Beerus stood outside the dojo and stared at the mountains, for what seemed to be the thousandth time since he and the others had started teaching the girls on this planet, before letting out a sigh. Two whole years had passed since the first birthday party that he and the others had thrown for Rainbow Dash and Applejack, though he found it funny just how much time had actually passed. Both of his daughters were now seven years old, had a decent grasp on the subjects that Whis, Chronoa, and Shin wanted to teach them, and their friendship with Prince Vegeta was stronger than ever. Applejack still tended to the apple tree that had been planted for her, though Beerus had to admit that she managed to get the tree to produce some tasty apples over the years, while Rainbow continued her friendly rivalry with the young Prince, who appeared to be maturing into a fine young man.
It did Beerus good to see that his daughters had a friend that enjoyed their company, even going so far to invite them to one of his training missions so they could see what he was doing. Apparently the three of them, under the ever watchful eye of General Nappa, visited a planet that was well known for its wealth, in both currency and materials, though when they arrived they found the planet overrun by a galactic pirate that called himself Greed. According to what he heard from the girls they landed somewhere outside the capital of the planet and did some recon of the surrounding area, following Prince Vegeta's lead the entire time. They happened to encounter some soldiers in the area between where the capital was and where they landed, though from what Beerus had heard they were roughly as powerful as the ones that they had fought on their birthday.
From there the girls said that their plan was to infiltrate the city and find out where the pirates were stashing their stolen loot, though instead they had found a well detailed plan that spoke about the pirates moving to attack Planet Vegeta, which didn't sit well with the young Prince. With the information in had they returned to their pods and opened a channel back to the King, which in turn caused the King to launch a force of twenty Saiyan warriors that essentially decimated the pirates. Before the Saiyans could be thanked for their aid the King received a notice from the person that owned his planet, the infamous Lord Frieza, that the newly acquired planet was to be handed over to him and added to his growing empire. Rainbow and Applejack kept themselves hidden during the exchange, hiding their power so the scanners didn't pick them up, though once the transmission was over the King had them contact Whis, to which they were sent home earlier than planned.
The girls were happy to help 'save' a planet, but they were somewhat annoyed that all of their hard work was wasted, because in the end the planet was essentially leaving the hands of one thief and going into the hands of another thief. At one point after Rainbow and Applejack returned to Beerus' planet, and cleaned themselves of the dirt they had accumulated during their adventure with the prince, Rainbow asked him why he didn't just leave the planet for an hour or two and obliterate Frieza. It was at that point that Chronoa stepped in and told them that he was critical to a vast amount of events that were necessary to keep the timeline stable, so removing him at this exact moment would do more harm to the universe than good.
Rainbow didn't like the idea of letting the evil villain off that easily, so both Beerus and Chronoa asked her and Applejack to stay away from Frieza until they had enough power and training to take him out, though that also included making them promise to not fight the insane tyrant. At first neither Rainbow or Applejack liked the idea of letting Frieza go, but after a few seconds Applejack recited the 'Pinkie Promise', as that was what the incantation had been named, and Rainbow followed seconds later. Once the promise had been made Chronoa did specify that they were allowed to fight back if they had no choice in the matter, but they knew that she and Beerus wanted them to be safe.
Beerus smiled at the memory of Rainbow proclaiming that one day she and Applejack would have the power to defeat Frieza and save everyone that was trapped under his rule, though all Applejack did was nod her head in agreement, knowing that the day her sister was talking about was far in the future. That event was roughly eleven months after they had turned five, though it would be some time until something interesting happened that was on the level of the near meeting with Frieza. A few days after the girls turned six, where they had another party with the young Vegets being invited, another one of Frieza's ships landed on Planet Meka and started to record their findings, just like the last group had done, though it was essentially a repeat as the entire group sent them packing.
Beerus frowned for a moment, remembering that when they sent the first group of soldiers off planet, and wiped everything about Planet Meka off of their records, he recalled Whis mentioning something about the ship exploding a day or two later. He found it odd that the same thing happened to the second ship a day after they had forced it off their training planet, though what made it stranger was the fact that Frieza never bothered to send a third ship to the planet to investigate what had happened. Beerus had to wonder if the insane tyrant had blown both of the ships to pieces in an act of rage, but decided that time would eventually tell the tale and forgot about it.
