Note: Four chapters left.

Chapter 14: Hand of Fate

Mark sits down at one of his swimming pool tables with Sheila sitting across from him in a sleeveless red dress and black stilettos. However, Sheila's mohawk is gone, replaced by long and smooth white hair. Katie sits to Mark's right, wearing a pink tank top with blue jeans and black sandals. The three of them are having afternoon lunch, eating caviar and crackers.

Meanwhile in Hercule City, there is an angry mob gathered around Hercule manor. Majin Buu stands outside, keeping the people at bay when the pink demon remembers what Hercule told him years ago. "Majin Buu, don't get angry. If you do, the bad Buu will come back." Majin Buu takes this to heart, but feels a sense of depression. "How can I not get angry at this?"

Back at Mark's mansion, Mark looks over to Sheila and she notices his sudden stare. "What's wrong?"

"Your mohawk is gone."

"You don't like it?"

"It's nice." Sheila looks to the side. "Well, I just got tired of it. Mohawks are too manly. I'm a woman, so I wanted to look like one." The two of them resume eating.

Meanwhile in West City, James Barnaby is laughing on a couch inside of his hotel suite. The suite has pale blue walls with the bedroom and bathroom across from him behind two shutter doors. Dixie sits to his right with a glass of wine, still in her brown pelt with a monkey's tail around her waist and no footwear. She takes a sip of her wine, then turns her eyes to Barnaby.

"I can't believe it! That lying son of a bitch finally got what was coming to him! I'm so happy I could burst!"

"Our work is not done yet, James. Chi Chi is now in a federal prison, making it harder for me to get close to her."

"Relax, Dixie. You just need to unwind a bit, loosen up once in a while. It's not time for you to kill her just yet, so leave it alone for now."

"James, you know that Goku and the others are more anxious than ever to face our god. Should we move against them now?"

"I think Mark has a plan, Dixie. He always does."

Mark continues to eat his crackers, but then Katie begins to speak. "Daddy, are you sure your plan will work?" Mark turns his head to speak to his daughter. "Killing them would be too easy. We need to break them first." Katie stares at him with a blank look in her eyes. "And how will we do that, Daddy?"

"By splitting them up. We are going to kill them with kindness, by taking their desires and twisting them."

Meanwhile in South City, the people there have gone mad, hearing that the world leaders are all dead. With no one left to keep the order, anarchy has spread like wildfire. A rich family hides in their reinforced home, hoping to survive the madness happening outside.

At Kame House, a group of alligator thugs attempt to rob Roshi, Marron and Android 18. Roshi and 18 manage to knock them all down with ease. One of them shoots a bullet at 18, but it bounces off her cheek, causing her to fire a finger blast at his feet, intimidating him. Just then, Android 18 feels a powerful presence in the sky above. She looks up, seeing a figure cloaked in shadow with eyes glowing red. Android 18 looks at the figure in shock.

"It's you."

Mark, Sheila, and Katie continue to eat their lunch as the robot butler approaches them. "Master Mark, there is a Bulma Briefs here to see you, sir. Her son and daughter are with her as well." Mark only continues to eat. "Send them back." The butler bows slightly. "Of course, sir." The butler takes off and about a minute later, Bulma storms into Mark's pool area. Mark looks to his left and sees that she is infuriated about something, unable to contain it.

"Where is Vegeta?"

"How should I know?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Mark! I know you have a grudge against him!"

"And you're saying I shouldn't, along with the lives that he has ended?"

"I know, Mark! I know he killed your parents! I looked into it ten years ago after you stormed out of Capsule Corp., but now you've taken it too far! I know it was you who killed the world leaders!"

"Based on what, Bulma? You have no proof of that!"

"Enough of this," shouts Trunks as he steps in front of Bulma. "Tell me where dad is right now, or..."

"Or what, you spoiled brat?! You'll punch me?! Are you certain you haven't bankrupted your family business yet?"

"Everyone, just stop," said Bra acting as the voice of reason. "Mark, dad isn't the only one who has vanished. Goku, Pan, Android 18 and Piccolo have vanished as well." Mark turns his chair toward them now and sighs. He then crosses his left leg over his right, half Indian style as he folds his hands.

"It seems to me that the Dragon God is involved."

"You know about Rachel," asked Bulma.

"I know everything. Bulma, what do you know about Rachel?"

"That she's a good girl."

"How do you know that, Bulma? You met her a few weeks ago. Okay, let me ask you this. Where was she born? What school did she go to?"

"Why is that important," said Bulma shouting angrily with Mark responding back. "I don't believe this! You're supposed to be a genius, Bulma and yet you act so stupid! Think, Bulma! Why did Shenron give her that power?"

"Because he trusted her."

