DBZ – From a Different Path
Author's note: New Earth. A new era. And a new saga. Family-time, friends, training and another World Martial Arts Tournament with unexpected challenges.
…
01 – Here We Go Again
Peace returned to planet Earth, once again. The most terrifying evil the universe had ever known was defeated and the destruction of countless lives and worlds was finally avenged. On Earth, the people were made to forget Majin Buu and his rampage, courtesy of the mystical Dragon Balls. A wish was made to the Eternal Dragon Shenron, so the friendly Buu that remained didn't have to hide. The strange, pudgy, pink creature, whose very sight once emptied all streets and cities, now happily walked through them, carefree. Months of slow news days have set in and threatened to defeat people's high spirits with boredom, when a public announcement by one man turned everything around.
"Another tournament?" One reporter asked the large, hirsute man with an afro, in front of a dojo, amidst camera flashes.
"That's right!" Hercule Satan slowly nodded, his stance wide, hands balled into fists on his waist, standing proud.
"But, it's been barely a quarter of a year since the last one." The same reporter pointed out, obviously considering the decision to hold another, so soon, to be unusual.
"So?" Hercule folded his arms. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. And I dunno 'boutchou, but I had my fill of being a potato in my couch for long enough. Hnaha" He let out a laugh at his own phrasing. "A man of action, like myself, can only take so much of that, before the ring calls to him!" He puffed his chest at his own cleverness, again. The rest of the rapid-fire follow-up questions was drowned out by the excited screams of people, worldwide and speakers blared the familiar music that was the theme of their champion, as the man himself grinned from the screen of every television set.
"Looks like someone's desperate to lose more money." Android 18 rested her arms on the seal, looking at the TV through the window of Kame House, as she kept an eye on her daughter, who was building sand-castles with her husband. The latter laughed at her wife's intention to make the man quake in his boots some more.
"Not saying you've extorted the guy enough..." Krillin started. "But I think his nerves already got hit a lot more than his coffers." He talked her out of aiming for the prize money and potentially traumatizing the showboating man even further, but not competing.
"Fine." 18 sighed.
"Mommy will win, this time!" Their daughter gleefully exclaimed, not yet understanding why her mother could not simply mop the floor with the world champion, for appearance's sake. The bubble that was blowing from Roshi's nose popped and the old master shot up in his chair. The magazine on his face fell in his lap. 18 smiled at her little one's words, but knew that none of them really wanted all the attention fame would have brought. Besides that, the man became a friend to all of them, having truly redeemed himself through genuine bravery, in the face of an enemy most of them could not hold a candle to.
"What happens if we draw numbers, again and I have to fight someone like Goku or Vegeta? You think they'll hold back?" she asked Krillin, uncertain of the answer herself.
"Well...Goku, maybe. But, Vegeta? I bet he'll throw in a few serious hits, just to show off." Krillin solemnly believed. "Especially after losing to you that one time." he added.
"He definitely likes to hold a grudge." 18 pointed out, less nonchalantly than she usually did, not taking the thought of going up against either of them lightly.
"Yep. Just ask Goku." Krillin mused. "Hey, you think they heard the announcement?" he asked 18, but it was Master Roshi who spoke up.
"Oh, I think they're too busy trainin'." he said with a small chuckle. Krillin blinked, then understood his meaning. He turned in the direction of where Goku and his family lived, then, towards Capsule Corporations, feeling their energy that had gotten strong enough to reach across light years in the universe, never mind the Earth. "That's Goku, alright. And I can feel Gohan, too. Holy cow!" he whispered. "Whatever that old Kai put him through must've been a real killer. Feels like he's even stronger than Goku in that Super Saiyan 3 of his and he doesn't even turn Super, anymore, from what I've heard. Oh, hey! Goten and Piccolo are there, too. I bet they're going 3 on 1 against Goku or Gohan, heheh." He turned and concentrated for a second. "And there's Vegeta and Trunks. Inside Bulma's spaceship, no doubt. Well, here we go, again, I guess. Just like old times."