After that literally nothing interesting happened, besides the girls turning seven and them attending the party that King Vegeta was throwing for his son's completion of a solo mission, so both Rainbow and Applejack spent the time between age six to seven training him with, learning from Whis, Chronoa, and Shin, and relaxing in whatever manner they chose. Even though the last year didn't have as much excitement as the previous ones, be it from people desiring a challenge from him or having a meeting with someone like King Vegeta, Beerus still enjoyed his time with his daughters. Even after all this time he still hadn't gotten around to thanking Chronoa for stopping him from destroying them on accident, but somehow he had the feeling that she knew how grateful he was without him even saying a word.
All of his remembering eventually came to a close, when he reached the day that they were currently on, and let out a sigh as he looked away from the mountains he had been staring at for the last few hours.
"Lord Beerus, is something bothering you?" a voice behind him said, to which Beerus realized that Shin and Chronoa were sitting at a nearby table and sharing a pot of tea, though he also noticed a third cup waiting for him.
"I've been thinking about everything that we've done for the girls," Beerus admitted, walking over to the table and taking his seat, though he barely paid any attention to the cup that was in front of him, "and I've been wondering if we should let them go on their own adventure, where they wouldn't have to rely on any of us so much."
"Really? What gave you this idea?" Chronoa asked, though both she and Shin and previously talked with each other about the possibility of sending the girls to one of the planets across the universe and let them mature on their own.
"Well... I've been having strange dreams lately," Beerus told them, noting that both of the Kais appeared to be a little shocked, but they didn't appear to be too concerned about what he was telling them, "Every now and then I dream about fighting a warrior that's able to at least give me a challenge... though you know what that actually means."
"The Oracle Fish might reveal one of its 'prophecies' to you in the near future," Shin commented, knowing full well what would happen if the fish actually made a prophecy for Lord Beerus, "which means that someone would have to watch over the girls while you slept."
"And that's the problem," Chronoa said, realizing what Shin was talking about in relationship to what Beerus had mentioned, "Whis, Shin, and I would have our own responsibilities to worry about when... you... go to sleep."
"It sounds like you just came up with an idea," Beerus commented, though he was eager to hear what Chronoa had to say, because she had proven to be extremely helpful over the last few years and he actually valued her opinions and ideas.
Chronoa looked out at the mountain that Beerus had been staring at earlier, wondering if it was time to let the God of Destruction in on the fact that she knew who would give him the challenge he was looking for, but quickly decided against it. Rainbow and Applejack still had no idea as to what the full responsibilities of a Supreme Kai were, or a Supreme Kai of Time for that matter, so she guessed that they could tell the girls a white lie when Beerus actually did fall asleep. Beerus was right on one thing, if the girls spent all their time around a God of Destruction, or his attendant and the Supreme Kais, then neither of them were going to grow on their own. The idea of Beerus going to sleep would change how Rainbow and Applejack lived their lives, but there were some modifications that would need to be made before they could put any sort of plan into effect.
As much as it pained her to even think about lying to the girls, she knew that they were going to have to tell them a few lies before the end of the week... while also knowing that the experiences they were about to gain would definitely change their lives for the better.
"Yeah, I've got one idea at the moment," Chronoa said, turning back to look at Beerus and Shin, to which she gulped as she prepared to tell them what she had thought about, "but neither of you, nor Whis for that matter, are going to like it. Here's what I think we should do..."
The only thing that happened for the rest of the day was Rainbow and Applejack returning to Planet Meka, where Beerus and the Kais joined them so they could head back home, to which the girls started telling their father what they had done while they were hanging out with Prince Vegeta. It appeared that the prince's father had thrown some sort of feast for the three of them, though they had been rudely interrupted when one of the other soldiers came into the room and told the King that he had urgent business with him. As such the girls and the Prince were left to their own devices, where Rainbow actually explained what her lance did when she used it, though this time she made no effort to show it off. By the time that the King returned to the table the feast was over, though he did give his son a special mission shortly before the girls left the planet with Whis... though they didn't envy him once they heard that Nappa would be his partner in the mission.
By the time they reached Beerus' planet, and landed near the lake, Rainbow actually said that she was curious as to what the mission was, though Applejack merely told her sister that they would find out the next time they saw their friend, which wouldn't be for another year at least. While the girls chatted with each other Beerus and the Kais beckoned Whis over, saying that they needed to have a private discussion for a few minutes and beckoned for the girls to head inside the temple.
