PART TWENTY ONE: THE HOPE FOR A WHOLE UNIVERSE

Chapter 105

Translated by npberryhill

Once the ring was in its proper place again, the Vargas were ready to announce the next battle. “We now call Bra of universe 16 and Eleim of universe 19 to the ring!” the loudspeaker rang.

“Damn! How is my father still not back? What the hell could he be doing?” Bra murmured angrily through gritted teeth.

Piccolo quietly responded. “There’s nothing to worry about. Just focus on your fight, don’t be distracted by anything else.”

She flew away without replying, landing with a heavy THUD on the ring, making a small crater. The severity of the 100G, in addition to her extremely heavy clothing, pulled her towards the ground harder than any of the other creatures of the other universes. But Bra was someone special.

‘Hah! All this weight will allow me to train more! Given how weak my opponent is...’ Bra thought in the meantime.

Down in the universe 19 area, Eleim prepared himself mentally. He received a few words of encouragement from his friends and comrades, warriors all. As he then flew into the ring, a single sentence echoed in the back of his head.

‘You are our last hope, Eleim.’

They’d had no idea... The tournament had come to them as a completely unexpected opportunity, and they had registered only three participants. Additionally, they hadn’t expected such powerful beings to exist, especially without the aid of any technology! After the death of Tidar and the defeat of Xeniloum... even if his armor hadn’t been stolen, Eleim definitely was their last hope. He carried a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. Everyone was counting on him.

Now... only he remained. Up in the ring, facing such a formidable opponent, he knew he could rely only on himself, his reflexes, his experience, and his determination.

‘With such intense gravity, the G-module on my armor will have to compensate continually. And this girl handicaps herself just for laughs! I’ve got to use it to my advantage... It might be my only chance.’

Bra had not budged. The advantage to be taken from the start was Eleim’s. The techno warrior quickly raised his left arm, bracing with his right. Next he launched a sphere of light out of the gun on his wrist, which moved slowly towards its target—who still made no move whatsoever.

‘Hmm! That’s his really slow but really powerful thingy. Alright, let’s go!’

Bra immediately sprang forward, rapidly transforming into a Super Saiyan. But the heaviness of her clothes slowed her significantly, allowing Eleim enough time to barely react. The girl had avoided the first attack, which exploded behind her, and instead made a direct charge at her enemy. This activated his armor’s special melee shield, which stopped the girl’s blow with a thunderously loud shockwave. Though he’d been protected, the impact of the two colliding was enough to bring him down to one knee.

But Bra did not seem content at that. With a smile, she decided to test the strength of the shield.

Eleim could see it in her eyes, she already knew she would win... Sweat poured down his forehead as he tried to look as fast as he could for a weakness, any kind of soft spot, something! And find something he did.

After several blows, Bra suddenly felt the grip of much stronger gravity pull her towards the ring. She hadn’t been expecting the change, and found herself brought down onto her hands and knees. Eleim rose to his feet, keeping his hand extended towards Bra, who grumbled in her struggles to stand back up.

“What’s with this sudden heaviness?”

“Facing off against such massive strength as yours, I realized gravity was my only ally. With the force I applied, you should have been dead immediately...”

Eleim was now a few steps closer. Bra clenched her teeth, forced a smile, and then rose up on two feet.

“Ha Ha Ha! You’ll need a lot more than that!”

“Well, if you survive this too, at least you’ll be stunned.”

Eleim fired his most powerful energy sphere a second time. He knew had a much better chance to hit her, now that she was paralyzed by gravity. But the young woman managed to raise two fingers to her forehead and disappear just in the nick of time.

She reappeared behind him, right fist pulled back and ready to strike, a smile on her lips... which vanished immediately. The increased gravity persisted in spite of her teleportation. Bra fell heavily towards the ring again even as Eleim turned to her in shock, his heart pounding through his armor.

“Farewell!” he cried, firing a powerful laser out of the tips of his forefinger.

Bra managed to roll to the side, barely, and avoid the slicing attack. The laser, which cut through the ring as if it were nothing but a knob of brick, made its way into the area of universe 18. Uub was unfortunately standing in its direct path, and found himself unable to avoid it in time. The laser sliced off his right arm and left him screaming in pain.

