Chapter Thirty

After that Sala was awfully quiet right up until she took you to the gate leading out of the underworld. "This is it. Your way out."

"It is said that no demon can ever open the door. But you are no demon." Ken adds to that.

"You're something... Worse."

"I'll take that as a compliment." You respond and Ken nods.

Walking to the massive gates you manage to pry them open despite their daunting size.

The wind of the Makai quickly rushes in through the gap, causing your hair to flutter as you turn back.

You look over to Sala and speak to her.

"Well, here we are.Ready to leave this shithole?"

"W-Wha-"

"We had a deal. Remember? I promised you I'd take you with me."

"And... you...You actually want to keep it?"

Not saying a word, you give her a nod.

She is taken aback by this and after but a moment of thinking she walks over to your side.

"What about you Ken? Do you want to come?"

But he remains silent. "I won't force you if you don't want to. You're not my slave any longer."

"I know." He responds. "But this is where I belong."

You let out a chuckle. "What? Gunning for that vacancy?"

He shakes his head. "No. Let them fight for it.

I'll return to the Master. Perhaps once I became strong enough I'll challenge the next one."

You nod. "Well... I wish you good luck on that.

And... do me a favor. I know we didn't always have the best relationship but I hope you managed to pick up something from me.

Hold onto that."

He nods back. "Of course. Doomslayer."

Returning to Sala you speak to her. "Well... This is it. Come!"

You grab her hand gently and pull her in, just in case there is some stupid bullshit barrier that'd keep her from leaving. Once through the border you give one final nod and a wave of goodbye to Ken before shutting the door behind you. Entering a long hallway you walk through it 'till the end. But in the meantime Sala has something to say. "Y-You don't have to keep holding it you know..."

"I know but... I'm ashamed to admit, I'm fucking scared. Who knows what's here? I mean... there is probably something guarding this gate."

But much to your surprise there really wasn't.

Only when reaching the end of the cobweb littered halls did you meet some... familiar figures in the shape of ogres. Wearing neat little suits with neckties and glasses they jump up in shock as they see you coming through the gate. "E-Excuse me but... you aren't supposed to be back there! How did you get in there any-" They then notice Sala.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! WE HAVE A BREACH AT THE GATE!"

You loudly and violently protest that no such thing happened and try to diffuse the situation to the best of your abilities. Shockingly they actually fully understand and even APOLOGIZE to you. "Oh I'm sorry sir Eric!

We were expecting you! Please, come this way. King Enma is waiting for you!"

"What? Me?!"

"Yes. Please come this way.I'll take you to him."

Following the little blue ogre you arrive at the gates of the afterlife, a familiar sight you didn't really expect to see for a while. But apparently THEY were fully expecting you. "Ah yes!"

King Enma looks down on you. "Eric Asulf."

He says as he shuffles his papers around.

"The Supreme Kai told me to expect you."

"Oh? Really? Well that's a relief. Can you call him then?"

"What? Why can't you? Just call out to him and he'll hear you. But before you do that there is something we must do first-"

"Look if it's about her I can expla-"

"What? Nonono.You see I have paperwork to fill out."

"But... I'm not dead."

"That's irrelevant. You're here and that's all that matters. Let's see here- Eric, Eric, Eric...

Ah there we are!" King Enma, the large blue demon wearing a rather fine suit, sitting in front of a magnificent mahogany table then stamps your papers. "There we go. Next time you come you get a free Sundae."

"W-WHAT?! HOW?! WHY?!"

"Look, I don't make the rules, I just keep 'em.

Now how about you buzz off? I have literally billions of souls to get through and the line never gets shorter. Literally."

"O-Okay." Walking out the large door where all the spirits are pouring in you clear your throat before shouting. "SUPREME KAI! I'M HERE!"

And in a flash he appears before you. "I know, I know. I can hear you. No need to shout.

Fuwaaaaah... So, I assume you want to get back to Lord Champas planet, correct?"

"Definitely." You give your armpits a little smell and reel back in disgust. "Yeah. That's foul.

Like something died inside me... I'll definitely need a shower. And some rest. And maybe something to eat that wasn't alive five seconds prior..."

"As you wish... Though I must say. Your choice of company may bring... complications."

"I don't care. Worse comes to worst I'll bribe Champa. Or just have her hide until I can figure out a more permanent solution."

"Wait..." Sala speaks up. "C-Champa?! The DESTROYER?!"

"Oh right. I didn't say this because I didn't want you to freak out buuuut. I kinda work for him. He's my boss. And we're going to his planet. Don't worry we'll leave as soon as possible."

"WELL THAT'S A PRETTY BIG FUCKING THING YOU DIDN'T MENTION!"

"Because I knew you'd react this way.

Now come on. We gotta go."

Grabbing onto the Supreme Kai you were whisked away in an instant and arrived right in the middle of Champas little planet. You find it to be surprisingly quiet, no bickering or fighting, no Caulifla drop-kicking you in the head. It's so uncanny that you wonder where everyone went until Vados finally shows up.

"My my, look who the cat dragged in!

Welcome back!"

You bow to her. "It's good to be back Vados."

"And I see you got yourself another one.

Do you also take in every stray animal you find or just people?"

"If I could, I would. I like dogs. But let's not waste any time Vados. You know why I'm here."

"Of course." After she quickly greeting the Supreme Kai as well and thanking him for his assistance she returns to you. "Now then... I am pleased to see your little vacation turned out to be beneficial. You've grown in the past week."

"One week? Is that how long I was out?"

"Yes. Why? What did it feel like?"

"Two months..."

"Then you brought two months minus one week of time. You should be pleased."

"I am."

"Good."

"By the way, where is everyone? It's awfully quiet."

"Sleeping. It's nighttime after all."

"Oh... My sense of time is.... beyond fucked at the moment. At least that does make things simple for now."

