Dai Kaioh, paying no heed to the arrogant cat-man's words, emerged from the dust, flying directly at him. "Kaioh-Ken Times Fifty!" He shouted, delivering a serious of powerful punches to the feline's midsection. Beerus was barely able to keep up, and even using a kiai to gain some distance proved futile as the Dai Kaioh's speed made that tactic worthless. Still, Beerus was getting the hang of fighting the god at this level, and managed to tag him with a ki blast. The two then grappled for a bit, causing the moon around them to shake and begin to crack apart as bolts of lightning struck with ferocious intensity around them.

"Heh, this is fun," said Beerus, locked in a struggle with his new trainer. "But I think you're starting to sweat. How long can you keep this up?"

"Kaioh-ken..." Dai Kaioh muttered, slowly being pushed back by the feline's strength. "Times..."

"Huh, you're weakening, I can tell, only a bit longer until-"

"ONE HUNDRED!!" Immediately, the Dai Kaioh's aura flared to a blinding crimson, and Beerus was knocked back across the moon, landing face-down in the dirt. Before he could get up, he felt a boot step on the back of his head, applying crushing pressure, followed by the familiar sensation of a ki blast being charged, aimed right at him from point-blank range.

"So, who's the weakling again, boy?" The Dai Kaioh said, panting with exhaustion as his aura returned to normal, the ki blast fading out. Beerus turned over, spitting out dirt from his mouth.

"Wow... you beat me..." he muttered, shaking himself off.

"Now that I've granted your request for a sparring session, are you ready to begin the serious training?"

"Sure. Can you teach me that Kaioh-ken thing? It was awesome!"

The Dai Kaioh sighed. This was going to be a long day.

[Lord Beerus]

Ah, the infamous Hide and Seek-gate. Not one of my most flattering moments.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Ah, the infamous Hide and Seek-gate. Not one of my most flattering moments.

That actually hasn't happened yet in the timeline of the story, as the Kaiohs here are past ones from millions of years ago.

[Lord Beerus]

Ah, the infamous Hide and Seek-gate. Not one of my most flattering moments.

That actually hasn't happened yet in the timeline of the story, as the Kaiohs here are past ones from millions of years ago.

Well, any game of Hide and Seek that involves me has some form of collateral damage.

[Super SaiyaJon]

I first started reading this yesterday, and I couldn't put it down! I've enjoyed the story so far, and I can't wait for more. I really like how you write the attitude of Beerus; it reflects how he's been shown in the recent movies very well. However, what I like most is how detailed you write the fight scenes. They are very entertaining, easy to picture, and especially well thought-out. Keep up the good work