Howdy! So I'll admit, I ran into a fair amount of writer's block on this one. It's true, I introduced Frieza already in chapter one, but nobody else yet. These first few chapters aren't intended to follow the canon story so much, since it's primarily focused on the Saiyans at this point. Anyways, I'll let you get to it. Please review if you see something that I missed grammatically, or story-wise. I'm still catching little things here and there as I go.


Chapter 4: Social Discord

Gohan struggled through the aching in his limbs as he allowed the machine to draw on his ki at a near-alarming rate. He focused hard, watching the screen through the glass, just as all the others were. Even Videl had stopped struggling against Vegeta's firm grasp and was watching intently. Gohan made a realization as future Bulma and Trunks' surroundings made it abundantly clear: These two were very obviously refugees. Nothing in the room looked the same, or even remotely as refined and polished as it was now. In fact, it was cluttered, and the things in the room were mostly junk. He muttered under his breath, "That's unfortunate. It would appear that altering this timeline didn't affect his, they're still in hiding."

A much older Trunks had just dismounted from the time machine, embracing his mother who had been pacing in worry. A jolt of recognition shot through Gohan as he watched, noting that the Trunks on the screen looked exactly as he had when he left after Cell, sword and all. Outside of the chamber, Bulma typed away another command and looked desperately up at the screen. She hit a button and spoke into the same microphone, "Hey, can you guys hear me?"

A few moments passed and there was no reaction from the two people on screen. But their voices came clear through their speakers in the present. Bulmas sounded worn and strained, "Well? Trunks, how did it go? Kami, you look like you've grown another six inches!"

Future Trunks gave his mother a sad sort of smile, "It's a long story mom, I was there for a while. We won the fight… but we lost Goku in the process."

The Bulma on screen stiffened, but then sighed and said, "Well, you'd better fill me in."

Bulma pressed another series of buttons and said, "Hey! You two, can you hear me?" But there was no response from the two people on screen as they took seats in the room on scattered junk.

From inside the chamber, Gohan said through gritted teeth, "I don't think that we're getting through to them Bulma."

Bulma turned to face him, worry etching her face, "But-"

Gohan shook his head, startling himself with the headache that the energy drain was apparently causing him, "We thought that might be the case, it was a long shot to begin with. Let's just make sure everything went okay. Change the timeframe. Give them a year, let's see what came of it!"

Bulma gulped anxiously and typed away on the keyboard again, and the screen faded to black. A few seconds passed and it came to life once more, this time from outside Capsule Corp, and a startlingly thriving West City. Bulma considered the screen for a few moments before smiling brightly and saying, "Well, that doesn't look like a world being terrorized by the androids!"

Gohan agreed with that assessment, thinking about what it must have looked like with the Androids actively hunting down every human they could find. It certainly seemed like good news. But then he realized something and did some quick math in his head. He felt a pang in his gut and said, more anxiously, "Just… check another five years or so? I need to know."

She glanced at him curiously, as did many of the others. But she complied, typing once more. The image faded, and when it came back, he felt a sinking in his gut. There was nothing but black, speckled with distant stars. Occasionally, a piece of debris would block out one of the stars, but there was no other indication of the Earth's presence. Many of the others stared at it in confusion, but Chi Chi was the one to ask, "What happened?"

Gohan gulped and tensed when another jolt of energy left him, and ground out, "Buu. A lack of fighters on Earth delayed his revival. But Babidi eventually came for him. The Sun was even destroyed, there's nothing left."

Vegeta snarled and averted his eyes, "Trunks didn't stand a chance. He may have been able to destroy the androids and Cell in his imperfect form, but it would appear that in that timeline, even the Kais didn't seem to want to help with that pink bastard. Dammit!"

That left a heavy silence hanging over them. None of them knew what to say to such devastating news. A few moments passed, and Gohan felt his temper flare for a moment. He flinched as another wave of energy slipped from his grasp, and said through clenched teeth, "Hey, guys, I'd appreciate it if we could move on. Not to sound cold, but are we done?"

The others jolted and gave him a surprised look. Gine brushed past a couple of the others and said into the microphone, "Gohan, do you think you can hold on for a little while longer? There's something else Bulma and I wanted to look for, but we don't have an exact timeframe. It could take a few tries."

Gohan groaned and watched her for a moment. Both Gine and Bulma were giving him an apprehensive look. He hesitated, then jolted back to life as another wave of pain hit him. He nodded and quickly said, "Yeah, just make it quick!"

They wasted no more time. The others in the room watched Bulma as she frantically started typing, "Okay. So coordinates are… set! Time frame, Gine?"

Gine furrowed her brow in thought and looked towards the ground. "Let's try an arbitrary number for starters, twenty thousand years?"

She nodded and clicked away, and Gohan couldn't help but recoil in shock and think, What in the world are they looking for that far back?

