Dragonball Z: Legacies

by ALP113

Following that fateful day at the Cell Games, Gohan quickly realizes that the role of earth's protector is filled with many great trials and tribulations. Encountering new enemies and friends along the way, the young half-Saiyan comes to learn that being a hero can be tough, but at the same time... it can be a lot of fun. AU. Gohan/Videl or Gohan/Harem.

11. 7 Year Gap - Peacetime?

Author's Note: Well, with Broly currently in a coma and frozen in ice, and the other guy stuck inside a comet still on its way to earth, let's see what the Z-fighters are getting up to in their free time?

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Dragonball Z

Legacies

Peacetime?

The weeks following the World Martial Arts Tournament in which Gohan emerged the new Junior Division Champion saw some of the greatest days in the Z-fighters' lives. Thanks to his chance encounter with Paprika in the ring and with his father later that day, the young demi-Saiyan found an even greater sense of motivation to continue training to become even stronger than before. Though the Makyan wasn't an enemy that'd been able to push him to the absolute limits of his abilities, she nevertheless provided him a small glimpse of one of the many other unique creatures living out there in the universe.

This drove home the reality that Gohan needed to stay in shape and to keep pushing the boundaries of his capabilities to become an even greater fighter than he was now. That meant harder training, healthier living, and even more studying.

Funnily enough, his sudden boost in enthusiasm was so great that it'd seemed to filter out to all the other people in his life and spurred them on to do even more with their time. Krillin had started working double shifts at his construction job and was now dating Android 18#. Vegeta, albeit hesitantly and very discreetly, had taken to looking after his son Trunks more frequently and a bigger role in Bulma's life, even if it was only physically. Yamcha was hitting the clubs like there was no tomorrow and despite failing miserably at securing a long-term relationship you had to give the man props for perseverance. Not to mention Tien had begun visiting Kame House on a regular basis, dropping in every now and again with Chiaotzu to say hi to the old team and to check up on everybody.

Surprisingly enough, he'd even brought Launch around on one of his visits, someone whom the gang hadn't seen for years but had suddenly decided to step back into the limelight.

Things were really picking up for the entire group and this wasn't even counting the more personal aspects of Gohan's days.

Between his training, his work and his part-time studies, the demi-Saiyan now had another loved one around the domicile to look after. Goten, born several months after his father passed away, had become a new beacon of light for all those in the Son household and a defining element in Gohan's life; someone he would hold close and protect over the many years to come.

He was also someone that the demi-Saiyan wanted to share with the world. Once Goten became old enough to be taken out of the house, Gohan immediately took the youngster on a round trip of the world to introduce him to all of his friends and relatives.

With Mount Paozu being the starting point of their journey, the first person the demi-Saiyan approached was Icarus the dragon. A really old friend and companion who lived in a cave Goku had found for Gohan not too far from their house, the little horned flyer often stopped by to visit the teen whenever he was at home studying or outside training.

"Hey, Icarus. How's it going?" the spiky haired fighter greeted the little dragon, who stood in front of the two boys wagging his tail like a dog. Reaching up, Gohan petted the reptile on the snout, earning a cute purr and nuzzle to his palm in return. "Aww, I missed you too, buddy." He then held his baby brother up to the creature, making sure the tyke sat comfortably in the groove of his arm. "This here is Icarus, Goten. I met him many years ago on a camping trip with Krillin, Bulma and Oolong. He's a really good friend of mine. Say hi."

Understandably the younger brother was hesitant at first, shying away from the dragon when the mythical pink animal leaned in to smell him. The newborn murmured uneasily and gripped his brother's gi top in a clear sign of nervousness and apprehension, earning a chuckle from the eleven-year-old warrior.

"It's okay. He won't bite." Wanting to show his brother that Icarus meant him no harm, Gohan reached up and petted him once again, coaxing a pleasant shriek from the winged beast. "See. He's a good dragon." Showing his baby brother how he petted the reptile on the nose without being bitten, he slowly but surely encouraged Goten to do the same.

After a few tentative pets and pokes of the dragon's snout, Goten then gave a playful giggle when Icarus returned the child's gesture with an affectionate chirp and purr, ending with the flyer nuzzling the baby half-Saiyan in the cheek.

While Chi-Chi cheerfully watched on from her place by the door of her house, the two young Saiyans were also watched closely by Zangya, who was currently learning against the standalone pole of the family's washing line with her arms folded and a warm smile on her face.

In addition to introducing his baby brother to his neighbors, Lime and Mr. Lao included, Gohan also flew him to Capsule Corp and Kame House to meet the rest of their kin. The Briefs clan and the residents of Master Roshi's place were delighted to receive the newborn into their homes, with Vegeta stating in his usual tone that the eldest son had better raise Goten to be a great warrior. While Gohan had every intention of teaching his sibling many things, he was also going to be mindful of his choices and what the little one wanted to do with his life, rather than force anything upon him. This of course led to the Saiyan Prince scolding him for the hundredth time for being a weak willed Saiyan, which punctually ended in Vegeta getting yelled at by Bulma.

Goten had a really great time at Master Roshi's place after that. Not only did he get a chance to meet Krillin and Oolong, he also got to have a play with Turtle and Puar. The child had a blast crawling and messing around in the sand surrounding the island, while his older brother watched over him from afar and caught up with his teammate of many years. During that hour, Gohan told Krillin about the tournament, Goku's visit and everything else that'd happened in between. He also got a chance to say hi to 18#, who'd dropped by to visit for the day and to hang out with the folks on the tiny isle.

Following that cheerful visit, Gohan then took his younger brother up to meet Dende, Piccolo and Mr. Popo on the Lookout, where the guardian of earth was able to give his blessings and congratulate the youngster and the newest addition to his family in person. The demi-Saiyan's mentor also expressed fond wishes and tactfully smiled as he watched his student hold his baby brother proudly in front of his friend from Namek.

The pair stayed there for quite some time, with Goten finding an immediate interest in the butterflies fluttering about the flower gardens and one of the palm trees growing along the walkway. Eventually though, the raven haired Z-fighter had to leave, and with his sibling in his arms, carried him all the way back home.

From that day onwards, little by little, everybody's lives started to change.

XXX

(One and a half years later)

Sitting side by side at the desk in Gohan's bedroom, the practically inseparable teenage duo of the Z-fighters were currently perusing over the various texts and articles that was their schoolwork for the day. Having taken lessons under the demi-Saiyan multiple times before, the ever studious and spirited Videl didn't find the institute-like environment of the boy's study peculiar at all.

In fact, over the past year, she'd taken quite a shine to it.

Dressed in a large white shirt and a pair of jeans, with her hair done up into a ponytail, the famed daughter of the world champion Hercule Satan was presently chewing on the end of her 2B pencil while trying to solve a particularly vexing math problem. Glancing across at her tutor who was, at that very moment, doing some serious cramming of his own, she could see he was flying through the passages without any difficulty whatsoever.

When the boy in the long-sleeved, oriental white top and black pants sensed the girl's eyes boring into him, Gohan looked across at her and cracked a smile. "What's up, Videl? Are you stuck?"

The young fighter sighed and tapped the surface of her page, "I just can't get Part D of question eighteen… the one with the complex geometry sequence. Part A was easy, since it asked me to find the number of shapes and matches, but now the book's asking me to think ahead of the table and to try and find values that just aren't there."

Gohan smiled and leaned across to give her his two-cents on the matter. Without even having to read the question to realize the problem, he began running his pencil over her sheet, "It's essentially asking you to look for a basic number pattern while including the unknowns in the final answer. Just use the equation you were able to come up with in Part C, add the value of X to the formula, and you're home free."

Finally figuring out the answer after a quick look over, Videl shook her head and grinned. "Oh. I see! Thanks." She then began going through it as quick as she could, while at the same time being watched over by her ever cheerful friend and mentor. "Hey, this math stuff isn't so hard after all."

"Wait till you get to the Year 12 material. Then you're in for a real shock."

"Well… as long as I have you for a teacher, then I don't think I'll have anything to worry about," the teen replied, beaming across at the boy after only filling in a third of her answers. A smile framed her face as she fixed a warm gaze upon the Saiyan warrior. "You're the best, Gohan… at fighting and at schoolwork."

The young male chuckled and rubbed his head sheepishly, "You can thank my parents for pulling me in both directions."

Videl giggled as well and rested her chin on her hand, "You know what… I think I will."

While the pair shared a laugh with each other, they were unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of a familiar groan and looked over their shoulders to see Zangya standing by the bookshelf. Having apparently snuck into the room without their knowing, the pair saw the alien woman looking over the stacks of texts and flicking through a book on advanced chemistry.

Skimming over page after page, the Hera then breathed an exasperated sigh and shook her head, "I don't see how the hell you can understand any of this stuff. It all looks like incomprehensible gibberish to me."

Gohan rolled his eyes, "That's because you haven't learned anything about earth sciences… or any of the other prerequisite topics for that matter."

"Yeah, well… it's not like I need any of this math and theory stuff to butt heads with an intergalactic monster or anything like that," Zangya replied, smirking as she shut the text and slid it back into its place with the others. Placing a hand on her hip, she then turned to smile at the teenagers working at the desk, "I'm into more simple things, like entertainment, clothing, fashion, and television… stuff like that. At least with those things I don't have to think so hard and can understand what's going on."

The raven haired girl shook her head, "Maybe you should think about getting a job in one of those areas." She then raised an eyebrow, "You… alien guys do work, don't you?" Her inquisitive gaze then switched over to Gohan, whom she saw scratch his head thoughtfully.

"Well… I know that Piccolo doesn't work. He just flies around from place to place and meditates most of the time. But that's normal for him. Dende's the guardian of the earth so there's no helping that. Mr. Popo is his advisor, Krillin's part-time in construction like me, Tien's working as a farmer with Chiaotzu, and Yamcha has gotten back into Major League Baseball. As far as I'm concerned, the only one who's currently living somewhere but not working is Vegeta."

Videl scoffed at that, "Bulma should think about kicking that guy out of the house to go find a job… or at least something constructive to do with his life."

"Yeah. But think about the resume he would have to type up," the hybrid warrior replied before beginning to scroll through the air with his hand in marketing fashion. "Name: Vegeta. Education: None. Employment History: Prince of all Saiyans and foot soldier under the Planet Trade Organization run by Lord Frieza, who is currently deceased. Hobbies: Training and beating people to a bloody pulp." The more he said the more Videl had to stifle her laughter, as did Zangya. "Trust me. The last thing you want to see is that guy in a MgRonald's uniform doing customer service."

"Actually… that would be the first thing I would want to see," Zangya snickered behind the demi-Saiyan, who was also grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah. Me too," Videl also said.

"Okay, okay, cards on the table; that would be pretty funny. But in all seriousness, I don't think he would be able to hold down a decent job without leveling the place he'd end up working at." To be frank, he was more concerned about the customers and the people Vegeta would be 'helping', rather than the Saiyan Prince himself.

That guy could walk through just about anything with barely even a flinch. The only thing he couldn't really take was social activity, due to his prideful nature and violent upbringing. It was a character trait everyone had come to tolerate over the many years of knowing him.

"Vegeta is the highly competitive type. Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us," Gohan continued, shrugging while fixing his attention back onto his work, but not before glancing at the still grinning Hera behind him. "I'll show you how to write up a resume after our training session this afternoon, okay Zangya?"

The orange haired woman nodded, "Sure."

With a plan made and set, the half-Saiyan and his best friend returned to their studying. But just as they were starting to get into their routine again, the hybrid warrior was once again interrupted from his reading when he felt a tug on his shirt. Looking down to his right, he saw the familiar face of his kid brother, adorned in a similar oriental outfit he'd worn when he was younger, beaming up at him.

