"And now for the next match!" the announcer shouted. "Kibito vs the Great Saiyaman!"

Gohan and Kibito made their way to the ring amidst cheers from the audience. The white bandanna on Gohan's head had blown off from his earlier transformation, and his dark hair stuck up in wild spikes. Kibito was silent, ignoring the crowd as he took his place in the ring.

"Let the match begin!"

Gohan paused amidst the crowd's cheers and took off his sunglasses, tossing them aside. There was really no point to wearing them anymore, especially without his bandanna. He looked fine as he was.

The match had officially started and yet, neither Gohan nor Kibito were attacking. They stood in the ring staring at each other, perhaps talking - Chiyo wasn't close enough to see or hear. She edged past Piccolo and Vegeta and stuck her head as far past the screen as she dared.

"Gohan, do it," Piccolo said.

Goku glanced at him. "What is it? Do you know something?"

"Not precisely, but..."

Chiyo opened her mouth to ask what they meant, but a soft voice spoke from behind her.

"It is time," Shin said quietly, as he approached them. "We must make use of Gohan." His gaze rested on Chiyo. "And I need you all to stay put for a while, no matter what happens."

"What are you talking about?" Goku asked, frowning.

Vegeta snorted. "Why should we listen to you? Who are you?!"

Piccolo shot the Saiyan a quelling glance. "This is Kaio-shin-sama," he rumbled. "The Lord of Lords…the God to the Gods."

She could see the title meant something to Goku, even as it did to Piccolo. She searched her memory for what she knew of the cosmic hierarchy. She'd met North Kaiou - the Lord of Worlds - when she was a kid, and she knew there were four like him to govern over the four sectors of the universe. If there was something higher than that, it would make sense...but what the hell would the 'Lord of Lords' want with Gohan?

Even as Chiyo was trying to get her mind around the concept, she heard her friends muttering behind her.

"Is something gonna happen when he goes Super Saiyan?" Kuririn said.

"Spopovich and Yam will no doubt attack Son Gohan," Shin replied. "But as I said…I want you to do nothing."

"Attack him?" Chiyo repeated, disturbed.

Shin nodded gravely. "Don't be afraid. They won't take his life. They're after his energy."

Videl appeared suddenly, pushing past some of the other fighters. Chiyo was happy to see she seemed to have recovered fully.

"How are you feeling?" she asked the older girl, but at that moment Gohan transformed.

A golden aura exploded around him and his hair and eyes lightened; Chiyo had seen him transform so many times it no longer held her in awe. However this time was different; electricity began to crackle around his body, and his aura expanded, whipping dust and shrapnel into the amazed audience.

"Gohan...Gohan is the golden-haired warrior?" Videl said, staring at the blazing figure in the ring. Chiyo barely had time to wonder what she meant before Vegeta interrupted.

"He was better back when he beat Cell," he said, his voice contemptuous. "He's slacked off his training regimen…peace isn't good for a warrior."

"Aw, go easy on 'im," Goku said. "It's easy to get soft when there's no challenge around."

Vegeta grunted. "Your efforts would be better served training her." He nodded at Chiyo. "She's far stronger than him now."

Chiyo's cheeks burned as her friends glanced at her, but she said nothing. It seemed crass to agree with Vegeta, even though she knew - or at least suspected - what he said was true. Even so, Gohan was still a powerful fighter.

Then it happened: there was movement from the sidelines, and Yam and Spopovich came seemingly from nowhere, carrying an odd-looking container. The end of the container was pointed and it gleamed brightly in the sunlight; in that moment Chiyo knew what they were going to do.

"Hey!" she shouted, but it was too late. Spopovich's massive arms wrapped around her brother's neck, pinning his arms behind him, and Yam drove the sharp end of the container into his side.

Gohan's screams were terrible. Chiyo turned her head, wishing she could block out the sound, and felt her own chi increase involuntarily. Her hair stood on end as she transformed into Super Saiyan.

"GOHAN!" Kuririn shouted, and made to leap forward. Piccolo's arm shot out and seized the back of his shirt. A second later Shin did the same, grabbing Chiyo's arm a second before she moved.

"Let go of me!" Chiyo said, as his grip tightened. "Gohan's life is not for you to give away. I don't care who you are!"

"They don't want his life," Shin said urgently. "Just his energy. Do not interfere."

Gohan's chi dropped suddenly, and Chiyo turned away from Shin in time to see Yam pull the container out of his side. Spopovich let go of Gohan, who crumpled. Then they took off, flying from the ring. Moments later they were only dots on the horizon.

"Gohan!"

Chiyo started forward, but Shin seized her arm again.

"Don't do anything," he commanded. "Don't worry – Kibito will put him back to normal."

"What did they do to him?" Chiyo demanded. When he didn't reply, she turned to face him. "Tell me what they did!"

"Chiyo!" Piccolo growled. "This is the Lord of Lords-"

But Shin waved the Namekian away and turned back to the others.

"We'll follow those two," he said.

"So you're leaving," Goku said.

