The plot thickens, the tournament continues, and I still don't really know what I'm doing. :P

The Arena, recently fixed, the morning that the fighting starts again

This round would be Lorcan against Krillin. Just that fact set Adia on edge. Mirai had to remind her to calm down more than once-and, knowing her usual self-control, that was a lot. The rest of them sat in rapt interest.

"How much d'you think he's suppressing his power?" Krillin asked Adia before leaving for his fight.

"His power is at least ten times that I've seen of Frieza. I say 'at least' because I've never seen him at full power. He likes toying with his opponents, so I have no idea what he'll do with you. You may win, or you might nearly die. He's never given away his intentions for your fight." Krillin's eyes widened.

"Uuh . . . well, I guess here goes." He went down the stairs to the arena, followed by the cloaked man.

"And, begin!" called the announcer. Krillin took a stance. Lorcan simply wandered about the arena, looking up at the faces in the crowd.

"Hey, I'm your opponent. Might want to keep your eyes on me!" Krillin said, finally attacking. Lorcan turned and let Krillin hit him. When there was no reaction, Krillin backed off.

"I find humans to be very pathetic," he said. The otherworldly fighter then appeared behind Krillin, grinning madly under the hood of his cloak. Krillin went flying to the other end of the ring, almost out. Krillin had the wind knocked out of him.

"Whoa!" Krillin gasped. He went on defensive, focusing carefully. Lorcan slammed Krillin into the ground again, and despite his blocking, Krillin was nearly unconscious by the time the alien let up.

"Hmph. Just as I said. Pathetic. Care to give in, or should I throw you out of the ring?" he said, kneeling by Krillin's face.

"Ugh. . ." Krillin got up, shaking, and sent a ki blast straight past Lorcan. It boomeranged back to hit Lorcan, but he caught it in his hand and let it dissipate.

"Nice try." He picked Krillin up by the shoulders and threw him out of the ring.

"A-and the winner is Lorcan!" the announcer said. "Someone want to get this guy to the hospital?"

"I'm fine," Krillin said, standing up, "Just give me a few hours and I'll be ready to fight a hundred of him," he smiled weakly. Eighteen was out on the ring in moments.

"This is my husband, I'll take care of him," she told the medics. She then half-carried, half-dragged him out of the stadium, Gohan close behind.

"I'll take him to Capsule Corp. He'll be fine. Go watch the other matches," Eighteen said, getting ready to take off.

"Okay . . . see ya, Krillin."

"See ya, buddy." Gohan went back to see Piccolo and Adia facing each other in the ring.

"Have they started?" he asked.

"Just now. Hope Allurai doesn't get badly injured. That guy looks like he could do serious damage," said Sharpener. Mirai snorted.

"I'm more worried about him getting hurt." Gohan looked at Mirai like he was insane.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Piccolo can hold his own against any one of us for a while. He could outsmart her." Mirai shrugged.

"Nothing against him. I just think she's faster and stronger."

"Wait, Piccolo? As in Demon King Piccolo?" asked Erasa suddenly.

"He called himself MaJunior to keep from raising suspicion. He's no threat anymore, trust me," said Goku behind her. "After all, I'm the one who fought him off in the first place. He knows if he tries something, even if he wanted to, I'll be there with my entire family in tow. And he wouldn't want to deal with my older son," he grinned.

On the arena

Piccolo started right off with a blast to Adia's head. She caught it, amplified it with her own ki, and sent it right back. He dodged the blast, which hit the wall outside the arena with a crunching sound. Then the hand-to-hand came in. Her flexibility allowed her to find more openings than he expected. She didn't go Super, but they were definitely not on a level playing field. Most of the audience wouldn't be able to tell, but the Z fighters watched intensely as Piccolo slowly began to wear down. She sent small ki blasts point-blank at him whenever she could. He didn't have the time, with every attack she gave him. Piccolo lost honorably, but clearly. Adia bowed to him.

"It was a pleasure fighting a warrior like you," she said, holding her hand out to him to help him stand.

"Likewise."

"And the winner is Allurai! Congratulations! Next is the Gold Fighter versus Trunks Briefs!"

If anyone knew what was about to take place, they wouldn't have felt so sorry for the little boy in the ring.

"The two are pretty close, and they're not transforming. I actually think that Trunks might have a shot, depending on how much he's been training with his dad," Gohan commented.

"Against the Gold Fighter? Are you nuts?" asked Kevin.

"No. I just know them both really well. Capsule Corp helped us design our uniforms, so I met the kid. He's quite the fighter. So's his little friend here, from what I've heard," grinned Gohan, ruffling Goten's hair.

"Hey, stop it," the boy groaned. Meanwhile, Mirai turned to Trunks as they walked down to the arena.

"No transforming, but ki blasts are allowed. Got it?" the elder asked.

"Yeah . . . so I guess this is pointless. I know you're stronger than me because we're the same but you're older. You'll wipe the floor with me."

