//------------------------------//
// Interlude: Assassins 
// Story: Dragon Ball Super: Fate of the Multiverse 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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By the time the first day was over, and the displaced had returned to Twilight's castle so they could get some food, socialize with each other, and get some well deserved sleep, Sunset had to say that she was both impressed and pleased with the progress that her warriors had made. There weren't any revelations or unexpected powers that just happened to be unlocked by the other displaced, not like what happened when she fought all thirteen of them at the same time, but they were quickly picking up on how to fight against multiple foes and working as a team. That part was critical for their survival against the other seven universes that wanted them and Universe 7 eliminated, though the news that they had struck an alliance with Beerus and his team pleased many of the displaced, since since meant they could focus on the other fighters and not worry about what Goku and his team were doing. Rainbow and Applejack, of course, were overjoyed to be working alongside their friends once more, more specifically Goku and Vegeta, though at the same time they were curious as to the rest of the team members were, once they had been picked anyway, which would be either before they headed out for the World of Void or when they arrived at the fighting stage.

Part of that question had been answered by Whis, who contacted them later that day to see how they were doing, even though he wasn't surprised to hear that Sunset already had her ten warriors chosen for the tournament, and revealed that Gohan, despite his lack of training recently, was going to be the team leader, meaning that he was in charge of whatever plan he and a select number of the team would follow, since Goku and Vegeta likely wouldn't do that anyway. That brought up an interesting question to the ten warriors that were representing Universe 13, which of them would stand as their team leader for the tournament, and Sunset wasn't surprised to find that twelve of the displaced she had fought were nominating Sombra to be their leader. She came to the conclusion that it made sense, considering he was the one that had come up with the plan that had allowed him and the rest of the displaced to beat her during their battle, and Sombra accepted the position with ease, though it also made sense for him to be the leader since he was the King of Hueco Mundo and the former King of Darkness. Sombra was, by his own past and knowledge, the perfect candidate for the position and even Celestia agreed with the idea, showing that she had faith in the reformed king's abilities to lead their team to victory, though it also meant that he needed to know more about their allies before they headed to the World of Void and started fighting.

Rainbow and Applejack shared everything they knew about the powers and abilities of the potential warriors that might be on Universe 7's team, starting with Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan, the three strong Saiyans that lived on Universe 7's version of Earth, before moving onto the other beings that might be chosen. From what they knew the other fighters had to be chosen from Majin Buu, Piccolo, Krillin, Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, Androids 17 and 18, and Frieza, showing that their allies might be in the same position they had been in, wondering who to leave behind and who to take to the fighting stage. Of course Sombra wasn't the only one getting a crash course in the powers and abilities of the Universe 7 team, as the rest of their team took notes, in a sense, of what each warrior did and what they should expect from them when the tournament started, that way they could follow whatever plan Sombra created, or adapt to the situation if he wanted one of them to change enemies. Rainbow and Applejack were sure that Gohan would be thinking of staying in the middle of the fighting stage at first, to conserve their energy while letting the other universes go at each other once it started, and Sombra nodded his head in agreement, as it sounded like a decent plan, before determining that they would have to move and separate at some point anyway, as remaining in the same place for long would only entice the other universes to come at them and they couldn't afford that at the beginning of the tournament.

Sunset, however, watched them work out the beginnings of their own plan, working like an actual team and not a bunch of warriors that were stuck fighting together, and had to smile for a few seconds, as it appeared that they had a good chance of survival with Sombra leading the way.

When morning arrived the displaced met it as best they could, as in they got out of the beds that they had slept in the previous night, all in the castle since Twilight didn't want the Crusaders or anyone else to learn about the tournament that they were competing in, and had breakfast. While they were doing that Applejack and Rarity headed out for a few minutes, as they had to tell their younger siblings that they would be busy all day and that they'd be back soon enough, which wasn't exactly a lie since all of them would be busy preparing for the tournament and would be back the moment the battle royal was over. Applejack, of course, didn't like the fact that she was keeping the information about the tournament a secret from her own family, who likely suspected that she wasn't telling them everything, but for right now they seemed to be happy with the news that they had been given and weren't bothering her all that much, while Rarity found that Sweetie Belle was upset that her sister would be gone for a while, even though she accepted the fact that they would be reunited once her work was complete. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would no doubt share this news with Scootaloo and Gale Wind, the other two Crusaders that called Ponyville their home, and they would be sad to hear that Rainbow and the others would be gone, but for now it was best they didn't know about the tournament.

What Sunset wasn't expecting that morning, and neither were Celestia and Twilight, was the sudden call from Whis, as they all expected that he'd be done contacting them before the tournament started, but at the same time they stopped what they were doing, as this might be an important message from Beerus, about their alliance.

"Whis, this is a surprise." Celestia said, showing that they hadn't been expecting any further contact with Universe 7 until the tournament started, though at the same time she could see that there was a reason behind this call, meaning that something important must have happened since his call the previous night, "What can we do for you?"

"Goku's out recruiting the last team member for our team, and Vegeta has a slight request." Whis replied, revealing that there wasn't anything serious behind his call, rather it seemed like Rainbow and Applejack's closest friend in Universe 7 might want them for something before they went to the World of Void, "He wanted me to ask if it's okay if he called both Rainbow and Applejack back to Bulma's place for a while, as she gave birth to her second child yesterday and, since they were busy training, I held off on mentioning it until now."

