Excitement and fun were in abundance as all of the Z fighters gathered around the tournament ring that was specifically designed by Piccolo. Everyone had turned out for the competition between Cell, Frieza, Goku, and Vegeta. Hercule was busy grilling it up with Majin Buu and Bee playing at his side. Goten and Trunks were out on the ring, sparring and joking around. Elsewhere, a radio was playing while Turtle tried singing for Roshi, Oolong, and Yamcha. Dende had even come down off of the Lookout and was seated off to the side with a stern-looking Piccolo by his side. All of the ladies were standing around chatting about this and that while most of the men sat at a nearby picnic table. Goku and Vegeta were busy inhaling a plate of barbeque while Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Gohan talked.

It was all fun and laughter for the crew as they waited for the arrival of Cell and Frieza.

"You know. I still can't believe that we're all sitting around talking, laughing, and joking while we wait for Cell and Frieza to get here. It just feels so surreal," stated Bulma, casually sipping on a drink amongst her friends.

"Tell me about it!" chimed Chi Chi. "When Goku told me that he'd invited them for a fight last week, I hardly batted an eye. I mean, I guess after they'd saved Goten and Trunks that time, they just don't seem as horrible as they once were."

"Yeah! When Dad told me about how they'd both saved him different times, I couldn't believe it. I still can't, to be honest, but if they'd go out the way to save him they can't be so bad. I'm kind of excited to see how it will all turn out." Videl smiled pleasantly between the two women before turning to her friends, Erasa and Sharpner. "This still isn't too much for you guys, is it?"

Erasa laughed nervously. "It was too much when we saw you fly. It was too much when we saw a gigantic dragon. Believe me, this is a piece of cake!"

"Yeah, Videl. If you all are fine with having Cell here, we'll be okay," added Sharpner.

"I'm so glad you guys could come!" Videl chimed before going into some random conversation with her friends.

"Geez! If you guys don't slow down, all it'll take is one punch to the gut and you'll be blowing chunks all across the ring," Krillin said, looking between Goku and Vegeta as they went through Hercule's barbeque.

"That'd be a pretty embarrassing way to lose, eh Vegeta?" added Tien with a smirk when the Saiyan Prince – mouth stuffed with food – turned to leer at him.

Gohan just shook his head. "You both can save your breaths. Those two would never listen."

"This is nothing to a Saiyan warrior!" Vegeta roared. "A true warrior could feast for days and move right on to the slaughter! This is merely a snack."

"Mmmnom nom mmm hmm nomnom…" muttered Goku around the food stuffed in his mouth.

"Kakarot! Don't talk with your mouth full! That's disgust…YACK!" Vegeta began beating on his chest as a lump of food had found its way down the wrong pipe.

Krillin and the others cracked up at Vegeta's dilemma and it broke into full-blown laughter when the Saiyan yelled, "SHUT UP!"

Elsewhere, Roshi snuck up to an unsuspecting Yamcha while the bandit had been trying to enjoy Turtle's attempts at singing. "Pss!" whispered the turtle hermit. "Just between you and me, who do you think's gonna win this whole thing?"

A questioning eyebrow shot up on Yamcha's face as he said, "Master Roshi, I'd never pick favorites in something like this. Besides, they're all WAY too strong for me to really be able to choose."

"Aww, c'mon! Surely there's one person who you think has the best chance?" muttered Roshi, sounding and looking as secretive as possible.

Yamcha reddened a bit as he replied, "Well, you know, Cell's got the whole regeneration thing. I mean, it's pretty hard to beat a guy like that, so my best guess would be Cell."

Roshi cackled with joy and said, "Care to put a little wager on that?"

Before Roshi could even begin to talk about money, 18 reached out a hand and snatched the turtle hermit up by the ear. "Seriously? You're making bets against your own friends?" she hissed while Roshi howled in pain.

"OW! Nobody's making bets against them. In fact, I bet Goku will win it all! I'm just trying to make a little extra money. Is that so bad?" defended Roshi as 18 tugged a bit harder.

The blonde beauty rolled her eyes before tossing Roshi aside. "Dirty old man," she muttered before walking over to sit beside Maron.

"Hey! I see them!" roared Goten, hopping up and down inside the ring as he pointed out into the distance.

All eyes turned to the horizon as two glinting objects sparkled in the sun's light.

"It is them!" cheered Goku, leaping up from his seat and running over to join Trunks and Goten in the ring.

"'Bout time," Vegeta muttered as he and most of the other Z Fighters crowded around the ring for the long-awaited arrival.

Trunks and Goten jumped for joy, waving their hands around in the air and calling, "Yo! Yo! Yo!" out to Cell and Frieza as the duo flew overhead.