"Oh, hey there, little man," Gohan exclaimed, reaching over and gently picking the happy Goten up. "When did you get here?" The sight of the child inevitably drew Videl and Zangya's attentions over to him as well.

Videl giggled, "Hey, Goten."

"Wow. For a toddler he sure gets around a lot," the Hera-seijin chuckled, watching as the older brother sat his sibling in his lap. As soon as he did, the Goku miniature reached up and started playing with his older brother's face, making boisterous noises at the same time. "What an energetic little runt."

"Yeah. Ever since he learned how to walk he's been running up and down this house like there's no tomorrow," Gohan chuckled, feeling Goten pull at his cheek before reaching over to play with Videl's finger when she reached over to poke him. After playing around with his older brother and sister figure, the child then turned in the half-Saiyan's lap and focused his attention on the sheets of paper in front of him.

Looking them over, he then pointed at a document and looked up at his brother, "Oh, oh…"

"Hm?" Gohan's eyes fell on the paper Goten was pointing at. "You want to learn how to do math as well?" The vigorous nod the child gave next was all the answer the demi-Saiyan needed and he quickly shuffled them forward. "Alright then, squirt. If that's what you want. Most of this stuff is a little bit too complicated for you, so let's start off with something simple." He then one-handedly pulled up a blank sheet of graph paper and began writing big numbers on it. Once he was done, he then pointed to the first, "Okay, Goten. Welcome to your first day of school…" He then bounced the boy on his knee, earning a playful laugh from the toddler, and directed the child's gaze to the worksheets in front of him. "See this? This is the number one. Can you say that, Goten? One?"

Pointing down at the number, the half-Saiyan child made a few happy sounds and poked the symbol made in pen. "One…"

"Yes. That's good. Well done." Gohan then playfully poked his baby brother in the side, drawing another giggle from him.

Crawling his hands forward on the desk, Goten then pointed at the number next to the one Gohan had drawn. "One. One."

"No. No. That's the number two," Gohan chuckled, a light laugh also leaving an observing Videl's lips as she watched the young warrior lead his kid brother through the texts. "Two comes after one. One… two." He showed Goten on his fingers before then pointing down at the number. "This is the number two."

"Two," Goten repeated, pointing at the scribble.

"Yes. That's the number two," Gohan continued, before then pointing at the others. "All of these are numbers. Numbers are what we use for counting, adding and taking away stuff, which is really important for us. These are only the first ten." He then smiled at his baby brother, who gazed at him with that curiously cute expression of his. "Do you understand, Goten?"

Blinking a couple of times as he processed his older brother's words, the toddler looked back at the paper, glanced over the numbers, before smiling and then pointing at the one at the end. "TEN!"

Gohan smiled brightly in response, "Yes, Goten. That's right."

For the next hour after that the older brother spent playing with his brother at his desk, going through all the small numbers with him and even making a little game out of it. During this time, Videl also played around with the little tyke, getting him to read a few words to help with his vocabulary before then moving back into her work, while Zangya pottered around close by.

As the orange haired female was busy engrossing herself in one of the novels Gohan kept close to his main collection, she suddenly felt a tug on her pant leg and looked down to see Goten standing right next to her. Obviously having had his fill of playtime with his older counterpart, the toddler immediately went over to the woman he'd often seen wandering around their property, and decided to hang out with her for a little while. So, smiling cutely at her, the hybrid began playfully clapping his hands onto her leg as she set the book down beside her.

The Hera smirked, "What? See something funny, little man?" When the boy stared up at her curiously, inspecting the girl's face and hair, the child then giggled and clambered up onto her leg. Not wanting him to hurt himself, Zangya helped the young explorer up till he was sitting on her lap and facing her. "Goten, huh? It's nice to finally meet you," she spoke in a mature tone of voice, one that had the baby laugh and wave his hands around. Upon which the warrior woman then gave the child a nod of greeting. "I'm Zangya. I used to be your big brother's enemy, but now we're good friends and sparring partners… and that means I'm a pretty tough cookie. So you better behave yourself, mister."

Staring at her quietly after her little warning, the young Goten then tilted his head a couple of times before, from out of nowhere, he smiled brightly and reached out to the woman. "Zangya-oneechan."

His exclamation had the Hera recoil, "What? N-No. Wait a second. I'm not your…"

"Zangya-oneechan."

"Oneechan-nothing, you little runt. It's Zangya. Just Zangya."

"Zangya-oneechan!"

"No, God damn it! I'm not your big sister. Geez, did your annoying brother tell you to call me that?" the orange haired woman growled, earning a giggle of amusement from the child who then pulled on her hair when he managed to grab some. "Ow, ow, ow. Don't do that." Quickly freeing herself from the boy's surprisingly powerful grip, the Hera then tried to stop the kid's flailing hands with her own. It was then she noticed Gohan and Videl looking at her from across the room, the former grinning while the latter was trying to stop herself from laughing.

The sight of the pair staring at her had Zangya blush and turn away to try and hide her embarrassment. "Not a word to anyone-OW!" Her lapse in attention allowed Goten to grab hold of her hair a second time.

XXX

(Several Days Later)

"Your brother is really adorable, Gohan," the chirpy voice of Lime spoke up as she and Gohan watched the little Goten play out in one of her village's meadows. Smiling brightly when she saw the child scamper after a grasshopper, the girl in the yellow dress beamed up at the raven haired hybrid standing alongside her. "He reminds me so much of you."

The young male adorned in the white oriental shirt chuckled, "You think so?"

"Of course. I mean, haven't you noticed the similarities?" the brown haired girl asked, shuffling closer to her friend while they leaned against the stone fence surrounding the pristine field. "His expression, his eyes, his smile, his laughter… they're all the same as yours. The only thing that's a little bit different is your hair." She then reached up and tugged on one of her pigtails, a gesture which drew the boy's attention over to her. "Yours is really not that far off from his."

"I guess you're right," Gohan replied, smile widening as he then reached up and pulled at his locks. "I'm still trying to think of a new style to put it in. This one's kind of lost its pizzazz"

"Hmm…" Lime massaged her chin as she looked at her friend from an angle. When she saw him turn to her so that they were face to face, an idea quickly popped into her head and she grinned. "You should go with the style you had in your blonde haired form; the one where it was all spiked up and standing on end."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But make it a little bit shorter. That way it won't get caught on anything while you're fighting or running around," the girl replied, at the same time reaching up to brush some strands out of the way. "I'm actually thinking of getting mine cut too."

Gohan gave her a more considerate look immediately after she said that, "You don't need to get it done right away. I think your hair looks great the way it is."

The child blushed a little from his compliment and glanced up at the teen, who remained blissfully unaware of the significance behind his little remark. "Really, Gohan?"

"Uh-huh," the teen nodded, at the same time smiling at her cheerfully.

Running her fingers over the braided locks hanging next to her, the girl in the yellow and white polka dot dress nodded her head in acknowledgement of the boy's statements, "Thanks. I'll… I'll think about it." It was then Lime turned to him with a brilliant smile on her face, "Hey. My good friend Miyagi-san is really good at cutting and styling hair. You could come down and see him if you want to get a trim sometime later. I'd probably be able to get you a good discount for it."

The half-Saiyan considered her words for a moment, upon which he then responded with a shrug, "Sure. Why not? I think I'd like that." He then grinned at her, "Thanks, Lime."

"Anytime," the girl chirped.

Returning his gaze to the field while his friend beside him laced her fingers in front of her and rocked from side to side in a bashful manner, Gohan saw his little brother fall onto the grass and giggle when the grasshopper he was chasing landed on his nose. For the next few minutes after that he and Lime watched the child roll around and try to catch the little critter, this time going after him on all fours like a cat.

After standing there and seeing the child scramble about all by his lonesome, Lime decided to get up and have a bit of fun as well. Giggling when she hopped out onto the grassy field, the teen then hunched her back, brought her hands up into claws and gave a mock growl, at the same time advancing on the spiky haired youngster. "Rargh. I'm coming to get you, Goten."

Seeing the girl approaching him in a very Godzilla like manner, Goten gave a startled cry and ran for it. Laughing boisterously, he started running round in circles with the brown haired girl in hot pursuit.

Watching the pair jogging laps around each other caused Gohan to laugh and shake his head. "Just like Videl," he thought, remembering the time his best friend did something very similar with his brother a few weeks ago.

Even though she and Lime looked completely different, they were still alike in many other ways, right down to their hotheaded and feisty personalities.

Deciding to join in as well, the spiky haired Saiyan ran out and spoke up in a heroic sounding voice, "Don't worry, Goten! I'll save you!" Skidding to a stop when his little brother ran up to hide behind his leg, the boy leaned over to scoop up the child before being tackled to the ground by Lime. Making sure to loosen up so he didn't hurt the girl by accident, the group of three laughed outright as they began play fighting across the ground.

Even though the weeks out in the Mount Paozu region were often slow and mundane, it was days like this that the half-Saiyan and his friends enjoyed the most …

XXX

(A few weeks later)

Standing underneath the shade of an apple tree not too far from the Son family home, which could be seen sitting peacefully at the bottom of the hill, a certain white-haired figure had unexpectedly dropped by for a visit. With her arms folded, red scarf hanging around her neck and adorned in the same figure hugging uniform she'd worn to the World Martial Arts Tournament, Paprika currently had her sights set on the small, dome-like structure and the family she could see playing around in front of it.

Over the past several months, the Makyan had been making frequent trips from her training spots scattered across the continent to this place. Every time she did, the young demon always made sure to keep her distance, while at the same time suppressing her energy level as low as possible. This was to make sure that the people in the area who were capable of reading ki signatures didn't pick up on hers while she was watching them, a technique she affectionately referred to as 'stealth mode'.

After all, she was neither a friend of theirs nor was she an acquaintance of their group, especially to the spiky haired teenager living in the little shack he called home.

"Look at that brute; acting all happy, innocent and cheerful," Paprika thought, eyes narrowing as she watched Gohan, currently dressed in Piccolo's gi, crawl around on the grass with his baby brother sitting on his back. When she saw the teen giggle as his brother happily tugged on his top like a reign, the Makyan frowned, "Well you don't fool me, you orange-wearing trash. I know exactly what kind of person you are." Also watching them from a few yards away was their mother, Chi-Chi, and the Hera female standing alongside her, the former of whom was smiling warmly at the sight of her two children playing together.

The reason Paprika dropped by today was simple. She was keeping tabs on her arch enemy's training regimen to see how much stronger he was getting. By dropping in every now and then to get an update on his progress, the Makyan was able to gain a firm grasp as to how much more powerful the boy was getting in comparison to her. Considering how often he exercised every morning, noon and night, she suspected he had to be getting somewhere with his workouts.

As a result of her incredibly discreet observations, over the past several months the girl had noticed a subtle increase in the boy's power and skill, which irritated her somewhat because it appeared that his strength was growing at the exact same rate that hers was. The fact that he kept his power level suppressed most of the time and rarely transformed into a Super Saiyan during his training sessions made the process of getting an exact bead on his power increases all the more frustrating for her, as she couldn't get an accurate reading from him.

However, determined to learn more about her nemesis in order to prepare herself for the next time they met, Paprika persisted. Coming to the same spot in the middle of every week, the girl would take up position under the same tree, stand there for the entire day, and watch him.

Sure, every now and again she would break away to get some meditation and Image Training in to keep up her strength, but for most of those twenty-four hours she would stand there and observe his actions. And each and every time she did so she found herself baffled by the fact that such a powerful warrior, who's fighting spirit was capable of matching any seasoned martial artist, could regress to such a childish ball of innocence.

"He's like this every single day. When he's not focusing on his training, he's always bouncing around and grinning like an idiot. It's absurd," Paprika grumbled in her head, looking on as another hour ticked by and she saw the teen walk back into the house with his family.

