I didn't ask too much about Goku and Vegeta's battle with Frieza and King Cold. From what I could gather, Goku had finished off King Cold, and Vegeta had taken his time beating Frieza to a pulp on the moon. Still, Vegeta noticed something.
"Bulma," he asked later, his tone suspicious, "who was that young man you were speaking to while I was fighting Frieza?"
It surprised me that he had noticed — and even more that he cared enough to ask.
"He's our son," I told him plainly. "From another future. His name's Trunks."
His eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing for a moment. I could tell he was processing it, the way Vegeta always does — silent, cold, but inwardly burning.
"Our son… from the future," he repeated quietly.
"Yes," I said. "And I want to make sure he's ready to save his timeline. It's… not an easy one."
He didn't say another word after that, but I could feel a faint sense of pride from him. Maybe relief too — knowing that his bloodline survived in another world.
---
The next morning, things went back to normal. Well, as normal as life gets when you live with Saiyans.
Goku came rushing over, grinning like always.
"Hey Bulma! You won't believe it! I think I've found it — a power beyond Super Saiyan!"
To my surprise, it wasn't him who reached it first — it was Gohan. Goku, for once, was trailing behind. He asked me if I'd spar with him, convinced that fighting me would help him "find the missing piece."
"There's something I can't quite grab," he explained, rubbing the back of his head. "Like… a feeling I'm not connecting with. But if I fight you, maybe I can figure it out!"
"You just want an excuse to test yourself again, don't you?" I teased.
"Heh, maybe!"
Sometimes Goku could be too persistent — and annoying — but he was my friend. I owed him more than he realized.
---
At first, we fought in our base forms. We traded blows evenly, though he had to hold back to match my movements. Then, when I stopped suppressing my ki, he shifted into Super Saiyan Grade Four. The sheer pressure cracked the air around us.
Even then, he couldn't bridge the gap. My raw power had outgrown even that form.
Then it happened — his aura spiked, surging violently as golden light began to shift into something deeper, hotter. I immediately called out to the others.
"Everyone, get out! Now!"
The training chamber began to tremble, absorbing as much of his rising ki as it could, but it wasn't enough. The room itself started to crack apart. His energy felt… different — calm but overwhelming. Then, everything went silent.
Goku's hair shimmered red. His eyes burned with divine light.
---
I didn't hesitate — I equipped my bio suit. My own ki surged in response, my aura flaring orange to match the red radiance before me.
"You okay, Goku?" I asked, floating beside him.
"Yeah…" he said, flexing his hand and looking at his reflection in the energy field around him. "This form feels… calm. Controlled. Like I'm stronger, but lighter."
"Good," I said with a grin. "Then let's see how calm you stay when I hit back."
Our fists collided — and the world shook. The training room couldn't handle the shockwave and disintegrated around us. We shot into the sky, continuing our sparring match over the ocean. Every blow rippled through the clouds.
By the time we stopped, Goku had learned to stabilize the new power.
"I guess this means a draw," I said, lowering my guard.
"Heh, guess so," he smiled, breathing hard.
Then, space itself shimmered. Two figures appeared before us — one a tall, hairless, feline-looking being with piercing golden eyes, and the other a calm, graceful man with white hair and a staff.
The cat-like one spoke first.
"I am Lord Beerus, God of Destruction. Tell me, mortal… how did you acquire that power?"
Goku blinked in confusion.
"Uh… I just kinda… trained?"
Beerus narrowed his eyes.
"You used divine ki without realizing it. Most mortals can't even sense it, let alone wield it."
The other one — Whis — turned to me with a gentle smile.
"You too, Lady Bulma. Your ki… it was once foreign, but now it's seamlessly fused with your own. Tell me — did someone bestow it upon you?"
His gaze was calm but piercing. And if he truly was an angel, lying would have been foolish.
"I'm… not from this timeline," I admitted. "A god named Zamasu killed me in my original one. Everything there fell apart. I was given another chance — sent back here. Whatever energy I carry… it wasn't something I asked for."
Whis nodded slowly.
"I see. Then the divine energy was not placed by chance."
While we spoke, Beerus and Goku had already taken their fight into orbit. When they returned, Goku was unconscious in Beerus's grasp.
The God of Destruction floated down and tossed Goku toward me like a sack of rice.
"He'll be fine," Beerus said lazily. "And don't worry — I won't destroy your planet. But you two…" His eyes flicked between us. "Use your divine power responsibly. If you disrupt the balance of this universe again, I will erase you."
And with that, he and Whis vanished into the stars.
---
I exhaled, realizing I'd been holding my breath the whole time. Looking down at Goku, still out cold in my arms, I couldn't help but smile.
"You really don't know how close we came to dying, do you?" I murmured.
Still, everything turned out fine — for now. Maybe we were lucky. Or maybe the gods were watching over us more closely than I thought.
Either way, I made a promise to myself that night:
I would only use my power to protect this world… and to make it a better place.