"Come on Applejack, aren't you a little curious as to what top secret mission the King could have sent his son and Nappa on?" Rainbow asked as she and her sister started walking towards the temple, somewhat surprised that her sister might not be as interested in Vegeta's mission as she was.
"Oh trust me, I'm eager to hear what it was the next time we get together," Applejack replied, shaking her head for a moment, "but I don't think we should waste our time thinking about it could be. We've got to get back to the various lessons that Shin and Chronoa wanted us to learn, while making sure we don't fall behind on what Whis was teaching us. We'll have plenty of time to ask Vegeta the specifics of his mission once he returns, so you might as well get back to studying or read more of those adventure books that you enjoy."
"I kind of wish I knew who wrote them, just so I can thank them for the interesting stories," Rainbow commented, though she let out a sigh as they walked though the main entrance of the temple and started towards the living area.
"I'm sure that whoever wrote them would be happy to hear that," Applejack said, a small smile appearing on her face as they reached their destination, where she had left her notes from their previous sessions with Whis, Chronoa, and Shin, "Now then, I'm going to start reviewing my notes on Earth..."
"Their culture is so confusing..." Rainbow stated, to which she snatched the latest book that Chronoa had delivered, roughly two weeks ago, and opened it to where she left off as she sat down in her favorite reading spot.
"It wouldn't be so confusing to you if you bothered to actually learn about it," Applejack replied, letting out a sigh as she sat down and opened her notes, "Besides, given how many planets we've already visited in the last two years, including the very first one we were taken to, you would think that you would want to know something about a planet we might actually visit one day. I'm just taking the opportunity to learn about the planet, just in the off chance that we're sent there for some sort of test or something... and your ignoring me, aren't you?"
Applejack looked over at Rainbow and found that her sister was indeed enthralled by whatever the plot of the newest book was, though she simply shook her head and went back to her notes. She intended to be prepared for anything and everything, because she had the feeling that she and Rainbow might be sent to Earth, or one of the other inhabited planets, are part of their training. If Rainbow wanted to slack off and stick to reading her books, instead of learning about the other worlds, then Applejack guessed that it was her choice and that only their father, their mother, or their father's attendant could get her to change. She was even sure that if Shin asked Rainbow to make a slight change to her study habits, maybe add half an hour or something, she might do it because he was so nice.
In the end Applejack turned her mind back to the notes that were sitting in front of her and focused on them, making sure that she at least learned something before the rest of their family walked back into the temple.
The girls were able to spend maybe ten minutes on their chosen method of relaxation before something interrupted them, though that something happened to be a small blue fish, possibly some type of eel, that sat in a small spherical fish bowl, which happened to be attached to a small scepter of sorts. The girls knew that this was the Oracle Fish, a fish that lived in the temple and preferred to stay out of their father's way, though that usually changed when she had a prophecy to tell their father. Neither Rainbow or Applejack had ever heard anything along the lines of a prophecy escape the fish's mouth, but they knew that one day she'd say something that would get some sort of response from their father.
"Oh, hey young ones," the Oracle Fish said, waving one of its small fins at them as the scepter floated over to where they were sitting, "Do you have any idea where your father is? I've got a massive headache starting to cause havoc on my head... which means that he'll want to hear this prophecy as soon as he possibly can."
Applejack wondered why the Oracle Fish was only appearing now if it was having such a headache, instead of earlier that morning before they departed for Planet Vegeta. She looked over at Rainbow for a moment and found that her sister's attention had been grabbed by the mention of a prophecy, which meant that she was excited to hear what it could be. Applejack then let out a sigh and closed her notes, resolving to come back to them when she had the chance to do so as she pulled herself into a standing position.
"He should be outside talking with mom, Whis, and Shin," Applejack said, beckoning for the fish to follow her as Rainbow walked over to her side, though she couldn't fault her sister for being excited about this, "Come on, we'll take you to him."
With that said Applejack and Rainbow retraced their steps to the temple's entrance and walked back outside, though this time they headed back towards the lake with the Oracle Fish following close behind them. It didn't take them long to find their father and the others, as they were merely talking under the shaded area they had built when the girls had first found themselves on the planet. It was kept where it had been built in case they were needed it for something else, though today its function appeared to be shade from the sunlight. Applejack noticed that they appeared to be discussing something, no doubt important because of their father's position as the God of Destruction for Universe Seven, but she could only hope that the Oracle Fish had something interesting to say.