With a gust of wind, they swooped across the air and settled onto the ring, looking as devious as ever as they looked around at the crowd of spectators. "Missed us?" slyly stated the Frost Demon as all eyes landed on them.

Trunks and Goten were the first ones over to the duo, running up and cheering with delight as they greeted Cell and Frieza. While the boys clamored around the duo, Goku stepped over with a bright and pleasant smile on his face. "It's been a while!" he chimed as Cell returned the smile with one of his own.

"Three whole years, to be exact. I have to say, Goku, Frieza and I were a little surprised to get the invite," responded the bio-android while Frieza chatted with the demi-Saiyans.

Goku's smile turned sheepish as his hand unconsciously started scratching at the back of his neck. "Yeah? Well, Vegeta and I were really itching to go a round with you two. You know how those Saiyan instincts can be!" Goku laughed.

"I know too well," answered Cell as he calmly walked passed Goku to greet the others.

As Cell walked away, Frieza trailed behind. He stopped for the briefest of moments to nod in Goku's direction. "Goku," he said, leaving that as his greeting before continuing on.

"Frieza," Goku nodded in kind, watching as the duo moved into the crowd of his friends.

There was a blur of movement at Goku's side, but he caught the sense long before it appeared. Goku looked over to see Piccolo at his side, the ever-present look of seriousness on the Namek's face. "Are you sure about this, Goku? I understand that Cell and Frieza helped us out a lot with Majin Buu, but…they're them."

Goku laughed again. "Don't be so worried, Piccolo! Yemma already said that he'd be keeping them on a tight leash. And besides, I don't even see those two as a threat anymore. They're kind of neutral now, I guess."

"Neutral? Goku, that doesn't sound very reassuring." Piccolo eyed Goku over carefully, sighing once he saw that patented Goku smile on the hero's face.

"It'll be fine." Goku clapped a reassuring hand on the Namek's back as they began walking off of the ring. "So, you sure you don't want to join in? I heard that you got really strong after fusing with that mini-Cell."

"Join in a fight between you, Vegeta, Cell, and Frieza?" The hesitance and sarcasm was thick in Piccolo's voice. "Yeah. I think I'll pass."

Goku cracked up again, laughing gleefully as he and Piccolo stepped back into the throng of people. He looked over and saw Cell and Frieza speaking with Gohan and Videl. Just the sight of the four together gave Goku a moment's pause, but it passed once he saw Gohan shake Cell's hand.

At least that issue had been resolved.

"Are we going to do this anytime soon or will I die of old age first?" barked Vegeta, standing ringside with his arms folded in a huff.

Goku looked back over to Cell and Frieza. "Ready, guys?" he asked.

The confident smiles that graced the duo's faces spoke louder than words ever could. The Tournament of Heroes was set to begin.


Elsewhere, at the Check-Out station, it was business as usual for King Yemma. Thanks to that momentary break in work to deal with Cell and Frieza, the great red ogre had found himself behind in his judgments. Now, souls were getting judged left and right, some going up and a lot going down.

Those many souls that were meant for Hell were sent out to the soul cleanser, guided by the crew of ogres for their purification before heading down below.

As business moved at the station, work seemed to be the least of concerns for a certain ogre over at the soul cleanser. In fact, the teenage-looking employee had on a pair of headphones and was busy jamming out as the gauges for the negative energy containers were ready to go haywire.

"HEY!" shouted another ogre, appearing just before the young man and effectively startling the headphones right off of his head. The young, red ogre grew sheepish as he was reprimanded for his lack of attention on his duties. "And King Yemma wants that music turned down! He can hear all the way back up at his office!" demanded the purple, stern ogre.

The teen bowed his head out of shame and nodded slowly. "Yes sir," he said.

The purple ogre turned and was ready to leave out before stopping to say, "Look. Just keep the music down and try to remain focused on your job. Those containers really need changing." He offered the teen one last chastising look before heading back up to the station to report to Yemma.

The teen, on the other hand, perked up once the man was gone. His headphones were already back on his ears and he was jamming out once again. All the while, the containers behind the kid were cracking and beginning to shatter from overflow. Shock and appalled, the kid barely had time to stare in horror before the containers exploded and a dastardly, purple haze enveloped the teen.

As the haze passed over his body, the teenage ogre had splotches of a yellow figure growing out of varying spots around his body. Horrified by the mutation, the kid could only yell in dismay as the remaining containers exploded as well, sending the purple haze roiling around the area and progressing the mutation further.

The only thing heard beyond the roar of the haze and explosion of containers was the joyful chant, "Janemba! Janemba!"