How can one man's attitude shape events and people around him? It's up to him to decide.

"Do you really think he's going to show up? I mean he is dead, and dead people can't come to the living world can they?" Krillin asked, skeptical as ever.

"He'll be here, besides, the next world is still in our universe. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to teleport to King Kai's planet right?" Gohan responded.

Videl was practically lost. "You mean there's more than flying? Your dad can teleport?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. But he's dead, not that it'll stop him." Gohan explained. Just then, a familiar face appeared behind them.

"Hey guys, miss me?" Goku said, cheery as ever.

"Goku!" All of his friends exclaimed. First up for grabs was Chichi, the wife he hasn't seen or held for a long time.

"I missed you so much Goku! Please tell me you're here to stay." She pleaded with teary eyes.

"Chichi, I missed you a lot…" He couldn't make himself say that he couldn't stay, but the sight of his eldest son caught his eye.

"Gohan? Is that you? You're so tall, son!"

"Hey dad, it's great to see you again." Gohan said sincerely.

"You've done a lot of growing up, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I'm the man of the house." Gohan said with his arms crossed. Everyone else could sense the attitude Gohan was giving off. He clearly still didn't accept Goku's leaving them all those years ago. Goku was too caught up in the moment to realize this however.

"And who's that little me hiding over there?" He pointed Goten out.

"I'm Goten." He said shyly.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you. I'm your dad." Goten then ran over to give him a hug, so he really did have a father after all.

"Aw Goku, you big lug, give your old pals a handshake will ya?" Krillin called.

"Krillin! You're not bald anymore!"

"Yeah, I just kept it well waxed…"

"Hey, isn't that Android 18? And who's the kid with her?"

"18 and Marron? They're my family, Goku."

"What? But how…oh man, congrats buddy!"

"Thanks, pal." After greeting the rest of his friends, there was finally just one left. Vegeta's neutral expression turned into a wicked smile.

"Now a fight with you is something I can look forward to. Your son may be a warrior after all, but I want to see the fruits of your other worldly training, Kakkarot."

"Good to see you too, Vegeta." Goku said with a similar expression. After completing the qualifiers with great ease, the fighters made their way through the walkway. An unfamiliar duo approached them.

"Hello, you must be Goku." The man hovering inches above the ground spoke.

"Hi, have we met?"

"No, but I've heard a lot about you. Let's just say I'm looking forward to seeing you in action here."

"Oh, ok. See you later then, I guess."

There was something clearly off about them, everyone sensed it.

"Hey Piccolo, do you know them?" Gohan asked, he observed that Piccolo looked way more concerned.

"No…but I've got a very familiar, very serious feeling that I should."

"Damn, well I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Goku's stomach growled. "Aw man, I'm famished, let's eat!"

During lunch, Piccolo and 18 watched the hungry Saiyans scarf down bowl after bowl of everything in sight.

"More Spaghetti please!" Goku called.

"And bring some more eggrolls while you're at it!" Vegeta added.

"Good god, you Saiyans are like bottomless pits." Krillin stated.

"What's a Saiyan?" Videl asked.

"Oh, I guess I haven't even explained that to you yet have I? Ask me again after lunch." Gohan said. He was surprised that she hadn't already inquired about his transformation into the gold fighter. They had been pretty preoccupied with training.

After lunch, everyone headed toward the lobby to find out who would be fighting who. The most surprising was Goku vs. Vegeta in the first set of rounds.

'Alright, if those two tire each other out in the first round, maybe I stand a chance of getting a shot at Hercule!' Krillin thought.

'Oh wait, there's Piccolo and Gohan…and my wife too.' And just like that he realized how much of a chance he didn't have. Even if he could somehow get around Piccolo and Gohan, he could never seriously fight his wife, he couldn't even when they weren't married. The matches got under way, and after some predictable rounds, it was time for Piccolo to fight the mysterious new warrior Goku met earlier. Surprisingly, Piccolo forfeited the match.

"Yo, Piccolo, what the hell?" Krillin called.

"Oh quiet down. I wasn't seriously going to fight the Supreme Kai."

"Huh?" Everyone was shocked. Piccolo explained how he always suspected there was someone higher than the Grand Kai, but this was definitely an unexpected meeting.

"I guess we'll find out soon what he's doing here." Gohan said, he was concerned about his presence like everyone else.

"Well Gohan, it's my match up next. After which you'll answer my question right?" Videl asked.

"Yeah. Good luck." Gohan still had time to plan how he would tell her about who he and his family were. It wouldn't be easy, but he had already convinced her that he beat Cell, so how much more unbelievable stuff was there?

Videl's opponent was Spopovich, a competitor in previous tournaments who had changed looks. He was bulker than ever but also sported an 'M' tattoo on his forehead now. The fight seemed to be going Videl's way for a while but it became obvious that Spopovich wasn't being serious. But then he started fighting back. The fighting was brutal, Videl was taking all the blows now. After it became apparent that she couldn't fight back, Spopovich still continued beating on her.

"Hey, stop it you animal! The fight's over!" Gohan was about ready to intervene.