"He wants them to know that there's another reason for them to make sure our shared wish is the one that comes out on top, and not the wish of another universes." Sunset commented, as she understood what Whis was saying, though she was a little surprised that they hadn't been told this yesterday, before she nodded her head when she noticed that both of the girls Vegeta was asking for seemed excited about what they were hearing, "Rainbow and Applejack would be more than happy to spend some time with their friends, meet Vegeta's new child, and meet the chosen warriors for your universe, if they're there when they get there."

"Vegeta will be happy to hear that." Whis replied, though he was happy to see that Sunset was quick at determining the secondary reason behind why Vegeta wanted his closest friends here for a while, before he heard a sound as Shin disappeared from the room they were waiting in, "It looks like Shin is using his Kai Kai ability, so he should be there in a few minutes to pick up the girls, though I'm sure they'll be in Universe 7 for a time, talking to their friends and family while meeting the newest member of Vegeta's family. We'll be sure to get them back to you before the tournament starts, provided we can convince Beerus to let them leave after he spends some time with them again."

Sunset nodded her head and the connection was terminated, though at the same time she knew she didn't have to explain anything to the rest of the displaced, as by now they knew that Rainbow and Applejack had been friends with most of Universe 7's warriors, so the others said nothing about it as they went back to their conversations, going over any ideas they might have for when the tournament started. Sure enough Shin appeared outside the castle a few minutes later, just like Whis had said he would, and both Rainbow and Applejack bid their fellow teammates farewell for now, as they headed outside, joined hands with Shin, and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. She knew that it would be some time before the girls returned, since Beerus was going to want to hang with them like old times, and that was including the reason they had gone to Universe 7 in the first place, but at the very least the rest of the displaced could spend the rest of their day either relaxing or making their final preparations for the tournament.





Thanks to Shin using his Kai Kai ability, which allowed him to move across his universe in a matter of seconds and could be used to quickly get into another universe, by appearing outside Zeno's palace for a second and then disappearing again, it wasn't long before Rainbow and Applejack found themselves standing outside a familiar domed building. This particular building, which had a curved balcony that they happened to be standing on, was the home of Bulma Brief, a brilliant scientist in her own right and the wife of Vegeta, along with her parents, Dr. Brief and Panchy, and her son Trunks, even though that now included her newest child. On the balcony rested a number of tables, where the members of the Universe 7 team would likely be gathering at some point in time, and a moveable board that had the pictures of the current members that Goku had been able to recruit for their team. They found that the team, not counting Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta, included Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, Master Roshi, and both Androids 17 and 18, while there happened to be a missing spot for the final member, meaning something must have happened to Buu since the Zen Exhibition Match, hence the reason that Goku seemed to be absent at the moment.

As they let go of Shin's shoulders, as that what they had been holding onto while he used his teleportation ability, the girls found Whis standing near one of the tables, where they discovered Bulma, who was dressed up in a pink dress and happened to be carrying a bundle in her arms, sitting in one of the chairs near where they had arrived. Vegeta was standing nearby with a smile on his face, showing that he was happy to have another child, especially since it gave him more to fight for in the tournament and that it also gave Trunks a younger sibling, before he glanced over to where Shin was standing and walked over to where they were standing.

"Rainbow, Applejack, I'm glad the two of you decided to come after all." Vegeta said, though at the same time he bumped his fist with Rainbow's and gave Applejack a high five, showing that he was happy to see them again, despite the fact that their universes were in danger of being erased, "How have things been for the two of you?"

"Good, all things considered." Rainbow replied, where Applejack nodded her head in agreement, before she glanced at the area that they were in and found that a pair of individuals were missing, as there was another reason they had come here in the first place, "So, Whis told us that you guys were having another kid and that you wanted us to come by for a visit, before the big tournament started, and we're interested in meeting the newest member of your family."

"Girls, allow me to introduce Bulla Eschalot Brief," Bulma said, as she knew that Rainbow and Applejack would have come by at some point to see the newest member of their family, though as the girls came over to where she was sitting she showed them her sleeping daughter, despite the fact that all they could see was her onion-shaped head and the few strands of blue hair on top of her head.

"That's an interesting name," Applejack replied, though from what she could tell part of Bulla's name reflected her Earthling heritage while her middle name reflected her Saiyan heritage, which only made her curious as to what sort of power she would have in the future, when she was older and Vegeta helped her control her power.

"I was more than willing to let her have an Earthling name, but Bulma insisted on making sure that Bulla had both an Earthling and a Saiyan name," Vegeta stated, where he smiled as he came to a stop beside Bulma, as he glanced down at his sleeping daughter and knew that he had one more reason for them to win the tournament, as most of their team had to know about the consequences at this point, "hence the reason Eschalot is her middle name."

"I should get her back to bed, before something wakes her up," Bulma said, to which she carefully got up from her seat and smiled at the trio that was standing near her, as she was happy to see that Vegeta's friends had come by for a brief visit, mostly to see her new child, before she headed into the house.

"It seems that you guys might be having problems finding the last warrior for your team," Applejack said, turning her attention back to the board that was nearby, or more accurately the missing spot that wasn't filled at the moment, and noticed that Rainbow had noticed it as well, while Vegeta simply stared at it for a second, "did something happen to Buu after the Zen Exhibition Match?"

