Chapter Text
"Where's the seal!?" Trunks asked as he and Mai held the lid to the jar shut.
If they didn't add the seal to this jar now, then Zamsau would escape, rendering all the hard work they put into sealing him pointless.
"Here!" Bulma ran up, took out the seal from her pocket, and slammed it onto the jar.
The jar stopped, moving, and went silent.
"Whew." All three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
There was a moment of silence, as the three of them silently celebrated their success.
But it couldn't last for long. And Trunks knew that.
"Mom. Take the jar, and go back to the past." Trunks told his mother, handing her the jar.
"What!? You want me to just leave you all here!?" Bulma asked as she took the jar. "I'm not just going to abandon you and Vegeta!"
"Mom, if Black gets his hands on this jar, then all of that was pointless." Trunks told her firmly. "We need to get this away from where Black can get to it, and the only safe place is the past! Please, mom! Just go!"
"You can come back if you want, just get the jar out of here!" Mai told her.
"I…alright." Bulma conceded and started running to the Time Machine and jumping inside. "But I AM coming back!"
"I know." Trunks smiled at her.
As the time machine came to life and started to activate, Black appeared above them, using Instant Transmission.
"What have you done!" Black asked, looking around for his counterpart. "My other self!? Where is he!?"
"He's gone! You're the only Zamasu left!" Trunks shouted at him, flying up to face him.
Gone! Impossible! His immortality wouldn't allow him to be killed. And yet he's nowhere to be found!? How!? Black wondered, before noticing the Time Machine beginning to rise into the air. Leaving all by herself? Has she finally come to her senses and realized the danger of being here? No. Mortals are far too stubborn to do something like that. I don't know what they did, but if I had to guess this must have something to do with my counterpart's disappearance!
Black aimed his palm at the time machine and fired a few ki blasts.
"I won't let you!" Trunks rushed in front of him and batted away the blasts with his sword.
"Hmph!" Black brought his fingers to his forehead and vanished.
Appearing behind Trunks, right in front of the time machine.
"Ahhh!" Bulma's eyes shrunk, as she saw Black's sinister smirking face right in front of her.
Black raised his hand and started gathering energy in his hand, for a point-blank ki blast.
Trunks turned around and swung his sword at Black, but he knew he was too slow, he wouldn't be able to stop him in time!
And then a flash grenade was shot right in front of his face.
BANG!
"AGH!" Black recoiled after getting a face full of light, halting his attack just long enough for Trunk's swipe to connect, hitting his shoulder, and sending him flying to the side, crashing through a lot of buildings.
"Thanks, Mai." Trunks said, nodding to his comrade in arms.
Mai nodded and gave him the thumbs up.
BOOM!
Black came rushing back at full speed towards the time machine, as it started to glow.
Trunks rushed at him with his sword, but Black created his own blade made of his and clashed with Trunks, parrying Trunks's attack, before shooting out a blast at Trunks, that carried him away into the distance.
Black continued rushing towards the time machine, thrusting his blade out in front of him.
His blade was an inch away from the glass, before Goku used Instant Transmission, and kicked Black in the side of the head, sending him tumbling to the ground, skidding across it before he landed on his feet, and dug his blade into the ground to stop himself.
Black looked up, just in time to see the time machine vanish, returning into the past.
Trunks flew back in, regrouping with Goku as Vegeta joined in as well.
"Did it work?" Vegeta asked.
"Yeah, Zamasu got sealed away!" Trunks explained. "Mom took the jar back to the past! Now it's just Black."
"Sealed!?" Black asked, scowling at them.
"Yeah, we sealed Zamsau away using the Evil Containment Wave!" Goku explained. "And Bulma just took him to the past! He can't help you anymore!"
"So…he was trapped in that jar that woman had next to her." Black realized, looking down, hiding his face behind his hair.
"That's right. I think I'll use it to decorate my bedroom." Vegeta taunted. "Perhaps I'll release him and use him as a punching bag, before sealing him away again. Without you, he's hardly a threat."
"..." Black just stood there for a while. He clenched his fist, and his body started to tremble.
"Oh? Is that fear Black?" Vegeta smirked. "Is the inevitability of your demise finally sinking in?"
"...No fear. Just. FURY!" Suddenly Black threw his head back up, and his aura exploded. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The earth shook, and Trunks, Vegeta, and Goku's eyes widened.
"He's getting even stronger!" Trunks said.
"I will not lose! I can not lose!" Black screamed. "I am the hope of the Universe! I am the answer to a cosmos that cries out for peace! I am the destroyer of sinners! I am the light in the darkness! I am truth! Ally to good! Nightmare to you! I am Zamsasu! The god! OF JUSTICE!"
