Rising to the Challenge – The Legacy of Son Gohan

Chapter 8 – The Hunt for the Dragon Balls

Fierce bolts of lightning flashed through the night sky above a crumbling, decaying city that wasn't marked on any map, nor christened with any name. The rumbling of thunder reverberated through the atmosphere, the vicious lightning making the sky its playground.

All in all, it made for a dark, depressing atmosphere; a description that none of the scarce occupants of the near-destroyed city would object against.

Among the broken down buildings stood a tiny grey structure that was more well-kept than most. Inside the building was a solitary room, small, stuffy and occupied by four figures.

Three of these figures sat in seiza on the hard concrete floor, as there was no furniture on that side of the room. The other figure sat opposite this trio, behind a large white curtain that gave shape to their short, squarish silhouette. It appeared to be sitting in some sort of chair, but the three other occupants of the humid room couldn't be certain of that fact.

It was quite cramped in the room, the only sources of light being the sporadic flashes of lightning that could be seen outside the two tiny windows on either side of the space, and the two candles placed before opposite ends of the curtain.

"These Dragon Balls you speak of pique my curiosity," rumbled the silhouetted person in a nasally voice. "In fact, if I remember correctly, it was the Dragon Balls that my… previous employers were searching for, before their organisation was destroyed. I can see why they would be worth collecting."

The three individuals on the other side of the curtain shared wary looks before the one in the centre gulped and withdrew a round object from his green and black tunic, and held it out towards the hidden being with a trembling hand. The object was a small, sleek and shiny orange ball with two red stars in the centre. "This is one of the Dragon Balls," the short, blue-skinned male spoke. "This one stays with us… for security purposes, until you find the others."

The concealed figure barked out a booming laugh, sending shivers coursing through the spines of the others. "Your wariness is admirable, but rest assured, I am the utmost professional when I work… so long as I get my payment, of course," it spoke in what sounded like an amused, but nonetheless dangerous tone. "You must be well aware of my service record, if you took the time to seek me out and offer me such an… exorbitant amount of money."

The figure beside the blue-skinned being who had spoken before, an anthropomorphic dog in a blue ninja outfit with a katana strapped to his back, let out a forced, nervous chuckle. "Oh, of course. We didn't mean any disrespect," he uttered meekly. "It's just… we've been burned by our allies before, and we just wanted to be sure it wouldn't happen again…"

"Yeah, how do we know you're not going to betray us and use the Dragon Balls for yourself?" screeched the last of the three figures, a pretty girl with sleek, black hair going down to her shoulders, clad in a green army tunic with black boots. A slight hint of fear flashed through her eyes, but the fire and distrust in them was clear as glass. "For that matter, how can we be sure you're as great as you say?"

The person behind the curtain let out another spine-chilling laugh, only this one was far more savage than before. It promised pain to any who sought to oppose it. "You are a spirited one, girl, especially for a child. But you overstep your boundaries," the figure bellowed ferociously. "Everything about my record rings true, and as for my power… well, perhaps it's best to give you a demonstration…"

With that the shadowed being slowly grew in size – both height and width – until its silhouette covered almost the entirety of the curtain. Two vicious looking horns jutted out from its head, and small spikes formed along its beefy arms. A convenient bolt of lightning struck the ground beside the dark building, creating a deafening, booming sound that only served to make the expanding figure even more intimidating.

The three short people on the other side of the room – made to look even shorter by the now colossal monster they shared the space with, felt their blood run cold, and the sweat trailing down their brows froze in place. The absolute horror coursing through their veins was only punctuated when they spotted a flaming white aura burst to life around the gigantic being, clearly visible through the white curtain now rippling in a wild wind that seemed to come out of nowhere.

The trembling blue figure, who had a red, blue and black beanie adorning his bald head, slapped a circular green device down onto the ground. "This is a Dragon Radar we managed to procure. It's able to locate Dragon Balls no matter where they are," he explained evenly, trying to keep the immense fright he was feeling out of his voice. "We'll be in touch, Mr Kage."

With a short bow, the blue-skinned being and his two partners jumped up from their spots on the ground and sprinted out of the building, not willing to be in Kage's presence for any longer. With any luck, their new ally would come through for them, and once the Eternal Dragon granted their wish, the Pilaf Gang would no longer be cursed with having to relive the perils of childhood for a second time.


A stern-faced Son Gohan sped through the air, clad in his regular blue gi and with an uncommon frown marring his handsome features. 'I wonder what Bulma needs me for. She sounded pretty desperate on the phone,' he mused inwardly.

Shortly after breakfast this morning, Gohan was interrupted in the midst of doing his homework by a phone call from his father's blue-haired best friend, who requested that he visit her as soon as possible. As it was a Saturday, and completing his homework was a boring, dreary task, he was eager to accept her request, and after saying goodbye to his little brother, and reassuring his mother that he'd finish off his homework as soon as he got back, the demi-Saiyan rocketed off towards Capsule Corp.

It didn't take Gohan long to reach his destination. Given the immense speeds he could travel, even in his base form, crossing the world was child's play for the spiky-haired teenager. When the familiar domed building came into view, Gohan smiled and sensed out Bulma's ki, before flying into the dwelling through an open window and strolling down to her personal lab.

"Hey Bulma, what's up?" he greeted when the blue-haired genius came into view. She was adorned in a white scientist coat with matching pants, complete with smudges of all sorts, and hunched over a table tinkling with some robotic object.

"Morning, Gohan. Just give me a minute to get this done," she replied, screwing a bolt of some sort into whatever she was working on. A loud beep signified the completion of the task, after which she turned towards the demi-Saiyan and smiled. "You sure got here quick."

Gohan chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "It was either this or homework."

"Ah, that makes sense," Bulma remarked. "It's things like that that made me skip school all the time. Not that it harmed my grades, of course.

Gohan sweatdropped at the simplicity with which the woman made such an immodest admission, but couldn't help but smile. It was those little quirks of her personality that made Bulma such an interesting person.

"So anyway, you sounded pretty desperate on the phone. What's wrong?" he asked, his features hardening slightly.

Bulma blanched a bit at the look before reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a familiar circular green object, the Dragon Radar, along with a small white case. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing major, but I've experienced these things enough to be slightly concerned," she stated, handing both items to Gohan. "Someone is gathering the Dragon Balls, and somehow masking them from the radar, despite the upgrades I've made to it. Three have already been collected, and whoever is doing it doesn't look like they'll be satisfied until they collect all seven."

Gohan frowned. "You think whoever's doing this has nefarious intentions?"

Bulma shrugged. "I don't know. With our run of rotten luck regarding these things, it wouldn't surprise me," she added with a smirk. "Besides, it couldn't hurt to at least check it out. It's not like you have anything better to do. That case I gave you contains a bunch of capsules which you might find useful."

Gohan's features softened and he let out a brief laugh. "You have a point. By the way, I can't help but wonder… what made you decide to come to me with this request?" he enquired.

"You were the best choice available," she replied simply. "Goku's off training on King Kai's planet, Vegeta's Vegeta, the boys would probably collect all the balls themselves and wish for something stupid like an island full of candy." She shuddered at that though. "I'm too busy to go on another Dragon Ball hunt, although I'd probably still kick ass at it. You, though, are the perfect choice. You're smart, reasonable, and you have that freakish Saiyan strength. It's not rocket science."

Gohan blushed lightly at the praise and smiled. "I guess I could use the distraction. Who knows, it could be fun. Hmm, I wonder if Videl would want to come with me…" he wondered out loud.

Bulma's eyes widened ever so slightly and her ears twitched at the spiky-haired boy's ponderings. "Videl? That girl you fight crime with and are currently training? Mr Satan's daughter?" A cheeky grin spread across her bright red lips. "How romantic! You can turn it into a date! I bet she's never gone on one like that before…"

Gohan's face turned a fierce shade of scarlet and he lowered his head. He needed to evacuate the building before the blue-haired genius' teasing became too much to bear. "Bye Bulma! I'll let you know what I find!"

With that the crimson-cheeked demi-Saiyan shot out of the room and flew out through the window he came in from, speeding off towards Satan City and shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the redness staining his features.

Back in her lab, Bulma let out a hearty laugh. "That kid's too much," she giggled gleefully, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "He left before I could suggest to check out Baba's place. She helped Goku the last time the Dragon Balls went missing." After a few contemplative moments she simply shrugged and her lips quirked upwards. "Oh well, it'll be more fun this way."


Gohan, now adorned in his Saiyaman garb, pulled up to a stop above the Satan Manor. He directed his ki sensing towards the large building, and winced when he felt not just Videl's ki, but the ki of the world champion himself. That ruled out knocking on the door. The only other alternative was hoping that Videl was in her room, and getting her attention through the window. He couldn't help the flush of his cheeks. 'I've never been inside a girl's room before… or seen inside one, for that matter.'

Shaking the embarrassing thoughts from his head, Gohan narrowed his senses onto Videl's own ki, and was pleased to note that it was a fair bit larger that every other occupant of the mansion, including her esteemed father. Well, that was a no brainer, really. He was also happy that she seemed to be situated in a room on the top floor, a fair bit away from anyone else.

With a small grin spread across his face, and his blush covered by his helmet, Gohan flew towards what he guessed was Videl's room. Taking a deep breath, he floated up to the large window, which happened to be closed, and peeked through the glass.

Videl's room was rather… bland, to put it one way. The walls were a simple white in colour, and free of any posters, to his slight surprise. A simple blue and grey patterned carpet covered the floor. There was a large wooden closet on one side of the room, right beside a dresser of the same material.

Just beside the window, Gohan could vaguely make out a wooden desk upon which stood a sleek, black computer, in addition to a few textbooks messily strewn about. On the wall opposite the dresser rested a large king size bed with modest blue sheets and white pillows, which looked to be rather fluffy.

Casually sprawled out on the bed was Videl herself, hands comfortably resting behind her head and legs crossed. The raven-haired girl was wearing simple black shorts in which her long, toned legs were almost fully on display, and a white singlet which showed just the slightest bit of tantalising cleavage, much to Gohan's appreciation… and slight horror at his moderately perverted thoughts. Two ever-familiar blue bands adorned the crime fighter's wrists, and she seemed to be listening to music, if the white earbuds and slight bobbing of her head were any indication.