Comfortably far from the nearest city, on a grassy knoll, Videl sat and watched as Gohan, dressed in the same clothes as his father, was effortlessly dodging and blocking his attacks and those of his little brother. Piccolo appeared behind him, attempting to catch Gohan off guard, and smiled with as much pride as his father, as he guarded against all of their attacks.
"Hmpf. I don't know why I even bother." Piccolo half-jokingly said, pulling his hand back from Gohan's, still smiling at how well the boy he once trained had surpassed him.
"No kidding. You're really training 'us', now." Goku said, hands on his hips.
"Is that what we were doing? I thought you were all just warming up." Gohan smugly folded his arms, then his expression softened as he humbly added "I'm sure you can still teach me." He was more confident in himself than he has ever been, but he was never going to let it go to his head, again. He learned the folly of that, more than once.
"Not this old dog." Piccolo stated.
"You're younger than me!" Goku exclaimed.
"Well, if you think about it, Piccolo's is more than twice your age." Gohan told him, referring to him being the reincarnation of the evil King Piccolo and to the elderly side of him that was Kami.
"Oh, yeah." Goku scratched his head. "I guess Namekians don't age very well." he added, forgetting his manners, as he often did.
"Dad..." Gohan groaned.
"We can't all be Saiyans, who barely age." Piccolo commented, envying the trait some.
"Does that mean I can be a kid forever?" Goten cheerily asked.
"'Fraid not, bro." Gohan replied.
"You're gonna be like me." Goku thumbed at himself. "One day, you're looking up at Krillin and the next, you miss him if you don't look down." He could almost hear Krillin moaning at him for making fun of his height. Back on Kame Island, the latter sneezed.
"Bless you, daddy!" Marron squeaked.
"Thank you!" he rubbed his nose. "Huh. Wonder if that was Goku or Bulma." He thought one of them must have mentioned him, just then.
"Hey, son! Whaddaya say we have another round?" Goku challenged Gohan. "A little more seriously this time." he smirked.
"Alright! You're on, dad!" he exclaimed and took a stance. "I'm ready."
"Give me a sec." Goku flexed and started powering up. Goten and Piccolo quickly vacated the area, joining Videl, to spectate from a safer distance, as high winds suddenly began blowing. Goku's hair stood up, turning golden. It became even spikier and electricity crackled around him. Then, his hair rapidly grew, nearly reaching below his knees, as he transformed all the way to Super Saiyan 3. Their two extraordinary powers clashed and the usually quiet green fields shook under them, even when they were already in the air.
"Looks like they started the real training session." Videl noted. "I can't even see where their hands and feet are." she added in astonishment.
"Don't worry. You're not the only one." Piccolo assured her that following their movements was beyond all of their capabilities and Videl looked at him in awe. Piccolo observed them for another second and added "It was the same when Gohan fought Cell." Videl blinked in surprise at the mention of Cell. "Once Gohan learned to tap into his new power at will, none of us were really able follow the fight. We could only hear and feel the air being ripped apart. Like so." He raised his head and Videl heard the explosions before she even followed his gaze, to see shockwaves sporadically exploding across the sky, like fireworks, where their hits connected.
A different kind of explosion shook the spaceship parked in the backyard of the Capsule Corporation's building, as a powerful energy blast fired by a Super Saiyan Trunks was nullified by his father. A transformed Vegeta held his hands crossed in front of himself and smirked back at his son, who was ready to fire another, when Bulma's face appeared on the monitor.
"Alright, you two! Time to wrap it up in there. Lunch is ready and I think there's something you definitely want to hear." she told them.
"What?" Vegeta crossed his arms, unwilling to stop their training session without a good reason. Though, a proper meal, meeting even a Saiyan's standards, was enticing.
"Hercule was just on TV, announcing another tournament!" Bulma exclaimed with excitement, knowing her husband and son would be thrilled about a chance to demonstrate the fruits of their hard work to all.