Black's aura exploded upward like a blade, and pierced into the sky, literally cutting through the fabric of reality.
"N-No way." Trunks and the rest stared on in horror, at the terrifying sight before them.
Black stood, his appearance slightly different. His hair was just a bit more spikey than before, and red bolts of electricity crackled off of him, above him was a massive, ominous hole in the sky, which had now turned pink.
"I-is that…" Trunks stuttered, not even wanting to finish his sentence.
"Yeah, it looks like Super Saiyan 2," Goku confirmed.
"...I suppose you think you're clever. Sealing away my counterpart." Black said, looking up at his shocked foes. "But you mortals made one. Crucial mistake."
Suddenly Black appeared in front of Trunks, and before the half-Saiyan could react or get over his shock, Black got close, put two fingers to Trunks's chest, and stared him right in the eyes. "You angered a god."
BOOM!
Black delivered a devastating one-inch punch, sending Trunks flying. Crashing through multiple buildings, before hitting the ground and tearing up the already destroyed street as he skidded through it, before eventually coming to a stop. He laid face first on the ground, his hair returning to its normal color as he was forced back into his base form.
"Trunks!" Vegeta cried out towards his son, before looking back at Black with a look of pure fury on his face and charging towards him. "You bastard! You'll payyyyyyyyy!"
Vegeta launched a punch at Black's face, but Black casually caught his fist.
"Grrrrr! Harahhh!" Vegeta head-butted Black, but the god didn't even flinch.
Black tossed Vegeta's fist aside, before grabbing Vegeta by the hair, bringing his other arm up to Vegeta's chest, and opening his palm.
BLAM!
Black shot out a powerful, point-blank blast at Vegeta's chest.
"Ah! AGHHHHHH!" Vegeta shouted out in pain.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Black shot out a rapid series of point-blank shots, bit by bit destroying Vegeta's armor until he was completely shirtless.
Then Black flattened his hand, turned it to the side, and placed it against the center of Vegeta's chest.
"Stop it!" Goku's aura burst as he went to punch Black in the face.
Then two clones of black formed from the mist around the rift, and rushed in, grabbing Goku, and holding him back.
"AGH! Let go!" Goku struggled against the clones, but they held firm.
Black smirked at Goku for a second, before turning back to Vegeta.
BRRRRR!
Black formed a blade with his hand, stabbing through Vegeta's chest and impaling him.
"Ahhhh! Ahhhhhh." Vegeta gasped, as the blue faded from his hair.
"Goodbye, Vegeta," Black said, unmaking the sword, letting go of Vegeta, and then kicking him over to Trunks, the two now both unconscious on the ground.
Then Black turned to Goku. "You know Goku, I really had hoped to draw this out longer. But after what you've done I can no longer tolerate your existence! You die now!"
"Grrr! KAIOKEN!" Goku's aura exploded as red overlapped with blue, his power causing the two clones holding him to turn back into smoke.
He charged at Black and tried to kick Black in the face, but Black fell back, dodging the punch, caught Goku's arm with his legs, and then threw him down to the ground.
Goku slammed into the street, creating a larger crater, and then Black rushed down and kicked Goku in the stomach so hard, it tripled the size of the crater.
Black flipped him and Goku kicked his leg back and kicked Goku back up into the air.
Then he once again formed a scythe and rushed up at Goku, unleashing a few slashes of energy at Goku that slammed into him and tore apart his clothes.
Black rushed past Goku, grabbing him with his scythe, flying higher into the air, spinning around, and then throwing Goku, before unleashing another energy slash from his scythe at him.
The slash hit Goku and exploded, shaking the earth and creating a massive cloud of smoke.
"HA!" Goku powered up, pushing away the smoke.
Only to reveal he was now surrounded by an army of Goku Black clones that were charging Kamehamehas.
"It's over Goku," Black said, flying above all of them.
SNAP!
With the snap of his fingers, the clones fired.
Goku could do nothing, but put his arms to block, and hope for the best.
KABOOM!
A massive explosion shook the world, and the shockwave destroyed every nearby building and street.
A huge smoke cloud was left, and Goku fell out of it, now in base form.
As he fell, one of the clones kicked him over to Vegeta and Trunks, the three of them now lying on the ground.
"Ahhh. Ahhhhh." Goku grunted, as he slowly forced himself back on his feet, the army of Goku Blacks looming over him.
For a moment, there was silence, as Black just stared at the downed Goku.
Then, Black returned to his base form and raised his hands over his head.
All of his clones raised one of their arms, and energy flew out of them.
Slowly, a ball of blue energy formed above black, getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until a massive spirit bomb was floating over Black's head.
"This attack. Created by a god. Meant to smite evil. This shall be what ends your lives." Black said.
