//------------------------------// // Interlude: Surprising Turn of Events // Story: Dragon Ball Z: Magic's New Life // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Following Buulight being captured and sealed away by the gods of her own timeline, and their departure, Twilight turned her focus back to what they had been doing before her arrival, only this time they had company in the form of three young gods in training who were now without a master. Twilight assumed that the trio had been trained by Whis and the Angels of their universes, since each one was from a totally different universe, though by their own statements they had only gotten a few lessons before being interrupted by Buulight's arrival. As such that meant that, while they had fought well against their foe, each warrior would need additional training to master their martial arts, since she had no idea where they were in that part of their training, so she beckoned for Saria, Shandy, and Caser to join her in her training. Of course the trio needed some time to think about what they had just learned, as their homes were gone, totally destroyed, and that they were stuck in a timeline that was unlike anything they had seen before coming here, but they joined her without delay. Their training started within ten minutes of the alternate gods leaving this timeline, where Twilight shifted her stance and let them come at her, while at the same time pulling her family into the training as well so they could continue with what they had started before Buulight's arrival. Her father, of course, was still taken aback by the sudden arrival and departure of the God of Destruction that he had been warned about, something that his brother and father shared, but when it came to Shandy they were just fine, showing that they understood that he wasn't the same person as Beerus. Normally six foes would be dangerous for someone to fight, but Twilight found gaps in how they were approaching her and used that to pull one out at a time, allowing her to figure out how to improve the skills of the newcomers while aiding her family in their own training, surprising the young gods in the process. This also gave her another chance to test out the power of her Demon Goddess form, while it was strengthened by her Potential Unleashed form, while at the same time seeking to reach into the wells of potential that resided in the depths of her family, as she knew that, in time, she could draw out their true power, or at least a portion of it. Eventually Aria joined them, her own potential brought to the surface thanks to the ritual that Old Kai had performed, and her power was far greater than it had been previously, befitting someone who was a Kaioshin, though it told Twilight that Old Kai must have cut the ritual short to get it over with quickly. Once Twilight was done with their initial training, since they had only come for the ritual and got far more than they had bargained for, she, her family, and the newcomers regrouped before she and Aria teleported them back to the Earth, where she found that Saria and the others were surprised by what they discovered. She wasn't too surprised by that fact, as the discovery of the Beastians had told the trio that they would fit in quite well with the people of this world, or at least they would if they decided to stick around, since there was a vast universe of unknowns for them to explore. Of course a fair number of people just assumed that the trio were other transformed Humans, showing her new acquaintances just how popular her TF Foods really were, a concept they were still wrapping their heads around since it didn't exist in their timelines and universes. Since they were homeless now, with their timelines having been destroyed, Twilight's first action was to make sure they had actual clothing to wear, instead of focusing on their Destroyer attire, and she even included a couple of gi for each one, matching their favorite colors or their schools. She found that they were excited by the concept of just relaxing, instead of having to worry about learning how to be the Destroyers of their timelines, especially since this was now their home and their new God of Destruction was nowhere to be seen, but Twilight knew that they'd meet him at some point in time. "Hey Twilight, you certainly got stronger." Goku remarked, speaking to her group as they finally returned to the Capsule Corp, which seemed to be the general meeting place for the Z Warriors and their friends, where she found that Vegeta and a few others were present as well, like they were celebrating the saving of the universe, before he noticed the three newcomers as Vegeta did, "Sorry, I got excited by Twilight's return, as she one of the best training partners a Saiyan could ask for, and failed to notice that we had guests. I am Son Goku, a Saiyan raised on Earth... who are you guys?" "I'm Shandy, and these are Saria and Caser. We're... not from around here." Shandy replied, where it seemed like he did want to tell Twilight's closest friends about the gods who had shown up to deal with Buulight, but he also knew that, for the time being, that it would be best if they didn't say anything about them, which he and the