Gohan raised a fist and rattled the window a few times, being extra careful to not break the glass or get the attention of someone unwanted. After a few knocks, Videl sprung up from her bed and assumed a standard martial arts stance as she faced the window with a glare, which dropped as soon as she saw who was knocking.

"Gohan?" the demi-Saiyan saw her mouth through the glass, to which he responded with a wave and a smile.

Videl's lips quirked upwards into a slight smile of her own, and with a shake of the head she walked towards her friend and opened the window invitingly. "Come on in."

Gohan did just that and eased himself into the room. When he was inside, he cast another glance over the area.

"I see you're admiring my humble abode," Videl observed amusedly.

Gohan scratched the back of his head sheepishly at how blatant he was being. "I expected at least a poster of some kung fu movie star," he admitted.

Videl chuckled in response. "That would require me actually doing some proper shopping, which I try to avoid as much as possible," she stated. "I only keep what I need in here, which isn't all that much to be honest."

"Huh," was all Gohan could say. "That doesn't really surprise me."

"So what brings you here?" Videl enquired curiously.

"I was going on a Dragon Ball hunt… of sorts, and wanted to ask if you were keen on coming along," Gohan said.

A blank expression crossed Videl's face. "Dragon Ball?"

Gohan palmed his helmet and shook his head with an amused grin. "That's right, I haven't told you about those yet."

Videl's lips spread into a wide smile, and her spiky-haired friend didn't need to be a mind reader to know the reason. "Ooh! I love story time. Let's hear it then." She walked over to the edge of her bed and sat down, before patting the spot beside her invitingly.

Gohan moved to follow her before stopping mid-step. His heart let out a beat, and his cheeks turned crimson underneath his helmet. He may have been naïve in many aspects of social interaction, but even he was wise enough to understand the relative intimacy of the situation he found himself in.

Then he remembered that Mr Satan was somewhere in the manor, and whatever romantic implications his mind had conjured up faded.

Videl fixed her friend with an inquisitive look when he sat down, to which he responded, "Don't ask."

The raven-haired girl shrugged her shoulders before her grin returned tenfold. "So, what are these Dragon Balls you speak of?"

Gohan decided to be as blunt as possible with his explanation. "The Dragon Balls are seven orange balls scattered all over the world. Each ball has a certain number of stars ranging from one to seven. When all the balls are gathered, a dragon is summoned and will grant you two wishes."

Videl's eyes were wide throughout her friend's explanation, and her mouth was gaping open. When he was done, she stared at him incredulously. "You're not kidding." It wasn't a question.

Gohan simply nodded. "I've seen the dragon before. His name's Shenlong. Really grumpy guy. Doesn't like being awakened from his slumber." He chuckled at that. "Can't really see why, though. I figured he'd be happy to get out from wherever it is he stays and get some fresh air. It's not like he's always getting summoned or anything. The last time he was needed was seven years ago."

Videl gaped at that admission. "But that was when the-"

"Cell Games happened," Gohan said with a deep frown, finishing his friend's sentence. "It was because of the Dragon Balls that all of Cell's victims came back to life."

Videl was absolutely stunned at that revelation if the flabbergasted expression adorning her pretty features was anything to go by. The raven-haired girl rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily. "So that's what happened. I always figured it was some kind of trick. That was the only explanation that made even a bit of sense." She then let out a wry chuckle. "I should've known you were involved somehow… you with your logic-defying weirdness and everything."

Gohan laughed meekly in response. The conversation was steering a bit too close to his role in Cell Games for his liking. 'Maybe I made a mistake telling her- no, I didn't. If anything, she deserves to know that much,' he mused. The boy still felt guilty at keeping that whole Cell debacle a secret from his spunky friend. 'I'll tell her eventually. When she's ready… when I'm ready…'

"So… why do you need to go on a Dragon Ball hunt?" Videl asked after several seconds of silence. "Not that I'm not interested in coming along, because I am – it sounds really exciting. But I get the feeling these balls are only supposed to be used in emergencies… you're not looking to revive any dead people, are you?" she added, her expression turning a tad more sombre.

Gohan shook his head with a small smile. "Not this time, thankfully," he replied before his features turned more serious. "Someone is gathering the Dragon Balls and then hiding them. In my experience, that can't be a good thing. So my dad's friend asked me if to investigate what's going on. I figured I would ask you and we could turn it into a little adventure."

Videl perked up after hearing the explanation. "I'm keen!" she exclaimed giddily.

Despite her apparent enthusiasm, however, Gohan was still able to detect a hint of worry that flashed across his friend's pretty features. The demi-Saiyan inwardly frowned, and vowed to keep Videl safe on this little adventure they were about to embark on.

Nevertheless, Gohan gave the girl a small smile. "I'm glad you're up for it. By the way, should we invite Erasa and Sharpner?"

Videl shook her head. "They're both busy. Erasa has a job at the mall which she works on weekends, and Sharpner has boxing practice," she explained. A smirk then flitted across her lips. "Ever since he learnt how to channel ki into his fists, he's been looking forward to beating the crap out of his sparring partners."

At that revelation Gohan frowned. "I hope he doesn't hurt them too badly. Ki is a seriously dangerous weapon," he said, apprehension evident in his tone.

Videl waved off his concerns. "Don't worry, Sharpner won't go that far. For all his tough guy talk, he's a big softy who wouldn't hurt someone too bad without a very good reason," she reassured. "Besides, if he ever gets overzealous, I'll be there to pound some sense into him," she added as an afterthought.

Gohan let out a light chuckle. 'Typical Videl,' he couldn't help but think. "Well that's a relief. Anyway, unless there's anything else you want to go over, I'm going to wait outside while you get ready," he informed the crime fighter, who merely shook her head in response.

"No, you pretty much covered everything. I'll join you outside when I'm done getting ready… and when I've thought up a good enough excuse to give my dad," she remarked with a wry grin.

Gohan returned her grin with an amused one of his own. "Heh, good luck with that. Come find me in the air when you're done. Pack as if you're going on a day long training trip around the world." With a brief wave of his hand, he leapt through the window and out of sight.

Videl stood still for a few seconds, simply staring at the spot where her friend had evacuated the room, and thinking of how much her father would freak out if he knew there was a boy in her room. She shook her head to clear that amusing thought and started getting dressed.

It only took a few minutes for Videl to change into a pair of spandex shorts, a blue and orange shirt with the word 'FIGHT' across the chest, and her usual green boots. Each article of clothing was weighed down by a weird magic of some sort; the amount of weight Videl wore having increased since she first started this kind of training.

After deeming her preparations compete, Videl exited her room and swiftly made her way down to the living area where her father was. Given the enormity of the Satan Manor, the walk took a while, and like she had so many times before, Videl ignored the feeling of emptiness wafting through the pristine clean, ornately decorated halls.

Eventually, she reached the living room, where Mr Satan was sprawled out on a large couch of fine black leather, a mug of beer in his hand and a wide grin on his moustached face. The object of his attention and source of his elation was the gigantic flat screen TV upon which played a taping of the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai. The Mr Satan on the screen was currently suplexing a brutish, long haired man – Spopovich, if Videl remembered correctly.

The Mr Satan on the couch let out a whoop of joy at the manoeuvre. "Yeah, stick it to him, you sexy beast!" he hollered.

Videl felt a sweatdrop form and resisted the urge to gag. There were so many things wrong with that statement, and with the sight in general, that she felt a migraine forming. She rubbed her temples wearily.

It was then that Mr Satan noticed her presence, and his grin widened ever so slightly as her turned to face his daughter. "Hey there, Sweet Pea. Where are you off to?"

"Hey Dad," Videl greeted back, a slight hint of exasperation in her voice. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going travelling for a bit." At the narrowing of her father's eyes, she let out a sigh and shrugged. "I just want to get out and see the world a bit. I need a break from the city, you know? The police are getting a bit too needy, and the paparazzi a bit too annoying."

Mr Satan's moustache twitched and his brows furrowed, a sign that the burly world champion was deep in thought. "Is anyone else going with you?" he asked in a low tone after a few tense seconds.

"No, just me. Erasa's working and Sharpner has boxing practice," Videl replied evenly.

Mr Satan met her blue eyes with his own and engaged in a brief staring contest of sorts, as though trying to detect any deception in his daughter's answer. Eventually, he just shrugged and took a deep sip from his mug. "Well alright then, as long as you're not going away on a date with some boy. Remember what I said – the only time you can date a boy is if he can beat me in a fight." At that Videl rolled her eyes, but her father didn't notice it and smiled. "Have fun, Sweet Pea."

The girl gave him a wave and made her way towards the door, but came to a halt when her father called out, "Oh, by the way, I'm going on a business trip tonight. Some famous filmmaker wants to make a movie about the Cell Games, and needs me to help him get the facts right. I should be back tomorrow evening."

Videl ignored the slight pang of pain in her chest at the revelation that she would be spending another night alone in the big, empty mansion she called her home. After all, it was a feeling she'd experienced countless times before, and was used to it by now… even if it hurt every damn time. Nevertheless, she forced a smile onto her features. "Have fun, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Before her father could respond, Videl opened the front door and walked down the pathway. She stared up into the grey, cloudy sky, and was able to spot a familiar green speck about 50 metres in the air.

After double checking her surroundings to make sure no one was watching, the raven-haired girl channelled her ki and took off into the air. She floated up to a costumed Gohan, who smiled when he saw her. "I'm ready to go," she curtly informed the superhero.

"Is everything ok, Videl?" Gohan enquired, his lips pursing into a frown.

"Everything's fine," Videl said firmly in a tone that she hoped would prevent any further questions.

Gohan was silent for a few moments before a small smile stretched across his lips. "If you say so. By the way, you look quite comfortable up here. You sure you're up for this? If not, I could always call Kinto'un to give you a lift?" he teased warmly.

At that Videl scoffed, and couldn't help but smirk. "I can handle it. I've had a whole week to practice flying. I got this."

