Chapter 37

Gohan had difficulty sleeping. He tossed and turned, his mind churning. His blood ran hot. Instinct nagged at him that there was danger, that it wasn't safe to sleep. The light of the moon spilling in through the open window appeared to be unnaturally bright. Every sound from, the rustling of the leaves in the warm late summer breeze to the lonely call of the wolf, echoed loudly in his ears. A small part of him took some comfort from the fact that Icarus was dozing just outside by the front door. If anything tried to sneak up on the Son home, the higher dragon would raise the alarm. At times he got the unnerving feeling that he was being watched. It made his skin crawl. He tried to fool himself into brushing it off as a figment of his imagination or, when that failed, it was simply Piccolo checking up on him as he sometimes did during such uncertain times. But that logical part of his brain pointed out that the Namekian had stopped treating him like a child since the Cell Games. His defeat of Cell had proved to the Namek that the teenage Saiyan was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He had the feeling that if Piccolo was really watching him, he would be kicking his ass for being such a whiny little bitch. Vegeta too, for that matter. Gohan groaned and buried his head underneath his pillow. Were his father and Vegeta having the same problem?

Somehow, he managed to get some sleep though he was still quite lethargic the next day. Chi-Chi and Goten's peppiness at the breakfast table made him feel even more tired. His father insisted that they didn't say anything until they knew things were serious. He felt bad for lying to them. Didn't they deserve the truth? But Gohan could see why his father would want to keep it quiet for now. Chi-Chi never handled these situations well as it could very well mean the death of loved ones and Goten would insist upon getting in on the action and possibly killed. For his part, Goku appeared to be his usual fun loving carefree self. Not for the first time, Gohan wondered just how he did it. How could he remain so relaxed, no matter how bad things got? Was it all just an act he put on for their benefit? After breakfast they managed to slip away unnoticed and took off for Kami's Lookout. The floating sanctuary was always a few degrees colder than the world below, being so high up in the atmosphere, but today it was particularly chilly. A sign of the changing seasons. It was so cold that Gohan was surprised that there wasn't a glistening layer of frost covering the temple. Mr. Popo waved at them from where he was tending to the sprawling gardens with a handful of birds perched on his broad shoulders. Dende offered them a nervous smile as he looked out over the Earth. Piccolo paced along the edge restlessly, completely ignoring their arrival. Seeing his old mentor, usually so calm and reserved, behaving so anxiously made the teenage Saiyan even more wary.

"You okay Piccolo?" Goku asked.

"No." he answered gruffly. "I don't like this. All this secrecy, all this hiding that's been going on for months and now they suddenly want to talk face to face."

"I'm sure he has a good reason." Goku reasoned in that naïve way of his.

"He better." the Namek growled under his breath. Being scrutinized by some mysterious being didn't sit well with him. It was all too shady for his tastes. Who's to say that this person was on their side? Who's to say that he wasn't luring them into a false sense of security, luring them into a trap? He could very well be the one behind the strange attacks on Gohan and Papaya Island. Vegeta suddenly shot up over the edge, engulfed in a fiery golden aura, and landed hard enough to crack a few tiles underfoot. Piccolo sighed. "I would great appreciate it if you didn't deface the Lookout."

"What's your problem?" Vegeta sneered. "You can fix it easily enough." Piccolo turned to him with a timeworn look on his face. At that moment the Namek appeared to feel the weight of his combined years. It was a withering expression that Gohan remembered seeing on the old Kami before he reassimilated with his darker counterpart.

"I built this place alone with my own two hands. Brick by brick. You can't even begin to imagine how difficult and time consuming it was. I would rather not have to do it again."

"Why did you build it so high in the sky?" Vegeta snorted contemptibly. Goku stepped in between the two before they really started going at it.

"Now just calm down you two." he soothed. "I know you both are a little apprehensive about all this but everything is going to be just fine. You'll see."

"What would you know Kakarot?" the Saiyan prince snapped. The older Namekian turned his hard black eyes on the Earth-raised Saiyan in a way that somewhat agreed with Vegeta, though he'd never say such aloud.

"I know that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover." Goku answered cheerfully. Vegeta glared at him. "Seriously, look at you. When we first met all you wanted to do was to kill me. Piccolo too. Now you guys are my good friends, helping me to protect innocent people."

"Don't press your luck, Kakarot. Least you change my mind." the prince glowered, turning his head in a huff. Gohan wasn't sure if he was seeing things but he could've sworn that was a flattered blush on his face. It was probably just the light.

"Goku does have a point." They all jumped in their skins at the new yet familiar voice and whipped around. The guy was obviously not from this world. He was short, just four feet tall, with light purple skin. A white Mohawk ran along the center of his skull, showing off fine pointed ears. His robes were extravagant to the point of being gaudy. Next to him was an older pink-skinned man nearly as tall as Piccolo dressed in similar robes whose long mane of hair was more gray than white. They appeared to be of the same race, whatever that may be. Both Vegeta and Piccolo immediately went on guard. Mr. Popo ran over to Dende and stood defensively in front of him just in case things turned hostile. Gohan and Goku merely blinked in surprise.

"Man, I didn't even sense you!" Goku exclaimed in surprise. "How did you do that?"