Whis was the first one to notice that they were coming and immediately silenced whatever the group was talking about, though it appeared that they were all surprised to see the girls outside the temple, especially so soon after they had returned home.
"Is something wrong?" Whis asked, though he noticed that the Oracle Fish was following them and knew that it must have seen something for it to be outside the temple.
"The Oracle Fish said that she's got one massive headache and that our father needed to hear what she had to say," Applejack replied, moving out of the way so the scepter could move forward.
"Oh, the Oracle Fish actually has a prophecy for me?" Beerus asked, somewhat surprised that such a thing was happening now, so soon after they had returned to his planet, but he regained himself and nodded his head, "Go ahead Oracle Fish, I am quite eager to hear what you have to tell me."
"In thirty-nine years an arch-rival, one worthy of your power, will appear," the Oracle Fish replied, though as it spoke it seemed to get better, as a small smile appeared on its face, "I cannot tell you too much about him or her, as the person was shielded from even my eyes, but I can tell you that it will be a fight to remember... for the both of you anyway."
"Is that so?" Beerus stated, though there was a look of joy in his eyes, as if the possibility of a warrior worthy of his skill excited him, "Well then, I guess we had better start making preparations."
"Preparations for what?" Applejack asked, though both she and Rainbow were definitely excited about the possibility of seeing their father fight someone that could truly excite him.
"When the Oracle Fish mentions a prophecy, something along the lines of this one, Lord Beerus must always go to sleep," Whis replied, causing the girls to turn to their father in surprise, who merely rubbed the back of his head for a moment, "unfortunately that will present us with... an unusual problem; what to do with you and Rainbow. What happens when the God of Destruction goes to sleep is that the duties of the Kais and myself are doubled, thus limiting our time to do anything in terms of training or teaching."
"So our father has to go to sleep thanks to this prophecy," Rainbow said, though she had to resist the urge to bring her hand to her face in annoyance, "which means that you'll be busy... doing whatever your duties are... while mom is busy making sure that Time flows smoothly and Shin does his duties as a Supreme Kai. That's just perfect."
"Why not just put us in a state of sleep that's like our father's?" Applejack asked, causing the group to turn towards her, "What? Mom is the Supreme Kai of Time, so wouldn't it be possible to create some sort of dream like state that mimic's our father's and have us awaken close to the same time that he does?"
"Its possible, but that would put the two of you out of time," Chronoa commented, though she was surprised that Applejack came up with an idea that actually mimicked her own idea on the matter, "but what about your friend, Prince Vegeta? He'll be devastated when neither of you show up the next time he returns from his mission."
"He's apparently going to be busy for the next year or two," Rainbow replied, crossing her arms for a moment, remembering what their friend had told them before they left his planet, "so we basically have little choice in the matter. I guess its either sleep... or try and find someone to watch over us until dad wakes back up."
Chronoa had to wonder if the girls even knew what they were asking her to do by using her powers on them, because if she put them to sleep they wouldn't wake up until the time she set for an alarm. If she did put them in an enchanted sleep they wouldn't even be aware of how much time had passed, so if she put them asleep tonight they would remain in a suspended state, never aging until the alarm went off and woke them up. They wouldn't even be aware of the passing of time until someone told them what year it was, but even if the girls were willing to go through with the enchanted sleep, and lose years that they would never be able to get back, it still hurt her to even think about doing something like that to them.
During the brief conversation they had, before the Oracle Fish had mentioned her prophecy, all four of them had agreed that anything they did, in order to allow Rainbow and Applejack to go on their own adventure without any of them hanging over their heads, was going to hurt no matter what. They had all grown to care for the girls and wanted them to lead their own lives without having someone hanging over their heads once they were older, but now it seemed like the girls wanted nothing more than to make the first major decision of their lives... and it seemed like they both wanted to sleep through the years like their father.
It was odd to see that the girls were mimicking their father, in terms of destructive nature and the desire to sleep, but in the end Chronoa guessed that it was up to Beerus to make the decision.
"If that is what you girls want," Beerus commented, though there was a hint of sadness to his voice, as if he thought that they should go out and live their lives instead of sleeping like him, "but I have one condition if you really want to go through with this."
"And that would be?" Applejack asked, though she sensed that there was something that she and Rainbow were missing, something that could change the decision they were about to make, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
"Allow us to put you into the enchanted sleep first," Beerus said, holding up a finger to stop either of the girls for saying anything, "I just want to be sure that the two of you adapt to Chronoa's powers when you go to sleep."
