I think this will be the start of yet another plot point... It's a little late in the story, but if it makes it any more intriguing, it pertains to a certain Saiyan in space... Oh, and I hope that everybody's had a very merry Christmas!

The old World Martial Artist Tournament champion stood up from his kneeling position, a few albums in his thinner, wearier arms. He leaned against the bookcase and spared a glance around the old room. It was the master bedroom of the mansion, having been unoccupied for half a year now. He ran his finger along the wooden furniture after setting the stack of albums down and sighed. It looked as if the housekeepers hadn't been doing a very good job of taking care of the old place.

It had been his bedroom for years, even before his wife had died of pneumonia. For his wife's sake, he had never brought another woman into that room, trying to keep her memory alive. He picked up an old, silver-framed portrait of her, young and in her later twenties. He sighed, shaking his head; she had been too young to go, too young. The wrestler set the picture down and turned around, his eyes on the beautiful canopy bed carved from oak. He stalked towards it and grabbed the silky, purple fabric hanging from its branches. This was the first time in six months that he had been able to think clearly, and he wanted to devote this time to what he had almost lost. If it hadn't been for Buu, he wouldn't have been here, tears closing in on his eyes. He had to thank his pink friend for that much.

He bit his bottom lip, thinking of what would happen if Majin Buu hadn't been there to heal him. He had been told that he was likely going to die that day, but to be brought back so easily... it scared him. What was beyond technology's hold, he had in his grasp. His friend who had been gone for several months now was back, looking as plump as ever. Hercule chuckled a little bitterly to himself, trying to imagine just where he could have been.

Before Majin Buu had returned, he had almost been embracing death with open arms. Goku, his son-in-law's father, had once told him that the afterlife was actually pretty good, if you were a respectable fighter. And after going through a lifetime of being champion of the world, he thought that maybe he deserved a spot up there, his body preserved. Goku had told him about how there was nothing to worry about, how all of his basic needs were fulfilled, how he could train all day long, and how he was never hungry. The wealthy Mr. Satan had all of these things now, but there was a certain relief from stress he had been seeking. His life, so devoted to lies and schemes, needed a time of peace.

Death had looked like a very nice option after lying in bed for months on pain medication. Gohan had insisted bring Dende, the Earth's Protector or something of that sort, claiming that he could heal him. But Hercule had waved him off, saying that he wanted to die off naturally. But, boy, was he wrong. After Majin Buu had returned and healed him, he couldn't believe he had actually wanted to leave his life. There was so much to see here, and seeing Pan cry by his side had definitely made him realize this. His time wasn't up on Earth yet.

He slid his hand along the maroon bed sheets, his fingers tracing the silky fabric. He grabbed a corner in his hand and examined it, regretting not being able to sleep in it lately. It had been medical reasons that had put him in the bedroom on the first floor, being more accessible to staff and employees. But that night, he needed to sleep downstairs one more time. It would be his last night on that guest room's warm, cotton sheets, with that nice down blanket over him. After this night of readjustment, he would returned to his old self, determined to start his life over again. After being so close to the end of this one, he swore to come at peace with himself. He needed to stop weaving lies into each day and worries into each night.

He tucked the thick albums under one of his arms and headed out of the master bedroom's doors. As he turned around the corner, he took the liberty to quickly peek into his daughter's bedroom to see if the young couple were still up. But the lights were off, making Mr. Satan stifle his first real laugh in a long time. Whatever they were doing, he didn't want to be a witness of. He closed the door, a bit shocked that they had left it cracked open, and headed directly down the stairs.

When he reached the first floor, he was immediately startled by a large, pink blob turning around and exclaiming anxiously, "Mr. Satan! You okay? Buu thought you upset!" The champion only shook his head, regretting hiding himself in his room all day. It had been rough when Buu first healed him, but as the day progressed, his mood lightened. It was as if he was seeing something that he had been missing all of his life.

"I'm fine," the champion boomed, a grin on his tired face. The curious passerby watched him as they made their rounds, finishing cleaning the house for the night. "In fact, I have a few things I want to show you, Majin Buu."

With these words, he held out the thick, brown books to Buu's delight. The creature clapped his hands and cried joyously, his worried expression wiping clean, "Good! Buu happy that Mr. Satan happy!"

Mr. Satan patted his pink friend on the back as they made their way down a long corridor and out into the courtyard. He had a lot of memories that he wanted to share with the monster, having no other friends that would listen to him. It had taken six months of lying in bed, having visits from 'friends' from all over the world, for him to realize that nobody could replace Buu. It was simply impossible.

