Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Chapter XLIV: The Emergence of Old Kai.

775 A.D. May the 7th.

Chiara sat underneath a tree and watched as Gohan and Goku toyed around with the sword. They wanted to see how sharp the sword really was. Goku threw a large boulder at Gohan and the sword went straight through it. Supreme Kai suggested testing it on something a little more difficult.

"How about more density and a little less mass?" he asked.

They all watched in confusion as Supreme Kai lifted his hand and conjured up a square block of some kind of material. He turned to Goku.

"Here, Goku, catch," he said.

He threw the block at Goku, who scrambled to catch it. He caught it but strained under the weight.

"Wauw," he cried. "What's this?"

"That is the hardest known metal in the universe. It's called Kachine," Supreme Kai explained.

"Ka-ching?" Gohan whispered at Chiara, who shrugged.

Goku tapped the metal with one finger, still holding the block over his head.

"Oh, Kachine," he said.

"Yes," Supreme Kai said. "This will be a much better test."

"You're not kidding," Goku said, walking towards Gohan. "Hey, Gohan, ready?"

Gohan readied his sword and said, "Let her fly, dad."

"Alright, here it comes," Goku said, pulling his arms back and throwing the block at Gohan.

Gohan swung the sword and met the block head-on, but instead of slicing through the block, the sword broke. Gohan cried out, looking at the sword in disbelief. Supreme Kai and Kibito reacted much the same. Goku looked vaguely puzzled and Chiara put her hand over her mouth.

'A legendary sword and my brother breaks it,' she thought, half amused, half shocked.

The block kept on flying in the mean time, landing in front of Chiara, who stopped it with her foot.

"Oh no," Gohan said, looking at the sword. "Now it's the z-dagger."

"Please no," Supreme Kai cried. "Tell me it's not true, Kibito."

"It's true," Kibito choked out. "It's snapped in two."

"Uh oh," Goku said, not looking upset in the slightest. "Wauw. I guess it's probably called the hardest metal in the universe for a reason, isn't it?"

Supreme Kai and Kibito could only twaddle incoherently, they couldn't believe it.

"Huh, I guess they must have exaggerated a little bit," Gohan said, before dropping the sword.

Supreme Kai could only gawk in disbelief and shock.

"Well, it's not like Gohan will need the sword anymore anyway," Chiara tried. "He's gotten much stronger just swinging it. He can beat Buu without it."

Kibito turned to Chiara, a furious expression on his face.

"Yes, that is a handy excuse, isn't it?" he snapped, his usually dark pink face turning red. "You come to this sacred planet and pretend like you own it, tramping all over the place and breaking everything down…"

Supreme Kai held up his hand and stopped Kibito mid-rant.

"Chiara is right," he said, becoming enthusiastic himself. "Gohan has become much stronger now. And if he's this strong at this level, he'll be much stronger as a Super Saiyan. Yes, sure, that must be it, Gohan doesn't need the sword, he's already gained the power."

"Yeah, but…does Gohan's power surpass Majin Buu's? I'm not so sure," Goku said.

"Huh? What are you saying, Goku?" Supreme Kai demanded. "That we don't have a chance?"

"Quiet," a quivery voice cried out of nowhere.

Everyone started and whirled around to face a small and old form, dressed in the same clothes as Supreme Kai, Kibito, Chiara and Gohan. Chiara, Gohan and Goku got into a fighting position. It wasn't necessary, however, as whomever they were now facing wasn't hostile.

"Um, sir," Goku tried. "We're in the middle of training."

"You call that training?" the old figure asked. He cackled.

"Who are you?" Supreme Kai demanded. "How did you get here?"

"Who? Me?" he asked. "Check out the hairstyle, youngster. And the earloops. And the dashing looks. I'm just an older version of you. Fifteen generations to be precise."

Goku looked at Gohan and Chiara, a questioning look on his face. Gohan merely shrugged but Chiara moved forward.

"Fifteen generations?" she asked. "How old are you?"

"Don't be asking rude questions, young lady," Old Kai scolded. "Though I admit it's quite remarkable." He coughed, sounding decidedly ill, before straightening up. "Well then, I'm sure you're wondering how I'm still alive. Well listen."

He proceded to tell them about a terrible villain from way back then, who tricked him and sealed him inside the z-sword.

"You were trapped inside the z-sword all this time?" Supreme Kai asked.

Old Kai nodded. "I sure was. Now I've got a cramp."

"I don't think this guy looks as strong as he says," Goku said to Gohan and Chiara. "You?"

Chiara shook her head and Gohan said, "Not really."

"Hey," Goku said. "Let's put him to the test."

"What? Dad, I don't know," Gohan protested but Chiara smiled.

"Yeah, let's," Chiara agreed. "If he's so great, let him prove it."

She raised her left hand and created a small ball of energy, sending it straight for Old Kai. It flew between Supreme Kai and Kibito, who watched it go in disbelief, and hit Old Kai in the face, sending him flying back. Goku, Gohan, Supreme Kai and Kibito all cried out in dismay. Chiara merely watched, her eyes wide. Supreme Kai and Kibito rushed to the Old Kai's side.

"Venerable sir," Kibito said. "Are you alright?"

Old Kai was dazed for a brief moment before he jumped up, shouting at Chiara, "How dare you? Throwing fireballs at someone like me, are you cracked?"

Chiara merely stood there, looking at the Kai in front of her.

"But sir, that attack was just child's play," Goku said.

"My little brother could have handled that," Gohan said.

"All my enemies feared me," Old Kai said. "But not because of my strength. My menacing capacities were what struck terror into their hearts."

Chiara said nothing, still standing there, looking at Old Kai, an almost vulnerable look on her face.

"Capacities?" Goku asked.

"Menacing?" Gohan asked.

"What do you mean?" Goku asked

"I'm not telling," Old Kai said, crossing his arms. "Give me one good reason why I should."

While Goku argued with Old Kai, Gohan turned his attention to his twin, finally noticing that she was still standing there and hadn't said a word since she blasted Old Kai.

"Chi?" he said softly. "Are you okay?"

Chiara's expression never changed as she turned to her brother.

"I could have killed him," she whispered. "I never even considered that I could have killed him. I just blasted him in the face without even thinking of the consequences."

Gohan nodded slowly, he had a feeling that this wasn't about Old Kai. It was about the people she had killed at the stadium.

"It wasn't your fault, Chi," he said gently. "You weren't yourself."

"I could have been," Chiara argued. "I could have fought harder and then I would have been myself. And then it wouldn't have happened."

"I know, but you couldn't have known that Babidi would try to attack your mind like that," Gohan said. "You weren't ready for an attack like that, none of us would have been."

Chiara swallowed hard, turning away from her brother. He wouldn't let her do that, however, as he turned her back to him, taking her into his arms as tears started flowing down her cheeks. She sobbed into his shoulder, neither of them noticing that the others were now watching. Goku watched his daughter as she cried, wishing that he could go over there and hug her like Gohan could. He knew she wouldn't accept that, however, she probably never would again.