"Yeah, he fell asleep after completing the training that Mr. Satan had for him," Vegeta replied, though while he was a little annoyed that Buu had fallen asleep and wouldn't wake up for about two months, at the worst possible moment for their team, there was one thing that prevented this from going sideways, "however, that doesn't mean we're having trouble figuring out who should be the tenth member of our team. Kararot should be in North City right now, taking to Frieza about the Tournament of Power and what will happen to our universe if we don't show up with the necessary number of warriors, or what the consequences of us losing are."

Rainbow and Applejack knew that when Vegeta said the name 'Kakarot' he was actually referring to Goku, as that was his Saiyan name, which he had forgotten sometime after he landed on Earth as a baby, a name that he let Vegeta call him by, to honor his Saiyan heritage. At the same time they knew that the idea of working with Frieza, the former tyrant that had obliterated the planet that the Saiyans lived on and wiped out the majority of their race, wasn't a hard one for Vegeta to stomach, as the former tyrant wasn't evil anymore and his empire worked to root out evil tyrants that wanted to fill the void that he had left behind, keeping the universe safe for everyone. Shortly after his resurrection, since Frieza had been killed once in the past and had been brought back to life by one of his subordinates, he built a base near North City, so that his soldiers could help the Z Warriors out and, if necessary, call him in as backup. There were rare instances where Frieza was actually at his base, no doubt checking up on the soldiers that he had stationed there, so the fact that Goku had headed off in that direction meant that he must be in the middle of talking to the former tyrant, because they didn't feel any vibrations in the air that would indicate that a battle was taking place between them.

"Frieza would be a good replacement for Buu." Rainbow stated, as she had seen the former tyrant's power in action a few times in the past, and had been one of his victims before being resurrected by Earth's Dragon Balls, so she knew that he was a good fit for the problem that Goku and the others were facing.

"We thought the same thing, so we sent Goku to recruit him as our tenth warrior." a voice said, one that caused both Rainbow and Applejack to stop moving for a moment, as it was one they recognized quite well and had reacted to several times in the past, including during one of Bulma's birthday parties, before they turned around and found their father standing behind them, along with their mother, before Beerus held his arms out to the side, "Come here you two!"

Rainbow and Applejack smiled as they not only embraced their father, but their mother as well, because Chronoa waited a few seconds for them to step forward before wrapping her arms around all three of them, causing Vegeta's smile to widen as he looked at the happy family in front of him.

"Mom, dad, it's good to see the two of you again." Applejack replied, where she and Rainbow pulled away from their mother and father, where they noticed that their godly parents did the same thing, along with the fact that neither of them were worried at the moment, like they were putting the tournament at the back of their minds for now, "You know, since we didn't have a chance to speak to each other after the Zen Exhibition Match, especially since Rainbow wasn't there to see what was going on for herself."

"It's better this way, so Lord Zeno didn't get annoyed with any family reunions," Chronoa stated, though at the same time she smiled, because despite the dire situation that they had found themselves and their universes in, where either of them could be erased if their warriors lost the tournament, she was happy to see her daughters again, and she could tell that this little meeting was enough to make Beerus smile as well, "from what I understand he's easily annoyed by anything and everything that might ruin whatever fun he's having, so having a little reunion here, instead of in Lord Zeno's palace, is better for everyone. Besides, Chi Chi and I are planning a big early dinner for the warriors, before the tournament starts, and figured that we might as well invite the two of you to join them, so you can dine with friends and family before heading back to Universe 13 and joining your team once more."

"We're just waiting for Goku and the others to start arriving before they start cooking," Beerus added, as he knew that Chronoa had drastically improved her cooking skills after becoming the mother of Rainbow and Applejack, when they were much younger, and instead of her food being inedible or disgusting, like it had been before their arrival, her food was some of the best he had ever tasted, and that included her deserts, "though it should have only taken Goku a few minutes to find Frieza and tell him about the tournament, and he's been gone for at least thirty minutes now. I'm starting to wonder if he's engaged the emperor in a mock battle or if he's patiently waiting for his turn to speak with him, but I would have thought he would have come back here to tell us what was taking so long."

"Then why don't we head to Frieza's base near North City and see what he's doing?" Rainbow asked, because at the rate things were going Universe 7 might be eliminated before the tournament even started, since it appeared that none of their warriors, save for Vegeta, were present at the moment, and she could see that Applejack agreed with her, "We can zip up to his base, see what's going on for ourselves, and be back down here in maybe an hour, maybe an hour and a half if something holds us up."

Beerus knew that it would have been easy to use Shin's Kai Kai ability to get there quickly, instead of flying towards North City the hard way, but at the same time his counterpart god was currently arguing with the Old Kai inside one of the rooms inside Capsule Corp, the building that they were standing on the balcony of at the moment. Oddly enough the Old Kai refused to believe that he had changed ever since Rainbow and Applejack came into his life, preferring to see the old version of him that he had buried deep inside himself and forgot about, though despite the fact that he had apologized for his past actions the Old Kai refused to accept them, causing him to stop trying some time ago. He had to admit that he was annoyed by that fact, since he tried to get the Old Kai to forget the past, but instead of raging, like the old him would have done, he had sighed and accepted the reality of the situation, that the Old Kai wouldn't change at all, and continued to live his life, allowing him to return to the conversation that they had been having. He wasn't worried about either of his daughters, especially since both of them were powerful and could handle themselves against anyone that might hinder their progress, making it easy for him to come to a decision, one that Chronoa had come to as well, as she glanced at him for a moment and he could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

"Very well then, you two can go see what's keeping Goku from returning." Beerus said, where he noticed that both Rainbow and Applejack were eager to get underway, especially since they were getting ever closer to the fighting stage being completed, which would be followed by the start of the tournament when the universes started arriving in the World of Void, "But once you figure out what's going on, and get him to come back when he's done with Frieza, I want the two of you to come back so we can spend some time together, before we send you back to Sunset."