Meanwhile, Mai was looking up at the massive ball of Genki in fear, as she rushed everyone deep underground. "Everyone get ready for impact! Take cover!"
"Ha!" Black threw his arms down, throwing the spirit bomb down at Goku and his fallen allies.
Goku his own ace in the hole, barreling down at him. His body was exhausted, and his power wasn't enough to finish off Black anyway. He was at his limit.
He threw back his arms and charged. "Kame! Hame! Hame! HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Goku unleashed a Kamehameha at the Spirit Bomb, at the same time bursting back into Super Saiyan Blue.
The beam collided with the Spirit Bomb, stopping it.
"Why?" Black asked, not looking particularly troubled. "Why can't you see what I see? You barely have the energy left to even stand, and yet you have somehow regained your godly form to resist me. Humanity, weak and fragile, yet despite the efforts of a god, they remain. Blasphemous as it may be, that resounding will, is beautiful. A miracle. A gift of the gods! Can you not tell what that will was given to you for? It was meant to oppose evil! And yet evil has flourished!? Where was this willpower? Where was this resilience?"
Black sighed and gave a sad look. "Perhaps Mortals were created wrong. Doomed from the start. Or perhaps this too is a failing of the gods. Unable to properly guide their own creations towards utopia. Perhaps. If I had ignored Gowasu's words. And guided mankind myself, I could have made even mortals into something beautiful? Well…I suppose there's no use in pondering that now."
In a flash, Black powered back up into Super Saiyan Rose 2, and the Spirit Bomb once again started moving toward Goku. "Mankind's only salvation now is death! And so as your god, I give you this final gift. Oblivion!"
The Spirit Bomb kept pushing until it reached Goku.
Goku stopped his Kamehameha and tried to stop it with his bare hands, pushing it back with everything he had left. "Kaioken! Times 20!"
His Kaioken flared to life, but he could feel it, it was far from enough.
"Son Goku. A mighty tree that grew higher and higher, until it pierced the heavens themselves." Black said. "The slothful, ignorant gods saw this and chose to ignore it. All except one. That one god could bear the blasphemy of this act no longer, and so carved out the tree. Using its wood he crafted a sword that would be used to strike down the sinful mortals and gods alike, that allowed such a sinful tree to grow. Now as the god finishes his work, he turns upon the tree. He admires its beauty, but all the same, he raises his sword. Farewell Son Goku. Fall!"
Black pushed his hand forward, and in an instant, Goku was consumed.
The spirit bomb exploded, detonating in a brilliant blue flash that illuminated what was left of the destroyed city.
A few moments later, the light faded, leaving only an empty crater, where the three warriors once were.
Black looked down at the crater, and released a sigh of relief, before turning around. "This. Is a god's work."
BRRWWORRRRMMMMM!"
Suddenly, a beam of silver light erupted from the center of the crater. The light once again illuminated the city, and pierced through the clouds.
"What!?" Black turned back around, looking at the pillar of silver light in shock and awe.
At the bottom of the pillar, a silhouette of Goku could be seen, rising from the ground with his back turned to Black.
A moment later the pillar vanished, leaving Goku, his hair still black, but his entire body shrouded in silver light.
Slowly, Goku turned around, looking up at Black, his eyes now silver.
"How…what is this?" Black looked at Goku in pure astonishment, before shaking his head. "No. No matter. Whatever this may be, it pales in comparison to the might of a god."
SNAP!
With the snap of his fingers, Black sent every single clone he had at Goku. Dozens, maybe hundreds of clones all rushing in at Goku simultaneously, coming onto him like a flood.
FWO!
Black only felt a gentle gust of wind blow past him, to indicate that Goku had vanished from his spot, and was now behind him.
TWING.
Each clone suddenly had a small spotlight up on their bodies, creating what looked like a field of stars in front of him.
BOOM!
And in the next moment, each and every clone exploded, turning back into smoke.
"Ahhh. Ahhhhh." Black stared at the field of smoke in shock, before quickly getting a hold of himself and turning around swiping his fist at Goku's head, but Goku ducked under the attack with astonishing speed, before kicking Black in the face with the back of his foot, sending him flying away.
Black stopped himself in the air right before he hit a building, but the moment he did, Goku was right in front of his face.
Suddenly Black was being hammered with punches all across his body, being delivered so fast that it looked like Goku was standing still. Then Goku's eyes flashed, and one grand blow slammed into Black's chest, sending him flying through the building, the building behind that one, and the building behind that, before crashing into one final building.
The building exploded, as Black rushed back at Goku, scythe in hand.
When he reached Goku he delivered a horizontal slash with his scythe, and Goku flipped backward to dodge it, and then Black delivered a vertical slash, which Goku spun to the left to dodge, using the moment of that spin to deliver a powerful kick to the left of Black's face.
