Time is a strange, delicate part of the universe. Without it, there would be no moments, no events, no actions. But with it, can be destruction, death, and carnage.

But even more so, when one decides to mess with not only time, but also space, then the concept of reality itself changes.

The world sat in distraught. Flames raged in the dark, as dreary clouds sat over the ruins of a once proud city. This city had been home to hundreds, wiped away in an instant. The rest of the planet was the same, each city in pieces. Only a few dozen people remained, their lives at risk even now.

High above the world, two warriors clashed, dueling over the fate of the remaining people. As the two fought, they gave off brilliant auras, glowing brightly in the darkness. One was a pale pink, fading to dark red as it grew farther away from its owner's body. The other was an electric blue, waning away to a darker, more royal color.

The warrior bearing the red and pink aura smirked at his opponent. He wore a sleeveless, dark grey uwagi, with a long-sleeved black turtleneck undershirt underneath. The figure wore a pair of black pants, with white boots, and a red sash around his waist. A gold earring, with a green gem at its end, hung from his left ear while a silver ring, bearing the infinity symbol, was worn on his right hand. The man's eyes were light grey, his spiky hair seemingly glowing a bright salmon.

Glaring at his smirking opponent, the other warrior wore a completely different attire. He wore a medium blue, long-sleeved jumpsuit, with white gloves and boots, and a strange, white chest piece, with some of the armor plates yellow. Both his hair, and eyes, shared the electric blue hue of his aura.

"Vegeta….." the warrior in black said with a grin. "It has come to my attention, that the ability you saiyans possess, does not come from battle alone….."

"What the hell do you mean by that, Black?" Vegeta asked, his eyes still fixed in a glare.

"The method in which you grow in strength. It is not from being beaten in battle, or from mere training," Black replied, closing his eyes as he explained, "It comes from your anger!"

Black held out his hand, a pink blade of pure energy extending out of it, before suddenly stabbing the blade into his other palm, showing off an evil grin the entire time. The azure haired saiyan stopped his glare, raising an eyebrow as he stared, trying to decipher what his opponent was up to.

Black began to chuckle, as he slowly pulled his arm back, the blade reforming itself. As his chuckle devolved into a full, evil laugh, he spun around, forming a large, glowing energy scythe. His eyes met with Vegeta's, the saiyan taken back by the large scythe, before returning to his previous stance.

"So now, I have taken the anger I harbor for mortals and I will use it to fuel my power!" Black yelled, grinning in triumph, Vegeta growling in response.

"If you think I'll let you go after everything you've done, Black," Vegeta said, glaring at him. "Then you are more of an idiot then I thought!"

"Oh, silly mortal. I don't think you'll have to worry about letting me go at all. Because I'm going to kill you before you get the chance!", Black yelled, dashing towards the saiyan prince, his scythe trailing behind him.

His eyes narrowing, Vegeta raised his arms in front of him, preparing to block the attack, before Black halted, suddenly swinging the scythe, slicing it through the air. As the blade cut the air in front of Black, it sent out a thin, wide beam of purple energy that caught the saiyan prince by surprise.

Dashing upwards, Vegeta narrowly dodged the beam, growling as he glared at Black. "You missed."

"Oh, did I, Vegeta? Did I really?" Black asked, smugly. Vegeta raised an eyebrow, before turning around, his eyes opening wider as he did so.

"That attack! It wasn't meant for me!" he thought, staring at the giant, glowing rift. Black's scythe had cut through the very fabric of reality, leaving a giant tear in the sky.

"Oh my!" Black said, his eyes closing as he chuckled to himself. "It seems my anger has done more damage than I expected. Though I suppose it doesn't matter, for if I'm able to use this much power, then you mortals shall be wiped out in mere moments."

Vegeta stared at the rift for a moment, before quickly spinning around, scowling at Black. "If you think I'm scared of some pink hole, then you have underestimated me for the last time!" the saiyan yelled, glaring at Black.

"Oh, Vegeta, you see things from such a closed perspective. It is not the rift you should be scared of, nor is it my power," Black replied with a smirk. "You should be scared of my fury."

"Your rage is nothing to be afraid of! You claim to hate both gods and mortals, but I haven't seen you express any irritation or hostility when you talk about them," Vegeta exclaimed, allowing his aura to surge, doubling in size.

