Piccolo T2 · Chi-Chi T1 · Chiaotzu T1 · Pan T2
**Destination: Jingle Village**
The snow-covered image of Jingle Village shimmered on the display.
Chi-Chi blinked. "A village? In the snow?"
Pan crossed her arms. "Great. Cold."
Chiaotzu floated slightly closer to Piccolo
Piccolo studied the terrain silently. "Not inherently. Remote. Isolated."
Chi-Chi exhaled. "At least it's not a battlefield."
Pan glanced at her. "You say that like it won't become one."
Piccolo looked down at Pan. "It won't."
Chiaotzu nodded. "I like villages. People are… quieter."
Chi-Chi straightened. "If there are children needing help we will help. That's non-negotiable."
Pan smirked faintly. "You don't really need to say that."
Piccolo turned away slightly. "acceptable."
That was as close to approval as anyone expected.
Bojin · Kogu · Krillin T1 · Tien T1
**Destination: Skull Valley**
Krillin stared at the name.
"…Skull Valley."
Tien said nothing, arms folded, already focused.
Kogu laughed under his breath. "Sounds fitting."
Bojin rolled his shoulders. "A place like that attracts death."
Krillin swallowed. "That's… not comforting."
Tien finally spoke. "Names exaggerate. Terrain matters more."
Krillin glanced at him gratefully. "Thank you."
Kogu leaned in slightly. "You're tense, little monk."
Krillin snapped back instinctively. "I'm not little."
Bojin smiled thinly. "Yes you're."
Tien stepped between them without aggression. "We're not enemies today."
Kogu tilted his head. "Shame."
Tien's eye narrowed. "Try me."
The air shifted, heavy but restrained.
Krillin sighed. "This is going to be a long day."
Vegeta T5 · Uub T2 · Trunks T2 · Yajirobe T9
**Destination: Red Ribbon Army Headquarters**
The moment the words appeared, Trunks stiffened.
"…That place again."
Uub looked confused. "Again?"
Vegeta's jaw tightened. "Filth like that survives longer than it should."
Yajirobe squinted. "Wait, isn't that where the robots came from?"
Trunks nodded. "Among other things."
Uub hesitated. "Is it… dangerous?"
Vegeta looked down at him. "Only if you hesitate."
Yajirobe raised a finger. "I plan on hesitating a lot."
Trunks exhaled slowly. "We need to be careful. There could be old systems still active."
Vegeta scoffed. "Good. Let them activate."
Uub shifted his stance, nervous but resolute. "I'll do my best."
Vegeta studied him briefly. "Do better than your best."
Gast · Videl T1 · Videl T2
**Destination: Diablo Desert**
The desert image burned across the screen.
Videl T1 frowned. "A desert?"
Videl T2 crossed her arms. "Figures."
Gast didn't react immediately. His eyes were on the horizon in the image, not the team list.
"This land is thin," he said calmly. "Reality stretches easier there."
Videl T1 glanced at him. "That's reassuring." in a ironic way.
Videl T2 scoffed. "He always talks like that."
Gast finally looked at them. "You are the same… yet not."
Both Videls stiffened.
"Great," Videl T2 said. "Another cosmic lecture."
Videl T1 exhaled. "At least it's just us."
Gast nodded. "That may be the point."
Bardock T5 · Nail T7 · Launch T9 · Kakarot T5
**Destination: Orange Star High School**
Silence.
Then Launch laughed. "You're kidding."
Bardock stared at the screen like it had insulted him personally.
"A… school."
Kakarot tilted his head. "What's a high school?"
Nail closed his eyes briefly. "…This is not a battlefield."
Launch smirked. "Oh, it can be."
Bardock grunted. "I don't belong in a place like that."
Nail looked at him calmly. "Perhaps that's why you were sent."
Kakarot smiled. "Sounds interesting."
Launch sighed. "This is going to be weird."
No one disagreed.
---
Roshi T1 · Roshi Prime T9 · Chi-Chi T2 · Bujin
**Destination: East City**
The city skyline appeared.
Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes. "A city. Full of people."
Roshi Prime stroked his beard. "Good. Civilization reveals character."
Roshi T1 grinned. "And distractions."
Chi-Chi shot him a look sharp enough to cut stone.
"Behave."
Bujin observed quietly. "Cities are fragile."
Roshi Prime nodded. "And therefore important."
Roshi T1 laughed softly. "Well, this will be lively."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms. "It will be orderly."
No one was convinced.
Back at the center of Capsule Corp, Bulma T2 climbed onto one of the elevated platforms and slammed a palm against a handheld control. A cluster of **industrial-grade loudspeakers** unfolded from the walls with a mechanical hum, hovering slightly above the crowd.