As you're exchanging pleasantries with Vados, Sala shakes from fear in the background. Vados notices this and remarks on it. "Your friend seems awfully jittery? Does she have a switch you can turn off or does she permanently vibrate?"

"She's just processing things. Like I was... kinda. Anyway Vados I need a shower, some food and a bit of rest. I'm way too exhausted to fight..."

She waves her wand around and gently taps you on the head with it. Your entire body begins to sparkle for a bit and once the light fades you find yourself both squeaky clean, healed and your stamina restored. "There we go. A little "welcome back" and "congratulations" present. You did well..."

You bow to her. "Thanks but... the work only starts now. But that does save a ton of time.

Now all I need is a quick grub and I'm ready to go!"

"Do be quick. While the citizens of Earth haven't suffered any losses yet, I'm not sure they need to be exposed to Frost any longer."

"I'll keep that in mind." You then turn around to Fuwa and ask him something. "Supreme Kai! Can I count on your assistance? You are faster than Vados."

"Hmmmmm...." He appears to be lost in thought. "I didn't come here for that but... Fuwaaaah! Maybe we could strike a deal?"

"Hmmmm? What deal?"

He whips out a sheet of paper and plaque to write on. "If you'd give me your signature I'd be more than happy to assist you!"

"My... signature?"

"Yes! I've been watching your exploits in the Makai and though sometimes the recording was too fast due to time dilation, I still very much enjoyed it! You could say that I became a fan! So I'd like your autograph!"

"... Why does it say Transfer of All Rights?"

He then quickly pulls the paper away from you. "No reading! Do you want my aid or not?"

"What in fucks name is this? Is this some sort of... trademark transference? Are you gunning for my Doomslayer persona?!"

"This... may be the case. But how did you know?"

"I can't believe this! For a god you aren't really different from us mortals! But tell you what! I'll give you a deal! How about I DON'T abandon that and keep getting some royalties from you. In exchange I'll stick around and can be your mascot or "official representation" of the character, hyping you up."

"But... there aren't any royalties involved.

It's entirely free. Us kais don't have any currency since we don't have to buy anything.

We just make it."

"But... if it's not a for profit venture then why the contract?"

"I just didn't want to get in trouble if you found out."

*sigh* "FINE! I don't need royalties. But I want some recognition. Something like "Based on a true story" at the end of each episode or something like that. Because I don't like the idea of you exploiting me!"

"That I can agree to."

"Okay. Now that that's settled, I'm starving!"

Leaving the Kai alone for the moment you dragged Sala back into the castle where the two of you put some frozen pizza in the oven. And then several more. The two of you gorged yourself on the heavenly food even though you knew full well how it's all sorts of processed junk. But you didn't care. Compared to what you were living on it was like ambrosia. And after consuming two saiyans worth of food you both patted your full bellies in satisfaction.

Returning to the Supreme Kai you touched his back and readied yourself for the journey.

"Erm... I'll need a destination first."

He says.

"Earth."

"Not like that. Imagine a place and we'll arrive there."

"Oh, I see. In that case..." You closed your eyes.

"Kai kai!"

The three of you arrive on Earth in a literal instant and you find yourself in a familiar place. You know these walls but it feels like it's been ages ago since you last were here.

Looking down you see that you're standing on the living room table with your two friends fallen on their asses and looking up at you.

Sam manages to mutter this. "E-Eric?! I-Is that you? What the hell happened to you?!"

"Nothing... Nothing happened."

"DAMN IT CYKA! COULD YOU STOP POPPING UP OUT OF NOWHERE?! YOU KEEP TAKING YEARS OFF MY LIFE WITH THAT SHIT!"

But as your friends are shouting at you the other two accompanying you go off and do their own things. The Supreme Kai pops out of here just as quickly as he came and Sala starts observing the room she's in. "So... this is that famous Earth I heard so much about.

Doesn't seem too special for me."

"E-Eric? Could you ask your alien friend to not rummage through our stuff?"

"She's not an alien. She's a demon. So be nice to her."

*GULP*

You take off your helmet and place it down on the table. "It's demon bone. Don't touch."

Following that you sit down on the couch and feel as if your ass is in heaven right now it's been so long since you sat on anything softer than a rock. "So tell me... What happened?

Did that Frost guy hurt anyone?!"

"Y-You know about him?"

You nod. "Of course."

"W-Well he just sorta showed up and said he rules us now. Came totally out of nowhere. The military tried to oppose him at first but as it turns out he's bullet proof and he can turn a mountain into a glass floor as "demonstration". Since then... nobody really tried anything. We're too scared."

"So he didn't hurt anybody?"

"Not yet but... we don't know how long that's gonna last man! Y-You gotta help!"

"I'm on it." You hush him as you put on your scouter and turn it on. "Cabba-"

"ERIC! You're back!"

"Yes I am. But let's leave pleasantries for later.

What's going on? Did you manage to find out anything?"

"I may have... but you won't like it."

"What is it?"

"Frost- he uh... he ordered some things on Space Amazon. A small one man spaceship, a bit of medicine, a couple weapons and some body armor. Not bad quality stuff but not enough to arm anything other than a small group of maybe... five people."

You fall back in the couch as reality dawns on you. "Fuck... This guy wants us to make weapons for him!"

"Most likely, yes. At least that's what I think.

If you humans can reverse engineer space tech then Frost will turn your planet into a forge world to fuel his future conquest.

That's probably why he left the populace alone... he needs workers."

"Please, PLEASE tell me you did something about it!"

"I managed to halt the delivery, saying it's under investigation. But that's about as much as I could do. If I went down well... Frost may loose his temper. He hates saiyans with a passion..."

"Don't worry about it Cabba... And thanks."

"No problem Eric. Good luck!"