Gohan chuckled. "If you say so."

The spiky-haired boy then withdrew from his tunic a small, green, circular device that Videl thought looked like a strange compass of sorts. He clicked a button and several orange dots appeared on the monitor.

"What's that?" she questioned.

"This is the Dragon Radar," Gohan explained with a smile. "This is what makes searching for Dragon Balls possible." He held out the device to his friend, who took it and examined it closely.

"You said there are seven balls. I can only see four," Videl observed, which caused Gohan to frown.

"Yeah, three of them are somehow being cloaked from the radar," he stated with a stern gaze. "The only way to draw out whoever is doing it is to lure them to us."

Videl handed the radar back to the costumed boy and slammed a fist into her palm. "Let them come. We'll just kick their asses and take their balls."

Gohan let out a brief laugh at her statement. "I'm glad you're confident. It's never good to go adventuring with doubts plaguing your mind."

Videl gave him a triumphant smirk. "There's no need to worry. We have the daughter of the world saviour himself, and her trusty sidekick, who just happens to be a superhero," she boasted.

Said superhero gave the raven-haired girl what she could only assume was a blank stare. It was impossible to make out his facial expression behind his black visor. "Since when did I get relegated to the role of sidekick?" he deadpanned.

"Why, since you invited me on this little trip, of course," Videl remarked sweetly, comfortingly patting her friend on the shoulder.

Gohan merely scratched the back of his orange helmet. "If you say so." He then scanned over the Dragon Radar and pointed to one of the orange dots. "This is our first destination. If I remember my geography, this should be where the Eastern Sea is."

Videl leaned over and looked over the radar herself, before something caught her attention. "Wouldn't it be closer to go here?" she enquired, pointing to another orange dot.

Gohan shook his head in response. "That's the four-star ball, which is at my house right now. It's a family heirloom of sorts, ever since it was handed down to my dad from his grandfather, Gohan. That was before he even knew what the Dragon Balls were."

Videl's eyes widened slightly. "Gohan? You were named after your great grandfather?" she asked in a curious tone.

The caped superhero nodded. "Yeah. He died when my dad was still a kid. He also trained under Muten Roshi."

Videl had to do a double take at that latest revelation. "If Muten Roshi trained both your great-grandfather and your father, just how old was the guy?"

Gohan simply stroked his chin contemplatively. "I think he's at least a couple of centuries old. I'll have to ask him the next time I see him," he answered casually.

Videl said nothing. She merely stared at her friend for a few seconds, not sure if she heard him right. "You mean Muten Roshi's still alive? Just how the hell is that possible?" she questioned.

"He drank something called an Immortality Elixir," was Gohan's response.

Videl stared blankly at the costumed teenager before exhaling deeply and rubbing her temples exasperatedly. The implications of what she'd just heard were both staggering and dizzying. "How does something like that even exist? And why aren't people flocking to it like crazy? For that matter, who'd even want to be immortal?"

She sighed once more and was about to sink to her knees… before remembering that she was floating about 50 metres in the air. So she resorted to shaking her head instead.

Gohan noticed how flustered she was and offered his female friend a warm smile. "I'll introduce you guys sometime. You can ask him when you meet him," he said comfortingly.

That broke Videl out of her stupor, the shock she was feeling being replaced by a sense of giddiness brought about by the martial arts enthusiast inside her. She returned Gohan's smile with one of her own. "Thanks. I'm sure meeting him will be enlightening."

Gohan chuckled. "I'm sure it will be… if you get past his quirks." He then shook his head. "Anyway, we should get a move on. I'll ask again, do you think you're up to flying, or do I need to call Kinto'un?"

Videl resolved to ask her spiky-haired friend about Muten Roshi's "quirks" later, and smirked confidently at his teasing question. "I can handle flying. I didn't work my ass off this whole week for nothing," she boasted proudly.

"I figured you'd say that," Gohan remarked with an amused shake of the head. "Try to keep up then. And remember, keep a constant flow of ki around your body to act as a barrier from the wind."

Videl nodded, and forced a miniscule amount of ki through her pores, which quickly came to cover her entire body in a thin sheen of invisible energy. Immediately, she felt a sudden surge of warmth, which was quite welcome given how cloudy and windy it was. As though having sensed the formation of her ki barrier, Gohan gave the girl a nod and shot off into the distance.

Videl followed after the boy, who was flying at a much lower speed than he usually did. She could tell by comparing how fast he was currently travelling to how quickly he was going earlier in the week, when they were called by the police to help out at the burning apartment building.

While Videl knew such a thing was natural given Gohan's proficiency in ki manipulation, as well as his far greater wealth of experience on the matter, the fact that she was so far behind him grated on her nerves ever so slightly. For so long, she was used to thinking she was great – someone who had a place among the greatest martial artists in the world. But even since she met Son Gohan and his family, that perception was shattered like fragile glass.

With that in mind, the raven-haired crime fighter forced an even greater amount of ki through her feet, and rocketed past her costumed friend.

Gohan simply quirked his head to the side as he matched her speed and pulled up beside her, and Videl could tell he was giving her a curious look from behind his visor. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Don't be too hasty, Videl. We're probably going to be flying for most of the day. It's best to conserve your energy," he chided gently.

Said girl snorted in response. "Don't treat me like a princess, Gohan. I can handle a bit of fast flying," she retorted.

"If you say so," Gohan chuckled. "Just don't blame me when you run out of ki and need to have Kinto'un carry you."

Videl smirked inwardly, taking her friend's comment as a challenge of sorts. She'd show him she could fly on her own without the aid of a magic golden cloud. She didn't bust her ass training the entire week, while wearing weighted clothes no less, just to have to rely on someone – or rather, something else's help. She would surpass her mentor's expectations. 'Count on it, Gohan…'

The pair of high schoolers soared through the air at an even speed. They weren't extraordinarily high up, being quite a bit below the harsh grey clouds which covered the sky, but they were well out of sight of any onlookers. Were a denizen of Satan City to gaze up into the air and squint, the two flying teenagers would appear as mere dots in the sky, as though they were two birds.

It was due to this reason, Videl assumed, that Gohan had dematerialised his Saiyaman outfit and was now flying in his regular blue gi. And she preferred it that way. Putting aside her distaste for the garish costume, which she still found to be an eyesore, now she could take subtle glances at the muscular boy out of the corner of her eye.

She could admire the size and shape of his biceps and triceps, not as large as a bodybuilder's, but firm, and perfectly suited for a martial artist. Her eyes could trail past his broad shoulders to his toned pectorals, no doubt as hard as solid steel. She could make out the top of his ripped abs, teasingly peeking out from V-neck of his gi top. Then there was his dark hair, rustling tantalisingly in the breeze. Idly, Videl wondered what it would be like to run a hand through her onyx-eyed friend's spiky, black locks. Would they be hard, or soft?

As quickly as that thought came, Videl cast it aside with a firm slap to her cheek. 'What the hell is wrong with me? Thinking about those thought of all things… ugh, I'm not Erasa!' she scolded mentally.

The sound of the slap drew Gohan's questioning gaze to her, which she met with a scowl. "A bug landed on my face," she lied in a tone that brokered no further conversation.

The gi-clad boy put his hands up defensively before turning his head away from Videl and focusing on the path in front of him. She breathed out a sigh of relief, hating the fact that she had just told a lie, but not as much as the fact that she'd had such perverted thoughts in the first place.

With the images of Gohan's marble-like figure out of her head, Videl instead focused on the sight below her.

She'd flown using her ki several times before, but never as high as this, and never in an area other than the wilderness near the Son home. As such, she couldn't help but admire the statuesque skyscrapers adorning Satan City's business district, or the red-tiled roofs of the houses neatly lining the metropolis' residential area. Her attention then trailed towards the city's various roads and highways, stacked with cars moving in an orderly fashion.

A childlike glee welled up in Videl's stomach; the raven-haired girl slowly coming to the realisation that her longtime wish was being fulfilled. Since she was a little girl, she wanted to soar among the clouds like a bird. She wanted the freedom that came with the power of flight. She wanted to get away from all the attention and expectations that came with being the daughter of Mr Satan. The only place she felt she could escape it all was the sky…

Not for the first time, Videl felt an incomprehensible amount of gratitude towards Son Gohan for taking her under his wing and agreeing to train her. While the circumstances surrounding the arrangement were less than ideal, it didn't change the fact that he was the reason she could achieve her dream.

Not for the first time, Videl felt an odd sensation course through her chest – one that sent a surge of warmth through her being that wasn't from her ki. She couldn't help but wonder… just what did that feeling mean?

Time seemed to drift by at an incalculable rate as the two dark-haired martial artists rocketed through the air, high above the tallest buildings yet a fair bit below the grim, grey clouds. It was only once the outskirts of Satan City appeared in the distance that Videl's eyes widened, as she finally grasped just how far she'd flown on her own merits.

As the duo sped past the enormous billboard bearing Mr Satan's grinning face, Videl scowled and made gagging noises. "They have one of these hideous monstrosities planted at each of the four entrances to the city. I love my dad, but sometimes he takes things too damn far," she grumbled.

Gohan chuckled. "I get where you're coming from. But still, you have to admit, they're pretty funny."

"Heh, I guess that's one way of looking at it," she remarked with a brief quirk of her lips.

As the pair shot past the eastern border of Satan City the scenery down below immediately changed, and the bustling urban metropolis was replaced by flat, grassy plains, lakes here and there, barren wastelands and the occasional bush dotting the landscape. Off towards the horizon, Videl could make out the tips of a few colossal mountains. The sight really served to hammer home just what kind of adventure she was undertaking, and the giddiness from before returned once more.

"How you holding up?"

Videl turned her head to the side, and her blue eyes met the black ones of her spiky-haired friend and mentor. Even now, she could detect the ever-present warmth within Gohan's onyx orbs. She couldn't help the smile that stretched across her lips. "I'm great. I really needed this, Gohan. Thanks for asking me to come along," she said gratefully.