The feedback screeched once.
Bulma winced, tapped it again, then spoke.
Her voice rolled across the entire complex.
"Alright, everyone—listen up. Now it's time for **all of us to go our separate ways**. This world is new, unstable, and unfinished. Let's see if it's really what we wanted… or what we can make it into. Good luck to all of you. Don't break the planet. And if you do—don't blame me."
Bulma them distributed one map to each team.
She paused, then added, softer but still audible:
"See you on the other side."
The speakers powered down.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the space erupted into motion.
Some teams exchanged quick nods and left without a word.
Others argued openly, voices sharp, frustration spilling over from mismatched pairings.
A few stood awkwardly, unsure how to say goodbye to people they barely trusted—or trusted too much.
There was laughter in one corner, shouting in another.
A couple of goodbyes were heartfelt.
Most were rushed.
Some didn't happen at all.
Marron tugged on Vegeta T1's glove.
Vegito T2 · Chiaotzu T9 · Raditz T5 · Bulma T1
Destination: Mushroom Forest
Vegito hovered slightly off the ground, arms relaxed, eyes scanning the sky as if already measuring distance.
"So," he said casually, turning back to them,
"do you want to walk there… or just fly?"
The answer came instantly.
"Fly."
"Fly."
"FLY."
Raditz didn't even hesitate.
Bulma opened her mouth—then stopped.
Vegito noticed immediately.
He turned toward her, one eyebrow lifting just a little. "What?"
Bulma adjusted her jacket. "I mean—flying's fine. I just… don't usually—"
"Say no more," Vegito said easily.
Before she could finish the sentence, he stepped closer and wrapped an arm securely around her waist, pulling her against his side with practiced balance, not rough, not hesitant—like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I've got you," he said. "I won't let you fall."
Bulma froze.
Just for half a second.
Her face warmed before she could stop it. "H-Hey—!"
Raditz burst out laughing, loud and sharp.
"Oh this is RICH."
Chiaotzu blinked. "Is this… normal?"
Bulma cleared her throat quickly. "Don't get any ideas! This is just for transportation. Nothing else."
Vegito glanced down at her, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Relax. You're heavier than you look, you know."
She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "Just—don't think I'd ever let you do this again. This is a one-time thing."
Raditz folded his arms, still grinning. "You're married to *another* version of him and this is what gets you flustered?"
Bulma shot him a glare. "Say one more word and I'm recalculating your landing speed."
Vegito chuckled quietly.
Chiaotzu floated upward. "Are we going far?"
Bulma tapped at a small wrist-mounted device. Numbers scrolled rapidly.
"Approximately… seven hundred and eighty millimeters."
Everyone stared at her.
"…You mean kilometers," Vegito said.
Bulma blinked. "…Yes. Obviously. Kilometers."
Raditz snorted.
Vegito leaned forward slightly. "Alright. Hold on."
And then—
Just a clean, instantaneous *fold* in space.
One moment Capsule Corp filled the horizon.
The next—
They were there.
--
The sky above them shifted colors as if light itself had forgotten how to behave.
Massive **fungal towers** stretched upward from the earth—some slender and elegant, others thick and gnarled, their caps spreading wide like natural domes. Their surfaces glowed faintly, bioluminescent veins pulsing slowly beneath translucent skins, casting hues of violet, teal, amber, and soft blue across the forest floor.
The ground wasn't soil—it was a dense, springy mesh of root-like filaments, warm beneath the feet, subtly alive. Each step released faint clouds of glowing spores that drifted lazily upward before dissolving into the air.
Some mushrooms were small enough to cluster like flowers.
Others were **colossal**, wide enough to house entire structures beneath their caps.
And at the center of it all—
A **palace**.
The palace rose from the forest floor as a single, immense fungal formation, its base spiraling upward in layered rings. Vast archways curved naturally from the structure, shaped like petals frozen mid-bloom. The walls were smooth but organic, shimmering faintly as light refracted through their semi-crystalline surfaces.
Veins of golden light pulsed through the palace like a heartbeat.
Balconies protruded naturally from the structure, shaped as overlapping caps, dripping slow beads of glowing condensation that evaporated before touching the ground. Long, curtain-like growths hung from the upper levels, swaying gently despite the absence of wind.
At the top, a crown-like canopy spread outward, its underside glowing softly, illuminating the entire clearing like a permanent dusk.
Bulma stared.
"…This wasn't on any map."
Raditz slowly lowered himself to the ground, eyes wide despite himself.
"…Okay. I take it back. This place is insane."
Chiaotzu floated closer to one of the glowing roots, fascinated. "It feels… calm."
