//------------------------------// // Interlude: Delving into the Past // Story: Dragon Ball Z: Magic's New Life // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// On the third day after the Cell Games, while the world was still celebrating Mr. Satan's success over Cell, a lie that was far from what the truth was and none of them really felt like correcting everyone, Twilight landed on the Lookout, as she had her reasons for coming here. There was something in the distant past she wanted to observe, a battle so she could figure out part of the history of the universe, maybe even partake in it if she was lucky, though before that there was someone on the Lookout that she needed to talk to. Aeos and Chronoa had come to aid her during the Cell Games, offering her a bit of their God Ki and mixing it with the fragments of God Ki that her Demon God and Goddess allies had given her, though she had unfinished business with Chronoa and was thankful that Aeos had been able to convince her to stay, instead of leaving for her realm. The two Supreme Kai of Time had retreated to the Lookout, since they didn't want to get in the way of her or those who were associated with her, since a fair amount of people had seen them, and she had come here to talk with the pair for a time, before worrying about her other objective. Dende noticed her upon her arrival and lead her to the area that the pair were waiting in, one of the towers of the large building that housed the numerous rooms she had discovered some time ago, and found a table with tea and snacks waiting for her, to which Dende departed as soon as they reached their destination. "I'm glad you two stayed for a while, instead of leaving immediately." Twilight said, because part of her had thought that Chronoa might leave while she was distracted by the aftermath of the Cell Games, instead of facing her, meaning she had to really thank Aeos for convincing her to stay, all while she sat at the available chair and poured herself some tea, "You know why we're here, right?" "You are wondering why I interfered with your attempts to kill Son Goku and Future Trunks, while allowing the deaths of Frieza's side of your family." Chronoa replied, confirming that she either knew about this ahead of time and came ready to talk or Aeos had reminded her of her sins before this point, though either way it meant that they could skip part of this and get to the heart of the discussion. "That, and she's curious as to why you would chose to work against her, when you know she's important to the safety of the universe." Aeos stated, reminding Twilight of how the former God of Time had acted around her, back when she did her trip to the future, making her wonder what sort of rules Chronoa had broken during her time living with her parents and dealing with the threats of Earth. "I was trying to maintain stability over the main timeline... Frieza and Goku had to fight and unlock the Super Saiyan form, just like certain current events had to happen." Chronoa said, though at the same time Twilight could see that she wasn't too convinced by her own words anymore, rather it seemed like she and Aeos had a long talk before her arrival and she had been able to talk some sense into her, before she sighed, "I... made several mistakes since you were taken in by your parents: I didn't do anything when you were stricken with the Warrior's Bane, I didn't stop what happened next, and I really shouldn't have interfered with you and Future Trunks." "What about me trying to kill Goku by destroying the heart medicine?" Twilight asked, because it sounded like Chronoa was sorry for most of the things she had done to preserve the timeline, even though she already knew of the fact that the main timeline had been forever altered by her various actions, meaning Chronoa's attempts to maintain stability had been worthless for the most part. "Look, he had to live so he could help Gohan unlock his Super Saiyan form... you went beyond that and got him to unlock Super Saiyan 2 early." Chronoa remarked, telling Twilight that the young fighter must have been destined to unlock the power of his new form during an intense and emotional battle, no doubt against Cell himself, before she sighed for a few seconds as she realized something else, "Thanks to everything that's happened recently, and the arrival of Demigra's team and the Dark Imperial Army... that's Mechikabura's forces, in case you didn't know... the scroll that contains the history of our universe is blank. We, as in Aeos and I, cannot see the future that was originally supposed to happen... I cannot stand in your way, even if I wanted to preserve someone's life, so... I'm sorry for being a pest." "Once our time on Earth comes to an end we will be returning to the Time Nest to continue Chronoa's training... I have decided to demote her for the time being." Aeos stated, something that surprised Twilight a little, that the former God of Time was taking back her position for an undetermined amount of time, though while she could have tormented the small god a little Twilight felt that this might be better, since Aeos was able to talk sense into her former subordinate, which meant she was better for the job, "Also, don't ask us about the rule we keep mentioning, it's only supposed to be talked of between the gods of the universe, the..." "Kaioshin and Hakaishin?" Twilight inquired, naming the Gods of Creation and Destruction respectively, the former being deities who brought life to the universe and watched over planets while the latter were supposed to destroy threats to the universe, even if the God of Destruction loved to just obliterate planets for the fun of it, "I read some stories in the vast and endless libraries of Alexandria about them... namely a purple cat who goes around busting planets for fun and loves to sleep for many years at a time." "Of course they'd know about him... should have known." Aeos said, as at this point she wasn't even surprised by the fact that Twilight knew about the Gods that were beyond the mortal races of the universe, while at the same time not saying anything to anyone else she knew, in fact she was surprised by how well she was taking Beerus' existence, "Anyway, we can't say anything without their approval... just know that keeping you alive is important." "Out of curiosity, would me becoming immortal help?" Twilight asked, because while she had no idea where she sat on the matter of the overall fate of the universe, which seemed to