Goten smiled at his father as Krillin reached the climax of the joke he was reciting, one that he had heard dozens of times. He was supposedly telling his father the joke, but so caught up in what he was saying, Krillin didn't even notice that Goku wasn't paying attention. He was dozing, his back resting against the wall and his arms crossed peacefully. When Goten thought his father wouldn't notice, he took a chance to look at him, trying to find what changes had been made over eight years. His eyes trailed from the top of his father's spiky hair to his heavy training boots and back up, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

Goku startled his son by giving him a sudden wink, making Goten jump back and further into the sofa. As everybody stared at him curiously, besides Krillin, who was busy talking to himself, he decided to put his arm around Valese's shoulder to make the jump seem intentional. Everybody then averted their attention from him, disappointed that he hadn't sensed his brother's coming energy.

It wasn't until Krillin was just wrapping up his joke, muttering, "And this is the part that King Kai always cracks up at," that Goten sat upright on the sofa. Chi-Chi looked curiously at this sudden good posture and glanced towards Goku, whose eyes were finally open and looking alert. It wasn't for another second that Goten removed his arm from around Valese and stood up slowly, looking intently towards the door.

"Is that...?" he started, trailing off. Goku had a similar expression of confusion on his face, sensing the approaching power. It was unbelievably high, which was why Goten was hesitant when picking up, "Is that Gohan?"

Goku nodded, announcing, "It is Gohan." He pried himself off of the wall, walking towards his younger son. Then, with the two of them standing side-by-side, Goku said, "It's Gohan, but... his power level is incredible!" Breaking out into a smile and turning to Goten, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me that Gohan had become so strong?"

"I didn't know," Goten explained, astounded and not showing the same enthusiasm as his father. Something was wrong; Gohan hadn't trained a day in years, and he was already putting out a stronger energy than Goten could ever dream of having. It felt as intense as their own father's, making Goten wonder what was going on. He knew that Gohan was strong, but he felt sure that he had surpassed him after training so much. It wouldn't be fair if Gohan could be both the strongest and the smartest demi-Saiyan of all; his brother had always managed to outshine him through life, though that had never given him much grief before. However, with their father's return, he wanted his father to think he was worth something and not just the second best.

Eighteen stepped forth from her corner, unable to read energies and thus resorting to listening. Her ears were able to pick up the sound of something bulleting through the air at an insane speed, approaching the Kame House. If that was Gohan, something was indeed off. She jerked Marron off of the sofa and threw her into Krillin's arms, pushing the two of them down to the ground. Everybody watched in shock as Krillin complied and she stepped around the sofa, placing her hand on the front door knob. "I'm going to check it out. There is something wrong."

The awoken Marron was too dazed by the sudden actions to do anything but lay in her father's arms, wondering what had happened. Krillin wasn't sure what she was doing, ruining his punchline like that; he hadn't been paying attention at all to what was happening around him. Seeing what Eighteen did with her family, Goten instinctively followed her lead and pulled Valese gently off of the sofa, walking her around the furniture, and helping her back down to where Marron and Krillin were. It would be best to stay hidden, because Eighteen was right: Gohan's energy wasn't the same, and there was something suspicious about it.

Goku wasn't as shocked by Gohan's energy as the other two, so before Eighteen could leave the house, he grabbed her by the forearm and asked, "Can you sense something that I can't? Right now, I just feel Gohan..."

"No," she said, rather patiently for the android. "I can't sense energies, so I have to use my other senses. But I can hear only one body, not the three that should have come if this was intended to be a family gathering. The way he is flying is forceful and angry. There is something wrong." She shook her wrist out of of grip and exited, leaving Goku to turn to Chi-Chi with an eye raised. But Chi-Chi shook her head stubbornly.

"I'm not scared of my son," she said, crossing her arms with a glint of malice in her eyes. "Nobody can scare me like you can, Goku."

"I would feel better if you'd at least get down to the ground..." he insisted, walking closer towards her.

"No." Her tone was final.

He coaxed the woman, whose black hair was frazzled, "Come on, Chi-Chi; I'm not sure I even believe what Eighteen's saying, but I'd still feel better if you'd hide under your stool or something."

"Is that going to save me from a ki blast?"

"No, but..."

Chi-Chi stood up, her nose turned in the air as she said, "Exactly." She walked towards Goku confidently and said, "Gohan has grown up to be a gentle, caring man, and I can't believe that you all would think anything less of him just because he's hurrying to get here to see you again."

Goku was at a loss, realizing that they had rushed to conclusions rather quickly. He bit his lip, glancing towards Goten who was just looking silly, knowing that he had simply been jumping on the bandwagon. But Eighteen wasn't convinced, listening to their conversation through the cracked door. She could hear the speeding through the waves, the determination radiating from the demi-Saiyan. No, this wasn't just because he was in a hurry to welcome his father. There was definitely something more to this; there was something wrong.