Chapter Text
Captain Alyce and the Caledonia
Volume 9: One Wish Away
Beast Marianna moved first.
Not with hesitation.
Not with fear.
With instinct.
With the kind of speed that didn’t come from youth, or muscle, or Saiyan blood…
But from a lifetime of battle carving a human soul into something sharp enough to cut gods.
She ignited—red aura ripping from her skin like wildfire—and launched at Allto so fast the air cracked behind her.
Her fist met his jaw.
And for the first time since he’d appeared beneath the Super Dragon Balls, Allto’s head snapped to the side.
His eyes widened.
Not from pain—
from shock.
Marianna hit again. Then again.
Her strikes weren’t messy. They weren’t desperate.
They were clean.
Perfect pivots. Perfect angles.
Every blow placed like she’d read his body language before he’d even moved.
She fought like someone who didn’t need to prove anything anymore.
She fought like someone who had already survived the worst fate could offer…
…and decided she was done losing.
Below, the crew stood frozen.
They’d seen power.
They’d seen fighters punch apart planets.
But this wasn’t just strength.
This was legacy.
This was the truth of who Marianna Cross had once been.
The strongest warrior in the universe.
Not because she was born the strongest…
But because she refused to stay weak.
Allto snarled as he stumbled back through the air, arms lifting too late to block a knee that drove into his ribs.
“You were nothing,” he spat, voice cracking with disbelief. “You— you were nothing!”
Marianna’s eyes—wild, burning, half-gone to the Beast—locked on him with an expression that was almost calm.
“You mistook quiet for weakness,” she growled.
Then she slammed him again.
Allto reeled backward.
Not flying gracefully.
Not controlling it.
He was being thrown.
And the universe felt, for the first time in this battle…
like it might actually survive.
Alyce Rises
Alyce forced herself up from the dirt, breath ragged, leather jacket torn open like claws had ripped through it.
Her ribs screamed.
Her jaw throbbed.
But her eyes were sharp.
Eli and Orion stood too, battered and bloodied, green gi’s hanging in shredded strips. Their auras flickered weakly at first… then steadied.
The two Saiyans stared up at Marianna as if they were seeing her for the first time in their entire lives.
Eli’s mouth opened slightly.
“…Mari.”
Orion swallowed, voice rough.
“How… how is she doing that?”
Marianna’s Beast aura flared again as she hammered Allto across the sky.
Alyce felt her chest tighten with something she couldn’t name.
Pride.
Hope.
And fear.
Because even if Marianna looked unstoppable…
Alyce could see the truth.
The tremor in her limbs.
The way her movements hit half a heartbeat too slow after each burst of rage.
The Beast form wasn’t a gift.
It was a cost.
And Marianna’s body… was human.
Fifty.
Aging.
Mortal.
Eli’s eyes narrowed as he watched her stumble for a fraction of a second after a heavy strike.
“…Her body can’t take this,” he said quietly.
Orion nodded grimly.
“She’s tearing herself apart.”
Alyce didn’t answer.
Because her Captain mind wasn’t focused on Marianna’s power anymore—
It was focused on Allto’s words.
His confession.
His arrogance.
His victory speech.
I absorbed every Namekian in Universe 6… and whichever ones were left in Universe 7… including Dende.
Alyce’s stomach dropped.
If they killed him…
Earth’s Dragon Balls could vanish.
Universe 6’s Dragon Balls could turn to stone.
And worse—
the Super Dragon Balls might not work at all.
Her breath caught.
No.
They hadn’t dragged six planet-sized miracles across space for sixteen months just to fail at the final step.
Not now.
Not when Dende was one wish away.
Not when Orobi’s dead were one wish away.
Not when everything could be put right.
Alyce’s eyes snapped across the battlefield.
She needed a plan.
Now.
The Beast Begins to Crack
Marianna drove her elbow into Allto’s throat.
He coughed, spinning.
But her aura flickered—uneven.
A tremor ran through her entire frame like her muscles were rebelling against the power forcing them forward.
Her breathing stuttered.
Her legs shook.
Allto noticed.