"Are you suggesting I don't have true anger, true hatred, towards mortals?" Black asked, his smirk fading.

"No, what I'm saying is that you're all talk. You claim to hate mortals, but you've accomplished no more than Majin Buu!" Vegeta answered, before dashing forwards, his fist reared back as he charged towards Black.

The pink-haired warrior growled, before swinging his scythe upwards, aiming to stab Vegeta with it's blade, before the saiyan warrior flew to the side, dodging the attack.

In the streets below, two more figures were fighting one another. The first was a thin individual, with pale green skin, white eyebrows, and a white mohawk. He wore a violet, long-sleeved shirt, underneath a yellow and grey coat, with dark blue, baggy pants. A light blue sash was wrapped around his waist, and his boots were white. The same earring Black had on his ear hung from the figure's ear as well.

The other figure was taller than the first one, with spiky, electric blue hair, eyes, and aura. He wore an orange gi top, with a dark blue undershirt, and baggy orange pants. A dark blue sash was around his waist, blue wristbands sat on his arms, and dark blue boots on his feet. His clothes were torn, a large hole in his shirt, just under where his heart would be.

The green-skinned warrior glanced upwards at the rift, a smirk crossing his lips. "It seems my other self has begun to handle Vegeta. That is a promis-" he began to say, before the orange-clad warrior flew towards him, glaring at him.

"Your battle is with me, Zamasu!" the saiyan warrior shouted, flying towards his enemy. As he grew closer, his fist shot forwards, striking Zamasu in the face.

Flying back, Zamasu crashed into a building, lying still for a few moments, before slowing standing up. "Son Goku! Don't think you can just give orders to a god, and expect to live!" Zamasu yelled, as a flaming, purple aura formed around him.

"I don't care if you're immortal! I'm going to defeat you!" Goku yelled, ignoring Zamasu's statement entirely, as he charged forwards once again. Quickly leaping up, Zamasu managed to avoid Goku's attack, before firing several purple energy blasts towards the warrior.

Goku turned, his eyes widening as the blasts flew towards him, before he placed two fingers on his forehead, quickly using his instant transmission technique to teleport next to Zamasu, his fist reared back.

Zamasu's eyes went wide, before Goku's knuckles were driven into his gut, the god gasping in pain. Glaring, Goku instantly began to lay a barrage of punches into the god's chest, forcing him back.

Zamasu grunted, each hit forcing his body backwards, before the god growled, energy forming around his right arm. Slashing his arm towards Goku, the energy acted like a knife, leaving a tiny cut on Goku's gi.

Goku lurched back, before cupping his hand, gathering his energy in his palm, forming a sphere of energy. Thrusting his arm forwards, Goku fired the energy blast towards Zamasu, the attack exploding on contact.

Above them, Vegeta and Black continued their struggle, Black's scythe coming mere inches from impaling Vegeta in his side. Dashing back, Vegeta avoided the energy blade, growling at his attacker.

Black scowled, raising the scythe above his head, before forcing it down, trying to stab Vegeta in the shoulder. To his surprise, Vegeta caught the handle of the weapon, glaring into Black's grey eyes.

"I've had enough of this! Enough of you, and your so called 'judgement'! I'm ending this, now!" Vegeta exclaimed, before crushing the handle of the scythe, shattering it completely. Black's eyes went wide, as Vegeta quickly rushed towards him, his fist striking Black square in the jaw.

Jerking back, Black tried to steady himself, Vegeta having other plans. Dashing towards the dark warrior, Vegeta clenched his fists, before hitting him once again, striking Black over and over.

Black staggered backwards, Vegeta pausing his assault, his eyes glaring into Black's soul. "Had enough? Or should I continue to pound you into oblivion?", the saiyan royal asked, a small smirk crossing his lips, before quickly returning to it's normal frown.

"I… I will never give up… Not until all mortals are wiped out," Black stuttered, the dark saiyan breathing heavily.

"Then it's time for you to die. And I'll happily dig your grave, using your own body!" Vegeta replied, pulling his fist back to strike Black once more, before the rift began to pulsate, catching the prince's attention.

Turning towards the rift, Vegeta began to study it, his eyes narrowing. Next to him, Black slowly regained his composure, before a smirk began to appear on his face, Black lightly chuckling.

Glancing over at him, Vegeta scowled, before Black's smirk grew, turning into a full grin, as he teleported away, appearing in front of the rift.