From her spot she watched Gohan return to his desk at his bedroom window to study. Though she couldn't see exactly what he was working on, she knew that it had to be one of his more advanced literary titles. She could also sense the mother was inside the house pottering around the dining area, along with that orange haired woman who seemed to be occupying herself in the living room.

Things quieted down from that point onwards, leaving Paprika standing on the hill in silence. Continuing to watch the house like a hawk, the white haired Makyan became so engrossed in her studying of her enemy's mannerisms and activities that she failed to notice a presence sneaking up behind her. It wasn't until a few seconds later did she eventually pick up the sound of a giggle, which had her turn around slowly and look down.

It was there she saw the one year old Goten standing there in green and yellow oriental clothing smiling up at her.

"Hello," the hybrid child exclaimed, eyes shimmering in wonder as he stared up at the Makyan.

Paprika, not at all surprised by his appearance, acknowledged his presence with a notable air of caution.

Straightening up and puffing her chest out, she fixed the boy with an impassive gaze. "Go away." Receiving nothing but a giggle in response, the Makyan frowned even deeper and waved at him. "Go." Unfortunately this didn't have any effect either as little by little, Goten ambled towards her. Paprika shook her head at him. "No. Go away," she said in the nicest and calmest voice possible.

However, despite her best efforts, she was unable to do anything when the demi-Saiyan suddenly latched onto her legs and hugged her, causing Paprika to recoil a little.

The demon scowled down at the boy wrapped around her shins. "I don't like children."

Her words were promptly ignored… or simply misunderstood. Because as soon as he was done hugging her leg, Goten held his arms up towards her and made a grabbing gesture with his hands. "Up. Up."

With an exasperated sigh, Paprika hesitantly reached down and picked the needy child up, yet held him at arm's length just to be safe. Using the opportunity to her advantage, she spent the next couple of minutes analyzing the boy, looking him over while he stared back at her innocently. After a long pause, the Makyan grunted. "It's so… ugly you can almost feel sorry for it." Despite her rather harsh comment, Goten simply smiled back at the girl and laughed joyously, earning a raised eyebrow from the white haired fighter.

Bringing him in to get a closer look, Paprika was caught a little bit off guard when the half-Saiyan reached forward and grabbed the horns on her head, giving them a light squeeze. The Makyan blinked a few times when she felt Goten hold them and eventually let go, allowing her to lean away and look down at the child, who continued to use his hands to explore her shoulders. Tugging on her scarf, the child eventually allowed his hands to fall back to his sides and beamed at the stranger.

Once she was sure the hybrid was satisfied, Paprika gently set him to the ground and watched him turn away. "Go along. Go. Go." She then allowed the child to scamper off, the youngster jogging back down the hill and towards the house. Goten soon became interested in a couple of butterflies fluttering about and decided to chase them instead.

Paprika looked on as the child went about playing in the pasture, narrowing her eyes and watching the tyke chase after a wide variety of insects. During that time she found her gaze pulled across to another part of her hill, where she spotted Gohan's Namekian friend Piccolo standing nearby with his arms crossed and his glare fixated upon her.

Merely frowning at the former guardian of the planet and not too keen on starting something out here with him, the Makyan returned to watching the house quietly.

As it turns out, her sleuthing during the past half a year hadn't gone completely unnoticed.

XXX

(Meanwhile)

In a spiral galaxy millions of light years away from earth, far out of reach of what was previously recognized as Frieza space, there floated an enormous planetoid. Larger than earth and completely artificial in its composition, the terrestrial world had the appearance of several planets molded together to form a multi-sphere like planet, which had several moons and asteroid belts orbiting it. Looking at it from a distance, not only were there signs of massive expansion and construction, but the billions of lights dotting it from the Northern-most hemisphere to the south indicated a thriving populace and a bountiful empire living on its surface.

The five-planet structure was in fact one huge city, and the capital of the empire that existed in this part of the universe.

Past the traffic moving around it and through its artificial magnetic field and atmosphere, were countless miles of city and metallic landscape. It was literally a scene taken right out of a sci-fi film and multiplied a thousand times over, with no two buildings bearing the same design.

While the billions of people moving through the streets and vehicles crisscrossing the skies was indeed an impressive sight, what was even more extraordinary was what lay in the heart of the community.

The empire's parliament. Jutting into the sky like the Tower of Babble itself, with an open reactor built into its side that had a tiny sun glowing between its stabilizers, a dome-like structure at its base, and countless other buildings lying underneath its shadow, the place pretty much screamed 'command center'. It was here, in a chamber somewhere on the ground floor, the rulers of the planet and the heads of government were holding a very important meeting.

It was this particular gathering that a very familiar, glowing haired young traveler was hoping to crash.

Strolling down the well-lit corridor in her figure-hugging plug suit, passing by a multitude of aliens left and right, most notably guards adorned in Saiyan Battle Armor and helmets, the cheerfully humming Kana was slowly making her way towards the room. Whistling to herself a jaunty tune, one she'd come to favor from the variety of music she'd downloaded from earth, the young woman was all set to intrude on the assembly.

That was until a voice from behind caught her attention.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

Glancing over her shoulder, Kana's gaze fell upon a person she almost immediately mistook for Frieza. However, after a moment of inspecting the short alien figure with the horns and tail, she saw that, despite bearing a striking resemblance to Frieza's first form, the mercenary differed from the tyrant in a variety of different ways. Chief among which included his red skin with white carapace pieces covering his cranium, chest, torso, hips, forearms and shins, a couple of which protruded from his shoulder and hip areas, and horns growing from the sides of his head. The pieces were also decorated in purple plates, much like the feared alien conqueror before him.

Despite the newcomer's intimidating appearance, the taller Kana recognized the person as a close companion of hers and smiled in greeting. "Hey, Froze. Long time no see."

"Yeah. Long time." With his tail swishing behind him and arms folded, the alien fell in step with the glowing haired girl and smirked in her direction, "It's certainly been a few months since the last time you were here. If you actually dropped in more than once every yellow moon, we wouldn't have to greet each other in the same manner over and over again."

"What? In a hallway heading up to the main office to hand in our annual reports?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah well… there's a lot to see and do out there in the universe and I've only explored a hundred-thousandth of it… so you know I've got a lot more to do on my list," the Seirei replied, beaming brightly while brushing a few strands of radiant locks out of her face. "Besides… you wouldn't believe the kind of people I've met over my last year of travel. It was great."

"I'll bet. You always did have a friendly and approachable air about you," the Frieza lookalike replied while closing his eyes, continuing to walk alongside his colleague as they passed by several more guards and began advancing upon a large set of doors at the end of the hallway. "Of course, considering our line of work, I can only imagine the kind of characters you could've possibly run into while hopping from planet to planet." The carapace alien then raised a brow, "Speaking of which, what kind of worlds did you end up bagging this time around?"

"Only a handful," Kana replied, turning to the tailed alien while holding up what looked like a USB device for him to see. The sight of the chip quickly had Froze's attention. "Most of them didn't have any guardians, so I grabbed them before anyone else had a chance too. One of them was a small rocky planetoid with an actual magnetic field and had a small race of marsupials living on it. The other one is a world made up entirely out of ore."

"Sounds like you got yourself a good catch."

The Seirei nodded her head enthusiastically, "And what about you?"

"Only a couple. One of them was a forest world that was orbiting a gaseous giant with a race of blue cats living on it and a moon with pure silver dust covering its surface. Out of the ten, those were the only two that I was able to flag that had any sort of safeguarding value."

"Aww, lucky. You actually managed to get a Terra type?"

"Uh-huh. Disappointed?"

"Of course I am. How could a newbie like you get his hands on a forest planet?"

"Simple. You just need to know the right people. It's your fault for not going to the outer reaches of the Northern Quadrant in the first place, so stop whining and let me savor the moment," Froze replied with a cocky smile, at the same time stopping before the giant doors and showing the guards his credentials. "You'd be surprised at what you can find out in that part of space."

After flashing her holographic I.D to the heavily armored men at the gates, the glowing haired girl glanced across at the tailed scavenger brightly, "If you ventured to the regions of space I visited, I'm sure that you'd be in for one hell of a shock." Kana's remark had the tailed alien look at the glowing haired traveler in confusion, moments before the two guards opened the doors for them.

Entering a large, circular chamber with a spotlight illuminating the middle of the hall, the two freelancers quickly noticed a collection of figures sitting behind a length of desks at the back. Adorned in decorated armor and robes, and positioned high up on the bench like they were on a pedestal, the group of aliens was currently going through a series of hologram-like documents and engaged in an intense discussion with one another.

Quietly approaching the center and stepping into the spotlight, Kana and Froze waited until the group of leaders acknowledged their presence. As it turns out, it was the one sitting on the highest bench, a tall man with effeminate features, teal skin and white hair tied back into a ponytail, who spotted them first.

"Ah. Kana. Froze. I was expecting you two to show up eventually," the alien spoke up in a cool sounding voice, a small smile crossing his face as he set his holo-pad down to address his visitors. "It's great to see you again."

The moment they fell under the leaders' gazes, the carapace alien and the glowing Seirei bowed to them in greeting.

"Chancellor Ging," Kana said, smiling up at the planet's head as soon as she returned to a proper standing position. "You're looking well. Did you get a haircut?"

The man on the bench chuckled, "I could ask the same thing about you, Kana. It's been two years, but you still look like the same, radiant freelancer I remember seeing the last time you visited. You're wearing the exact same uniform too." He folded his arms and leaned forward on the table to peer down at the travelers. "You Seirei truly are one of a kind."

The compliment had the radiant being roll her eyes, "That's probably the twentieth time you've said that to me. You should get out more often and hit the bars instead of keeping yourself cooped up inside this dingy tower. Honestly, the lack of sunlight is starting to show." She then waved a finger at the leader playfully, earning an odd glance from the composed Froze standing beside her.

"I'll make a note of that," Ging replied, adjusting his seat and looking between the pair curiously. "So… I assume your missions to your parts of space were successful."

Kana smiled and held up her USB stick, at the same time the tailed alien next to her reached behind him and pulled out a circular box. "Bit compiled a full, detailed record of my journey through Sectors 10 through 30 of the Northern Quadrant. I even managed to gather some new data on my way through. It took me a while, but I managed to get it all in order."

When the girl approached the desk and floated up to the chancellor's level, the teal-skinned leader raised an eyebrow in interest, "I trust you didn't run into any trouble while you were flying through those regions over the past year. Perhaps you landed on a couple of 'hot spots' that prompted you to delay your return to Valkorra."

The man's inquiry had Kana shrug brazenly, "You know me. I just couldn't resist stopping by that resort planet for a little R&R. It was great." She added to this by giving the man a wink.

"I'll bet it was," Ging murmured blankly, reaching over and collecting the piece the girl handed to him before setting it down on the tablet in front of him. "Word on the band said that you also encountered something very interesting while investigating Terra 4032-877… something about… battling a golden-haired warrior of a believed to be a now extinct race." He then tilted his head at the young wanderer with a smile. "Care to explain that little discrepancy to us?" You could tell from his expression that he was more than interested in the subject, as were the rest of the men and women who were present.

Smiling mischievously, the glowing warrior flicked her hair out of the way and gradually descended back down to the floor, "Sorry, boss. I'm afraid that that's a little story for another time."

A chuckle shortly followed her response, "Fair enough. Either way, I trust that you were able to handle the situation accordingly." He then took the USB stick and shoved it into his board, at about the same time Froze approached the bench.

The tailed alien held his circular pad up to the leader, at the same time levitating off the ground to reach him. "When can we expect payment on these units?"

Ging, taking the device from the carapace traveler, smiled in his direction, "Impatient as always, eh Froze?" Meeting the unflinching gaze of the young warrior, the teal-skinned ruler of the Planet Trade Organization waved at him. "Don't worry. We'll be sure to transmit the necessary funds over to your account as soon as these worlds have been processed, which should take about seven to ten days. I'll have the military send out an expedition party to the planets you've added to the registry and see to it that they're set up for preservation." Seeing the short alien bow in response and float back to the ground to rejoin Kana, the leader quickly went about processing the data on his pad.