"Please come with us, if you like," Shin replied, with the hint of a smile. "It would be a great help."

Then without another word, he turned and left in the direction Yam and Spopovich had gone.

"What do we do?" Kuririn said, glancing at Goku.

"I'm going with him!" Goku said. "We've the Lord of Lords' word that Gohan'll be fine! And I wanna know what this is about!"

Kuririn shrugged. "I can't say that I'm gonna like it, but if you go then I'm going too."

"OK, let's do it. Chiyo?"

Chiyo looked down. "I...I don't want to leave Gohan."

"Shin is the Lord of Lords," Piccolo said. "You should trust his judgment. If he says that Kibito will heal him, then he will."

"What, are you just going to leave Gohan like that?" Videl said disbelievingly.

Chiyo glanced over at Kibito, who was bending over Gohan's prone form.

"He'll be fine," she said, and felt her resolve strengthen at the words. "I have to know what's going on."


"I knew you'd come."

Goku, Vegeta, Chiyo, Piccolo and Kuririn caught up to the Lord of Lords ten miles from Papaya Island. He was heading north-west; Chiyo could see the southern islands rushing by hundreds of feet below. She suspected they would pass over South City soon.

"Thank you. We probably can't win without you," the Lord of Lords said.

"Can't win against those two?" Goku said, confused. "But they're not that strong..."

"No, they're only being used. Our foe is a warlock."

"A warlock?" Piccolo repeated sharply, staring over his shoulder at the Lord of Lords.

Shin nodded. "Long ago, when humanity was first beginning to walk upright, far across the universe lived an evil warlock called Bibbidi. One day, he accidentally created a terrible monster - a fearsome djinn named Boo. This djinn possesses neither reason nor emotion…he exists solely to slaughter and destroy. To strike fear into the hearts of all living things." The Lord of Lords looked grim. "In just a few years, hundreds of planets were wiped out."

That caught Chiyo's attention. She sped up a little to hear the Lord of Lords better.

"In those days there were five Lords of Lords," Lord of Lords continued. "Each could have felled Freeza with one blow. Four of them were killed by Boo."

That's not so strong, Chiyo thought. I could probably destroy even Cell at my level now.

"You could easily defeat the creature Cell now, Son Chiyo," the Lord of Lords said. "But you could not defeat Boo."

Chiyo flushed furiously as everyone stared at her.

"Boo's ferocity was too much for even his creator, Bibbidi," the Lord of Lords said. "When he needed a respite, he placed the djinn under a magic seal. Bibbidi brought the sealed Boo to their next target...Earth. I killed Bibbidi soon after." His voice grew bitter. "I thought it best to leave the container untouched, as only Bibbidi could break the seal.

"But we recently discovered something terrible – the warlock Bibbidi had a child! And Bobbidi is just as terrible as his parent!"

"So he's come here to resurrect Boo," Kuririn commented.

"Yes."

Goku shrugged. "So basically, we have to stop them from resurrecting this Boo."

"Precisely," the Lord of Lords replied. "Which means defeating Bobbidi first."

"Is he tough?"

The Lord of Lords shook his head. "Not physically, but he uses magic. His father Bibbidi was the same. Warlocks take advantage of the evil within people and take control of them, as he did with Spopovich and Yam. Let's just hope he doesn't have anyone formidable on his side."

"Yam and Spopovich were possessed, weren't they?" Chiyo asked.

"Yes."

That explains it, Chiyo said to herself, remembering Spopovich's barely controlled rage; she felt a chill creep down her spine.

"To bring the djinn Boo back, Bobbidi will need a large amount of energy," Lord of Lords continued. "Bobbidi sent Yam and Spopovich to the Tenkaichi Budoukai, where he thought the strongest fighters, and so the most energy, would be. We do not know where Bobbidi's hideout is, so we are following these two to find him."

"Why'd you leave this djinn lying around if you knew what it could do?"

Lord of Lords avoided Goku's gaze.

"We had no choice," he admitted reluctantly. "We didn't know what could break the seal. And we thought it would be safe, since the shell was at a place inaccessible to humans."

Suddenly Chiyo felt two chi approaching from behind; one was Gohan's, and the other was Kibito - they appeared in her peripheral vision, speeding to catch up with the rest of the group.

"Gohan!" she called. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Gohan replied, waving and grinning. He was still wearing his dorky Saiyaman outfit, but Chiyo didn't care. She was just happy to see him.

"Are you okay?" she called back anxiously.

"Fine," Gohan replied with a grin, speeding to keep up with her.

"I'm glad you're here, Gohan," Goku said. "It looks like we have our work cut out for us again."

"I heard."

Goku grinned over his shoulder at his son. "But hey, let's have some fun this time - it's been too long!"

"They're making their descent," Lord of Lords interrupted.

Sure enough, the two dots on the horizon - Yam and Spopovich - headed down through the clouds.

The Lord of Lords and Kibito landed on a large, craggy rock formation. Chiyo followed with the others, suppressing her chi to avoid detection, and peered over the top.

"This is odd," Kibito murmured. "We checked this area before."