Rainbow and Applejack nodded their heads as they floated up into the air, where they angled themselves in the direction of North City, as they could tell where Goku's ki was coming from, before heading off towards their destination, leaving their parents behind to prepare for the arrival of the other members of their team. It had been quite some time since they had been on this version of Earth, a place they had lived on for some time after their mother entrusted them to a being called Mr. Popo, who was an incredibly dangerous fighter that preferred to be passive and watch events unfold from the Lookout, where Kami watched over this planet. It was on the Lookout where the two of them spelt in what could be considered an enchanted sleep, as their mother wove her power of time over them when their father went into one of his long periods of rest and locked them in the same state, allowing them to sleep for a number of years without aging or even being aware of time passing at all, only to awaken a day or two before Vegeta arrived on Earth. Of course Vegeta came with one of the last remaining Saiyans, Nappa, who the dead Saiyans in the Other World referred to as 'He Who Must Not Be Named', on account of the fact that the bald Saiyan had sold out his race and orchestrated the destruction of his home planet, killing the majority of his race in the process... earning both the wrath of Vegeta, once the truth had become known, and the ire of his entire race, hence why he was imprisoned in Hell and watched over by the guardians of the Other World.

What had been interesting was that their friendship with Vegeta, when his home planet was alive, had convinced both his father and the rest of his race to become a force of justice, leaving Nappa as the odd one out, and for their deeds they had been given a place in the Other World for their warriors to live in, a place they called Asgard, where Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and the remaining Saiyans would eventually end up in if they continued being heroes.

They shook those thoughts from their minds as they continued flying through the air, where they thought about what the other warriors on the Universe 7 team had been doing since the last time they had seen them, as they knew that Krillin had married Android 18 some time ago and had a little girl called Marron. From what they remembered Android 18 didn't have a job and usually got her money from the large tournaments that she participated in, as she had gotten some from Mr. Satan for their fight during one of the World Martial Arts Tournaments, the one that happened when Majin Buu had been awakened from his slumber, while Krillin, if memory served, was a police officer that used his warrior based instincts to help him make arrests and knock robbers out if they fought back. Android 17, on the other hand, had gone off and become a ranger, protecting the wildlife in some part of the world and dealt with poachers that wanted to kill those very animals for whatever special item they had, be it their horns, their hooves, or even their pelts. Tien, based on what they knew, had longed to build his own school and might have done that since they had last saw him, while Piccolo likely stayed out in the wilderness and trained on his own, despite the fact that he had company in his mind, since he had merged with two other Namekians to get a power boost in the past.

Goku and Vegeta, of course, were warriors at heart and wouldn't settle down with a simple job, even though Chi Chi had convinced Goku to take up a farming job and got some decent money from it, but they both continued their training in their own ways, while Gohan was attempting to become a professor, even though it appeared that he was near Piccolo, to get back his previous level of power, before the tournament actually started.

The two of them stopped thinking about the others for a moment as they came upon North City, one of the five large metropolis cities that rested over the entirety of this Earth, which was surrounded by forests, mountains, and even had some decent beaches that were near the city. It was in the mountains that rested around the city that Dr. Gero, a scientist that worked for the Red Ribbon Army, created the numerous amount of Androids so he could destroy Goku, who was the reason behind the army falling apart like they had, and in the end Androids 17 and 18 had turned against him, killing him before declaring that they weren't foolish enough to fight someone of Rainbow's power. Dr. Gero was also responsible for the creation of the Bio-Android known as Cell, a being that had the cells of a number of powerful warriors, but when the evil scientist discovered Rainbow and Applejack's cells he created a second Bio-Android, a little pony girl like the two of them had had become their younger sister, a girl called Gale Wind. Of course that wasn't the end of it, as two warriors from the future came to help them stop the future Cell, as the present one had been trapped in a tube and wasn't going anywhere, which had been destroyed along with Dr. Gero's secret lab, and in the end Future Trunks and Future Gale went back to the period that Future Trunks came from, which was after Cell's death.

Dr. Gero wasn't the only other villain that called this place home, as Frieza, after his resurrection, had fought both Goku and Vegeta on another planet, but after that he started building a new base near North City, on a cliff that gave his forces a good view of the city and allowed them to keep an eye out for foes that might attack this planet... and it wasn't long before they turned towards the base that was resting off in the distance, which was where both Goku and Frieza's ki signatures were coming from.

As they descended towards the base, however, they discovered a number of humanoid beings that were in the process of either landing on the special landing pads that had been installed near the base or were leaving for one of the other bases that Frieza commanded. Each of the soldiers that they noticed had a special suit of armor on, one that showed people that they were part of the emperor's army and not to be underestimated, and only the Captains, of which there were two last they checked, had different armor that the rest of the soldiers, as they were allowed to modify their armor however they desired, or they could leave it alone. The two Captains they knew about were Shisami and Tagoma, but from the ki that was in the area around them they could tell that neither of them were present, meaning they were out in space somewhere, no doubt fighting the other evils that plagued their universe. What was interesting was that the moment they landed outside the base, and came to a stop for a moment, they felt the air next to them shake for a second before Goku, with two of his fingers resting against his forehead, appeared next to them, using his Instant Transmission technique, which was similar to Shin's Kai Kai technique in some ways.