Black was sent flying to the side, towards the ground, skidding through the ground, before crashing into the base of a building.
"Grrrrrr! Damn, mortals!" Black growled, as Goku floated down to ground level, and started walking towards him. "Don't get cocky!"
Black called down six clones, next to him, and all of them flew at Goku, ki blades drawn.
Goku continued walking towards Black calmly, as the clones approached him in a line.
The first one approached and swiped at his head, and it was like time slowed down, as Goku duked under that attack and the clone flew past him.
After that the next clone rushed at him, blade held forward, trying to impale him, but Goku just jumped over him, and continued forward.
The third clone went low to slash at his feet, but Goku just stepped over his attack and continued forward.
Lastly, the three other clones approached him at the same time, one coming from the right, the other from the left, and the last one flying down from above.
In one moment, their blades were close to slashing into Goku. In the next, Goku was suddenly upside down, catching two blades with his fingers, and the last one above him, with his toes.
Goku flipped right side up again, throwing the clone he'd caught with his toes, before spinning and throwing the other two away as he did so. Before continuing to walk towards Black.
Impossible! Black thought as he saw Goku's movements. It can't be!
All the clones that had missed Goku, came flying back at him from behind, but Goku paid them no mind, continuing to walk closer. As the clones got close, suddenly, something swiped behind Goku, and all the clones exploded into smoke.
His movements. They're like hers. Black thought, as his mind went back to a day, many, many decades before now.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So Lord Rumsshi, how have you been these past few eons?" Gowasu asked as he had tea with the destroyer of his Universe, while his angel attendant stood beside him.
"I've been well. Destroying worlds, eating good. All that." Rumsshi said casually as he sipped his tea. "Building some muscle as well."
Kusu sighed. "I keep telling you Lord Rumsshi that just mindlessly gaining muscle won't do you much good. At this rate, you'll never obtain Ultra Instinct."
"Ultra. Instinct?" Zamasu asked as he wheeled in more tea for their guests.
"My goodness Gowasu, did you not even tell him about that?" Rumsshi sighed.
"Right, I suppose I should teach you about that," Gowasu said, turning his attention to his apprentice. "Ultra Instinct is the most sacred technique of the gods. As well as the most difficult, to obtain and master. With it, one's body acts without thought, automatically dodging, blocking, and countering with perfect timing. At its highest level, you'd be practically impossible."
"Truly?" Zamasu asked, his eyes going wide at this revelation. "Such a technique exists?"
"Yes. But as I said it is difficult for even destroyer gods to obtain. And even harder to master. Currently, the only God of Destruction who is even close to mastering it is the 7th universe's destroyer." Gowasu explained.
"Hmph. The only reason he's gotten that far is because his head is already empty." Rumsshi huffed.
"Although all Angles are born already having mastered this technique." Gowasu continued.
"Really." Zamasu looked at Kusu, who smiled and held up two fingers in a V shape. "If I may, I would be honored if you could show me such a mythical technique."
"Oh, that sounds like fun." Kusu giggled, before looking at her destroyer. "What do you say lord Rumsshi? Shall I give him a demonstration?"
"Hmm. Very well. It might be slightly entertaining." Rumsshi said, "Go on."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Going to the courtyard, Zamasu and Kusu stared each other down. Zamasu was in a battle-ready stance, and Kusu just standing casually, holding her staff and looking like she was about to play a fun game.
Little did he know exactly what she was about to do.
Zamasu rushed forward, forming a ki blade with his hand, and launching a horizontal slice at Kusu's head.
Only for her to casually dodge it, moving her head so fast Zamasu couldn't even see her move.
Zamasu, freaking out by this, moved back a little, before unleashing multiple thrusts at Kusu.
Kusu casually dodged each thrust, while never moving from her spot.
Getting more and more unnerved by how easily she was dodging his attack, Zamasu jumped back further, and flew into the air, before raining down ki blasts on her.
Kusu flew towards Zamasu slowly, casually dodging each ki blast with incredible bursts of speed, before getting close to Zamsau, and then vanishing.
"What!?" Zamasu was shocked by her sudden disappearance until he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
He turned around and saw Kusu floating behind him, giving him a little friendly wave. "Hello."
"Ha!" Zamasu swiped his blade at her, but she just caught it with her fingers.
She threw his hand to the side and then brought her staff to his forehead. "Boop."
The angel tapped Zamasu with her staff, slamming him into the ground, with extreme force, creating a big cloud of dust and debris.
Kusu flew down and looked at the cloud as it dissipated, revealing Zamasu who was back on his feet, still ready to fight, but a bit shaken by the blow.