What he meant was that he and the others would want to make sure that they were fast asleep once Chronoa used her powers on them, so they could set the alarm for a different time. It hurt him to even think about all of the memories that he would never be able to share with them, because he would have to pretend to be 'asleep' while they were having their own adventure. The thing about the prophecies that the Oracle Fish told him was that he did have to sleep, that part was true, but no one ever said that he would have to spend the whole thirty-nine years sleeping. He could easily awaken at a different point in time and watch his girls mature on their own... until the time came for him to actually 'wake' up and find out who the Oracle Fish was referring to.
He was sure that Chronoa had a specific time for the girls to awaken at, and a certain planet in the universe for them to reside on, but it never hurt to make sure everything went smoothly for his daughters.
"Is that all?" Rainbow asked, a grin appearing on her face, as if she was expecting some grand adventure once she and Applejack were awake again, "Count me in."
Applejack, on the other hand, merely let out a sigh and nodded her agreement to the decision, because at this point it was either fight her sister or go with it... and she wasn't in the mood to argue with Rainbow.
With the decision made Whis and Shin cancelled all of the lessons they hadn't gotten to yet, saying that they would postpone them until a later date, and Beerus had the evening meal brought out a little earlier than normal. The six of them shared what was going to be their last family meal for some time, though during the course of the meal Beerus and the girls swapped ideas on who his arch-rival was going to be. They all suspected that it was going to be a great warrior that did some mighty deeds during his or her life, but without any specifics there actually wasn't much for them to talk about. When they finished the meal the group retired to the living area for about an hour, spending the time together just talking and cracking some jokes, before nighttime was upon them.
Once it was close to the girls' actual bedtime the group left the living area and headed to the two bedrooms, where Chronoa would work her powers and make sure that they were kept in some sort of stasis until it was time for them to wake up. During their short walk Applejack asked if the process was going to hurt at all, but Chronoa told them that they wouldn't feel any sort of pain at all while she worked... though she didn't mention that the process was going to hurt for her and the others. When they reached their destination Chronoa had the girls lay down on their respective beds before she worked her powers on them, though she held back her tears for the moment.
"See you in... thirty-nine years... dad..." Rainbow said, though it was clear that Chronoa's abilities were already working on her, because in a matter of seconds she fast asleep.
"See you then Rainbow," Beerus said, leaning down and gently running his hand through her hair while Chronoa moved to repeat the process with Applejack, "Have a good nights sleep."
Applejack also fell asleep in seconds, though before they put her under they had her move her hat to her chest, just like when she and first arrived on Beerus' world. Once she was fast asleep Beerus wished her a good nights sleep as well while running his hand through her hair for a few seconds, before eventually pulling himself onto his feet and heading outside the room.
"I take it you have someone that can watch over them until their alarm goes off?" Beerus asked, looking at Chronoa for a moment, though he knew that all four of them were keeping themselves together at the moment.
"Yes, though he is currently living on Planet Earth at the moment," Chronoa replied, wiping a stray tear from her eye, "I'll contact him tomorrow and see if he's willing to watch over them until the alarm wakes them up... though either way we'll want to move the girls before the time I set."
"I'll leave that to you," Beerus said, bowing his head a little, as a sign of respect for the Kais that he had become friends with over the last few years, "I'm going to head to my chambers and go to sleep as well... though I would appreciate it if someone would wake me up before the girls' alarm went off."
"Don't worry Lord Beerus, I'll be sure to do so," Whis commented, nodding his head to the Kais as well, "See you two in however many years it takes for the alarms to go off."
Chronoa nodded and watched the God of Destruction retire to his chambers, knowing that a storm of emotions had to be raging inside his body at the moment, though she also knew that they were all feeling some form of sadness at the moment. She cast one look back at the two bedrooms and silently wondered if the girls had made the right decision in mimicking their father, but in the end she let out a sigh and left the temple with Shin following her. There would be time to lament everything that she and the others wouldn't be able to share with the girls, but first she had to make sure that her contact was willing to watch after them until the alarms went off before she even thought about moving them to Earth.
As she walked out of the temple she silently wished Rainbow and Applejack luck on whatever adventures they had before they met back up with their father, because she was sure that they were going to have the ride of their lives.