"Not really. I went through different stuff than you. I never trained with Dad until I came to this time. You've had a lot more people to spar with up till now. We're not technically the same." Trunks looked up at Mirai Trunks (he knew some of the other fighters still called him Trunks, but they were starting to refer to him only as Mirai. It made things less awkward, but still...)

"Still, we both know I'm going to lose. You're stronger by a lot."

"Power isn't everything. It's a lot, but it's not everything. We're not transforming, so that makes us almost evenly matched."

"Right." He seemed doubtful. Still, Trunks smiled as he faced his "brother".

"Begin!" shouted the announcer, quickly backing away from the arena. Every move was mirrored-a block for a hit, a dodge for a blast, constantly on an even playing field.

"Whoa . . . that little kid could wipe the floor with the entire wrestling team . . ." said Sharpener.

"You think so?" snorted Kevin.

"He could wipe the floor with half the human race," Adia added casually, "At the same time."

"Seriously?" Erasa asked, interested.

"Not everyone is as they seem in this tournament . . . Why do you think we wear masks?" Adia said, brushing her hair back from her face.

"I'll believe that when I see it," scoffed Kevin.

"To put it in perspective, the most powerful beings in this tournament aren't fully human or aren't human at all. The majority of said beings could destroy the planet in one blast. I suggest you stop laughing at what you don't know," said Marcus, glaring at Kevin from the corner of the room where he stood with Ventas and Lorcan.

Mirai had a lot of close encounters with failure, and this emboldened Trunks to try harder. The two began to get more violent, nearly destroying one another in the process.

"Heh, not bad, little bro," smirked Mirai. That was the first time he'd directly referred to Trunks as his brother. It came as a surprise to the little boy at first.

"Right back at you," Trunks smiled, blasting especially hard. Mirai took his chance, dodged it, and sent Trunks just out of the ring.

"And the winner is the Gold Fighter! Give him a hand!" Mirai helped Trunks up from the ground, and the two both returned to the viewing area.

"Good job," Mirai grinned on the way.

"Heh, not good enough, but that just means I'll have to train harder!"

Finally, Marcus and Goten headed out to the ring.

"That can't be allowed. Look how little he is," said Erasa.

"I was only a little older when I entered my first martial arts tournament," Goku said, shrugging. "It was different then, though."

"Sh! Let's watch," Trunks said, pressing himself against the glass to get a good look at his friend in the ring.

Goten took his stance immediately, not letting anyone know how scared he was. This would be his first opponent outside his family and friends. He knew this was a really bad guy, and he knew that he had to really work to win this one.

"Begin!" shouted the announcer almost apologetically. Poor kid, he thought. Little did he know . . .

The fight started out of nowhere. At first they were just standing, staring at each other, but in a snap they were moving at lightning speed.

"My, my. It's like the old days with Goku," Piccolo said, looking at the little boy.

"Yeah, it brings back memories," Goku grinned, looking down at the arena. "I'm proud of him." And even though he got thrown out of the ring, Goku told his son just that.

The next round's matches were posted on a large screen for the audience.

Eighteen vs. Saiyaman

Saiyagirl vs. Goku

Lorcan vs. Allurai

Gold Fighter vs. Marcus

Eighteen, having returned from getting Krillin to Capsule Corps, looked over at Gohan, eyebrows raised.

"Good luck."

"Likewise." Videl looked at Goku nervously.

"Hey, with your new power, you might actually beat me!" chuckled Goku. That eased Videl's nervousness a little.

Adia glared openly at Lorcan, shaking slightly, even though he didn't look at her at all. Mirai's eyes locked with Marcus's, and they nodded at one another.

"Talk about tension," muttered Piccolo, looking around.

"Now we will have an exhibition match-" Videl excused herself.

"There's something I have to take care of. I'll be back."

Most of the fighters ignored the exhibition. The Z fighters closed their eyes and listened to a different voice-one belonging to King Kai.

Fusion is when two fighters combine their powers and become one new being, body and mind completely together in a single person. The tournament isn't the end of this fight, you know. So each of you will be far stronger if you can combine your self with another person-this will give you an edge that you'll need against these guys.

King Kai, how can two people fuse? asked Gohan.

There is an art to it. It is called the Fusion Dance. The two people must mimic each other perfectly and match the exact poses of the dance in order to fuse for as long as they need. There is also an easier way, but it comes at a cost-when each of the people use one of the two earrings that the Kais created, they will fuse. However, the result is permanent.

You have to teach us the Fusion Dance, King Kai. If it's a chance against these guys, then we have to take it. Goku's eyes seemed almost to flash green.

All right, Goku. All of you will train telepathically as you dream tonight with the person in the group that is closest to your power level. We will continue on like this for the rest of the tournament-I hope it is enough. Vegeta glared upwards, as if at the Kai.