However, just as he was about to sign the pair's submissions and file them away for safe keeping, there was a loud beep from his desk which quickly had him look down and engage the communicator. "Yes?"

An anxious voice stammered back over the radio, "Chancellor Ging. We've got a Code Red. I repeat; Code Red. He's here…"

The teal-skinned man balked, "What? Here?!"

"Yes sir. H-He's right outside the-" The transmission was suddenly cut off.

Just as the heads of the Planet Trade Organization turned to look at each other in alarm, the entrance to the chamber was suddenly kicked in, causing a deafening bang to echo throughout the hall. The force of the doors being thrown open was so great that upon slamming into the wall, one of them was literally blasted off its hinges, an anomaly that quickly drew the complete attention of every person in that room.

As soon as all eyes landed on the destroyed gateway, the party of two dozen individuals spotted the silhouette of a large man with a hulking frame walk into view. His footsteps causing the ground to tremble, the now silent committee watched silently as the newcomer drew closer and closer, before eventually stepping into the light.

The moment his form bled into view, the once confused Kana, who'd initially paid the violent opening of the doors little mind, soon had her eyes widen in terror.

Her gaze slowly wandering up the giant figure, the Seirei found herself looking upon an enormous alien with grey skin resembling the texture of granite and a body decked out in heavy battle armor. His legs, each sporting two large toes on each foot, were covered in dark red plated boots that made a mechanical whirring sound with every step and rode up his thighs. His pelvis, torso and chest were also covered in a similar black and red spandex armor, with a glowing green glass piece in the center of the chest. Looking further across, the alien also wore red shoulder pauldrons with a similar optical dial on both sides and massive steel gauntlets wrapped around both his forearms.

Despite having a thin, athletic waist and sturdy legs, the man's arms were massive and bulging with layers upon layers of muscles with strange black, vent-like rods drilled into several key points, including his gauntlets, shoulders and back. On top of having claws instead of fingers, a bald head with a noticeable scar over his right eye and blood red eyes with no pupils or irises, his mouth and nose were covered by a breathing mask, with tubes fitted into his suit that helped circulate air.

Though he did have this glaring handicap on his person, the hulk of a creature had no problems in moving whatsoever, as indicated by how he marched straight up to the bench, stopped in the center of the chamber, and dumped a pile of ten freshly killed bodies onto the floor right in front of the leaders.

Revealing the cadavers to be a platoon of soldiers belonging to the Planet Trade Organization, as indicated by their Saiyan battle armor, the Chancellor and his fellow rulers gawked at the pile before nervously looking up at the newcomer.

By this point in time both Kana and Froze had backed away to the side, while the soldiers guarding the chamber had come to surround the creature with their weapons cocked and loaded. Though from the looks on their terrified faces, every single one of the men and women there immediately began regretting their decisions to step forward, as they had serious doubts about their abilities to stop this man if he tried anything.

His presence was obviously overwhelming.

Chancellor Ging swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes on their intruder, "What do you think you're doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing here?" the alien snapped angrily in a menacing, gargling-tone of voice, his words bouncing off of the chamber walls and causing all those sitting on the bench to flinch. He stepped closer to the ruler, his height being so great that he literally towered over the judge's seat, which was positioned about four meters above the ground. "I'm submitting a complaint directly to your organization. That's what I'm doing."

The teal skinned alien sweated nervously when the towering fiend got right up into his face, "I see."

His own glare tightening, the giant pointed down at the corpses at his feet, "Now… would you care to explain to me why I found these pirates wandering around my territory?"

As the hulking figure had it out with the chancellor, Froze saw through his peripheral vision that Kana was still staring anxiously at the newcomer. Taking note of the beads of sweat running down her face and the way her fists were nervously clenched, the tailed alien knew right then and there that something was wrong with her and turned to her in concern.

"Hey. Who's the brute with the acute skin condition?"

The orange haired girl's frown deepened, "Varax."

Her response had the tailed alien look at her in surprise. "Varax?" Repeating the name a couple of times, the red-skinned carapace traveler then looked at the Seirei in surprise, "Wait. I think I've heard that name before…"

"I'd be surprised if you didn't," Kana immediately replied, her brow narrowing as she watched the confrontation unfold before her. "He's a vicious warlord from a race of aliens known as the Korgoth, who went extinct over eighty million years ago." She then nodded towards the man in question. "According to the records on my home planet, he's now the last surviving member of that race."

Froze looked across at the colossal alien in disbelief. "How in the name of Kai is someone like him still alive?"

"His home planet Gon originated from the very center of the cosmos. The life-force of his people were said to be the greatest of all the ancient races, making him damn near ageless. The fact that over half of his body is now made up of cybernetic implants puts him just a step below immortal," Kana replied, not taking her eyes off of the warlord for a second as she continued informing Froze of their guest's history. "Don't let his appearance and respiratory mask fool you. Varax is regarded as the most dangerous being in the universe for a reason. Even the Kais stay clear of him. He's conquered hundreds of galaxies and destroyed countless planets, and is responsible for creating several black holes. He is so feared in fact, there's not a single biological life form willing to work for him, so he uses autonomous workers to do most of his labor."

Regarding this news with extreme caution, Froze then turned his attention to the dead bodies lying on the floor. "What exactly did he mean by 'my territory'?"

"Over eighty million years ago, Varax conquered and took control of a portion of space known as the Helix Realm, a dangerous and wild part of the universe that exists in the far reaches of the quadrant," Kana informed, clenching her jaw uneasily when she saw the alien continue to exchange harsh words with the Chancellor. "No one from any of the four sectors is allowed to cross into his territory… but apparently these idiots did and got themselves caught by his scouts."

There was reason for her fear and frustration. Even though she couldn't sense the warlord's ki or life-force due to the fact that half of the man's body was artificial, Kana knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was ridiculously powerful.

Even at her absolute maximum, she wouldn't be able to even scratch him without having her skull crushed between his fingers.

When the pair fell silent, they were able to listen in as the conversation between Ging and Varax carried on, slowly but surely reaching a crescendo.

"Why were your soldiers scouting my planets?"

"I was unaware that any of our troops were positioned in your area," Ging replied with a nervous glare. "They were probably just acting on their own accord. Believe me, this is all just a simple misunderstanding."

Narrowing his eyes upon the man in the high seat, the hulking conqueror brought a hand up and slammed it down upon his part of the bench. He cracked the metal under the force. "Do you think I'm blind? Just because you're under the protection of Lord Beerus and the Gods of the Seventh Universe, doesn't mean you and your precious Planet Trade Organization can go about doing whatever you please. No amount of loyalty to your deities will protect you from the amount of hell I can bring down upon you."

"You know the rules as well as I do, Varax," the Chancellor retorted quickly, "If you're looking for compensation for the intrusion, then I will gladly give it to you."

This was apparently the wrong thing to say because the moment the words left his mouth the giant alien suddenly reached forward, grabbed the man by the front of his armor, and lifted him out of his seat. Despite not reacting beyond a wince, the rest of the audience in attendance recoiled in shock as they then saw Varax shake the man like a ragdoll.

"I can't be bribed like some mongrel pup, you worm," the grey-skinned conqueror growled, his blood red eyes boring into the man's soul. "Compensation is not what I'm looking for."

Ging cringed painfully as sweat continued to trickle down his head, "Then what is it that you want?"

It was this that had Varax leer, "Everything." A low snarl escaped his lips when he tilted his head at the man. "This isn't some mere trinket that you can simply hand over to me on a silver platter. No… this is something that can only be taken by force and I don't care how long it takes me. One way or another… I will have it. Perhaps by then you will finally be seeing me in a new light." Allowing the words to roll off of his tongue, the intimidating warlord then glanced over his shoulder to see both Kana and Froze holding their hands up towards him, ready to attack. The guards in the room were also doing the exact same thing with their weapons and, despite shaking in their boots, were glaring at the titan hatefully.

After glancing around at the soldiers surrounding him, the towering alien then clenched his fist tightly, causing the muscles in his arm to bulk up in warning. "You'd better be very sure." The sounds of his bones creaking echoed throughout the chamber.

Several seconds of consideration later, all of the soldiers in the room wisely decided to back down, including Kana, who smacked herself upside the head for acting so stupidly.

Once he saw all of the soldiers stand down, Varax turned back to his host and grunted. "It seems to me that your subordinates are forgetting their places, Ging. You need to teach them how to show proper respect to their guests. Their conduct is absolutely disgraceful." He then unceremoniously dumped Ging into his chair, before stepping away and beginning to walk towards the exit. Carelessly stepping over the bodies he'd dropped, the Korgoth stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Consider this visit a warning to all of you. The next time I catch someone from your organization encroaching upon my domain… mark my words; I will burn this entire place to the ground."

With that declaration made, the man marched through the entrance of the room and disappeared into a portal that opened up in front of him. The slip space rupture promptly closed behind him as soon as he was through, leaving behind a ruined chamber gateway and a sullied conference space.

The entire room sat and stood in dead silence, with sweat and shock reflected upon every person's face.

While Ging took a moment to adjust his top and Froze spent the next minute regaining his composure, Kana fixed a continuous glare on the space Varax had disappeared.

In spite of facing down what she could only describe as death incarnate, the Seirei was still conscious enough to acknowledge a single fact.

"One day… someone will bring that prick down… I just know it…"

Even though she wanted to, more than any other person in the galaxy, she sure as hell wouldn't be able to do it alone…

XXX

Over the next several months, life for the Z-fighters carried on as normal. The Sons and the Briefs started visiting each other more often, Gohan started training with Piccolo, Vegeta and Zangya more intensely, with the latter finally venturing out of the Mount Paozu area to get a job, and Videl's growth as a student and fighter was really starting to show itself. Needless to say, that year saw the realization of some of the most memorable times the defenders of earth had ever experienced, giving them the balance of rest and work they all deserved.

Whenever he wasn't outside training by himself or with his friends, Gohan spent his free time looking after his baby brother.

Thanks to his Saiyan genetics, Goten was an incredibly strong boy and a fast learner, something that his older brother and Videl found out over the following year when the little tyke began soaking in everything around him like a sponge. He learned how to add using multi-digit numbers, his literacy and speaking skills developed faster than any normal child would, and his basic motor functions jumped to that of a five year old, and he was still only two.

On top of that, the demi-Saiyan loved to run around. Constantly filled with boundless energy and a thirst for adventure that exhausted even the super mum Chi-Chi at how rambunctious he could be, the youngster was always going out to explore the fields and forests surrounding their property. His mother would often times watch him closely to see how far he would go, with Gohan, Zangya and Videl also keeping an eye on the child whenever they weren't busy. But Goten was always alert and active, even sneaking out whenever he noticed that everybody else was preoccupied.

He sure was a mischievous little ankle-biter, there was no arguing that.

Sometimes the hybrid would leave immediately after breakfast and go for a walkabout of the property, and would always come back at lunchtime dragging with him all sorts of miscellaneous items from his backyard adventure. This included dirty clothes, bugs, frogs, tree branches, lizards, possums, mud, and at one stage a young tyrannosaurus that Zangya had to chase off to stop from entering the house.

Needless to say, while the child could be a real handful at times, even for the super powered people living in the house, he was still a radiant star that the Son family adored and loved.

After the day Goten brought his second dinosaur home, Gohan assigned his trusted friend Icarus to keep an eye on his brother whenever he went out without them. Following his assignment of the task, the little pink dragon always, without fail, brought his sibling home safe and sound, knocking on the front door to let the family know they were back. Since he could sense his brother's ki signature within the general area, the older brother always had an eye on him and would always know whenever he was in trouble.

