He raked his fingers through his coarse hair, fighting the urge to trail them a bit further and plunge them into the cavities of his ears. The pain would be worth putting an end to mindless chatter of the blue haired harpy.

When she and his, for lack of a more convenient word, nephew had boarded his ship, his groin had twitched with anticipation. She'd bend over to inspect some minute detail of the ship, exposing the curve of her round ass, or, as she looked up towards the mechanisms up high her chest would jut out, causing her shirt to cling to the ample globes. It had driven him crazy. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd taken a woman to his bed, but he knew it'd been too long. And he was more than willing to take her up on her enticing, inaudible offer, that is, until she opened that damn mouth of hers.

"How do you manage to stabilize the gravity?" She asked, finger tapping thoughtfully against her chin. "It's strange, it feels lighter than Chikyuu's but it's definitely stable."

Her friends had professed her to be a genius, and he was confused why she insisted on pestering him. "I don't manage anything concerning the god-damned gravity."

Her questions continued to drive him insane as the young half-Saiyan remained seated in the launch chair, whimpering every now and then and softly asking for his father.

Giving pestering Raditz about the wonders of space technology a momentary rest, Bulma knelt beside the boy and playfully punched his shoulder.

"Hey buddy," she smiled, trying to get a positive reaction from the child. "Relax, okay? It'll be just fine. You know, when your dad was your age he and I used to go on adventures all the time. This is kind of like that, you know? You're a real strong kid, I can see that, and this will be a lot easier if you at least try to be happy, okay? Just be brave."

Sniffling, Gohan nodded. "Yes ma'am Miss Bulma."

"Now Gohan, we're partners now. You can call me Bulma," she winked and the barest trace of a smile graced the boy's lips. "There, now was that so hard?"

He shook his head as she ruffled his hair, now bare of the hat, Bulma thinking it best the Dragon Ball remain on Chikyuu along with the others. "Just like your dad. A tough little guy."

In the space that lapsed between Raditz's arrival and the odd trio's departure, Goku had taken the time to further Gohan's rudimentary fighting skills. In the same span of time, Bulma had shoved every capsulated weapon she could think of into her satchel and stuffed a chest-full of outfits that made her think 'sexy space bounty hunter' and clipped it to her capsule belt.

Not that playing dress-up was all she had at the front of her mind. She'd been tampering with ki technology and had designed a few guns and shields. They had ever been tested, but she figured now was a better time than ever. Various motorbikes and compounds had also been tucked neatly in her bag, a few hundred tons she toted easily over her shoulder.

After calming Gohan down, she turned her full attention back to Raditz who had his arms crossed against the impressive expand of his chest. She tried her best at a friendly grin and he growled as he caught her once again staring at him.

"So you don't know anything about the gravity, but could you bring me up to speed on that nifty little device you've got over your eye?"

Raditz's eyes crossed as he stared at the device, a film of deep green coating everything in his path of sight. "It's called a scouter."

Bulma leaned forward, placing her hands in her chin. "Mhm. And what does it do?"

"Goddammit girl," he hissed, removing the scouter from his ear with more force than necessary. "If I give you the damn thing will you stop pestering me?"

She grinned and reached for the device, and when he handed it to her she rotated it a few times in her hands. "Space technology is so fascinating. Your Saiyan scientists must be pretty advanced."

"It's not Saiyan technology."

"Oh," she shrugged. "Fascinating nonetheless. Let's see…" She dug through her capsules until she settled on Capsule #187, which transformed into a modest sized toolbox. Thrusting it open, she began humming to herself as she poked and prodded the scouter, placing it across her eye a few times. Raditz tried to avoid her expression, but her comical frowns and bright smiles were difficult to ignore. Yes, the woman was much more appealing when her damn mouth was closed.

Though he could imagine a few equally tempting ways she'd function with her mouth open….

Twenty-eight blissful minutes of silence later, Bulma let out a sigh. "I think I've cracked it. Only, I don't have the proper material to recreate such a device. I imagine it would be pretty handy …" She frowned, handing the scouter back to its owner. "Though I suspect you'll be needing this in the tournament."

"That will not be necessary. Only one male from each planet is allowed to enter the tournament, and I am not the strongest nor the most deserving to fight Freiza."

"Oh," Bulma said, glancing down at the scouter. "Does that mean I can hang onto this?"

"Yes, fine."

She grinned. "Thanks Raditz. You're a doll."

After an awkward silence settled between them, Bulma cleared her throat.

"Hey, while you two lazy bums are just lounging about, why don't y'all hit the training deck? What do you say Uncle Raditz? Care to give young Gohan here a few pointers?"