Gohan merely scratched the back of his head and grinned. "It was nothing," he remarked, his cheeks taking on a faint red tint. "You're a part of my world now, more or less, so it's only fair to ask you to come along to a Dragon Ball hunt."

That statement caused the same odd sensation in her chest to surface once more, only this time it was accompanied by an another feeling – this one being a feeling she recognised all too well, as it was one she'd experienced many times this past week.

It was joy.

Joy at learning to fly.

Joy at being accepted into Gohan's crazy little world.

Joy at finding one more friend she could trust.

Joy at the fact that Gohan stumbled into her life.

Come to think of it, Son Gohan was the chief cause of a lot of the happiness she'd felt lately. Maybe one day she'd be able to express to him in words just how thankful she was for everything he'd done for her. To be hesitant in an endeavour as simple as admitting to someone her gratitude was a wholly new experience for her. With anyone else she'd damn well speak her mind whenever she wanted to, but with Gohan, it was different for some reason. He was an enigma, and he had a strange effect over Videl that the girl didn't know what to make of.

She was broken from her musings when Gohan came to a halt. She followed suit, and noticed that they had stopped before a large mountain range. One of the colossal behemoths stood right in front of them; wide, rough-looking, and with an unseen tip that pierced the clouds like a spire. Just why had they stopped their journey here?

"Want to go fly above the peaks?" Gohan asked.

Videl's eyes widened. "Are you sure? Is that safe?" she stammered, inwardly scolding herself at how frightened she sounded.

Gohan gave her a reassuring smile. "It is. I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you were up to it," he said. "The air is a fair bit thicker up there, and it's harder to breathe, but it looks beautiful. I really think you'll like it."

Videl pondered his words for a few moments. Despite a tiny part of her subconscious shouting that she was nuts, the reckless adventurer inside the girl begged her to do it. Videl was someone who always pushed herself to the limit, and took on challenges that would make most people weep. She was someone who was always bettering herself, no matter what the task. After all, it was one of the foundations of martial arts.

The moment a martial artist grew stagnant and believed there was nothing left to learn, was the moment that person died as a martial artist.

The same principle could be applied to other aspects of life as well. And for Videl – someone who had a constant drive to improve herself – it was a principle she lived by.

"Let's do it," she stated confidently.

Gohan grinned. "I'll be by your side the whole time. Just reduce your ki output and don't rush your ascent. Take it slow."

Videl nodded, and did as she was told. Straight away, she felt herself become weaker, but she paid that thought no heed. In this instance, moderation was required. Slowly, the raven-haired girl pushed a steady amount of ki through the soles of her feet, and rose higher into the air. Gohan was right beside her, matching his energy output with hers.

Slowly, the pair of teenagers rose higher. Videl took notice of the tough, brown rock of the mountain wall, its rough, jagged edges serving as a dangerous detriment to any who wished to climb it by hand. She smirked. That was not an issue she had to overcome.

After several minutes of an even-paced ascent, Videl felt her breathing become harder, a sure sign that the air was getting thinner. A few beads of sweat formed on her brow, and her teeth started chattering ever so slightly. A sudden, ever-increasing cold overtook her. Her heartbeat quickened.

She then felt a welcomingly warm hand clasp her own, and a foreign yet familiar, and very much welcome ki flooded her body. The cold she was feeling evaporated instantly, after which Videl smiled gratefully. "Thanks Gohan."

"No problem," was the boy's response.

With that, Gohan's hand unclasped itself from hers, much to Videl's displeasure. While she was now quite warm, her friend's touch provided an entirely new warmth that she found herself missing.

She didn't have too long to dwell on that thought, as the two high schoolers finally rose past the mountain peak, with Videl feeling a touch of cool and a slight wetness as she passed through the clouds. It was not an unpleasant feeling, however. Once the haze dispersed and she got her visibility back, the crime fighter couldn't help but gasp at the sight in front of her.

Having ascended the entire mountain to the point where they were now hovering above the clouds themselves, the teenage duo was treated to a wondrous view of the mountain range before them. Several colossal structures of natural rock were arranged haphazardly around each other, their tips drilling through the mist like a phalanx of spears. Snow could be seen covering the peaks, further enhancing the beauty of the scenery.

"Wow," Videl breathed out, so entranced by the view that she couldn't form any other words.

"It's pretty neat, isn't it?" a smiling Gohan asked from her side.

Videl swallowed thickly and took a few deep breaths. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

"Nature is a beautiful thing," the spiky-haired boy remarked with a touch of sorrow. "It's a shame so many people miss out on experiencing things like this due to spending their entire lives cooped up in the city."

Videl pondered his words for a moment. As sad as it was, he spoke the truth. Heck, she doubted she'd ever have seen anything like the view currently before her had she never met Gohan. She might not even have known that such a sight existed. Again, she felt an immense gratitude towards her onyx-eyed friend, and the odd feeling in her chest surfaced once more. She frowned inwardly. Just what the hell did it mean?

"When you're ready to keep moving, just let me know, Gohan informed the girl, breaking her from her thoughts.

Videl was silent for a few seconds, simply taking in the magical, almost fantastical picture before her very eyes, that looked like something straight out of an adventure novel. When she had basked in the beauty enough, she turned to her friend and smiled. "I'm ready to go."

Gohan returned her smile with his own, the simple action illuminating his already handsome features and giving him an even more pleasant appearance. "Ok. We'll take it slowly as we pass over the mountain peaks," he stated. "Once you start moving, you'll notice it'll become much harder to breath. Don't panic. Just try to keep your breathing steady, in through the nose, and out through the mouth."

Videl nodded, a gleam of determination sparkling in her cerulean orbs. "I'm ready."

Gohan nodded as well, and slowly began floating over the mountain range. Then raven-haired crime fighter followed suit, and pulled up beside the boy. So close were the two that their arms were almost touching. Although she would never admit it, Videl still felt a tiny tinge of fear at her current predicament, knowing that if she lost control of her ki she would plummet several thousand metres to the ground… or worse, have her body be impaled over a mountain peak.

She gulped audibly at the macabre thought and moved even closer to Gohan. The only place she felt completely safe was by his side. Were she to fall, he was the only one she trusted to rescue her.

Once again, she felt his larger hand clasp her smaller one, and his digits intertwine with her own, melding together like matching pieces of a puzzle. He gave her a reassuring smile, which caused her heart to beat a tiny bit faster.

It was in this position that the two friends soared over the mountain range like a pair of eagles, high above the snow-tipped peaks that pierced through the mist and acted as a barrier to the world below. Once they had passed the gigantic structures, the dark-haired duo descended beneath the clouds, and were greeted by the sight of an enormous forest.

It was large, and dazzlingly green, but it didn't have the mysticism of the forest that surrounded the Son household, and acted as the picturesque base of the Mount Paozu region – at least in Videl's honest opinion. That being said, however, it was still rather nice to look at.

"The Eastern Sea should be just past this forest," Gohan informed. "That'll be where we start our search."

Videl contemplated his statement before her brows furrowed slightly. "Gohan…" she began warily, "are you telling me we're going to be looking through the entire ocean just to find one little orange ball?"

The boy chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "You made it sound like we're going to do the impossible. It shouldn't be that difficult. We have the Dragon Radar to pinpoint the location, and Bulma gave me a case of capsules which could prove useful."

Videl nodded as she processed the information. Her eyes then widened. Wait a minute… "Bulma? As in Bulma Brief?" she questioned.

"That's the one," Gohan chirped. "You know her?"

Videl gave her friend a deadpanned stare. "Just what is your connection to the richest woman in the world?"

"She's my dad's best friend, and pretty much my godmother… although I don't think she was ever officially given the title," he remarked casually while stroking his chin.

"Huh," Videl said, not knowing what to make of that. After a few moments, she merely sighed and levelled a smirk at the boy. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

Gohan laughed. "So I've been told… many times."

With a pleasant atmosphere around the pair, they zoomed over the trees of the forest below, and after about half an hour of flying, Videl was able to make out some blue past the horizon; the telltale signs of the ocean. She smiled inwardly, pleased at the fact that she had been able to sustain flight for such a long period of time. The girl was confident she could do it before she even set off with Gohan on this adventure, but actually having done so brought a whole new sensation of pride.

Before long, the airborne duo came to a stop just past the edge of the forest… only to realise they were still holding hands. Neither had noticed that simple fact while flying towards the ocean. For Videl, the feeling of Gohan's hand clasping her own felt so normal… so natural, that she didn't even register it. With equal shades of scarlet tinting their cheeks, the pair of teenagers let go of each other. Videl immediately noticed just how much colder she felt, despite the fact that the weather out here was quite pleasant.

After a few moments of gathering her bearings, the raven-haired crime fighter gazed out over the crystal clear water, watching as gentle waves lapped against the sand of the beach down below. The skies were a bright blue and free of any white – a welcome change from the gloomy, grey clouds hanging above Satan City.

"How are you feeling?" Gohan asked.

Videl did a quick check of her ki reserves. While she felt a noticeable drop from her usual level of energy, she still had plenty left in the tank. She grinned at that realisation. "I'm good to keep going."

Gohan smiled. "Good to know. We'll fly out a bit further across the ocean, until we get to the general area where the Dragon Ball is. Then we'll come up with a plan," he explained.

Videl nodded. "Sounds good."

The duo shot off across the sea, with the female of the pair immediately noticing how vast the ocean was. It all looked the same to her, with the only variety being that the waves were bigger in some parts of the sea than others. As a whole, the ocean certainly wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as the mountains, or even the forest they'd just passed, but it had its own charm all the same.

Feeling a bit daring, Videl flew downwards until she was just above the sparkling blue water. With a wide grin splitting her face, the raven-haired girl rocketed forward, parting the surface of the ocean as though she were a torpedo.

Gohan matched the crime fighter's speed and pulled up beside her, his brow quirked up in amusement. "Someone's having fun," he observed.

"Shut up," she retorted good-naturedly. "I can't believe I've been missing out on something so… liberating my entire life."

Gohan scratched his cheek. "You have a point. It's been so long since I learnt how to fly that I forgot just how great it feels the first time you take to the sky."