His mouth curled into a grin again, slow and poisonous.
“There you are…” he murmured. “The human beneath the tantrum.”
He whipped an arm out—extending like a spear.
Marianna dodged, barely.
Her knee buckled.
The Beast form screamed through her like fire tearing through paper.
Eli moved instantly.
Orion too.
They didn’t hesitate.
The two Saiyans launched upward again, flaring into Super Saiyan Blue so hard the sky shook.
They slammed into Allto from both sides, forcing him back before he could finish the opening.
The fight became a wall.
Two Saiyans.
And a Saiyan-raised human still trying to stand tall even while her body begged to collapse.
Allto snarled.
“You cling to each other like family will save you.”
Eli spat blood.
“It will.”
Orion smirked through pain.
“Aye. It’s kind of our thing.”
Marianna forced herself upright again, Beast eyes rolling back for a split second, then locking forward.
“Touch them,” she whispered, voice trembling with rage.
“And I’ll rip your fucking head off!”
Allto laughed.
But it wasn’t as confident anymore.
It was forced.
The Crew Doubts… and Kissan Ends It
On the ground, the Caledonia crew watched in stunned terror.
Fig’s leonine tail flicked sharply as he stared upward.
“Why isn’t Captain Alyce up there?” he demanded. “She’s letting them fight alone!”
Others murmured too.
Confusion.
Fear.
Awe.
They’d watched Alyce fight like a monster before.
They’d watched her hit Super Saiyan 3.
And now… she wasn’t charging in?
Kissan, bruised and still recovering from being thrown during the Usurper’s destruction, stood straighter than any of them.
Her expression was cold with certainty.
“She is fighting,” Kissan said.
The crew turned to her.
“She may be Saiyan,” Kissan continued. “She may have found her pride!”
Her eyes flicked to Alyce’s still form—watching, calculating, commanding.
“But just because you discover something new about yourself…” Kissan said quietly, “…doesn’t mean you forget who you were before.”
The murmurs died.
Kissan’s mouth curled slightly.
“There may be three Saiyans and a human that fights like one…”
She paused, voice turning sharp as steel.
“But there is only one Captain Alyce.”
And in that moment—
everyone understood.
The Captain wasn’t hesitating.
She was doing what a Captain does best.
She was thinking faster than death.
THE CAPTAINS PLAN
Above, the battle reached its peak.
Marianna, trembling, surged forward with everything she had left.
Allto’s defence faltered.
His cloak snapped behind him in the wind of their power.
Eli barked—
“Mari! That’s it! End him!”
Orion shouted too—
“Finish it!”
Marianna’s hands clenched.
Her aura flared.
Her eyes burned like lightning.
And Alyce screamed from below, voice ripping across the sky.
“NO! DO NOT KILL HIM!”
The shock made Eli flinch.
Orion’s eyes widened.
Marianna froze mid-motion, breathing hard, trembling violently.
Alyce stepped forward, blood on her lip, eyes wild with urgency.
“If you destroy him…” Alyce shouted, “Earth’s Dragon Balls may vanish forever! Universe 6’s may turn to stone—”
Her voice dropped darker.
“And the Super Dragon Balls might not work. That’s a gamble I’m not willing to take.”
Eli’s jaw clenched.
“You’re sure?”
Alyce didn’t blink.
“I’m sure enough that I’m ordering you.”
Orion snarled.
“Then what the hell do we do?!”
Alyce’s eyes narrowed.
“Trust me.”
The boys hesitated—only for a heartbeat—
Then Eli nodded sharply.
Orion growled in frustration…
…but obeyed.
Because even Saiyans trained by the Gods know one thing:
When Captain Alyce gives an order…
you follow it.
Anti-Matter Transport
Alyce shot back toward the Caledonia crew, boots slamming stone.
“Cushi!” she barked.
The tiny Geddan engineer flinched, then scrambled forward, wide colourful eyes shining with panic.
“Yes Captain?!”
Alyce grabbed his shoulder.
“We use the anti-matter.”
Cushi blinked rapidly.
“…All of it?”
“All of it.”
His face tightened.