be what Aeos might be talking about, she was interested in what the Gods of Time might say. "I mean, it would put all of us at ease. You're not thinking of asking an Eternal Dragon for that, are you?" Chronoa inquired, as she knew that there was no way for her to really tell what Twilight was thinking, because while this could have been a simple question she knew there was a chance that the Demon Goddess in front of her was being serious, that she might quest for immortality at some point. Twilight said nothing to that as Dende returned to the tower, informing her that her mother and her allies had arrived at long last, causing the two gods to wonder what she was planning this time around as she downed the rest of her drink and departed from the tower with them following behind her. Sure enough the Demon Gods and Goddesses she knew were not far away, where she informed all of them about what was on her mind, as her father had made a comment on the three strangers who showed up to do battle with the evil Demon Gods. She had gone through her information on the person that her father said she reminded him of, and what she had learned from the libraries of Alexandria, and while she had a fair amount of knowledge on the figure in question, tales of the destruction caused by them, she had a new desire after figuring it out on her own. She could see that some of them might have an idea as to what she was talking about, all while others were still struggling to understand her motives, before she came to a stop at the Room of Time and turned to those she had asked to come here so she could kill two birds with one stone. "Aeos, Chronoa, I want you two to join your powers with the others, who will be opening the way for me to head back in time... to five million years ago." Twilight stated, where her mother and their demonic allies started to channel their power into the chamber she had brought them to, something that was followed by the beginnings of the portal forming before their eyes, all while the two Gods of Time realized what she was doing. "Majin Buu... are you insane?!" Chronoa asked, because they had just told her that she was important to the safety of the universe, something she seemed to understand despite her and Aeos not being able to share anything with her, and here she was, doing something incredibly stupid that could potentially ruin everything. "While I agree with Chronoa on this matter, as this seems like insanity... are you certain that this is necessary?" Aeos said, as she knew that the figure in question was one of the toughest foes in the entirety of the universe, in fact she was sure that if he and Beerus fought they would lose a massive chunk of their home in the process, she didn't understand why Twilight was so interested in him, given what she had no doubt read so far, "With six temporal manipulators present there is a chance we might actually send you back to that time, instead of the 'avatar' that this room creates... you could be in terrible danger if things go south." Twilight, however, didn't have much to say to that as she focused on what the others were doing and watched as they formed the way back into the past, just like she had done when she first used this room, and when everything was ready to go she leapt into the portal. A few moments later she reappeared in what appeared to be a frozen world, or at least the arctic of whatever world she had been brought to, and, like the last time, there was no way back until she either bested her chosen foes or was beaten into submission. She found one of her targets a moment later, as she and her mother had tracked down the perfect point for them to lock onto, as standing not too far away from her was a female figure that just so happened to have a beautiful body with a blue-purple mohawk, while she wore a red vest robe with an orange sash around her waist. As Twilight stared at her she noticed a few more things, the first being that her hair also reached a fair ways down her back, stopping close to her waist, while she had a pink shirt under the sleeveless robe and wore a pair of brown boots, plus earrings like Aeos and Chronoa, but it was easy to tell that she was focused on something. She spotted the creature off in the distance, a small humanoid creature that had bubblegum pink spin, with what looked like a think antenna on it's head that could be a tail of some kind, she wasn't too sure, and white baggy pants before she found that it had black shoes with the ends of the pants tucked into them. "So, that's Majin Buu." Twilight remarked, where she floated down to where the other figure was standing, who seemed surprised to see someone else on this planet, which meant that she must have brought Buu here to fight where no one would be hurt, "His power is astonishing." "He could destroy this entire planet in an instant, if it weren't for Bibidi's desire to kill the Kaioshin." the lady stated, where it was easy for Twilight to tell that she wasn't too pleased with the destruction that was happening in her universe, all the planets that fell before Majin Buu's terrible might, before she glanced at Twilight for a moment, "What are you doing here? Aeos, or whoever is in control of the Time Nest, should know better than to send someone of your importance back to this point in time, to a place where you will most likely die." "I'm utilizing a special room to come back here, so even if he does fatal damage to me I'll just return to my time." Twilight said, as if she was simply talking about the weather or something, though at the same time she found that Buu was on his way to their location and it meant that this conversation would have to be ended sooner than her plan called for, which was either due to her miscalculating Buu's speed or he had sensed her arrival in some manner, "Oh, I'm Twilight Sparkle by the way." "Aria... the West Supreme Kai." the lady said in kind, showing her that, while she might not want Twilight here, she wasn't about to argue with a total stranger when Majin Buu was closing in on their position, where she shifted her stance without wasting time and focused on the figure that was coming at them, "Prepare yourself..." Buu appeared in the area in front of them not a second later, cutting Aria off before she could finish her statement, but in that moment both she and Twilight lashed out with a pair of perfectly timed kicks, striking the being in the chest before the pair found that he seemed to take no damage from it. Twilight