There was comfortable silence between the pair from that point onwards. Gohan seemed content to let Videl enjoy herself, which the girl was thankful for. As she flew she felt the rippling water splash her a few times. She found the cooling effect rather refreshing, especially given how strongly the sun was shining.

A glance at her watch told Videl that she'd been in the air for about two hours now, which was a pleasant surprise. Time seemed to fly by at the speed of a freight train, but she assumed that was because she was having so much fun.

Gohan came to an abrupt stop and levitated a few metres in the air. He then pulled out the Dragon Radar and looked it over. A frown then formed across his features. "It's just as I thought. The Dragon Ball is somewhere in the ocean. I was hoping it'd be on an island. That would make searching for it much easier."

Videl pursed her lips. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Gohan replied with a shake of the head. "It's just means that now one of us has to go diving…" he trailed off, having noticed the stern look the girl was giving him, and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It just means that I have to go diving, or hope that Bulma has something in here that can help us," he added, pulling out the white capsule case.

Videl floated up beside him. "Let's have a look then."

Gohan opened the case, and the duo looked inside, only to see several capsules arranged in neat rows. Videl scanned over the various capsules, which she was pleased to note were labelled appropriately. After only a few moments of searching, she picked one of the cylindrical objects up and rolled it between her fingers. "This is what we need."

Gohan read the label. "A submarine, eh? You know how to use one of those things?"

Videl smirked cockily. "Of course. Piloting submarines is child's play. Get with the times, Gohan," she teased.

The boy frowned at the comment. "Hey, I've never needed to pilot a submarine before. I'd always go diving on my own. Much easier that way. Quicker too."

Videl's smirk dropped ever so slightly at the reminder of just how freakishly athletic her friend was. She hoped that one day she could reach his level, but with how far apart the gap between them currently was, she honestly doubted such a thing was possible. That didn't mean she wouldn't try, though.

With that in mind, the raven-haired girl activated and threw down the capsule, and when the smoke dissipated it revealed a round, pink submarine, with two oval-shaped protrusions on its sides that had the number 9 painted on them. Another curved protrusion extended from just above the window of the cockpit, that was shaped to resemble a fin. The sub's propellers were located at the very back of the vehicle.

Gohan stroked his chin ponderingly. "Well that's… surprisingly feminine," he commented.

Videl chuckled in amusement. "I never knew Bulma Brief was so girly."

"She has her moments," Gohan remarked. "Anyway, you said you could pilot this thing?"

"Like a pro," Videl boasted. She floated down to submarine and opened the cockpit, only to cringe visibly at what she saw.

"Videl, what's wrong?" a worried Gohan asked.

The girl turned towards her friend and gave him a blank look. "This sub's a one seater."

Gohan stared at Videl for a few moments before his eyes widened visibly and his cheeks turned a fierce crimson. "Oh."

"Yeah..." Videl said, her cheeks also reddening to the colour of tomato. "So… how are we going to do this?"

Gohan gulped. "Well, since I don't know how to ride this thing, the only option I see is…" He swallowed once more, and a bead of sweat trailed down his temple. "The only option I see is for you to… sit in my lap and pilot it."

"I see," Videl remarked, trying to keep a level tone, despite the fact that her heart started beating like crazy. She exhaled deeply in attempt to calm herself down. "So be it. Get in there," she commanded.

A red-faced Gohan floated down to the partly submerged vehicle, and as he passed the crime fighter he gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this."

Videl simply returned the smile and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You had no way of knowing," she reassured him.

Gohan hesitantly manoeuvred himself into the lone seat inside the cockpit. Given his rather tall and broad frame, it was a tight fit, especially if the fidgeting he was doing was any indication. And it was about to get even tighter.

Videl followed after him, and with another deep breath lowered herself onto his lap. Luckily, due to the fact that her back was turned, the spiky-haired boy couldn't see how frighteningly red her face had become. On the other hand, she couldn't see Gohan's face either, and was thusly unable to spot the vicious shade of scarlet plastered across his handsome features.

From her spot on Gohan's knees, Videl could feel his solid, finely toned quadriceps through his pants, a further testament to just how fit the guy was. Leaning back against his stomach allowed her to brush up against the rippling abdominal muscles hidden beneath the fabric of his gi, but still as solid as a rock.

Videl suppressed a gulp as her heartbeat quickened. This was the closest she'd even been to a boy… well, while conscious at least. She'd also never been in such an intimate position before. If her father ever found out, he'd probably go on a murderous rampage.

With that horrific yet amusing thought in mind, Videl closed the cockpit, further confining herself and Gohan within the enclosed space, and turned on the ignition. As the submarine lowered itself beneath the waves, Videl cast aside her embarrassing thoughts – with great difficulty at that – and focused instead on her surroundings.

Murky, dark blue water was all she could see; a stark change from the light, gentle blue that was the surface of the ocean. This was the sight that the two teenagers were treated to for the few minutes the submarine spent descending towards the ocean floor. Eventually, the murkiness cleared, and the view became far easier on the eye.

Far beneath the surface of the Eastern Sea, Videl was able to spot all sorts of fish going about their business. A school of salmon crossed in front of the submarine, briefly obscuring the view from the cockpit. Two jellyfish casually floated a few metres away, seemingly without a care in the world. The odd pairing of a clownfish and a far larger but much thinner blue fish with a yellow tail sped past the vehicle. The whistle of an orca could be heard in the distance.

It was magical. "The sight is amazing, don't you think, Gohan?" Videl breathed out.

"Sure is," Gohan ground out with noticeable effort.

Unbeknownst to the crime fighter, her spiky-haired friend was having a bout of personal trouble that kept him from enjoying the scenery. Considering the fact that a very fit and extremely attractive girl was sitting on his lap, with only a very thin layer of spandex preventing her skin from touching his most private part, Gohan was fighting with all his might to keep his… natural masculine urges from affecting his body.

Given their relatively intimate positions, Videl would definitely be able to feel a certain hardening against her thighs – or worse, her backside, were Gohan to give in to his body's desires. As such, the muscular male was straining his mind to come up with the most unnatural, unattractive, and unpleasant images he could think of.

'Muten Roshi in a speedo… strutting down a catwalk… darn! It's not working!' Beads of sweat slid down the boy's brow. 'An oiled up and barely-clad Vegeta body slamming someone in a wrestling ring… no good! Oolong in a fashion show… not weird enough!'

"You ok back there, Gohan?" Videl asked from her spot on his lap. "You sound a bit sick."

"Just peachy!" a struggling Gohan replied. The mere sound of the raven-haired girl's voice caused whatever semblance of control he was gaining over his body to slip. 'Crap! Sharpner in a tutu! Krillin taking ballet lessons! Chiaotzu pole dancing! Mr Satan advertising women's underwear!'

It was the last thought that did it for Gohan, as his face took on a sickly shade of green and he had to force down the urge to puke. Nevertheless, he couldn't help the miniscule quirk of his lips. 'I survived…'

As the boy got over his brief panic attack, a completely unaware Videl scanned over the controls of the submarine. There were several buttons which were completely foreign to her, most notably a big red one with a skull and crossbones on it. "I wonder what this one does…"

The curious girl pressed the button, and much to her shock the front of the sub opened up and out shot a torpedo that rocketed through the water.

Two transfixed pairs of eyes tracked the missile's path, being unable to do a thing to stop it, until it impacted against something in the distance and caused a humongous explosion. The blast created a shockwave which launched the submarine several metres backwards, and the sound was deafening.

Once her ears had stopped ringing, a gaping Videl stared at the controls in front of her in absolute shock. "What the hell was that!"

A groaning Gohan gingerly rubbed his ears. "I thought you said you knew how to ride one of these things," he mumbled.

Videl craned her neck to the side and gave her friend a blank stare. "Normal submarines don't have the same amount of firepower as military grade aircraft… or any firepower for that matter," she stated firmly. "Your friend Bulma is clearly insane."

"You're not entirely wrong," Gohan grumbled in response.

Silence reigned between the pair for a few more moments as they both tried to get their bearings, until a vicious snapping was heard from the direction the torpedo was launched. A wary Videl's eyes shot open once she was able to make out the source – a group of savage looking great white sharks speeding towards the submarine with fire blazing in their eyes.

"I think you interrupted their feeding time," Gohan remarked nonchalantly.

Meanwhile, a panicking Videl was fiddling furiously with the controls of the submarine, attempting to reorient it after it was sent hurtling backwards by the explosion. Just before the sharks collided with its steel hull, the girl managed to set the vehicle back on course and accelerate away from the furious animals.

However, the great whites were still keeping up with the submarine, a fact that caused beads of sweat to roll down Videl's brow. "Can't you do something? Like maybe scare them away with your ki?" she asked Gohan frantically, trying to prevent the sharks from coming any closer.

"Sure I could… if you wanted me to blow up the submarine in the process," the boy deadpanned, somehow managing to keep his cool.

Videl angrily grit her teeth. "There's gotta be something we can do to outrun them!"

"Check the controls," Gohan told her. "If this thing can fire torpedoes, who knows what else it can do."

Videl took his suggestion and hurriedly scanned over the controls on the dashboard in front of her. She was able to make out all sorts of buttons with weird symbols etched on them, such as a bar of chocolate, a shuriken, a straw hat, a giant claw and a frog. The odd assortment of options only served to strengthen Videl's belief that Bulma Brief was crazy. Eventually, the girl found what she was looking for: a button with what looked like a rocket ship painted on it.

With a trembling finger, the crime fighter pushed down on it, and was immediately launched backwards into the steel wall that was Son Gohan, just as a burst of fire shot out from the rear end of the submarine and sent it rocketing away from the onrushing sharks at blinding speed.

The muscular boy let out a gasp due to the fact that Videl had landed against a very soft and sensitive part of his body. On the bright side, at least now it wouldn't be such a struggle to keep it from rising. However, Gohan wasn't sure whether the trade-off was worth it considering how much dizzying pain he was in. Being no stranger to getting hurt though, the boy was able to keep the agony from showing on his face.