"Oh my, you're still standing after that. You certainly are strong. You must have trained relentlessly." Kusu giggled. "For that, I'll show you just a bit more of Ultra Instinct's power. Don't blink."
Zamasu readied himself, bracing himself for whatever would come next.
Then, suddenly, points all over Zamsau's body twinkled like stars. And in the next moment, Zamsau felt like he was being assaulted from all angles, by blows stronger than anything he'd ever felt before.
Once the barrage was over, Zamasu felt his consciousness slipping away, and everything went black.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Black rushed forward, ki blade enveloping his hand, and when he reached Goku he unleashed multiple thrusts towards him, just like he'd done to Kusu that day.
And just like that day, Goku casually dodged each one, moving his body without moving from his spot, before kicking Black in the chin, sending him flying upwards.
Black stopped himself and unleashed a barrage of Ki blasts down on him.
Goku flew up, dodging each blast with small bursts of speed, until he got close to Black, and then vanished.
Being familiar with this situation, Black wasted no time, spinning around while swiping his blade behind him, but Goku just caught it with his fingers.
Black looked at Goku in shock and suddenly saw an image of Kusu overlaid with Goku, their stance almost exactly the same.
A small twinkle appeared on Black's forehead, and then he was suddenly launched back, slamming into the side of another building.
As Black lay in the crater he'd made in that building his mind was racing. How!? How could a mortal possibly achieve something even gods struggle with!?
Then he recalled something.
Currently, the only God of Destruction who is even close to mastering it is the 7th's universe's destroyer. Gowasu's words echoed in his head.
Beerus. It appears they were far closer than I'd realized. Black frowned, a feeling of rage filling him before suddenly he had an apathy, and a viscous smirk crawled over his face.
He brought his fingers to his forehead and used Instant Transmission to teleport in front of Goku.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Bravo Goku. Bravo." Black said as he gave Goku a slow applause. "Achieving Ultra Instinct, a technique that even the gods struggle to attain. I should be furious that you've managed to defile, even the most sacred technique of the gods, but I'm actually rather glad."
Black held up two fingers. "And that is because now I know that I too will soon obtain this technique! I have your body! Anything you're capable of, I can do, and more! It's only a matter of time. And unlike you, I will have all the time in the world to master this technique. After all, this incomplete power has no chance of beating me. While reflexes and speed are incredible, the actual strength of your blows leaves much to be desired. Not to mention I can only imagine what kind of stain this divine technique is putting on your battered and beaten body. Your demise is inevitable-pah!"
Suddenly Goku rushed forward and punched Black in the face, sending him flying back a bit before he stopped himself.
Black extended his ki blade and shot out energy arrows at Goku, and with one swipe, Goku caught them all between his fingers, before throwing them back at Black.
The renegade god batted most of them away with his ki blade, but once managed to stab into his arm.
While Black was distracted by the pain, Goku appeared above him, and kicked him in the head, sending him flying down.
Goku appeared back on ground level, and before Black could crash into the ground, he launched a shock wave from his fist at Black.
The shockwave hit him, and broke apart into multiple shockwaves, hitting him like punches, and sending him crashing into the base of another building.
Black rushed out of the building, back towards Goku, forming another scythe in his hand, then breaking it in half, and making it change form into a pair of sickles with a chain attached to them.
He threw out one of his sickles and manipulated the chain to make it fly at Goku from the side, but Goku jumped up, letting the sickle and chain fly under him.
But Black moved the chain around, causing it to spin upwards, the chain surrounding Goku threatening to wrap around Goku.
Goku brought his finger to his head, and just before the chains ensnared him, Goku vanished.
Black turned around and used his other sickle to block a kick from Goku. The god smirked. "Predictable."
Goku bounced back off of Black's sickle as Black recalled his other sickle, and started spinning them around on their chains, before launching them at Goku.
The earth-raised Saiyan jumped and flipped around, dodging each swipe from the sickles, before flipping onto the side of a building and launching himself at Black with insane speed.
Black could barely react in time, raising his sickle to block, but when Goku reached him, he flipped over him, and then kicked him in the back of the head, sending him flying yet again.
After sliding across the ground like a rock, Black dug his sickles into the ground, slowing and eventually stopping himself.
Black reformed his chain sickles, turning it back into a scythe, but this time it was a double-bladed scythe, and he threw it at Goku.
Goku jumped over it, and the scythe flew past him, before turning around and rushing back towards Goku.
Seeing this, Goku flew away, flying up into the air as the scythe followed him.
Goku threw some ki blasts at the scythe, but it just cut them in two.
Then Goku created a destructo disk and threw it at the scythe.
The two attacks collided, grinding against each other for a second, before exploding.