“Ah No! Come on, not again!”

“I’m coming!” Buu of universe 4 shouted with an almost hilarious look on his face.

“Oh no! It’s the same attack that cuts through our shields, the spectators are in danger!” a Varga cried, turning to the Namek superior behind them.

Eleim continued swinging his finger around, missing the evasive Bra each time—the laser sliced through the shields like butter. Behind the barrier, hundreds of spectators were diced into bits, and were now dead or dying. Soon, the bleachers themselves began to collapse.

Buu arrived in universe 18’s designated area with a smile, met immediately by a hopeful Uub. “Do you have chocolate?” the djinn asked.

“What? No, I don’t.”

“Well, no chocolate, no arms!”

Goten and Trunks nearly keeled over from their laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Uub yelled, sweating with worry.

“Everything’s okay, I’m just kidding!” Buu said. “And...POP!” A quick fling of his tentacle and a bright flash later, Uub felt a brand new arm.

“I’ll leave all the remaining spectators in the care of the Nameks,” Buu said, returning to the universe 4 area (avoiding several of Eleim’s laser strikes along the way as if they were nothing).

Eleim soon realized that Bra could still manage to dodge at this gravity, even if she was rolling on the floor to do so. That meant one thing, the gravity wasn’t strong enough yet.

“Okay, cut the bullshit!” the woman roared. She quickly grabbed her weighted shirt by the collar and tried to rip it off—but found she could not. The extremely malleable fabric merely stretched to where she pulled. Bra tried tearing it again, on other areas of her clothing, but they simply expanded in vain.

“I can’t get it off!” she cried.

“Piccolo, you trickster!” Goten of universe 16 laughed.

“You’re the ones who always want clothes that are malleable like Freeza’s armors!” the Namek said in defense.

Up in the ring, Bra resumed her concentration. “If this keeps up, I’ll be forced to go up to level two... I can’t let that happen!”

The situation had put her between a rock and a hard place. Of course, her own arrogance had been the cause of her troubles to begin with, but now it had been greatly multiplied. It seemed she wouldn’t be able to get the weighted clothes off easily, and with all the lasers flying around the ring she couldn’t risk a second to actually remove them the proper way. This kind of situation wasn’t all too unfamiliar either... she knew from experience that it would lead to anger, frustration, and transformation!

Of course, the normal SSj1 level had influenced her attitude and demeanor as well, but she had grown accustomed to it. In contrast, level two remained uncontrollable, even when she was back at home. Little did he know, Eleim was poking a stick at a behemoth, unsuspecting. Her masterful pool of seemingly boundless energy came at great cost. In a full rage, she would become a berserker...attacking friend and foe alike—and even inanimate objects. In that form, even Gohan was helpless against her. She had no doubt that with the power of SSj2, she could easily crush any competitor present at the tournament...except, of course, her father.

And that was the dual threat of her power. Should she begin attacking Eleim as part of her match, she would soon move on to the other competitors, then the public... by that point, she could only be stopped by her own father, and humiliated in front of everyone... how horrible a thought! No, she had to avoid losing control of herself at any cost. This handicap she had decided to wear, it had to go now!

Then, Bra finally got an idea... She teleported, but not to another spot inside the ring. Eleim quickly activated the radar in his armor and located her.

“She’s left the ring! Should I follow her?”

Goku’s student, who was once again focused on the fight, had sensed her as well. He had two fingers pressed against his head as well, allowing him to focus on the Ki aura of others more easily.

“She’s behind the stadium...” Uub said.

“Right!” Gohan confirmed.

“There’s nobody back there, how did she teleport? Who’s energy was she following...” Goku began asking.

“She and Vegetto mastered the Kaioshin version of teleportation,” Piccolo answered. “They can go virtually anywhere.”

Now safely away from the ring, as well as Eleim’s laser, Bra quickly relieved herself of the heavy training garb. She also let slip a few more of the profane insults which had begun to define her as being quite vulgar.