I will not lower myself to fuse with any of these imbeciles. Adia's eyes immediately stabbed him with a glare.

You will, Vegeta. Goku is the only one that has ever challenged you since the planet was destroyed-you two will likely be paired up to train. If you don't, we may not beat Lorcan. Would you like every Saiyan in existence to die? The Saiyan Prince did not respond.

Then it's settled. I'll set it all up tonight with everyone that I can, ok? The fighters all agreed.

That night, in Gohan's Dream

"Huh. Guess we are pretty close, power wise." Mirai shrugged. It was a plain white room where they stood.

"All right, King Kai, let's do this!" Gohan called.

"Hold on, let me get everyone else, ok?" The white room now had glass walls-it was connected to other rooms, each containing two people. There was Goku and Vegeta, Adia and Videl, and Goten and Trunks. Gohan stared at Videl.

"You . . . look good," he smiled at her. She blushed slightly. She'd gotten her hair cut during the exhibition, like Gohan had suggested. She then noticed something that bothered her.

"Why only the Saiyans and me? The other fighters are strong, too," Videl asked. King Kai sighed, but before he could answer, Adia spoke up.

"It's not that we don't think that, Videl, but you've seen human strength versus a Saiyan. It's the same with every planet they've invaded . . . I've seen it. Marcus created robots to deal with any, as he calls it, interference. Basically Lorcan's only goal is the destruction of the Saiyan race. However, he'll destroy humanity in this dimension if he feels we care about this world. That's where Marcus's military expertise comes in. He estimates the strength of the average human and then makes his robots impossible to defeat by a normal person-even though one of us could probably destroy it in a single blast. Our friends won't be useless-they'll be saving the rest of the world. I've seen that method before on other planets while I was their prisoner. We could destroy the fleet, but then we might not be able to take them on. They're just too strong to ignore." She glared at the white tiled floor.

"Right. Now, let's begin. . ."

Later

Gohan stared as his little brother and Trunks tried the technique again-and this time, they got it right.

"Fu . . . sion . . . HA!" A bright light flashed, and the two of them were gone. A new boy their age stood in their place-with looks that clearly stated that this was their fused form. And even though it was a dream world, Gohan could sense that power. It was incredible-and they weren't even Super Saiyan!

"Heh. This power's awesome." He smirked, and his voice seemed to carry both of theirs. "Call me Gotenks. Hey, big brothers, can I spar with you both now?" he grinned. Mirai and Gohan looked at each other, not really confused, but trying to process the idea. Their brothers as one person, that is.

"King Kai, how do they separate?" Videl asked, looking at them in awe.

"I'll separate them in this state, but in real life, it depends. If they'd fused in Super Saiyan form, they would likely be back to normal in about fifteen minutes. In their normal form, probably half an hour. If those of you with Super Saiyan 2 fused in that form, my guess is that you would have much less time."

"Let's try this," said Goku, grinning, "Just think of that power combined!" Vegeta's eye twitched.

"Only to get stronger," he muttered. Then he and Goku tried-and scarily, it worked. Scarily, because their power was frightening, even at a supposedly normal level. There stood a new Saiyan with a huge smirk on his face.

"Wh-whoa. That's incredible," Videl stammered.

"What should we call you, then?" asked Adia. The man had Vegeta's hair, but Goku's face, and he wore a combination of the orange gi and black pants.

"Vegito," he said. Gohan and Mirai looked at one another. (I prefer Vegito to Gogeta. Dunno why, just do.)

"First our brothers, now our dads," Gohan groaned in exasperation. It was just . . . weird.

"Let's mirror each other first," suggested Adia, turning to Videl, "Because I seriously doubt that I'll get it right the first time like them."

"All . . . right . . ." Videl said slightly nervously. They practiced it a few times until they were confident. Gohan and Mirai did the same, unwilling to just stand and watch.

"Fu-sion-HA!" Two bright flashes of light-one for each pair of warriors.

Now, rather than Gohan and Mirai, a new Saiyan stood. He had dark, short hair and violet bangs. He had a black tank top, a purple Capsule Corps jacket with the sleeves cut off, and plain training gi style pants. His face was reminiscent of Gohan, but his eyes were Mirai's.

Videl and Adia had become another fusion. A loose teal t-shirt and black leggings was her outfit. Her hair was short and black, but her bangs were streaked with white.

"The name is Miran," he said, clenching his fists and flexing his arms.

"Vidia," replied the woman, grinning ear to ear.

When each of them had separated, they looked at one another.

"This is amazing. Adia, do you think we might be able to beat him now?" King Kai tossed Goku the Potara earrings, in case they were short on time and had no other choice. Adia took a big breath.

"I wasn't so sure before. Now, we might."

Not too bad, right? The earrings are a special case that will come in handy, I promise . . . This chapter felt repetitive . . . ugh.

Sorry if it did. The next chapter begins the next round and some secrets revealed!