"A tournament?" Vegeta perked up, returning to his normal state, as did Trunks. "Hn." he made a sound and suddenly had a wicked smile. "Say no more!" he told Bulma and went to shut off the simulated high gravity. The red light the room was flooded in disappeared with it.
"Figured it would get your attention." Bulma smiled and terminated the connection.
"This time, nothing will interfere." he clenched his fist. "Kakarot may have proven his strength. That doesn't mean I'll be left far behind. He'll have to keep his place. And I'll make him work for it." he said, more to himself than to anyone else.
"You guys gonna have all the fun." Trunks grumbled in disappointment. "They're not gonna let me and Goten fight, again. Or only in the Junior Division and I already beat him, there." he stated, not expecting there to be any challenge in it for him.
"Then, you'll beat him, again." Vegeta told him with some anticipated amusement in his voice.
"Well...he got a bit a stronger since then. We did some training in that Time Chamber, at the Lookout, when we were getting ready to fight Majin Buu. Our powers got a little more even, but I'm still stronger." he confidently claimed.
"And you're going to keep it that way!" Vegeta practically ordered him and Trunks nodded.
Elsewhere, far away, on hallowed ground, on which usually only Kais treaded, stood the Supreme Kai and his caretaker Kibito. After fusing together in their curiosity to learn of the special properties the Elder Kai had revealed to them about the very earrings they possessed, the two finally separated, by using the Namekian dragon balls. The venerable elder was reading a comic book in the shade of a tree, while Kibito quietly listened, as his master was addressing another, who was not there in person.
"Another Martial Arts Tournament on Earth?" he asked.
"Yes, sir." King Kai telepathically replied, his voice traveling across the vast cosmos. "That Hercule guy must be feeling restless. And in Goku's case, we can multiply that by a thousand. Him and his friends." he commented.
"Indeed." Supreme Kai nodded. "They all share the same passion towards fighting that others do for poetry...or reading." he glanced at Elder Kai, somewhat embarrassed, remembering his admission that he did not even need to look at women in magazines, because he could see them everywhere with his omniscient vision. At least, he knew he was not engrossed in anything lewd, at the moment. He directed his attention back at the conversation with a small, but clearly enthusiastic smile. "I have to admit, I am interested to see how I'd fair against any one of them. Perhaps Piccolo and I could have a rematch. I believe he would not forfeit, a second time. In fact, after witnessing first-hand what they are capable of, I would not be the least bit surprised if he was able to best me." He recalled how easily Piccolo had refused to fight him, even for the sake of a contest, simply because of who the latter presumed him to be and becoming even more intimidated when his true identity was revealed. "Of course, it could be said the Saiyans are in a league of their own, but then, again, so is he." he added.
"So, does that mean you can make it?" King Kai asked, just to be certain.
"Certainly. We shall make our way there, soon. Thank you for the invitation!" Supreme Kai said.
"My pleasure. I'm gonna see if I can get Goku on the line, then. Have a nice day!" King Kai bid him farewell.
"You, as well." Supreme Kai turned. "Well, Kibito, it seems we are going to Earth, once again. And this time, our presence shall not be cause for worry." he promised. Kibito nodded, closing his eyes as he did, having heard their conversation, along with Elder Kai.
"Planning a trip, are we?" the latter asked them, though he must have heard everything.
"Will you be joining us, sir?" Supreme Kai asked.
"You younglings go ahead." The elder waved, shooing them. Then, he materialized a crystal ball in his hand. "I have the best seat, here. I'm not giving it up." he told them.
"As you wish, sir." Supreme Kai at the old man's stubbornness.
Back on Planet Earth, Goku and Gohan were still locked in combat and were meeting each other's attacks, neither of them relenting nor leaving any openings.
"Ring ring!" Suddenly, Goku stopped, as he heard the familiar voice of King Kai in his head. He floated backwards and Gohan halted his assault, seeing something had gotten his father's attention.
"King Kai?" he asked out loud.
"Yep. That's me! Hey, you caught a cold? You sound a little rough, there." King Kai wondered.
"We're training." Goku simply stated, as Gohan and the rest looked on.