"Rainbow?! Applejack?! What are you two doing here?" Goku asked, as he had been trying to lock onto Frieza's ki when he was using his Instant Transmission, though he realized he must have accidentally locked onto them when they got close to his target, as he had used them as points for his technique in the past.

"Vegeta invited us to see Bulla," Rainbow replied, as that was the main reason they had come to Universe 7, when they could be spending their time making plans with Sombra and the others, but for right now she was sure that the rest of the displaced could manage without them, before she returned to the reason they came here, "Anyway, we came here, to Frieza's base, because our dad was getting worried about you, as he felt that you were taking too long convincing the emperor to join your team... though it looks like you haven't said anything to him yet."

"I, ugh, got caught up doing something else," Goku admitted, because he had been sidetracked by some people that he had seen while he was flying this way, though after dealing with them he realized he could have just used his Instant Transmission and did so without delay, hence the reason he had appeared so suddenly like he did, before he glanced at the base that was in front of them, "So, since you're both here already, why don't we all announce our presence to Frieza and tell him about the Tournament of Power, including the fact that we need him for our team, since we're missing a tenth warrior at the moment."

"I don't think we'll have to go inside the base at all," Applejack said, as she appeared to be the only one that was focusing on the front door that was in front of them, one that was currently in the process of opening, and that action had the soldiers around them snapping to attention and pausing what they were doing, "It appears that our host is coming outside to meet us."

The three of them turned towards the front door as it finished opening, allowing them to watch as a being that was slightly shorter than Vegeta walked out of the base, though the being's sleek white body, without any horns or spikes on it, made many think he wasn't a threat, when in fact he was one of the most dangerous beings in the entire universe. The only parts of his body that were a different color were the purple colored sections on his head, his shoulders, on both of his forearms, and his shins, and he had a white tail that moved with his body, something that he would use in combat if he really wanted to, despite the fact that he stopped doing that a long time ago. This was Frieza, once known as the most evil tyrant in the entire universe, but after being defeated on Namek, by both Goku and Vegeta after they became Super Saiyans for the first time, being killed on Earth by Future Trunks, when he came to warn them about the Androids, and having his existence threatened by Beerus, since Frieza had killed Rainbow back on Namek, he had turned over a new leaf and was known as the emperor, in a good way. The years he spent in Hell, thinking about his actions and Beerus' threat, had changed him for the better and the trio could see it as the former tyrant smiled at his soldiers and told them to continue with what they were doing, while at the same time telling them that he was pleased with their work, something that the old him would never have done.

As the soldiers started returning to what they had been doing earlier, be it working on the area around the base or on the small spaceships that they used to travel between their mobile command center, the much larger ships that could travel from planet to planet, and whatever planet they were stationed on, Frieza turned his head towards the three of them and kept the smile on his face as he came to a stop, all while Goku took a step forward.

"Ah, Son Goku, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, what a pleasant surprise." Frieza said, because it had been some time since he had been approached by any of the Z Warriors, as some of them had kept an eye on him to be sure that he wasn't trying to trick them, but then left him to his business, and the last time he saw Beerus' daughters was when they joined forces to help Future Trunks and Future Gale defeat a threat in the future, before he struck Goku in the stomach with his left fist, "Oops, sorry about that, my hand slipped."

"Oh well, it can't be helped." Goku replied, though at the same time neither Rainbow or Applejack made a move to stop what was happening before their eyes, since they knew what was going on, and the soldiers that were around them seemed to have the same idea, as they went about their business, which was when Goku delivered a similar weak punch right into Frieza's stomach with his left fist, "My bad, my hand slipped as well."

This was the 'gut punch greeting' that Frieza had with both Goku and Vegeta, as he had done it shortly before they started their fight after his resurrection and continued to do it every time they encountered each other, though it was just a very low powered punch and nothing more, so no damage was done to anyone involved in the greeting.

"Now that the greeting is out of the way, let's move onto something else." Frieza said, where both he and Goku pulled their arms back, withdrawing their fists from the other's stomach, before he walked over to one of the sitting areas that his soldiers usually used when they were on break, mostly because he wanted to be outside for a short while, where they sat down on some of the seats, "It's not every day that I get a visit from Son Goku, much less both of Beerus' daughters, which means that something has happened recently and you need my help."

Goku nodded his head and explained the situation that they found themselves in, where he went over what happened during the Zen Exhibition Match, the announcement of the Tournament of Power and the rules that they would have to follow while they were fighting the other universes, the fact that four universes were being exempt from entering, and the alliance that Beerus had struck with Sunset. Frieza seemed interested in the idea of fighting other universes, which was boosted by the fact that they would be erased if they lost, before nodding his head in agreement with the wish that both Beerus and Sunset wanted the Super Dragon Balls to grant, as erasing eight of the thirteen universes was extreme, even for someone like him. He also wasn't surprised when he discovered that Gohan was going to be their leader, as he was one of the smartest fighters in Universe 7, though what did surprise him, and interested him as well, was the fact that he would be able to see the other eight warriors for Universe 13, as the only ones he knew were Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie, not counting the gods anyway. While all this happened the girls made sure that none of the soldiers came over to where they were sitting, though it appeared that such a thing was unnecessary, as the members of the Frieza Force went about their work and left them along, allowing the pair to talk in peace, without alarming anyone to the potential erasure of their entire universe.