Below lay what seemed to be a completely bare plain, devoid of any life at all. The only remarkable signs on the bleak landscape were a small house and nearby, a white formation rather like a cone. And standing outside...

Chiyo leaned forward, squinting in the afternoon sun. Yam and Spopovich seemed to be conversing with another figure, shorter than both. All Chiyo could see was that it had a flat, alien face and a white helmet.

"Is that Bobbidi?" Goku asked.

"No. That's one of his minions."

Goku leaned forward. "The ground looks like it's been dug up recently."

"Of course," Kibito growled. "His ship was hidden underground! That's why we never found it!"

"Which means he knows we're here on Earth," the Lord of Lords said, frowning. "Otherwise, why bother hiding his ship?"

"We should make our move!" Piccolo rumbled. "Before they can use Gohan's energy and resurrect Boo!"

The Lord of Lords shook his head. "They'll come outside to resurrect Boo so they don't destroy the ship. We can make our move then. Let's wait and see…"

Chiyo propped her chin on her elbows and studied what she could see of Bobbidi's ship. She wondered how stable the ground was now it had been dug up...maybe they could destroy the ship from the inside somehow? Even Bobbidi might have trouble digging himself out of several tons of dirt.

"Someone's coming out!" Piccolo said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts.

The ship's door slid open, and two figures stepped out. One was tall and humanoid, wearing a long, flowing white cape; he had the stance of a seasoned fighter. Chiyo could see muscles bulging under the clothing he wore, but she'd learned long ago not to be impressed by obvious displays of strength.

Accompanying the fighter was an odd-looking persona draped in flowing robes. He had weedy-looking arms and a wrinkled face with bulging eyes, with an expression that reminded Chiyo of a sheep, albeit a nasty-looking one.

"Dabra!" Kibito spat. "Bobbidi even has the king of the demon plane under his control…"

The Lord of Lords leaned over his ledge, trying to get a better look at the two people who had arrived from the ship.

"That spells trouble," he said, frowning. "He's the last one I expected to see."

"Which one is Dabra?" Chiyo asked, although she was sure she already knew the answer.

"The tall one."

"Is he that tough?" Goku said thoughtfully.

"You don't become King of the demons through niceness. You may be the strongest in this world, but in the realm of evil he wins every contest."

"I'm, uh, feeling a little out-classed," Kuririn said weakly. "How 'bout I take the small one?"

"I'm guessing that's Bobbidi?" Gohan said.

"Indeed," said the Lord of Lords. "Don't let his physical weakness fool you. After all, his magic turned even Dabra into his minion."

"Nice choice," Chiyo said, and nudged Kuririn in the side.

"His magic can overpower such a foe as that?" Piccolo interrupted.

Kibito shook his head. "No…he manipulates the evil and greed already lurking in one's soul. Dabra is an ideal candidate. That's what makes Bobbidi's magic so dangerous; so many powerful beings under his sway. That's why you can't have any evil in your souls if you're going to fight him."

"We hadn't counted on Dabra being here," Lord of Lords muttered. "This makes things very difficult."

"You don't think we can beat him?" Vegeta sneered. Chiyo glared at him, but the Lord of Lords said nothing. "Fine. Forget that. I'm not losing to them."

"Kuririn," Goku said. "You should go back. It's too dangerous."

The little man shrugged. "Maybe I should…I mean if I won't be any use..."

"Gyaaaarrrghhh!"

The strangled scream rang out across the barren plain. Chiyo leaned over the rock, trying to see what was happening.

Spopovich was swelling like a grotesque balloon, his already oversized limbs bulging as his companion watched in horror. Bobbidi waved his skinny arms and Spopovich began to scream; horrible, gurgling screams that were the last protests of a bloated oesophagus -

BOOM!

Spopovich exploded, showering purple blood and greying flesh everywhere. It was all Chiyo could do not to vomit on the spot; horrified and angry; she stared at the scene below as Yam leapt into the air, eyes bulging with terror, trying to get away.

Bobbidi said something to the alien-faced minion standing beside him, and the minion pointed his gloved hand at the escaping fighter. He wore a device over his hand not unlike the military guns Chiyo had seen on the TV. He fired, and a blast of blue energy shot from the device and hit Yam.

The man exploded in a cloud of red smoke.

"They killed them!" Gohan said, watching in anger at the three below.

"They were but tools," the Lord of Lords said tersely. "Bobbidi seeks out the most powerful fighters, controls them and then when they are no longer useful, disposes of them like they're diseased animals.

"Do you see now, the evil we are up against? If he frees Boo he will destroy everyone...like he destroyed Yam and Spopovich."

Chiyo had a sudden vision of her mother's body expanding like a balloon, her little brother writhing on the ground...she shook her head to clear herself of the nightmarish image.

"Over my dead body," she hissed.

Bobbidi and the alien minion went back inside the ship, but Dabra lingered. He seemed to be looking around, a little smirk pulling at his corners of his thin mouth.

"They know we're here!" Vegeta roared.

Then Dabra attacked.