"I… I can sense the power. The power of…of Time, and Space, and Reality itself!" Black muttered, still chuckling. Vegeta growled in response.

"Oh, lighten up mortal, for I have discovered something…beautiful!" Black exclaimed, gesturing with his arms outwards as pink mist slowly began to creep from the rift. The mist began to form humanoid shapes causing Black's eyes to widen, his smile growing even larger as his aura suddenly burst out of his body.

Jerking back slightly, Vegeta watched in awe as the mist began to take shape, creating almost a dozen clones of Black. They were almost identical to the original, the only difference being the slightly darker color of their hair.

"Isn't it wonderful? It seems even Reality itself agrees with my ideals. It's helping me in my quest. It wants mortals gone, and it knows that I am the one to eradicate them all!" Black chortled, his grin wild.

"Shut it. If you really think that the universe wants us dead, you're more delusional than I thought!" Vegeta ordered, clenching his fists in preparation.

Black just shook his head, smirking as the prince returned to his fighting stance.

Down below, Goku fired another ki blast, the ball of energy soaring across the landscape, before being knocked away by Zamasu. Growling, the god charged his energy blade, dashing forwards towards Goku.

Glaring at the fallen kai, Goku got ready to catch the blade, when he noticed the sudden increase of enemies surrounding Vegeta. Turning to stare up at the rift, Goku's almost lost his head as Zamasu sliced the air, the saiyan dodging at the last moment.

Glaring at the mortal, Zamasu noticed Black's sudden advantage, the god smiling at this new development. Taking to the air, Zamasu flew up to the same level as Vegeta and the Black clones.

"Judging by this, I'd say you have the situation under control," Zamasu asked, smirking.

"I do believe so," Black replied, Goku now flying up to join his ally. Glaring at the evil saiyan, Goku turned towards Zamasu, ready to continue the battle.

"Foolish mortal! Our fight has concluded, for I have a better query to battle. But I'm sure my other self can, how should I say, entertain you," Zamasu grinned, before a purple aura formed around him as the god flew off.

Growling, Goku's aura exploded around him as well, the saiyan about to chase after him when one of the clones of Black dashed in front of him, smirking.

"Where are you trying to run off to, mortal? The battle you seek is right here," Black said, grinning. Watching in complete bliss, Black grinned as his clones lunged towards the two saiyans, overwhelming them instantly.

Vegeta dashed back, firing dozens of energy blasts at the copies, futilely hoping to destroy them before he got overwhelmed. With each clone destroyed, another came from the rift to take its place.

Growling, Vegeta continued to fire at them, hoping to take out as many of the clones as he could so he could focus on the original, and hopefully close the rift before the army of evil grew any larger.

Suddenly, two clones came up behind Vegeta, grabbing him by the arms. The prince glared back at them and struggled to break free, but another clone dashed forwards and struck Vegeta in the stomach. The Saiyan Elite gasped in pain, before the clone began to beat him in the chest with an evil smirk on his features.

Nearby, Goku was trying to stay out of the clones reach, firing blasts and striking every clone that tried to get close to him. Eventually though he was overwhelmed, Goku growled, crossing his arms in front of him. Channeling his ki outwards, the saiyan sent out a massive shockwave, shoving several of the evil copies back. Goku took a deep breath, before he glanced over at his friend.

Noticing Vegeta's predicament, Goku quickly fired two blasts that instantly destroyed the clones holding onto Vegeta, allowing the saiyan prince to knee the third clone in the jaw, before spinning around, heavily breathing from the clones attacks.

"Vegeta, we need to get rid of these guys, and fast!", Goku shouted, launching two more blasts towards the army of clones.

"I know that, Kakarot, but with every clone we destroy another comes out takes its place," Vegeta replied, before and idea struck him.

Black grinned, watching the two struggle to fight against his ever growing army of clones, before a bright light in the distance caught his attention. As he observed it, he saw it was coming from the direction Zamasu had flown off in.

"What's this? Is Trunks up to something?" the demented god wondered aloud. Vegeta noticed Black's confusion, turning towards the light once he realised that was what the fallen god was staring at.

"Trunks!" Vegeta shouted, turning towards the warrior in orange. "Kakarot, you need to go protect Bulma and Trunks. With his immortality, Zamasu will kill them both!"