"Like he trusted King Piccolo, or Garlic Jr.? Need I remind you that Shenron is neutral? He made me the God of Evil, so what makes you think he wouldn't pick someone with a dark heart?"

"Where are you going with this," asked Bulma calming down.

"Rachel still has a long way to go to become the Dragon God, but she is inexperienced. Just a few hours ago, she wished for someone to help her with those powers, a wishmaster like herself but unbound by any limits."

"Who is it," asked Trunks still slightly angry.

"Someone who lives outside of time and space, outside of matter and physical barriers. This being is capable of granting your desires and so much more."

"Who is it," asked Bulma getting angry again. Mark stands up from his chair and snaps his fingers. In an instant, Bulma, Trunks, Bra, Mark, Gohan, Goten, Videl, and Chi Chi find themselves in a void, surrounded by an infinite number of Earths. Everyone looks on in wonder, but then Bulma quickly notices her friends.

"Gohan? Videl, Chi Chi?"

"What's going on? I was in prison, but then Goku's life force disappeared," said Chi Chi, now seeing Mark and showing disapproval. "What is he doing here?!"

"You can bitch at me later, Chi Chi, but for now we are going on a field trip," said Mark.

"Where are we," asked Videl curiously.

"This is the multiverse, an infinite number of parallel dimensions, side by side and yet not interacting. We are going to the center of the multiverse. There, we will find Rachel Landau and her trainer." Mark then begins to fly through the void of infinite Earths, bringing the group with him. The Earths begin to speed by them faster and Goten looks around, curious about where they are going, amazed by what he sees, and suspicious toward Mark. Goten then whispers to Gohan.

"What do you think he's up to?"

"I don't know, Goten, but for some reason he's helping us." Videl floats closer to Mark, a look of mistrust at the Darkness. "What you did to me, Mark... what you tried to do to Gohan..."

"As I recall, Videl, Chi Chi did most of the damage. You should be angry with her, not me. She is the one that took your husband's face, but then Chi Chi has abused him before."

"How dare you," shouts Chi Chi from behind. "All I've done is give Gohan affection!"

"Is that why you hired an abusive tutor for him?" Chi Chi looks stunned. "What are you talking about?"

"After Goku beat Frieza, you hired a tutor for Gohan, but the tutor physically assaulted your son with a whip. Gohan tried to tell you, but you didn't care. As long as he was studying, his safety didn't matter to you. You proved that when you told Goku that you didn't care if the world blew up, as long as Gohan studied. It's no surprise you nearly killed Gohan, nor is it surprising that you tried to kill Piccolo, because you still hate him for training your son without your consent. Anything else you want to deny?"

"Alright, enough," said Gohan. "You mentioned that Rachel has a trainer. Explain."

"She couldn't get wishmaster training from you bozos, so she had to search. She reached outside of time itself and found a being from the realm of imagination itself."

"Are you saying that he is a god," asked Bulma.

"No, Bulma. He is stronger than that." A spark of light appears before Mark. "We're here."

The infinite Earths no longer surround them. They now stand inside of a white diner with red stools and red booths. Right outside the windows of the diner is a lush, beautiful rainforest with a volcano in the distance, miles below the floating diner. "This... is the center of the multiverse," asked Trunks dumbfounded. Mark chuckles and just sits at one of the stools by the counter. "This is pretty sweet," said Goten smiling and then sits on one of the stools. Chi Chi marvels at it, but then becomes disinterested.

"What kind of being would live here?" Mark slaps the counter twice, causing a peanut butter milkshake to appear. Mark drinks through the straw, then puts it down on the counter. "This is the realm of imagination, where beings of thought and desire live. Here, there is no logic or science, no physics or nature, only imagination. This is the ideal place where Rachel can master her powers. It is also where HE lives."

"Who is HE," asked Bra.

"A being who oversees the entire multiverse. A being who is unbound by the natural order of things. Since the realm of imagination is where he is from, he is empowered by the wishes he grants to others whenever he enters our universe, the mortal universe."

"Answer the question already, Mark! Who is he," said an angry Chi Chi.

Suddenly, the diner begins to shake violently. Gohan looks outside the window, seeing a gigantic being rising from the distant ground below. "Uh, guys!" The being wears a white t-shirt with dark blue shorts. He has long black hair and bright purple skin with pointy ears and red irises with no pupils. Everyone except Mark look outside and are scared of the being appearing out of nowhere. The being then reappears inside of the diner, sitting next to Mark at roughly 5'9. His bare feet seem to be rubbing together.

"Wow, I keep forgetting how itchy rainforest grass can be," said the being in a young, whimsical voice. The being then spins around to face everyone else with his eyes closed and smiling. His smile seems to light up the room. "Well hooowwwwwdy! I'm Mojaro!" (MOE-JAR-OH) Mojaro pops in front of Gohan and quickly shakes his hand. "How you been?" He pops in front of Bulma and Trunks and shakes both of their hands. "You're pretty," said Mojaro to Bulma. He then pops in front of Chi Chi and shakes her hand. "So I take it you're all here for your friends, correct?"