"Gohan! Don't go out there, we can't afford to have either him or Yamu find out we're onto them!" Supreme Kai said. Spopovich then threw Videl to the ground and ground his foot into her skull. She screamed.

"To hell with you!" Gohan defied Shin the Supreme Kai and made to take off that instant.

"Gohan!" The Supreme Kai then pointed his palms at him and froze him in place.

"Hey! Let…me…go!" He yelled, determined to save Videl. Goku was watching it all as well.

"Dad, please, I love her." Gohan pleaded with tears in his eyes, he could still hear her screaming. Goku nodded and used instant transmission before Shin could stop him too.

He appeared behind Spopovich and grabbed his arm. "I think this fight is over." He stated with his most serious of looks.

"Grrrr, fine, whatever." He then kicked Videl out the ring. Shin had released Gohan, who leapt out and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Contender Goku has interfered in the match! This calls for a disqualification!..." The announcer said into his mic. He thought about it some more though, Goku was going to be one of the best fighters in the tournament. And Videl had clearly lost anyways. The fans were outraged.

"Hmm, considering the state of Videl Satan and her opponent...perhaps Goku's actions prevented an unnecessary death. Ok, the match is Spopovich's. No disqual-"

He didn't get to finish. Gohan snapped when he heard the word 'death' and leapt right at Spopovich. He hit him square in the chest without holding back, sending him careening into the lower stadium and right through it as well. He powered up to Super Saiyan and went after him. He found Spopovich halfway through the city, killed from the blow. He kicked him into the mountain range for good measure. After making it back to the stadium, he discovered Videl was gone.

"Excuse me sir, where is Videl?" He asked the announcer.

"...Oh, uh, your dad took her to the care wing. Hey….about what you just did…" He continued on. Gohan gave him a pissed off look.

"Um, I'm afraid we can't allow you to participate in the tournament any further. I'm assuming Spopovich is…?"

"Yeah, that scumbag is dead. Don't worry, I'm not angry at you or anything, I'd rather be with Videl now anyways." Gohan said and made for the care wing. He passed the others on the way. Vegeta gave him an approving nod, Piccolo simply watched him pass by with a frown. Though he was deeply concerned, he didn't want to say anything while Gohan still didn't know how Videl was doing. Shin looked angry but didn't say anything considering what had happened to her either.

'Damnit, now Yamu sure won't go right back to Babidi. I'll have to wait for another opportunity.' He thought to himself. Gohan made it to Videl's bed and saw that his father and Hercule were there as well.

"Hey, I just got back from Korin's with a senzu bean. It should fix her up." Goku said.

"What bean? I'm not letting you give her anything!" Hercule objected.

"Thanks, dad." Gohan said, ignoring him.

"And Gohan, I don't approve of what you did to Spopovich. He had already stood down."

"He kicked her. After doing all that." Gohan said motioning toward Videl's still bloody and beaten form. Goku handed him the bean and headed toward the door.

"Just remember son, there are certain foes that you want to put down and those that need to be put down." He then took his leave. Gohan immediately gave Videl the bean.

"Hey, wait just a minute! I'm not letting you give drugs to my daughter!"

"This isn't a drug…not really I think. But unless you have a better way to get her back to normal in 2 seconds…" Gohan then put the bean in her mouth.

"No, Videl!"

Videl opened her eyes and sat up. "Wow, I'm…fine." She said, blinking out of surprise. Hercule was taken aback.

"Yeah…I'm sorry I couldn't help sooner. The thanks goes to my dad."

"Gohan, I heard what happened. Did you really do what I think you did to Spopovich?"

"…Yeah."

"Oh…"

Hercule got back to his senses. "At least that's one right thing you did boy. And Videl, I can't approve of your boyfriend being one of those…yellow haired freaks!"

"Dad, I know the truth about the Cell games. It was Gohan here who beat Cell, not you." Hercule was taken aback once more.

"Yeah, just be glad I wasn't after fame or fortune." Gohan added.

"You were that kid! Well…fine, as long as you don't get all touchy feely with my daughter, I'd be willing to tolerate your presence…a little."

"Thanks, well I think I'm disqualified from the tournament but there's something else strange going on." Gohan remembered that Shin had tried to stop him for some strange reason. It probably wasn't intended to be cruelty.

"What are you talking about?" Videl asked.

"Let's go, I'll explain everything."

"Hey Videl, it's not safe for you to be walking around just yet!" Hercule worried. Videl hopped down perfectly normal. Hercule was speechless as they walked out. While the others deliberated on the course of the tournament, Gohan and Videl retreated to be alone. Gohan explained who and what he was, and everything from his heritage to his powers.

"I can hardly believe it. But I do, I have no reason not to after everything that's happened. Thank you for trusting me, Gohan."

"Yeah, welcome to the club."

"You know…I still don't feel that I've properly thanked you…" Videl continued and joined her hand with his. Elsewhere, the contestants continued to wait for the announcer to resume the competition.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, it appears we finally have our tournament ladder decided. A number of contestants dropped out after recent startling events. But our next match will be Goku versus Vegeta!"

Goku took a look at Vegeta's face. He was happy that he was finally going to get his rematch from years past. They approached the fighting area.