Vegito looked around, expression unreadable.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
Chiaotzu drifted a little higher, palms open, eyes closed. "It's… alive. Curious."
Vegito glanced at him. "That tracks."
And so, without any formal agreement, the team fractured into smaller pieces—never fully separated, but never fully together either.
Bulma moved slowly, carefully, boots sinking slightly into the springy ground. Every step released faint motes of light, which Chiaotzu followed like fireflies.
"Incredible…" Bulma murmured, adjusting her scanner. "The spores aren't just decorative. They react to movement. Heat. Emotion, maybe."
Chiaotzu tilted his head. "They feel happy."
Bulma paused. "Happy."
"Yes. Or… content." He hovered lower, close enough that the glow reflected in his eyes. "This forest doesn't feel lonely."
Bulma smiled faintly. "That's rare. Most places like this are aggressive, defensive, or empty."
She reached out and gently touched one of the smaller mushrooms. It pulsed once, softly, like a heartbeat responding to contact.
"…It's responding to me," she whispered.
Chiaotzu nodded. "You're loud."
Bulma blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Your thoughts," he clarified gently. "They're very loud."
She laughed despite herself. "Yeah… that sounds right."
For a moment, neither spoke. awkward—
"…Do you trust Vegito?" Chiaotzu asked suddenly.
Bulma didn't answer right away.
"I trust him to protect us," she said finally. "I don't trust him to anything else."
Chiaotzu frowned. "That sounds about right."
Bulma smirked. "Welcome to Saiyans."
Further out, where the mushrooms grew taller and the light dimmer, Raditz stood with his arms crossed, staring at the palace from an angle that made it look almost skeletal.
"You ever notice," he said, "how places like this never exist in strong empires?"
Vegito glanced sideways. "Meaning?"
"Too quiet. Too… alive." Raditz gestured vaguely. "Empires pave this kind of thing over. Or burn it."
Vegito smiled faintly. "You sound like you miss them."
Raditz's jaw tightened. "I miss clarity. You knew where you stood. Power meant survival."
Vegito stopped walking.
"That's the lie," he said. "Power only feels like clarity when you're winning."
Raditz scoffed. "Easy to say when you're you."
Vegito turned fully now "I'm you too. Or close enough."
Raditz met his gaze.
"You enjoy this," Raditz said. "Don't you? Being strong without a leash."
Vegito nodded. "Yeah. But that doesn't mean I don't feel the weight of it."
Raditz looked away. "Saiyans weren't meant to feel weight. We were meant to conquer."
Vegito laughed quietly. "Funny. I feel more alive fighting for just more power, For answer, Not conquer ."
Raditz snorted. "You're one weird guy."
"Maybe," Vegito said. "Or maybe im am just what it happen wen you fuse hundreds if not thousand of complex emotions into one singular being."
Raditz didn't have a comeback.
At some point, Vegito drifted upward, landing lightly on one of the palace's outer balconies. The surface was warm beneath his boots, responsive, adjusting subtly to his weight.
He placed a hand against the wall.
The palace responded.
Not with force—
Images flickered at the edge of his perception. Roots spreading across planets. Spores carried through vacuum. Civilizations rising near forests like this… and falling when they tried to own them.
"…You're old," Vegito murmured.
The palace pulsed once.
He smiled. "Yeah. Thought so."
Later, Bulma climbed up to where he stood, slightly out of breath.
"Next time," she said, "warn me when you pick vertical exploration."
Vegito offered a hand without thinking. She took it.
For just a second longer than necessary.
"Careful," she said. "You're getting too used to this."
Vegito smirked. "You're not pulling away."
She rolled her eyes. "Because I trust you not to drop me."
"That's not what I meant."
She froze, just barely.
"Vegito," Bulma said carefully, "you're a complication I didn't plan for."
He leaned against the glowing wall, relaxed, unbothered. "You planned for monster, androids, timelines collapsing. But me is where you draw the line?"
She laughed, a little breathless. "You're part Vegeta. That alone is a problem."
"And the other half?"
"…Annoyingly charm-." she them stoped mid sentence
They both went quiet.
The palace light reflected off her eyes, softening something neither of them wanted to acknowledge.
Vegito finally spoke. "I won't cross lines so be at easy."
Bulma looked at him. "I don't know where those lines are exacly."
He smiled—
Near the roots, tension crackled.
Raditz felt it before he saw it—Chiaotzu hovering in front of him, expression unreadable.
"You're angry," Chiaotzu said.
Raditz growled. "Get out of my head."
"I'm not in it," Chiaotzu replied calmly. "You're broadcasting."
Raditz clenched his fists. "You think you understand me?"
