*Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Kami's Lookout; January 16, 2020; 3:01 PM (Day 543 inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber)*

Alex trudged up from his cot, thoroughly exhausted.

Each day training with Vegeta had been an endless cycle: Wake up, eat, get the shit kicked out of him, and sleep so his Zenkai Boost could take effect.

Ideally, by this point, he would've been strong enough to handle anyone by now, but he felt... Exhausted.

With that exhaustion came anger. How has he been able to take so much damage and still not have come any closer to beating his mentor?!

From that anger, an inner despair. If he can't handle Vegeta, how could he expect to go up against Yang, who had surely been training by this point? Or Raven, who Alex had sensed grown so much stronger?

Yang and Raven. The thought of those two psychopaths on the loose, with his children and Guildmates following them. It deeply disturbed him some nights. The only comfort he had was the fact that for every day outside, a whole year passed in this ethereal prison.

There was a chance that he could catch up to them.

Saisho had told him where Yang and Raven were heading next: Lithia. Not far from the Capitol City of Iridescence.

"Are you ready for our next lesson, Alexander?! Or have you finally realized you're unfit to fight?" Vegeta coldly demanded.

"Yes... What's the next lesson?" Alex asked.

Vegeta smirked.

"This is a test. Our time is nearly up in the Chamber, and I need to know if you've actually grown from our training." Vegeta explained.

"So...?"

"I think you'll like this.. Prepare yourself!" Vegeta shouted.

Alex stood back. He knew exactly what Vegeta was up to.

Vegeta clenched his fists, and let out a long scream as energy appeared to explode from his body.

Alex stared at the scene, mouth agape.

Vegeta's normally black, spiky hair had turned to a shade of gold, and his eyes turned from black to a blue-green.

Alex knew exactly what he was up against.

Alex was standing face-to-face with a Super Saiyan.

If this were any other situation, any other person, they would be ecstatic to see Vegeta, in the flesh, turn Super Saiyan in front of them.

But here, as his student.

Alex was horrified.

And Vegeta could tell.

"Hahaha... Look at you! Is my own apprentice really such a coward that he can't even bear the sight of a Super Saiyan?! Or do you still have an inkling of courage left to challenge me" Vegeta smirked.

Alex braced himself, trying to charge to his own maximum.

With a loud scream, Alex could only transform to his Evolved Warrior state.

"W-What?!" Alex was actually afraid. Even after all his training... He even obtained the Zenkai Boost ability from Vegeta..! How had he deteriorated?!

"If I may offer a suggestion, Adenienite?" Vegeta asked.

"Okay..?" Alex wondered.

"Your skin. A remarkable amount of power is flowing out through your skin. That glow is the result. Why not contain the rest of your power first? I have taught you how to manipulate ki, haven't I?" Vegeta explained.

Ki control: easily Alex's weakest skill.

Alex, as a fighter, was not what he would call 'exemplary'. Ruby was able to outpace him by a mile. Yang obviously was the better hand-to-hand combatant. Kat, Twilight, Yang, even his own son outmatched his raw power.. At least without help.

The only thing that Alex was decent at was being a 'jack-of-all-trades'. Everything else could be easily chalked up as friendship, utter willpower, and blind, stupid luck.

"Okay... I'll try.." Alex sighed, trying to at least calm down.

The main point of Ki Control was focus. In the few times Alex had true insight was when he was deep in thought. When his mind and spirit were abuzz. It was, after all, how he had unlocked his own Aura.

Thinking long and hard about his circumstances and coming to peace with them, even for a split second, was just enough to grant him the opening he needed to unlock his potential.

Ki? Ki was completely different. It required a quiet mind. Serenity. Collectedness.

Alex had none of those things.

Why was this an issue now?! It hadn't stopped him before!

Before his training, Alex was able to conjure enough energy to bring any villain to their knees. He could stand against those several more powerful than him and still walk away!

He had been reduced to a broken pile of bones and flesh now more often than he ever had in his entire life!

He was able to go the third evolution of the Enlightened Warrior without help! Now he can barely handle the second?!

Why?! HOW?! It literally made no sense!

And then... Something inside of Alex just snapped.

He was suddenly calm.