assumed that it was due to the odd nature of his body, which acted like rubber as their attacks sunk into him and seemed to create boot and hoof markings on his backside, as if they were attacking gum or something, meaning he was incredibly resistant to ordinary attacks. His own attacks, however, were far stronger than Twilight was ready for as Buu struck both her and Aria in rapid succession, kicking the Kaioshin so hard that she went flying through the ground itself, breaking the ice below her as if it was brittle. Twilight pulled her hoof out of Buu's chest and threw a punch at him, where he grabbed her arm before she struck him, pulled her over his head so he could slam her into the ground, and made sure to kick her with enough force to send her flying through the ice that was below them, all while cracking her ribs in the process. She had known that Buu was strong, in fact her grandfather told her everything he knew about him, but even that didn't begin to prepare her for the sheer raw power he possessed, meaning to survive this, or at least put forth some effort on her part, she needed to use her strongest form. As she considered that idea, however, Twilight reached out with a bit of her magical energy and found something interesting, it slipped off of his back without even forming chains at all, meaning that one of her greatest attributes, her magic, was useless against him. In the next moment she discovered something else that was far more important to her, there was no way she would be able to transform into her other forms, as Buu quickly reached the area she was in and stomped on her chest, pushing her deeper into the ground before rushing into the sky as he sent a blast of energy down at her. Fortunately that she was able to absorb with ease, even though Twilight now knew that the primordial creature known as Buu was an absolute monster and that she was screwed as long as she was struck in this form, confirming the stories that she had been told. The annoying aspect of this was that Buu seemed to be smarter than she assumed, as he seemed to view her as the real threat and not the Kaioshin that he was originally hunting for, as he actually surged back down to her position and struck her into the wall without delay, pushing her through it like she was nothing put a weightless rock. While that was going on Aria dropped out of the air and struck Buu to the best of her ability, releasing Twilight so she could flee, though she swung at the monster with more of her might, only to find that it didn't seem to do anything at all. With that done she and Aria pulled back for a moment, where their foe simply landed on the snow they were standing on and caused them to rush at him, intending on catching him off guard, but he caught their attacks, grabbed their heads, and slammed them together before tossing them into the ground. In that moment the pair got serious, far more than they had been previously, and found that this time Buu seemed to be willing to fight on their level, giving them some space to actually hit him, not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things since they were unable to do anything to him. Aria did her best to make Buu focus on her again, since she was his original target, but Twilight found that he targeted her far more than the Kaioshin, who was a fierce warrior and fought well, making her wonder what it would be like if the two of them clashed, instead of fighting for their lives. He was a fierce and deadly creature, his attacks were fierce and deadly as those that struck her chest cracked her ribs despite the protection of her armor, he even fractured her left arm in two places with two powerful kicks, and delivered a punch to her gut that caused her to cough up blood, similar to what she did to Cell, without the throwing up part. Being brutalized by Buu told her one thing, that she should have listened to her family about this matter, not to mention the fact that she had to get out of here before death actually claimed her, as she was convinced that something had gone wrong with the powers that brought her here, just like she had been warned by Aeos. There was no way that taking this much damage was normal for the Room of Time, not from what she had experienced so far, so she had to figure out a good way to clear the area before calling for everyone else to open the way back to her era, causing her to release a burst of energy at Buu, knocking him backwards as he defended his eyes. To ensure that he was knocked away Aria gathered her power and added it to the mix, allowing them to send Buu flying for a time, causing her to catch Twilight before she collapsed and kept her voice low as she called for Aeos, since she didn't want Buu to hear her, and when the portal opened she kissed Twilight's forehead, spreading a temporary healing power into her body, before sending her back to her era. "TWILIGHT?!" Towa worriedly said, catching her daughter as she emerged from the space-time portal and discovering that her body had been brutalized by the foe she had sought out, so while the others sealed the breach, before Majin Buu found it, she reached into the pouch that Twilight insisted she bring with them, just in case, before producing the second Senzu Bean the Z Warriors gave Twilight during the hunt for Gero and forced her daughter to eat it. Sure enough the bean worked it's magic in no time, mending the wounds in Twilight's body while restoring her energy, so by the time the portal was sealed, never to be opened again unless a rift opened, she was back on her hooves as if nothing had happened to her. "Boy am I glad I kept that bean around... would have been rather painful without it." Twilight stated, though at the same time she sighed as she considered what she had gotten herself into, by choosing to go back in time to 'face' Buu, who was more like a kid than anything in terms of appearance, a foe she didn't have the power to best, as she suspected that her current power, in any form, would fall short of his own, "Also, you guys were right... I shouldn't have fought Buu. However, it has given me new ideas on what to do for the future." Towa didn't care about that, she just cared that her daughter was fine and that no real harm had come to her, despite her foolish idea to even attempt to clash with Buu, though at the same time she knew it was only a matter of time until Twilight set her plans in motion and did something drastic, causing her to look forward to what it might be.