"You know about that," asked Goten. Mojaro pops over to the counter, laying down on his right side with his face leaning into his hand. He now looks blank. "Well, the new Dragon God needed help with her powers, so I brought her here. Until she masters her powers, I took over as the wishmaster for your group."

"Hold up, hold up," said Trunks in objection. "If you're going to replace Rachel, then why didn't you come to us?"

"Because silly Billy, Mark was going to bring you here."

"Okay, Mojaro is it? Do you know where Goku, Pan, Piccolo, Android 18, and Vegeta are," asked Bulma.

"But of course. I granted their wishes, except for Android 18; she's somewhere else."

"What do you mean 18 is somewhere else," asked Bulma getting upset.

"Someone took her for god training. Anyway, on to the other four. I approached them and offered them a wish for dealing with Mr. Darkness pants over here. They were eager to defeat Mark their own way, so I granted each of their wishes."

"What did you do to them," asked Gohan getting serious.

"When I grant someone's wish, I send them to a wish altered reality. They will live their lives differently in those realities, but some things might stay the same. They are somewhere in the multiverse; all I have to do is bring them up." Mojaro snaps his fingers, causing a floating screen to appear at the door of the diner. "Let's see what Piccolo is up to."

Piccolo's reality

Piccolo's wish for dealing with Mark was to have the power to destroy him. Piccolo found out about Persona Plus much sooner, except Mark was not selling them publicly. After breaking into one of Mark's warehouses, Piccolo took as many crates as he could carry, for Mark had brought the world into despair with his private army of Sun Gods.

Due to his healing factor, Piccolo drank as much as he could to increase the time limit from 5 hours to 5 days, but his healing factor allowed him to permanently absorb the Sun God's power. With an infinite energy supply, Piccolo took on the Sun God army and wiped them out. Piccolo then challenged Mark to a final showdown. Piccolo fought as hard as he could against Mark, but Mark seemed too smart for him until he found a way to block his omniscience. With his all sight gone, Piccolo unleashed a solar-powered punch against Mark with all of his energy, plowing a hole through him until he exploded. Piccolo had won and the Darkness Incarnate was no more.

Vegeta's reality

Vegeta's wish was a bit similar. His wish was to become a Super Saiyan God at will. Vegeta then challenged Mark to face him on Mars, where they can fight without restraint. Vegeta and Mark seem evenly matched but as the fight dragged on, Vegeta's power was rising faster than it ever did as a mortal. Vegeta was starting to enjoy the extra power a little too much. Vegeta became so strong that he surpassed Mark and hammered him into the ground of Mars before unleashing a Final Flash, ending his life. Vegeta then goes back to Earth and reunites with his family.

Pan's reality

Pan's wish was a bit more specific. Her wish was to find the Sun God and discover how Mark was using his power. Pan discovered the red sun chamber that the Sun God was being held prisoner in, but Mark had already moved him, being fifty steps ahead of his enemies. However, Mark made a fatal error by placing the Sun God inside of a blue star. The blue star caused the Sun God's power to rise to a level beyond godhood, forcing him to wake up. The Sun God appears before Pan, covered in blue flames and tells her that Mark drains his energy while he is being weakened inside of the red sun chamber.

Pan and the supercharged Sun God face Mark in battle in the skies above Earth. The Sun God gives some of his energy to Pan while his blue solar charge still lasted. Thanks to her Saiyan blood, Pan is able to remember the power and becomes a Super Saiyan God. The two gods face off against Mark until the Darkness starts to wear down. Pan then learns the Spirit Bomb and absorbs it, then uses its energy to purify Mark. Instead of killing him, Pan's purification of him had weakened his powers and made him vulnerable. The Sun God approved of Pan being non-lethal with Mark. Using what evidence they could gather, they were finally able to have Mark arrested for his crimes.

Goku's reality

Though Piccolo, Vegeta, and Pan were more intelligent with their wishes, Goku's was more naïve. His wish was to rid the universe of all evil so that Mark would have no power. With Mark in a powerless state, Goku had him restrained and put in a private cell. Goku then meets with Rachel and wishes to resurrect the Saiyan race, on the condition that they answer only to him.

Everyone now looks away from the image screen. Chi Chi gives a smug look at Mark. "Looks like they beat you after all. That means we can too." Mark takes another sip of his shake, then responds with a smile. "You would think that, wouldn't you? Maybe you should keep watching."

"Oh please, you lost, Mark," shouts Bulma, "now you're being a sore loser!"

Mark turns his gaze to Mojaro and drops his smile. "Mojaro, ever heard the term be careful what you wish for? Isn't that how the dragonballs work?"