"Ooh, I see, now! Super Saiyan 3, huh?" King Kai noted how Goku sounded differently when he was in that state. Likely from the strain on every part of his body.
"Something up?" Goku asked.
"Why, yes. You probably missed it, but that goof, Mr. Satan, just announced another Martial Arts Tournament."
"Seriously?" Goku raised a brow he did not actually have in the form he was using.
"Mhm. I just had a word with the Supreme Kai. He'll be joining guys." he revealed. Goku reverted to normal.
"Supreme Kai's coming, too? That's great!" he exclaimed, with a wide smile, hands on his hips. "I'll tell the others, right away! Hey thanks for the heads-up King Kai!"
"You're welcome. I'll be rooting." King Kai signed off.
"Wait...for who?" Goku pouted, but the line was dead.
"What's going on, dad?" Gohan prompted him to explain.
"Well...I guess we're gonna have to visit Mr. Satan." Goku replied.
"Huh?" Gohan was puzzled.
"Oh, no!" Chi-Chi panicked, back in their home and the whole house shook from it and from her father, who fell off his seat from hearing scream.
"What's wrong?" her father stumbled into the room in a hurry.
"Not again!" Chi Chi yelled at the TV.
"Not what, again?" Her father asked.
"Goku and the boys can't find out about this or they're gonna run off to fight, again!" she rambled.
"I'm not going to let Gohan and Goten do any more rough-housing. I let them get some exercise with their father, but that's it. No sons of mine will have brainless brute as their only option for a career. They're gonna use their brains. Not their fists. Worrying about just Goku, when he goes off to fight some evil monster, is enough. My boys don't need that in their lives." she folded her arms, glaring. The Ox King knew better than to try and argue with his daughter, when she was in such a foul mood.
"Mom's not gonna be happy about this." Gohan was saying as they were flying back to their house.
"I always got the feeling she doesn't really want you fighting." Videl told him. "Whenever we go training like this, she always looks like she doesn't want you to do even that."
"She doesn't." Gohan stated, just loud enough for it to be heard in the rushing wind. "Heck, she's gonna ground Goten and me, just so we wouldn't compete." he added, more loudly.
"Ouch. Harsh." Videl said. "It's not like anything serious could happen to you guys." she tried to reason, then remembered all that has transpired the last time in the last tournament, as Gohan gave her an uncomfortable look. "Oh...right...forget that." she winced just from the memory of what happened to both her and Gohan. And what followed, after.
"Gee, that's too bad." Goku pondered, not too saddened, almost sounding like he was making fun of his sons. "I guess my only competition is gonna be Buu. We'll probably throw the fight, when we get to your dad, but chances are we'll have to get past each other, first." he told Videl.
"'Probably?'" Videl caught his tease, Goku faced her, flying with his back turned and rubbed under his nose with a grin, snickering.
"Honestly...sometimes I wish someone like you guys had knocked my father out of the ring, years ago." She lowered her head, then shook it. "I don't want him to get hurt or be humiliated, I just...I wish he didn't have to put on an act. I mean, he's still the best fighter." she shrugged. "If we don't count you guys...and the kind of bad guys you fight, but...I know he's just afraid that the whole world will call him a fraud." she figured. "It's not like he's the only one who ever lied to get more famous!" she raised her voice. "And people won't even have to know about it." she pointed out, seeing a way out of the whole charade. "He could just lose and...I don't know...retire, maybe. People wouldn't just turn on him." she believed so, but she also realized there was no way to know how wildly the public opinion could swing.
"Well, he lied about Cell, but he really did help with Majin Buu." Gohan started. "He bought my dad time for his attack and if it wasn't for him, the good Buu wouldn't really have turned good."
"Yeah! And you shoulda seen him go at the little Buu!" Goku said. "He was way scarier than all of the other Buus and your dad just jumped him with everything he had. And by then, he knew it was no bad dream, either. He saw what Buu could do and he still fought him." he praised her father and Videl smiled, appreciatively. Goten sped ahead of them, as they neared their home, landed and ran towards the door.