And then before Goku could do anything else, suddenly he was surrounded by Goku Black clones, once again.
The clones shot ki blasts at him from every angle, creating hundreds of blasts all aimed at Goku.
As the blasts got closer, it was like time slowed down.
Goku batted away five blasts, dodged a few more, and then kicked another ki blasts towards one of the clones.
He continued dodging, and parrying blasts, redirecting them to hit other clones until every blast was dealt with.
All at once the redirected blasts slammed into the clones, turning them back into mist.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Goku roared, sending waves of pressure from his body, dispersing the mist before it could reform back into the clones.
And as soon as he was done with, Black appeared, right in front of him with Instant Transmission, with a fully charged Kamehameha.
"HA!" Black thrust the attack point blank into Goku's face, but just as the blast was leaving Black's hand, Goku flipped backward, and kicked Black's hands upwards, causing the Kamehameha to misfire into the sky. "What!? OUGH!"
Next thing Black knew, Goku's knee was lodged in his stomach.
Goku moved back while Black was still stunned by the attack. He stared at Black, and then his eyes glowed.
Black was once again assaulted by a barrage of punches, before getting hit by one larger punch and sent flying away.
As Black flew into the distance, Goku released a breath.
And then he felt it.
His power beginning to fade.
Goku landed on a building below him and fell to one knee. His eyes started to flash between silver, and their normal color. "Grrrrr! Grrrrr!"
He struggled to try and keep hold of this new power, but he was failing. Soon he would return to base form.
Black appeared above him using Instant Transmission. "It looks like your body can no longer imitate the movements of the divine. It seems your time has finally come, Son Goku."
"Not yet Zamasu." Said a familiar voice
"Huh?" Black's eyes widened as Gowasu walked up behind Goku.
"Gowasu?" Goku asked as Gowasu stood behind him.
"First I would like to praise you, Son Goku, for achieving this miracle. No. Calling it that would do you a disservice." Gowasu said. "While it is not the complete form of Ultra Instinct, to achieve this much, in your short mortal lifespan, is a feat that can not be undermined. Well done. However, as Zamasu has said, the flicker of Ultra Instinct ignited inside of you, has begun to fade. And once that happens, there will be nothing stopping Zamasu from destroying this timeline."
"Saving. This timeline." Black corrected.
"Which is why, I will not allow that to happen." Gowasu put his hand on Goku's shoulder.
Gowasu and Goku were covered in golden fire, and Goku suddenly felt his power begin to flicker back to life.
"I will burn away the remainder of my life, to use as fuel for your Ultra Instinct," Gowasu said, his voice resolute.
"What!?" Goku looked at him in shock. "But Gowasu, you'll die!"
"It is a price I must pay, to atone for my sins," Gowasu said, looking back up at Black, who was staring down at him in shock, with a sad expression. "I have already passed the title of Supreme Kai to the South Kai. So Rumsshi won't pass after my death."
"...Ha…ha ha ha…ha ha ha! Ahahahahahaha!" Black suddenly burst into laughter. "Atone for your sins! You think this is a noble sacrifice!? Don't make me laugh!"
Black raised his hand and made a black power ball. "Why!? Why now!? Why now intervene with the world of mortals!? With a world that's not even yours!? The Zamasu of your world is dead, you have NO reason to oppose me! You have watched mortals suffer and die for eons! So why now does it bother you! Do you truly just despise me that much!? Is that it!? Was taking me as your apprentice just a way to torment me! Make me watch as the universe and all its beauty was tarnished while telling me to sit and do nothing!?"
"...Zamasu. I cherished you. More than you can ever know." Gowasu said. "So much so, I became blind to what you were becoming. And so I failed to steer you away from this path. My negligence has damned countless souls. Yourself included. And for this sin. I will burn."
The golden fire burned brighter, and Goku could feel more and more strength returned to his body.
"Fool. Such a fool!" Black roared and prepared to throw the black power ball. "You're a fool if you think I'll allow this!"
But just as the attack was about to leave his hand, it was shot out of his hand, and into the air, blowing up harmlessly away from everyone.
"What!?" Black looked in the direction where the blast came from and saw Vegeta flying not too far away. "How! You should have been killed by the spirit bomb!?"
"Son Goku absorbed most of the spirit bomb's power when it exploded," Gowasu explained. "This is how he broke through his limits and achieved Ultra Instinct. What was left of the blast wasn't strong enough to kill them, simply put them on the brink of death. Universe 7th's Supreme Kai quickly whisked them away and fed them those miracle beans. And I believe you know what happens when a Saiyan comes back from the edge of death."