In the end, when Goku finished his explanation, Frieza leaned back a little and raised his hand to his chin, showing that he was thinking about everything he had just been told, and the girls couldn't blame him for taking some time to do this, as they were asking him to fill the tenth and final position for Universe 7's team.

"I will admit that this is a lot to take in," Frieza finally said, as he could already imagine the fights that his universe's team and Universe 13's team would be in if they had been forced against each other, only it ended with him and the others being knocked out, because if Rainbow and Applejack were this strong, and Pinkie was somewhere near their level, he knew the other seven had to be just as strong as Pinkie was, "especially with the fate of the universes on the line. From what you've told me it seems that Majin Buu was originally going to be the tenth warrior, not that I can blame you since his power is terrifying in his own right, but now it appears that he's fallen asleep and won't be up for some time, meaning that you need a final warrior, hence the reason you're telling me this."

"Pretty much." Goku stated, though while he expected Frieza to be upset about not being thought about as a prime warrior for their universe, despite the fact they had considered him for a few moments, it seemed like the emperor knew that the others might have a problem with him and wasn't annoyed, but at the same time they needed him and he hoped the rest of his team understood why he was asking Frieza to join them.

Frieza opened his mouth to say something, though before he could actually say anything there was an explosion in the air near his base, to which he and the others snapped their heads towards the area that it had come from, where they watched as one of the smaller spaceships, ruined beyond repair, fell out of the sky and crashed into the water that was below where they were stationed. In the air above them the group discovered a large number of short beings that were dressed up in black pants, black jackets with red markings lining the bottom, cowls that covered their faces, black shoes, and what seemed to be metal gloves on their hands, pretty much preventing them from determining their identities. The only being that wasn't wearing that uniform was someone that looked like an anthropomorphic bulldog, who happened to be wearing a purple and yellow lined hat with three white rounded parts on top, purple and yellow lined armbands, a purple and yellow lined belt, baggy white pants, and grey shoes. Applejack's estimate was that there were anywhere from fifty to a hundred enemies floating in the air above them, as smoke was coming from one of the minions' hands, indicating that they had attacked the smaller spaceship and killed whoever was inside it, though the thought of losing someone caused all four of them to get up and approach the edge of the area that the base was on.

None of them were happy with what just happened, and the soldiers of the Frieza Force weren't happy to lose one of their friends in such a way either, but Frieza kept them stalled for now, as he wanted to know what was going on before he commanded them to take out the enemies that had come to their base.

"Who are you guys?" Goku asked, though he was itching for a fight, because he always got annoyed when enemies attacked and killed people who weren't part of their battle, much like Cell did when he was waiting for the Cells Games to begin all those years ago.

"Can't say." the bulldog replied, where the group determined that his tone meant that he wasn't supposed to reveal anything about himself, his minions, or what they were doing here, though at the same time that actually spoke volumes about what they were experiencing at the moment.

"Are you trying to stop any of us from entering the Tournament of Power?" Rainbow inquired, though at the same time she wanted to turn on her aura and beat these guys up, as they had the nerve to attack one of Frieza's soldiers and actually kill whoever was in the ship, meaning that they had to be evil in some manner.

"Can't say." the bulldog answered, once more showing the same thing that he had shown them by answering their last question, meaning that they were here to do a specific job and not get sidetracked by answering questions, though at the same time Applejack came to her own conclusion on who they were.

"It seems like someone doesn't want Universe 7 to enter the tournament, as they sent assassins to kill you." Applejack said, as she had figured out why these guys were here and what they had to be, because there was only one reason that they would refuse to answer their questions, which only brought one more question to mind, "Now all we have to do is figure out who sent them and we can solve this mystery."

"You know, you're all pretty lousy assassins." Frieza stated, to which he took a few steps forward, so he was standing on the very edge of the area that his base was resting on, allowing him to stare at the enemies in front of them, while at the same time he frowned at them, "You should have waited until it was dark out, when you would have had a clear advantage over any of us, but instead you decided to attack us while there was still daylight out and wasted the single opportunity you had by attacking one of my soldiers, whose family is going to be heartbroken when I tell them the news about how they died. Allow me to show you the error of your ways!"

Rainbow, Applejack, and Goku watched as Frieza's golden aura flared to life before their eyes, showing that he was going into his final form, the Golden Frieza form that he used against Goku and Vegeta in their battle, and nearly had to shield their eyes as the light enveloped him and covered him, while the assassins had to cover their eyes as they watched what was going on. When the light died down they were able to see Frieza again, where they found that he had taken on his Golden form with ease, which actually made him slightly taller than before, gave him pronounced eye ridges, and his skin turned dark purple, though they could only see his hands, feet, and face as that color, as he had been clad in what had to be biological armor what was golden colored, while his arms and his midsection, down to his knees, were a darker gold than the rest of his body. The power of Golden Frieza was on par with Super Saiyan Blue, as it had put up quite a fight against both Goku and Vegeta when they used their new forms against him, but for now they focused on what they were going to do, since Frieza certainly didn't need their help if he was using this form against the assassins.

"Frieza Force, take care of his minions and arrest them for crimes against our universe." Frieza called out, knowing that his soldiers would be eager to take care of the bulldog's minions, and he could hear them declaring that they would follow his commands, before he focused on the foe he was going to trash, "I'll deal with the leader and take him out myself, and then we can get some real answers from them."