Thankfully, no problems ever came the young child's way.

Unbeknownst to the family of course, there were a couple other people keeping an eye on Goten as well. Not only was Piccolo always around and watching over the house, the little upstart always went out to find Paprika whenever she was in the area.

For some strange reason the Makyan just could not fathom, the spiky haired toddler always knew whenever she was near the house or meditating in the area. Whenever she dropped in to spy on Gohan, his baby brother always ran out of the house to greet her.

Maybe he had developed a subconscious form of ki reading that pinged whenever she was within range or maybe he always found her due to a series of improbable circumstances. Either way, Paprika just could not shake the little runt.

Whenever Goten did come out to say 'hello' or to play with her, the Makyan didn't do anything unpleasant to him or tried to hurt him. She simply tolerated his presence and, over the next few months, she eventually accepted the boy's company and allowed him and Icarus to hang out with her.

It was generally smooth sailing for all of the Z-fighters across the globe. There were plenty of days for them to stretch their legs and perfect the skills that they practiced. Without any enemies to fight, it was surprisingly easy to slack off for all those whose passions didn't reside in fighting and had other things to do with their lives. However, time was what they had plenty of and everyone was determined to fill it with as many things to do as they could.

On one particular day, Gohan, Zangya, Videl and Chi-Chi went for a trip to Kame House. With Goten in tow, the family met with their friends on the beach surrounding the home of the turtle hermit and went about enjoying their get-together in the usual manner.

While Goten played around with Trunks, Turtle and Puar outside under the watchful eye of Chi-Chi and Bulma, and Yamcha tended to a barbeque alongside Oolong, Master Roshi and Chiaotzu, Zangya and Android 18 sat indoors at the living room window and stared out over the ocean.

Since everybody was using the time there to catch up, the two women were also making the most of the day and using their moment together to bond. With the orange haired woman wearing boots, jean shorts and a black singlet top, a comfortable ensemble that coincided with Android 18's light blue leather vest, white pants and sandals, the two girls were all dressed for the beach.

Positioned there on the sill side by side, one standing with her arms folded and the other sitting comfortably with the sea breeze flowing by them, they both looked absolutely stunning.

Glancing across at her alien compatriot, the android gave her the usual cool stare, "So how's working life treating you?"

"It's going great, actually," Zangya replied, turning to the blonde with a small smile. "Daeko is currently going through a new line of tops and bottoms that they're hoping to introduce to their summer catalogue for next week, so you can bet I'll be hitting the runway in a smoking hot new kit soon. After the last event I attended, I know this next shoot is going to be amazing."

The cyborg fighter smiled at the young woman's enthusiasm. "Sounds to me like you're having a lot of fun in that place."

"Oh yeah. No kidding," Zangya chuckled while looking out the window again. "I really have to thank Videl's dad for hooking me up with the agency and Gohan for helping me to write my resume. Those three really went out of their way for me on this one."

The Hera's response had Android 18 tilt her head and raise an eyebrow, "Exactly what kind of qualifications did you mention in your curriculum vitae to get you through the door, if I may ask?"

"Not many. Just all the stuff that I did know and everything in between; hobbies, interests, contact details… the usual," the blue-skinned woman replied while leaning against the window frame with a chuckle, "I guess prerequisites don't matter as much when you have the 'World Champ' recommending you to the place in person." She made sure to give the title a tasteful highlight in her recounting of the situation that led her into landing her current job. "The boss hired me right on the spot and set me to work the very next day. Can you believe that?"

Grunting lightly, the blonde haired android turned back towards the sea with a clearly amused expression. "With your looks and appeal, I'm not surprised everything's going well for you over there. There's just something about your face that screams 'exotic'."

"Oh, ha-ha," Zangya replied, taking into stride the jab at her extraterrestrial appearance while glancing over at the cyborg, "And what about you, Ms Number? How are things going over at your job?"

The android shrugged. "I can't complain. We've got some new stock coming in for the store, so I've got a lot of upcoming articles to look forward to for the summer. Want me to pick you up a set?"

"No, I'm good. Since I'm allowed to choose whatever I want from the company's wardrobe every week, I'm more than set in the clothing department. Too bad the only place I have to put them is in my work locker," the Hera quickly replied, earning an understanding nod from her companion. After that the pair sat in silence, watching the calm waters shimmer underneath the sun and the smell of the barbeque Yamcha was cooking drifting in from around the corner. Upon seeing Turtle crawl past with Goten and Trunks riding on his shell, and Puar hovering around them, Zangya then set her focus on another topic. "So… where're the other boys at? I haven't seen them since Tien showed up with Launch and Chiaotzu."

The blonde android shrugged, "Gohan told me he was taking Krillin out to the other islands for a quick sparring session with Videl. My guess is that they all left together and are now having it out with each other."

"Ah," the Hera replied, only to then turn when she sensed a presence approaching them.

When she and 18 looked behind them, they saw a woman with long curly blue hair, wearing a green sundress and an apron standing behind them and smiling pleasantly. She was also carrying with her a tray of ice-cold refreshments. "Hello there, you two. Would you like something to drink? It's really hot out here today and you two haven't had anything yet."

At first surprised by her appearance, Zangya smiled shortly afterwards and slowly helped herself to one of the beverages, "Sure. Thanks a lot." After grabbing an orange juice, along with 18 who gave a grateful nod to Launch's good side, the two women quickly returned to their conversation and began stirring their drinks. "Speaking of the boys, how are things going with Krillin?"

"Pretty well," 18 replied with a shrug.

The response drew a mischievous smirk from the alien fighter, "That's it? Pretty well?" She then shook her head, "Anything else you want to add on to that?"

"What do you expect me to say? Krillin is a very sweet, funny and handsome man with a good heart. Whenever I'm feeling down he's always there to cheer me up. Whenever we talk to each other he always wants to listen to what I have to say. And whenever we're out, he's always so thoughtful and considerate… and makes me feel like I belong. He accepts me completely for who I am," the blonde replied, eyes still fixed on the ocean as she thought about what else to say about the Z-fighter she was currently dating. "I really like how serious and straightforward he is, as well as how passionate he can be whenever he's really into something. After wandering around aimlessly for so long, not really knowing what to do, I guess you can say I've grown attached to that."

"Really?" Zangya asked, seeing the half-human nod before turning away to gaze thoughtfully down at the sand. "Wow. So… would you say that you've… fallen for the guy?"

Android 18's gaze snapped towards her momentarily. At first it looked like she wanted to protest. But after thinking on it for a moment, the blonde quickly regained her usual composure and turned away with a small smile.

"Mm." She nodded, giving the Hera all the answer she needed before the pair returned to staring at the horizon.

For the next couple minutes the two women remained there, quietly thinking and contemplating the big changes in their lives. Android 18 thought about how much her life had changed since the Cell Games, how much she enjoyed hanging out with Krillin and what her next steps were going to be. At the same time Zangya considered her time spent with Gohan and his family, and how he and all of his friends were shaping her into a whole other person; somebody who she could actually look in the mirror and smile at.

She also thought about how much more she could become a part of the group and how she could get strong enough to fight alongside Gohan as an equal.

Every day the boy was growing in both strength and maturity, and she wanted to be there to support him should a new danger suddenly come knocking on their front door, touch wood. This life that she currently had was one that was given to her… and she didn't want to spend the next few years wasting it.

If there was any time for decisive action, it was now.

As Zangya and 18 became engrossed in their conversation inside, Chi-Chi and Bulma were also enjoying one of their own out on the porch.

While watching her son dig through the sand alongside his friend, the raven haired woman in the oriental yellow robes sighed, "I remember when Gohan used to be around that age; sleeping in his bed, studying at his desk and wandering around the fields outside, exploring the wilderness. All those days seem so long ago now."

"Yeah. You can say that again," the scientist replied with an equally warm smile as memories of the time Goku introduced his first born to the group began to resurface. "Even though your son's still the same sweet, innocent little boy I remember he was when I first met him, he's grown so much over the last few years. Every time I see him whenever he drops by my place to say hi, I can't help but notice how much more grown up he seems." She looked across at her friend's wife standing beside her with her hands on her hips. "Are you worried?"

Chi-Chi beamed and shook her head, "As long as my son is happy and healthy, and making the most of his life, then I know he's going to be alright." She then glanced over at Capsule Corp's president, a sparkle evident in her eye. "If he's anything like his father was when he was young, then he'll always have a spring in his step and a warm glow in his cheeks, no matter how hard things get."

"Well… let's just hope things in the world stay exactly the way they are," Bulma chuckled, at the same time turning back to watch the two children frolic beside the water. "If you ask me, I think the earth is due for a few long years of peace, with no aliens, androids, demons, or any other monsters to worry about. While fighting for the boys may be fun and all, I prefer having days like this just relaxing on the beach and spending time with my family, thank you very much."

Giggling at how the scientist huffed and stuck her chest out, the Son mother then folded her arms and tilted her head. "How are things going back home? Is Vegeta still giving you grief?"

"Fortunately not. Thanks to his ridiculous training schedules, I'm actually able to get my work done around the office without having to worry about him breathing down my neck every few minutes. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy having him around whenever I'm free. It's just that I've got a lot of projects to get done and I'd prefer working on them in peace," the blue haired woman informed with an exhausted sigh. "Even though I'm the boss of the company, the workload is still pretty stacked."

"Does this include the paperwork?"

"Oh, don't even get me started. The assignments and designing phases alone are a pain in the ass," Bulma continued, reaching up and giving her head a scratch. "Seriously, I'm working my fingers to the bone with the amount of computer work I've had to do. The company's biggest project at the moment is this thing we're currently making for the Royal Military. Apparently our friends over in central are in need of a special, surface-to-orbit cannon that'll be able to knock asteroids and other unfriendly objects out of the air before they have a chance to break through the planet's atmosphere."

Chi-Chi snorted at this, "Why would they need something like that when you have someone like Vegeta or my son on speed-dial?"

"Hey, Capsule Corp needs to make money somehow," Bulma said with a small smile in play. "They're paying millions of zeni through the nose for this thing, so I'm gonna make sure I get this done, no matter how long it takes me."

"Fair enough. Just try not to overwork yourself, alright? You don't want to give yourself grey hairs by the time you're in your late forties."

"Will do," the scientist responded with a grateful smile. Upon which she set her eyes on her son again, whom she could now see was trying to build a sand-mound that was bigger than Goten's. The sight of the two children competing had her chuckle, "I'll try to ease off of my little pet project for a little while as well. Maybe that will help relieve some stress."

"Hm? And what kind of project is that?"

"Oh, well… you remember that big, red-haired man in the green armor that appeared at the Cell Games alongside Goku and the others?" Bulma asked her friend, to which she saw her nod. "Well, if Gohan hasn't already told you, he was an Android named Sixteen, one of the three that Doctor Gero created to hunt down and kill your husband." A small smile tugged at her lips when she said this and turned to face the sand at her feet. "After he was killed, the dragon balls didn't wish him back to life… maybe because he wasn't an actual living creature. Since I was able to get a detailed copy of his memory files and schematics while I was repairing him, I figured I could try and rebuild him… and make him even better than before. Considering the amount of stuff I have to get done, I could really use someone like him around the office to help me out."

The raven haired Son mother smiled brightly. "Sounds interesting. Hope you're able to get somewhere with it."

"Yeah. Me too," the blue haired woman whispered, at the same time turning her gaze back to her children and the stretch of ocean she could see before them.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

On an island not too far from Kame House, a series of explosions rocked the rolling hillsides that sent blasts of dust and rubble hurling into the sky. When the debris eventually rained back down to the ground, scattering across the pristine wilderness, two shadows darted out of the cloud. Skidding to a stop along the grass opposite one another and out of reach of the latest crater they'd formed with their attacks, the pair revealed themselves to be Tien and Gohan.