Attention adverted to his young, frightened nephew, Raditz studied the boy with curiosity. He seemed quite strong for a halfling, but his strength was definitely accounted for by the Saiyan blood coursing his veins. And every Saiyan deserved to be properly trained. Who knew what form of backwards instruction this Saiyan received on Chikyuu? If he was anything like his father, he was going to need to toughen up for the tournament.

The beefy Saiyan chuckled. "What do you say, boy? Are you ready to be schooled by your Uncle Raditz?"

It was obvious that Gohan was sleeping peacefully by the sound of his loud, jutting snores and the way his chubby hand smooshed the skin of his cheek. Bulma smiled fondly at the boy. She had grown quite attached to him in their few days in space, and she thought he might be the only child she'd ever have the chance of getting attached to.

As an only child, she'd never played with other children. Goku was her first friend and even at his small age they were more equals, friends. With no siblings she'd never be able to call herself an aunt, and she wasn't really one to settle down and make babies of her own. She always knew she'd never marry Yamcha, and there had never really been anyone else in her life…

No, she was restless and free, and she was going to put everything she had into protecting Gohan for the time being.

"It's a shame," she smiled. "I think I may have made a good mother."

"Already that sure of your demise?"

She looked up at the sound of Raditz's voice and frowned. "It's pretty inevitable, no?"

He shrugged. "You can make it pretty far if you lay low for a while. The beginning will be a killing spree. All the power-hungry fools gathering in one place to slaughter one another. After that, there will be significantly less people. Of course, that's also when they'll come hunt down the ones who hid like cowards from the initial fight. That part will be fun, like tracking pretty."

"Thanks Raditz," Bulma said, forcing a smile even though her hands felt clammy. "For the advice. Gohan and I won't pose much of an initial threat, so we should be able to lay low for a while."

He shrugged. "Trust me, I'm not rooting for you."

Chuckling, she glanced down at the sleeping boy and smiled. "You should. He's your flesh and blood you know."

"Feh. Little halfling."

She lifted her eyes to meet his. "He is strong though. I've seen you come out of the training facility with your fair share of cuts and bruises. I don't doubt he'll give some aliens a run for their money."

"He is Saiyan." Raditz also studied the boy with a quizzical expression. He himself had been quite surprised by the strength the small cub possessed. "He can sense ki. It's an advantage, especially when I am without a scouter."

Bulma laughed lightly at the pointed glare he shot her, the scouter laying protectively in her lap. "I've translated it into a language I can understand. I think it should help when I'm on the battlefield. You know, run the other direction when I see something's coming."

"And those little weapons you tamper with all day?" Raditz smirked. "Do you expect those to defend you?"

She nodded. "I do, actually. Sometimes my genius astounds even myself."

He was glad he had not taken to bedding her. Never before had he met someone so pretentious or self-assured. He frowned. No, he could think of someone … He just hoped she died before running into him. If she ran her mouth he'd be sure to silence her for eternity.

When Bulma heard the Saiyan chuckle, she cocked her head to the side. "What? Would like you me to test its strength on you?"

"No thank you. I'd rather not be blasted by rudimentary machinery."

Rolling her eyes, Bulma tampered with the scouter as the control room grew quiet. It was strange how silent space was, even at the speed they were moving. She glanced at the controls, estimating that they would be landing tomorrow evening. She exhaled, her lungs heavy. That meant she only had one more day to prep her weaponry, and that Gohan only had one more day of training with Raditz. She wasn't sure why he'd been helping them, but she knew she owed him thanks.

Of course, if he hadn't come to their planet and demanded that they enter this tournament of he'd kill them they wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place. No, she'd be yelling at Yamcha for joining a women's fitness class and he'd be telling her how he wish she'd pay more attention to him rather than tinkering around in her lab. They would eventually make up, of course, but then it would be back to square one. It was silly now to think that just a few weeks ago that had been the height of her worries.

Funny how she suddenly missed their pointless arguments, almost as much as she missed their days of adventure when he'd been a desert bandit, a bad boy for all intents and purposes, and Goku only an eerily strong native.

She frowned; she'd gotten her wish without the use of the Dragon Balls for the first time. Only this wasn't quite the adventure she'd always envisioned.

The ground was littered with a paper-thin layer of wet, autumn leaves. He could barely see the grass through the plethora of foliage, and yet his eyes remained fixated on the earth, so intent to avoid the door before him.

"How did I get stuck with this?" He mumbled, lifting his head and staring at the doorway. His hand rose, fist hovering inches from the door, and dropped his arm back to his side with a sigh.