“That will overload the transporter.”
“Good,” Alyce snapped. “How far can we send one person with a full canister?”
Cushi’s brain whirred like a machine.
“…At least a couple universes,” he said.
Alyce nodded once.
“Then that’s the plan.”
Cushi swallowed.
“But Captain… he needs to be still. The lock won’t hold if he moves too much.”
Alyce’s grin turned sharp.
“Leave that to us.”
And she turned back toward the sky.
The Final Push
The fight above was brutal now.
Marianna was visibly weakening—Beast power flickering as if it was tearing her from the inside.
Eli and Orion held the line, Super Saiyan Blue aura whipping like storms.
Allto’s confidence returned in flashes—quick, hungry, cruel.
He hit Eli hard enough to send him tumbling.
Orion caught him mid-air, barely.
Marianna screamed and charged again, ignoring her body’s warning signs.
Allto laughed.
“You’re breaking, human.”
Marianna snarled through blood.
“So are you.”
Alyce shot back into the air like a comet.
Her aura flared— Surging into Super Saiyan 3.
She didn’t scream.
She didn’t rage.
She looked at her family like a captain addressing soldiers.
“We stop him,” she said. “Right now.”
Eli wiped his mouth.
“How?”
Alyce looked at Marianna.
Her voice softened just slightly.
“We keep him busy, It’s now or never.”
Marianna panted, eyes barely focused.
Alyce’s tone hardened again.
“Unleash your ultimate attack.”
Marianna’s brow twitched.
“…Kamehameha?”
Alyce nodded.
“The attack of your father. The attack of my brothers. The attack of the Saiyans of Earth.”
Marianna’s hands lifted.
Energy gathered.
A beautiful chaos.
The crew watched from below, breathless, silent.
Eli and Orion backed off, readying themselves.
Alyce’s eyes flicked to them.
“Ready.”
Both nodded.
Marianna screamed—
“KAAAAAMEEEEHAAAAAMEEEEHAAAA!”
The beam tore forward like a star being born.
Allto fired back in desperation—his beam dark and vicious.
The two collided.
The sky screamed.
Wind blasted the ground so hard Popsick nearly fell over.
Alyce’s voice rang out, calm and deadly.
“Hold.”
Marianna’s arms shook violently.
Her Beast power wavered.
“Hold,” Alyce repeated.
Allto’s beam began to push forward.
Closer.
Closer.
Allto laughed again.
“You fool!” he shouted. “You think you can stand toe-to-toe with a Namekian god?!”
The beam descended toward Marianna’s face.
Everyone below thought it was over.
Marianna’s muscles screamed.
Her teeth clenched.
Her whole body trembled.
“Hold,” Alyce said.
The beam was inches away.
Then Alyce roared with everything in her lungs—
“NOW! LET GO, MARI!”
Marianna released the beam and dodged sideways with her last ounce of Beast power.
Allto’s beam shot forward into empty space—
And in that exact moment—
Eli and Orion used Instant Transmission.
They appeared beside Allto, Super Saiyan Blue, and grabbed him.
Eli locked his arm.
Orion clamped his neck.
Allto’s eyes widened.
“What—?!”
He thrashed violently, arms extending, trying to grab them, choke them, rip free.
But the boys held.
Their muscles screamed.
Their auras flared.
Allto’s feet kicked wildly.
Alyce shot upward and grabbed his legs with both arms, locking her body around them like an anchor.
“NOW, CUSHI!” she screamed.
Cushi’s voice came through comms, trembling.
“Anti-matter transporter engaged!”
Allto panicked.
“No—no—what are you doing?!”
Light surrounded him.
His voice cracked.
“My destiny—NO!”
And with a flash—
Allto vanished.
Gone.
Not dead.
Gone.
The battlefield went silent.
No cheers.
Just relief so heavy it felt like gravity.
Cushi’s voice came again, shaking with triumph.
“Transportation successful, Captain.”
Alyce closed her eyes.
Exhaled.
“Good,” she whispered. “Now… we make things right.”
The Phrase… Forgotten
They gathered beneath the Caledonia, exhausted, bruised, alive.
Popsick stared up at the Dragon Balls and rubbed his head.
“So… what do we do now?”
Alyce opened her mouth—
And froze.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh my God…”
She whispered in horror.
“No… no no no…”
Kissan stepped closer.
“Alyce?”
Alyce grabbed her head.
“What was the phrase again?!”
Her voice cracked.
“I forgot it— I forgot the bloody phrase!”
She started mumbling, furious with herself.
“Sixteen months—sixteen months and I forget the one thing I need!”
Kissan in disbelief.
“You seriously didn’t write it down!”
Cushi stepped forward softly.
“Captain…”
Alyce “There was so much going on I forgot”
Kissan stood over her yelling “You forgot!” She got even closer “Your Captain Alyce and you just forgot”
“Alyce,” Cushi tried again, louder.
Still nothing.
She kept spiralling.
“I’m a complete idiot… too many knocks to my stupid Saiyan brain—”
“I’ll give you a knock maybe help you remember” Kissan screamed
Cushi’s tiny face scrunched up with frustration.
Then he screamed—
“CAPTAIN ALYCE!!!”
Every head snapped toward him.
Alyce froze mid-panic, staring at him like she’d just been slapped back into reality.
Cushi pointed upward.
“I remember it,” he said.
Alyce sagged with relief.
Of course he did.
Of course Cushi remembered.
She dropped to one knee and kissed the top of his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Cushi smiled.
“That’s okay.”
Alyce cupped his face gently.
“You make the wish, Cushi,” she said. “Make this right.”
Cushi swallowed hard.
Then nodded.
“Yes, Captain.”
Super Shenron
Cushi raised his two tiny arms.
And spoke with a voice too big for his body.
“Teenakawo Iganeteshiso Ururinomika Yodei Chonmage!”
The Dragon Balls glowed.
The sky cracked open.
A colossal shadow poured through reality.
Super Shenron appeared—vast beyond comprehension.
A dragon made of stars and divine law.
Cushi didn’t flinch.
He made the wish in the only way he could…
clever.
complete.
merciful.
To restore Orobi.
Restore Jardeen.
Restore the fallen Orobians.
Restore Dende.
Restore every Namekian Allto had consumed.
Super Shenron’s voice shook existence.
“IT IS DONE.”
The Universe Heals
Reality rippled outward.
A flash of Orobi restored.
Jardeen rebuilt.
Fallen Orobians opening their eyes alive again.
And on Earth…
At the Lookout…
Dende returned.
Mr Popo screamed.
Sobbing.
Holding him like the universe might take him away again.
Dende looked into the stars, tears sliding down his cheeks.
“…Thank you,” he whispered.
“Captain Alyce…”
Home
Back beneath the Caledonia, the crew erupted.
Cheering.
Laughing.
Crying.
Sixteen months of pain finally released in one tidal wave of relief.
Alyce turned to Eli and Orion, pride burning in her eyes.
“You two…” she said breathlessly, “…you were unbelievable.”
Eli grinned, battered but glowing.
Orion smirked.
“Still alive, aren’t we?”
Alyce rolled her eyes weakly.
“Barely.”
Then she looked down at Marianna.
Her niece lay on the ground, Beast form gone, just human again.
Just Mari.
Alyce knelt beside her.
“You are something else,” Alyce whispered.
Marianna smiled faintly—not proud, not loud.
Just peaceful.
Like a warrior who knew her war was finished.
Alyce brushed hair from her face.
“What do you want to do now?” she asked softly.
Marianna’s eyes were half shut from exhaustion.
“I want to go home.”
Alyce nodded, smiling softly.
“Then home it is.”
She stood and turned toward the ship.
“Cushi,” she called.
The tiny Geddan snapped to attention immediately.
“Yes, Captain!”
Alyce’s smile widened.
“Set course.”
Cushi beamed with loyal excitement.
“Where to, Captain?”
Alyce looked at her crew.
Her family.
Her ship.
Her home.
And answered with the simplest, most powerful word she could.
“Earth.”
And the Caledonia turned toward the stars.
Toward home.