"Right!" Goku replied with a nod, before placing two fingers on his forehead. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on Trunks' energy, but he couldn't find anything.

"Well?" Vegeta asked, glancing at him as the saiyan prince blocked another attack from one of the clones.

"It's no good! I can't seem to locate them! I think the rift's energy is covering theirs up!", Goku answered, earning a laugh from Black.

"Pitiful mortals, trying to run off and save your friends. You should be worrying about your own lives!", Black exclaimed, cracking his knuckles as he grinned.

"We'll worry about whatever the hell we want to!", Vegeta yelled in return, before focusing his energy into his hand, forming a blue ball in his palm. "Now take this! BIG BANG ATTACK!", the prince shouted, firing the blast towards Black. Smirking, Black watched as two of his clones leapt in front of the blast, taking the energy attack, with two more appearing behind him.

"Dammit! We can't even get a hit on him!" Goku said, glaring over at him.

"Not with those clones guarding him," Vegeta added, looking down at his hands. Thinking for a moment, the prince got an idea. "Kakarot, rush him! I'll take out any copies that try to stop you!" Vegeta ordered.

Glancing at him, Goku nodded and charged towards Black. With a glint in his eyes, Vegeta fired several blasts in the same direction, taking out as many clones as he could.

His grin disappearing, Black prepared to attack the incoming saiyan. Suddenly the rift seemed to grow wider, it's energy forcing Black away. Turning to stare at the rift, Black's stone colored eyes widened as Goku quickly closed the gap between the two of them.

Spinning around, Black gazed at the incoming saiyan with slight fear, before raising his arm into the air to create his energy blade once more. Black growled as he slashed at the saiyan, before swinging the blade at him once more, Goku catching it in his hand.

Staring into each other's eyes, the two simply floated there as the intensity of the moment grew, before Goku lunged towards Black with the intent to knock his opponent away. To his surprise, something caught his leg, pulling him towards the rift. Looking back, his eyes went wide as he saw one of Black's clones forcing him towards the glowing tear.

Gritting his teeth together, Vegeta charged towards the clone, ready to blast it away, before several of the clones flew at him, all of them grabbing him as they held him back.

Goku turned, watching as Vegeta struggled to get free. Raising his arm to help him, Goku's limbs were suddenly caught by more clones, the saiyan being pulled into the rift.

Black watched in confusion, staring as his clones drew the saiyan into the tear in reality. "I'm not telling them to do this! So why are they trying to pull Son Goku into my rift? My energy, no, my will over them should be enough to control them!" he wondered internally.

Struggling to break free, Vegeta watched as the clones suddenly vanished, a final clone darting towards Goku. With a single kick, the clone sent Goku flying into the rift. As his body made contact, purple energy coated Goku's body. Within a moment, his form broke apart, turning into the same mist that created the clones, before vanishing into the rift.

Vegeta stared in horror, watching as his friend and ally, was pulled in, before vanishing. Nothing seemed to happen after that. Everything was silent, as it seemed like time had stopped.

Then, Vegeta was brought back to reality by Black's laughter. Looking over at the god, he clenched his fists.

"Yes! That was fantastic. Now there is one less mortal to stand in my way! Now all that is left is to kill you, Vegeta." Black laughed as he turned back towards Vegeta.

"You think...you think you've won?" Vegeta asked, looking down towards the ground.

"Of course. Son Goku and you together barely stood a chance against my army of clones. What makes you think his loss will make the battle favor you?" Black asked.

Vegeta said nothing, before he let his anger, his pride, and his very being loose. His power broke free as he roared in pure rage, his aura obliterating the clones instantly, as he glared at Black.

"I am going to obliterate you, and then Zamasu will follow suit!" Vegeta yelled, dashing towards Black.

"What a pathetic delusion!" Black replied as another clone flew towards Vegeta. Clenching his fist as tight as he could, Vegeta swung at it, before his eyes went wide.

The clone vanished, Black's energy blade piercing Vegeta's body.

Slowly opening his eyes, Goku groaned. It was like everything was in pain. Struggling to sit up, the saiyan flinched, laying down once again.

Closing his eyes, Goku began to notice things. The sky was bright blue, there were birds. "Huh. Everything seems peaceful now," the saiyan thought, before he lost consciousness.

So the Battle for both Time and Space, has begun.

Beginning of the "Darkness Rises" Saga.