others agreed with before they came to the Earth with Twilight, "Lady Twilight's agreed to show us around this world, observe the people, and even help us with our martial arts while we decide what to do with our futures... I take it you love to fight?" Goku, of course, pulled the trio away with a smile on his face so he could chat with them about fighting, as he taking part in Twilight's training sessions and knew that the benefits of working with her were great, so her awakening her potential only made him more excited, before Twilight found that Vegeta was standing nearby. "Something on your mind?" Twilight asked, though at the same time her family moved out to just relax and socialize with the rest of their friends, as some of them had made friends with the Z Warriors and the people of Earth, while she focused on what sort of training she would have to make to ensure the newcomers were perfectly included. "Princess Twilight, I... I would like to apologize." Vegeta said, something that caught her interested immediately, because he had been forced to do such a thing for his hand in helping Cell and allowing Babidi to complete his plans, but it meant the former prince was no doubt looking for something and she was the only one that could provide it. "For what? I've already made you apologize for everything that's happened so far... what else could you possibly apologize for?" Twilight inquired, though that wasn't the complete truth, as the Saiyan Prince hadn't said anything about the events on Namek, in fact she was still surprised that all of the Namekians had essentially forgiven him, since taking revenge on him would have just resulted in more violence, making her wonder if he was about to do it. "It's about the events that happened on Namek. I... would like to apologize for acting like a coward, letting fear and hatred rule my actions, and getting you, of all people, killed." Vegeta stated, where Twilight turned and found that he had bowed his head towards her while he was talking, showing that he really wanted something from her, to the point that he was willing to acknowledge her position, apologize to her, and even bow to her. "What do you want? I know you well enough to know that you want something from me." Twilight said, though in the next moment she found that he had turned his head a little, as if his eyes were on Goku and no one else right now, which told her all that she needed to know, something that amused her, "Oh, I see now. You want me to help you catch up to Goku's power, and by that I mean you want to learn and master the Super Saiyan 3 transformation, which will elevate your power to brand new heights... that why you're willing to do this, despite your pride. Very well then, I'll help you out... but let this be a warning to you, Vegeta, I won't go easy on you." Vegeta raised his eyebrow for a moment as Twilight joined the others, clearly wondering what sort of training she had in mind that would warrant warning him ahead of time, something that caused him to keep an eye on her throughout the rest of the celebration Bulma was throwing. While he did that he also glanced at the newcomers, as while one looked like Beerus, who he knew about thanks to a visit his father had with the God of Destruction, he didn't act like him, rather all of them acted like they were young adults, thrown into the world of gods by events they'd rather not talk about. Both he and Kakarot were thinking the same thing, clashing with Shandy and his friends would be a fun thing to do, as he could tell that all three of them were strong and it made them want to fight with the trio, which might be part of what Twilight had in mind for her special training. He also found that they headed into the Capsule Corp and came back out in casual clothing, matching the color of their godly attire interestingly enough, showing that they just wanted to fit in for the time being, as if they weren't actually gods for some reason, though after that he decided not to worry about it and focused on the party Bulma had thrown together. The following day, however, Twilight called those who wanted to train with her, or under her in some cases, to the area she had been training in for a long time, though this time she had prepared several circular areas for everyone to stand in, one for everyone that had, and even Caser's group joined them, dressed in their gi this time. "Today, we'll be doing gravity training." Twilight stated, because she had learned how Goku had managed to get so strong in the short period of time it took him to reach Namek all those years ago, while at the same time putting that together with how she knew Vegeta trained, before she gestured off to the side, showing everyone that the assembled Demons were standing near some of her advanced healing tanks, "For those who are unfamiliar with my powers, not to mention my magical abilities, allow me to say this: with the power of darkness I can manipulate gravity however I see fit, with the purest example being my Abyssal Moon attack, a force that could crush all of us with the weight of the sun if I wanted, or create a force to pull in whoever I'm fighting. Now, onto the reason why this is relevant: I have a great