"Mom, we're back!" he shouted and Chi Chi stepped out of the dining room, still wearing an apron, having prepared lunch.
"Just in time." she said, hands on her hips. "Now, straight to the bathtub, young man!" she sweetly told him.
"M'Kay!" Goten ran further inside.
"Hey, honey! We're back!" Chi-Chi heard Goku's voice, as he came in the front door. "Mmh! Something smells good! Boy, can't wait to dig in!" he rubbed his palms.
"Not so fast, Goku!" Chi Chi held up a finger. "As soon as Goten is done in the bathroom, you and Gohan are next."
"Uh, actually...I kinda have something to take care of, first. It'll only take a few minutes."
"And what is that?" Chi Chi folded her arms.
"Well..." Goku trailed off and Chi Chi glared suspiciously at him.
"I just need to talk to Mr. Satan, about...something." he tried to say as little as he could.
"Mr. Satan?" Chi Chi's face suddenly dropped. "Why?"
"You see, uh..." Goku did not want to say, so Videl stepped up to take it upon herself.
"My dad is starting another Martial Arts Tournament. And all of us want to fight. Gohan, too. And Goten." she stared Chi Chi down, somewhat fearfully.
"What!? How did you hear about it!?" she took a dangerously fast step towards her and Goku, making both of them recoil. "You were in the middle of nowhere!" she whined, having hoped there would be no way for them to hear about it.
"King Kai called me, telepathically." Goku gestured with a tap to his head. "He can talk to me pretty much anywhere." he weakly shrugged. A defeated Chi-Chi blinked in confusion, with her eyes welling up and she let out a frustrated growl, before storming away. Goku and the others exchanged looks. She came running back, past them, slammed the door shut and tightly locked it with a key.
"Nobody's leaving!" Chi Chi blocked the way, arms spread and everyone stared at her.
"You'd think I'd be used to this by now." Videl quietly said to herself, but not quietly enough.
"Hrrm?" Chi Chi internally growled at her and Videl raised her hands, defensively, genuinely fearing for her safety.
"You'd better tell Dende you'll be running late." Gohan said to Piccolo.
"Already did." Piccolo folded his arms. He already contacted him, telepathically.
"Um...Chi Chi...you know I can just use Instant Transmission?" Goku nervously asked her, as it meant all her efforts were for nothing.
"Huuuh...?" Chi Chi slouched, deflating like a balloon, utterly shattered.
"It'll only take a few minutes. I promise!" Goku knew it was not really the time she was so upset about. "Come on, Videl! I'll take you home!" he smiled, as he put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"What? Oh. Right. Uh, thank you!" she nodded, understanding what was about to happen, as Goku put his index and middle-fingers to his temple, trying to locate a high enough energy level to lock onto, but they all knew it certainly was not Hercule he was searching for.
"There's Buu! Okay. Here we go!" he exclaimed and both of them flickered, then vanished.
"Dad, wait...! I wanted...to...never mind." Gohan blushed, having wanted to kiss Videl goodbye. Chi Chi gaped at the empty space and a moment later, the entire house rocked from her angry shriek.
"Oh, dear..." The Ox King could be heard.
Inside Hercule Satan's luxurious house, the man himself was lounging in his lavishly decorated, heavily furnished, but still comfortably spacious office. Buu was cozily lounging on a large pillow in the corner, flinging bonbons into his mouth, giving every third to Bee, their dog, who was no longer a puppy. Hercule nearly spat his coffee out, when Goku suddenly appeared in front of him, with his daughter.
"Huh? Dhh-Eeeeiiii..." he made a noise, nearly jumping out his boots in shock and flailed his arms about, as he jumped, his eyes popping out of their sockets.
"Hey, dad." Videl waved, apologetically.
"V-v-videl?" Hercule stared at them dumbly. "Go...ku...oh, Goku! Uh, hey!" He smiled.
"Hey, Mr. Satan!" Goku raised his hand in greeting, then leaned to the side, to look past his shoulder. "Hi, Buu!" he waved to him, as well.
