A/N: Okay, readers, I've got the next chapter up. A few things. First of all, this chapter was originally much longer than it is here, but I had to cut some things (quite a few things, actually) that distracted from the story. Also, I've been working on the next chapter at the same time, which necessitated certain changes in this chapter, depending on which direction I went with it. So, I haven't given up on this story, I just keep writing, then re-writing certain parts, because I want to get them just right. The next chapter should be up soon, I hope this weekend, but if not, then next weekend. These chapters around the Tournament will be a bit slow-going… orchestrating a Tournament isn't as easy as it sounds! I've even had to dust off my Excel skills to create the line-up! Like DBZ, this Tournament may take me a while to write… so please be patient with me.

On that note, you all know by now that I suck at fight scenes, and rely on the assistance of my dear readers to make them worth reading. There will be a LOT of fight scenes in this Tournament. So, anyone who's interested in writing a fight scene, please PM me. I'll give you a pair of fighters to write about, and if the fight scene's done by the time that pair is supposed to fight, that fight scene will replace my lame-ass one where the focus is more on the spectators than the actual fighting. Sound good?

Hope you enjoy!

Light filtered through the leaves as Maca made her way through the woods. It was nice out here, much prettier than the trees had been in the snow globe. But, it was dark in there most of the time, so maybe that was why. Or maybe it was having fresh air. She calculated eleven possible reasons she was finding this enjoyable, before she realized she was doing it.

She sighed. She missed Ruta. Ruta always kept her mind busy, was always teaching her new things, quizzing her on what she'd learned. Ever since Ruta had gone into that globe with Uncle Turles for her Oozaru therapy session, everything seemed so slow for Maca. So boring.

Maca adjusted her uncomfortable armor. She was tempted to just strip the stuff off right there, but Launch had paid for it for her, and told her to try not to break it, which Maca assumed also meant not to lose it, either. At least she'd been able to keep her tattered army jacket over it. The guy who'd worn it had been a family man, and it had pictures in the pocket that made her feel warm and doting. Like the way Ruta felt about their family, only less intense, and without as much anger and fierce loyalty mixed in. Human feelings were calmer than Saiyan feelings, it seemed. They made more sense, at least.

Maca liked it when things made sense.

Which was why she hated how weird Kakarot was being. She didn't like that he mistrusted her around Gohan. She didn't like when he just handed Gohan over to her either, trusting her for no good reason. She didn't like things not to make sense. Everything had an explanation, and she was going to find it.

For instance, why had Kakarot so viciously beaten that human? Gohan's mind had been a blur of emotion, but those events were branded indelibly into his mind, to the point where Maca had had to calm him down with her own mind, lest he cry himself into a seizure. His trust in his own father had been shattered by that single event. To watch his father beat someone nearly to death right in front of him, with no apparent cause or provocation, even Maca could see how that might be traumatic. And, technically, she wasn't that much older than Gohan, height and stolen life experiences aside. Which meant it must have been really messed up.

Which was why she was here, walking around in the woods, looking for landmarks Gohan remembered, trying to find the-

The scent of blood captured her attention, and she turned her head sharply left. The empty part of her ached for more fuel, but she ignored it in favor of finding answers. Deftly, she ran towards the scent, not making a sound, the predator inside of her enjoying the prospect of a hunt, even if what she was hunting was probably already dead.

There. Lying in the grass and fallen leaves, there was the human from Gohan's memory, bleeding into the ground. He wore white and brown clothes, stained red with blood, and blood was matted into the mass of curly black hair on his head. Maca frowned… he was still bleeding, which meant he wasn't dead. Yet. Curiously, she bent down and rolled him over onto his back.

His face was almost unrecognizable as human. She had never seen a human this badly beaten before. She frowned. "That looks painful," she mused, watching as his chest rose and fell ever so slightly. "You're not gonna stay alive if you keep bleeding like that, you know," she said conversationally as she slowly lifted one of the man's eyelids. "What did you do to make Kakarot beat you like this? Did you try to kill King Vegeta or something?" she asked.

Only shallow breathing answered her.

