Further out from the massive crater, over on another flat of desert, a green bolt of energy could be seen tearing across the endless orange fields at an insane speed. Kicking up sand and dust behind her in a large cloud that reached towards the stratosphere, an enraged Zangya barreled towards her opponent standing in the middle of the open prairie, who was already set into a defensive stance and waiting for her.
Gritting her teeth, the scar-faced and battered Shiera widened her feet and powered up, blue fire exploding from her body and enveloping her in a protective cloak.
A split second later, the pair began their battle anew. The sound of rapid cannon fire rang out when the Hera opened up on her foe with a blur of punches, which the collie began blocking and countering one after the other. The result was the dog woman being pushed back across the sands, in which the two of them engaged in a running fight from one part of the desert to the next. Reverberating across the landscape in all directions, the force of their multiple, planet splitting blows could be heard echoing for miles, as both attempted to land a decisive hit on the other. When Zangya pressed forward with her assault and continued to force Shiera sliding along the ground at the speed of a jet fighter, it seemed like the Z-fighter had the upper hand.
Soon enough the lightning fast exchange ended with Zangya delivering a solid body shot to her target's stomach, drawing a grunt of pain from the woman before the minion leader kicked the alien in the face. The blow sent the Hera blasting back through the air, spinning and tumbling.
Gritting her teeth, the red haired fighter threw her arms out and, with a quick burst of ki, halted herself in midflight, upside-down above the ground. As soon as her momentum ceased, Zangya shot down at her foe and, performing a graceful aerial spin, jetted towards her position at light speed. A split second later, following a series of sonic booms, the Hera collided headlong with Shiera and sent her spiraling across the terrain for over five kilometers.
Crying out in pain from the double hit to the chest that nearly caved in her sternum, the scar-faced collie gritted her teeth and glared back in the direction she'd been hit. Still in flight, the determined minion brought her flaming sword around and slashed it in a wide arc. The result was blue fire gushing off of the blade and unleashing an enormous arc of flaming energy across the desert, which grew and expanded as it traveled towards its intended target.
Spotting the length of fire charging towards her, a startled Zangya sliced her hand through the air and let loose her energy wires towards the attack. The near invisible strings cut the wave of fire to ribbons, dissipating it and leaving the Hera untouched by the embers.
However, just as the orange haired woman was trying to relocate her suddenly nonexistent enemy, a flash in her peripherals told her to duck and avoid the thrust of the sword from Shiera reappearing directly behind her. The dog woman gasped when she missed, unable to retract her arm in time when Zangya suddenly grabbed it and, with superb strength and skill, tossed her across the field and straight into the sand, which she bounced painfully across.
While her opponent was still in motion, the Hera slammed the bases of her palms in front of her and fired a powerful Kiai into the woman's retreating form, sending the canine plowing another trench a further kilometer across the dune seas.
When she eventually stopped amidst a thick cloud of dust, the battered and bleeding Shiera was on one knee and snarling in anger.
"I… can't… believe this!" the collie growled, one eye shut as blood trickled down her face from a new wound above her forehead. Clenching a fist in anger, she slammed it into the ground and stood up, where she then looked up to see her battered opponent appear in the sky some several stories above. "I'm getting beaten into the ground by an orange haired pixie wearing a G-string!" Briefly taking note of her foe's scantily clad form, Shiera barked in frustration, "Are you honestly going to keep fighting me in those?!"
Blinking in confusion, Zangya glanced down at the purple lingerie she was currently sporting and pulled at the elastic. A smug look appeared on her face shortly thereafter, "Not to worry. This underwear was put together by the finest seamstress in the entire industry." She then struck a pose you would often see used by a Calvin Klein model; pelvis thrust to the side, one hand on her hip and the other arm up and flexing her bicep. "It's extra durable!"
Shiera's hair bristled as she practically lost it, "YOU HAVE THAT MUCH FAITH IN YOUR UNDERWEAR?!"
Huffing, the displeased Super Hera then lifted her nose at the irate dog and spoke up once again. "Frankly poochie, I don't give a shit what the hell I'm wearing as long as I'm able to kick your ass in it. So how about we cut the useless chitchat and pick up where we left off?" She then threw the woman a playful grin. "Last time I checked, I believe I was planting my foot firmly somewhere between your lungs and colon."
Eye twitching at being looked down on by a mortal trash talker, Shiera clenched her fists tightly as blue fire started to emanate from her shoulders. Her skin practically bubbling under the heat of her anger, the anthropomorphic dog gave an enraged snarl as her hand was pulled back before being thrust forward. "DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" With a clap of thunder, she unleashed an enormous golden blast from her palm that rocketed towards the airborne Zangya like an attack fired from the Death Star itself.
Speedily slipping to the side, Zangya watched the large blast streak past her and shoot up into the heavens, where it proceeded to travel across the solar system and through space for several seconds, before eventually arriving at another star altogether. The attack struck it, disintegrating the celestial body and whatever unfortunate series of planets that happened to be orbiting it at the time.