He'd wrestled this issue so many times in his head before. The thought of losing again was too infuriating to handle.

He'd finally come full-circle.

The purplish glow the Evolved Warrior normally gave his skin had faded into his usual, pale skin color.

"Much better. Now that you can handle the second evolution properly again, try the third." Vegeta ordered.

Alex concentrated deeper. Underneath all of his calm lay an unwavering rage. He felt his power finally begin to grow again..

He placed his feet shoulder-width apart, clenched his fists, and let out an enraged scream.

His hair began to raise out of control as his purple hair color quickly turned to a flaming red and purple. Raw energy started pouring out of his body.

"Maintain control of your energy! You'll blow another blood vessel, and I am not cleaning up that mess!" Vegeta shouted as Alex's blood vessels began to convulse.

His hair quickly turned a bold cerise color, as his muscles grew several times larger. Finally opening his eyes, Alex glared at Vegeta with pure, black eyes with a shimmering, red-violet iris.

"T-This... This is unbelievable..! I went from not being able to gain even Enlightened Berserker, to being able to move up to the Enlightened Demigod?! I'd need a larger source for that kind of power..!" Alex examined himself, surprised at how quickly he was able to progress.. With such simple advice from Vegeta's part.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. While you were sleeping one night, I removed the Core of your suit. I realized you were using it as a crutch this entire time. You were leeching off of the Core's power, and now that you can achieve what you would otherwise have needed that gadget for, you can have it back. After we've finished here." Vegeta explained.

"T-The Core?! You mean, without it, I'd be.."

"Dead? Yes. But onto your test."

"That being..?"

Vegeta let out a loud roar, spreading his arms straight out to the side.

"Shit..!"

Alex braced himself, charging as much energy as he could into a large, electric violet ball.

Vegeta slammed his hands together, letting a glowing, yellow ball form in his hands.

"OVVERCHARGE!!!!"

"FINAL FLASH!!"

"GOD SHOCKER!!"

Two beams, one bright yellow, the other a burning violet, clashed together at the center of the room.

Alex further braced himself against Vegeta's attack, surprised he was doing as well as he was against the Saiyan Prince himself.

Vegeta himself wasn't going to let Alex take the win, raising his power even higher.

'That 'Overcharge Technique' is too similar to Kakarot's 'Kaioken'. All I have to do is withstand his first assault, then once that dies, I can capitalize on it.' Vegeta thought.

Alex took a step closer as he continued pouring energy into his attack. His own God Shocker roughly matching Vegeta's Final Flash.

'It's almost a shame I'm letting him do this well.' Vegeta suddenly grinned.

Alex's eyes widened.

Vegeta had been holding back.

"HYAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Alex stared on in horror as Vegeta's attack eclipsed his own.

Worse yet, he felt his Overcharge give out on him. Staring in horror as Vegeta's attack collided with him.

Alex, planting his feet firmly on the ground, pushed forward, holding Vegeta's attack at a standstill

Vegeta merely powered down, and decided to watch how his apprentice would fare against his own attack.

"What's the matter?! Can't handle that much power?!" Vegeta mocked.

Alex grit his teeth in anger. Then he came to realize something.

This attack.. The attacks that Vegeta and the others commonly used was a form of plasma.

He remembered hearing a theory about how Ki blasts were essentially plasma. And one crucial thing Alex knew about plasma:

Plasma also includes lightning.

Adenienites like Alex were able to absorb and conduct lightning at will.

This attack, This 'Final Flash', was no different.

"GYAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Vegeta stared in shock as the ball of energy that had been holding Alex at bay quickly began to shrink.

'Is he absorbing it?!'

Alex pulled his hands apart as soon as the Final Flash had dissipated.

The sheer energy Alex felt left him feeling like he drank about 50 energy drinks in the span of about 3 seconds. He was overwhelmed by the sheer energy Vegeta's attack carried.

"Well, this is new. You've managed to actually impress me." Vegeta congratulated.

*Lithia, Adenien; January 16, 2020; 3:30 PM*

Cade, Oreonna, and Auburn had arrived on Adenien quite some time ago, and had only just now arrived on Lithia.