Maca sighed. "I guess I could eat you. Kakarot doesn't care if you die, so he wouldn't be mad. And, when I eat people, if I pay attention, I can keep their thoughts and stuff, too. Then I'll know exactly what you did," she said, biting her lip in anticipation. Then, she growled, scowling. "But it doesn't make sense! Kakarot wouldn't be the Royal Guard if he was this bad at killing people. Which means he wanted you to suffer. Which means he would be mad if I killed you. And I don't want to end up like you, so that means I shouldn't eat you…" she said. Then she cocked her head. "Unless I just don't tell him. I could hide your clothes afterward, maybe he'd think a dinosaur swallowed you up," she said, blinking. She sighed. "I can't. Gohan's memories are still too fresh on my mind. You still look like the poor defenseless man Papa beat the life out of to me," she said, and suddenly her head whipped around, and her skin tingled.

Standing ten feet away was a strange man wearing a large turtle shell on his back…

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The Ox King watched his grandfather speaking with his advisors, a small smile on his face. He was currently wearing a well-worn blue tunic and black trousers, with the dusty brown cloak he had stolen when he first got here, from the fishmonger he had taken the place of for the purposes of the Tournament. His helmet was gone; only the hood of his cloak hid his heavily scarred face. In his own time, he always kept his face covered, because the scars spoke of weakness, when he wanted to portray strength. In this time period, he kept the habit, if only because scars made him more memorable and brought on questions. He knew better than to hide among the Saiyans; there weren't many of them, even with the influx of Hybrids, and they would know he wasn't one of them. Or worse… that he was, and that they didn't recognize him. As he had explained to Prince Vegeta before they left, they couldn't out themselves as Saiyans here, without everyone knowing they weren't from this time; not when every person with Saiyan blood had been wished to this planet in front of King Vegeta's eyes. Which meant the Saiyan Prince had to stay completely out of sight. Only the Ox King's lack of a tail let him pass for human, and only if he weren't inspected too closely by his own kind.

"Excuse me, sir, if you could kindly move aside," a middle-aged man said, and the Ox King's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. However, not wishing to be exposed, he quickly did as he was asked, as one of his favorite advisors moved past him with a tray full of plates. Meril had always been a polite man, in the Ox King's experience; not the fake politeness that politicians often had, but the soft respect that came from a man who didn't think things like scrubbing pots was beneath him, even when so many looked up to him for leadership. The Ox King often thought, if he were a better man, he'd be more like Meril.

But now Meril was gone, too.

The future Ox King watched the current Ox King for a few more moments, before turning and walking away. After all… his quarry wouldn't sleep all day, and though the Ox King knew that history told of Kakarot attempting to assassinate King Vegeta during the Tournament, their appearance in the past may have changed things. After all… he had interacted with his aunt Maca yesterday, and she still hadn't returned. Who knew what her absence would cause? Even though she never left with the rest of the Saiyans, didn't mean she didn't do other things that were instrumental to history unfolding the way that it did. What if she had originally prevented Kakarot from assassinating King Vegeta before the Tournament? And now, she wasn't here to do so.

The Ox King had to be ready for anything. If Maca had taught him anything during their chance encounters, it had been that. What had she told him the last time they saw each other? That she wouldn't always be there to save his little ass?

A large pile of hides collided with him, and it was everything the Ox King could do not to blast them away. Holding in a growl, he turned to glare at whoever chose to attack him, and was surprised to find his attacker to be…

A short Saiyan cub.

"Watch where you're going!" the cub snapped, taking one look at his clothes and unclenching his fists, proof that, had the Ox King been dressed as a Saiyan, the cub would have attacked already. The Ox King unclenched his as well, and bent down to help him with the hides. Once they were neatly stacked, the cub looked him over and gave a wordless nod of thanks, then picked up the stack and began to walk away.

The Ox King breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close. He needed to avoid other Saiyans as much as possible until the Tournament. Once the Tournament was over and King Vegeta was safe, then-

"You look a bit old to be one of the hybrids," the cub's voice said from behind him, and the Ox King froze.

Feigning confusion, he turned to the cub, who it seemed had put down the hides again, and asked, "Uh, do you mean me? I'm a human, Sammy Black, I'm a fishmonger from the-"

"I know Sammy Black. He's a cheat and a liar, and better at it than you are. You smell Saiyan. Last chance, or I tell the King we have an intruder," the cub said, narrowing his eyes.