The Hera looked up where the blast had gone with her hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh, shit." Quickly returning her attention to the desert, the woman had a split second to duck the swing from her infuriated opponent. While Zangya successfully managed to evade the sword, her maneuver inadvertently left her wide open for a kick to the face. The blow landed hard, sending her blasting up into the sky.
Cursing at herself for her amateur mistake, the red haired woman stopped herself and glared back down at her opponent with blood running out of the corner of her mouth. "Alright. If that's how you want to play, come here!" She then powered up and went after Shiera with a vengeance.
And so the battle between the Minions of Set and the Z-fighters continued on across the desert.
The multiple battles continued their terrifying display in the distance, explosions and energy bursts going off all over. While all this was going on, the maestro behind this current fiasco and the only onlooker for miles around Set, continued to hold her position on the pyramid while maintaining a constant vigil over the region surrounding her. Sitting atop her specially made throne with her legs crossed, her cheek rested on her knuckles and her elbow propped atop the arm rest, the God of Storms stared across the plains of lifeless desert towards the horizon, eyes shifting left and right, and keeping track of the war that was moving faster than the human eye could see.
With her perception though, the speed the fighters were moving at appeared to Set in super slow motion and she was effortlessly able to capture every second of the group's respective engagements. The power being displayed by all the combatants was simply astonishing and, in spite of being leagues ahead of them, the woman couldn't resist giving silent compliments to the Z-fighters for their ability to keep pace with her minions.
"Impressive," the woman murmured quietly, her bushy tail wagging behind her comfortably, "Most impressive."
The prospect of her new group being formed out of the victors of this conflict filled the canine deity with a sense of anticipation and excitement. But she didn't let this sensation show on her face. Determined to maintain her image and unwavering position in this situation, Set's expression remained devoid of any real emotion. She merely sat there, her face serious as she kept track of each of the four battles taking place before her.
As the minutes continued to tick by, Set completely disregarded the presence of the unconscious Gohan lying several meters behind her in the center of the ceremonial circle that'd previously been used to siphon energy from his body. His breathing even and heartbeat having slowed to a snail's crawl, the demi-Saiyan's body was doing everything it could to compensate for the enormous amount of ki that'd been drained from his tank. Due to the forceful nature in which his life force had been pulled out of him, the teen had inadvertently been put into a sort of hibernation state. Even though the world was shaking and exploding all around him, threatening to cave in at any moment, he didn't react or stir in any way, shape or form, and simply lay there baking under the midday sun.
However, unbeknownst to the God of Storms and the demi-Saiyan himself, an unusual phenomenon began to take place.
The gateway to the Nexus, which had served as the entrance to the prison for Set since the days of the ancient pharaohs, was still open. Due to its unconventional design and having served as the penitentiary for a deity for over twenty thousand years, the entire dimension beyond the threshold had become perforated with celestial energy, which was now continuing to seep out of the chamber and into the earth's atmosphere.
Since the energy wasn't harmful to the environment in any way, this didn't come as an immediate problem to Set or her minions, all of whom had completely forgotten about the gateway and the purpose it once held. After spending several centuries locked away inside of it and away from the world, the last thing the God of Storms wanted to think about was the current state of her prison and the crap that was still inside of it.
But due to this seemingly inconsequential oversight, as the deity carried on watching her minions duke it out with the Z-fighters several miles away, the energy leaking out of the white portal began to emanate at a faster rate. Propelled by some ghostly force, the purple, smoke-like essence slowly started to creep across the floor of the terrace and towards the unconscious Gohan.
Ear twitching, Set suddenly glanced over her shoulder and towards the pyramid when she felt something unusual tickling at the back of her neck. Thinking someone was behind her, the woman took a moment to look over the archway to the prison and then the half-Saiyan teenager lying behind her. Seeing nothing and sensing nothing out of the ordinary, the woman narrowed her eyes on the comatose warrior and turned back to staring at the horizon.
The instant she did however, the energy flowing from the pyramid's gateway intensified and, a couple seconds later, the ki creeping across the floor reached Gohan's body. The transparent purple flames then wrapped around the Saiyan's motionless form and began seeping into his body, little by little trickling into his pores.
As the seconds rolled by, the hybrid's heartbeat started to get stronger and the color that was once lost from his complexion began returning to his skin.
Fortunately for him Set was too busy to notice any of this.
While energy continued to leak into Gohan's body, the God of Storms suddenly sensed a powerful ki signature approaching the planet and looked up. The second she did so, the fox deity saw a bright mass of energy break through the atmosphere before landing on the terrace just a few yards away from her. Crashing into the stone ground with an earthshaking 'crack', the mass of energy dissipated to reveal a familiar blue-skinned, robe wearing figure wielding a large scepter.
As soon as the dust settled from the person's landing, Set saw that the white haired newcomer, who she always remembered having a carefree and cheerful attitude twenty-four-seven, was staring at her with an expression filled with seriousness and disdain.