"He's right," said Gohan in realization. "Bulma, remember when Krillin died on Namek?"

"Yeah."

"We weren't able to bring him back right away, because if we did he would have shown up in the last place he died, which was the now gone Namek. If we brought him back, he would show up in space and suffocate from lack of air. We would have killed him all over again." Mark looks at Gohan in an excitable voice. "Give the man a cookie! You hit it right on the nose!"

"My wishes work the same way," said Mojaro. "When I grant someone's wish, there is always an ironic twist." Mojaro then sits up on the counter, facing Goten. "Goten, how would you like 1 million zeni?"

"That would be awesome," said Goten getting excited.

"Okay, but where is it coming from? A bank? Someone's life insurance? Maybe someone won the martial arts tournament and were promised 10 million zeni but only got nine. Where did it go? Oh yeah, I gave it to you!" Goten drops his smile and looks slightly embarrassed. "Chi Chi, how would you like to kill Mark for corrupting you?"

"I'd say do it now," replies Chi Chi in a tempted, yet angry voice.

"But there's a catch. There is a reason why he's called the Darkness Incarnate. Mark, stand up. Gohan, try to hit him with a Masenko." Mark stands up and holds out his arms. Gohan holds his hands over his head, charging up his blast. The yellow ki energy begins to flicker as Gohan announces his attack. "Masenko..." Gohan then fires the blast at Mark. "HA!" The blast hits Mark, but instead of an explosion, Mark's body is covered in a dark aura and absorbs the blast. "What just happened," asked a shocked Gohan. The yellow light fades and the diner is back to normal. Mark drops his arms, addressing everyone in Mojaro's diner. "Do you see now? They only thought they beat me, but they didn't. Piccolo and Vegeta killed me because I allowed them to."

"But... why would you do that," asked a horrified Trunks.

"The sin of violence," replies Gohan.

"Very good, Gohan. I can see why your daughter is so smart." Mojaro gets everyone's attention with a gym whistle. "Alright, everyone! You all saw what the four of them wished for, but now it's time to see how it all plays out. Since you all just got here and I can tell that some of you haven't eaten today because of all the stress, we will take a twenty-minute break." Mojaro then starts rubbing his hands together with a wide grin. "Ooooooooo, you are going to love my personally made burgers and fries, courtesy of the land of imagination." Mojaro pops out, leaving them all to themselves.

Later, Mark sits at Gohan's and Videl's booth in the mid-section of the diner by the door. Sheila now sits next to Mark with her head leaned against his right shoulder. Mark sits across from Gohan as the four of them stare at one another, with Gohan observing and Videl being more judgemental. "I don't get you, Mark. First you try to have me killed, then you invite us to dinner, then the fight at the prison, now you're helping us. Just what are you doing? Why are you helping us?"

"I have my reasons, Gohan."

"So Sheila, why betray your post as a Supreme Kai? You're supposed to protect people, maintain order! Why would you take Mark's side in all of this? Why would you allow yourself to help a monster like Frieza," interrogates Videl.

"The Supreme Kais are dead because of that so-called order, Videl. Also, you shouldn't lecture me about monsters when you have sided with my mortal enemy, Majin Buu! He killed us off and that's when I realized that our order wasn't enough. If we had taken action against Bibidi from the beginning, Majin Buu never would have killed us. Western Supreme Kai was the first to fall during that war. I admired her because she was the only woman on post at the time."

Mojaro pops back in and gives plates full of cheeseburgers and fries to each of his guests. Mark looks at his food in slight disappointment. "Something wrong, Mark," asked Gohan.

"I usually don't eat junk food. I keep up a healthy diet with fruits, vegetables, white meat, and fruit smoothies, although I will eat dessert, just like the shake I had earlier." Gohan becomes interested now. "What about bread?"

"I'll eat it sometimes, but it has a lot of carbs, so I try to avoid it. And yes, Gohan, I do drink milk."

"Two percent or Vitamin D?"

"Two percent is too watered down for my tastes. I mean sure, it's healthier, but Vitamin D has a better taste. As long as I drink it sparingly, it won't be a problem." Gohan begins to eat his food as Mojaro reappears in a bright purple suit to match his skin with black shoes. "Alrighty, then! You all have your munchies, and now we can move on with our feature presentation! You all saw what happened with each of your friends' wishes, now let's see how things will play out. Piccolo defeated an alternate version of Mark, but how will he live with the Sun God's power? Why don't we take a look?"

Mojaro snaps his fingers and the image screen appears in front of the door again. Static can be seen on the screen as everyone's vision zooms in, ready to see what transpires in the alternate lives of their friends and family.

Next Chapter: Rachel still has a long way to go to become the Dragon God. Just then, a magical imp appears. He has a wild sense of humor and is able to grant any wish… for a price.