"I have my ways." he replied with a rather unsettling smile on his face.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Vegeta demanded. But the Saiyan Prince's abrasiveness didn't seem to faze the diminutive being.

"Of course. How rude of me. I am the Supreme Kai and Kibito here is my assistant." Kibito barely inclined his head in acknowledgement. Goku, Piccolo, and Dende gasped in shock. Gohan looked at them quizzically. Supreme Kai? Just how many Kais were there? Vegeta, on the other hand, snorted disdainfully.

"'Supreme'." he scoffed mockingly. "That's so supreme about some shrimp who just sits around on his ass all day to be waited on hand and foot?"

"Vegeta! Are you out of your mind?" Piccolo hissed venomously.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of this weakling, green bean!"

"Vegeta, you don't understand!" Goku pleaded. "This is the Lord of the Kais, the God of the Gods! He is the supreme ruler of the universe!"

"I don't give a damn!" Vegeta spat. "He has no right to come here, watching our every move, and make demands! I demand respect befitting of my rank as the Prince of Saiyans!"

"How dare you!" Kibito shouted in outrage. "A mere mortal, demanding respect from the Supreme Kai? Blasphemous!"

"Clam yourself Kibito." the Supreme Kai ordered gently. "We are not here to fight."

"I still don't see how they can be of any help to us milord." Kibito spat in disgust.

"The King Kai of the North highly recommended them. They have overcome great odds in the past." the small Kai pointed out. "Perhaps they can do it again."

"King Kai recommended us?" Goku questioned. "King Kai never said anything about this…"

"That is because I told him not to." the Supreme Kai told him. "I wanted to observe you and your friends."

"Observe us?" Vegeta growled angrily. "We are not fish in an aquarium to be ogled at!"

"Hold your tongue!" Kibito demanded. "Do not speak to his lordship in such a manner!"

"Make me!" Vegeta's ki exploded around him in a great golden inferno, charging the air with raw power. Gohan stumbled back away from the prince, blinded. Since when had he ascended? The teenage Saiyan expected Vegeta to have marched over to either himself or his father demanding a fight when it happened to prove his dominance. It wasn't clear who moved first. They both seemed to have moved at the same time. One moment they were glaring daggers at each other, the next they were dueling it out in the air above Kami's Lookout. The Supreme Kai held out his hands towards them and, with a yell, froze them in place. Vegeta squirmed and struggled but could not escape the Supreme Kai's hold. Kibito just hung there without a fight. Gohan felt his jaw drop. That little guy just stopped an ascended raging Vegeta dead in his tracks! Not even Bulma, the prince's equally hardheaded wife, could do that!

"Enough!" he proclaimed in a hard voice that brooked no argument. "We should not be fighting each other! Kibito, I expected better of you!"

"But milord, I could not stand idly by as this mortal disrespected you!" Kibito exclaimed. The Supreme Kai shook his head warily.

"He is a mortal. Mortals often question what they do not understand." He pointedly ignored the Saiyan prince's disgruntled cry at being alluded to as unintelligent.

"So…what do you need our help for?" Goku asked slowly.

"Millions of years ago, a wizard by the name of Bibidi created an unstoppable abomination named Majin Buu, more powerful than the ones you call Frieza and Cell combined, with which he had hoped to conquer the universe." the Supreme Kai began. "Countless planets were destroyed and numerous races lost. Even I was powerless to stop them. But Majin Buu was hard to control and was often disobedient to his creator. So Bibidi would seal Majin Buu in a magic ball and send him to the next planet to be destroyed. But I managed to track down and slay Bibidi before he could reach the planet where his creation rested within the confine of his prison. Since the ball was in an are where no life could reach it, I left it be, thinking that Majin Buu would remain dormant until the end of time. However, Bibidi had a son named Babidi who seeks to release Majin Buu from his imprisonment to avenge his father." Gohan gasped as the pieces fell into place. He felt the bottom of his stomach drop out.

"Wait…don't tell me…" The Supreme Kai nodded sadly.

"Yes. The planet Bibidi wanted to destroy next was Earth." Gohan's legs gave out from under him. Only one thought ran through his numb mind…

'Not again.'

xXx

Omake

Videl looked up where she was doing pushups in the baking sands when she heard a familiar excited squeal. Erasa practically jumped out of the hovercar before Hercule could even turn it off and tackled her friend, sending both of them tumbling into the hot powdery granules.

"Oh my god! How did it go! Details! Details!"

"Man, Erasa! It was just a dinner and a movie!" Videl told the exuberant blond, spitting out the tiny gains that got into her mouth.

"Did that kid treat you right!" her father demanded as soon as he approached her. "If he didn't I'll-"

"Dad!"

"So, how did it go?" Sharpner asked. "Did you kiss each other good night?" he added teasingly. Videl blushed.

"Kinda." she admitted quietly. Erasa squealed in delight. Hercule stammered, unsure weather or not he should be outraged. Sharpner's mouth hung open like a landed fish.

"I didn't think that nerd had it in him…" he finally breathed out in disbelief.

Translations:

Kami- god

Ki- energy

AN: Dun, dun, dun! What can I say, I'm evil. Please remember to review! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!