Videl, yet again completely unaware of her friend's extreme amount of discomfort, let out a relieved sigh once the great white sharks were left in the dust, and leaned back into Gohan's hard chest, not even caring that it would make their positions even more intimate. "Thank Kami Bulma installed turbo boosters," she breathed out, wiping the sweat off her brow.

"She's resourceful like that," Gohan ground out weakly.

When Videl deemed them to be a sufficient distance away from their pursuers, she deactivated the turbo. The pair of teenagers then took a few seconds to compose themselves.

"Anyway, now that that's out of the way, how close are we to the Dragon Ball?" Videl enquired.

With visible signs of struggle, Gohan reached a hand into his gi and pulled out the Dragon Radar. After looking it over, he let out a relieved sigh and a tiny smile. "What luck! That little stunt of yours moved us into the vicinity of the Dragon Ball," he explained in a relieved tone. "It should be a bit further west."

Videl nodded triumphantly, and manoeuvred the submarine in that direction. After a few minutes of comfortable travelling, the pair came across an enormous animal gently swimming through the sea. It was large – much larger than a house, and had a ridged white underside. The top half of the creature was dark blue in colour, and looked to be a fair bit smoother than its belly.

"A whale…" Videl breathed out in awe. "This is the first time I've ever seen one up close…"

"They are beautiful animals," Gohan said softly from behind her, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

Videl suppressed the blush that tried to form on her cheeks, and spent a few more seconds admiring the majestic sea creature. When she'd had enough, she looked back towards Gohan. "So, is the Dragon Ball anywhere near here?" she asked.

The spiky-haired boy looked at the Dragon Radar again before his eyes widened. He glanced down at the radar, then at the whale, then back to the radar. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of Videl's stomach as her mind started piecing together the clues. "Don't tell me…"

"… the Dragon Ball is inside the whale's stomach," Gohan said, finishing her sentence and handing her the Dragon Radar for confirmation.

The crime fighter sighed audibly. "Nothing is ever easy, is it? What the hell are we going to do now?"

Gohan scratched the back of his head and his features scrunched up as though he were deep in thought. "Well, I certainly don't want to attack the poor thing. It's wrong to kill animals unless you need them for food. That aside, I quite like whales." His shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm out of ideas."

Videl strained her mind to come up with a possible solution. After a few moments, a lightbulb went off inside her head. "Maybe Bulma has something in that capsule case of hers?" she suggested, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "You may be used to doing things the old fashioned way, but technology can do so much. With how insane Bulma Brief is, and if the stories of her brilliance are true, I wouldn't be surprised if she came up with something just for situations like these."

Gohan's face broke out into a wide smile. "You're right!" He reached into his gi top and pulled out the white capsule case, which he then handed over the Videl.

The girl took the offered item and opened it up. Eager blue eyes scanned over the contents of the case, looking for something that could be of use. After a while, her eyes picked up on a bright pink capsule that had a rather intriguing name. "Micro Band?"

Videl picked up the capsule and read from the label, "A watch that can shrink the person who is wearing it down to the size of a bug." Her eyes shot open. "Gohan! This is what we need!" At the boy's curious gaze, she continued. "With this, you can shrink down to a tiny size, go inside the whale, find the Dragon Ball, and get out! No harm done."

Gohan stared at his female friend blankly for a few seconds. "I never offered to do that."

Videl merely narrowed her eyes; the meaning behind the simple action clear as day: you don't have a choice in the matter.

Gohan sighed dejectedly. "Alright, fine. I'll do it," he muttered unenthusiastically.

Videl grinned. "That's the spirit!" The girl then looked over the pink capsule in detail once more. "What a fascinating invention... it would be perfect for espionage. I wonder what kind of amazing things it was used for?" she enquired.

"Beats me. You should ask Bulma," Gohan grumbled.

Videl just chuckled at his discomfort. "I just might. Anyway, since we don't have the space to do… well, anything in here, we need to go back above ground."

Gohan nodded. "Sounds good. I've already locked onto the whale's ki signature, so we're not going to lose the big guy any time soon."

Videl smiled. Finally, things were going their way. With a sense of eager anticipation, the raven-haired girl piloted the submarine back to the surface of the ocean. One it emerged from beneath the waves, she opened the cockpit and flew up into the sky, after which she breathed out a relieved sigh and stretched out her joints. "Man, I really needed that," she exclaimed.

"How do you think I feel?" Gohan muttered, having taken flight alongside the girl. You had even more room that I did. I was squished between you and the seat. It was… unpleasant."

Videl's body froze, and the crime fighter robotically turned her head towards her spiky-haired friend. She then levelled at him her most sickeningly sweet smile, which was actually quite ferocious and promised a great deal of pain. "Gohan… are you calling me fat?"

The muscular boy paled and his eyes shot open dramatically. "Are you nuts? No way!" he stammered anxiously, the worry in his voice almost tangible. "You're not fat! Not in the slightest! You're actually very fit, believe me!"

It was then that Gohan noticed what he'd said, and clasped his hands over his mouth.

Videl merely chuckled and this time gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you for the compliment, Gohan."

The boy sputtered a few times, before exhaling deeply and sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Ah, it was nothing," he mumbled nervously.

With another chuckle at how flustered her friend had become, Videl activated the Micro Band capsule, and when the smoke cleared it revealed her to be holding a small, pink, wristwatch-like device, with two red and blue buttons where the hands would usually be. "Huh. I wasn't expecting something so simple looking to be capable of something so amazing," she remarked.

Gohan pointed to his Saiyaman watch, to which Videl smirked. "I said something amazing, Gohan, not something lame."

At that the boy's shoulder's slumped, and Videl barked out a laugh. "Cheer up, Saiyaman. To tell you the truth, the outfit is growing on me, believe it or not."

Gohan perked up and grinned at the girl. "Would you like me to ask Bulma to make you one? She can have it done in no time at all!" he asked hopefully.

Videl gagged at the garish suggestion. "I'm not that far gone yet, Gohan," she stated seriously, only for the boy's grin to morph into a dejected frown. She smiled. "Anyway, we've dallied enough. Here, try it on," she ordered, throwing the Micro Band to her friend.

Gohan caught the pink object and placed it around his right wrist. He then took a deep breath and pressed the blue button. Videl didn't even have time to blink before her friend disappeared before her eyes. On closer inspection though, he was still there, he had merely shrunken to the size of her finger.

The girl grinned at the miniature boy, hovering in the air in his usual garb with an unamused frown across his features. "D'aww, look at how cute you are! Why, I could just pinch your cheeks!" she squealed in a voice very much reminiscent of Erasa.

"Please don't," a squeaky-voiced Gohan called out with a pout.

The smile never left Videl's face, even as Gohan returned to his normal size. "Well, at least we know it works," he commented.

He then flew down towards the submarine and took off his boots and the Saiyaman watch, which he deposited inside the cockpit. He then dug around behind the seat and pulled out a purple scuba mask, which he aptly placed on his head. Just as he was about to activate the Micro Band again, Gohan turned to Videl with an inquisitive gaze.

"Just how am I supposed to get inside the whale?" he asked.

Videl chuckled. "I thought you'd know. I mean, there's a reason Sharpner calls you Brains." At the blank stare the boy gave her in response she smirked. "Well as far as I know, there are only three options. You can go in through the mouth, in through the blowhole, or in through the ass."

Gohan blanched at the suggestions. "None of those sound too appealing…"

"Aww, come on, it can't be that bad!" Videl remarked, trying to lighten the situation. "You can just treat it as a learning experience. You like learning, right?" she teased.

Gohan merely shook his head, but the raven-haired girl noticed the tiny quirk of his lips. He gave his friend a brief wave and said, "I'll be back," before shrinking down to the size of a bug and diving into the ocean.

With his immense physical conditioning and enhanced Saiyan strength, Gohan was able to shoot down into the deep water like a rocket. He paid no heed to the various wildlife swimming in the area, wanting to get this task over with as quickly as possible. Within seconds, he spotted the whale, still casually floating about.

Gohan sighed inwardly as he contemplated the best course of approach. Videl was telling the truth when she said he was smart, but he hadn't exactly studied whales in depth before. The first thing he did was rule out an approach from the rear. He wasn't a masochist, and that was by far the grossest option. He could go in through the blowhole, but there was a chance he'd get sprayed out when he attempted entry. In the end, Gohan resolved to go in through the mouth. That was the safest, surest and least disgusting choice.

With a deep exhalation, Gohan steeled himself and swam towards the whale's mouth. Immediately, he was struck by just how enormous the animal was, especially after he'd shrunken in size. As he was now, Gohan wasn't even as big as one of the whale's teeth. He grimaced. 'This isn't going to be pleasant.'

Now that he knew the point of entry, Gohan had to figure out a way to get the whale to open its mouth. Various thoughts flashed through the demi-Saiyan's head, including tickling the beast, waiting for it to open its mouth on its own, and hitting it.

He instantly ruled out that last option, as he didn't want to cause the majestic mammal any unnecessary harm. He could play the waiting game, but he had no clue as to how long that would take. Tickling the whale seemed the least troublesome option, so that was what Gohan decided on in the end.

The demi-Saiyan swam towards the underside of the creature, until he was right underneath its ridged belly. Channelling some ki into his hands, he began gently rubbing the blubber, cringing slightly at the strange, rubbery texture. After a few seconds, he heard a whistling sound coming from the head of the beast, and hurriedly swam towards it.

Thanks to his haste, he was able to swim right into the whale's mouth just at its teeth blocked off the entrance. Once inside, Gohan levitated himself in the air and scanned over his surroundings. It was quite dark and difficult to see, so he turned Super Saiyan; the golden aura cloaking his body acting as a mobile light source.

To Gohan, it looked as though he'd stepped foot inside a humongous cavern. The ridged, red insides of the whale's mouth gave the place an ominous appearance, which was only strengthened by the pitch black tunnel that was the mammal's oesophagus. The floor, which happened to be the animal's tongue, was pinkish in colour and looked to have a very rough and squishy texture which made the muscular teenager glad that he knew how to fly. It certainly didn't look like something he'd want to stand on.