The Ox King cursed himself. He had chosen Sammy Black, because the man had cheated in the Tournament, and would have become disqualified anyway; Prince Vegeta had suggested he fight in the Tournament as one of the contenders, to get him closer to Kakarot, and taking Black's place had seemed like it would make the least impact on history.

He had never thought the Saiyans would know the humans of the Ox Kingdom as well as this cub seemed to.

When the cub took a deep breath like he was going to yell out, the Ox King put up his hands. "Okay, okay… you got me. I'm… I'm a hybrid," he said, trying to come up with a good reason why a hybrid would be pretending to be a human.

The cub's eyes were still narrowed. "Show me your face," he demanded, fists clenched again.

The Ox King's stomach sank. With a sigh, he reluctantly reached up, and pulled down his hood.

The cub's eyes went wide. "Kaka?" he breathed, sniffing him. Then, they went even wider. "G-gohan?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

The Ox King looked him over closely. "You're Baga, aren't you?" he asked, beginning to realize where he'd gone wrong.

Baga glanced around quickly, then hissed at him, "Put your hood back on, and follow me." Then, he picked up the hides he had been carrying, and began to walk away.

The Ox King sighed, pulling his hood back up. Beet had often told him stories of Baga, he should have known he wouldn't be able to hide anything from him. The cub led him to a spot behind the mess hall, and dropped the stack of hides on the ground, turning to glare at him. "Okay. Tell me what the hell's going on," he said, crossing his arms. "Are you really Gohan?"

The Ox King looked away, his hood still hiding his face. "Nobody calls me that. Everyone just calls me Ox King," he said darkly, scowling.

Baga cocked his head at that. "Ox King? Why?" he asked curiously.

The Ox King didn't respond for a long time. Finally, he said, "My father stripped us of our pride when he tried to assassinate King Vegeta. I don't claim him, so I don't claim the name he gave me," he said, turning his dark glare back to Baga. "My grandfather, the Ox King, he is my family, the only family I have left. I'm proud to be his heir, to take his place. So that's the only name I'll answer to," he said, fists clenched.

Baga blinked. "Ok… now I know you're full of shit," the boy said, crossing his arms at the Ox King's look of surprise. "There's no way in hell Kaka would ever try to assassinate King Vegeta. He don't even like anyone bad-mouthin' him! And why the hell would he want to… he's the Royal Guard. Only thing that killin' the King would get him was dead…" he said, trailing off. He frowned. "You said… he tried…."

The Ox King gave a nod. "King Vegeta killed him, and his faith in humanity was lost. The Saiyans left the Earth… but that didn't stop other aliens from coming here. And in the end, Dodoria…" the Ox King shuddered, then his scowl returned. "That's why I've come back in time… to stop it from happening. If I can keep Kakarot from trying to assassinate the king, then I can stop the Saiyans from leaving, and with enough time to prepare, we may even be able to stop Dodoria from taking over the universe. I've taken the place of Sammy Black, who had originally cheated his way through to the Tournament semi-finals, and fought Kakarot, nearly dying at his hand. If I pretend to be him, I'll get a chance to fight Kakarot in the Tournament before he makes his move on the King-"

"Ok, ok, stop right there," Baga said, holding up his hands. "You're makin' my head hurt. Just let me see if I can get this straight. You came back in time to keep your father from doing somethin' he'd never ever do, so King Vegeta can help you stop some other guy who's gonna destroy the universe?" he asked.

The Ox King frowned. "Take over the universe, but… more or less, yeah."

"And King Vegeta didn't try and take this Dodoria guy down because…?"

"He tried. Dodoria ripped his head off; now he keeps it on top of that stupid staff he carries around," the Ox King said darkly.

"Okay, gross…" Baga said, shuddering. "Then how do you plan to stop Kakarot? If he really wanted to kill King Vegeta, which he never would, the only one able to stop him is King Vegeta! Or maybe, Broly," Baga said, scratching his head in thought.

The Ox King smirked. "I'll be able to hold my own," he said, unconcerned.

"Really. You think you can defeat Kakarot?!" Baga asked incredulously.

The Ox King's expression darkened. "I've been surviving against Dodoria for a long time," he said ominously. "Listen, Baga, whether or not you believe me, I need your help. Can you help me blend in and keep an eye on Kakarot until the Tournament?" he asked.