What more could she expect from the man who raised her?
A smirk slowly pulled across the laidback God as she caught a firsthand glimpse of the man's fury, "Hello there, Whis."
"Hello to you too, Set," the staff-wielding visitor with the oddly combed hair replied calmly, eyes narrowing on the girl sitting comfortably in the stone seat. "You're looking well."
The dog goddess lifted her head ever so slightly, "As are you… master."
"Please don't call me that," Whis promptly answered, a dark shadow crossing his eyes as he glared back at the fox goddess. His fingers curling tightly around his staff, the man regarded the idol with nothing but caution and disapproval. "You lost that privilege the day you tried to kill your friends and take over the universe… the same universe that you swore to protect."
"Oh, of course… silly me," Set exclaimed, placing a hand on her head and breathing out a sigh in a feigned attempt to convey shock and dismay. But from the smug grin that appeared across her lips moments later, it was clear that she was not at all moved by his reminder. "How could I possibly forget about that?"
"Don't act so smug," the attendant spoke again with noticeably more spite in his voice, cutting the woman off from her dramatic presentation. "You know full well what you did… and so do I."
"Hmph. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Lowering her hand from her beautiful red hair, the fox woman chuckled and returned to reclining back in her seat, "So… to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Whis, his face hardening like steel, frowned across at his former student, "Take a guess. I'm sure someone as smart as you can figure it out."
Looking over the man's left and right shoulders, as well as taking a quick scan of the area, Set then gave her visitor a curious eyeball. "I notice you haven't brought along any of the other Gods. Ra… Zeus… Artemis… Thor… Indra…" She then tilted her head a little in his direction. "All of the deities that could possibly pose any kind of problem for me aren't here. So what's the deal? Were you planning on trying to fight me all by yourself?"
"I was planning on doing the opposite, actually," Whis replied, bringing his staff up and taking a single step forward. A much calmer expression soon came over his face, reflecting both poise and sincerity. "Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. I didn't come here to fight you, Set. I came here to speak with you."
It was at this statement, Set's head was thrown back and a chorus of hysterical laughter suddenly left her lips.
Her body trembling for a good long minute as the rush of amusement ran its course, the woman stopped bawling long enough to catch her breath and leer back at her teacher. "And what exactly did you hope to accomplish from that? Were you going to try and reason with me? Huh? Negotiate some sort of truce on behalf of the rest of the universe? How about convince me to go back into my prison and think about what I've done for another ten thousand years?" The woman then allowed her grin to falter somewhat as she regarded her teacher with interest and mirth. "Don't make me laugh, Whis. Your little mind games won't work on me anymore. I know exactly why you're here." She then jerked her nose at him. "You were planning on trying to kill me yourself while keeping the others out of it… to stop them from getting hurt like in our last battle. Is that it?"
Whis actually flinched at her statement. It was a response that drew a chuckle from the evil God and had her cross her legs the other way.
"Always the good little errand boy," Set whispered, shaking her head sadly at the blue-skinned guardian while her expression darkened. "And here I thought you were just a devoted practitioner in the art of fence-sitting… always hanging in the background while the rest of the universe tore itself apart." Her expression then narrowed dangerously, "How gutless. Perhaps when I'm done here with you, I will go pay the other Gods a visit and ask them what they think of your 'peaceful' ideals."
By this point in the conversation the attendant had had enough with this little back and forth. His hand tightening around his scepter like a vice, Whis threw the woman a wave of killing intent. The blast was so palpable it actually caused the entire pyramid to crack and a blast of wind to ripple out in all directions, damaging the rest of the surrounding structure. "This battle is between you and me. Leave the others out of this."
The female deity snorted at the man's declaration, "I see…" Exhaling again and closing her eyes, Set casually turned her head away to rest her cheek against her knuckles once more. It was in that moment, as her energy started to build, dark clouds swiftly began to gather above the two individuals. While the battle between the Minions of Set and the Z-fighters raged across the countryside around them, the atmosphere darkened, thunder echoed down from the heavens, and a cyclone twisted into existence directly above the woman's pyramid. It was an anomaly that Whis noticed, but paid little attention.
However, the growing intensity caused sweat to accumulate on his head, as he knew exactly what kind of force he was dealing with here.
Her celestial energy growing little by little, the goddess of storms and chaos narrowed her eyes on her former teacher as a sickly smile remained on her face, "So… that is how it's going to be then?"
"That is how it must be," Whis responded immediately, taking up his staff and sliding into a fighting stance, cocking his head to the side and shooting the woman another look.
His answer drawing a momentary glance from Set, the pair remained stationed as they were for several seconds longer, staring each other down from their places on the terrace. The sky falling dark and the sun vanishing behind the eerie veil, the stage was all set for a battle with the potential to shake the very planet off of its foundations. A cold wind picking up around them and ruffling their hair, a deathly silence soon fell around them.
Then, just as the intensity of their faceoff crawled towards its highest peak, the inevitable happened.
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