"Hello!" Buu joyfully returned it and Bee barked a greeting, too.
"How are things?" Goku asked.
"Oh, uh, great! You know. No fights. No evil monsters, ahaha, uh, actually...uh...it's been kinda boring around here, so I, uh..." Hercule stumbled, touching the tips of his two index-fingers together, suddenly behaving like he needed permission or even an excuse to start a tournament, when dealing with any of the Z-Fighters, even given who he was.
"We know about the tournament, dad!" Videl folded her arms. "We're fighting." she told him, firmly.
"All of us." Goku grinned.
"Eiii...Ah...all of you." Hercule was struck by fear.
"Hey, don't worry...if one of us has to fight you, we'll just do what 18 did." Goku assured him.
"18?" Hercule swallowed.
"Yeah. You know any way we can make sure we'll all fight someone we're on par with, but still let you get to the finals? Goku asked.
"You wanna fix the fights?" Hercule asked, dumbfounded.
"Just the pairings at the start'll be enough." Goku clarified.
"How can we make sure we all draw the right number?" Videl asked the obvious question out loud.
"I...uh...don't know." her father replied.
"Buu know." came from the back and they all turned to look at him.
"You mean you can do it?" Goku asked, immediately astonished.
"Aha." Buu beamed.
"But, how?" Hercule asked.
"Buu use magic and change number when people pick ball. You tell Buu which number and Buu make number change." he explained.
"That's fantastic!" Goku threw a fist in the air. "Then we can all fight the person we're closest to in strength." he said and looked between Hercule and Videl. "Or...in your case, you're fights'll be fair." He looked at Videl. "No doubt you can beat the rest of the competition and when you get to one of us...well, we can improvise. We'll just have a friendly spar to make it look convincing, then one of us will take the fall." he told the last part to Hercule.
"Sounds good." Videl nodded.
"Yeah." Hercule agreed.
"Alright. It's settled, then. Thanks Buu!" Goku raised a hand. "See you at the tournament!" he added, keeping his hand up, while using the other to place his fingers to his temple and he was gone.
"D'uh...I...wanna do that." Hercule murmured and Videl gave her father a sympathetic smile. She felt the same whenever she saw Gohan and the others let loose. Even if it just meant flying at their own pace.
Around the globe, there was barely a person who was not familiar with the World Martial Arts Tournament and by the end of the day, even those in the farthest and harshest of places, weathering blizzards, sandstorms or blazing heat, have heard the news. Everyone shared in the revelry, looking forward to the show that would begin a day after. Not leaving much time for preparation. It was the event-organizers who had their work cut out for them the most, having to set everything up in just a day and a half. Registrations were due in the morning and those who felt worthy of competing were expected to storm the offices by the dozens, after which the preliminary rounds would leave only sixteen of them to fight their way through the bracket, in front of the whole world.
The very air was charged and to an extent it could even be felt by one to whom all of it was merely another marble in the cold darkness of space, through the window of a modest spacecraft's cockpit. A pair of hands, in fingerless gloves, firmly held the controls. The feminine figure, her face obscured by shadow, beheld the planet called Earth, as it grew larger on the horizon.
"Why here?" the figure spoke. "What's so special about this place?" she wondered out loud. Her head moved to look at the unusual emptiness around and a faint light reflected off of a device worn over her left eye. Aside from debris there was nothing else orbiting the planet. "No moon? How strange." She leaned forward. "Those chunks must be what's left of it. So, there was one." she figured. "But, who destroyed it?" She sounded slightly disturbed and intrigued, at the same time. "Hmm. Guess, I'll find out soon." She pulled back on the controls and slowed the vessel to a halt. With the press of a button, she turned the auto-pilot on and put the ship on reserve energy. What few lights there were turned off and she unbuckled the double-shouldered safety-belt on her seat. She stood, reaching up with her left hand and pulled off a scouter that she placed on the dashboard, then walked to the back of the ship, through a door, where there was a small launching platform. Held in place by magnetic clamps was a single attack pod, a new model. The same kind that was once widely used by the now severely weakened Frieza Force. The ship oriented itself, turning so that its side faced the Earth. A hatch opened and a few moments later the pod was launched, heading straight towards the planet. It entered the atmosphere and streaked across the sky. At Capsule Corporation's HQ, Vegeta suddenly woke, as he thought he felt an unfamiliar energy. Beside him, Bulma stirred and saw he was wide awake, even alarmed. She sat up.