But soon enough, their answer was being displayed on the screen. It flashed into life, and revealed a startlingly well-built civilization that wasn't all too different from theirs on Earth. Tall buildings shone in the light of a red star, with a whole plethora of vehicles flying through them. Gohan stared in wonder at what they were witnessing, but couldn't make head or tail out of it. They watched, and Bardock was the first one to say anything, and his voice was lined with disbelief, "That… That is Vegeta, isn't it? Old Vegeta?"

Gine nodded, a small smile on her face, "It is! Look at it! All those buildings! Is this our past?"

But then Bardock noticed that something was off, and squinted at the screen, "I… don't think it is. Look there, that mountain? Gine, isn't that the mountain where Vegeta's stronghold was built? That building was there for millennia, before we lost all of our history in the Cold empire's purge."

Gine considered it for a moment and then rubbed her chin in thought, "Yeah… It is… Which means, this isn't Saiyan Civilization, these are Tuffles. Look at the structures, they're tiny in comparison to that mountain. It has to be them, they were described as diminutive."

Bulma nodded, and said, "So, this isn't what we're looking for. Let's bring it in a bit."

She clacked away on the keyboard, and a moment later, the image changed again. But the image on screen was very much the same as the one before it, with little variation. She did this three more times before it actually changed, and the new image brought shock to the collected group. There was no bustling city, no vehicles. It was all gone. In it's place stood a pile of rubble and ruin, and several very large beings roaming about without apparent motive, all with tails flailing about in the air behind them.

Gine breathed quietly, "Saiyans."

There was no mistaking it, though they looked primitive in comparison to the Saiyans in the present. There was no Saiyan fortress, there wasn't even a proper building left in sight. None of them wore the armor they were known for, instead wearing a strange type of armor that was a dull grey and lumpy, like a fabric that was melded to their skin. For the most part, they seemed to be devoid of purpose. Two settled themselves into a seated position close enough to be heard through the machine, and the others heard them start to speak. Though it was in the common tongue, they held a peculiar accent that none of them could place, leaving their words disjointed and difficult to understand.

The first, the larger of the two, gazed up at the sky, his wild black hair jutting out in all directions, "They left us. What was purpose of this? These, small… things. Gone now. Moon rise, and now we wake up, and little people gone. Then Chill leave us? It been many cycles of the sun since we left."

The second, a slimmer Saiyan with a short cropping of hair, considered him with a glare and snarled, "What does matter? I am… happy they left. They took us, changed us. For two hundred cycle, before my fourth father, we spent on cold planet, in tanks with needles. Moon supposed to make us great strong, but I don't know what happen. Don't care. Glad to be gone, free of them."

The original Saiyan grunted with a nod, but said, "I am too. But still, why all pain, just to abandon us? They named us Saiyan. Killed thousands, changed us to serve, made stronger through needles and hate. I want know we are serving a purpose."

The second one waved him off, "The cold ones want soldiers. Stronger than theirs. We slave, they leave us on small person world because it is heavy. Think, they change us, make strong, then send to heavy planet. They want stronger, then come back when ready."

The first one furrowed his considerably large brow and looked up again. Suddenly, his expression changed to one of confidence, and he growled, "They make mistake in doing. Saiyan get strong as chill. Make more strong than cold ones. We will destroy when return, be free again."

With that, the two of them glared back up at the sky, and a few moments passed before Gohan finally broke the silence from within the chamber, "That's it guys. Kill it, I can't take – much more of – this…"

He seemed to sag, and Bulma jolted back into action when he spoke, reaching over and slapping her hand down on the master power switch. The screen went black and the intense whirring sound slowly died down. As the lights in the room came back on, Bulma spun in her chair and rushed towards the chamber containing Gohan, who had sagged down to one knee and was breathing heavily, his skin paler than normal and a sheen of sweat shining on his rippling muscles. She flung the door open, and rushed to his side, with Videl and Lime close behind her. Between the three of them, they quickly got the diodes and straps off of him. Videl and Lime each took one of his arms, and with a strained grunt, lifted him up to standing. Gohan was too tired to keep himself upright, and smiled at them, "Thanks guys. Didn't think that would take so much out of me."

Videl and Lime both gave him a side-long glare, and Videl angrily said, "You'd best be glad you're fine Gohan. That was reckless!"

Lime nodded and said, her voice diminished and anxious, but no less angry, "Seriously. If you'd told me that this was what you had planned to do, I'd have told you to eat a dick."

He chuckled as they half dragged him out of the chamber, seating him on one of the many chairs scattered about the room. "Well, that's why I didn't tell you anything!"

The two girls didn't respond to that, just continuing to look at him reproachfully. The others in the room, bar Bardock and Vegeta, were quickly at his side to make sure he was okay. Bulma waved them off and said reassuringly, "It's an energy drain guys, he should recover pretty quickly."