Cade knew the city was one of Adenien's largest. Futuristic and uniquely shaped skyscrapers pierced the clear blue skies above them. Monorails carried citizens across town from the sides of the buildings, bringing many Adenienites through town.

"This... Isn't usually what I would think of as Adenien... I though it was mostly plains and mountains." Oreonna stared in awe at the sights.

"Most of Adenien's citizens reside within these three cities. Iridescence, Stalag, and Lithia. Whereas Iridescence is the world's political Capitol, and Stalag is where the three cities get most of their resources, Lithia the Adenien's trading and business center." Auburn explained, having read up on the subject just before.

"Awful place for a battleground, if you ask me." Cade stated.

"The Ryders barricaded the walls of the city closest to the portal the Furies have been coming in from as to not distract or frighten the populace. Aunt Ruby, Sun, and her team have been granted special clearance. Have you read the information Aunt Ruby sent us?" Auburn asked.

"Yeah.." Cade replied.

"Wait, have you seen Natsu and the others?" Oreonna asked.

The three went dead silent.

"Oh, fuck."

They took one look outside, only to see that Natsu's group singlehandedly reduced a street corner to literal chaos.

"YOU STUCK-UP BRATS WANNA GO?!" Natsu shouted as the entirety of Fairy Tail tried to hold him back.

"Natsu, stop!" Gray demanded, pulling Natsu away.

"Let him go! He's not worth it!" A girl held back a the Adenienite fighting Natsu, brandishing an Ancient Greek short sword.

"LET ME AT HIM!" The young man shouted, blade inches away from Natsu's throat.

Cade leaped out of the tram car, Oreonna and Auburn not far behind.

"Natsu, cool it!" Cade ordered.

"I DON'T CARE! YOU DON'T JUST INSULT AN ENTIRE GUILD AND GET AWAY WITH IT!!"

"And I mean every word of it, you bunch of delinquents!!" The younger man shouted.

"Julius, now isn't the time for this!!" An older boy, not much older than 'Julius', urged.

"Julius, Spyden, what the hell are you up to?!" A familiar voice demanded.

Cade jumped backwards when he saw Ultimus glaring at the three children.

"These Fairy Tail street urchins just showed up demanding directions to the east side of the city. They should clearly know that the Furies are too big a threat for the likes of them!" Julius shouted.

"We fought off the Grimm and the Apothicons! If a bunch of little brats like you can handle them, so can we!" Erza defended.

"They have a point. So don't say anything about it." Ultimus demanded.

"Cade? Auburn?" Ruby asked, having just arrived with Vanoss and Sun.

"Hey, Aunt Ruby!" Cade greeted.

"Good to see you guys too! How was the trip here?" Ruby smiled back.

"It was alright, but I think we should all move on to... More important matters." Auburn replied.

Ruby sighed, privately cursing that they moved to this subject in so little time.

'They really were Alex's children." Ruby thought to herself.

"Sheesh. Moved on to that quickly enough. So, Alex finally died, huh?" Vanoss winced, realizing that the last words the two had ever spoken to each other had been an argument.

"Y-Yeah.." Oreonna replied uncomfortably, knowing what Alex was actually up to.

"Come with us. That means the Magicians, too." Vanoss shrugged.

"WE'RE MAGES you overgrown bird!" Lucy shouted.

Author's Notes:

Well, by the time I post this, it'll be my second Anniversary on Fimfiction.

By the next chapter, Vanoss's other friends, Fluttershy, and Twilight will be returning. Man, I really gotta get to work on Undertales of the Vanished.

Well, Alex learned a couple important things about himself, like he's so mad by now that he's acting completely calm. Acting

Also, the Core Vinyl's been putting in Alex's suits had been giving him extra power.

And he can absorb ki... And he learned how to essentially reserve energy.

...The chapter's called 'Progress' for a reason.

Also, Cade, Oreonna, Auburn, and the rest of Fairy Tail have arrived on Lithia to protect Ruby from Yang and Corvus!

While The Shadow Wars was easily the biggest battle in the story So far, at least. The fight between Alex, Yang, and Raven is going to have the biggest impact of their characters.

...Kinda like Captain America: Civil War.

Well, see you guys and girls next chapter!

The Destoyer