"Well if you two are ready then…begin!" The announcer started the match. The two clashed in middle of the arena with great impact. Elsewhere, Gohan was filling Videl in on his rather unusual life.

"Wow, I can't believe there are aliens, and that their DNA would be compatible with ours is astronomical."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe humans and Saiyans have a common ancestor or something." Gohan had been surprised by her rather positive response. Videl was certainly surprised herself. To think her new boyfriend of sorts was out of this world, literally.

"Still, it's amazing that your fully human friends are as strong as they are. Tien sounds like he would decimate my father in the tournament."

"Probably, but he's more about meditation and private training these days." Gohan recalled that he had only fought alongside Tien twice, first was against Vegeta and Nappa. Then there was the Cell games in which he was more of a distraction in the last seconds. Everyone seemed to hit their limits. He was the strongest living being on the planet now he was sure, but had he reached his potential? He wondered, perhaps his father had surpassed the same barrier he himself had during the Cell games…perhaps far beyond anyone could imagine even now.

"I can't believe someone your age is stronger than my dad too, by far. Hey wasn't your dad at the Cell games?" Videl asked. Gohan had left out all the gruesome details of many of his past fights, including this one.

"…Yeah, he was there."

"Oh, is that when he…?"

"He gave his life thinking it would end Cell's. It didn't work and it's my fault that he even had to resort to trying. I let the power I initially got during that fight cloud my judgment. I wanted Cell to suffer, but he took advantage of that and tried to destroy the planet."

After a minute, he looked up and thought about what he had lost that day, both his father and his own sense of who he was. Power had consumed him. Was he truly a lost cause? He looked back over at Videl. She was watching him, clearly concerned. Gohan looked into her eyes and remembered why he had lost it against Spopovich. She filled something in him, something that he had lost and nearly forgotten despite trying so hard to remember in the last few years. She was someone precious for him to protect. Videl too felt she had been missing something for a lot of her life. Hercule lead a lifestyle which didn't appeal to her, so he never did understand her since it was his own ego he amused with vices. Gohan was someone she hoped a proper father could be like: protective, loyal, concerning. Maybe Hercule did have these qualities somewhere deep down, but he didn't show them much until her recent injuries.

"Hey, let's head back to the tournament, I don't want to miss my dad's fight." They then made off.

"Hey guys, who's winning?" Gohan asked, joining the rest of the gang near the top.

"Hey Gohan, it looks like an even match so far." Bulma responded. Piccolo seemed to be questioning Shin about recent happenings.

"Supreme Kai, what's this all about?"

"Spopovich and Yamu are henchmen for a much greater evil. That evil is named Babidi. They're here to collect energy to awaken a truly evil being. After they had collected the energy, they would return to their master, and I would follow so as to discover his whereabouts." Shin explained.

"So has he left?" Gohan asked.

"No, he's watching this fight and hoping to get the chance to steal some energy. I doubt it will happen especially since Spopovich is no longer around to help."

The plan clearly involved for Yamu to make his move first.

"How did Spopovich get that strong anyways?" Videl wondered aloud to herself.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked.

"Last tournament he couldn't even touch my dad, but I wouldn't think him this much stronger than myself."

"Spopovich and Yamu are using powers bestowed upon them by Babidi."

"He can just do that?"

"He's a Wizard of great evil magic."

Gohan remembered something about another evil being. "So what's this 'truly evil being' you mentioned?"

"…It's name is Majin Buu."

"Sounds like a pushover."

"He is not! Majin Buu has killed many of my fellow Kai and countless planets. He damn near got me but Babidi's father Bibidi sealed him away. Now Babidi needs a substantial amount of energy to revive Buu."

"Sounds as bad as Frieza." Gohan was reminded of the evil tyrant.

"Gohan, a being is recognized by a Supreme Kai when they proven strong enough to be a threat to the entire Universe. If Freiza was a planet destroyer, he would have had to have been doing it at a rate of one planet every thirty minutes nearly non-stop like Buu."

"What?" the group exclaimed together.

"No way…" Gohan pondered what kind of being could posses the power and intent to do that. Something insane.

"Hey, we have to move now! Yamu is heading off." Kibito pointed out.

"He may have given up after seeing his partner destroyed. Let's follow him. I would be grateful if any of you would help us. You seem like a strong fighter Gohan, will you help us now if you have forgiven my past behavior?" Shin asked.

"…Yeah, let's go."

"Hey, what about the fight?" Krillin asked. Gohan took one last look.

"They seem to be enjoying it for now. Let's let them. Maybe get some Senzu beans and catch them up on us afterwards ok, Krillin?"

"Yeah, ok."

Shin, Kibito, Gohan, Videl, and Piccolo took off.

"Hey Videl, I doubt this will be safe for you. Maybe you should hang back?"

Gohan and Videl stopped while the others continued on ahead.

"I…understand. But Gohan, promise me you'll come back."

Gohan pulled her close and looked into her eyes, full of concern.

"I promise." He pressed their bodies together and gave her one last proper kiss.

A great evil awaits beyond the horizon, how will our warriors fare? Find out next time.

-SSJ