"Did you think I would die so easily!" Vegeta shouted, as he charged up, his blue aura exploding from his body. "No! I refuse to die at your stolen hands! You killed Bulma! Terrorized MY son! I swear to you! YOU! WILL! DIE! HUUUUHHHHHHHH! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Vegeta's aura started to change color, turning a deeper shade of blue, and small sparkles appeared. Vegeta's hair turned that same shade of blue, as his muscles bulked up a bit, and his eyes changed, becoming that same shade of blue. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Grrrr! What is this!? An advanced version of Super Saiyan Blue." Black deduced. "Tch! No matter! Have at you!"
Black and Vegeta rushed at each other, and Black thrust his blade at Vegeta's head, Vegeta tilted his head to the side dodging it, before leaning back and kicking Black in the chin.
"Grrr!" Black backed up and released an energy slash at Vegeta.
Vegeta raised his arm to block, and the slash landed, exploded on contact, and sent Vegeta flying back a bit.
Black summoned dozens of clones behind him and sent them flying toward Vegeta like a swarm.
Vegeta brought his hands together, and pushed them out in front of him, before charging yellow energy in his palms as quickly as possible.
"Hmph." Black brought his hand to his forehead and vanished.
The clones got closer and closer to Vegeta, and when they were almost close enough to touch him, Vegeta fired.
"Final Flash!" Vegeta released a massive wave of energy that annihilated the wave of clones in front of him.
A moment later, Vegeta stopped his attack, and the beam faded, leaving nothing but smoke.
But Vegeta didn't get any time to breathe, as more clones came in, from every angle, one coming up behind him and grabbing him.
Before Vegeta could throw him off, more clones started grabbing him. Surrounding him until Vegeta was trapped in a ball of clones.
"Hmph." Black flew down, seeing Vegeta was stuck. He thought about killing him, but he knew spending any more time on Vegeta was a poor idea, when Goku was gradually gaining more energy.
He turned to face Goku and Gowasu and was about to charge in and attack when he realized something. Wait, if Vegeta survived, then surely Trunks must have as well. Then where is he?
Black started looking for Turnks's energy and quickly found it.
Right behind him.
Quickly he turned around and saw Trunks standing in a building. His sword was stabbed into the roof next to him, and his scabbard was also stabbed into the roof, but it was put in front of him.
"EVIL CONTAINMENT!" Trunks shouted as he shot out a green vortex in front of him.
"What!?" Black was too shocked to react in time, and he was caught by the vortex, turning into energy and becoming part of it. "This! This is the move that sealed my counterpart!"
"HA!" Trunks threw his hands down and threw the wave of energy into his scabbard. Then he picked up his sword, and plunged it into the scabbard."Grrrrrrrrr!"
Trunks pushed down with all his might, as he could feel Black trying to get out, and without a seal, there would be nothing to keep him locked inside.
Meanwhile, in the ball of Black clones, suddenly blue energy leaked through the holes, and then there was a burst of energy. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"
In a flash, all of the clones were turned back into smoke, and Vegeta was free.
"Father! I need help!" Trunks said as he struggled to keep the sword in the sheath, it slowly rose upwards despite his best efforts.
Vegeta rushed over and helped try to keep the sword inside. "We have to keep him trapped! Long enough for Kakarot to finish powering up! Push Trunks! Push!"
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The two screamed as they both pushed down as hard as they could.
The sword stopped moving upwards and actually started moving down. Slowly but surely, until the sword was fully sheathed.
BWEMMM! BRRRRRRRRRR!
And then the scabbard and sword, before exploding, sending Vegeta and Trunks falling back, the hilt of Trunks's now broken sword falling next to him, as Goku black burst out in a beam of pink light.
Looking absolutely livid.
"How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!" Black screamed, shaking the earth with his rage.
He was about to attack Vegeta and Trunks, but then he noticed Goku in the corner of his eyes.
The golden fire around Goku and Gowasu had turned silver, and all of it began to pour into Goku's body. The process was nearly complete.
"No more distractions!" Black shouted and then flew as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
"He's ... running away?!" Trunks asked in confusion.
"No. He's just raring up for something. Big." Vegeta said. "Get ready."
Black continued to fly away, getting outside the city, continuing on, and on, charging up energy around him as he flew.
Eventually, he made a U-Turn and charged back towards the city.
He thrust his fist forward. "DIVINE DRAGON FIST!"
Black's energy wrapped around him, until it formed into the shape of a massive dragon that looked very close to Super Shenron. But with black and red scales and pink eyes.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The dark dragon roared as it barreled towards the city.
Vegeta and Trunks looked at the oncoming dragon.
"Tch. So that's what he's planning. He's going to try and destroy Kakarot in one go, and if we get in his way he'll just destroy us too. All with this one attack." Vegeta deduced. "Hmph. What a fool."