"Vegeta...what's wrong? You had a nightmare or something?" she worryingly asked, knowing he never had trouble sleeping.
"I thought I had sensed a power level. But, it's gone, now." he explained.
"Are you sure? Who was it?" Bulma blinked.
"I don't know." Vegeta sounded perturbed.
"Well, if you couldn't tell who it was, then...maybe it was just a dream. I bet it's the tournament. Hmhm." she smiled with small laugh. "It's already getting to you." she teased him, nudging. "You're just probably too excited. That's all." Vegeta considered her explanation and it seemed more plausible than some unknown person, with a power level high enough for him to sense, just appearing out of nowhere. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"You're right." he conceded, then lied back down with Bulma. The latter placed her hand on his shoulder. Down the hall, in a different room, Trunks was lightly snoring in his own bed, oblivious to the world, as was Goten, Gohan and most of all Goku. Every one of them was sound asleep at home, with not a care in the world.
In the forest near West City, the attack pod slowed its descent and smoothly touched down on a hill, with nary a sound and without leaving a crater. The hatch opened and the shadow-clad figure stepped out to gaze upon the city skyline. The nightlife within such populated districts was already hectic enough, but with news of the Tournament, the usual crowds were even more difficult to navigate, let alone to control. Clubs, pubs and even public restrooms lining the streets were all loud from the cheering, threats and cat-calls, along with the occasional slaps and sobbing, from one direction, hushed whispers and giggles, from the other, fading in dark alleys. Glazed eyes slowly moved to follow the strangely-dressed woman, whose rather intimidating physique was only a deterrent to those who could actually see past the bridge of their own noses, out of the pink haze their minds swam in. Every other male specimen of the indigenous species was convinced they had a reasonable chance she would find any one of them to be the center of her universe, after just a few lines they managed to slur her way. Though she seemed to maintain a veneer of calm, part of her felt like side-stepping the verbiage flung at her, as if their words, carried with their foul breath, could literally hit her and bring disease. The other part knew, from the first minute she walked among them, that even if they had thrown their fists at her, with all their might, they would have bounced off of her, broken. She stopped to watch the same repeated footage that was shown on large public screens on the side of buildings and on smaller sets in the windows of stores.
They were news reports, as she understood, announcing the start of a Martial Arts Tournament that was going to be held in the same city she happened to land near, apparently. After seeing mostly unimpressive recaps of a large, bearded man with a bushy, but balding afro being touted as the champion of that entire world, she was beginning to feel disappointed and bored, until some of the older footage more than peeked her interest. A small boy, with a tail, who fought an old man. An older one with three eyes. One with white face-paint and two red dots on his cheeks. Another with long, wild hair and a scar across his right eye, and an x-shaped scar on the left side of his face. All showed physical feats and fighting skills far greater than what was obviously normal on the planet. Flight and even energy blasts. And a Namekian? Then, the same boy, again. Except, older. And without the tail. She figured, from the dated footage, that all of those warriors had to have grown to adulthood. She stood there, arms folded, silhouetted by the light of all the screens that illuminated the upper half of her body and what looked like the Frieza Force's chest armor, without the shoulder pads, on her. Her eyes slightly narrowed, as the images flickered by. She found who she was looking for. And the upcoming competition was going to give her the perfect opportunity to track them down.
With the new Martial Arts Tournament only a few hours away, the mysterious traveler sets her eyes on our heroes. What could this person, wearing the armor of the Frieza Force, want from them? Is she looking for a challenge? Revenge? Will she turn out be friend or foe? Find out on the next exciting episode of Dragon Ball Z!