“I’m lighter now, but he still has his crazy gravity. How am I going to counter it? Can I outspeed him even in a billion G? Wait... back in round one...I remember he said something about his gravity? He could increase the weight of anything he... touched! That little bastard! All I have to do is not touch the ring!”

“If she doesn’t reappear soon, I’ll win... only seven... six...” Eleim counted hopefully.

Suddenly his armor detected the blasts above him. A barrage of energy waves were spiraling down towards him, and he barely activated his protecting shield again before being destroyed. Bra’s attack turned the surface of the ring into a flaming geyser.

“So, you think it’s funny, huh?” she cried, levitating high above the ring as she continued her wave of attacks.

“My shield is running out of power! I’ve got to get out of here!”

At the last second, he activated his retro thrusters and flew into the air just behind Bra, who hadn’t lost sight of him for an instant. Eleim then shot something from his wrist again, an object small and black. Bra backhanded it instinctively, but rather than deflecting away it stuck right onto the side of her glove. She looked at it for a moment curiously, before noticing that the place it had struck was seeming to spread across the surface of her glove. With her other hand, she quickly pulled it off and threw it onto the ring below. By now the glove was almost entirely black.

“Well, your reflexes are quick...” Eleim continued. “That was our ultimate weapon, carbonite.”

“I’ve battled plenty of magicians, tricksters, and cowards like yourself. I learned to be wary of everything,” Bra replied. She also seemed to recall a story her father had told her about the devil Dabra using his spit that turned things to stone. Having seen it for herself in round 1, this was definitely something similar.

“Once the particle touches a solid,” Eleim explained, “it begins eating it and multiplies. The target inevitably becomes a mass of carbonite, nothing can resist it.

Bra looked down at the ring. The entire sphere had become dark grey, as if being taken over by something black and microscopic.

“The only way to stop it... is to destroy all of it at once, before there’s too much of it to handle!”

Eleim pulled back his arm again to fire a blast. “Super Weaver!”

The attack shot towards the ring, vaporizing every last molecule. There was absolutely nothing left, neither of the ring nor the carbonite. He then spoke again.

“I’m sorry. It seems I’m forced to kill you, but at least you’ll be revived at the end regardless.”

“Pffff! You think that’ll work? I just have to avoid all your shots, and I did that quite well against your laser already!”

“Don’t you dare miss, Eleim!” a member of the nano-warriors shouted.

“So, this is how they could’ve defeated Broly,” Goku said, thinking back to their earlier claim.

“I wonder if that would’ve really worked,” Piccolo said. “Could the carbonite really devour even his cells?” Gohan pondered the question a moment as things above continued.

“If you dodge, the arena will become its target! All life on this asteroid will be annihilated,” Eleim said.

“You’d use everyone here as hostages?” Bra yelled. Shocked, she suddenly realized why he had bothered to explain the details of his secret weapon. What a low move, that he’d actually test Bra’s resolve against the lives of every person there. If she wanted to avoid a complete massacre, she’d have to give up now.

‘Pah, rely on the sensitive and kind Bra to make the noble choice? You clearly do not know me very well!’ she thought. But the look of her opponent was tough and determined. She could tell he wouldn’t hesitate to go through with it.

“Eleim! You don’t have the right to use the carbonite under these circumstances!” another nano-warrior cried.

One of the Vargas immediately interrupted. “You don’t have the right to help your companion.”

“I’m not trying to help, I’m trying to save us all!”

Trunks of universe 12 spoke to Android 16 beside him. “If I understand correctly, that thing can kill us all.”

“He will not do it,” the robot replied, convinced it was a bluff. In his earlier fight against Eleim, he’d tested the warrior’s intentions and concluded that he wasn’t evil. Even if he threatened the public at the moment, 16 felt certain he wouldn’t do it.

“I have no choice! If I lose, we all die anyway, it’s no different!”

“What do you mean?” Bra asked, both curious and trying to buy more time.

“Due to an accident, our home planet was infected by the carbonite! It has since been transformed into a destructive mass of astral size! Any collision with an asteroid would send carbonite soaring through the galaxy! It would destroy all life while propagating! I must win! Only the wish of the winner can stop this threat!”