"Father. Let's do this." Trunks said, pulling his arms back, and charging up an attack. "For everyone!"
"Well show this bastard the power of Saiyans!" Vegeta shouted as he cocked his hands back to charge the same move.
"Galick Gun!" Vegeta and Trunks shouted as they both shot out a beam of purple energy, the beams combining together, to create one massive beam that rushed towards the dark dragon.
The beam engulfed the dragon, but it kept going, through the Galick Gun, toward Trunks and Vegeta.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Trunks and Vegeta shouted as they poured even more energy into their attack, causing it to double in size.
The dragon ever so slightly slowed as it continued towards Vegeta and Trunks, getting closer and closer until it was upon them.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Vegeta and Trunks gave one final push with whatever they had left.
And everything exploded a burst of purple and red spreading everywhere, destroying everything it touched.
When it died down, there was just a massive crater left.
Vegeta and Trunks were left lying on the ground, and Black was standing over them. His clothes were in tatters, and his shirt was completely destroyed.
He was breathing heavily, his body covered in wounds, bleeding all over the place.
"Mortals!" Black growled, as he created an energy blade in his hand, and walked towards Vegeta and Trunks, with an expression that could only be described as murderous. "Mortals!"
"Grrrr. Errrrr." Vegeta and Trunks tried to get up, but both of them had poured everything they had in that last attack, and the explosion had left them unable to stand.
Black picked up Trunks with his scarf, and raised his blade, ready to snuff out the life of the half-Saiyan for good.
And then a pillar of light erupted on the rooftop Goku and Gowasu was on, stopping him in his tracks.
Black looked over to the pillar in horror, as it vanished.
Goku went to the edge of that building and looked down at Black, his silver eyes piercing into Black's heart and filling it with a feeling of terror.
In a flash, Goku was in front of Black and kicked him into the side of the crater.
Gowasu walked to the side of the building and looked down at the battle. "Zamasu. I will see you again soon."
With that, his body was compassed in golden light, before dissipating into small slivers of light and fading away.
Black growled as the feeling of terror continued to fill him. He was exhausted, his power had decreased by a good bit, and now Goku was back and ready to go.
The writing was on the wall, it seemed obvious how this would play. The wind was not blowing in his favor.
"Mortals! Mortals! Mortals!" Black shouted out in a combination of fear and rage.
He flew upwards and summoned more and more clones from the tear until the crater was surrounded by hundreds of clones.
Goku continued to look straight at Black. Then, he pulled his hands back. "Kame."
"Die!" Black cried as all of his clones dived in at Goku.
One clone came up and tried to slash at him, and Goku parried it with the uncharged Kamehameha ball, before kicking the clone away.
Multiple clones came at him from behind, blades ready, and Goku parried all of their strikes with his uncharged Kamehameha, all the while continuing to charge it. "Hame!"
The clones started shooting ki blasts while others dived in. Some were bumping into each other or destroying each other in a desperate dive towards Goku.
Three clones rushed at Goku from the front, and Goku parried all three of their blades at once with the incomplete Kamehameha, five more clones approached him from the back, and Goku did a sweeping kick behind him, creating an energy wave that destroyed the give clones.
He dodged the barrage of ki blasts with ease, before making a ki ball with his foot and shooting it up at the clones.
The ball split into many smaller balls that pierced through the clones, destroying them.
"Hame!" Goku continued to charge his attack. "Hame!"
Many clones came down at him all at once, their blades ready to swipe down at him from above, but Goku raised the uncharged Kamehameha ball above him, blocking all of their blades.
Goku then jumped up, blowing all of them back, before flipping mid-air to face, Black, and jumping off one of the clones, towards him.
A wall of clones went in between him and Black, and Goku's eyes flashed, punching a hole through the wall as he continued towards Black.
Black, with no other options, poured all his remaining power into his ki blade, expanding it significantly and thrust it forward at Goku.
But Goku ducked under the thrust, dancing under the blade, as he pushed the unlaunched Kamehameha, right into Black's stomach.
"HA!" Goku launched the attack, engulfing Black in a bright blue beam.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Black screamed as his body was slowly destroyed and he was carried higher into the air by the attack.
SNAP!
His time ring broke, turning into pieces that were destroyed by the brilliant wave of energy.
"THIS! CAN'T! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Black let out one last scream before his body was completely annihilated.
KABOOM!
The Kamehameha exploded in the sky, pushing away the clouds revealing the beautiful night sky, and closing the rift in space.
Goku stared up at the blue sparkles that were created as a residual from his attack, and mixed in with the stars. And he smiled as he returned to base form.
"We did it! We won!" Trunks cheers tiredly, tears of joy running down his face. "It's over Mom. We won."