Baga scowled at him. The man before him was a far cry from the little cub who snuggled up to him at night, but scent didn't lie. Neither did scars, and Baga could see plenty on Gohan, both on his face, and in his eyes. Yeah… he was definitely keeping that from happening… he didn't want to see his nephew turn into a cold stranger who hated his own father. "I'll help you, Gohan," he said after a long moment. The Ox King raised an eyebrow at that. "But it's not 'cause I think Kakarot would ever do anything to hurt the King," he said, causing the man to scowl. "It's 'cause Kaka needs to see what you've become. I'll help you pass yourself off as Sammy Black, but know that, when you face off against Kaka in the Tournament, I'll be rooting for him to kick your ass," he said, glaring. "You look like you could use it."

The Ox King glared back, and for a long moment, the tension between them was palpable, as neither of them backed down. Then, the Ox King gave a small sigh. "I wish you were right, Baga. More than anything," he said sadly.

Baga smirked. "I'm right, trust me. Kaka's a good man. Now, let's get your ass kicked nice and proper," he said, glancing around. "Stay here, I'll be right back," he said, and disappeared into what the Ox King recognized to be the mess hall. In his time, it was a pile of rubble, but his grandfather had shown him drawings of what the Arena looked like before the Saiyans had left. It was much more impressive in person, and the Ox King found himself laying a hand against the smooth obsidian wall.

Moments later, Baga re-appeared with a small jar of something. Once he opened it, the Ox King had to cover his nose with his forearm. "What the hell is that?!" the Ox King demanded, feeling ill.

"Nasty, ain't it?" Baga asked, dipping two fingers into the foul stuff. "It's rotten fish guts," he said conversationally, as the Ox King tried desperately not to vomit. "I was savin' it for a prank I was gonna play on Beet when he got back… but it's for a good cause, after all," he said, stepping towards the Ox King, who instinctively stepped back defensively. "You wanted my help, right?" Baga asked, eyebrow raised. "I was able to tell you by your scent, and so would any other Saiyan who was paying attention," he said. "This'll keep anyone from smelling you."

"Yeah… they'll be too busy throwing up!" the Ox King protested as Baga effortlessly lifted himself into the air so that he was at eye-level with him.

"Gohan… you want your plan to work, right?" Baga asked practically.

The Ox King glared at him for a long moment, before sighing. "Fine," he said, standing still as Baga slathered a bit of it on either side of his neck, wiping his hand on the Ox King's cloak.

"If anyone asks, tell 'em you don't smell anything," Baga instructed. "Human noses are dull, any Saiyan will assume you can't smell it 'cause you're human, and just keep their distance from ya," he said.

The Ox King tried to breathe through his mouth. "Humans could smell this, too… what if they start asking why I smell like something died?" he asked, eyes watering.

Baga shrugged. "Just tell 'em you've been sick or somethin'. Sammy's a fishmonger, the man eats whatever old fish he don't sell, to save money. Not that far of a stretch," he said, snickering.

"You're doing this to be an ass, aren't you?" the Ox King accused, but Baga held up his hands.

"I'm bein' serious. Look, if what you're sayin' is true, I wanna help you stop it from happening. And if it ain't… then this is what you get for lyin'," he said simply, looking him over with a critical eye. "Okay, if you wanna pass for human, you should slouch more. Humans slouch a lot, and they don't stand like that, they're more open to attack," he said, watching as the Ox King shifted his stance to comply. "Almost… you're really tall, you got Kaka's height, alright…" he said, as the Ox King slouched a little more. "Yeah, like that. Remember, if someone glares at you or shifts their stance like they're gonna attack, shrink back a little at first, then prepare for an attack. A human's instinct is usually flight first, then fight. And take a few hits here and there… you don't wanna be revealed as a Saiyan before you get to fight Kakarot," he said, smirking.

"You're enjoying this," the Ox King growled dangerously.

Baga, however, wasn't remotely intimidated. "Not as much as I'm gonna enjoy the Tournament, now. I was gonna fight, but this is too good to miss, I've gotta be a spectator now, just so I know I won't miss it," he said, frowning slightly.

"No," the Ox King said, holding out a hand to stop him. "You have to fight, Baga. History says you fought in the Tournament. If you drop out, you change the lineup, and I might not be put against Kakarot in the semi-finals," he said, his voice intense.

