Chapter 36

Advanced Placement

Kibito and Uub appeared on King Kai's planet in an instant, apropos of nothing. Upon first landing, Uub doubled over, momentarily caught off guard by the dense planet's elevated gravity, but quickly adjusted, corrected his posture, and examined his surroundings.

The planet was as unimpressive as ever; a single tree, a paved road, a red sports car, and a small, homely abode comprising the entirety of the landscape. Soon, the door of the house opened revealing three figures.

First out was Bubbles the monkey, who quickly ran and climbed the tree, utterly disinterested with the newcomers. Next was King Kai, short, blue, and plump, as he had always been, his halo still in place. Finally, crouching his massive form low to fit through the frame of the door, was Piccolo, a halo adorning head as well.

"Mister Piccolo!" Uub yelled, running forward and jumping into the Namek's chest. Piccolo was caught off guard, but dodged slightly by moving aside and catching the child in the crook of his arm.

"Good to see you, too, kid." He said, ruffling the boy's hair as he did.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked.

"I'm doing some work for King Kai." The Namekian replied. "I'll be spending a lot of time here."

"North Kai," Kibito interjected. "Is this true? Piccolo is welcome to stay here, of course, but in what capacity?"

"Oh, don't get all formal on me, Kibito." King Kai replied. "If the Supreme Kai gets a body guard why shouldn't I? I'm the one who got his planet destroyed, after all…"

"Be that as it may, there is protocol, North Kai." Kibito protested.

"Not unless I'm promoted." King Kai returned, half-jokingly, but with an ere of seriousness in his voice. "Otherwise you would've fired me when I died."

"Perhaps," Kibito relented. "I will inform the Supreme Kai of the arrangement. If he has no protest, then I withdraw my own."

"Fine by me." King Kai replied flatly, "Anyway, Uub, I understand you'll be staying with us a while."

"I…I don't know…" Uub stuttered, climbing back to the ground to address the Kai properly. "That's what Supreme Kai said, but I'm not sure what's going on…"

"Uub." Piccolo said, staring firmly down at the child, "The Supreme Kai brought you along because you have more potential than any child ever born. If you can learn to control that power, you might even surpass Beerus. There's no better teacher of energy control than King Kai, and I'll be here the whole time. Will you stay with us?"

Any apprehension Uub might have felt was chilled by the resoluteness in Piccolo's voice. A firm "Yes sir." Was his only reply.

"Well, there's your answer." King Kai said nonchalantly. "Thanks for bringing him over, Kibito."

"Of course." Kibito replied. "We'll be checking in quite often, North Kai. Seven years is ample time, but it goes by quickly."

With that, Kibito vanished again, back to the Planet of the Kais.

Whis and Trunks rushed through space at blinding speed for hours, Trunks's mind lost in the space around him, until they were suddenly still. A strange planet marked by foreign markers and condensed celestial objects surrounded them, as the silence of the planet seemed to ring in the Saiyan's ears.

"Step lightly, if you don't mind." Whis asked calmly. "Waking Beerus would be unfortunate for the both of us."

Back on the Planet of the Kais, Goten and Gohan were already in full swing. Attacking as a pair, they pressed their father as best they could in an effort to corner and catch him.

Try as they might, Goku's speed was too much for them. The harder they pressed, the faster he would push, leading them on fruitless chases for minutes at a time.

Finally, Gohan noticed a pattern in his father's movements, and redirected wildly to intercept him. It worked perfectly. Goku let out a yelp, caught completely off guard as Gohan widened his arms and thrashed them together around his father's shoulders, only to yell in surprise when his arms clasped nothing but empty space.

Some 15 yards away, Goku smiled widely back at him, his fingers still pressed to his forehead.

"No fair!" Goten protested, less accustomed to his father's antics than his older brother. "Nobody can catch you if you do that! You could go anywhere in the world!"

"So learn it yourself!" Goku shot back, every bit as petulantly as his son.

"Really?!" Goten yelled.

"Sure! Sit down right here!" Goku positioned his sons on either side of him, and sat down in the grass opposite them, some 5 yards away. "Now close your eyes and focus on my energy. I'll make it normal so you can feel it. Lock on and pull your energy toward mine."

Stillness filled the air as Gohan and Goten pushed their energy toward their father's. As seconds turned into minutes Gohan felt his mind begin to wander, but forced himself to focus, to dig deeper, to will his body to obey. The minutes ticked by, the stillness only broken by an occasional billow of gentle wind.

"I did it!"

Goten's cry filled the air, snapping Gohan's eyes open. Less than an hour had passed.

"Unreal…" Gohan said as he fell back into the grass. For all the strength his body possessed, Goten's aptitude never ceased to amaze him.

"Stay with it, Gohan." The Supreme Kai said, now suddenly standing just behind him. "No Saiyan ever born has potential like yours. I'm as sure you'll be the one to defeat Beerus as I was that you'd defeat Buu."

Refocused, Gohan sat up again, closed his eyes, and went back to work, his brother vanishing and reappearing all around him as he did.

Light years away, Trunks was having a decidedly less calming experience. Burdened by a suit with a weight he could not have imagined, he wandered the perimeter of the sleeping Destroyer's planet, step by step, grunting silently until the strain of his effort threatened to tear his muscles from his bones.

And then Whis would stop him, and move him along to the next task, always equally grueling, and always the same as the day before. Day after day, repetition after repetition, toiling until his body could perform the routine without aid of consciousness, and always in silence, so as not to wake the sleeper.

Six months passed as the warriors trained, Beerus sleeping all the while.

Trunks's body had grown stronger, his mind tougher, his resolve firmer, and his strength immeasurably greater. He had begun to gain the power he sought, though he could hardly stomach the process, and the more the acquired, the more his hunger grew.

Finally, after months of sameness, Whis broke him from his routine.

"What'd you say?" He asked defensively, as Whis directed him to follow him into the air toward a tiny adjacent planet.

"Oh, stop fretting. Just keep your hand on my back." The blue man responded.

Trunks obeyed hesitantly, and soon found himself staring into a strange floating portal.

"Off you go!" Whis sang as he shoved Trunks forward with surprising force. Before he could react, the Saiyan found himself suspended in emptiness, only a white void surrounding him.

"What is this!?" he yelled, but try as he might, he could not move. And so he floated, and strained, and struggled, and roared for nearly an hour to no avail, until finally, exhausted, he relaxed.

"Stop fussing and think." Whis said to the orb, though Trunks had no way of hearing him. "If the Kai is right, your body should be ready for this."

When the thought finally hit Trunks, it was as though it had been the only answer all along. Like it was the only answer that he ever could've arrived at, yet had been too blind to see.

Trunks turned to move again, but let no ounce of his energy escape his body. And, in response, his body moved.

Whis stared deeply into his orb, nodded approvingly, and went on about his business.

Days melted into weeks, and weeks into months for the Saiyans in Otherworld. Goten and Gohan continued to chase their father, though an ocean separated them, and soon their power began to blossom. Their progress was steady – predictable, even – and despite it's grueling pace, their prospects of rising to their challenge looked promising.

Finally, six months in, the first true abnormality occurred. Gohan and Goten were locked in yet another sparring match, trading blows at a torrid pace, when Gohan felt an unfamiliar discomfort.

The exchange was even – not a strange occurrence, in and of itself – but despite his continued uptick of effort, Gohan couldn't seem to break the stalemate. Goten had been pushing him farther into his strength for a while, that was to be expected, but he had always capped out sooner or later. Today, however, he showed no signs of slowing down.

Gohan pushed harder and harder, until he was soon fighting at full throttle, diving and blasting and phasing in and out of sight with every ounce of strength he could muster, but still his brother kept coming. Goten, for his part, never broke his assault, pressing his advantage and matching his brother blow for blow as he aggressively maintained the offensive position.

Gohan dug deeper, and deeper, until he felt his body hit the wall. He tried to push through it – a central tenant of his training thus far – but found himself unable, and still, Goten kept coming.

The two locked in the air for what felt like hours, trading blows they were worth, until, finally, Goten broke the stalemate. Gohan's fist passed harmlessly through an after image of his brother, and a moment later, Goten's knee met his exposed stomach, doubling him over in pain.

The match was over before Goten landed his next blow. The younger Saiyan dropped his hands like an axe onto his brother's back, sending him crashing to the ground below. Before Gohan could recover, Goten was on top of him, his right fist drawn to strike again, but Gohan was slow to defend, so Goten held, and after an uneasy moment, the fight came to a stop.

"What happened there?" the Old Kai asked, half laughing as Goku beamed next to him.

"Did I do it?!" Goten asked excitedly as Gohan gingerly rose to his feet. "Did I use god energy?!"

"Well, sorta, at least a little right there at the end." Goku replied. "It wasn't much, but Gohan's on the ground, so it wasn't nothing, either."

"I don't know, dad." Gohan interjected. "That was something new for Goten, but he doesn't hit anything like you. You think maybe he's just catching up to me?"

"You think?" Goten asked.

"Sure." Gohan replied, "I mean I've been at my limit for a while, and you've always been kind of a wonder boy. Maybe your limit's just higher than mine."

"Perhaps I could provide some clarity there." The Old Kai offered, sitting down in the grass and extending his open hands. "I've felt Gohan's potential, it won't be any trouble to measure yours as well. Heck, I'll go ahead and let you tap into it, how's that sound?"

"Eh….no thanks." Goten responded. "I'd rather do it myself." Goku smiled at the response, but the Old Kai just shook his head.

"Pffft…always with the Saiyan egos. I can give you access to your latent strength, nothing I do will teach you how to use it like a Kai."

"Still…" Goten hesitated.

"Fine, fine, fine…" The Old Kai whined. "I'll leave it all where it is, but we should know how you two stack up if we have to choose one of you to fight Beerus. Sit down, I'll only gauge your potential."

"I guess that's okay…" Goten finally wavered, and sat down across from the Old Kai, who closed his eyes and went into deep thought for a long moment before reopening them and dropping his hands.

"Well?" The Supreme Kai asked.

"The boy has some of the greatest power I've ever experienced." The Old Kai replied.

"Even more than Gohan?" Goten asked, nervous but full of anticipation.

"Not quite, I'm afraid. In my experience, Gohan's potential is still unmatched. You're a not-so-distant second in that regard."

Each of Goku's sons bore disappointed expressions, Goten's deeper, and Gohan's tinged with irritation, until Goku jumped between them and put his hand behind each of their heads.

"Welp! That's what you get for askin'!" He yelled, and thrust their heads forward and away from the group. "Now get back to it!"

After a moment's hesitation, the Saiyans obliged, and launched into a far less enthusiastic match. As Goku looked on, arms folded across his chest and a blank expression on his face, the Supreme Kai walked over beside him.

"Goku," the Kai began, "I understand Goten's disappointment, but this only means he's picking up the training faster. Why would that news trouble Gohan?"

"'Cuz Gohan doesn't wanna fight." Goku answered. "Truth be told, I don't think Gohan even really wants to be here. Ever since he got Instant Transmission down, he's spendin' every night at home, and by the time he gets back, Goten's already started training. He's puttin' on a brave face 'cuz he thinks it's his responsibility, but Gohan doesn't love this stuff like Goten and me."

"Perhaps not, but he isn't wrong." The Supreme Kai retorted. "This is his responsibility, whether he wants it or not. He may be a slower learner than Goten, but we need to focus our preparation on our most talented fighter to defeat Beerus, and we've just confirmed that Gohan is that fighter. Besides, it's only one sparring match, it's quite likely that Gohan is still the stronger fighter at this point."

"Maybe…" Goku trailed off. "But 6 months ago, Goten couldn't have ever landed a blow like that on Gohan, even in Super Saiyan 3. Goten's busting his butt every day, and we can't just hand Gohan his power this time. No matter how hard Gohan tries to push through it, if Goten's already closed the gap this much…"

Goku was interrupted by a SCHLACK as Gohan landed a pointed elbow just above Goten's earhole, sending him wildly flipping through the air, before giving chase and pummeling his younger brother as he flailed for his balance.

Both Goku and the Supreme Kai gave a slight smile. "He may not be like you, Goku," the Kai said just before he turned to leave, "but don't give up on him yet. He is still the firstborn Son."

And so it went, day after day, until another six months had passed, marking a full year since Freeza's death. Isolated from the world, no one knew of Trunks's whereabouts, and soon all but his family scarcely thought of him. Uub's body grew, but not nearly as quickly as his mind – or his power. And the Sons continued to work under their father, striving daily to attain his strength.

It was early in the morning when the Supreme Kai broke the silence. Goten and Gohan were meditating atop a small mountain, completely lost in concentration, their father sleeping a few feet away, when the Kai loudly cleared his throat.

"My apologies." He said, flashing a confident smile they had only rarely seen since he first appeared on Earth years ago as the three Saiyans awakened. "I don't mean to disturb you, but I have exciting news. Kibito has arranged an event for us."

"Whatcha got?" Goten asked curiously. Now well into his teens and isolated from his mother, his face was lined with patchy days-old stubble.

"The Supreme Kai asked that I find sparring partners for the two of you." Kibito replied calmly. "I was unable to find any in our universe, I'm glad to say, so I have made other arrangements."

"Out of our universe?" Gohan asked skeptically.

"Universe 6, specifically." The Supreme Kai responded. "They are our sister universe, so we've arranged it a friendly matchup. Universe 6's Supreme Kai is a childhood friend of mine."

"They were received the offer warmly." Kibito offered. "Though I did have to make a few concessions, being as we were the requestors."

"What's the catch?…" Gohan asked, fully expecting the worst.

"The matches are to be held in Universe 6." Kibito responded calmly. "And they've insisted that each side bring three contestants. I believe they have warriors of their own they'd like to test."

"Well that's not so bad." Gohan responded. "Dad, you in?"

"Yeah!" Goku shot, before catching a harsh glare from the Supreme Kai. "Wait…no…I can't fight away from here unless I'm protecting Supreme Kai…

"Hey, I know!" he continued. "Supreme Kai, why don't you enter, and then when the other guy attacks you, I can jump in and fight him!" Goku snapped into his fighting stance as he finished.

A moment of silence lingered before the Supreme Kai found his words. "A proposition like that doesn't merit a response."

"Gohan," Kibito said. "Uub is the obvious choice for the third position, but if his power isn't under control, we can't risk taking him to another universe, so the Supreme Kai and I will evaluate him ourselves. We're a a bit short on alternatives, but you travel home fairly often; is there anyone on Earth who might do?"

"Well, there's no one close to Uub…" Gohan replied, only just now realizing he had failed to check in on Uub or Piccolo even once since the day he harnessed Instant Transmission. "But the Wolves are actually getting pretty tough for humans. I'm sure they'd jump at the chance if I invited one of them."

"Is that what they're calling themselves?" Goten laughed as he fell back into the grass.

"That's what Krillin calls them…" Gohan trailed off, half embarrassed. "That or 'The Wolfpack'…"

Moments later, Gohan locked in focus on the first Wolf he was able to sense – Gorra, in this case – and disappeared from sight. When he reappeared, he was shocked to find himself in the throes of a war zone. Trenches surrounded him on all sides as missiles fired overhead, to his utter bewilderment.

Snapping back to reality, he saw them; in front of him, the four former Wolf students, drenched in blood and sweat, but otherwise unharmed, were methodically working their way forward through enemy lines, death trailing them all the while.

Gohan watched in disbelief as the group meandered on, each move they made unified, indistinguishable from a true wolf pack. Enemy artillery rained down on them, but scarcely reached it's mark, and left virtually no damage even when it did. And onward the wolves marched, until they were out of Gohan's sight, where the battle continued undisturbed, and then suddenly grew still.

Gohan stood still, slack jawed with a foreign mixture of confusion and awe with both the efficiency of Yamcha's students and the fact that he'd found himself in a warzone in the first place upon reaching Earth. Each time he started to pursue his targets he paused, feeling almost shy to confront them. To his pleasure, they soon spared him the trouble, and marched back to meet him, marching shoulder to shoulder, stride for stride.

"Hi, Gohan." Naken finally said, a smile creeping across his blood soaked face. "It's been a while."

Half an hour later the group sat around a smoldering fire in the victorious army's campground. Gohan waited a while before speaking, observing the faces of the soldiers passing by, many of whom stopped to shake hands and speak briefly with the Wolves as they passed their fire.

Gohan paid close attention to the scene, and took special note of two key points. First, that several of the soldiers passing by had discernable outputs of energy – far from threatening, but far more than he had come to expect from ordinary humans. He recognized a few of their faces as well, which he took to mean they had served alongside him in the war against Freeza.

Secondly, and more relevantly, the four Earthlings he had come to see were incomparably stronger than they had been when they had last met. He had known they'd been growing– they were years into their training now, and each was a bona fide warrior in his own right, but with no serious enemies to threaten them, Gohan doubted they would ever live up to their predecessors. Yet here they sat, and with their bodies still hot from the battle, Gohan could easily sense the energy they carried. Each one rivaled anything the Saiyan had ever felt a human muster.

"What happened to you guys?" Gohan finally asked. "What have you been doing this whole time."

"This, mostly." Hammur replied. "If there's a fight down here, we're usually in it sooner or later."

"We fight for good, as often as possible." Nein clarified. "Though I'll admit it's not always that cut and dry."

"So what do you do then?" Gohan asked again.

"We've tried playing peacemaker," Gorra offered, "but sooner or later we have to leave, and they go right back to it. We even split up when we couldn't agree who was right once, but that just made a bigger mess."

"We use our best judgment. " Naken said flatly.

"Why not just stay out of it?" Gohan pressed.

"Training, for one." Hammur said. "But there's a lot of evil in the world, and we've got the strength to face it. We can't just let it run wild. Besides, the army needs the work."

Hammur's light motion to the horde around him finally alerted Gohan to his surroundings. The battle he had just witnessed might have been the result of a quarrel between strangers, but the army around him was no stranger at all. This was the evolution of the Earthling army, and he was sitting in the company of its Generals.

Gohan examined the force more carefully and found recognizable faces all through it's ranks. To his surprise, however, they were not all former allies. Several of the members were clearly humanoid remnants of Freeza's force, their numbers sparse but their features unmistakable.

"It's just the one's that can pass for Earthlings so far." Hammur continued, noting Gohan's observance. "We'll start working the others in once more time passes."

Gohan's face was pure confusion, so Gorra chimed in. "This is their penance for the attack. We're allowing the survivors to remain on Earth, so long as they fight to defend it."

"That's really something." Gohan said as he scratched his head, impressed but unsure of the arrangement. "How'd you all get so strong, anyway?"

"We've all drank the water at Korin's tower." Nein replied. "And we've exhausted our time in the Time Chamber."

"Crazy…" Gohan offered. "I'd really like to know more, guys, but I'm actually here on business. Kibito's set us up with another universe to do some sparring, but we're short a fighter. It should be a good chance to test your strength, if any of you are interested."

The group sat quietly for a moment before Nein spoke up. "Gorra, I guess that'd be your department."

"'Department'?" Gohan asked.

"We've all got jobs – loosely." Naken explained. "Hammur does the recruiting, Nein handles the training, I organize and command the army, and Gorra focuses on his own training."

"So you're the Champion, huh?" Gohan asked, half-jokingly, though he soon regretted it as Hammur and Nein both shot him irritated glances.

"I am the strongest now, yes." Gorra said. "We thought it best that one of us focus solely on training, since duels won you all so many battles in the past."

"Well perfect, let's get going!" Gohan said as he stood too his feet.

"I'm sorry." The brown-skinned man replied. "I'd like to test myself, but the

army is only just now starting to gel. This is a delicate time, my duty is here."