It became a war zone as the soldiers of the Frieza Force burst through the air and started attacking the assassins that had come to kill Goku and Frieza, where Rainbow and Applejack watched as the lousy assassins were immediately pushed back, as they loosed ki blasts at their foes and the soldiers did the same, but the soldiers continued forward, allowing them to reach their targets and engage them by swinging their fists or feet through the air. It wasn't long before the assassins were dropping like flies, the soldiers beating them out of the air and then catching them before they crashed into the water below them, only so they could land and cuff them with the special handcuffs that they carried around, in case they had to arrest someone. Frieza, on the other hand, floated through the war zone and made his way towards the bulldog that was trying to kill him and Goku, while at the same time Goku, Rainbow, and Applejack made their way around all the fighting so they could get a good view of what was going to happen next. The following attacks happened so fast that the bulldog barely had time to see them, as Frieza flashed forward and punched the assassin in the chest, causing him to cough in the process, before moving behind him and kicked him into the side of the cliff that was some distance from the base he and his forces had created.

As that happened Frieza stretched his arms for a moment, because it appeared that he really didn't need to use his Golden Form at all, but at the same time he didn't drop it just yet, as he noticed that none of the other assassins seemed terrified by their leader being knocked out... and not even a few seconds later he understood why, as he felt the familiar tingle of what was known as Energy of Destruction, something only an apprentice Destroyer or an actual Destroyer God could wield, and since Rainbow wasn't fighting he knew what was going on.

"Be sure you aim that properly." Frieza stated, to which he and the observers glanced at the bulldog, who had pried himself from the side of the cliff and had his right hand facing behind him, where he spotted a sinister dark purple orb that was what he suspected it was, causing him to turn towards his opponent, "The reason your friends still haven't given up, despite the odds they face, is because you have that Energy of Destruction with you, meaning that it's your trump card in case the assassination attempt went sour. Go ahead and throw it."

The bulldog growled for a moment before hurling the orb through the air, where Frieza moved his head to the side a little and let it fly by him, though as it circled back to hit him, however, he simply raised his left hand and pointed his thumb back at it, where he loosed a small beam and blew it up. His foe obviously felt that this was funny and raised his left hand for a moment, showing a second orb that was just like the first one, where he declared that it was the real one, only for Frieza to point his right hand towards the bulldog and hit the second orb with another blast, knocking it out of his foe's hand and sent it flying backwards, where it detonated like the first one. It was a good tactic, trying to hit him with a second attack while he was distracted by the first one, and it could have worked had the bulldog considered throwing the other orb at him, after the first one anyway, but for now he could focus on taking him out and locking him up. That was before the bulldog flexed his left hand with a smile on his face, where Frieza and the others barely had time to realize that a third orb surged up towards where Frieza was floating, coming at him from below, to which Frieza used his hands and caught the attack, one that pushed against him with a power that he had tried to avoid for some time... and made him sweat as he pushed against the power, before it expanded into a massive sphere and trapped him inside it, like it was going to tear his body apart and kill him.

"Begone from existence, Frieza!" the bulldog declared, showing that they were right in their thoughts, that he and his minions were assassins and that they had come here to kill either Goku or Frieza, or possibly both if they could manage something like that, and he laughed like a madman as the energy lashed out at his target.

"Just kidding." Frieza said, to which he stopped messing around and stood straight once more, which stopped the bulldog's laughter in it's tracks as his companions focused on him, though at the same time he stared at the sphere that he was 'trapped' inside, "Allow me to show you the true power of my Golden from."

Frieza focused his mind and braced himself, to which the group watched as he held his hands out and started to force the sphere into a smaller size, while also withdrawing himself from the sphere entirely, and even when he slipped a little, allowing the attack to increase in size once more, he regained control until it was a little orb again, where he looked at the would-be assassin with a grin on his face, just as his soldiers piled on him and arrested him.

"You may have stopped me, but your friends in Universe 13 won't be able to stop the storm that's coming their way," the bulldog shouted, though at the same time it was clear that he was trying to resist the pile of soldiers that were in the middle of arresting him and hauling him off to the area that they would be held in for some time.

"Son Goku, you might want to tell Whis about this," Frieza said, though at the same time he glanced at the orb that was in his hand, as it might be able to tell them about who sent the assassins after them, just in case the would-be assassins didn't have anything to communicate with their employer, "it seems that the second group of assassins are walking into a deathtrap."

Goku nodded his head and used his Instant Transmission to head back to Capsule Corp, though at the same time both Rainbow and Applejack knew that the assassins that went to their home universe were in trouble, as they had no idea what sort of power the other displaced had at their command.





Sunset was happy to see that the rest of the displaced were taking some time to actually relax and get their minds focused on the upcoming tournament, which was drawing ever closer as the minutes and hours went by, though at the same time they were missing two of their members. She knew that Rainbow and Applejack would be gone for an hour or two, since Beerus and Chronoa would be there when they arrived and would want them to stay there for awhile, though that didn't stop her from wondering if anything interesting was going on in Universe 7. As she thought about that, however, she noticed that Sombra was heading outside for a moment, which was fine since she didn't expect them to remain inside Twilight's castle all day and all night, and he was followed by a few of the others, mainly the Dazzlings and Chrysalis, but for the most part it seemed that they were able to just relax and ready themselves for the fight of their lives. After seeing a few of the displaced leaving the castle, and that they would be relaxing outside for some time before they came back inside, Sunset got up and stretched her arms as she headed outside as well, as she felt like leaving for a moment and would be back soon enough.