"Alright, alright," Baga said with a sigh. "How did I do, anyway? Did I win?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Did you… win the Tournament?" the Ox King asked, confused.

"Yeah. I'll bet I kicked everyone's asses," Baga said, smirking.

The Ox King blinked for a moment, then returned his smirk. "Guess there's only one way to find out," he said, earning a slight nod from Baga. It was a purely Saiyan moment. Baga had originally lost in the preliminaries, and the idea that he would be able to defeat Kakarot or King Vegeta in the Tournament was almost as ridiculous, as it was central to the core of his very being. Reaching for the top was what made a Saiyan, a Saiyan. Logic had absolutely nothing to do with it.

It made the Ox King miss his people.

Suddenly, the Ox King's eyes widened. "Wait… if I smell this bad… Kakarot will know I'm following him," he said, frowning.

Baga rolled his eyes. "If you've been following Kakarot, then he already knows," he said, shaking his head wryly. "You need a scouter," he said after a moment. "That way you can tell when he's near King Vegeta, you can keep tabs on him from far away," he said. "Hang on, I'll go swipe Matou's, he never uses it, I doubt he'll miss it," he said, and disappeared for another moment, before quickly returning with the scouter in hand. "Just, be careful who sees you use this… humans around here don't use scouters, except the EDS, and no amount of fish guts will get you to pass as one of them," he quipped, smirking at the image of a grown-up Gohan wearing skimpy red armor and a long red sleeve on one arm.

The Ox King placed the scouter on his face, and pressed the button on the side. He'd been introduced to their use by Prince Vegeta, and was able to understand the readouts quite easily. "Okay, I've got him. Thanks, Baga," he said, pulling his hood forward enough to conceal the scouter.

Baga scowled. "Gohan-"

"I told you, I'm the Ox King. I won't answer to that name," the Ox King said, irritated.

"You're a pain in the ass, Gohan, just shut up and listen. You're wrong about Kaka. I know you are. I also don't believe you're strong enough to stand up against him, much less beat him. But just in case you are, just know that, if you kill him, none of us will rest until you join him," Baga said, scowling.

The Ox King regarded him for a long moment. "I'm under orders not to kill him unless absolutely necessary," he replied.

"Orders by who?" Baga asked suspiciously.

"Someone important enough for me to listen to," the Ox King replied ominously. "I won't kill Kakarot unless doing so is the only way to stop the attempt on King Vegeta's life. On that, you have my word," he said with a scowl.

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The little Saiyan girl sat in the tent next to the wounded man on the cot, watching Twelve stitch wounds together and apply salves. She rested her cheek in her hand as she watched, legs swinging beneath her chair, not acting anything like the Saiyan warrior she was dressed like. "So… do you like to fight?" he asked conversationally, trying to figure this strange little girl out.

The strange little girl cast him a bored glance, and shrugged. "Not really," she said with a sigh. "I don't see the point. All you do is waste energy, and gain nothing," she said.

Twelve blinked. This girl was the complete opposite of Kakarot, that was for certain. He resumed stitching the man's wounds. "I've never heard of a Saiyan who doesn't like to fight," he said, eyebrow raised.

"I've never met a Human dressed up like a turtle," the girl said in response, reaching out to touch the human's hair. A small smile appeared on her face as she did so, pressing down on the curly afro, and watching it spring back up when she moved her finger.

"The turtle shells are for training," Twelve said, glancing down at his. "Though I suppose you're right, it is a drain on my energy," he murmured thoughtfully. He shrugged, and continued working on the human, not bothering to take it off. "Not that it matters. My energy is nearly depleted as it is. May as well look like a Turtle School master when it's gone," he said, and made a final stitch. Carefully he cut the excess thread, and began to clean the area over the wounds with fresh water. Only when he glanced at the little girl did he notice her staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"You're not human," she said, frowning. "I've been trying to figure out why you feel so weird to me, why you make my skin tingle, why you weren't scared of me when you saw I was a Saiyan," she said, looking him over.

"You're right. I'm not human," Twelve said, continuing his work. "I'm an android," he said.

The little girl blinked. "What's an android?" she asked, and since he was busy, he didn't notice how intense her look became.