understanding of each of your fighting styles and current limits, so with that information in hand, and my power over darkness, I'm going to surround each of you in darkness, hence the dark circles around your feet, and you will train against the gravity that will be used against you, which will raise in accordance to your power. If you suffer too much damage, and you are freed from your training ground, my mother and the other Demons will put you in a healing pod, which will have you up and ready to go again in fifteen minutes." "For those of us that can transform, are we limited to only our base forms?" Goku asked, where Vegeta nodded his head in agreement, as many of those who had gathered for this training day, which included Gohan while Videl, who wanted to keep up with her training, was standing off to the side for now, likely debating whether or not she should use the newer Animorph products to keep up with Gohan. "By all means, use whatever form you want. As I said, your zones will react to your power, no matter the form." Twilight said, which was a fair question in her mind, as she hadn't said anything about transforming until this point and now the rest of the warriors knew that they could use whatever form they wanted, while those who couldn't transform would use their full power during their training, "The gravity will push each of you towards your limits, eventually allowing you to, in your own way, ascend to a new level of power... for the Saiyans, well, you might obtain one of Goku or Vegeta's forms, while everyone else will unlock portions of their potential in the process." As everyone got ready Twilight snapped her fingers and spheres of darkness appeared all over the training grounds, just as she had told them, where she waited for a few moments before feeling the Ki of several figures as they tackled her training, coming from the Sayians to be exact. She nodded for a couple of seconds as she observed the magic that was fueling the circles and spheres, finding that everything was in order, not that she expected any problems to show up, given that she had spent some time preparing for a day like this, before she focused on her own preparations. With the discovery of two Dark Dragon Balls, and her knowledge of what the future Demons could ask for, Twilight knew it was only a matter of time until her foes made their move, especially since Towa informed her that an alternate version of her father, in a timeline where she didn't exist, had been empowered by the One Star Dark Dragon Ball. That, with the Two and Three Star orbs she had seen during her fights with Cell and Kid Buu, meant that it was only a matter of time until the remaining four spheres were found and empowered with the necessary power to bring about whatever wish Mechikabura desired, something she had to be ready for. With that in mind she turned towards the cubes of Katchin that Aria had created before this point, because her plan had a number of steps that needed to be completed before she could invade the future timeline, the one that the Demons were gathering in, and put an end to their dark plans. Part of that required a special prison that could hold a being of vast and incredible power, one forged out of the strongest material in the known universe, a fact confirmed multiples times before even putting this plan into motion, hence why she tested her magic on the cubes. If she could mold the material in some manner, to twist it towards her intentions and purposes, the plan she had in mind would go much smoother, though there was a problem she had to deal with, how to dispose of the prison without leaving a trace for the Demons to track down in an attempt to open it again. That was where her uncle, Dabura, came into play, as she had Aria create a couple of samples from the various materials in the universe and she had him sitting off to the side of the training grounds, carefully using his spit on each one to see where he drew the line, but he claimed all items turned to stone and she was eager to see if he was telling the truth. What surprised her was the fact that Dabura was telling the truth, everything below Katchin was turned to stone in just a few seconds, and when she separated a triangle shaped section she found that even that suffered the same fate, meaning two steps of her plan were already complete. While they were doing that Twilight could tell that Goku was getting used to using Super Saiyan 2 with a living body, as he might have mastered it with his body in the Other World and wanted to be sure he didn't skip a step, which Vegeta and the other Saiyans were doing as well. Gohan, of course, was focused on training and utilizing his 'Ultimate' form, his own Potential Unleashed state, as if he was tired of growing as a Saiyan and wanted to grow as a Human, which was fine with Twilight, since he still benefited from the training, thanks to the DNA he inherited from his father, and it gave her an idea as to what sort of limits Humans had. She really wasn't expecting anyone to actually make any true progress, as in gaining a new form, but the training was great for all of them and allowed her to focus most of her effort on her own plans, while Towa, Chronoa, and Aeos joined Demigra in their efforts to peer into the future timeline. She wanted to know the instant one of the other Dark Dragon Balls were discovered and delivered to Mechikabura's space, the Demon World, because it would tell her just how much time they had left until she had to make her move and she wanted to be as ready as she could possibly be. With all of that in mind Twilight found that nothing important seemed to change as the first day ended and the next one started, though Vegeta, as she expected, returned for the next day of training and practically threw himself into the circle he had used the previous day. Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold had to return to the Empire for some time, something that sparked a new idea in her mind as she pulled out her tablet and got to designing, as she had the idea for a new version of her long distance communicator, one that could connect Earth to the rest of their domain, namely the main planet that her father ruled from, in an instant. Goku, on the other hand, insisted on having his gravity enhanced so he could have a real training session, causing her to chuckle for a moment before Vegeta forcefully deactivated his own arena to demand the same thing, showing her that he wasn't about to let the other Saiyan leave him in the dust. Twilight decided to give the pair exactly what they wanted and altered the color of their rings to show that, as they were now laced with gold, causing them to get back to their training as she worked on her tablet, though it wasn't long before both were knocked out of their arenas and forced into the healing pods. Twilight even warned them after their first bout with the enhanced gravity that it was a bad idea to continue, since such a thing could potentially shatter them beyond repair, and the pair just continued without a care in the world, causing her to realize that they were going to abuse the heck out of their innate power boosts after recovering from a massive beating to get around her training. She was proven right not even a few hours later, as they went from struggling against the enhanced gravity to actually doing some training every now and then before having to be expelled, causing them to repeat the process again and again so they could get used to what she was offering. Twilight knew that Goku's training in the Other World consisted of adding weights to his body, namely his arms and legs, and increasing them as time went on, especially when he used his Super Saiyan forms, while Vegeta preferred to train in the gravity chamber that she had added inside Capsule Corp, one that was far superior to Bulma's machine. These two were used to this sort of training and it was doing wonders for them, at least for the time being since she knew that they'd eventually encounter a wall that would require other training, so she turned her focus away from them and resumed her own work, even training every now and then herself to be sure she was ready for when her foes played their hand. She also didn't tell Goku, Vegeta, or the other warriors about her plans, since this was her battle and only her demonic allies were necessary, plus the Supreme Kais of Time, hence why she allowed them to focus on their training while she made her preparations. About halfway through the fifth day, however, Vegeta surprised everyone by actually utilizing the transformation that his rival had learned during his time in the Other World, where Twilight was able to confirm that it was Super Saiyan 3 due to the long flowing spiked hair that reached his waist and the loss of his eyebrows. "It's like I've said in the past: anything Kakarot can do, I can do." Vegeta stated, where he found that Twilight stepped up and removed herself from the area she had been sitting in, all while the other dark spheres dispersed so everyone could see that he had gotten the form he had wanted, though the instant she came to a stop he rushed forward and socked her right in the side of her face. "I will admit it, you are stronger than before, as you possess the power of a Super Saiyan 3... however," Twilight remarked, which was the moment that she struck Vegeta in the chest and knocked him backwards, the sheer power of the attack knocking him out of his new form, showing that he needed more time to master the form and it's advantages, "you still have much to learn if you want to tango with me." "Twilight, I hate to interrupt, but there's been a development." Towa said, as while she knew that it was best to leave her daughter to her training and teaching, since the Saiyans and the others could use her guidance to master themselves, this matter was about their peering into the timeline Twilight was interested in, "They've found and recovered the Four, Five, and Six Star Dark Dragon Balls... and, by all of our estimates, they're only a day away from recovering the last one and using them to grant Mechikabura's wish." With that information in hand Twilight called off the rest of the training for the day so she, the Demons, and the Kaioshin who watched over time could get ready, because they needed to be prepared for what was about to happen next, and she could only hope that they were successful in their mission.