Finally, it seemed, all the challengers understood the true motivations of those from universe 19. While most of the universes with Earthlings had no real goal in mind, other universes had very specific objectives, reasons for winning the tournament. Now everyone knew that the “Ultra” warriors were there to save their entire universe! It was a heavy burden to carry, one few of the other challengers had to worry about. How would Bra react to that terrible revelation?

“What a retard!” Despite her provocative sentence, Bra was relatively quiet. “If it’s a wish you want, we’ll just give it to you. Wishes, we make them all the time back home!”

“As if I’d believe that...”

“We’ll save your universe for you,” Bra said. “You don’t stand a chance in this tournament. Let us fight for you, we’re used to it,” she finished, pointing a thumb at herself.

Goku and his son Goten had moved closer to the area of universe 19. “It’s true, we’re not in it for the wishes. I’ll give you mine if I win,” Goku said.

“Yeah, us too,” Goten said, speaking for both himself and Trunks. “Plus, if you win you get three!”

Eleim hesitated, but with each passing second he was only more reminded of his homeworld—which convinced him there was no other option.

“There’s no way that...”

“—Fine, if you’re gonna be like that...” Bra interrupted him, suddenly teleporting behind her opponent. She quickly put her hand on his shoulder, then teleported again. A mere two seconds later, she reappeared alone.

“Count the thirty seconds, please,” she said to the Varga official.

A hundred light-years away, Eleim found himself completely alone in the vacuum of space. He was protected by a shield covering his whole body, but besides that he could see nothing. There was no light anywhere other than that which originated from his own armor. The horizon was empty and devoid of life.

“Fuuuuuck!!!”

He’d lost, he knew... he could only count the seconds until his defeat was official, clenching his teeth in frustration. Once the countdown was complete, Bra immediately returned for him and they reappeared together in the space of universe 19.

Bra had won, instantly, and with ease. Eleim’s bluff had been for nothing. Having the realization sink in, Eleim now realized she was right. If had defeated her through some cheap trick, his next opponent might have beaten him and been less inclined to offer him any help whatsoever. Not that he believed her offer of help anyway—Eleim had lived through enough horrors to learn that people were dishonest and self-serving. Their promises were nothing but lies.

Ashamed, Eleim dared not look over at his comrades. “We lost. All that’s left for us now is to go home and watch our universe die.”

“No, we won’t let that happen!” Uub said from over the wall. “If we win, our first wish will be for you. We’ll fight for your universe!”

“Right,” Goku reaffirmed from behind his student.

The Helioïtes finally began to open their eyes. The same participant who’d been seriously injured against Tidar actually wanted to help them?

“Gentlemen,” Goten said, extending his arm out like a used car salesman. “With the quality ‘Son Goku’ here, your world won’t just be saved, it’ll be double saved! He’s a hero in any and all situations, and only dies on the job every other time. For just a small up-charge, your opponent will even be redeemed and join your ranks.”

Goten was of course referring to all the stories he’d heard growing up. Among them, he’d learned that many of their friends had been more or less “evil” at one point or another—Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo, Vegeta, even Majin Buu.

“Now we have more than just a challenge,” Goku said excitedly, “we have a goal! We absolutely must win this tournament!”

It was difficult for Eleim to believe, but this was their one last chance... and strangely enough, the offer seemed sincere. Goku moved closer and reached out his hand to the nano-warrior.

“Thank you!”

Bra had no interest in hanging around for annoying “thanks”. She had already left to rejoin her group, where Piccolo greeted her.

“So... I’m guessing you don’t want another set of workout clothes...”

“Actually, just the opposite... I’ll take the same thing, but this time double the weight! I’ve got a universe to save now, I need to train.”

Near them, the bleachers were being rebuilt, injured spectators were being treated, and the unfortunate dead were being gathered and moved to a cold room. During this time, the Saiyans were also allowed a quick meal. The ring itself was the last thing to be magically repaired in the center of the arena, preparing for the next match: King Cold against the Saiyan Baddack.