"An android is a person that was made by another person, with technology," Twelve explained, the way he'd explained it to his students who had also asked him that question. "I used to be human, but now I have mechanical parts," he explained.

"Made that way, by Dr. Gero?" the girl asked, and Twelve's eyes snapped to meet hers, surprised.

"How did you know?" Twelve asked, getting a bad feeling.

"Because Dr. Gero changed me, too," she said, taking a step towards him.

The woman in the lab, lying on the table… begging him to help… "You're…. you're that woman's child," Twelve said, swallowing as his eyes went wide. "You're Android Thirteen," he breathed. How often had Dr. Gero bragged about his precious Android Thirteen… and what she would one day do?

The little girl stopped, staring at him for a long moment. Then, she shrugged, and sat back down. "Maca. Ruta says my name's Maca, that's what mama named me. My name's supposed to be important or something," she said, going back to playing with the human's hair, seemingly oblivious to Twelve's look of horror. "My energy's pretty low, too, Master Twelve," she said, using the name he'd given her when they first met in the woods. "I'm on a diet," she said wryly. "No innocent humans, only the bad guys shooting at me, and any aliens that happen to show up. So I won't try to eat you or this guy. You can stop treating me like I'm a monster," she said, resting her cheek in her hand again. "Human hair's so soft," she murmured to herself as she played.

Twelve watched the girl, transfixed. He… he didn't want to ask, but he had to know. "Thirteen- er, Maca," he said, causing the girl's eyes to lazily move to meet his. "Do you know why Dr. Gero made you?" he asked, swallowing hard.

Maca held his gaze for a long moment before she spoke. "Yeah," she said, and raised an eyebrow. "'Cause he's an asshole. Why else would he make a creature whose only way of feeding herself and staying alive, was to eat the people around her? When all the people are gone, I'll just starve to death, anyway. I'm a weapon, made by a crazy dead guy. Everyone's afraid of me, no one likes me, and I'll probably end up either starving to death early, or getting killed by my own brother for tryin' to eat," she said, and turned back to staring at the human. "Do you have any idea what it's like? Being both too weak and too strong? Having everyone who's supposed to care about you being secretly afraid of you? They all want me to be just like them, but can't treat me like I'm just like them. 'Cause I'm not like them. My life makes no sense at all," she said, scowling. She sighed. "Only I don't have the energy to do anything about it."

Twelve watched her for a long moment, then sighed. "This guy looks like he might make it, but only time will tell. We'll both have to watch him, or he might die in his sleep. Will you help me keep him alive?" he asked.

Maca brushed her fingers through his hair again. "Yeah. I wanna see this guy make it," she said, scowling. She needed to know why Kakarot had done what he had, but she also took a perverse pleasure in thwarting Kakarot's plans for the guy. She couldn't fight Kakarot, but saving this human felt a bit like getting a shot at her sanctimonious asshole of a brother.

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Dr. Gero crossed her arms, a triumphant smirk on her face, and glanced at Lapis and Lazuli, who were also watching the monitor. "So, you see your target?" she asked them.

Lapis grinned. "This is gonna be fun! Finally, a real mission!" he said, pumping his fist in the air.

Lazuli fingered the hoop earring in her left ear. The twins had recently had their ears pierced by Dr. Gero, so they could wear these when they went out on missions. Lapis thought they were cool, because now they matched the androids; Lazuli was still worried, for much the same reason. Now they matched the androids. "What about Android Twelve?" she asked. "Are we bringing him back, too?" she asked practically.

Dr. Gero tilted her head. "Fourteen and Fifteen will take care of Twelve. You two just bring me my little treasure. Prove to me you won't fail in this, and I'll let you both go on more missions in the future," she promised.

Lazuli smirked. "Don't worry… we'll have Android Thirteen eating out of our hand," she said, her eyes twinkling. "And, when she's finally here… we are totally going shopping!" she said excitedly.

Dr. Gero gave the twins a patient smile as they left to prepare. They were human children, of course their priorities would be skewed, of course they wouldn't see Android Thirteen for what she really was. But no matter. Soon, she would have everything that belonged to her. Then, it wouldn't matter how many of the Red Ribbon Army's secret bases those aliens destroyed, it would be she who single-handedly wiped the vermin from the face of the earth.