Chapter 3: The Unseen Threat

Quitella's cruel chuckle echoed in the desolate expanse. "No hard feelings," he smirked. "It's just business. I'd dare say, 'dead men tell no tales' if you catch my drift."

From afar, Piccolo picked up on Dende's growing fear. Using his telepathic abilities, he reached out. "Dende, what's going on? Your fear is palpable, even from this distance."

"Piccolo... is that you?" Dende's voice was shaky. "There's a god of destruction on a rampage. It isn't Lord Beerus. He blew up the entrance to the Time Chamber, leaving Goku trapped inside."

Piccolo's heart sank. Another god of destruction? He recalled the terror they'd all felt when they first heard of Beerus. Without Goku, Earth seemed doomed. He mumbled to himself, "We only survived Beerus because of Goku, and now he's gone."

He thought, "What do we do now?" He knew he had to warn everyone and keep them alert. "Dende, hold on. I'll get the word out. Just stay alive."

Piccolo could hear the resignation in Dende's voice. "Don't waste time coming here. You're too far, too weak against this foe. Contact Vegeta." His voice was weak but held a flicker of hope.

"Dende, I'll alert Vegeta. Just stay alive. Buy us some time." Piccolo contacted everyone, delivering the grim news. Vegeta was the first to respond, swiftly turning back towards the Time Chamber. He growled, "Kakarot, you stubborn fool."

Vegeta grumbled under his breath, "Why didn't you listen to me?" Piccolo reached out to Dende again. "Vegeta is on his way," he informed.

Dende began stalling Quitella, desperate to buy time. "You can kill me, but spare the Earth and its inhabitants, please."

"I'm not here for Earth. I'm here for Goku," Quitella replied. "But since you've seen it all, I can't let you inform Beerus or those mortals about this. So, you must die." Kwitella took a menacing step towards Dende.

"Enough of this chatter," Quitella asserted. "I've wasted enough time. It's time you join Goku in the otherworld."

Just as Quitella was about to strike, his angel Cognac interjected, "My Lord, I sense several powerful foes hurtling towards us, one of which is Vegeta."

"Let them come," Quitella replied confidently. "I'll simply annihilate them as well. Vegeta might be strong, but compared to me, he's nothing more than a toy."

"Yes, my Lord," Cognac agreed. "But remember, this isn't Universe Four. We have no authority here. If you engage Vegeta, my brother will sense the disturbance and alert Lord Beerus. You'll be in deep trouble with Xenosama."

Seizing the opportunity amidst the distraction, Dende quickly scampered away to safety.

"Vegeta is nearly here, my Lord," warned Cognac.

Acknowledging the truth of Cognac's words, Quitella conceded. "Alright. Just give me a moment to deal with this green pest." But upon realizing that Dende had disappeared, he exclaimed, "What?"

"When did he escape, my Lord?" Cognac, now increasingly anxious, urged. "Leave now! Vegeta is practically here."

With the sound of Cognac's warning ringing in his ears, Quitella swiftly teleported himself away from the scene.

Meanwhile, inside the Time Chamber, Goku had finished his training, and believing that Vegeta would not return, made his way towards the entrance. His heart sank as he discovered the entrance was entirely obliterated, leaving him trapped inside.

Goku was baffled, he muttered to himself, "How did this happen? Could my training have caused this? No, I'm not that careless."

Goku spent what felt like days in the hyperbolic time chamber, puzzling over what had happened. Finally, he arrived at a conclusion. "Only two people knew where I was - Vegeta and Dende. It must be one of them."

Thinking it through, he realized Dende, as Earth's guardian, had no reason to do this. "It must be Vegeta," he thought, feeling a sense of betrayal.

"But why? How could he do this? I thought he had changed. We've faced countless foes together, so why this? I swear, when I get out of here, Vegeta, you'll answer for this."

TO BE CONTINUED...

( That's it for today's story, guys. If you've made it this far, please don't forget to drop a like and follow. More chapters are coming soon.)

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