Both glaring at each other, the two Z-warriors turned to face their opponent, showing off a couple of bruises they'd received in their scrap thus far. While the tri-clops was sporting his usual attire consisting of green gi pants with red belt and a white shirt, Gohan was adorned in Piccolo's purple style of gi. Just like his friends, the young martial artist had decided to go on a cycle of uniforms to alter his looks and to emulate the two great teachers in his life.

While it was definitely in his nature to pull off a gesture like this, there really wasn't any logic to why he chose to wear either gi. He just found both outfits to be insanely comfortable.

In the words of his Namekian mentor, he looked extremely sharp.

Upon watching the smoke fade from their attacks, Tien smirked at the demi-Saiyan when the two turned to face the other. "Excellent form, Gohan. I can tell you've been working really hard over the last few months."

"Thanks. You've gotten a lot stronger too, Tien," Gohan chirped back, bringing his hands around and sliding into a wide fighting stance similar to that of his dad's. "I can't remember ever sparring with you before. It's a really refreshing change of pace for me."

"Me too. Your style is a mixture of both your father's and Piccolo's. I think that's a really good fit for someone like you," the former martial arts champion replied before setting himself into a more defensive form. "Alright… I think it's about time I turned up the heat a little. Hope you're ready for it."

After shaking off the dizziness from the last exchange, the pair squared off with their fists raised and eyes set firmly on the other. Digging their feet into the ground, both warriors made sure that their opponent was set squarely in their sights. While Tien was being incredibly cautious due to how strong Gohan actually was, the young hybrid had taken on a certain level of concern as well.

Even though he was fighting at his base level so as to give his opponent a chance and to work on his techniques, Tien was still an incredibly strong fighter. It made sense considering he'd been one of his father's main rivals back in the day.

Upon sizing up their adversary and catching their breaths, the fighters then crouched forward and flew at each other. Darting across the field of grass at super speed, Tien and Gohan met in the center, colliding elbow first and causing a loud shockwave to ring out. After literally shaking the area with their impact, they then began exchanging lightning fast blows, their fists and kicks cutting through the air like bullets, only to be deflected and parried each and every time.

As the pair clashed, causing loud gunshots to ring out and shake the sky, sitting not too far from them, Krillin and Videl could be seen sitting on a fallen tree log and watching the duo from a safe distance. Both looking like they'd had a bit of workout themselves, particularly the raven haired girl in the orange and blue gi who was currently sporting several noticeable bruises, the two humans sat quietly on the trunk as they observed their fellow martial artists battling it out in the center of the island.

Though their exchange of blasts beforehand had been something to marvel at and left more than a few marks across the land, there was nothing that could compare to a good, old-fashioned fist fight. What with the level of speed and skill both of them possessed, they were definitely putting on one hell of a show for their two-person audience.

Despite moving faster than the human eye could track, the still in-training Videl was able to keep up with both of them, giving her a full scope of what Gohan and his friend Tien were capable of. "Wow…"

The monk, adorned in the symbolic orange and blue gi of the turtle hermit, smiled across at the awe-struck girl. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Yeah," Videl nodded, looking on as Gohan landed a wicked hook across his opponent's face before receiving a kick in the side in retaliation. "It's been a long time since I last saw Tien Shinhan fight. The guy is really good."

"Oh yeah. No kidding. He's one of the best," Krillin chuckled, knowing full well what that man was capable of. "Even I would have second thoughts tangling with that guy on a good day."

The girl shook her head in amazement, "The recordings I saw of him in the previous world tournaments were pretty intense. But I can tell he's gotten a lot stronger." Her ki reading abilities really helped her in that department.

As it stood, this guy was easily on par with Krillin and Gohan in his base form. Though the half-Saiyan did have an edge over him, it was only by a paper-thin margin.

She whistled when she saw the pair shoot off at super speed to try and outflank each other. "Wow, they're fast."

Krillin chuckled at her remark. "With the kind of agility that we have, it makes it impossible for normal people to follow us around. Even when standing at a distance," Krillin continued, seeing the demi-Saiyan kick Tien in the stomach and send him flying across the grass at supersonic flight. "It's gotten to the point that not even the cameras can keep track of us. You'll only be able to catch a small glimpse in one or two frames of an entire strip, and that's it."

It was a revelation that had the daughter of the champ giggle. "Even technology can't keep up with you anymore."

"Damn straight," the short fighter replied, wincing when he saw Tien get jabbed in the face before receiving a shot to the body, only to then retaliate with a hook that sent Gohan barreling across the ground. The boy recovered quickly though and leapt back to his feet just in time to block a jumping knee from his opponent. The shockwave caused by the impact was monstrous. "After all the fights we've gotten into, I'm amazed that any of us were able to make it this far without completely losing it."

"Your group is made up of some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Honestly, I'm not at all surprised at how strong you guys have gotten. All of you have worked so hard and fought against the worst opponents imaginable for your strengths," Videl said, watching Gohan get hit over the head by a chopping right and retaliate with an uppercut to his opponent's chin. "I can't think of anyone more deserving of your powers then you guys."

Seeing the amazement reflected in her eyes and hearing the sincerity in her voice, Krillin smiled at the champ's daughter while she continued to watch the boy she admired fight against the older male. After giving it a few moments, the bald fighter spoke up, "So… Gohan's training you to be just like one of us, huh?" When he saw Videl nod, the martial artist chuckled. "Well, if there's any member of our group that's cut out for the job, it's him. He's a smart kid and a brilliant fighter. After seeing the stuff you could do in our spar, give or take a few more years… I'm sure that with his help… you'll be able to fight toe to toe with us in no time."

Eyes shining at the man's compliments, the raven haired girl beamed and nodded, "I really appreciate that. Thanks."

Upon giving one last nod, both Krillin and Videl turned back to continue observing Gohan and Tien's spar. Seeing the half-Saiyan perform a brilliant throw, tossing his opponent across the hills, they then saw the youngster turn, smile, and wave towards them.

Sensing his focus was set squarely on her, the raven haired girl giggled and waved in return; a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Krillin.

Looking between the two and seeing Tien return to continue his match, the short fighter beamed and fixed his sights back onto his best friend's son. "You've got a good thing going here, Gohan. I'm really happy for yah."

XXX

(One Year Later)

Months past and the Z-fighters continued to enjoy a long period of peace and prosperity on the earth. Not only was work plentiful for all those who were asking for it, but the many days to follow saw some of the most noticeable shifts in the Son family's life.

Goten was growing fast under the loving care of his mother, older brother and his friends. His vocabulary was increasing exponentially and his basic motor skills were also starting to reach their peak. Thanks to his Saiyan genetics, his instincts not only developed at a much faster rate compared to normal humans, but so did his physical strengths, which Gohan, Zangya and Videl couldn't help but notice every day they spent with him.

The rest of the family also underwent many changes. Thanks to a little bit of convincing from Gohan, the demi-Saiyan was able to encourage his Hera neighbor to move into the house with him so that she didn't have to spend her nights out in the cold anymore. Though Chi-Chi was initially hesitant about letting Zangya into her domain, after seeing how well the woman looked after her sons and did chores around the front yard, she eventually found a room for her just down the hall from her older boy's chambers.

It was a small space and a tight fit, but the orange haired alien was more than happy with the accommodations. At least now she had a place to store her clothing from work.

What's more, Zangya had also taken a much more active role in Gohan and Videl's training. Not only assisting the raven haired girl in her exercises and sessions every time she came over to visit the Son household, she also spent her mornings and afternoons driving her own fighting skills into the ground. Well aware that the demi-Saiyan and his companions were getting more powerful with every day that passed, the Hera female was determined to keep in step with them and, driven by pride and desire to better herself, Zangya started aiming for heights she never thought of reaching before.

About half way through the second year following the Cell Games, the blue-skinned fighter became Gohan's most frequent sparring partner. Her strength enabling her to go toe to toe with the youngster in his first Super Saiyan form, the woman started pushing herself even further to improve her techniques and increase her strength. Much like Piccolo, she even started to wear weighted clothing during her sessions and, wanting to augment her power and fighting mentality, began to meditate and Image Train with the two Z-fighters even more.

Though her initial regimens had all been in an effort to keep her skills polished and her senses sharp, after seeing Gohan set himself a new goal after every month, she quickly became determined to do the same.

Heck, if she kept at it, she might even be able to reach a transformation phase herself.

Soon enough, after a year of vigorous sparring and training with Gohan and Piccolo out on the meadows and in their home's new Gravity Dome, she became strong enough to literally go head to head with him in Super Saiyan.

Concurrently, Gohan's strength also continued to climb. Thanks to the GR he managed to get from Bulma, not only was he able to diversify his training schedule, he also gave his friends a secondary place to train in the many months to follow.

Opening the chamber at a low enough setting enabled him to host some of Videl's sessions inside and get his friend accustomed to various changes in environment. He also spent many hours with Zangya sparring with her in a condition of over two hundred times earth's normal gravity, which gave them both an extreme workout.

After one particular session, the Saiyan and Hera had worked themselves so hard that when the artificial gravity eventually shut down after a couple long hours of training, both of them passed out right there on the tiles. It was perhaps one of the most peculiar sights Chi-Chi had ever walked in on when she came around to give the pair refreshments and found them lying opposite one another on their back and front respectively.

Aside from the usual stuff, everything was going swimmingly for the Son family.

And they weren't the only ones reveling in the peace.

Up in Otherworld, out on the vast plains making up most of the Grand Kai's planet, a certain spiky haired Saiyan was in the midst of an intense meditation session. Sitting cross-armed and cross-legged on a flat patch of field, with the familiar form of King Kai shadowing him from behind, the old hero of earth, Son Goku, could be seen locked in a severe Image Training session.

With his halo hovering overhead, the adult Saiyan allowed a bead of sweat to run down the side of his head as he focused all of his efforts on defeating the opponent he'd conjured up in his mind. He was really getting into the routine too…

That was until his hour was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of several familiar ki signatures on his radar, which had his eyes fly open and glance over his shoulder. As soon as he did, he saw a group of five figures teleport into view in the form of a golden flash of light, which faded moments later to reveal Gohan, Chi-Chi, Zangya, Videl, and a three year old Goten standing in front of them.

The sight of his family appearing on the Grand Kai's soil had Goku's expression brighten.

Immediately spotting his father, Gohan grinned, "Hey dad! Guess who."

"Gohan. Chi-Chi. Hey!" the father exclaimed, springing to his feet and spinning around, "I'm glad you all made it." It was at that very moment he saw the youngest member of their family spot him as well, which immediately put a smile on Goten's face. It was an expression Goku quickly acknowledged, crouching down quickly and holding his arms out. "Hey there, little guy. It's great to see you again."

"Daddy!" the youngster in the green and yellow outfit called out as he dashed up to the man that he recognized as his father. With a giggle and a shout, the child threw himself into the man's hug, who laughed when he felt the boy clamp his arms around his neck. "I missed you daddy."

The full-blooded Saiyan chuckled as he stood up, carrying the boy with him, "I missed you too, Goten. Wow, you've gotten strong. What's Chi-Chi been feedin' yah?" His grip was monstrous, especially for a three year old.

After getting his fill of hugging the man, the child leaned away in his father's grip and looked at the martial artist curiously, "Are you still dead?"

Goku shrugged, throwing the boy a sheepish smile, "Yes. I'm still dead, Goten." He then reached up and tapped the halo hovering over his head. "See."

Blinking a couple of times, the young hybrid smiled, "Okay."

Finding the boy's innocence intoxicating, the spiky haired fighter then had the wind knocked out of him when Gohan jogged over and gave him a hug as well, which quickly earned one in kind. Upon greeting his sons as he always did, Goku then leaned away and looked down at his eldest child, who he could see was adorned in his colors of orange and blue.