Gohan looked over his surroundings once more, and saw that there was only one way forward – through the whale's gullet. The exit was blocked off by two rows of long, thin teeth, which made the boy wonder as to just how he was going to get out of here once he found the Dragon Ball. He then shook the thought from his head. He'd cross that bridge once he got to it.

With a weary sigh, Gohan sped through the whale's cavern-like mouth and shot down its oesophagus. The light from his transformation illuminated the way, and he tried not to focus on his surroundings. The path he was travelling down was quite narrow, which meant it wouldn't take too much for him to touch the sides. While Gohan was by no means squeamish given all the shocking things he'd witnessed in his relatively short life to date, he still had no desire to rub up against a whale's innards.

Before too long the demi-Saiyan finally reached the end of the tube, and when he emerged from the passage he found himself inside another enormous area. With the golden light from his transformation, Gohan was able to make out a pudgy, reddish wall, and a floor that looked to be the exact same texture. It reminded the boy of a bouncy castle, and this comparison was only accentuated by the fact that the floor was… vibrating?

It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what this place was. Heck, the rancid smell alone almost gave it away. This what the whale's stomach, and it had clearly gone on an eating binge lately, if the scattered objects littering the area were any indication. Crushed metal, bones of all shapes and sizes, and various plants had found a home in the large creature's stomach. There was even a missile, snapped in half, lodged among the trash.

Gohan pinched his nose in an attempt to escape the putrid odour, and scrunched his face in disgust. "How did I get roped into doing this?" he grimaced. An image then came to mind of a demonic looking Videl, complete with two horns, a pointed red tail, a vicious smirk adorning her pretty features, and clad in a tight, red leather outfit. "Oh, that's how." He then blushed vividly at how erotic the Videl in his mind looked, and shook his head to get rid of the picture. This was not the time to be having such thoughts.

Fortunately for the boy – or unfortunately depending on how one looked at it – his present surroundings made it incredibly difficult to get aroused to any degree. They made for a stark reminder as to just what he was here to do.

With a scowl marring his expression, Gohan lowered himself to the bouncy-looking red surface of the whale's stomach, and began scanning the area for any signs of a Dragon Ball. Since he had left the Dragon Radar with Videl, as he was unable to take it with him, he had to search for the treasured orange object the old fashioned way.

And he had to do it while being the size of a cockroach.

With the grimace never leaving his face, Gohan dug around through the rubble. He looked through the wreckage of a car – however the hell that ended up in here – but to no avail. He crawled through a forest of seaweed, but there was no orange ball hidden among the greenery. He scanned over rotting fish carcasses, but was only able to find more guts and bones, which he'd honestly seen enough of for one day.

Just as Gohan was running out of places to search, and just as the frustration within him was building, he found what he was looking for, inside an object he wasn't expecting.

The Dragon Ball was hidden deep within the broken missile, near the very tip of the dangerous cylindrical object.

Feeling some semblance of joy at the fact that he would be out of here shortly, the demi-Saiyan flew down the narrow metal shaft of the weapon, until he came to a stop just before the spherical orange object that so many people had sought after over the years. While a Dragon Ball would normally fit neatly into his palm, now it was just a tad taller than him in height, and when taking into account the overall circumference of the object, was far larger than Gohan's shrunken body.

The boy, with his glowing aura bathing him in a golden cloak of light, felt a strange sense of awe as he gazed upon the fabled ball of legend, five red stars painted immaculately into its pristine surface. Gohan had always marvelled at what the Dragon Balls were capable of, but never before had he seen one look so… mystical. Then again, that might've been largely due to the fact that it was currently larger than he was.

With that thought in mind, Gohan placed his hands on the Dragon Ball in an attempt to pick it up. Given the size comparison between the boy and the ball, this was no easy task, and the demi-Saiyan struggled to find a good grip with which to lift the object. Eventually, after several frustratingly long minutes, he was able to use the combination of his arms and shoulders to grasp the large ball and hold it above his head.

Gohan then emerged from the narrow interior of the missile, hoisting the Dragon Ball above him similarly to how his father would hold up a Genki Dama. The flashing thought caused a brief smile to tug at his lips, but it left as quickly as it came once he remembered he wasn't in the clear yet. He still had to find a way out of this place.

The frowning demi-Saiyan glanced around the sea beast's cavernous stomach. A few small openings could be seen along the stomach wall, along with a much larger one directly opposite from the oesophagus. This tube was a sickly, yellowish colour, and when Gohan moved in closer to inspect it, his face took on a ghastly shade of green and he suppressed the urge to vomit.

The stench from the opening alerted the demi-Saiyan to the fact that this was most likely the whale's anal tract. 'Well I sure as hell am not going through there,' he mused internally.

Just as Gohan turned around and made his way back toward the oesophagus through which he'd entered the creature, a barrier of skin appeared from the edges of the gullet that blocked his passage. 'What just hap-'

Before Gohan could finish that thought, the area around him started rumbling. The floor and the walls shook intensely, as though an earthquake was happening in the belly of the beast. Since he was in the air, he was able to avoid the tremors, but he could still hear them; the sound reverberating through the walls. A whistling then reached the boy's ears.

Before he could gather his bearings, a horrific, brown, gas-like liquid bubbled to the surface from the floor of the stomach. Gohan's eyes widened. The rotten smell in the area increased to insane proportions, causing the demi-Saiyan to hold his breath.

He knew what was happening. There was only one possible way to describe it, and there was only one solitary thought that passed through his mind.

'Oh crap.'

With the Dragon Ball held high above his head, Gohan flared his Super Saiyan aura and rocketed through the only available exit… the anal tract, just as the sickening brown excrement followed suit. With the disgusting liquid pursuing him with a ferocious intensity – as though it was a Satan City police officer and he was a donut truck – he sped through the narrow tube, taking an extraordinary amount of care to not touch the sides.

Thankfully, despite Gohan's minuscule size, he still managed to keep all of his powers, including his speed. Because of that, he was able to stay well ahead of the stream of excrement, and before too long he hurtled out of the whale's anus and manoeuvred upwards, managing to avoid the vicious geyser of putrid brown gas that spurted out of the sea mammal's rear end.

Once he was sure he was completely safe, Gohan allowed himself to exhale deeply and reverted back to his base form. He then activated the Micro Band and breathed out another sigh, this time of relief, at having returned to his normal size. After taking a few seconds to compose himself, the boy grasped the Dragon Ball firmly in his right hand and shot up out of the water.

Am amused Videl was sitting cross-legged in the open cockpit, a strange smile spread across her lips. "Did you have fun?" she asked.

Gohan merely glared at his friend, but it was a half-hearted one at that. "I am never doing that again," he exclaimed definitively, tossing her the Dragon Ball.

Videl caught the palm-sized object and looked it over with her curious blue eyes. "Wow… so this is what they look like," she mused in suppressed awe. "To think that something small contains so much power…"

Gohan rubbed his temples warily. "I need a break. I'm hungry." The image of a brown cloud of rancid, gas-like liquid then appeared in his head, and his face took on a gross shade of green. "Actually, no I'm not."

Videl seemed to have heard him, and faced the boy with a concerned expression. "Is everything ok, Gohan? I trust everything went well down there?" she enquired.

He shook his head to get rid of the disgusting picture. "Everything went fine," he stammered weakly.

"Then what's that?"

A worried Gohan followed the direction Videl's finger was pointing, and cringed visibly at the sight of a familiar brown liquid pooling at the surface of the ocean. The implications were evident to anyone with half a brain. The boy closed his eyes and rubbed his temples once more. "Please don't tell anyone."

Videl let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry, Saiyaman, your secret's safe with me… so long as you go take a bath. Somewhere clean. Like right now."

Gohan simply nodded in resignation, glad for his raven-haired friend's secrecy. If Krillin, Yamcha, or even Vegeta found out he'd just been crapped out by a whale, they'd never let him live it down. 'Man, you'd think with all my powers, searching for Dragon Balls would be a breeze. I bet Dad never had to do anything like this when he went hunting for them.'


Omake – A Regrettable Reward

Two costumed tykes strolled casually through the busting metropolis that was Satan City, paying no heed to the startled stares they were receiving from its denizens.

One of the boys, who happened to be clad in a blue and white outfit with a gold helmet and red cape, was munching on handfuls of popcorn from inside a large black bag he was carrying. Meanwhile, his friend, who wore a similar outfit, only black and green with an orange helmet, was slurping away at a chocolate ice cream.

Despite the fact that the two pint-sized superheroes, Saiyaprince and Saiyaboy, were very much enjoying their food, they were also devastatingly bored.

"You know, the crooks here could at least put a little bit of effort into their crimes," Trunks remarked in a displeased tone. "I don't have to put even a bit of effort into stopping them."

Goten nodded in agreement as he bit into his ice cream. "Yeah, these guys are pretty weak. I don't know how my big brother doesn't get bored."

As the pair made their way down the sidewalk, a commotion from further ahead of them caught the boys' attention. "Somebody help me! That man stole my purse!" came a shriek from the distance.

Within seconds, a tall, lanky man sped in the direction of the two young demi-Saiyans, an ugly grin marring his already unpleasant face. In his grip was a bright pink purse.

As the thief tried to run past the two child superheroes, Goten stuck his foot out, right into the path of the criminal. The man tripped over the extended appendage, and with a girlish scream rolled over a few times in the air before plummeting face first into the pavement. Blood pooled around his head, but a quick check of his ki signature revealed him to be very much alive – just knocked unconscious.

The two demi-Saiyans, having already gotten used to sights such as this, merely continued on their way. As they passed by the hysterical women who'd just had her purse stolen, Trunks spoke up, "I just wish there was something really awesome we could do that would get us recognised and rewarded, you know what I mean? The people in this city see so much crime every day that it's become second nature to them."

Goten, who was just finishing off his ice cream, nodded once more. "A reward sure would be nice. I hope it's food!" he exclaimed gleefully, throwing away his popsicle stick.

After a few more minutes of walking, in which Trunks was nearing the bottom of his bag of popcorn, the pair heard yet another ruckus from in front of them. This time, instead of a shriek of panic, the duo heard several yells of anger.