"Goku," he muttered. "I wish for once you could just take responsibility and be a man… C'mon Krillin, you can do this."

In the midst of his pep talk, the door was thrust open and a petite, albeit strong, female blinked curiously at him.

"Krillin? What are you doing here?"

"Uh," he swallowed audibly. "Hi'ya Chichi."

He eyes narrowed. "Where's Goku?" Peering over the shorter man's head her eyes widened with concern. "And where's my Gohan? Oh, those boys… so irresponsible."

"Goku is at the Lookout, catching up with everyone. And Gohan is…" he frowned, "He's with Bulma."

"Is he alright? I don't want him hanging out with her. She's a bad influence. I blame her for the irresponsible way that husband of mine acts…"

"Now Chichi, Bulma's really smart. She's, uh, on vacation. Research. Yeah. She offered to take Gohan to tutor him. Privately. To, uh, help. With the research."

Chichi remained unconvinced. Letting out a long sigh, she rolled her eyes. "I guess I couldn't afford that kind of tutoring. And if Gohan wants to get into a good school, he'll need some recommendations…"

Krillin sighed, finding Chichi's insistence upon Gohan's education a bit ridiculous, but kept all thoughts on this subject to himself. If she could make Goku so nervous that he hadn't want to come himself to deliver the news of her missing son, he certainly did not want to willingly place himself on her list of enemies.

"Well," he waved. "I'm off. We're going to be doing some training at Kami's place so, uh, don't wait up."

Not waiting to hear a reaction, or face any protest, he flew off, leaving the confused woman standing blinking in her doorway. Chichi clutched her hand to her chest.

"Those men are so strange… Definitely a bad influence on Gohan. When he gets back we're setting up some ground rules."

When Krillin was back to safety on the lookout, he glared at Goku. "I told Chichi Gohan was studying with Bulma."

"Thanks Krillin," Goku grinned. "Kami says we'll be able to sense the battle from here. Until the action starts, we should be able to train."

Krillin sighed. "Train for what?"

Shrugging, the tall Saiyan's gaze settled on the setting sun in the distance. Krillin knew such a far-off, serious look on Goku's face was a rarity, but when his somber side showed, it definitely meant you should pay attention. "Whether Gohan comes back on his own accord or we have to wish him back, I don't think we've had our last taste of fighting."

With a frown, the shorter warrior followed his friend into the training facilities. He just hoped when Gohan and Bulma returned Goku would be proven wrong. It just so happened that serious Goku rarely ever was.

Taking off had been a breeze. Raditz's ship was large enough, and while it definitely wasn't cozy, the strange trio had managed just fine. They had strapped in and prepared for their landing, but Bulma hadn't prepped for the splitting headache from the whiplash she'd endured from their less-than-smooth landing. It was like the moment they'd entered the strange planet's atmosphere they had done nothing but been tossed around until, finally, they collided with the dense soil of planet Ceirus with an unceremonious crash.

"Fuck Raditz!" She screeched, rubbing her soar head. "You're lucky you didn't break my neck!"

"Yes, lucky." He crossed his arms as the pair from Chikyuu gingerly untangled themselves from their belts and assessed their minor injuries. Bulma shook her head, trying to right her jumbled brains. She'd be royally screwed if she lost any of her intellect before the battle, it was really all she had going for her.

"Raditz," Gohan frowned, cocking his head in his uncle's direction. "Are you not getting out?"

"No, I'm afraid this is as far as I go kid."

With a sharp intake of breath, Bulma blinked. Yes, she knew that they'd be left alone and that Raditz would not be participating in the Intergalactic Battle Royale, but the idea of him blasting off so soon, not even unbuckling himself for a stretch or a piss frightened her. They would really be alone, stranded on a world packed with people out for her blood. All to fight an illusive enemy she knew nothing about.

When she'd tried to question Raditz about Lord Frieza he had ignored her questing as he'd disregarded all her attempts at civil conversation.

But now they'd be down one burly Saiyan, and she wished she'd have his protection at least. Sure his modesty and hygiene were lacking, but she was convinced that he wasn't evil. There were even a few times in the evenings when he, Gohan and herself had sat together, joking and laughing like old friends.

"Well then," she forced a smile at the small boy to her right. "Guess it's just you and me kid."

With a nod, Gohan grabbed his backpack and waved goodbye to his uncle. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she spotted a little sadness in Raditz's eyes as he nodded his farewell.

Bulma knew they would be the team with the most equipment; she'd seen the look of surprise on Raditz's face when she'd unveiled capsule technology, but unless she could find a way for them to hide away she was certain that all the materials on planet Chickyuu couldn't keep them safe.

The pair set off in the direction Gohan noted he was sensing a large gathering of ki's. Bulma had laughed when Raditz informed her that there would be an initial meeting of all the participating parties, and that there would be food and absolutely zero killing. While the later comforted her frazzled nerves just a hair, the former made her laugh. It reminded her of the annual Capsule Corps meet-and-greets her father hosted in their back yard for all the new employees. Bulma had fired up the grill and served cocktails as everyone mingled, but she had a tough time picturing the universes' greatest warriors gathering together for a picnic.

"I hope there's barbeque at least," she mumbled.

Gohan laughed. "Do you think they even have barbeque in space?"

She shrugged, smiling at the boy. "Who knows? But, man, I could sure go for some meat right now. All that space-food we've lived on the passed week isn't going to cut it. I'm going to be grumpier than usual."

As the boy beside her slowed to a halt, Bulma paused and peered over her shoulder. "Hey, Gohan, everything okay?"

"Uh…" He frowned, "Yeah. I just… there are so many of them… and they're so strong. Stronger than anything I've ever sensed before."

Taking a few more paces forward, Bulma was met with the sight of hundreds of warriors. She gulped, taking a few steps back and losing her footing. She came crashing down on her backside painfully, and remained immobile on the ground for a few shaky seconds before regaining her composure.

"Gohan," she whispered. "There are so many…"

"They look as strong as the feel," he frowned. "It's like they're not holding anything back."

"I-I thought this was supposed to be a friendly social gathering."

"They don't look too friendly." Gohan noted, eyes fixated on the crowd.

"It's probably more of a time to sit around and scope out the competition," Bulma whispered. "And fill your belly so you're in tip-top shape to fight."

Gohan glanced over at Bulma, who was still staring at the throng of warriors.

She noticed that many donned armor similar to that of Raditz's. She also observed that there were clusters of beefy men and women gathered together, all wearing variations of the same armor, talking and laughing.

"They must be Frieza's soldiers," she said, pointing to the various groups. "They look so uniform, and strong."

"They're much stronger than the others."

Bulma then noticed the groups wearing more rudimentary armor. Many similar to themselves, some wearing only training garbs and nervous expressions.

However, it was the soldiers which Bulma remained so fixated.

"Bulma," Gohan questioned, eyes wide with fear. "They're not going to go easy on us, are they?"

For all it was worth, she wanted desperately to be strong for the boy, and for herself. However, she could feel the fear multiplying in the pit of her gut at the sight of the hundreds of warriors before her. Of course there would be hundreds, there had to be hundreds of thousands, no, hundreds of millions of planets in the universe. She just never imagined so many would be filled with warriors so much stronger than those on Chikyuu, so eager to get a chance at toppling one evil tyrant.

"No Gohan," she whispered, watching as a man in armor similar to Raditz's stood off to the side of the group, arms crossed and expression stoic. How did he seem so at ease? So… bored? She noticed that he wasn't fraternizing with the other soldiers dressed as he was, but watching each of them, gaze cool and calculating as if… Bulma felt her heart sink, and she bit down on her lower lip to keep her panic in check. No, this man was picking out his victims, red scouter donned purposefully across his eye as he took in everyone's power levels, noting who he was going to annihilate first and which poor souls he was saving for last.

It was then that she felt his dark eyes on her, a brow cocking slightly. She wasn't sure if it was confusion or amusement, all she could do was blink dumbly as she felt herself caught in his dark gaze. He was positively terrifying. Then, just like that, he turned his attention away from the pair and was back to studying a group of Frieza's soldiers with distaste.

Just as she suspected, he was more alert than the others. She wasn't sure any of the other fighters had spotted them.

"We're going to have to try our hardest," she finished lamely, her voice a whisper. She was sure they were in far over their heads, but Bulma Briefs was not one to back away from a fight, even if her competition frightened the piss out of her.

Gohan nodded, trying his hardest to be brave, but he too had caught sight of the terrifying soldier stalking them down like prey and though he was certain Bulma could live up to her role as the brains, he was less confident in his own abilities as the tag team's brawn.

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments on the first chapter! I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive feedback I received for the first chapter. I'm writing this story for my own amusement, but I'm not posting it on for my own health, so it's nice to know people are reading. (and, hopefully, enjoying) As always, feel free to suggest anything, especially if you feel it would improve my writing and storytelling abilities.

The next chapter is when the 'action' starts. I've been cooped up (bored) in a hotel room in Houston, Texas for a conference with nothing but a laptop and an extra-large pack of peanut M&Ms I bought at the gift shop for SEVEN dollars, so I'll probably be getting the next chapter out shortly...

-Lady Lan