Earth
"Grand Elder, do you think Planet Namek is all right?" Nail couldn't hide the worry on his face.
"Rest easy. It will be," said the Grand Elder Guru his voice thin with age yet steady.
"Grand Elder!" A carefree voice rang in Guru's mind. "You can relax Frieza's dead, and Son Gohan's already back on Earth!" It was King Kai, speaking by telepathy.
"Is that so? Excellent!" Guru's lined face softened with relief. "I knew young Gohan would pull it off." He quickly shared the good news with his people.
A flicker of ki split the air.
Gohan, Gokū, and Merus appeared at Capsule Corporation in a blink.
"Dad, fill Guru and the others in Beerus is almost here. I've got to find Auntie Bulma!" Gohan blurted. His usual poise was gone; the God of Destruction's mood was too unpredictable to gamble with. If the food wasn't ready and Beerus took offense, he might actually erase Earth.
He was early far too early. In the "original" timeline, Beerus should still have been asleep. But Gohan's search for Merus had tugged at unseen threads; Whis had noticed…and then had awakened Beerus.
"Bulma! Bulma!" Gohan sprinted into the manor, shouting.
"Yell, yell, yell what are you, a lost soul? I just finished setting up housing for those Piccolo-lookalikes and you're already here to bother me. What do you take my home for?" Bulma stormed out.
Gohan and company hadn't been on Namek long maybe two hours. The Namekians had only just arrived.
"Bulma, there's no time. We need food fast. It doesn't have to be a mountain of it, but it has to be perfect. If we're late, we might lose the whole planet." His tone was so grave that even Bulma, who knew his cocky streak, stopped and blinked.
"…Got it." She snatched up a communicator. "Patch me through to the company now. Send our top chefs to my estate. All cuisines. Move."
Orders given, she hurried to the kitchen to brief the cooking bots: crank out an opening wave of sweets palate-teasers.
The robots whirred to life.
Gohan exhaled then stiffened. "They're here."
He looked up. A ribbon of seven-colored light speared down toward Capsule Corp.
Whoosh!
"Master Whis, Lord Beerus please give us a moment. The food will be right out," Gohan said, stepping forward to receive them.
"These are the 'important guests' you wanted me to host? They don't look like much," Bulma said, hands on hips.
"Oh, please not now." Gohan clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Hehehe. Miss Bulma, is it? Forgive the sudden visit," Whis said, impeccably courteous. "We heard Earth's cuisine is renowned, so we came to sample it. Please excuse any liberties." He even offered a small bow.
"Mmph let me go." Bulma wriggled free, then eyed Whis. "Hmph. At least someone has manners. Sit tight you'll have chefs in minutes." With that, she slipped into her lab to tinker with the leftover Thundersteel she'd been studying; to her, discoveries were tastier than dessert.
"Rude little mortal," Beerus muttered. If not for the promised food, he'd have leveled the place already. He made a quiet decision: if it wasn't good, the planet was gone.
Gohan seated them beneath a garden parasol. The bots rolled out the sweets.
Pudding. Mousse. Mille crêpe cake…
"Oh! This looks delightful. Gohan, what is this?" Whis prodded the glossy pudding with his spoon.
Boing. Boing.
"What bounce," Beerus said, genuinely surprised.
They each took a spoonful.
"So silky! Sweet but not cloying, and so tender," Whis murmured as his eyes lit.
Beerus scooped one up on a claw and popped it into his mouth.
"Delicious. Delicious!" The pudding conquered the God of Destruction in a bite.
Gohan finally let his shoulders drop.
The mille crêpe, the mousse, the rest vanished at the same pace the robots could plate them.
"Hey any food for me? I'm starving," Gokū wandered over, having just finished briefing the Namekians. Merus came along behind him.
"Dad guests first." Gohan shot him a look.
Merus took a seat as well. "Big brother, what brings you?"
Whis savored a pudding before answering. "I felt you extend your divine sense. Father told me to keep an eye on you."
"So I'm that unreliable, huh?" Merus muttered, affronted.
The angels ate and chatted; Beerus, meanwhile, transformed into a bottomless pit.
Gohan pulled Gokū aside and, in a low voice, sketched the hierarchy: King Yemma, the Kais, the Supreme Kai, the God of Destruction, the angels…
"Whoa. So many heavy hitters in this universe!" Gokū counted them off on his fingers, eyes sparkling.
"Don't get excited. Right now we could maybe tangle with the Supreme Kai. That one" Gohan flicked a glance at Beerus "is several transformations beyond us."
"Even stronger… Now that's exciting," Gokū whispered, fighting to tamp down his battle-high as Beerus's gaze cut their way sharp enough to raise gooseflesh.
Ten minutes later, Bulma's chefs arrived in force. Mobile ranges unfolded; knives flashed.
Tempura. Salmon. Sashimi…
Course after course streamed out without limit.
And then five bottomless pits Beerus, Whis, Gokū, Gohan, and Merus joined the fray. At full output, plates evaporated.
The chefs exchanged looks and picked up the pace.
They ate from one in the afternoon until seven at night. Only when a dozen chefs were sagging on their feet did the five slow down.
"Glorious. Simply glorious," Beerus said, patting his stomach and letting out a satisfied burp.
"I quite agree. I've never eaten so well. How did I overlook this little treasure of a planet?" Whis marveled.
"Master Whis," Gohan said, smiling, "Earth's current civilization is only a few thousand years old. The naps you take would span several civilizations here."
"Mmm. Fair point," Whis nodded.
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