Gohan nodded tiredly and indicated towards the machine and its blank screen, "Can we just pause a moment and think about what we just saw there? Bulma, you got it recorded, right?"

The others seemed to suddenly remember what they'd just witnessed, and an excited babble broke out between them.

"Those were ancient Saiyans?"

"I wonder what they meant by the 'tanks and needles'. I don't' like needles."

"Did the 'cold ones' mean Frieza?"

"They talked about the moon making them stronger, but they didn't seem to know what that meant."

Bardock said loudly in an irritated voice above the others, "Whoa, relax everyone. Let's discuss it in a way that doesn't test my nerves."

The others fell silent, and Gine gave him a light slap on the back of his arm, giving him a reproachful look. Vegeta crossed his arms and stared down at the ground, "They were Saiyans, but there was a lot of things they said that confuse me. The history of our race was lost thousands of years ago, but it appears that we weren't from that planet originally like we thought. We didn't coexist with the Tuffles until a war broke out, we were sent there to destroy them."

Goku rubbed the back of his head and said, "Well that doesn't seem to out of character. What I want to know about is the whole thing with the 'cold ones'. Do you guys think they meant Frieza and his dad?"

Gine shook her head and said, "No. Frieza's kin may be long lived, but their lifespan is still only a few hundred years at best. I think this must have been when Frieza's home planet was still populated."

A few of the people looked at her, puzzled, but Bardock nodded and said, "Yes, it must be. We all knew that his race's planet was made uninhabitable by the death of it's star. Frieza, Cold, and Cooler were the last members of their race that we knew about. The cold empire back then must have been centralized there."

Gohan interrupted their contemplation with a smile, "But that's just a footnote. Don't you get it? The Saiyans were held on their world for… what did he say, '200 cycles'? Think that meant years? Anyways, I'm going to guess – and it's just a guess – they were being genetically engineered by the cold empire to be some sort of… super soldier. They had no clue what the moon did to them, so the Oozaru transformation must have been something they were made to possess, not evolve naturally."

Vegeta growled and spat, "Genetically engineered? That's preposterous! Saiyans have thousands of years of natural selection and breeding that account for our strength and abilities!"

Goku planted his hands on his hips and pouted, "But Vegeta, we just saw it for ourselves! That machine let us see into the past! They were put there by those guys, they talked about needles and tanks, whatever that means. What Gohan says makes sense!"

Vegeta grumbled and averted his eyes, not commenting further on the matter. Gohan looked towards his grandmother thoughtfully, "But I don't quite understand, what prompted you to want to look for that?"

Gine seemed to realize something, and her expression fell slightly. She looked towards Bulma and sighed, "Well, I had the idea, and Bulma agreed, that there might be a link in our histories where Saiyans and Humans converged. This was interesting to see, but it didn't tell us what we wanted to know."

Bulma nodded and ran a hand through her hair, frustrated, "Yeah, but it was such a vague search for information, and we got lucky with what we did find. If we could look without having to put you in danger kiddo, we might have had more time to really search and find something out. As it is…"

Videl huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at her boyfriend once more, "Yeah, no more of that. It's not worth risking you just to find out."

He grinned sheepishly and waved her down, "I know, I know. I wasn't expecting it to be so rough. I'll search for a more permanent source of energy to power this bad boy."

She averted her eyes and looked away pointedly, mumbling, "Better not, jerk."

That brought forth a small burst of laughter from the others, and they began leaving the room to set about doing their usual daily activities.

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING

It was a cool morning, and Bulma breathed deeply in the crisp air as the sun was rising over the city. She sighed contentedly and watched her husband making his way to the gravity room nestled next to the family dome, clutching her morning cup of coffee. The door had just barely shut when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her eyes skyward to witness something burning through the atmosphere. She initially thought that it was a meteorite, but when it stopped burning up and started changing course, she felt a jolt of recognition.

She gaped at the speck in the sky, sunlight glinting off of it as it descended towards the city. It pulled another sharp turn and started heading straight for Capsule corporation headquarters. She felt the cup of coffee slip from her hands, but didn't pay it any mind as she turned and started running for the door Vegeta had just gone through. She hadn't made it there before the sound of engines roared overhead, and she glanced over her shoulder to see a small craft coming to a sudden halt above and behind her. She stumbled and came to a halt, mere feet from the gravity room door, and turned to face the craft as it touched down.

She shuddered in fear, transfixed on the spot as the reflective canopy of the craft hissed open. But then, suddenly, all of her anxiety fell away as the pilot emerged. He hopped down out of the ship, and Bulma couldn't help but gape at him. He was very short, barely standing at chest height, even to her. He was wearing a purple and white uniform adorned with a large black symbol over his chest that she couldn't identify, with a pistol – or something that closely resembled one – hanging from his hip. His face was a pale blue color, and he had large yellow bug-like eyes settled in atop a surprisingly human looking face.

He stood straight at what was unmistakably a position of attention and raised a hand in greeting towards her. He lifted his chin and said in a light and confident voice, "Greetings, little human! I am in search of someone who was reported to be here, might you be able to assist me?"

She needed a moment to collect herself as the ridiculousness of the situation washed over her. She honestly had never imagined in all her years that something like that would ever be said to her. She stifled a giggle behind her hand, and the short being from space tensed angrily, "What do you find so amusing? You're being addressed by an elite galactic patrolman, I'd suggest you shape up!"

She snorted and got her laughter under control, and addressed him finally, "S-Sorry, it's just, I expected you to be a lot scarier when I saw you coming in for a landing."

The short being crossed his arms, his demeanor no longer as professional as he'd made himself out to be, "Well, you should be scared. As I said, I'm an elite galactic patrolman, and we're renowned far and wide for our abilities."

She gave him a confident sneer and said, "Is that so? Well, Mr. galactic patrolman, you got a name?"

The being suddenly seemed bashful and jolted upright again. "Of course, where are my manners? I am Jaco, Elite member of-"

"The galactic patrol. Right, I got it." interrupted Bulma with a laugh. A moment passed and she felt a strange sense of nostalgia as she looked at him, and apparently his name was familiar too. But she couldn't place where from. She took a step back and knocked on the door of the gravity room loudly, and continued, "My name is Bulma. You may wish to dial back the attitude though, my husband isn't the nicest guy around."

At her words, the gravity room door opened to reveal Vegeta standing there in his usual workout clothes – literally just a pair of shorts and shoes – and wearing an irritated glare. He fixed his eyes on Jaco and spat, "What do you want woman? And who's the pipsqueak? This had better be important."

She sent him an irritable look and said, "Call me 'woman' one more time and you're going to spend a week on the couch buster. This guy just landed on our yard, said he's from something called the galactic patrol and is looking for someone."

Jaco stared at the Saiyan curiously, and surprisingly held his ground when Vegeta fixed him with his icy stare and growled, "So? What the hell even is the galactic patrol?"

Jaco held up a finger and said informatively, "The galactic patrol is an organization formed by the free people of the galaxy, dedicated to keeping the peace across all free worlds."

The two of them gave him a quizzical look, and then looked at each other. Bulma snorted and grumbled, "Would've been nice to have when Frieza was in charge, huh?"

Jaco interjected before Vegeta could respond, saying dryly, "Well, actually, we weren't dumb enough to try and oppose the cold empire directly. We just cleaned up their messes." That caught their attention. But before they could comment, Jaco fixed him with his blank stare and said, "But that's not the point of my visit today. I'm in search of the creature known as Babidi, who is wanted for crimes against the galaxy."

Vegeta sneered down at him and grunted, "You're half a year too late, runt. Babidi and his creations are long dead."

Jaco jolted in surprise and muttered, "Dead? Huh, none of the reports said that this planet didn't have any warriors capable of fighting even a recruit. Humans are supposed to be weak."

Vegeta snarled and crossed his arms, "That's true, but I am a Saiyan, not some pathetic human."

Jaco jolted even harder and gaped at him incredulously. Then he smiled confidently and waggled a finger at the prince, "That's impossible! The Saiyan race was exterminated like, forty years ago! You're funny. For a second there, I thought you were being serious."

Bulma stared at him blankly, baffled by his words. "But… Vegeta is a Saiyan. So is Goku. In fact, there's eight Saiyans, and four half Saiyans on our planet right now. On top of that, the Saiyan race was revived by the supreme Kai, and is back on planet Vegeta again. You don't know?"

Vegeta snorted again, his sneer becoming even more vicious, "Some galactic patrol. You guys must have an even worse intelligence team than Frieza had."

Jaco was frozen in place, and stared hard at Bulma, apparently not hearing what Vegeta had said. "Wait… More Saiyans? How…"

Vegeta rubbed his brow irritably and stepped forward, grumbling, "God, this is getting annoying. Look, I'm only going to tell you once more. I'm a Saiyan. More importantly, I'm Prince Vegeta, prince and heir to the throne of the Saiyan race. You came looking for Babidi. He's dead, so is his father's creation, Majin Buu. The only thing left is that child the Satan oaf is caring for now. So, if you have nothing else, get the hell off of my lawn."

He halted a few feet from Jaco, who suddenly seemed to have realized that he was dealing with a real life Saiyan, and not a human. He took a step back and turned his right hip away from the prince, and Bulma knew his hand had gone to the grip of his weapon. But he didn't draw it, only staring up at Vegeta and saying, "I suppose next you're going to tell me that you're the one who was causing those space-time distortions my ship picked up on the way here too?"

Vegeta pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and snarled, "No, that would be her doing. What of it?"

Jaco leaned around him and fixed Bulma with a stern glare, "But wormhole technology and time travel are strictly prohibited by the galactic patrol!" He shuffled backwards and drew his weapon, pointing it at Vegeta and saying, "Alright! Hands up! Both of you! I'm arresting the both of you for crimes against the galaxy!"

Vegeta hesitated, then let loose a bark of a laugh and sneered down at the diminutive patrolman. "You really think that you scare me with that pea-shooter? Fine gumdrop, you just made my morning."

He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders, and Bulma was immediately upon him, tugging on his arm and yelling, "Dammit Vegeta! No killing! Kami, what am I going to do with you?!" She turned her irritable glare towards Jaco, who was still pointing his weapon at Vegeta, though she could see a sweat breaking out on his brow. "You, Jaco, now would be a good time for you to leave."

The alien stared right back and said loudly, "You're harboring a dangerous criminal ma'am! Saiyans were well known for being merciless and efficient in destroying civilizations. I was sent here forty years ago to prevent a Saiyan child from arriving here in the first place! They're all wanted for their crimes!" Then he added under his breath, "and if I bring in the prince of Saiyans, I'll be sure to get a promotion!"

Vegeta stiffened, the air around them seemed to thrum with energy, and Jaco jolted and visibly shuddered. Vegeta continued to stare at him for a moment, then sighed, "You couldn't even prevent a baby Kakarot from arriving here… You know what? Nevermind, you're not worth my time, runt."

With that, he turned and marched back into the gravity room, slamming the door shut behind him. It wasn't until that moment that Bulma noticed how afraid Jaco actually was, and gave him a confident smirk, "Having trouble with your knees there, hotshot?"

Jaco jumped and looked down at his wobbly knees, and stammered out, "Well, I- uh…" He cleared his throat and stood back up straight, holstering his weapon and fixing Bulma with what was supposed to be a confident stare. "I'm fine, madam. I, uh… I think that I should leave, actually. It appears that that Saiyan is behaving, so I'll overlook his presence for now. As for you, seriously, don't mess around with wormholes. It's a felony. I'm letting you off with a warning, because… uh..."

She crossed her arms and gave him a knowing sort of smile with a raised eyebrow, "Let me guess, you've got another call to take care of?"

He gave her a wilting look and said dryly, "Witty, aren't you? I mean it, don't do it again, or I'll be forced to take you in."

Bulma crossed her arms and considered what he had said, and suddenly her nostalgia made sense and she gaped at him, causing him to flinch and recoil nervously. "Wait! You're Jaco!"

He scratched the side of his head and said, "Well yeah, we already established that…"

She shook her head and excitedly said, "No, sorry, it's just… I'm Bulma Brief! I was a little girl when you visited, you met my sister and my father! We've met before!"

Jaco considered her with his head tilted to the side curiously, "You're sure?" She nodded excitedly, and he mumbled, "You think I'd remember something like that."

With that, he hastily jumped back into his ship, and the mirrored canopy closed again. Within moments, the ship was taking off again and streaking up towards the sparse canopy of clouds. Bulma watched it go in amusement, wondering, What the hell kind of a start to a day was that? Honestly, who'd have thought he'd show up again after all this time. I thought it was all a dream. Huh, now that I think about it, I haven't spoken to Tights in a long… long time. Maybe it's time I get back in touch with dear old sis?

She laughed briefly and turned to go collect her coffee mug, resigning herself to go get another one later after she told the others about her strange encounter. She returned to the family dome, and immediately found Gine, who was once again wearing some donated human clothes and milling about in the rec-room at the center of the dome. After a short greeting, the two of them set off to the research building to start their newly made routine of working together on whatever struck their fancy.

TWO DAYS LATER – SATAN CITY

Gohan reflected that Angelina James had been true to her reputation. Within his Bardock disguise, he was irritably wiping what remained of a tomato from the visor of his helmet. He'd not expected such a vehement reaction from anyone, much less the random city-goers who had seen him over the course of the last few months. He lifted off into the sky amongst the angry shouts from below, where a mass of people was gathered, and stared down at them through the hazy film on his helmet. He heard words such as "freak", "filthy Alien", and "murderer".

"Really?" he asked darkly under his breath, staring at them in disbelief. "They choose now to start calling me names? Man, do them a few favors, save the world a couple times, and this is the reward I'm offered? And Videl wonders why I don't like people."

He'd just finished helping out the Satan City police department with a particularly rough bust involving a few overly muscled goons that were hyped up on some drug sprayed inside a surgical mask. They'd been attempting to take over a rail station, though to what end, Gohan had no clue. Even Gohan had to be impressed with the pain tolerance they had, considering he'd had to severely injure a lot of them to get them to stay down so the police could cuff them. But immediately afterwards, a huge crowd had gathered around him. Of the dozens of people, approximately half of them had started shouting at him furiously. One – an old lady, he thought – had thrown the tomato at him.

Willing himself to stay calm in the face of all these people, he growled and left the scene. Once he was out of sight, he hit the buttons on his watch and switched back to his normal city clothes, making sure to hide his tail beneath his jeans. Might as well keep this put away so that they don't start throwing shit at me again, he thought bitterly. He scanned the streets below, searching for a magazine kiosk or something that he could find his new query at. He had yet to see whatever it was the ZTV reporter had said about him. But with the reception he'd just had, he wasn't too hopeful.

Finding what he was looking for, he dropped into an alley and made his way towards the kiosk with his hands firmly shoved in his pockets. He started browsing the magazines, searching for the article he knew had to be there. The kiosk manager, an elderly man with a bushy white beard, leaned up against the counter and asked concernedly, "You alright boy? You seem a little tense."

Gohan paused and considered him before he said, probably a little more venomous than he intended to, "I'm fine. Just a lot of shit happening around me lately."

The old man nodded in a knowing way and said, "I got you kid. Life jerking you around by the balls?"

Gohan hesitated and nervously glanced at him, shocked that he'd say something so crude. He couldn't help but smile and give a short chuckle, "Yeah, I suppose you could say that."

He spotted a magazine with "ZTV Monthly" scrawled across the top in bold red letters, and immediately reached for it. There, across the front cover, was an artist's rendition of him in his Bardock disguise, lit by a dark red hue that made him look menacing, his tail hanging in the air behind him.

"Ah, you don't want to read that trash son." said the old man, catching Gohan's attention again. "I'll tell you honestly, if I weren't contractually obligated to display those, I wouldn't have even put this month's issue out for sale. That James woman spun a horrible article on Bardock and his Saiyan brethren, and even slandered Hercule Satan!"

Gohan watched him for a moment, taking a slight liking to him as he spoke. He gave the old man a curious smile and asked, "So, you don't like what she had to say?"

He shook his head in disgust and said, "No. She didn't even give them a chance to work with us before making them all out to be evil and dangerous."

Gohan nodded and sighed, "Well, I still think I ought to see what she said. Call it morbid curiosity."

The old man smiled warmly and replied, "Well then, if you want to read that trash, I'll just let you take that one since it isn't worth anything to me. I don't care to make money off of that sort of bad publicity. Just, don't get mad at me when you've read it. You seem like a sound-minded and respectful kid, so it's probably going to strike a nerve or two."

Gohan, stunned by his small gesture of generosity, said, "Damn… Well. Thanks! I'll keep it in mind."

He started to walk away, waving over his shoulder at the manager, who waved back and called, "Don't let life get you down kid, it ain't worth the stress."

Gohan turned his attention back to the front, the small smile dropping off of his face as he felt the warm feeling in his gut fall away with the increasing distance from the old man. He took a deep breath, and making sure he was out of sight, took back off into the sky, headed for his home. Videl was off somewhere with Erasa and Lime today, and he wasn't entirely sure when she would be back. So now was as good a time as any.

Within minutes, he was walking up his front drive and into his home, where he plopped down on the couch. The magazine was laid out on the table before him, and he took a moment to mentally prepare himself before opening the cover and reading through the table of contents. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for: Saiyan Invasion – the unanswered questions – p.32

He inhaled deeply and flipped to the page, and was greeted with the familiar image of the Saiyans standing before the camera crews and King Furry during their first meeting. Gohan ignored the image and started to read.

Angelina James – ZTV field reporter

Many have been asking over the many thousands of years that we, the human race, have been living on this little blue world: Are we alone in the universe? That question has been answered multiple times in the last few decades. But never so blatantly as last week. Last week, I was among the many people who gathered before Satan manor, home of Hercule Satan, the savior of the world. But with the arrival of the Saiyans, and the many previously un-asked questions that were suddenly answered, we now have to ask ourselves: Is he truly our savior?

Now, you might ask me, why would I level such an insinuation at the man who defeated Cell? Simply put, I believe that there's more that happened behind those closed doors than our illustrious world leaders led us to believe. It may all be speculation, and denied by all parties involved, but it is my job to report what I see. So, let's examine what we've discovered by watching the footage we took, and the history of our world as of late.

When the Saiyans first landed, without the aid of a ship, the first thing that I did was make the obvious connection to Satan City's own violent vigilante, Bardock. Here (fig. 1), you can see the Saiyans appear to have the same brown tail wrapped around their waist as our masked superhero, who first showed signs of having a tail during the explosive and violent events of the twenty-sixth martial arts tournament, though there are only eye-witness reports left to confirm this. This, and the similarities in stature and ability, led us to one stunning conclusion: Bardock is a Saiyan. To many, this will not come as a surprise when they consider his unusually violent temperament and stunning displays of strength. But what might come as a surprise to you is the man dressed in orange in the same picture. We here at ZTV have reviewed the extremely limited footage of the twenty second and twenty third world martial arts tournaments, and concluded that the man standing with them is none other than one Goku Son (fig. 2). Here's the strange part; Goku appears to have the same furry appendage during the twenty second tournament almost twenty five years ago.

It's come to our attention at ZTV that if Goku Son is also a Saiyan, then that means that Saiyans have been among us for a very long time. But who was the first one? Do we have all of them accounted for? They're similar enough in appearance to your average human that it would be unlikely to notice one if they were to walk past you on the street. As far as this reporter knows, they may have been walking among us for a very long time, and in larger numbers than we ever knew. But then there was another unlikely discovery from this meeting.

We reviewed the footage from one of the more destructive invasions from thirteen years ago. In it is an unmistakable, and disturbing image (fig. 3 &4): that of the husband of Bulma Brief, the owner and operator of Capsule Corporation. We do not know his name, but in the footage taken on the day the Saiyans arrived, he is also present alongside Goku. Through our research, we discovered that the Saiyans (Formerly known as "Saiya-jin"), including Mrs. Brief's husband, attacked our planet on that fateful day, and destroyed a very large portion of East city, resulting in a casualty count totaling at nearly twenty-five thousand.

This disturbing discovery leads us to believe that the Saiyan's intent is one that contradicts their friendly words they relayed to Hercule Satan. Why would this race of unbelievably powerful beings suddenly want peace after causing such destruction? No, this reporter believes that they're after a much nastier and grim goal: The domination of our planet by subterfuge, or outright domination.

"But what about Videl Satan and her father?" you might ask. Doesn't Videl share the abilities of Bardock, which her own father claimed to be tricks, smoke and mirrors during the fight with Cell? Haven't they been protecting us for years now? Fortunately, we've received a tip-off from an anonymous source gave us this dialogue to shed some light on the relationship between the Satans and Saiyans. It was unfortunately disjointed and filled with static, but we've pieced together what was apparently an argument between Videl Satan and one of the Saiyans, or rather, a Half Saiyan she referred to as Gohan (Believed to be the Saiyan wearing navy blue. Fig.1):

Satan: "You making a blast in front of her crew is just evidence that you're dangerous and can't be trusted!"

Saiyan: "Really? That's what you're worried about right now? *static* - Not the fact that an alien race, that is quite literally able to destroy entire civilizations, is about to open up official relations with these morons? *static*"

Satan: "Yes! Don't you get it Gohan? You're a half Saiyan! You have a tail! They're going to connect you to the others when the get here, and eventually- *static* -connection! You've been seen as a cold and ruthless killer before. What do you think they're going to say when they see the Saiyans for the first time? *static* - Saiyans among us for years, fighting and causing carnage the whole time? *Static* - a long planned out invasion, and you're supposed to be the vanguard!"

Saiyan: "What the hell are they going to do about it, even if they don't like it?! *static* -they're so powerless against Saiyan strength, and if this works out today, none of them will need to know. And if nothing else, we can lean on Hercule."

This startlingly revealing conversation has shown us a couple of things: First, they can procreate with humans, creating a half Saiyan child that is equally as vicious and destructive as their alien parent. And second, this is not a friendly visit. It would seem that the Saiyans have been planning this for a long time, and Videl at the very least is colluding with them in their efforts. We do not know why the daughter of the world champ would do such a thing. Could it be jealousy of her father? Is she romantically involved? This reporter, for one, will point out how closely she and Bardock have been working together as of late. There's even a report from another anonymous source that when the two vigilantes took down Hans Gustaf, the leader of the infamous Red Shark gang, they were seen embracing each other as more than just fighting partners. It is my belief then, that Bardock is this Gohan character she was talking to, and someone whom she is likely to be tied to by emotional need.

But what is Hercule's part in all of this? He's our protector, the man who defeated Cell and saved the world from Majin Buu. Or so we were told. There's no doubt that in his prime, Mr. Satan was a skilled and powerful fighter, having won the Twenty fourth and fifth tournaments. But who's to say his fame did not get to his head? What if it was all a ruse laid out and planned by the Saiyans? We've all seen the scraps of footage, and the "remastered" movie portraying the events of that day, and it's all too incredible for me to believe. What if it's all just a power move? Nobody can deny the fame and fortune that has been awarded to the aging martial artist. Coincidence?