"No," Chiaotzu said. "But I understand pain that doesn't know where to go."
Raditz laughed bitterly. "Save your monk wisdom."
Chiaotzu drifted closer. "You feel unnecessary."
Raditz's eyes snapped up. "Say that again."
"You were born for a purpose that no longer exists," Chiaotzu continued, unflinching. "That's terrifying."
For a moment, Raditz looked like he might explode.
Then—he turned away.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "It is."
They regrouped near the palace entrance as the forest dimmed into a deeper, warmer glow—like an artificial sunset.
The palace interior didn't resemble a hall.
It was a hollowed cathedral of growth, walls arching inward like the ribs of a colossal creature, every surface faintly translucent. Light flowed through the structure rather than bouncing off it, veins of color drifting slowly beneath the floor and ceiling alike.
They hadn't gone ten steps inside when the hum changed.
Vegito felt it first.
"Stop," he said quietly.
Bulma froze mid-step. "What—?"
Then the light dimmed.
From the far end of the chamber, where the fungal walls converged into a natural throne-like rise, the air folded inward.
Something condensed there.
Chiaotzu's eyes widened. "What is that."
Raditz flexed his hands.
The thing stepped forward.
It was humanoid, but only in suggestion. Tall, unnaturally thin, its body composed of layered, translucent energy plates that overlapped like shards of stained glass. Each "plate" glowed with a different hue—violet, sickly green, deep indigo—shifting constantly, never settling. Its face was smooth and featureless except for a single vertical slit of light where eyes should have been.
No mouth.
And yet—
"I am Aethyrix."
The voice come from the air
"I am the will that remains."
Bulma swallowed. "That's… unsettling."
Vegito's eyes narrowed.
The energy was wrong. Not chaotic. Not divine.
It felt like a branch.
An extension of something far larger.
Interesting, he thought—but said nothing.
Raditz stepped forward half a pace. "You rule this place?"
Aethyrix tilted its head, movements too smooth, too intentional.
"I do not rule. I exist."
Chiaotzu hovered slightly forward, expression focused. "You're feeding on the forest."
"Incorrect," Aethyrix replied.
And then—
It vanished.
Raditz's eyes widened. "Behind—!"
Too late.
Chiaotzu reacted on instinct.
"Telekinetic Bind!"
The air screamed.
Invisible force wrapped around Aethyrix mid-reappearance, compressing inward from every direction. The being convulsed, its energy plates fracturing under pressure.
There was a sharp crack—
—and Aethyrix collapsed inward, imploding into a burst of fading light.
Silence.
Bulma blinked. "…Did he just—?"
Raditz laughed sharply. "Ha! That's it? Pathetic!"
Vegito didn't relax.
Neither did Chiaotzu.
"No," Chiaotzu said softly. "It's still here."
The light on the floor reassembled.
It simply became Aethyrix again, standing where it had fallen, body pristine, energy flowing faster now, denser.
The hum spiked.
Bulma's scanner screamed before shorting out.
Aethyrix moved.
This time, it was at least 4x times faster than before.
It blurred past Raditz, past Bulma, straight for Chiaotzu.
Vegito flicked his finger.
A compressed spear of ki snapped forward, barely visible—clean, precise.
It struck Aethyrix's core.
The being detonated like a popped bubble of light, scattering fragments across the chamber.
Raditz grinned. "Okay, that one was satisfying."
But Chiaotzu was already moving.
"Self-Boost Burst!"
His aura flared sharply, psychic energy amplifying his presence. Before Aethyrix could fully reform, Chiaotzu slammed his palms forward.
"Psychic Explosion Mine!"
The air itself fractured.
A spherical implosion swallowed the reforming villain, crushing inward before erupting outward in a silent, devastating burst.
Nothing remained.
For a full second.
Then—
Aethyrix stood again.
Now its energy plates glowed brighter, thicker, layered with visible density. The hum had become a pulse, synchronized with the palace itself.
"I am retention. I am—"
It vanished again.
This time, Chiaotzu didn't even see it coming.
Aethyrix reappeared inches from him, arm already raised—
—but never finished the motion.
Vegito's finger tapped the air.
Flick.
Aethyrix exploded sideways, smashed into the far wall in a smear of distorted light.
Raditz cracked his neck and stepped forward, aura igniting, eyes sharp with something between pride and hunger.
"Alright," he said, rolling his shoulders.
"Enough playing around."
He looked back briefly at Vegito, a feral grin creeping across his face.
"Leave this one to me."
His aura flared higher.
"Let me show you how big of a Zenkai i got since the tournament."
Aethyrix's form stabilized once more, its light focusing, sharpening—
It turned its attention fully to Raditz.