"You're getting taller, son," Goku chuckled, measuring the boy's height against his chest and realizing that he was just a head shorter than him. "Man. It's only been a couple of weeks and you're already up to my neck." He then grinned when he saw the half-Saiyan step away, "If I'm not careful you're going to shoot right past me in the next few days."

Gohan chuckled, "I'll do my best. But I'll try not to grow too much for you, okay dad?"

"That's the spirit." Looking the youngster over, the dead Saiyan then noticed something new about his boy's appearance and acknowledged it with an exclamation of surprise, "Hey. You got a new haircut." Reaching up, he ran a hand through the teen's hair, pulling his palm away seconds later to see his son's spikes stand back on end, "Nice. It really suits you."

"Yeah," Gohan chuckled, reaching up and pushing the two strands that dangled in front of his forehead out of the way at the same time, "It's was all Lime's idea. I have to thank her properly next time I pop around to visit her."

Both father and son sharing a grin, with the young Goten reaching up to yank on his father's locks as well, the group was then interrupted by Chi-Chi walking right up to them. When her eldest stepped aside to make room for her, everyone then watched the woman step up to her husband, stand on her toes, and give him a tender kiss on the lips, which earned a gagging look from their youngest and an exclamation of protest.

Too bad the two parents ignored the child's plight and continued on with their show of affection.

Stepping away, the mother smiled, "Hello, sweetheart."

"Chi-Chi," Goku whispered, smiling lovingly at his wife as he held her by the waist, "Are you alright?" When he saw the woman nod her head affirmatively, the man felt a heart-like flutter in his chest. "Is everything okay down below? How's everyone?"

The woman nodded, "Everyone's doing great, Goku."

This brought a look of relief to the Saiyan's face. "That's good," Goku said, before then looking up to see the other two they'd brought with them wandering about the field. While Zangya was checking out the fighters training nearby with her arms folded, Videl was gazing across at the family with an expression of wonder, which put a grin on the former hero's face. "Let's go grab a bite to eat together. I'm sure all of you have plenty of stories to tell me. I want to hear about everything." He then turned to look over at his trainer, who was standing nearby with his hands behind his back, "King Kai?"

The blue man in the shades and training garb smiled and nodded, "No problems here, Goku. You go have fun with your family." After all, there weren't any rules in the script saying that his student couldn't receive visits from his relatives, especially if they were more than capable of traveling to the Otherworld. As far as he was concerned, Gohan and his family were more than welcomed to this planet, especially after all the good deeds they'd performed for their part of the universe.

All of the Z-fighters had earned their keep as heroes long ago, even if Vegeta and Zangya were a bit of a stretch.

Elated, Goku then led Chi-Chi, Gohan and Goten across the training fields towards the palace during which time the man's oldest son stopped and waited for Videl to catch up. When she did, he went on to walk the rest of the way to the Grand Kai's building with her and Zangya alongside him.

It was there, amidst the glimmering cosmos and the sacred space that was the world beyond their own, the family would spend the entire day together, having lunch, exploring the meadows, and catching up on days past.

For one shining moment, everything was perfect…

XXX

(That Night)

Back on earth, the day rolled by as usual. The sun rose and set as it always did, and every single person on earth eventually turned themselves in from many long hours of hard work and play. However, while the rest of West City went quiet and the halls of Capsule Corp. emptied of most of its staff heading home at the closing hours of their shifts, there was only one person left wide awake.

Sitting in a dark laboratory, with the massive monitors of her computers and work station giving her the only sources of light in the room, the blue haired form of Bulma could be seen typing away at her keyboard like there was no tomorrow. Murmuring impatiently as lines of code flew past her at ludicrous speed and her fingers danced over the tabs, the head of the company then spared a quick glance back at the operating table behind her.

Lying across the platform with a multitude of cables plugged into it, the skeletal frame of a humanoid-like robot at least two times the woman's height, with all of its wiring and gyros exposed to the air, lay in plain sight of the corporation's president. Due to the artificial muscles fitted into it to give the creation movement, as well as all the other parts designed to make it work, the half-finished android was obviously meant for full humanoid conversion sometime in the future, a process which Bulma intended to start as soon as she had its programming finished.

However, due to a few mishaps and problems she'd encountered along the way, the chief female scientist of the company found that that particular task was going to be next to impossible to complete.

Frowning, Bulma turned back to the strings of code in front of her and closed it down, leaving her with over a hundred files spread out before her on the drive. "Okay. This is getting me nowhere."

Wanting to try something different, the woman quickly separated half of the files into another folder on her computer, leaving the more vital components behind. While she was able to get its basic programming and movement patterns to successfully respond, the obstacle that Bulma now had to contend with was restoring the consciousness that was once Android 16's.

On paper it seemed like a straight forward task. However…

"Still having problems bringing your friend back to life?" the voice of Bulma's father spoke up, drawing the woman's gaze over her shoulder.

Seeing the man in the square glasses and white lab coat step into the light, the woman sighed and stood up out of her seat. Locking her computer and putting her work on hold for the time being, Bulma shook her head sadly and massaged her eyes, "I just don't get it, dad. When we were repairing Android 16 for the final battle against Cell, I was sure I was able to get a detailed copy of all of his CPU's memories and folders. Everything that made him who he was and made him work was all transferred to my computer so that I could study him and understand his programming. I've tried over and over again to get him on his feet again, but…" Looking across at the android skeleton she had on the table, the blue haired woman frowned in dismay. "I just can't seem to bring back the consciousness that made him… well… alive."

Doctor Briefs, understanding his daughter's woe, stepped over to her and laid a hand upon her shoulder, at the same time glancing down at the cyborg that was under construction. "The soul of a machine isn't some program you can activate with a simple push of the button, sweetheart. You know that better than anyone." The man then glanced up at his treasure, where he saw disappointment reflected in her eyes. "Whatever Doctor Gero did to bring Android 16 to life… it was probably something he did purely by accident; a bug that wasn't meant to exist. Maybe that was why he didn't plan on using him, because he hadn't finished programming the last of his software."

Considering her father's words strongly for several moments, Bulma then breathed an exhausted sigh and nodded her head in understanding, "I guess you're right, dad. Maybe it was all just an accident." She'd had it all in her head that she was in the right and felt confident in her abilities to resuscitate their group's most unexpected ally. But in spite of all her tinkering and experience, the blue haired scientist slowly came to the realization that maybe this was something that she could not do and was perhaps beyond her reach and understanding.

"But that doesn't mean I can't keep trying, right?" Bulma asked, smiling across at her old man, who smiled and nodded back to her in acknowledgement. Upon receiving his confidence and feeling slightly reinvigorated, the woman stepped up to the android and patted it on the forehead. Upon which she then stepped away and left the table. "I'm done for the night. Time to hit the sack."

Accompanying her on the way out, Doctor Briefs gave the skeleton of the android one last, thoughtful glance before shutting the door behind them. With the lights switching off and the computer quickly going into sleep mode, the lab was well and truly shutdown until further notice.

…

…

…

Many hours later, in the dead of night, with nothing but the low hum of machines filling the labs empty space, the automatic doors were once again opened by the most unexpected of guests.

Strolling in on all fours, the little black kitten recognized as Doctor Brief's most valued companion, Tama, ambled into the room on his own accord. Amidst the darkness and coldness of the chamber that served as one of Bulma's provisional laboratories, the little feline walked over to the table holding up the body of the lifeless frame that was to be the future Android 16. Sitting down beside it with his tail wagging behind him, the cat gazed up at the desk quietly, with nothing but curiosity in its eyes.

Several moments after he did so, the large monitor Bulma had been working on sometime before suddenly switched on behind him, drawing the kitten's attention over his shoulder.

When his eyes fell upon it, Tama saw the files the blue haired scientist had separated suddenly start to open up one after the other. The curser accessing them as if being directed by a phantom, the screen suddenly became filled with a window detailing millions of lines of code, which began to scroll past the monitor at high speed.

Initially, Tama sat there in confusion, listening to the beeping of the computer and the churning of the numbers. A few minutes of watching later, the line of code reached its end, where the word 'ACTIVATE' could be seen highlighted in bold. After several seconds of flashing, the word 'ENTER' was then typed in, followed shortly by a sudden surge of power.

Electricity began shooting down the lines of capable connected to the android's body, the streams zapping and crackling in a glorious display of deadly fireworks, filling the skeleton with an enormous amount of energy. In a matter of moments, the blue bolts streaming into the lifeless husk inevitably faded and the room once again fell silent. But then, a few ticks of processing later, the eyes on the hulking robotic frame lit up a brilliant red and, after a couple twitches of its fingers, the robot sat up.

Rising from the table, the still plugged android skeleton looked around the dark room, its optical sensors scanning the space and taking in every little detail surrounding it. Upon inspecting its environment, it then glanced down at the floor beside it, where it saw Tama gazing up at him.

Giving a meow, the little kitten greeted the robot cheerfully.

Staring back at it in silence, the android then swung its legs off of the table and, upon rising up, stepped over to the cat and crouched down next to it. It was then the robot took the moment to stroke the kitten on the head with one of its large fingers, earning a purr from the pure black feline.

"Kitty…" the deep, raspy voice of the robot murmured, in a tone recognized as the late Android 16's.

After getting its fill of affections, Tama walked away, allowing the half-complete robot to rise to his feet and move on. Not finding anything of further interest in the area, the android decided to go for a wander of the facility and, upon leaving through the same double doors of Bulma's auxiliary lab the cat had entered through, ambled down the corridor at a casual pace.

His gears whirring and gyrating throughout the dark hallways of the science wing of Capsule Corp's main building, the android eventually stopped at another door with the plaque Tech Division emblazoned on the wall. Here, after staring at the door for several seconds, the android reached out and dialed into the key pad, utilizing information it was able to gain from the main computer. A couple beeps later and the double doors slid open, allowing the android access to the chamber.

Strolling in, the robot found itself in a room very similar to the one it was in before, only this one was bigger and had an entire space filled with electronics, devices and all sorts of other technology that the scientists of the facility were currently working on. Judging from the impressive layout, the computers packed over to one side and the tables in the center, this looked like one of Bulma Brief's main workshops. Considering the amount of labs actually making up this particular wing of the building, this could have been one of many.

In any case, it certainly had the most gizmos in it, there was no denying that.

Craning his head around, the robot strolled across the room. Making its way to the back of the room, it then spotted something of interest lying by the large monitor and quickly turned its attention to it, stopping in its tracks.

Reaching over, he picked up the watch-like device lying on the counter and, after inspecting it for a moment, switched it on. The electronic beep the device gave when a green grid sprang onto the screen along with a yellow, radar-like pulse immediately identified the gadget as the Dragon Radar. Staring down at the blinking lights, the robot saw that there was a yellow dot registering on it and, realizing it was nearby, began looking for it.

It didn't take him long to spot the orange ball with the two red stars sitting in a display case at the end of the table. Setting the radar down and walking over to it, the curious android opened up the glass box at the latch and pulled out the dragon ball, which it began to analyze closely.

Staring at the orange orb for a full minute in silence, blinking a couple of times as its brain processed what the object was, it then heard the hiss of the double doors to the lab open. Glancing to his left, the android's eyes landed upon the form of Doctor Briefs feeling against the wall for the light switch. When he eventually flipped it, the glasses wearing man then began scanning the areas of the lab that flickered into view. "Here, Tama. Where are you, kitty? Here kitty-kitty…oh?" He then stopped when he spotted the large android standing by the desk. At first appearing surprised, a few seconds later the man's mind eventually clicked at what he was looking at and his expression did a complete one-eighty. "Why, hello there. You're the android my daughter's been working on these last few months. What are you doing in here?"

The automaton watched as the old man in the pajamas and bathrobe ambled towards him, only to stop a couple meters away for an inspection.