Whatever you make of this information and the implications within, it is upon you, the reader, to come to a conclusion. Whether you support these aliens, or your own people. We do not know what the future holds, but I'll be holding my breath and hope that the truth comes out. The leaders of our world have much to answer, and many things to explain before this reporter will rest easy.

Gohan stared in disbelief at the pages, his mind reeling. He scanned through it one more time, this time looking at the pictures. There were pictures from the old tournaments, a surprisingly sharp image of Vegeta and Nappa, and one of Gohan standing behind the police barricade, blast in hand. His fingers felt numb as he mulled the words over in his mind.

They'd expected an article that would discredit and accuse the Saiyans of something, but this was far beyond anything Gohan could have thought up in his worst nightmare. All of the accusations that she threw around in that article made it very clear why he'd been treated so poorly earlier, and he realized with a jolt that even the police had seemed distrusting of him. Everything he'd feared would come of the Saiyan's arrival suddenly seemed so petty in comparison. She'd revealed the identity of Bardock, she'd somehow heard his and Videl's argument, and now there was even something for the world to hold against Hercule. It was all falling apart in front of him, and he had no clue what he was supposed to do about it.

Without thinking about what he was doing, he slammed his hand down on the magazine, shattering the glass top of the coffee table and sending pieces of timber scattering about their living room. He stared at what he had done, then snarled and gritted his teeth in an attempt to hold in his anger. But he knew it would be futile. He stood and left the same way he had come, throwing himself into the sky without even closing the door. He rushed towards the first place he could think of, and landed outside the front doors of Capsule Corp.

Vegeta was in the middle of his usual workout, dodging and deactivating drones that zipped about the inside of the gravity chamber with a sharp precision. But just as he was starting to get his stride, a white light flashed, and the gravity generator died out. He turned his attention towards the door of the chamber and saw Gohan, who was stripping himself of his long sleeve shirt and undershirt. The prince glared down at him and angrily yelled, "Brat! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Gohan snarled up at him and spat, "Shut the fuck up! You. Me. Now!"

He needed an outlet, and for many years, Vegeta was his favorite. The Saiyan prince was easily the best candidate to take his rage and come through in one piece, and for the first time in a while, he was going to use it. A vicious look took over his face as the demi powered up, his ki nearly flooring Vegeta. He knew that look all too well, though he hadn't seen it darken the Demi's face in a long time. Whatever was bothering him, it was definitely going to hurt. A lot.

Vegeta grumbled to the machine, "Gravity to four hundred G." The machine whirred back to life, the red light in the room came back on, and the pressure from their bodies suddenly weighing roughly as much as a battle-tank dragged on them. Knowing he'd need it, Vegeta transformed with a strained grunt. Needing no prompting, Gohan initiated their spar.

It was brutal. Gohan was unrelenting in his attacks, throwing punch after punch, kicking with enough force to make Vegeta's arms creak from the strain of blocking. He didn't get a single opportunity to fight back. The first real hit Vegeta took was a straight punch that struck him in the cheek, snapping his head around and carrying him backwards with the momentum. He felt something in his skull give, and a blinding pain radiated out from where he'd been hit He felt blood leaking from the corner of his eye and trailing down his cheek, but Gohan didn't seem to notice, or care. Their furious match built in momentum, until Gohan let loose an enraged roar and launched himself at Vegeta after once again sending the Saiyan backwards with a hard kick to impact the wall. But his aim was off, blinded by anger, and he missed. His fist passed right by the startled Saiyan's face, and buried itself in the wall of the chamber. Immediately, the gravity cut out, and the flashing white light came to life again. Relieved from the intense weight of his own body, Vegeta rounded on the demi and gave him such a hard hook to the face that Gohan immediately dropped into a daze and fell to the floor in a heap.

Vegeta dropped out of Super Saiyan and likewise descended, sliding down the wall until his feet touched the ground. He clutched at his face, and the broken eye socket within, and gasped through the pain, "What the fuck Gohan?! The hell did you break the room for? You're better than that!"

Gohan seemed to come to his senses a bit at his outburst, and pushed himself up, rubbing the swelling side of his face. He looked towards the prince and was suddenly on his feet, concernedly asking, "Shit, Vegeta, you okay?"

Vegeta smacked away his hand as the demi reached for him and snarled, "Fucking shit, I am! What the hell was that for?!"

Gohan stiffened and inhaled sharply, before groaning and looking away from the prince. Vegeta breathed hard and pointed an accusatory finger at him, "You'd better explain. I gathered you're pissed off about something. Spill it!"

Gohan glared at him hard, though nowhere near as intense as it had been before. He hesitated a moment, then said, "You remember we talked about that reporter?"

Vegeta winced as he wiped some of the blood from his aching cheek and growled, "What of her?"

Gohan hesitated again, watching him carefully. Then he took a deep breath and said, "You're not going to like this…"