The two demi-Saiyans then saw a large rock fall down from the sky, and when they trailed its source they spotted a smirking, red-haired teenager standing atop an overpass and throwing objects at the cars below.

Trunks dug into his bag and withdrew a lone piece of popcorn, which he then hurled at the adolescent menace with astounding force. The little morsel of food impacted against the teenager's forehead, sending him flying backwards and landing on the hard gravel with a thud. He too was knocked unconscious.

Like before, neither of the two disinterested superheroes commented on the situation, and merely continued strolling down the sidewalk. The older of the two scrunched up his now empty black bag and threw it into a bin with an exasperated sigh.

After several minutes of mindlessly wandering the streets, hoping to find something interesting to do, the children's attention trailed towards a new source of commotion heard nearby.

"Run for your lives! The monster's going to eat us all!" one man was heard shouting.

"It's so hideous! We have to get away!" another man called out.

"Just think of the children! Won't somebody please think of the children!?" came another weeping voice, this time a woman's.

With equally curious looks, Goten and Trunks dashed towards the source of the ruckus, and when they reached their destination were treated to the sight of several hysterical people fleeing from Hungry Hungry Hippo's, Satan City's resident all-you-can-eat restaurant. Ignoring the rumbling of their stomachs at the thought of food, the pair of superheroes rushed inside, ready to kick some ass.

What greeted them once they ran through the door was a rather unexpected picture – a gigantic, green pterodactyl with a blue-coloured back was seated smackdab in the middle of the restaurant, tables having been pushed thrown aside to make space for his enormous girth. The beast was greedily wolfing down whatever bit of food he could get his grubby hands on. Chicken drumsticks, pork ribs, steaks, fries, fruits and pastas among other dishes were gobbled up without mercy. The pterodactyl was ruthless.

A pudgy, moustached man wearing a chef's hat rushed towards the costumed Goten and Trunks. "You guys are friends of Saiyaman, right?" he asked, urgency evident in his voice. At their nods he got down on his knees and bowed before the children. "Please save my restaurant! This monster is going to eat me out of business! Not to mention scare away, or worse… eat my customers!"

Trunks smirked cockily. "This should be a piece of cake. Ready to go layeth the smacketh down on his candy ass, Saiyaboy?"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Goten cheered.

The pair of demi-Saiyans walked up to the giant creature, and the younger of the two pointed a finger towards it. "Hey you, Mr Bird, stop doing bad stuff, or we're gonna beat you up!" He then turned to his best friend. "Did I say it right this time?"

Trunks shook his head in response and sighed audibly. "No, dummy, you're supposed to threaten to kick his ass, not beat him up."

Goten tilted his helmeted head to the side. "But my mummy says I'm not supposed to say those words."

"Well she's not here to hear you, is she?" a grinning Trunks responded.

Before the younger boy could ponder his friend's reasoning, the pterodactyl had risen from his spot on the ground, and towered over the two kids. He spread his wings in a show of strength, making himself look even bigger than normal. "Just who the hell do you two brats think you are, interrupting my lunch?" he growled.

"I'm Saiyaboy, and he's Saiyaprince," Goten explained, pointing to himself and then to Trunks, who flashed the victory sign.

The pterodactyl grinned ferociously, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth, and snapped them menacingly at the two children. "I don't care about your names! You're nothing but food to me!"

"But you just asked us who we were, you dumbass," Trunks deadpanned.

The pterodactyl growled at the insult and raised his massive hand, which he then slammed down in an attempt to crush the pair of boys. Unfortunately for him, they casually stepped out of the way of the attack, leaving his hand to impact against the ground instead, breaking the marble tiles of the restaurant.

"You two brats don't know who you're messing with! I'm Giran the Great, and I used to be a finalist in the Tenkaichi Budokai!" he exclaimed with a savage smirk.

"So what?" Trunks retorted. "That doesn't mean anything unless you won the thing. I bet you lost in the first round," he taunted with a smirk of his own.

Giran let out an ear-splitting growl and turned his full attention to the elder demi-Saiyan. He attacked the superhero with a barrage of wild strikes that were dodged with ease. "Grrr, stay still you little freak!" he demanded.

Trunks stopped evading and levelled a confident smirk at the pterodactyl. "Ok."

Giran cackled and raised his hand in an attempt to crush the boy once more. When his colossal fist slammed down on Trunks' helmeted head, a sickening crack was heard. After a few moments of silence, the pterodactyl lifted his hand, which was now red, swollen and bent out of shape. "Owwww!" he screamed, blowing on his wounded fist as though it would soothe the pain. "What the hell are you made of?"

"Tougher stuff than you," Trunks grinned, crossing his arms for emphasis.

Giran shook his injured hand before an uneasy smirk split his face. "Pfft, that was a fluke! Let's see you try and stop me from here!"

The giant bird then began flapping his wings and flew up into the air, breaking the roof of the restaurant as he ascended to the sky. Once he was about 20 metres high, he cackled maniacally. "What are you going to do now?" he taunted the still grounded Trunks.

"Hiya!"

The startled pterodactyl whipped his head to the side, and was met with the grinning visage of Goten, who was floating seamlessly beside him. "Are you some kind of monster?" he gasped out disbelievingly, sweat forming along his brow.

The small demi-Saiyan shook his head. "No, I'm the Great Saiyaboy. And this is how you hit someone!"

Goten raised his hand much like the pterodactyl had done before, and slammed it down atop his head. The force of the blow sent the scaly bird plummeting towards the ground like a cannonball. However, before he could impact against the floor of the restaurant, he was punted back into the sky by Trunks' clasped hands.

What followed was a several minute-long game of makeshift volleyball between the two superheroes, with Giran being the ball. The dazed pterodactyl was launched up and down an incalculable number of times, with the pair of children displaying an impressive knowledge of the basics of the game; bumps, sets and spikes were all on display. There was even a serve thrown in among the regular hits.

Once the heavily bruised Giran was barely conscious, Goten caught the pterodactyl by the tail and held him up as though displaying a hunting trophy. "Hey Trunks, I don't think he wants to play anymore!" he called down to his best friend.

"In that case, get rid of him," Trunks ordered, crossing his arms in satisfaction.

Goten saluted his fellow demi-Saiyan, and tightened his grip on Giran. He then began spinning around in the air while swinging the wailing pterodactyl by his tail. To anyone observing the scene from down below, it looked as though a green tornado had formed in the sky.

Once Goten had deemed his speed satisfactory, he let go of Giran, sending the giant bird flying off into the distance and out past the horizon with the speed of a missile. Impressively enough, he was still conscious if the fading wails were any indication.

"Come back anytime you want to play again!" Goten called out, waving at the disappearing bird.

Once Giran had vanished from sight completely, the young superhero floated back down to the ground and gave his best friend a high five. Both boys were satisfied with their performance.

The moustached chef who had requested help rushed over to the two children and started bowing profusely. "Thank you so much! You two have saved my restaurant! If there's any way I can repay you, please let me know!

Goten and Trunks shared a look, identical grins forming on their youthful features. "How about you let us eat here for free?" the older of the two asked politely. "We're pretty famished after that."

"Yeah," his younger friend added. "We're starving!"

The chef gave the two boys his widest smile. "Of course, my young saviours! It's the least I can do! Take a seat at one of the tables that hasn't been destroyed by that fiend. I'll have my men bring out all the food we have!"

As he set off towards the kitchen, Trunks looked at Goten and smirked. "Wanna have an eating contest?" he asked. "The loser has to play a prank on my dad."

His best friend grinned in response. "You're on!


The wheezing pair of Goten and Trunks waddled out of the partly-destroyed restaurant, patting their bulging bellies contentedly.

"Man, that meal was awesome!" the older of the two exclaimed. "I can't remember the last time I've eaten so much."

Goten nodded in response. "Yeah. It's not as amazing as my mum's cooking, but it was still pretty good." He then pouted. "It's just a shame our eating contest was a draw."

"That's ok. I'll just kick your ass next time we compete at something," Trunks stated confidently, taunting his younger friend, who just laughed at the statement.

"Thank you for the meal, Mr Chef!" Goten chirped, waving at the moustached man, who happened to be sweating profusely. "We'll come back here again sometime!"

"P-p-please do," the chef said, his voice straining with effort.

Once the two pint-sized superheroes had taken to the sky and disappeared from sight, the man turned back towards his restaurant and sunk to his knees. "They've eaten everything… everything! Even next week's stock!" He placed his head in his hands and started weeping. "That monster may have destroyed my restaurant, but those two have eaten me out of business! And they didn't even pay a single zeni!"

The 'H' from the 'Hippo's' portion of the sign suddenly crashed to the ground beside the crying chef, missing him by a few centimetres and denting the concrete of the sidewalk. It was almost as though some higher power wanted to add to the poor man's misery.


AN: This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I originally intended, but I just couldn't bring myself to cut anything out. Hope you all enjoy it. Personally, I've always preferred the original Dragon Ball anime series to the far more popular Dragon Ball Z. I just love the adventure aspect of the show, and I tried to channel that spirit into the chapter.

That aside, while I had fun writing this chapter, I certainly didn't enjoy having to do research on whales to ensure what I wrote was factually accurate. A few of my Google searches included fascinating questions such as, "how do whales poop?", "what does a whale's stomach look like?" and "whale anatomy diagram".

Doing this research reminded me of just how important it is to be extremely thorough with your Google searches, unless you want to see something mentally scarring. Even then, I'm pretty sure the whale pooping scene wasn't as factually accurate as possible, as I didn't want to look too deeply into the subject. I'll just chalk it down to whales in the Dragon Ball world being different than whales in the real world.

The adventures of Saiyaboy and Saiyaprince will become a regular thing from now on, as long as I can keep coming up with interesting adventures/misadventures for the pair to take part in. If you have any suggestions for future scenarios regarding the two mischievous superheroes, don't hesitate to let me know. If I like your idea enough, I'll include it in the fic and give you the appropriate credit.

Anyway, to finish off this AN, I'd like to thank everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed this fic. It's you guys who give me the most motivation to keep writing, and it's your feedback that helps me become a better writer. As always, any further feedback would be very much appreciated.

Until next time!