When she walked outside, however, she found the four displaced and Yoruichi standing outside the entrance of the castle, staring at the sky for a moment, which was when she looked up and found a number of short beings wearing some sort of black attire, with red lining on the jacket, and cowls that covered their faces, before noticing a tall lizard creature that was wearing a yellow and purple lined hat, belt, and armbands, while also wearing white baggy pants.

"Oh, it seems we have guests." Sunset commented, though while she noticed that there were at least fifty beings up in the air, not counting the leader, she noticed that none of them seemed happy with them, making her wonder what they were doing here, before discovering that she couldn't detect their energy at all, "So, it seems that we have some visitors from Universe 9, since we can't detect their energy at all."

"Universe 13, we have come to eliminate you for the glory of our own universe." the lizard stated, though at the same time it looked like he felt that this was just a peaceful town and that he wouldn't be expecting any trouble in taking out the targets he had been told about.

"So, they're assassins," Yoruichi said, where her tail flickered for a moment, showing that she was annoyed by the fact that another universe sent these guys to assault Sombra and the rest of his team, mostly because there was no honor in doing something like this, though at the same time it was because these guys sucked at stealth, "Lady Sunset, what are your orders in regards to these guys?"

"Knock them out." Sunset replied, to which she floated into the air a little, allowing her to be slightly higher than she was before, while at the same time she stared at the leader of the group as a number of auras flared in the area around them, though she frowned for a moment, "I'll call Ratchet once this is over and have them placed in custody, but for now I'll deal with their leader."

Something that the assassins didn't know, and wouldn't know since it wasn't common knowledge outside Universe 13, was that Ponyville was home to a number of transformed ponies, each possessing the same form that she and the rest of the displaced had, and they had unlocked their own powers as well, even if they were lower in power than what Sombra and the others possessed. The reason Sunset thought about it was because Vinyl Scratch, one of the few ponies that happened to be in the area near them when the assassins started speaking, raised her hand and pointed it at the sky as she zeroed in on one of the assassins, before the air shuddered and something slammed her her targets, knocking them out of the air entirely. The cobalt haired girl, with blue colored strips, had the affinity to control sound, making her attacks fast and deadly, though at the same time she could control the frequency and the intensity of her power, though she smiled as several more blasts raced out from behind her, as the rest of Ponyville was getting in on the action of stopping the assassins from hurting Sunset and her friends, despite Sunset not being in need of assistance. Sombra, Yoruichi, and the Dazzlings also lashed out at the assassins, knocking them out of the sky as well, allowing Sunset to continue floating towards the leader, who was looking down at them with a look of shock on his face.

Even the Crusaders got in on the action, as Scootaloo flew around her opponents and kicked them into each other before they even knew what hit them, Sweetie Belle set some of their clothes on fire before knocking them out, and also remembered to extinguish the fire when she was done, while Apple Bloom and Gale Wind beat their foes into the ground, showing just how strong the residents of Universe 13 were, especially the youngest Equestrians.

"You know, whoever sent you had no idea what they were doing," Sunset said, causing the lizard to glance at her for a second, like she was the reason this assassination attempt was going south, though it wasn't her fault that none of the other universes, except for Universe 7, know how dangerous Ponyville was, before she sighed, "Look, you should just give up and admit defeat, otherwise you'll be spending the next few days in a special jail for people like you, and I can tell you that none of you will like wasting time in that prison."

"Good luck trying to arrest me when your very existence is revoked!" the lizard declared, to which he materialized an orb that was made out of Energy of Destruction and hurled it through the air, laughing like he was going to do something that was unexpected, only for surprise to appear on his face when the orb stopped in front of Sunset.

"You fool, trying to destroy a God of Destruction with Energy of Destruction," Sunset stated, where her aura flared for a moment and the orb shattered like it was nothing, shocking the leader and his minions in the process, before she flashed behind him and kicked him into Yoruichi's waiting arms, only to sigh as the rest of the assassins gave up.

"Sunset, Whis has a message... for you?" Celestia stated, as she had waited inside while a call came through from Universe 7, expecting it to be when Rainbow and Applejack were returning, but then noticed all the assassins that were either knocked out or were being detained, to which she looked at her scepter, "Never mind Whis, Sunset has the situation under control."

While the others dealt with the problem, as she went to go find her communicator again, Sunset knew that Sidra wasn't stupid enough to send two groups of assassins, one after her warriors and one after Beerus' warriors, which told her that someone must have convinced him to do it, almost as if it was his idea. Since Sidra watched over Universe 9, the twin of Universe 4, she had to suspect that Quitela was playing another game, trying to eliminate potential rivals before the tournament started, and it made sense that another Destroyer God would believe him, especially since he seemed to have convinced the others that Universe 13 wasn't a threat or worth worrying about. The reality of the situation almost appeared like Quitela was secretly declaring war on Universe 13, that he'd be targeting them and whoever they allied themselves with, but even if that wasn't true, and he had no part in this assassination attempt, she knew that his warriors would be coming after her warriors and Beerus' warriors. The mouse god hated her and Beerus, why she had no idea since she barely knew him, and she had no idea why so many of the other Destroyer Gods happened to dislike Beerus as well, but one thing she did know was that their teams needed to be ready for anything and everything, otherwise they might not make it to the end of the tournament.

She was still worried about Universe 11's trump card, the warrior known as Jiren, since they knew nothing about him and the power he possessed, as the only thing they did know was that he was stronger than Toppo, meaning that he could be the one thing that stood between their alliance with Universe 7 and the survival of all thirteen universes.