Looking the unfinished robot from head to toe, the founder of the company nodded his head in approval at what he saw and beamed up at the creation's face. "It seems Bulma's done a terrific job on your frame. The adamantine bodywork really came out great… and it looks like your motor-skill software is running well." He didn't even want to question how the robot was up and moving about. The fact that the android his daughter was reconstructing was actually functioning completely outshone all other thought and logic. Heck, it even seemed to have gained a sense of individuality and curiosity about his surroundings, which immediately captured the scientist's attention. "How are you feeling? Can you talk?"

Eye shutters blinking, the robot then made a gurgling sound as the mechanics in its throat opened up, "T-Talk…?"

"Hm?" the man who'd obviously woken up from a good night of sleep to try and find his cat tilted his head at the android. "You're probably still running a few language sub-routines. That's understandable considering the design of the CPU inside your head is a little bit different from the previous model." It was then he noticed the android was holding the sphere from the case and quickly pointed at it. "Ah. I see you've found the dragon ball my daughter's been looking after as well."

The android turned to the orange globe in its hand, "Dragon… ball…?"

"Yes. She brought it in so that she could study it and the entity living inside of them. Initially she thought the balls were the dormant form of the dragon itself, but now my daughter thinks that they open a gateway to another dimension that allows Shenron to enter our world. Either way she's really looking forward to the results," Doctor Briefs informed, watching the android look down at it the orb in intrigue. The old scientist waited to see what the android would do next, but when nothing happened for the next few minutes he then slipped his hands into his pockets and beamed. "Bulma will be thrilled to see you're up and running. Though I admit Doctor Gero's programming is rather complex, I believe that his work on advanced robotics will be the next step forward to designing the strings for all future automaton and android designs. You'll be the company's template to realizing that dream."

"S-Strings?" the robot murmured, looking up from the ball and staring ahead of him blankly.

Puzzled by the robot's taking away from his little piece of dialogue, Doctor Briefs tilted his head at the android curiously. Wondering what was currently going through its mind, the father was just about to ask it a question when, all of a sudden, with speed no human could follow, the large robot turned to the doctor and rushed him. Grabbing him by the neck, the android skeleton slammed the man into the back wall in a blur, causing a loud 'thud' to ring out before it lifted the scientist off the ground.

Gasping in shock, Doctor Briefs clawed at the hand gripping his neck, which began to crush him like a vice. Caught completely by surprise, the man gawked down at the metal man currently dragging his hapless form up the wall, only to stop when he was literally hanging two meters off of the tiles.

"W-Wh…What are you doing?" the Brief founder gasped as he felt the robot's grip tighten around his wind pipe.

Eyes flashing a deathly red, the android then glanced down at the ball it was still holding. Upon which he gave a very guttural chuckle, one that was laced with the low hum of a machine.

His sudden tone shift from Android 16's previous voice to a deeper and raspier one, had the Brief father's eyes widen.

"Yes." The robot then tossed the dragon ball up and down in his hand. "Lots and lots of strings." He then tossed it over his shoulder, allowing it to bounce across the lab.

Doctor Briefs narrowed his eyes, his mind quickly processing the voice that was leaving the robot's mouth. "You're not Android 16. W-Who are you?" he rasped when the robot's hand tightened even further, "What are you?"

The robot chuckled in amusement and glanced up at the good scientist. "You should tell your daughter not to stick her nose into things she does not understand."

Upon hearing the machine's answer and theorizing that it must have been Bulma's exploration into Android 16's memory banks that resulted in this artificial intelligence surfacing, Doctor Briefs only had a few seconds to realize the fault before, giving another strangled gasp, the android's grip tightened one last time.

The hand wrapped around the man's throat continued to apply pressure on the scientist's neck before, without warning, an audible 'crack' echoed throughout the room. The second the noise rang out, the scientist's body went limp and his arms fell to his sides, his eyes turning blank and a trickle of blood running out of the corner of his mouth.

"But… since you won't be around when she wakes up… I think I'll tell her for you."

Deed done and sensing the man's life disappear on the wind the android dropped the father's body to the ground before turning his attention to the lab. Marching over to the monitor station, the robot collected up the Dragon Radar, analyzed it one last time, and crushed it in its grip, shattering the device and scattering its remains over the floor.

Lips curling up into a sinister smile, the robot then eyed the back of the room eagerly, where he could see all of the company's latest projects, devices, vehicles, equipment and prototypes on display.

The sight of the rows of assorted technology had the android's excitement skyrocket, "I think it's time for an upgrade." Bringing its arm up, a collection of cables suddenly detached from him and began to whip around the air like tendrils, before he extended his hand and shot the cables towards the shelves.

The wires snagged several pieces of equipment, wrapping around them before, after securing the devices, brought them back to their host…

XXX

(That morning)

After several hours of sleep, the once weary and mentally drained Bulma Briefs was once again up bright and early, eager to start the day ahead.

Following a quick shower and touch up, the woman slipped into her usual outfit consisting of white pants, red top, yellow vest, and a pair of slippers, gathered up her four year old son from his bed, and headed down to the kitchen for a spot of breakfast. Arriving there shortly afterwards, she wasn't at all surprised to see her mother already up and making food for the family, and didn't even blink when she saw Vegeta sitting at the table waiting on the food with folded arms.

Shaking her head at the man, who was already dressed in a set of blue spandex complete with sleeveless top, white gloves and yellow tipped boots, the blue haired woman led her son over to the table and pulled up a seat alongside the Saiyan Prince.

While Trunks got himself comfortable, Bulma turned to the spiky haired man and smiled pleasantly, "Got anything interesting planned for the day, Vegeta?"

Glancing across at the woman, the fighter quickly turned back to stare at the table, "Once I'm done eating here I'm going down to the gravity room to do some more training. After that I'll take Trunks to the park for some fresh air."

Bulma appeared genuinely surprised at that, "Really? You… want to take him out? By yourself?" Hearing his father was going to take him somewhere immediately had the lavender haired child sitting nearby perk up with interest.

"Of course, woman. Keeping him cooped up inside all day isn't good for a future Saiyan elite. He needs to go out and exercise to keep up his strength," the flame-haired man replied, momentarily fixing his gaze on the scientist before then glancing toward his son, who was now looking at him with a beaming smile in play, "You can argue with me all you want, but I refuse to allow my boy to grow up to become a slacker."

Trunks beamed excitedly, "Are you going to take me to the big one in the middle of the city?" When he saw the man nod, the child in the oversized green t-shirt and purple shorts punched the air triumphantly, "Yeah! Awesome!" He then turned to look at the one cooking breakfast for all of them, "I'm going to go down the big slide today, grandma!"

The blonde woman giggled cheerfully, "I'm glad to hear that. Make sure you have fun, sweetie, and go easy on everyone."

"Okay."

Grunting, Vegeta then had his attention pulled to his left, where he saw a cup of coffee set down next to him by the cheerful and eternally youthful grandparent. Acknowledging her smile with his usual glance, he then picked it up and took a sip, completely unaware of the adorning gaze the blue haired scientist was now giving him.

Eyes shimmering when the man in her life willingly volunteered to take Trunks out for the day, she then turned her attention to the newspaper sitting next to her. Flipping it open and skimming over the first page, she then looked up when she realized something was off and focused her gaze on her mother, whom she saw set a plate of food down in front of Vegeta and then in front of her.

"Hey mum, where's dad? Is he still asleep?" Bulma asked, noticing that the company's founder and her idol wasn't here reading the paper alongside them.

Moving about to set a big plate of egg, vegetables and bacon in front of Trunks, who wasted no time in digging into it, the cheery blonde with the curly hair shook her head sadly, "I'm not sure dear. I heard him wake up sometime in the middle of the night and leave the room to go to the bathroom, but he never came back. My guess is that he probably went down to the labs to check on something."

Vegeta, half-listening to the woman's response, grunted before he continued to shovel egg into his mouth.

"Huh? That's weird," Bulma murmured, folding the paper and setting it aside to tend to her own breakfast, which consisted of porridge and fruit. "Dad doesn't usually get up to work on something unless it's super important." Her dad didn't say anything about taking on any new projects.

The mother placed a finger against her cheek thoughtfully, "Maybe Tama went on another walk and he got up to go find him. You know how much your father loves that kitten."

This drew an understanding nod from her daughter, "Well that too."

As the family dug into their breakfast and Mrs. Briefs returned to her station, a sense of normalcy quickly fell back over them. It was around the time Vegeta and his son were hitting their third serving of breakfast for the morning was their moment of tranquility interrupted by a figure stepping into the corridor entrance of the dining room.

Looking up, the young Trunks immediately recognized the man in the bathrobe halfway through the archway, "Hey, grandpa."

Bulma smiled when she saw the man standing lopsided in front of them, "Morning dad. Did you have a rough night? You look awful."

The fact that his head was tilted, his gaze was blank, and his glasses were wonky was all the signs the Briefs around the table needed to know that the father had had a late night.

However, when the father didn't say anything for the first few seconds and continued to stand in place, Bulma's expression fell, "Dad? Is there something wrong?"

It was only when Vegeta looked up from his table in response to the woman's question did he notice something was off. At first analyzing the man's posture and spotting the red stain on his bathrobe, the Prince then reached out with his senses to see what was up. When he didn't pick up any life signs, the Saiyan immediately set his fork down.

Her concern rising, Bulma quickly set her utensils down as well, "Dad?"

The moment she did, she suddenly saw the man's body keel forward and slam into the floor with a heavy 'thud'. Seeing her father crumple to the ground lifelessly had Bulma jump out of her seat and gasp, with Trunks giving a few surprised blinks and Mrs. Briefs a startled squeak. After seeing her husband face plant the tiles, she placed whatever dishes she was holding onto the kitchen counter and began hurrying around the table toward him.

"Sweetie?"

"Dad!"

Just as everyone was starting to move from their spots, the sound of a low, ghostly hum suddenly filled the room, followed immediately by a voice.

The raspy voice and the lyrics it started to sing was what had everyone inside the room freeze where they were sitting or standing.

"Hi-ho the meri-o. That's the only way to be."

"I want the world to know… nothing ever worries me."

The haunting melody was accompanied by a metallic whirring sound and heavy footsteps that echoed throughout the room. Seconds after the sounds became audible, a towering silhouette of an unknown figure stepped into the archway where the father was once standing.

"I've got no strings…to hold me down…"

"To make me fret, or make me frown…"

He took a step forward… and another step…

"I had strings… but now I'm free…"

"There are… no… strings… on… ME."

The moment the figure stepped into the light, Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks and Mrs. Briefs' eyes widened in horror when they found themselves staring at a towering automaton covered completely in silver plated armor, with glowing red nodes and lines, and a human-like face with no nose, two glowing red eyes without pupils, and two antenna in place of ears.

To the calm mind, it was merely a creepy looking robot.

But to the people currently in that room… it was like looking into the face of the devil himself.

The android grinned.

"Hello…"

…

…

"Mum."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

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Author's Note: Okay...

...

...

...

...

So that happened.

Finally, we're getting to the heavy hitters. Varax and this motherfucker. Apparently Doctor Gero had did a lot of tinkering with his androids. If you think about it, all that murderous intent and hate from the androids in Mirai Trunks' timeline had to go somewhere.

Well... it appears that programming has been lying dormant in Android 16's memories and has now been let out.

These are two new villains that will be serving as antagonists in the future. Just a little bit of info on them, Varax is a villain I created based off of a number of villains and is somebody not even Kana wants to mess with. If that's the case, then he must be one terrifying bastard. His name is a play on Virus and Anthrax, a 'plague' on the universe.

This new android though, he's something else. He was also made purely by accident, which I think is a really interesting twist in the story that one of the protagonists of the series unintentionally creates a monster that starts wrecking hell for all of them.

Hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter.