What should have been

by TriggerhappySOB

(REMASTERED) Rewritten story-line of DBZ post-Cell. Focused mainly on Gohan, who I felt was not done any justice during the Saiyaman/Buu Saga. Goku is still dead, but not for the lame reason given in the Anime. Gohan is more scarred than he appears in the Anime, both mentally and physically. New roles for old characters, and a whole new sequence of events. Warning: Graphic

35. Organized Chaos

Chapter 35: Organized Chaos

Bardock, still as a golden ape, grunted in pain and pushed himself off the ground. They'd been at it for what felt like days now, and his grandson didn't seem to be making any significant ground. Of course, he knew they had only really been transformed for roughly five minutes, but this was also their fifth time transforming after that disastrous first attempt. He'd just been swatted away by the enraged demi, who was now at the point where he fortunately wasn't trying to rip them and the planet to pieces. While that was something that loosely resembled control, now his power was directed at the only thing worthy of any effort in his clouded mind: proving he was the alpha of the three great apes there. This isn't going to work, he's just too damn powerful.

He raised his eyes in time to witness Vegeta get roughly head-butted in the snout, sending the King staggering backwards and holding his bleeding muzzle. Gohan roared to the sky and beat his chest triumphantly. Thankful that at least he wasn't aiming to kill so much as toy with them, Bardock stood and attempted to rush forward and get a hold of his tail. The resulting blow that struck him slammed into his chest before he could even think. He felt himself flying back, and felt a strange crunch from under him as he landed and rolled twice before coming to a halt on his stomach. A faint voice was calling to him through the ringing in his ears that sounded oddly like that red kai, and as he lifted his head and his vision cleared, he saw his grandson coming straight for him, one foot shrouded in crackling golden energy. Not hesitating, Bardock threw himself backwards and out of the way as Gohan leapt towards him, slamming his heel down right where his chest used to be…

And straight through the strange stone table that was in the middle of the ring of fire-pillars with an earth-shattering crash.

A blinding white light erupted from under the Oozaru's foot before Gohan was tossed up high into the air. Vegeta, who had just recovered from the blow he had been dealt, quickly realized that something major had just happened. He glared up at the imitation moon he had created and quickly destroyed it, just as Gohan landed with a roar and a ground-shattering boom. Within a minute their transformation back into their base form completed. Bardock panted for breath and quickly made his way towards his grandson, and was surprised to find him already stirring. Well, at least we don't have to wait another hour.

Gohan shook the weariness from his head and stood on slightly shaky legs. His eyes immediately found his grandfathers, and Bardock could see the shame flash in them momentarily before his normal steely gaze took over. The elder Saiyan considered him for a moment before remembering exactly what had just happened. Satisfied that his grandson was alright, he turned and ran back towards the circle of light, where he could hear two deeper, gruff voices arguing back and forth.

"-t do you mean by that?! Are you implying that-"

"No. I'm telling you that you Saiyans are too powerful for your own damn good!"

"You're just jealous pinky!"

"I mean, look at the table!"

"Besides, he's only half Saiyan, who could have known?"

"He just completely broke it in half!"

"Hell, any self-respecting, full-blooded Saiyan would have already mastered this!"

"It's still smoking!"

It seemed that this was enough for the demi to get thoroughly frustrated. He stormed into the light without a backwards glance at his grandfather, who could only watch on in amusement as he imagined what was about to happen, "Hey! When you two are done squealing like confused school girls, would someone mind telling me what the hell just happened here?"

The two of them paused to turn their respective attention to the demi, one with a look of shock and the other with open irritation. Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at the demi, frustration evident in his voice, while Kibito clammed up at the sight of the demi, "You still haven't managed to break through that mental barrier. You did this, stomped right on the damned table and broke it in half, and now Pinky here is having a fit!"

Gohan stiffened at his words, flashes of his time as an Oozaru lighting behind his eyes. It was different, that much he was certain. Before, he couldn't remember anything from his transformations. It was a total blackout. But now there were lights, memories of sounds. Sensations. So much rage. He ignored them as they started arguing again, each blaming someone else for what had happened. Gohan knew he was the one at fault. Ultimately, he should have been able to do it. His father was depending on him, so was his mother. His whole family needed him, and he was failing-…

"Dear lord, you have even worse self-guilt trips than I do! And i'm a bitter old man!"

Startled at the ringing voice that cut through the air, Gohan spun on the spot, whirling his head around. Shock didn't even begin to describe what he felt when he came face to face with Shin. Or rather, a very, very old version of Shin. The wrinkled old kai shared the purple complexion, even similar clothing and a white Mohawk, but everything about him screamed age. At the moment, he seemed to be lost in thought about something, staring intently between his feet with a look of concentration on his face. Meanwhile, the King of all Saiyans and Kibito continued their argument, oblivious to the new face among them, "And I've had… Oh darn, how long have I been trapped in there?... Tell me, do you happen to know how long it's been since a race of giant lizard-people from a tiny water planet up in the North quadrant went extinct by chance? That should give me a rough estimate of how long it's been. Oh, what were they called…?"

Gohan couldn't believe what was happening. This little old guy just popped up out of nowhere and was trying to have a conversation with him? When he finally managed to find his voice, it barely came out as more than a confused murmur, "The… North quadrant…? Giant lizards? Dinosaurs? Big meteor and all?"

The old Kai wrinkled his nose in disgust and scratched at his cheek, "Is that what you call them? Eh their original name eludes me but it sounds right. It was Beerus though, not a meteor. Said something about 'bad attitude' or the other… Er, anyways, what in the world are you?"

Gohan was caught so off guard by all of it that he couldn't muster a response. But didn't have to, as the old Kai gritted his teeth and finally looked towards the arguing duo, standing a mere twenty feet away from them, "shut it, you two!"

"Well maybe if you Kai's had decided to actually do something about this, we wouldn't be having a problem right now!" roared Vegeta.

"That's it Saiyan, I don't care who you are, you do not speak about the Supreme Kai in such a foul tone." Responded Kibito in kind.

"BRING IT PINKY!"

"YOU KNOW YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE!"

"Okay, would you two JUST STOP!? You're worse than a pair of insolent children fighting over a piece of candy." yelled the old Kai above them. Both of them abruptly fell silent and turned their stunned gazes to the old Kai, who simply smiled and returned his attention to the still dumb-struck demi-Saiyan, "Now, as I was saying… You are…?"

Gohan blinked twice and then shook his head as the question seemed to finally register. He found his voice and gave a small bow of his head towards the old Kai, silently pondering who exactly he was speaking to and wondering just how powerful the old coot was. He decided the best option was to proceed with caution, "My name is Son Gohan, A half-Saiyan, half-Human hybrid."

The old kai scratched at his chin, running his beady old eyes all over Gohan's frame. He was evidently confused by his statement, "What in the world is a Saiyan? Or a Human? You don't look like any creature I've ever seen before."

He looked around at the others as well, inspecting Vegeta and Bardock as well as Kibito. Gohan scratched at the back of his head and tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Well, I suppose he wouldn't know about Saiyans or Humans, he's been gone for something like sixty-five million years.

The old Kai jumped suddenly and gaped at Gohan, startling the demi, "Sixty-five million years?!"

Well I guess that confirms he can read- began Gohan in his mind, but the old Kai cut him off, "Well of course I can read minds! I'm a Supreme Kai after all! Okay, okay, somebody had better start explaining things to me!"

Gohan crossed his arms and looked towards the King of Saiyans and his grandfather, accurately reading their expressions as impatient. He agreed with them, they didn't have time to sit around and tell the history of the universe for who knows how long. A simple nod was shared between the three of them, and they turned to leave.

"Well pinky, looks like you've got your own work to do." Said Vegteta with a smirk. "We're going to get back to it, this problem isn't going to fix itself after all."

"Wha-. But… I…" stammered the red Kai. He looked between the three retreating Saiyans and the old Kai, who was watching him expectantly, and grunted in irritation, "Oh fine…"

Gohan meanwhile was getting lost in thought once more, absently tugging on the chest plate as the three of them walked away. He barely noticed the murmured conversation happening between the two-full blooded Saiyans before him.

"Just great, another Kai?" growled Vegeta irritably.

"No kidding," said Bardock with a disappointed shake of his head. "as if we weren't getting into enough trouble with those other two and that King Kai that we were supposed to be protecting in hell." They paused for a moment there, until Bardock sighed and shrugged, "Well, it's just something we're going to have to deal with. Kakarot said he was going to get us out, and I'm sure this is all part of it."

"You put too much faith in your son Bardock." muttered Vegeta.

Gohan suddenly realized what was being said and pulled up short, staring at the two of them in shock, "Hold on just a second. King Kai went down to hell with you guys? For what purpose?"

The two of them turned to look at him, obviously confused as to his sudden reaction. Bardock spoke for the two of them while Vegeta just watched, "You mean you weren't told? We were asked to watch out for the North Kai while he was in hell, informing us of what was happening on Earth. We've watched pretty much everything that's happened for the last week, starting around the tournament you were in. That blonde android woman arrived just as we were leaving to come here."

"No, I didn't know." He said, awestruck. "Dad's really trying to get you all released from hell? What's he going to have to give to do that?"

Worry gnawed at his insides for a moment as he considered all the possibilities. It could all be a lie, a trick to get Goku to do their bidding. Or they could be serious, but with a price that far outweighed the result in Gohan's mind. Even after he had made that deal with Shin, he was still convinced that something was going to go wrong, and Goku would never be able to return from death. No matter how he looked at it, there were too many things that could go wrong, and they were all centered around the Kais. But before he could sink any more into a panic, a loud smacking sound rang through the air behind them, and Gohan spun around to a very bizarre sight.

Kibito was lying on his back, obviously dazed, and the old Kai was clutching at his hand with a furious expression on his face, "You rotten little toddlers! I swear, I go on a short sixty million-year Sabbath and the whole universe goes to hell! First you let that little pink upstart go about destroying a couple galaxies and their Kais, then you let that Cold freak take over an entire galaxy, then cheat an innocent out of his own life for your own needs. And you're the only elite Kai to have been born of the tree in the last two millennia? What is my younger self doing, and why haven't you two gone to find Beerus? What happened to the Kais to make you two so stupid?!"

Gohan blinked in shock at the outburst, trying to understand what he was hearing. How did he get so much information so quickly, we've only been gone for like, a minute. I definitely feel like I'm missing some crucial information here.

His thoughts were interrupted when the old Kai rounded on them, making the three Saiyans flinch a bit at the harshness of his voice, "And you three! For all the power that your race has, you couldn't find anything better to do with your lives than destroying entire civilizations for profit? Oh, I may have to pay a visit to that little pink runt of time to fix all of this, hopefully she's still there... That would be a lovely sight for these old eyes…"

He turned on the spot, obviously lost in thought about whoever this "little pink runt of time" was, a big goofy smile on his wrinkled features not unlike Roshi when he was speaking about a younger Bulma. Gohan sighed and rolled his eyes. Great, another old perv… Probably isn't even worth trying to talk to him anyways. If Bulma's stories are any indication, guys like this drive a bargain that I am genetically incapable of filling.

Gohan returned his attention to the old Kai, who was staring at him now, scratching his chin thoughtfully and seeming to consider something. Gohan began to feel a bit uncomfortable under his scrutinizing glare, but refused to avert his eyes and show it. The Kai began mumbling, seemingly to himself, "Hmm… seems he was right, he is quite powerful. I wonder if that's all he has to offer… If Kibitio's thoughts were any indication, I doubt he'd be able to defeat this Buu thing, even with the Z-sword in hand. Those other two will be bound back to hell soon, and these Goku and Vegeta characters are learning that silly little dance? Seems that things are desperate indeed… Okay fine, I'll help you!"

Gohan recoiled as the Kai seemed to make up his mind about something and grinned up at him. He realized that the old guy was missing several teeth, completing the crazy look to go with his apparent personality. "Uh… What?" Gohan asked nervously.

The Kai rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, pouting a bit a wriggling his nose irritably, "I said, I'll help you. Honestly, I don't know why this Shin guy didn't do this in the first place. Seems I've got to knock some Kai heads around before I kick it."

Gohan was now even more confused than he was before. He couldn't even find the will to stammer out a response, and one glance behind him said that neither could the other two. The old Kai continued with a shrug, "Well I kinda left all of this down to a bunch of incompetent whelps after Beerus trapped me in that damn rock. Seriously, who does that? Such a dick. Anyways, go ahead and show me what you got! I gotta know exactly what I'm working with here."

"Now wait just a minute Kai, what do you intend to do with my grandson?" Bardock's harsh question caught the attention of both the demi and the kai, one with curiosity, and one with barely contained irritation. The old Kai pointed at him and said, "Well, if you'd shut your trap and let me show you, you'd see! I've got a feeling that this boy here has a lot of power hidden away. I just want to help him bring it out. Hehe. After all, I can't have this Buu thing going around killing off all the pretty ladies in this universe! Too much for me to see!"

Yup… Just like master Roshi. Gohan shook that thought out of his head and focused hard on the old Kai. Endless scenarios played through his mind while he debated what to do. If what he was saying was true, then he may have just discovered how he was going to get enough power to kill Buu without having to rely on his tail and the Oozaru. After all, this guy doesn't look so tough, though I still can't get a good read on his ki…

The old Kai locked his eyes with Gohan's, and the two of them stared hard at the other. After several tense seconds of their battle of will, Gohan relented, "Fine, I'll show you what I've got. You'd better stand back."

Bardock grasped his shoulder, and Gohan looked to him to find concern buried in his eyes behind his mask of seriousness, "Are you sure about this? We've got to get back to training you."

Gohan gave him a confident smirk and shrugged his hand off, "Don't worry about it, let's just humor him for a bit. If he's right then this might help, if he's not, then we just deal with him."

King Vegeta and Bardock both nodded their agreement and backed off, allowing Gohan some space for what he was about to do. After making sure that the others were well away from him, Gohan raised his head and closed his eyes, breathing deep. He dove into the well of his ki, pulling the dam open gradually. The first transformation came as soon as he willed it, his level of control over it being unsurpassed by any other Saiyan. His second level came with a slight effort, but as the lightning crackled around him and filled the air with a buzz of energy, the last transformation emerged again. It only took one memory, one feeling of loss and panic to send it coursing through his veins. The image of Videl broken in the ring flashed before his eyes and he screamed, his previous calm no longer with him. The others shielded their eyes, waiting for the wind and heat to die down. When it did, both the Saiyans and the elder Kai had to do a double take upon seeing his Super Saiyan three form. "There, this is maxed out." he growled. "What do you think Kai?"

His deeper voice rumbled through the air, cutting through the sound of his aura whipping the air around him. Bardock and Vegeta both couldn't believe their eyes, or the incredible pressure his ki was putting on them. However, the old Kai seemed confused. He tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms, "Are you sure this is your max?"

Gohan seemed a bit taken aback by his question, and looked down at himself to make sure he had really made it to the third transformation. The feel of his hair against his back and the shimmering aura hanging to his skin told him it was so, "Ummm, yes, this is as far as I've been able to go."

The old Kai quietly walked up to him and began poking and prodding various parts of his body. He hesitated when he got to the tail, and Gohan felt a strange prickling sensation, much like the feeling of static in the air. "Something the matter Kai?"

"Hm… I don't think so." said the Kai with a ponderous tone.

Gohan glanced behind him, and the old Kai was still poking at him experimentally. He smartly made his way back in front of the confused demi and stopped, looking up at him with a grin, "Okay, that'll do! I can work with this. Go ahead and go back to your base form."

Gohan complied; releasing the flow of energy and feeling the buzz in the air dissipate. Before he or either of the two elder Saiyans could comment, the old Kai gestured towards him with his first finger, pointing at his chest, "Lose the armor, I'll need bare skin for this to work."

Gohan furrowed his brow in confusion, but did as he was asked. He pulled the material up and over his head, which seemed to cause a bit of wonder for the old Kai, who quickly picked it up and began experimentally pulling on it in awe. It was only the sharp tongue of King Vegeta that brought him out of his temporary distraction, "If you don't mind?"

"Ahem. Right." said the old kai, shaking his head. "Kneel, both knees if you don't mind. You're going to want to be stable for this."

Again, Gohan did as he was asked, sitting back on his heels and dropping his knees to the floor. He hesitated when the Kai stepped right up in front of him and extended his right hand towards his face, and the left towards the center of his chest. He instinctually reached up and grabbed onto the offending limbs before they made contact and quirked an eyebrow, "What are you doing? Explain this to me before you do anything."

The old Kai sighed and gave him an exasperated look, "You're not maxed out like you think. You're very powerful, much more powerful than I expected, but you've got more capability still. I'm going to unlock that potential, and help you out with that wasteful method of getting to it."

"What? And… um. How?" he asked numbly.

"Look!" began the Kai irritably, attempting to jerk his hands out of the demi's grasp. "You have to transform to get that power right now, when I'm done you won't have to! Now would you just hold still and let me do this? It's not going to hurt…" Gohan hesitated, but relinquished his hold on the Kai's wrists. The old man placed his right thumb directly on the center of his forehead, and the tips of his left fingers on the center of his chest. Gohan involuntarily held his breath as he waited for something to happen, in which time the old Kai smirked devilishly, "…Much."

Suddenly it all happened. An agony like he'd never felt before seemed to draw a line straight from his head to the very core of his being. An intense golden aura erupted around the two of them, and Gohan could feel his own strength simply leaving him. It burned hot, and he was sure he was screaming, but there was nothing he could do about it. His limbs were locked in place. Fire seemed to burn from everywhere inside of him, and it only grew worse as he felt the pressure of the Kai's hand pass right through his skin. It went right past his muscles, his rib-cage, his heart. It seemed to disappear entirely into his being. The only way he could describe it was that his soul was being torn to pieces. But then the pain receded, and something new took its place.

Power.

It was unlike anything he'd experienced. His soul had been shredded, and now it felt like it was being pieced back together. The difference now was that it seemed to be in the proper order. Everything fit back together at the seams, almost as if someone were piecing together a jigsaw puzzle to make a proper image. Images flashed before his eyes of his life, but presented in a way that brought him acceptance and understanding, like a story being told to him. A jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through his core suddenly.

Thump-thump…

He felt the hand receding.

Thump-thump…

He wasn't sure when, but he had stopped screaming at some point. Everything started to fade slowly, all of his senses beginning to fuzz out.

Thump-thump…

The ringing in his ears slowly began to die, but the sudden pounding in his ears took over quickly. As the tips of the kia's fingers left his sternum, his aura died out. The Kai released him completely, smiling down at the suddenly exhausted demi as he breathed hard, "There. It is done."

Gohan grunted in pain and struggled as blackness began to close in around him, "What did you do?"

The Kai grinned confidently at him, clasping his hands behind his back, "…Gave you a second chance."

"You bastard… You said-… it wouldn't hurt." he gasped out. With that, darkness swallowed Gohan once more, and he collapsed on his side, unconscious.

*439 AREA – MT. PAOZU*

Videl stirred finally, woken by an unusual sound near her. It was still light out, and as she cracked her eyes, she was forced to block the light coming from the setting sun. Groggily, she managed to push herself up onto her rear end and blinked a few times as she tried to get a grip on her surroundings. She was on the shore of a lake surrounded by forest, and a vast mountain range poked up into the sky all round her. The question that first came to her mind was; How did I get here?

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, trying to recall what had happened. She vaguely remembered flying back towards the lookout. They had just had their asses handed to them by Buu. And then Krillin…

"YOU DOUBLE-CROSSING LITTLE MIDGET!" she roared suddenly. Her outburst earned her another strange noise from behind her. It was the same sort of noise that woke her in the first place. It sounded like a snort, or a cough. The odd thing about it was that it sounded like it came from a huge beast they would make movies about. She hesitated, unsure if she really wanted to turn around and see for herself what sort of creature might or might not be behind her. She took a deep breath and spun around, and found herself staring at her own reflection… In the heavily dilated pupil of an enormous purple dragon. She froze instinctively, unsure what to do as the eye darted over her features. She stumbled backwards as her feet finally responded to her brains command, tripping over a piece of driftwood and collapsing backwards into the shallows of the lake. She quickly set her eyes on the dragon again, waiting for it to move in for the kill, "N-nice d-d-dragon…"

Now that she was far enough away from it to see it in its entirety, she realized just how big it was, and how badly injured. At first glance she would have thought the dragon had a striped pattern over its hide, but after she looked for a while, she realized the streaks were dried blood. One of the large curled horns that protruded from its head was missing, leaving a jagged stump in its place, and both of the folded wings on its back seemed to be held at awkward angles. It also seemed that the dragon was struggling to stand up from the laying position he had been in. His quaking limbs gave way however, and he came crashing back down to the earth. Videl cringed a bit at the groan that emanated from it. It was obvious the creature was in pain.

She wished there was something she could do for it, but the fact that it was a dragon, and the fact that she had no clue what to do for it prevented her from acting. She swallowed her fear and hesitantly took a step forward, watching for a reaction. The dragon laid its head down on the ground and flicked its tongue out at her in a serpentine fashion. She stopped, wondering what that meant, before taking another shaky step forward. This time the creature let its eyes shut halfway, and a deep bass rumble vibrated the ground beneath her feet. Videl considered the creature carefully before realizing that she was being given permission to approach. Inhaling deeply, she made her way over to the creature, stopping when she was just out of reach of his head, keeping eye contact the whole way. She raised her hand, slowly creeping towards the fallen dragon's head with her fingers extended.

She finally made contact, and was surprised by the heat of the creature. The purring got a bit louder and the dragon's head leaned into her hand as she pet it. The large blue eye stared right at her, and she was surprised by the amount of personality she could see in them. The intelligence behind those eyes was undeniable. She felt a tug on her heart as she realized exactly who the creature reminded her of. She grinned and continued petting him, gaining more confidence every second, "You remind me of someone… Big, scary looking, missing bits and pieces, but not broken; the image of a fierce creature. But on the inside, you're just a big softy that gives off too much heat, aren't you?... Yea you're just like Gohan…"

As soon as she said his name, the creature stirred. The purring stopped and the eye went wide. She recoiled and stared right back, wondering what was going on. The head lifted off the ground slowly and turned until both eyes were on her, and she was shocked to see a look cross its face that she had only seen on puppies. It was begging her for something. She blinked in confusion and pointed towards the creature, "You know Gohan?"

The dragon snorted and snapped his jaws at her, shaking its head like it had water on it. Those eyes said it all. This thing definitely knew Gohan. She felt an odd sensation in her stomach. It was strange, but this creature understood. It was communicating with her, and it knew Gohan. So, if he knows Gohan… Didn't Gohan and the twins mention a dragon at some point? I'm positive they did…

She racked her memory, trying to remember the conversation in question. She tilted her head to the side and focused on those giant blue eyes, "Icarus?" Immediately the dragon grunted, snapping its jaws again. She smiled at the confirmation. But then she suddenly remembered his injuries. Immediately her brow furrowed and she clenched her fists, "Icarus, what happened to you?... Oh wait… You can't speak… Look, I'm Videl! I'm Gohan's-… um, I guess you could call me his girlfriend?... You got hurt pretty bad, we should clean you up, okay?"

The dragon stared at her a few moments before tilting its head to the side once more. She wasn't sure whether it was confused about her being Gohan's girlfriend, or that she was going to clean him up a bit. Regardless, she looked about her. Saying it was one thing, but doing it would be a whole different beast. She was near a lake, which seemed clean enough and wasn't stagnant. But getting water to Icarus would be difficult. She tapped her chin and thought for a second. If only I could… No that wouldn't work. Why not…

She turned back to the dragon, who was still watching her curiously, and pointed towards the lake, "Okay, we need to get you in the shallows buddy. That's going to be the easiest way."

The dragon seemed to quirk a brow-bone at her, if that was possible, like an insolent child asking its mother what she was going to do about it. Videl almost laughed at the vibe she got from the creature, but decided that wouldn't help her to help him. She put on one of her better glares and pointed towards the shallows again, "Now. Or I'll be forced to light a fire under your butt."

That got his attention. She was amazed when the dragon seemingly dragged itself into the water, still not having the strength to stand on its own four legs. She felt a little bad that she had to resort to scare tactics, but the end result was what she was after. She followed him into the shallows and quickly removed her shirt. It was already blood soaked, turning it from a dark blue to a near black color, leaving just her yellow long-sleeved undershirt. She dunked the shirt in the water, which was already beginning to turn a faint pink color with the blood that still dripped from several gashes along his flank. She wrung it out and looked apologetically towards Icarus' lone eye that was staring back at her, "I'm sorry buddy, but this might sting a bit. I'll try to make it quick."

With that, she began her work. Initially the dragon had made that groaning noise again, up until Videl found that several branches were imbedded in the side that was still bleeding. She winced when she found each one. She wondered what had happened to him, and suddenly remembered what had happened the day Gohan had died. The three younger demis had come back in hysterics, with Ria crying about how "Gohan and Icarus were going to have to fight Mr. Vegeta". She set her jaw and gripped onto the branch she was currently trying to remove from his flank. With a hard pull, the branch came sliding out, dripping dark red steaming blood the whole way. She tossed the branch aside and immediately began cleaning around the hole, being careful not to touch the exposed flesh itself. She paused, looking towards the dragon's eye again, "It was Vegeta, huh? He's the one who hurt you like this."

The dragon growled at the mention of the Prince, and the water around him shook with the vibrations. Videl stroked his side affectionately, willing the animal to calm, "That wasn't really him you know? He was being mind controlled… He was a good friend of Gohan's I think, it hit us hard when he had to be killed. Especially Gohan, I'm sure…"

The growl stopped, and she realized that Icarus was watching her carefully again, begging her again with those huge orbs. She suddenly realized something as she looked at him. He was trying to ask her where Gohan was. Each time the demi was mentioned, the dragon looked at her with that same expression. She was prepared for the agony that washed over her again when the thought of what happened to him came back, and managed to hold herself together enough to not completely break down. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she halted her stroking of his flank, "Icarus, he's gone. Gohan died a few days ago now. Everyone is dying, and I'm stuck out in the middle of who-knows-where, talking to a severely injured dragon."

The dragon didn't move at all for a few seconds as she recovered herself. She sniffed and wiped away her tears, bringing her emotions back under her control. That giant eye never left her though. She sighed and began working again, "I'm sorry Icarus. Let's get you fixed up and get out of here. Buu is still alive somewhere, I'm sure of it. The fact that nobody has come to find me is worrisome, but we will have to deal with it later. Just rest for now, okay big guy?"

She felt horrible for him. He may not have the ability to speak, but there was no doubt in her mind that the beast was more than shocked at the news. The big dragon slowly let its head fall until the jaw was submerged, with only his nostrils above the water for air. A deep bass hum emanated from him, and Videl immediately recognized it as a purr. She vaguely remembered that cats tended to purr for two reasons; when they were happy, or when they were in distress. She sighed and pulled another branch out of his side, listening to the comforting sound as Icarus' eye closed and he fell asleep in the setting sunlight.

*CENTRAL CITY – THE CAPITAL*

Lime was practically pulling her hair out now. Things were going horribly wrong, and for the most-part, none of them could tell what had even happened. They'd landed in central city hours ago, surprisingly finding Hercule there, preparing to launch an expedition of sorts out towards the Capital of the northern lands. But that had been put on hold as soon as he was told Videl was missing. He'd fainted, and hadn't woken up yet. At the moment, they were all sitting in a cafeteria within the embassy compound, trying to figure out their next move and trying to stomach something. They'd established already that they had to try and stay hidden, and just follow Krillin's orders, but everything else was all just speculation. Their one comfort right now was that Buu hadn't done anything to them yet.

Not that it was much of a comfort, really.

Of their original group, only a handful remained. Chi Chi, grandpa Ox, Ria and Goten were all that remained of the Son family. Trunks and Bulma from the Briefs, and only Oolong, Puar, and Marron from the group on Roshi's island. Chiaotzu had joined them, and was trying to console Launch, who was attempting to drown her sorrows in the bottom of a whiskey bottle. The only others were Sharpner, Erasa, and herself. She counted it out in her head. Vegeta, Gohan, Goku, Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo, 17, 18. Krillin, Roshi, Dende, Popo, and Videl. That makes 8 for sure gone, and another possible 5?

"There doesn't seem to be much hope left does there?" The small voice that broke the silence caused them all to stir. Most of their eyes turned towards Bulma, who looked close on the edge of tears. It was obvious there were several of them fighting to hold it all in. She noticed the three demi-Saiyans share a look across the table from each other, and Trunks stood up in his chair to plant his hands on the table in what she supposed was supposed to be an intimidating stance, "We're not going to give up just yet mom! Me, Goten and Ria are all still here. If Buu finds us, then we'll fight! We have Mr. Chiaotzu too!"

"Yea!" said Ria encouragingly, and her brother joined her, "We'll protect you until big brother comes back with dad and Mr. Vegeta."

Lime clutched harder at the ring still caught in her grip. There it was again, that feeling that no matter what was said, she'd never see Gohan again. Something always went wrong when it concerned that boy, no matter how well laid out a plan he made. It was just his type of luck.

"No need kids, I doubt we'll be seeing any of that pink thing anytime soon." said a familiar raspy voice. Their heads spun about at the sound of it as Krillin came through the main cafeteria doors, Roshi in tow and a huge smile on his face. It took a second for everyone to realize the implications of what he said, and Marron was the first to react. She leapt out of Erasa's grasp with a squeal of delight and plowed into her father's stomach. It barely took a second afterwards for several of the others to rush him, showering him with questions and excitement. In the end, only Lime and Bulma remained at the table, still too shocked to move.

"What happened Mr. Krillin?", "How did you guys survive?", "Where's Buu?", "You didn't manage to kill him, did you?"

Krillin picked up Marron and waved them all down, still unable to get rid of the grin lighting up his face, "You guys, chill a bit would ya? Let's sit down and we'll fill you in okay? I'll fill you in on everything!"

*A SHORT WHILE LATER*

"You did what?" breathed the Capsule Corp heiress. Bulma's incredulous expression was reflected by more than one person at the table. Krillin shrugged and scratched the side of his head, "We managed to trap him in the Hyperbolic time chamber, and then destroyed the portal. It was an on-the-fly decision, but I'm pretty sure he's gone for good. I mean, he'd have to be able to rip a hole in-between dimensions to be able to get out, right?"

Most of the table seemed to agree with his statement, however Bulma seemed to be worried about something still. Lime noticed her unease and reached across the table to grab onto one of her clenched fists. That brought her out of her overly-focused state, but the look in her eyes was definitely a cause for concern.

"Bulma, what's wrong?" asked Lime hesitantly. The bluenette hesitated, and suddenly all eyes were on her. She gulped and Lime noticed sweat beginning to form on her brow, "It's just… Well it's the project I was working on back home. The time-communicator? The one I based off of Mirai Trunks' time machine."

A few blinks of confusion. Krillin quirked an eyebrow at her, not sure where she was going with this, "Yea, what about it?"

"It's how that thing works that concerns me." she said anxiously. "You see, it's based off of your guys' ability to use your own ki. Manifesting it into something tangible that can burn and cause explosions. We used the same concept but in the reverse, converting something into energy that can pass through time and space at our direction, and then re-form on the other side. Gohan was helping me out with it for a while, and came up with the idea that it was possible to break through dimensional walls by brute force using ki. It was an alternate idea to dematerialization, just rip a hole and pass through. He never did it, but proposed that he could."

That certainly wasn't expected. Lime retracted her hand, considering the implications of what she had said. Krillin and the others seemed to be on the same track, but there was still plenty of confusion between them all, "Well yea Bulma, I can see how that would be concerning, but that was Gohan's idea, and we all know how sharp that kid is. Buu was barely intelligible before, I doubt he'd be able to figure that one out unless… Oh…"

Bulma nodded grimly as what he suddenly realized sunk in to the rest of them, "You guys said he had some of Gohan's memories from when… when he tried to absorb him. Who's to say he didn't get those ones as well?"

Krillin paled considerably, and began stammering out excuses incoherently. In the midst of his babble, one could pick out the words "take forever", and "time to prepare". Bulma slapped her hand on the table hard, halting him mid-rant and raising her voice over his, "Krillin calm the hell down! Now, you guys dropped him into the Hyperbolic time chamber, right? My understanding of that room is that it's its own dimension, running parallel with ours but at a time rate of three hundred sixty-five to one, right? So even if he's in there for a year, in this dimension only one day would have passed."

The people gathered suddenly seemed to realize what could happen and a panicked buzz filled the air between them. Bulma held her hand up and glared at the table seriously, voicing the rest of her thoughts, "There's no guarantees in any of this. Hell, for all I know, he could really be trapped and I'm worrying over nothing. But if he does find a way out, there's no telling how long it might take him to figure it out, and we don't know where he would emerge. You destroyed the door to that dimension, which means that even if he does manage to find another way back into this one, he would pop out who-knows where."

A moment of silence. Krillin perked up and said, "Hey yea! Even if he does escape, he'd probably wind up on the opposite side of the freakin' universe! HA!"

Bulma quirked an eyebrow at him for that little outburst, and quickly reminded him that it could be a lot worse, "Or, he could pop out right on top of us and simply wipe us all out in a heartbeat. You guys managed to trap him what… four hours ago now? That'll be… about two months. Two months of him being trapped inside that room, with nothing to do but rage and try to break out somehow, with the possibility that he has Gohan's knowledge on that. So, let's not start celebrating just yet, okay?"

That seemed to bring more than just Krillin back to reality. Lime squeezed the ring in her hand and leaned back in her chair, contemplating their situation, "So… What should we do in the mean-time? Let's look at the big picture here, what do we know?"

Various voices from around them called things out at random, "Well, Buu is trapped for now, but he could get out at any given time.", "The only fighters we have left are the kids, Krillin, and Chiaotzu.", "I left Videl in the 439 Mountain area to try and hide her.", "Dende and Popo have disappeared, the dragon balls with them.", "Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta are all supposed to be training in otherworld right now."

A momentary silence hung over them and Lime said, "That it…?"

Bulma sighed and plopped her head down against the table, "I hate the fact that we're always getting left behind now. I remember the days when I used to be out on the front lines with Yamcha, Krillin, and Goku." She inhaled sharply and sat back up, recovering herself and putting on a serious face again, "Okay, so with Buu temporarily out of the way, I think we need to focus on regrouping. Which means finding Videl, and finding Dende. With that, we can summon Shenron and get our Saiyans back at least. Anyone got any other ideas?"

She looked around expectantly, waiting for a response. Surprisingly, the first one to do so was Chiaotzu, "I don't know Bulma, about the summoning thing. I think our priority should be preparing for the situation that Buu does make it back. We should be able to hide ourselves and find the most defensible position. Those Kais certainly would have a way to get Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta back, so maybe we need to protect Dende as a first."

There were a couple nods to that suggestion, but then Krillin cleared his throat and hefted his daughter higher against his shoulder, "Actually guys, I just remembered, King Kai spoke to me on my way back to the lookout earlier with a message from Shin. I'd forgotten it til just now, but he told us to keep Videl hidden, and to send Dende to help hide her. Then he told us to go into hiding and wait this one out."

Launch cracked her knuckles, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder with the flick of her head, "So what, we're supposed to just sit here and do nothing? I've got some major beef to pick with that critter, and it ain't gonna happen here."

"Well, yea, that's pretty much what King Kai said too." said Krillin with a shrug. "We all heard Shin earlier, there's some big plan happening behind closed doors up there. He was vague, but I don't think we should discount what he says."

"Why not? That purple midget has been jerking us around since he got here, I don't trust him." said the slightly drunk woman. There were several of the others who agreed with Launch on that subject, but it was Lime who stepped up to bring them all back down, "Guys, I don't trust Shin any more that you do, but I think that Krillin is right here. We're horribly unprepared for anything as it stands, and somewhere out there, Gohan and the others are doing what they can until they get back. If they're going along with Shin's plans, then I think we should too. I don't like Shin, but I have faith in Gohan."

The mood in the room sobered up immediately, and Launch sighed in defeat. She pulled one of her trusty pistols out of nowhere and began breaking it down to clean it, "Yea, you're right. We gotta have faith in our guys and hope for the best now huh?"

An uncomfortable silence settled over them all, broken by the loud yawn of little Marron. Krillin looked down at her and smiled gently, "Well, for now, let's try to relax a bit and get some rest. The kids look tired, and I'm not doing much better myself. We should be pretty safe for now, we've got the entire capital surrounding us. I'm sure that if anything were to happen, we'd have enough time to react."

He stood, scraping his chair against the tile floor as it was pushed back. A few of the others followed suit, while Chiaoutzu floated up above the table and pointed towards a door opposite of the main entrance, "You guys go get some rest. I'm not tired, so I'll take up watch."

With that, most of the Z gang nodded and left, headed towards the rooms they had been given in the Embassy for some sleep. It would prove to be easier said than done as they watched the minutes tick by lying awake in bed, waiting for the sound of their doom.

*ANDROMEDA – CORE CLUSTER*

If it weren't for the total lack of air in the void of space, you'd imagine the scene as explosive. Chaotic. Total anarchy. But ultimately when you looked about the core of a galaxy, you saw the cycle of life. Stars, birthed in enormous nurseries, quickly gain mass and burn, lighting everything around them with bright light. Solar wind blows star dust in all directions, giving some areas of space a hazy hue. Those stars burn their mass rapidly, and begin to expand. Some get swallowed and consumed by others, some disappear into the dark gullet of a black hole. Some make it to the end of their lives, detonating in a colossal explosion that literally tears the heavens apart and feeds new stars, while some collapse on themselves and become star-eaters themselves. Even on the scale you'd witness there, it was organized in a chaotic sort of way. It was a cycle. It was chaos, but it was life.

Amidst all that organized chaos, only a single seemingly insignificant thing was needed to throw the balance horribly awry. It manifested itself as a blinding white light seemed to tear through the void, widening until it looked like a window in space. Were it not for the emptiness there, you would have heard the screaming. Star dust scattered outwards from the hole, quickly followed by an intense pink beam of light that screamed out from the hole just as it shut on itself, leaving a pure blackness where it had been moments before. The beam seemed to blink out of existence, just before a colossal eruption of power detonated in the middle of a distant star Nursery. When the explosion finally died out, a huge patch of the giant cloud of dust was no longer there, and the remains of the cloud were flying away from each other. New stars left inside caught all they could, but the damage had been done. Dust would disappear off into the black void, too scattered to form anything anymore, leaving behind many stars to simply burn out and die. It wouldn't be immediate, but this simple existence, this simple cycle, had suddenly been broken. Many millions of years in the future, this particular patch of void would be devoid of light completely, shrouded in darkness and swallowed by the black holes that remained.

All because of one simple outburst of anger.

*ELSEWHERE – GOHAN*

Now this was a strange sensation for him. He'd been alive for eighteen years before his untimely demise, plus a little extra if you counted the time in the Hyperbolic Time chamber. For the last fourteen of it, he'd been made hyper-aware of his own body, and of his ki contained within. Or at least, that's what he had thought. With every year that passed, he learned more and more about himself. Each time he transformed into a super saiyan, he had become more familiar with himself. With the transformation to super-saiyan three, he thought he had finally managed to unveil his maximum. He'd stopped growing so much after that, leading him to believe that he had learned all he could of himself. But that had been torn apart in a heartbeat.

Thump-thump.

The sound of blood pumping in his ears was almost painful. His consciousness seemed to drift, floating in a sea of black as he tried to pull himself together. The old Kai had reached inside him, and quite literally torn apart his soul. Now that it was put back together, he felt different. He was still him, but he felt like an entirely new person at the same time. It was like he was truly whole now.

Thump-thump.

Blood… The sound of a heartbeat. My heartbeat…

Thump-thump.

Things suddenly seemed to make sense to him. What the Kai had done to him made sense. His insecurities made sense. His life made sense. But most importantly, what he was capable of made sense. It wasn't until now that he realized just how little he seemed to know about himself before his death. But after his soul had been rebuilt, and the sudden restarting of his heart, here in the dark confines of his mind, he finally found himself understanding why he was, who he was. The good and the bad were all there for him to see, like watching through another person's eyes, and he knew for certain, exactly who he was. He found for the first time in a very, very long time that he was confident in himself.

Thump-thump.

I'm alive. With that thought, he inhaled sharply, his senses returning in a rush. His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring back up at the star-laden night sky of the sacred planet once more. He felt his appendages tingle with sudden responsiveness, and all of them twitched involuntarily, including his tail. Sound came back to him in a rush, and he was surprised to hear a hushed argument happening. He couldn't quite make out the words, but it sounded like King Vegeta and Bardock. He strained his ears to hear, but even with his Saiyan hearing, it was still too difficult to make out.

"It's about time you woke up! Sheesh, it's not like I went and hit you over the head with a planet or anything, just a simple unlocking and reviving is all." Gohan tried to point his head towards the source of the voice, and found himself to be sore. Sore? I wasn't sore before he did that thing.

Thump-thump.

He sucked in a sharp breath and quickly pushed himself over so that he was on his hands and knees, looking down at himself. He was still dressed in the lower half of his new Saiyan armor, and the steady rise and fall of his chest confirmed he was definitely feeling his own body's senses. He placed a hand to the side of his neck, breathing calmly and feeling for it.

Thump-thump.

I wasn't dreaming it. I'm alive again, my own heart is beating in my chest.

He ran his hand over the place where the Kai had put his hand through him, and wasn't surprised to find there was no hole. There wasn't even any redness to his skin. If he hadn't felt it for himself, there would have been no evidence that the Kai had done anything at all to him. He looked up at the old Kai, who was watching him from a seated position with a slightly disgruntled expression and what appeared to be a black eye coloring his already purple skin. There was a mixture of emotions flowing through him, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel. It had all happened so fast, he had no clue how to react. The old kai rolled his eyes waved him off, "Sheesh you're just as ungrateful as that punk who went and hit me over the head aren't you? Well, go ahead and get it over with, I don't really feel like dragging out the ache in my skull any longer than necessary."

Gohan shook his head and struggled to his feet, looking himself over, "No, don't get me wrong… I'm just a bit… shocked is all… Did you… how did you…?"

The old Kai yawned and inspected his finger-nails smugly, "Well, I am a god of creation, duu-uuuuuh. Making life is a cake-walk for someone who's been doing this for so long."

Gohan quickly found the rest of the armor that was given to him and pulled it over his head, settling the plate in place and watching his grandfather and King Vegeta argue out the corner of his eye, "I suppose that makes a bit of sense, though it doesn't explain why Shin or Kibito couldn't do that-"

"Little punks don't know the first thing about being a Supreme Kai!" interjected the old Kai angrily. "Don't you worry, they'll get theirs!"

"- and what are those two arguing about?" said Gohan, changing the subject. The kai considered the two of them and then crossed his arms irritably, "How should I know?! All I know is the tall flame-haired guy hit me over the head right after I finished reviving you! Can you believe the nerve?"

Gohan sighed and began making his way towards the duo, still lost in thought about what all had just transpired. The two Saiyans broke out of their conversation as he approached and quickly began inspecting him. Gohan patiently waited as they looked him over. When they seemed satisfied, the two of them backed off and looked at him seriously. "What the hell did he do to you boy? He shoved his hand straight through your chest.", "I'm not good at sensing energy yet, but even I could definitely tell something was up with you there. Are you alright?"

Gohan took a deep breath and looked up, noticing the distinct lack of a halo above his head, "He revived me and… I don't really know what he did, he said it was an 'unlocking'."

The two of them were completely at a loss for words, staring at him with gaping mouths. They looked up towards where his halo used to be and back again several times. Bardock scratched at the back of his head considered the old kai with a sideways glance, "Just like that? Gave you life just like that? Like… You're actually alive right now?"

Gohan nodded and glanced down at his hands. Now that he stopped to think about it, it was extremely strange that something as valuable as life could just be given to someone. But it wasn't hitting him nearly as hard as it seemed to be hitting the other two Saiyans. But back to the point, "Yea, anyways, what's going on? You two seemed to be pretty heated there."

The two Saiyans seemed to snap out of their state and back into character. Vegeta took a deep breath and began, "It's got to do with our little friend, Pinky. He left right after you fell unconscious, saying something akin to 'he's escaped'. We were discussing what he could have possibly meant by that-"

"The worst of which being that this Buu creature has escaped whatever trap your friends back home managed to set for him." finished Bardock. Gohan felt his heart jump in his chest, still a strange sensation to him. But he focused himself, looking at them seriously and waiting for them to continue. Vegeta was the one to pick it back up, "Whatever the case may be, Pinky left in a flash, barely managing to tell us that he needed to go find the Supreme Kai, and to prepare yourself."

Gohan quirked an eyebrow at that, looking at Vegeta for an explanation. It didn't come from the King, but from his grandfather, "I believe they're going to send you back to Earth, Gohan. You and our sons. We can't be certain yet, but I'm willing to bet my life on it."

Off behind Gohan, the old Kai called out to them, "You're already dead!"

Gohan furrowed his brow, thinking about the situation, and trying to determine the best route. Regardless of whether or not he was going to go back soon, he had to know if he was ready. Whatever the old Kai had done to him certainly was going to play a major role now. The only question was, how exactly he had been affected. He ignored the others around him and closed his eyes, digging into himself in search of that familiar well of energy. Might as well find out… What the…

Shocked didn't even begin to cover what he felt when the energy he was searching for immediately shot through his veins. He didn't have to look hardly at all, and he didn't even have to try to pull it out. It willingly responded to his coercing, and before he knew what had happened, he was putting out the same amount of ki as he would have been in the heat of battle as a Super-Saiyan three. The planet beneath his feet shook and vibrated with his aura, which he vaguely noticed had taken on a slightly blue tinge as opposed to its normal white. He could tell he was giving off the same amount of ki as a Super Saiyan three, and yet he could tell that he hadn't even transformed into a Super Saiyan. A faint wailing sound caught his attention and he realized that he had accidentally blown the other three away from him. He quickly severed the link with the ki and shot after the Old Kai, catching him and gently dropping back to the ground.

"YOU PUNK!" roared the kai, flailing about angrily. "DIDN'T I TELL YOU THAT YOU WOULND'T HAVE TO TRANSFORM ANYMORE? WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA PULLING OUT THAT MUCH ENERGY IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS? DON'T YOU HAVE ANY SELF CONTROL?!"

Gohan nervously scratched at the back of his neck, averting his eyes as his Grandfather and Vegeta both landed next to him and the still-complaining Kai, "Sorry about that, I honestly had no clue that's what would happen."

"That was insane! I didn't even have to try and feel out that energy, it was so powerful it seemed to press in on me like a planet." said bardock with an amazed look in his eye. "You did good old man!" Bardock clapped the old Kai on the back, sending him face-first into the dirt. After a couple seconds of struggling back to his feet, the purple man rubbed his now bruised face and all but screamed at them, "AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK ME? I didn't even do that much to him! Now, don't you have a universe to go save or something?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud crack rent the air and all four spun to find themselves face-to-face with Kibito. The pink Kai seemed exhausted and more than a bit irritated, and immediately held his hand out with a growl, "You four, it's time to go, things are happening. Grab on, I'll let the Supreme Kai explain when we get back to the Kai's planet."

Without waiting for a response, Kibito quickly went about and grabbed ahold of all the others and Gohan felt himself being forcibly pulled through that figurative rubber hose once more, a million and one things still on his mind. I have so many questions, what the hell is going on in this crazy universe?

*UNKNOWN LOCATION – SPACE*

A hole ripped itself wide open in the fabric of space, a mere speck of light in the middle of nowhere. There were no nearby stars, no planets, not even a stray puff of dust to mark this area of space as anything but vast emptiness. As the hole grew wider and wider, emitting a bright white light, a thin stream of pink goo began to spout from the opening. Mere seconds passed, but before long a large chunk of the material managed to escape the hole, barely making it out before the hole slammed shut, leaving behind nothing but darkness.

Buu began reforming himself, and he couldn't help but be thankful that he didn't require air to live. He molded himself back together, staring out into space with hate-filled eyes. There was only one thing on his mind; Revenge.

Those worms will pay for that! Over a year trapped in that blasted white room! So much wasted energy! I'll eat them all, and then I'm going to destroy that planet! He managed to pull up vague memories from the people he had eaten, and recalled that he had been stuck in there for a mere day out here, and grinned evilly to himself, "Enjoy your day off little humans? I hope so, because it's the last good-night's sleep you'll ever have!"

He quickly oriented himself, determining that he had emerged from the room surprisingly close to his destination. Using a combination of his ki sensing taken from the Z-warriors and what knowledge he'd inherited over the years, he locked his sharp eyes onto the pinprick of a yellow star in the distance, buried among the local cluster, and immediately shot off. The heavens split behind him as he traveled, leaving behind a bright pink streak. He growled to himself, calculating in his mind quickly, It's still too far… DAMN IT! Fine! You get another day you pathetic worms! One day, and then you're mine!