"Oh come on…" Gohan whined. "They don't even need you, this is a great chance to test your strength!"

"Sorry, Gohan." Naken offered. "But with you all gone, this is a dangerous time for Earth. We've gotta get this army into fighting shape before we can risk running off and leaving the planet unguarded."

"We'll have a standing army on Earth before long." Hammur chimed in. "One that can rotate guard duty and keep the planet covered at all times. Until then, we're staying here."

Gohan sighed for a long moment before standing back to his feet and shaking hands with the younger men. "Fair enough." He finally said, "Great work, guys. I'll see you around."

"Fair enough." Gohan said, as he stood up and placed two fingers on his forehead. "You're all doing great. Thanks for taking care of the place while we're away."

Gohan reappeared at Krillin's house and spoke to him briefly, but was quickly rebuffed by both him and 18 after only a few short minutes of small talk. In total, he considered the visit a waste, save for a tidbit of information regarding the newfound strength of the Wolves.

"Oh yeah, they're stout." Krillin had told him. "They've all drank Korin's water, and they've burned all their time in the Time Chamber training. I wouldn't want to tangle with any of them now – maybe not even if I was in shape."

Exasperated and out of options, Gohan elected to check in with the crowd at King Kai's planet. He disappeared again and reappeared a few feet behind Piccolo, floating cross-legged at eye level in meditation. His left ear twitched slightly when the Saiyan appeared, but he otherwise gave him no acknowledgment.

"I wondered when you'd get around to visiting." Piccolo said after a moment, only just now returning to the ground. "What's the occasion?"

"Yeah, sorry, I meant to come sooner." Gohan responded, half-embarrassed. "Kibito set us up with some sparring partners from another universe, so I've been looking for a someone to make the trip with Goten and me."

"And?"

"No luck on Earth. Gorra seemed interested but he turned me down in the end."

"So now you're here to see Uub."

"The Kais are skittish about taking him outside the universe. What do you think? Is he alright?"

"Honestly? Piccolo asked. "He's strong, but it doesn't look good."

"What's the problem?"

"Take a look." The pair floated high into the air until they could see the opposite side of the planet. There, beneath King Kai's lone tree, Uub was meditating alone, Kibito and the Supreme Kai studying him carefully from a distance. In contrast to Piccolo's peaceful meditative state, Uub's was clearly unsettled; his brow was furrowed, and the energy he was streaming off his body during the peaceful exercise was impossible to ignore.

"Well, he's definitely stronger." Gohan said flatly. "He's got some angst, but that's not that bad, is it? Are you seeing Buu in him?"

"Worse. I see me." Piccolo spat. "This planet's as peaceful as any place in the universe, but just look at him. He's all…brooding. He's nothing like you were at that age."

"Well, Uub's had it tougher than I did." Gohan noted. "Kid's never known anybody but warriors since he was a baby. Maybe we should let him go home for a while."

"Tch...Tried that already, the brat won't leave. Says he's not strong enough yet. Beerus put a pretty good scare in him, I guess."

"How's his control?" Gohan asked, finally getting to the point.

Piccolo finally took his attention off Uub and looked at Gohan through the side of his eye. "He'll be fine." He said. "After this much time, I'm a little insulted you have to ask. He's another Earthling imp, but he can handle himself just fine."

Gohan dropped to the ground and put his hand on Uub's shoulder, awakening him with a start as the kais walked up to join them. The boy was still young, but he stood up to Gohan's ribs now, and had added significant weight to his frame in the year since the two last saw one another. The round baby fat he had borne during Freeza's fight had all but vanished, and in it's place ran sinewy, vein crossed muscle.

"Hey buddy." The Saiyan said. "It's been a while."

"Yeah." Uub uttered, clearly annoyed at being jarred back to consciousness.

"What do you think?" Gohan asked the Kais.

"I'd prefer to wait, but time isn't on our side." the Supreme Kai responded. "It's time you were tested, Uub. We have a fight for you, if you'll take it."

"A fight?" Uub asked, finally perking up at the prospect and cracking a sly smile.

"I've been waiting for one."